Vodka and Soda

aruba 2013 recap

 

 

this is what i was stared at every day during my wonderful time in Aruba.

 

aruba was awesome.  here's why:

the weather was nothing short of gorgeous.  not a drop of rain or grey skies; just fun, sun and sandy beaches.

did you know that aruba doesn't even have a weather channel or station?  it's always sunny, that's why.

trade winds that keep the bugs away (seriously, no creepy-crawlies or mosquitoes) and cool you down as the sun kisses your skin.

never-ending mojitos. or pina coladas. or whatever drink you fancied.  yay for all inclusive!

i ate healthy amidst all the desserts and bad food that all-inclusive deals throw at you.  gimmie a woot!

kayla had a blast with her cousins... which meant that i could actually be lazy and do nothing but lie in the sun, work on my tan and listen to my music.

i actually wore a hot-pink bikini and felt amazing in it.

the beaches are absolutely to die for.  gorgeous white sand, crystal blue water.... oh, how i miss it.  now i look out the window and only see white bullshit snow all over the ground :(

got hit on by a few guys. while it was weird and creepy at the time (causing me to panic and run away), i'll be honest and admit that it felt pretty good to know that people other than my husband find me attractive because most of the time, i feel like an old hag! must be the workouts.

speaking of workouts, as i was standing by the pool sipping a mojito in said hot pink bikini, i looked up and an old friend whom i haven't seen since grade 10 was standing in front of me with a big smile.  behind my sunglasses, my eyes frantically scanned the area for my cover-up or towel but there was nothing....then i silently thought in my head:  "thank god i've been working out!" heheh.

the island is so friendly and safe that we went for a stroll every night around the markets and no one harassed us for money or pestered us to buy useless shit.

i bought a gucci bag at the swanky gucci store for a fraction of what it would have cost me here and i didn't even feel one bit of guilt over it.

kayla was an awesome traveller.  despite the late arrival times, she was a trooper through and through with zero crying, freak-outs or melt-downs.

kayla actually napped every day. she hasn't napped that consistently since she was about 2.5 years old...which meant that mommy got to nap too.

now for picture vomit:

  family photo || gorgeous beaches || sunset dinner

 

aruba has trademarked "i ♥ aruba" and these adorable signs are everywhere! || when i was in aruba back in 2001, i stood by this very sign that had the old Holiday Inn logo (i also like the way my arms look in this photo).

 

another sunset dinner || one of my fav photos with kayla || frolicking on the beach with the fam || cousins.

 

 

love this family photo || what i saw every day as i lay in the sun || relaxing on the beach

 

 

adorable keepsake we had made for our trip || hubs and kayla biking around the island

random tuesday update

 

oh, hi.

sorry i've been MIA on the blog... i spent a lot of time with family and blogging was the last thing on my mind but i've missed you all.

i also wanted to thank everyone for your wonderful and kind words of support; it meant so much to come back to my blog only to see your amazing comments.  you are all the reason why i keep this site alive and keep blogging my mindless and random drivel.

a lot of stuff has happened over the past week and a half so a quick update with me:

....i've finally gotten back into my work groove.  it only took me 3 weeks to turn on my brain after 9 months of inactivity.   i was immediately assigned to 3 projects; 2 of which are pretty high profile and it was a little embarassing at first when i couldn't keep the information straight and kept on mixing up the projects.  but i'm back, bitches and i got that shit straightened out so it's good.

....remember my post about signing up to tough mudder?   what started out as 4 people interested in joining, is now 12 people officially registered to our "band of mudders" team and growing.  i know, clever team name, right?  the most hilarious of all hilarious people, keltie, came up with our team  name.  oh, and check out our facebook page banner:

courtesy of me.  seriously, how mad cool is this?

....the crazy fucking 5am workouts are still going strong.  as tough as it is to get my ass up at 445am, these workouts set the tone for my day (to kick major ass), keeps me energized and knocks me out at night.  i'm talking about passing out by a lame 9pm on most nights.  sad.

....this saturday, i'll be starting kettlebell classes as another form of traning for tough mudder.  fingers crossed that i don't fuck myself up.

....we had a crazy snow storm this past weekend.  like, snow up past my knees crazy.  like, all kinds of cars abandoned and stuck all over my neighbourhood.  we had to get kayla from school on foot and drag her home on her sled.  you know you're a little crazy about training when you see your daughter on her sled as an opportunity to train for tough mudder. 

....this past weekend was chinese new year and even though it was filled with hearty family feasts, my diet stayed clean.  

 ....we booked our family vacay to aruba next month.  it was sort of short notice but it's done and we're so excited!  hubs and i have been to aruba before (circa 2000) and had a blast:

LOL at my cut-off jean shorts and damn, look how skinny i used to be until pregnancy and age have ravaged my body and metabolism. damn you, mother nature/father time, damn you.  then again, this was also during my raving days so perhaps "other things" were at play.   we'll be staying at the same hotel and will be travelling with my brother-in-law and his family so kayla will have a ton of fun.  if you've never been to aruba, you really should go one day; it's one of the most beautiful islands with gorgeous crystal blue waters, white soft sand and the most amazing trade winds.  the beaches are incredible and the people are so friendly and kind! 

 

 

 

disney update

 

we picked a great month to travel to florida.  it's way to fucking hot and humid during the summer months (never mind the INSANE crowds at the parks) and we find that travelling in the fall (late september/early october) is the best time for many countries.   we also lucked out because we heard that florida went through a bit of a cold spell before we arrived and the day after we left, they were callling a hurricane warning!  so many thanks to the Travel Gods for being on our side again.

here's a not-so-new newsflash: disney is  fucking expensive.   like ridiculously, extortion-like expensive and yet, idiot parents pay out the ass for silly things like an autograph book that costs $15 and the accompanying pen for another $10 that can "only be used during character signing".  when that fact was challenged ("are you telling me that if my kid hands a regular pen to a character, she'll be turned away?") and the seeds of doubt planted in our heads, we grudgingly open up our wallets to avoid that risk.  really, who the hell charges $10 for a pen?  oh that's right, disney does. and what idiot parents would pay for shit like that?  oh that's right, us.

 

animal kingdom 

first park that we hit was animal kingdom.  it's basically a big zoo with rides and character greetings. 

 

a big part of disney is hunting  around (and waiting) for character meetings.  that picture of eyore made me laugh so hard.  because of his costume, he can only see what he's writing if he holds the autograph book really close to his eye and the awkwardness of it all was so funny i couldn't stop laughing.

 

magic kingdom

if it's one place that'll make your kids lose their shizz it's magic kingdom.  this place is frigging enormous and with almost zero exterior shade from the blazing sun, you have to escape into the buildings to get some relief from the heat.  thank god for fast passes!

kayla's favorite princess, Princess Aurora (sleeping beauty)

 

serioulsy, isn't this an awesome shot? 

 

our thought bubbles would have read: "dammit, i wish i had a stroller to nap in!"  holy crap, i just noticed how pasty my legs are.

 

we spent nearly 12 hours at magic kingdom so needless to say, everyone was pretty wiped.  hubs tells all the adults that evening "after i put kayla to bed, it's party time!".  this is how i found him an hour later haha

 

bibbidi bobbidi spa - downtown disney

our little girl got all glammed up disney princess style!  

 

 

at the T-Rex restaurant.  Kayla is studying the dinosaur to see if it's real haha

 

epcot

kinda boring for kids.  no real kiddy rides/adventures but great for character meets.  they have a cool "food and wine" pavilion thing going on from all countries around the world but it doesn't open until 11am.  i wish they printed that somewhere so we knew not to show up at 8:30am bah!

 

 

apparently, this is representative of canadian food.  they obviously didn't consult with any canadians whatsoever when putting this menu together.  where's the poutine?  the fish? the (montreal) smoked meat sandwiches?  just because you use french words doesn't make it canadian!

 

other random pictures 

 this post is way too long so here are a bunch of ther pictures.

 

 

btw, those two bottom pics -- they're made entirely out of lego!

me so happy: vacay haul

 

if there's anything to get you excited about blogging, it's to post about your most recent awesome shopping haul!

first, the condo.

we stayed at BlueGreen's Fountains resort- a 1300 sqft, fully equipped, 2-bedroom condo that fit 7 people perfectly with more than enough space. 

the resort itself is gorgeous and i loved the fact that we had a full kitchen to cook our meals which not only meant healthy eating but much easier on the wallet too.  however, with 7 people in the house, it seemed as though we were hitting up Publix (grocery store) every day.  thanks to our pal, Roger (who is a great cook), we ate like kings pretty much every night. and i'd like to state for the record that the rest of the folks went on massive junk-food sprees while i sat there, seething with jealousy but staying dedicated to my healthy eating. 

i will also be posting another update with Disney Park pictures and St. Pete's beach but i'd rather get on with the goodies....

 

there were 2 outlets near the hotel; one with 150 stores and one with 180 stores.  there was also a target around the corner so needless to say, we went there with lots of money, came back with nothing plus an addtional huge credit card bill that i'm afraid to get in the next few weeks.  since i've come home, i've been praying for amex's data systems to miraculously fail and wipe out all customer charges. a girl can only hope, right?

 

i love target.  when we first landed in Orlando, we drove right by our hotel and went straight to target.  priorities, right?  this place is worse than costco! you think "oh, i'll only buy a few things" but walk out $200 lighter.  i stumbled upon a few good buys but the best was finding my fav protein bars in an awesome flavor and then getting 6 boxes for $5 each.  they retail here for double that price.

 

 

the tank top is so light, airy and incredibly comfortable and Gap's racerback bras are so comfy it doesn't even feel like you're wearing a bra!

 

i had a tiny orgasm when saw the outlet for 7 for all Mankind and i did the most damage here.  it was racks upon racks of designer jean heaven of all styles and washes; basically anything you find in the high end stores they have it here.  i stopped buying designer jeans years ago because i could no longer rationalize spending over $250 for a single pair of pants however, at $119 a pop, that's a damn steal so i bought two of the Roxy Classic Skinny.

Joe's Jeans is another favorite.  the denim is one of the softest and of the highest quality that molds to the shape of your body so that it fits like a second skin. You bet i snapped up a pair when i found out they were only $98!

 

i am completely in love with this top.  3/4 length sleeves with a low-scoop back, the tie at the waist gives this beautiful top an elegant feel and depending on the accessories and bottoms, you can dress this up or down.  i plan to rock this with my black Toms wedges and dark skinnies. 

the best part was not only were these items a bargan on their own, but the nice sales lady gave me a coupon book that someone left behind (read: discounts for all stores at the outlet) so i got an extra 25% off my entire purchase! i nearly leaned over and kissed her!

 

i've been looking for sweaters that hit at the hip and these are perfect; even more perfect that i got them at 70% off so i bought 3!

 

i didn't intend on buying a bag at all; in fact, i was lusting after a messenger bag when i stumbled upon this gem.  it was 60% off which i still wasn't willing to cough up but when the guy told me it was an additional 25% off, i shouted "DONE!" and slammed down my credit card.  true story.

 

and don't even get me started on what my husband bought.  that one loves to shop more than me so you can imagine all the stuff that he hauled.  let's just say that we ended up bringing more luggage back home.

 

 

 

update: my week in pictures

 

i've been so busy with everything that i haven't had time to update on the regular.  here's what happened:

 

on thursday, my little kayla "graduated" from her daycare.  on september 6, she'll be going to pre-school to prep her for JK next year.  omg my little baby is going to kindergarten next september *sniff* where did the time go?!

 

****

 

it was like freaking christmas last week!  first, i finally got  my phone (which i make love to every day, if you  must know) and then my stella and dot accessories were delivered a few days later.    i am so in love with my jewelery i wore all of them to the wedding. 

 

damn you stella and dot for making such awesome and beautiful jewelery.  I WANT IT ALL.

 ****

on friday we packed it up, packed it in and headed up north to a friend's cottage for a wedding.  we stayed at the pinestone resort which actually turned out to be pretty good.  the rooms were spacious, clean and you can't beat the northern air. 

the resort had 2 pools, several decks and a golf course.  the food wasn't that great (too overpriced) but at least most of the guests were there so that was fun.  kayla had a blast swimming with the other kids and her new pool bff, sanjay.

saturday was a beautiful day for a wedding; the sun was shining, the weather was warm and everyone was excited to see the bride and groom take their vows.

 

 

my baby girl in her pretty party dress

  i asked kayla to "smile pretty for the camera" and this is what i got.  what a monkey.

 

because i have a dSLR and like to pretend i'm a professional photographer and never mind that i only know/use one setting on the camera (auto).  but you have to admit, this is a badass shot.

 

HOPE YOU ALL HAD A GREAT WEEKEND!

weekend recap: a kamping we won't go

 

a little late but this week has been shite.  

last weekend made me realize how much i love air conditioning.  i've come to realize that as i get older, my tolerance for humidity and the heat gets lower.  don't get me wrong - i love the summer if i have an option to cool off in an air conditioned environment.  this past weekend we went fake kamping and by that, i mean we stayed overnight at a kampground that had facilities.  yes, i typed kamping with a "k" because aside from KOA not knowing how to spell, they also believe in cooking their patrons alive in their teeny tiny kabins.  

there wasn't any way i was going to tent it with a 3-year old so we planned for an alternate and rented a kabin which turned out to be us paying $120 to roast ourselves in a dutch oven.  while camping isn't really my thing, i was pretty excited for kayla.  we were going with hub's family and i knew kayla was going to have a blast with her cousins so i was more than willing to "rough it" for her.  when we drove to our kabin, this is what i saw from the car (and thought: are you serious?)

 

i know, right? at first  i thought it was a shed of some sort because it sort of looks like one, doesn't it?  like those sheds you buy at home depot to store your gardening tools and backyard stuff.  i think  my father in law has one that's bigger than the one we slept in and i'm sure he didn't pay $120 for it either.   but, i put my doubts aside and hoped for the best.

everything leading up to bedtime was great; kayla had a blast swimming in the pool and playing in the park, the girls loved the bbq and roasting marshmallows by the fire.  i put aside our strict regular bed routine and put kayla to bed about 1.5hrs later than her normal bedtime (not my fav thing to do but we were having fun so to hell with it).   things would have been ok if it hadn't been for the fact that the goddamn kabin was so fucking hot; like 40 degrees hot i swear.   imagine the hot air that blasts out of a bus engine but instead of a bus, it was our kabin and instead of the engine, it was our fan circulating that sweltering hot air around the room.  never mind that we had both windows open because it didn't matter.  they may as well have wrapped our cabin in saran wrap becuase there was absolutly no breeze going through the room. 

poor kayla had such a hard time falling asleep; she woke up at 1130pm and stayed awake tossing and turning until close to 2am because it was so freaking hot.   at one point she whispered to me:  mommy, i just want to sleep.  that's when i got up and yelled at poor hubs who was covered in sweat and trying to sleep in a bed made for an 11 year old.  in case you were interested, hubs is over 6 feet tall and that bed was no where close to being 6 feet long.

i'm an awesome artist. 

i know it wasn't his fault but i was so mad at the whole sleeping situation that i exploded.  it wouldn't have been so bad if it were just us two but the fact that kayla had to suffer through it really upset me.  after a few "NEVER AGAIN!" and "WE ARE NEVER COMING BACK HERE!" and "WHERE ARE THE KEYS WE ARE GOING HOME NOW!", we got some relief around 4am when a thunderstorm rolled in but needless to say, we barely got any sleep.   i got about two hours of broken sleep and the inlaws were also misterable and tired from the crappy night.   i was in no mood to cook breakfast so i decided to take everyone to ihop.  i was ready to get the hell outta there so we packed up to eat and then headed over to niagra falls for the remainder of the morning. 

it's unfortunate that the kabin - or shall i say krapin - experience sort of tainted everything else because really, everything leading up to bedtime was great but when you're hot and exhausted from a bullshite night, it's hard not to think of anything else but the comfort of your own home. 

enough with the words,  on to the pictures.

the girls had a blast.  kayla loved her first smore (as you can tell)

niagra on the lake - pellar estates winery.  the girls had fun running around and i had fun experimenting with my camera phone

 
niagra falls

a tourist in my own country.  the falls are beautiful and all but, well, it's just water and after a few minutes of looking around, i'd had enough.  so did everyone else because it was blazing hot with no shade and after baking in those kabins the night before, i think we all just wanted to go some place cool so... we went to the coca cola and hershey store.  kayla was all kinds of happy,  so was mummy because there was working a/c.  

 

pooped from the bullshit night and the heat.  but monkey's happy so that's important too

 

i don't think i've missed my bed (or my ac unit) as much as i did last weekend.  and the next time i go kamping, it's going to be in a place called a Hotel.

vegas recap

 

guess who's alive and well from a weekend of fun in vegas?  to sum it all up, it was a blast. 

this trip was a little different than my other vegas trips because what began as a blogger meet-up,  turned into a trip of 6 friends having an awesome time.  

reni and elisse were the new kids on the block as the toronto girls go way back and for real yo, i commend them for committing a whole weekend away from the comforts of their home and braving a trip that was full of unknowns.  you can connect to someone over the internet to some degree but you don't get to fully understand who they are and all of their little nuances until you meet that person in real life.  the best part was that it didn't feel weird or awkward.  for me, it sort of felt like catching up with people i hadn't seen or talked to in a long time. 

this vegas trip was jam-packed with shopping, relaxing, drinking, clubbing and napping to keep us going.  travelling with others can be tricky but we all knew what to expect from one another because we all posted about our travel quirks.  really, i don't think it would have mattered if we posted that or not simply because these gals are all so laid-back and we all got to do what we wanted. 

 

check out this adorable little gift elisse brought for everyone.  i had a feeling she was going to do this because she's so thoughtful! 

 

the shopping

for some reason, i remember the outlets in primm having a better selection with better price points however, i still managed to get some goodies.  check it:

1. michael kors clutch in gun metal.  i love the short, heavy chain-link strap
2. michael kors tortoise shell sunglasses
3. michael kors make-up bag (i'll be using this as a clutch) and a passport holder (which i'll be using as a small wallet)
4. jeweled cuff in gun metal with dark, subtle stones from Guess.  i love this cuff!
5. i also bought a liquid liner in jade green (#34) from Inglot but forgot to take a pic.  click here to see what it looks like.  it's waterproof and so pretty.

 

the clubbing

thanks to maur's awesome hook-ups to the hottest clubs in vegas, flowing drinks were abound, resulting in good times,  drunk picture-taking, aching feet and hang-overs.

Tao Nightclub, Venetian Hotel - wristbands for free drinks, VIP, no line-up and free admission?  yes please!  however, that didn't come without a price and that price was pounding back as many drinks as possible within 30 minutes before the wristbands expired.   by the way in case you were wondering, yes, we killed that bar. 

Marquee Nightclub, Cosmopolitan Hotel - hoofing it up 6 flights of stairs (in heels!!), being paraded by a line-up of guys and squashed like sardines in the hip-hop room only made our already-sore feet scream in anger so of course we had to self-medicate in the form of vodka and soda all.night.long.

when flowing drinks happen to good people:

we did a lot of this all weekend

hammer time!

 

vodka, soda and shots, oh my! you can see how we deteriorated as the night went on (and as we consumed more cocktails).  good times!

on sunday, reni and elisse flew back home so the toronto girls had a low-key dinner and then headed out to see this:

the Jabbawockeez at the Monte Carlo Hotel.  i know you're jealous.

 

after the show, we roamed around the hotel for a bit and it was there that i was introduced to the party of parties:

the Super Jackpot Party!

i'm not into gambling of any sort but this fun game ate my $20 and i didn't even care because all i wanted to hear that stupid horn which meant it was jackpot party time.  you basically have to match 3 "party" icons and you get a jackpot party which is the bonus round and all kids of awesome.

me and steph were so into this game that we searched our hotel for this slot machine, rushed to pack and get ready on monday morning just so we could check out and still have enough time to feed more money into this thing.  we screamed and cheered whenever we got a party that the waitress came over and cheered with us.  when the game ended, i felt all sad and empty inside and we even searched the airport to see if this machine was there (it wasn't boohoo!).

other trip highlights:

• steph and i were 5 minutes too late to see a bust go down right by our hotel.  on our way to the fashion mall, we saw some guys selling water for $1.  on the way back, the cops were giving it away and when we stopped to grab some, they told us that those guys were going to jail and would be slapped with a $300 fine
• steph and i nearly missed our flight to vegas because we were so busy chatting that we didn't even hear the boarding announcement until the last boarding call
• leesh's mom sent over 2 bottles of champagne and chocolate-covered strawberries (so sweet!)
• super jackpot party!!  i seriously love this game; i even tried to find it in the android market/apple app store but they don't have it :(
• steph was dreading wearing her heels again and as i was getting ready, i heard behind me "does this go?" and i turned around to find her standing there wearing a pretty black cocktail dress with green polka dot wedges.  it was hilarious and we couldn't stop laughing.  i honestly think that she was really hoping i woud say yes so she could wear them instead of her high heels
• someone's feet stank up the plane so bad that steph buried her face in her jacket, i was smelling the magazine i was reading, the airline worker walked down the aisle waving his arms saying "whew! it stinks in here!" and this other girl beside us actually sprayed perfume in her face.  i consider this a highlight because it was so funny

thanks to all the girls who came out and made this trip a memorable one.  happy birthday to maur and reni - hope this weekend goes in your books as one of your best birthday weekends yet!

vegas or bust

 

if you don't hear from me by monday, call 911.  and don't go on YouTube.

 

see you next week! 

 

photo fridays: rome, italy

our last stop during our 3-week trip to italy was rome.  we stayed for a glorious 6 days and walked a thousand miles - or at least it felt like it because we dropped off the car as soon as we pulled into the city and hoofed it every where else.

 

the Coliseum

you hear all about the breath-taking coliseum.  it's situated in the middle of a busy intersection and the residents drive by it every day on their way to work like it's no big deal.   i remember turning the corner of that intersection only to abruptly stop in awe of this monument.  it is as wonderous and beautiful as everyone says.

 

we climbed up to the top of St. Peter's Basilica to see this gorgeous view

i don't quite remember how we got to vatican city because it was pretty far from our hotel (we must've taken the bus or train) but however far it was or however much we paid, it was totally worth it.  just look at this view.  to get to the top of the church, you had to climb up this tiny tower that was the width of one person so if you got clausterphobic, too bad; you were stuck and the only way to go was up.  

the church itself is amazing; the frescos are gorgeous as is the art and the sheer size of the grounds. as part of this adventure, we also visited the beautiful sistine chapel; unfortunately, i don't have any pictures because they don't allow photographs in the building (the flash damages the delicate frescos).  

 

next stop: labia

how awesome is this photo?  i just had to take this picture because you'd never see anything like this in toronto.  

photo fridays: vancouver

in september 2003, my then-boyfriend and i planned a trip to beautiful vancouver.  prior to us leaving, he also asked me to forever be his wife.  little did he know what  he was getting into.  

it was my first time visiting vancouver; 3rd for hubs (he dated a girl who lived there; whatever) and i feel in love with the city.  ven and mark were the most gracious hosts.  they lived in a condo on alberni street (yes, i remember!) and our favorite past-time when we got home in the wee hours was spying on their neighbors in the adjacent hotel and condos with binoculars.  it was awesome.

we had a blast during our time in vancouver with the beautiful weather, sight-seeing and taking silly Gap pictures such as this.  seriously, doesn't this look like it could be a Gap ad?