Leaning Tower of Pizza

Back from the dead, just to brag!

noreply@blogger.com (Dal) — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 15:24:00 +0000

Hi all!

I kniw it's been forever that I've posted anything, and I apologize for that. But to be honest, when I actually DO have free time, I watch my tv shows, so the blog had kinda been abandoned!

But I thought that I would write a little post today just to tell you that I am leaving for Punta Cana tomorrow morning at 6am (Yes, that means that I will have to get up at 2h45 tomorrow morning, but hey, I am a new mom, 2h45 in nothing!) Friends of ours are getting married so it will be super fun!

It will be hard to leave Gabrièle for 1 week when the longest I've been away from her was 2 days. But she will be with my parents so it will make things easier. She loves going there and they spoil her rotten. I would even say that they are a little obsessed , I no longer exist in their eyes, it's ALL about Gabrièle. Oh well, kinda had to expect that I guess...

So, looking forward to the nice break from mommyhood and will try and post when I get back to let you all know how it went and if I came home early ;-)

Mommy - out

Bound to happen...

noreply@blogger.com (Dal) — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 17:47:00 +0000

I really love the 3-pack PJs for babies at Walmart. You get 3 PJs for 7,98$. What a bargain! Unfortunately they are made very small, Gabrièle is 4 months old and she wears 6-9 months and they are getting a little snug on her. So, I need 9-12 months. I went to the Walmart in Orléans and they no longer carry them...of course! So I decided to go to the one at South Keys this morning, surely they would have some there.

On my way there, I got a freggin' speeding ticket!** The police officer scared the shit out of me as he literally jumped in front of my car (while I was slightly going over the limit) signaling me to pull over. All I could think to myself was...it was bound to happen.

I'll admit, I have a small speeding problem, ok, I have a huge speeding problem. Let's just say that the black and white signs that say XX km/h MAX do not exist in my world. And for the last 10 years, they did not need to exist as I had never gotten a speeding ticket. I got a few warnings for rolling stops and slight speeding, but I NEVER actually got a ticket...until today.

So I pull over, hand over my license and registration to the police officer, who was quite hot by the way, and waited for him to come back with my pricey ticket. I was going 110 in a 80 zone. He finally came back and handed me my ticket, luckily he brought it down to 15 over the limit and did not take any demerit points off. So instead of paying 180$, I have to pay 57.50$. Not bad, not bad, I can live with that. But what really frazzled me were his last words : " Maam, you shouldn't be driving that fast, ESPECIALLY with a baby in the car." And then he gave me THE look...man did I feel like an ass. And I should, because he is right. I really do try to go easy on the gas pedal, but sometimes I just can't. I really wanted those PJs I guess.

So after all this BS, I got to Walmart and saw the PJs from a distance. I got all excited and bolted towards the rack. I frantically started sorting through the sizes and to my horror, they didn't have ANY 9-12 months. They must of had 30 frikkin' packs...unbelievable!

No PJs, a 57,50$ speeding ticket, a policeman making me feel like an unfit mother, and my dog ate my slippers. Can't wait for this day to be O-V-E-R.

Unfit Mommy - out

**To all of you who hated me because I never got caught...GO AHEAD, LAUGH!

It's a great thing!

noreply@blogger.com (Dal) — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 22:22:00 +0000

Well, I did it!! Like many other baby-gadgets -obssessed parents around the globe, I went and bought 'THE" Bumbo chair. And I gotta say, I'm really glad I did.

However, I always told myself that I wouldn't be persuaded into buying useless baby gadgets that companies are always trying to pimp. So I am a little disappointed that I succombed to the convincing powers of Pimp Master, 'Bumbo' .

It's such a great chair. It's even pediatrician and chiropractor approved! So I'm doing Gabrièle a great favor by giving her great back support from the get-go. I knew I was doing something right by giving in to 'Bumbo'! Furthermore, it's lightweight, compact, made of non-toxic plastic and reasonably priced. It also comes in several colors. I chose green because it's my favorite color AND it's unisex (that way I can use it for baby #2 if he chooses on having outdoor plumbing!). See how thrifty I am? Yes, I know I am. And, you can use the Bumbo from ages 3 to 14 months - it will be useful for a LONG time and babies love it!

Take a look for yourself, here's Gabrièle LOVING her Bumbo

Does anyone else share this degree of love for THE one and only Bumbo??

Mommy - out

Dustin' off the good ol' blog...

noreply@blogger.com (Dal) — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 19:16:00 +0000

Yes, it's been more than 2 months since I've posted anything...I apologize to my 2 faithful readers! (probably zero now because of my lack of posting!) I have a good excuse, I am a new mommy!

As many of you already know, I gave birth to my sweet Gabrièle on May 22nd. She was frank breeched so I had a planned c-section at 1pm. But the little one decided that she wanted out a little earlier than that - I went into labour at 1am...and all I have to say about that is no epidural, no drugs, nada, zilch! They told me there wasn't a single aneastheologists available in the whole god damn *$#!@%$# hospital! So 13 hours of back labour later, they fianally wheeled me in into the operating room and gave me my spinal epidural. I swear it was better than an orgasm!! Once I was all prepped, Rob was able to come in and sit by my side. He looked so cute in his scrubs! The doctor explained to me that I would be bale to feel no pain, just some pressure and some tugging. Whatever doc, N-O-T-H-I-N-G can be as excruciating as those 13 hours of labour, NOTHING!

I'll spare you the details and tell you that at 3:26 pm, little Gabrièle was born healthy weighing 6 pounds 13 ounces and mesuring 20 inches. Here she is only a couple of minutes old!

And here she is now at 2 and a half months. Not sure how much she weighs and mesures now, but on July 23 she weighed 12 pounds and mesured 23 inches.

I love her to death! I am very very blessed to have such a beautiful, healthy baby! And she is so good to mommy too...she's been sleeping through the night since she was a month and a half!!! How lucky am I ?

That's all the time I have for now, but I promise to share stories about her as much as I can.

Mommy - out

A little Gemini!

noreply@blogger.com (Dal) — Thu, 17 May 2007 22:49:00 +0000

I promised you a date, so here it is!

Our baby girl will be born on May 22nd at 1pm at the Ottawa Hospital (General Campus) . We can hardly wait to meet our little angel :-)

I thought it would be fun for you guys to guess her weight and lenght. How big and tall do you think she will be???

My guess: 7 pounds 9oz, 20.5 inches

Very soon mommy-to-be - out

Update!

noreply@blogger.com (Dal) — Wed, 16 May 2007 14:36:00 +0000

It's been a while eh? Sorry guys!

It's been pretty hectic lately to say the least! We ~~Rob~~ contractors have been finalizing house projects, we are getting ready for the baby's arrival, and the list goes on! But now everything is all done, well, almost anyways. We finished the nursery too. We still have to stain the rocking chair but here are some pics:

I'm really glad I took some time off before baby comes. I was able to rest when I felt tired, wash all the baby clothes and blankets (that was so fun!), go to the A Channel Car Seat Clinic to make sure we had properly installed it. Turns out we so hadn't!!! I also bought my first nursing bra, it's so nice and comfy! Wow, I can't believe I'm actually excited about that...And I also bought myself a nice little pj for the hospital because, well, I deserve it!

Between my resting and running errands I had a couple of Dr. appointments as well as an ultrasound. Last week we went for an ultrasound to check the baby's position, turns out she is breeched. Basically she's positioned like a V in my belly - her head is right under my boob with her little ghetto bootie at the bottom and her legs coming up towards her little face.

I won't lie, I was quite disappointed...I so wanted a vaginal birth. So yesterday I went for an External Cephalic Version (ECV) at the General Hospital to try and get her to turn around. The Dr. took a look at my ultrasound and told me that she did not think it would work because the baby is fairly big and there is not a lot of amniotic fluid. But I told her that if there was no risk to the baby that I wanted to try anyways. Well, she was right, after a couple of painful tries our little one did not budge an inch! So afterwards I did a non stress test to make sure the baby was ok, and she was :-) It was so cool to hear her heartbeat for 20 minutes!

So now, I am anxiously awaiting for my OBGyn to call me with a date and time for my c-section. They were supposed to call me this morning, and it's now close to noon! What are they waiting for????? Once they call me I will let you know when the Big Day is! :-) Any guesses?

Mommy-to-be - out

Premonition

noreply@blogger.com (Dal) — Wed, 04 Apr 2007 17:40:00 +0000

As most of you know, I have a slight ~~obsession~~ crush on Julian McMahon. I watch Nip/Tuck religiously and now that he was starring in the movie Premonition with Sandra Bullock, I just HAD to go see it. And so I did, regardless of the bad reviews its received so far.

Last night, which was cheap night, Rebecca and I went to the SilverCity in Gloucester. After having to park twice (I'm still getting used to the size of my new car) and a little embarrassment because Rebecca witnessed the whole thing, we went in to purchase our tickets. As I walk in I see this sign that says something like "Tuesday Box Office Special for 8.95$". Little did I know that on Tuesdays you get a movie pass, popcorn AND a drink for 8.95$ (plus an extra 50 cents for the extra butter!), what a bargain!!!

As Rebecca and I were walking towards the theatre we noticed that there were NO free magazines. You know, the one that has all the upcoming films, information on stars, etc. ? We were quite disappointed to say the least. THEN while waiting for the movie to start, NO mini quizzes. Like the one where they show pieces of a celebrity's face one by one and you have to guess before all the pieces are together. Instead they showed budget gross pictures of their nachos and cheese and those annoying Discover Ontario commercials. Anyways, finally they started showing us some previews.

There are several good movies coming out so hopefully I will be able to see some of them this summer! I found out they have this bring your baby and stroller program for parents. I'll definitely have to look into that!

And then, our movie began. I won't go into details in case you want to go see the movie, but it was better/weirder than I thought. Sandra Bullock is pretty good in the movie and it was nice to see Julian McMahon play a husband/dad. Wedding bands suit him VERY well ;-) There were a couple of disturbing scenes which I was not anticipating, neither did Rebecca because we both kinda freaked out! lol It wasn't THE best movie I've seen, but it wasn't the worst either. We had a good time and I'm really glad Rebecca came to see it with me!

Next on my list are Blades of Glory and Reign Over Me.

Mommy-to-be - out

A little afternoon fun!

noreply@blogger.com (Dal) — Thu, 22 Mar 2007 18:25:00 +0000

We have much in common looks like, not only a ghetto bootie!

Your Celebrity Sisters Are Beyonce and Solange

Talented, sexy, and sassy.

You've got a star quality that everyone notices

Who Are Your Celebrity Sisters?

Splendid weekend!

noreply@blogger.com (Dal) — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 17:42:00 +0000

I just had a GREAT weekend! It all started with Rob surprising me...

As some of you know, Rob and I have been talking about getting a new car since last November. With a baby on the way, we thought our Mazda Protégé just wouldn't cut it space wise (with the dog, baby, and baby stuff!) and to be honest , we hated it! So after many discussions, we came to the conclusion that we both really liked the Nissan Murano. Its a sweet ride and has lots more room!! So we started by contacting a dealership in November I guess. To make a LOOOONG story short, after making several calls to the dealership, nothing was happening for months. The interest was too high, there were no rebates, etc. etc., and all this according to Rob. So every month he would say, no deals this month, but for sure next month. So here we were in March and still NOTHING, NO Murano. Meanwhile I was getting ~~pissed~~ impatient and had this gut feeling that our Mazda was about to start needing major work. Its was a 2000, in mint condition, and had low mileage, but still, I had this feeling ;-) So evryday when I would harass Rob he would just say, I promise you will get your Murano before the baby is born. Riiight, whatever!

So just when I was about to give up (or call the dealership myself to freggin' seal the deal) Rob surprised me Friday evening with a brand spankin' new Murano !!! (pics to follow) After work we went over to our friends Denis and Sandra and he had parked the Murano is their garage. So when Denis wanted to show us the mess a busted water pipe had done to his garage I went to check it out. But there was no water, no busted pipe, just a shiny black Murano!! I was sooooooooooooooo excited. Rob had actually bought the car a few weeks back. I NEVER suspected anything, NEVER! I thought it was pretty sweet of him to arrange this little scheme to surprise me :-) Now I find every excuse to drive somewhere, like to the mailbox, ok, maybe not, but I did volunteer to drive to Montréal on Saturday! Thanks Rob, you are the best!

Then after all this drama, Rob and I went over to Sonia and Tony's for a wonderful and delicious dinner. We had a great time and ate like kings. We were joined by Lisa and Marc, Jae and Stéphane, Sara (PC could not make it) and Rebecca. Visit Sara's blog for a picture of us girls. WARNING, I look HUGE!

Saturday was our second and last prenatal class. Learned lots more and at the end of the class all the husbands gave us preggers a long back massage. It was divine! I was checking out the other husbands techniques and Rob was BY FAR the best massager. Especially better than this loser named Ronaldo who was half-assingly massaging his wife's back with one finger!!??? Anyways we were really glad to have taken prenatal classes, our instructor was great! I highly recommend taking these courses, although many first time mothers-to-be know most of the stuff, there is always more to learn.

And then on Sunday I had my baby shower! (pics to follow but you can find a couple on Sara's blog, she is so on-the-ball that one!) It was awesome!!! My mom and Martine did a great job organizing it. The decorations were really nice, the food was delicious, and the cake was beautiful. I was very happy and honoured to see all my friends and family there. Baby and I were VERY VERY spoiled. I can't thank you all enough!!!

So as you can see it was quite the eventful weekend, needless to say that I was dead tired on Monday. So I took the day off from work to sleep and to give my achy back a break!

Now back to reality, I'm at work, in my cubicle, working...blahhhhhhh.

Mommy-to-be - out

Easter Bunny early this year?

noreply@blogger.com (Dal) — Tue, 13 Mar 2007 18:10:00 +0000

Okay, I have been racking my brain trying to figure out who kindly left a baby pacifier on my chair this morning. I was very excited when I saw it and thought, how nice of that person!! So then I started looking for a note so that I could go thank that person. But there was none!!!

So now I am trying to figure out who left it there. I have asked several people and no one has admitted to the lovely gesture. Not knowing is driving me crazy!!!

Is it YOU?

Decisions, decisions

noreply@blogger.com (Dal) — Tue, 13 Mar 2007 13:36:00 +0000

Its always been hard for me to make decisions. It be deciding what to wear, what restaurant to go to or what kind of face wash I want, its REALLY hard for me to make decisions. Drives Rob crazy!!!

Well, I have another huge one to make in a couple of months. Epidural, or no epidural.

Rob and I went to our first of two all-day prenatal class on Saturday. It was really great. Our teacher is really good and puts everyone at ease, especially the husbands. She talked us through common pregnancy symptoms, such as Braxton-Hick contractions (which some of you know I have been having for about a week now) and bad heartburn.

She also divided the dads-to-be and the moms-to-be and asked each group to answer a series of questions such as what is the best part of the pregnancy and what is the not so best. It was quite amusing to hear what the guys had to say, they said that the best thing was the "pregnancy glow", not sure if they were just saying that to get brownie points or not, but it was pretty sweet either way. The not so best according to them, sex is - "different". Not sure what they meant by that, but the girls just laughed. I personally think we asked ourselves - Did my husband give that answer, or was it unanimous? It was kinda funny!

Then our teacher talked about labour. *Insert dramatic sound affect here*. She showed us a birth video, and to be honest, I was quite moved by it. The woman in the video delivered naturally, without any pain medication. She, with the help of her midwife, did several types of relaxing exercises (if you can call them relaxing!) to help her cope with the pain. She was a very very tough woman because she did not seem to be in too too much pain. Obviously she wasn't telling jokes or filing her nails or anything like that, but she remained calm. I was totally shocked. I mean, labour is labour, you are giving birth to a 7 pound baby, how can you keep calm??

Once the baby was born and the Dr. put the baby on the woman's chest, I lost it. I could not stop crying, it was such a beautiful thing. After the video I wiped the tears ( a little embarrassed that I cried like a baby in front of strangers) and was just speechless. I guess it made everything so real. Knowing that it will be me in a couple of months, giving birth to our daughter. Just writing this makes me a little emotional. Our instructor then proceed to talk about the different pain medications that are available to ease labour. I appreciated the fact that she was unbiased and was not trying to convince us to use one medication in particular, or even to use none at all.

She then asked us to fill out a questionnaire to help determine how we would each want to give birth. The scale varied from +10 (not willing to feel ANY pain at ANY point) to -7 ( NO drugs, even for a c-section, which I found VERY extreme!). And that is where I started rethinking about the whole epidural.

Up until that questionnaire I was all about getting the epidural ASAP, so I guess around the +10 mark. But after seeing that video and getting more information on labour and the pros/cons of pain medications including epidural, I realized that I was not really a +10, but rather a +3. Some pain medication, such as laughing gas, and as a last resort, an epidural if the pain is too much to handle. I honestly don't know what to think of this...

Am I that stupid and unrealistic by thinking that I can do this without an epidural? I know that women do it on a daily basis, and did it for centuries before we even had any pain medication. But on the other hand, why would I want to deliberately suffer? Why am I second-guessing the whole epidural NOW when I have been forever saying epidural all the way? This is really stressing me out.

Rob has mixed feeling about this I think. He will support whatever decision I make but I can tell that he wants me to take the epidural as soon as I feel pain. He is pretty worried about the whole labour thing and seeing me suffer. He was quite traumatized after seeing the birth video, in which the women was practically Super Woman, which I am definitely not!

I know I have some time to really think about it and discuss it with Rob, but as of now, I'm not quite sure I want the epidural right away, or if I even want it at all.

This is one of the biggest decisions I will have to face and it would be great to hear some labour stories or advice on labour/epidural. Please feel free to share your thoughts!

Mommy-to-be - out

Not at all disapointed!

noreply@blogger.com (Dal) — Wed, 07 Mar 2007 14:57:00 +0000

Well, Sunday was a great day! Wanna know why? Because I watched Nip/Tuck, that's why!

It was a great episode! Did any of you watch it??

Christian looks even hotter than he did in the previous seasons. I think he did something with his hair...whatever it is, it works!! The episode was a little weird I must say, with the mother/daughter duo...what the ***? But the rest was awesome, especially with Christian's shrink implying that he might be GAY! Honestly, I don't think he could be because of the way he is with woman...but on the other hand, he does have some gay tendencies. Whatever, gay or nor, he is still my crush and always will be. I heard that in an upcoming episode there is a shower scene with him and Mario Lopez (another hottie) ! THAT I want to see, well, depends on what exactly happens in the shower. If Christian drops the soap, you lost me.

Although I adore the show, going to bed at 11pm is too tough, so I will get my old school VCR at my parents' place and tape this week's episode. That way I can watch it first thing after work on Monday!

Mommy-to-be - OUT!

I love you Dr. Troy!

noreply@blogger.com (Dal) — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 16:04:00 +0000

SEASON 4 OF NIP/TUCK STARTS THIS SUNDY ON CTV!!! OMG this is probably the best thing that has happened to me since I found out I was pregnant!

I LOVE LOVE LOVE Nip/Tuck, and I love Dr. Christian Troy even more, like, I really do. There is something about him...I'm a married woman so I will stop myself right here, but I have to admit, I have a crush on him. Rob knows and thinks I'm a loser but I don't care.

I have been going to the CTV Web site for months hoping that they would be announcing the airing of the new season, and today my dream came true! It started playing in the US of A last Fall but Canada is slow so it's just airing now. I was about to call CTV and ask them what their problem was, why were they taking their sweet ass time to air the show. But that won't be necessary now that it's playing THIS Sunday at 10pm. Bonus, its also playing in HD on channel 801 if you have ExpressVu!!

My obsession with ~~Dr. Troy~~ Nip/Tuck started about a year ago when my little sister Martine introduced me to the series. She had the first season DVD set at her place one day and I asked her if it was good. She said it was and that I would get addicted. Pffff, whatever. Me? Addicted?So I borrowed it and watched Dr. Troy, I mean, the show, religiously. She was right, I am SO addicted. Obsessed really. it's such a good show. Sure its a little weird and some of the characters are crazy, but that's what makes it so good. And Christian, (yes, we are on a first name basis now) well, he's just perfect!

BTW - I have a link dedicated to Christian on the right-hand side of my blog, go take a peak, its worth it!

Really-happy-Mommy-to-be - out

MiniDV or DVD, which one shall it be?

noreply@blogger.com (Dal) — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 15:19:00 +0000

With a little baby girl on the way in May (man, I'm rhyming like crazy today!), Rob and I came to the conclusion that a camcorder is a must!

I say this because my grandparents had an old school one, you know, the one with no sound, practically à la Charlie Chaplin. So I've been able to see some footage of me when I was growing up. I especially like the one of me at about 18 months, waddling around naked with clementines in my hands, or me playing the piano with my grandmother at the tender age of two. Those moments truly are priceless, so I want to be able to have those same memories of my children.

So the big dilemma is, do we get a DVD or MiniDV camcorder? We are looking at 2 brands, Canon and Sony. I've read some reviews on both but I was still, if not more, confused about choosing the right one. The biggest advantage with the DVD one is that is "tapes" directly on a DVD so you don't have to download anything onto your computer to then burn it on a DVD. But on the down side, you can't rewind, tape over, etc.

With the MiniDV you can do a lot more editing, rewinding, taping over, etc. but you need to download your footage onto your computer if you want to make a DVD. And to do that you have to buy some hardware, which costs about 100$. But the MiniDV is a little cheaper than the DVD so you don't really pay an extra 100$, more like 50$ maybe.

Do any of you have a DVD or MiniDV camcorder? Do you know where I can get some really good information?

Mommy-to-be - out

My First Time

noreply@blogger.com (Dal) — Tue, 27 Feb 2007 14:40:00 +0000

Well, it happened. Yesterday I broke down and cried.

I was so proud of myself for not letting my pregnancy hormones affect my mood in any way, bad or good (which isn't always easy). Sure I cried at movies and Extreme Home Make-Over, but that's the norm for me, I am a VERY sensitive person, no, seriously, I am! But at 26 weeks and 6 days in my pregnancy, I broke down in tears at the dinner table last night. And you know what? It felt GOOD!

I was ~~bitching~~ talking about my work situation with Rob when all of a sudden I started crying. I tried hiding it from him, but my quivering lips and cellulite looking chin gave it away. I won't go into details about what set me off because I am a mother-to-be, and mothers-to-be do not use that kind of language. Let's just say I'm not that happy in my job right now and that I wish I would never have go back to work after maternity leave. So that was my first official break-down.

Number two happened this morning. I was reading a story about a dog that was found by the Ottawa Humane Society in Gloucester somewhere. The poor dog had died from starvation/dehydration because some asshole who deserves to die, had tied the dog to a bannister in an underground parking lot and left him there for who knows how long. Honestly, if EVER I found out who that person was, I would kick the crap out of him/her. You DO NOT want to mess with a crazy hormonal animal lover - got it? And what about the people who SAW the dog tied up, why didn't they do anything about it. This could of been prevented if someone with a speck of decency would of alerted the Humane Society earlier, or given the dog some food and water, something, ANYTHING!!! I can't believe people sometimes, I really can't. There truly are some heartless shameless people out there.

So I guess now that I got the ball rolling, I will surely experience moment number 3 sometime today!

I'll keep you posted ;-)

Mommy-to-be - out

Long gone...

noreply@blogger.com (Dal) — Fri, 23 Feb 2007 19:52:00 +0000

I had to take down my post about celebrity look alikes. I tried fixing it but gave up before I end up throwing my computer across the room.

"The list"

noreply@blogger.com (Dal) — Wed, 10 Jan 2007 16:27:00 +0000

First of all, a Belated Merry X-mas and Happy New Year to all!! I am sure that 2007 will be a terrific year for all of us :-)

As I was reading my fellow blogging friends' posts in the new year, I noticed that most of them had made some sort of resolutions, a list of things that they would like to accomplish, improve, eliminate, and whatnot, in 2007. So I said to myself, "Why not hop on the band wagon and create my own little list?" So here goes...my first list, EVER!

1. Work on my road rage. So far, not going too well, just the other day I kinda gave the finger to this loser who cut me off. Like I said, I'm working on it!

2. Go to Aquafit class once a week. Not once in a blue moon, but once a week. That too isn't going too well. I was suppose to go yesterday but I was too tired and my dad came over to fix some plumbing issues. But for SURE I'm going tomorrow.

3. Go easy on the pizza pie. As most of you know I am a little obsessed with pizza. I could literally eat it every day. I just love it. Hawaiian is my faaaaavorite kind. There is something about the mix of pineapples and ham on a pizza that just makes it tastes delish! Again, not going great. We ordered pizza last Friday and Rob made a chicken alfredo pizza for dinner last night.

4. Donate more. So far Rob and I have donated quite a bit, but we can always give more. There are so many people who need our help!

5. Make time to call my friends more often. I hate talking on the phone, just hate it, so I ~~rarely~~ never call anyone. I email them instead. I know, its not the same! So, in 2007, I will make the effort to call my friends once a week just to say hi and see how things are going. Since January 1st, I have called NO one. Shame on me...

6. Be more positive at work. I don't want to go into details, but bottom line, I REALLY have to work on this one.

7. Control my spending. I've been trying to work on this one for a very long time, like, 18 years or so. I remember that my allowances would disappear in a day or two and my parents would just shake their head. I was 10 years old for godsakes, what in the hell was I buying??? Anyways, it just got worst and worst over the years. But lately, I'm getting better. For example, I've only bought ONE baby outfit so far. See the progress!

8. Relax a little more. I think a lot of people can relate t this one. In the super fast-paced world we live in its very hard to keep up. And with a baby on the way, it will only get crazier! We should learn from our Spanish friends and take a siesta mid-afternoon. I am sure Canada would be a far better place if every one wouldrelaxx just a little bit. I know, easier said that done, but we can at least try :-)

I think that's all for now, but there might be edits later on throughout the year. If I can accomplish at least half of these I will be happy! Because to tell you the truth, I know that number 3 and probably number 1, will never happen. But hey, you never know.

Mommy-to-be - out

3 months ago, to the day...

noreply@blogger.com (Dal) — Tue, 05 Dec 2006 14:27:00 +0000

It's been a while eh?

Well, I am proud to say that 3 months later, I am still smoke free...and pregnant! Good thing I quit when I did eh?

Dal - pregnant! It still seems so surreal to me....it's so...incredible.
We went for our first ultrasound on November 14th and it was amazing, to see this little baby growing inside of me. It was only 5.6 centimeters long but it looked much bigger, you could see the nose, mouth, legs, and of course, the little pot belly! I must say it was quite a special moment for both Rob and I. He giggled when the baby moved, I cried. He giggled when he saw the tiny little heartbeat, I cried. He giggled when the technician pointed out the baby's legs, I cried. Special moment indeed.

The ultrasound not only confirmed that the baby was healthy and would celebrate its birthday on May 29, 2007, but it also convinced Rob that the baby looks like him...whatever. Must be the bald head! I do have a feeling that I might be having a little boy actually, so maybe Rob is right, maybe the baby will be a spitting image of him! I guess we will have to wait and see!

I promise to keep you updated on any new developments, but for now, I gotta go eat somethin'!

Mommy-to-be - out

Oh no not I, I will survive!

noreply@blogger.com (Dal) — Tue, 05 Sep 2006 18:39:00 +0000

Yes, I survived people!! I did not smoke at all this weekend, not even a little puff.

I won't say it was easy or anything, cuz it wasn't. At one time I actually cried because I so desperately wanted one. And then my dad had to block the door and hold me back! Pathetic, I know! But what's important here, is that I didn't have one!

I never thought I would last this long, NEVER!!! I really enjoyed (can I use the past tense even though I only quit 9 days ago?) smoking so to take that away makes it pretty hard. Its like asking my mom to give up chocolate, or Rob to quit hockey! Very hard...

They say the first week is the hardest and I'm almost past that. Thank God. It should just get easier from here then!

Although the benefits of quitting obviously outweight its drawbacks there still, however, remains one big one - weight gain. They say that it is normal for people to gain weight when they quit. One reason being that your metabolism slows down. The other one being that you tend to eat more because you are bored or whatever other reason. So mix those 2 together and you're in the fast lane towards weight gain. So I'm trying to actually go to the gym more often and if I do eat more (which I SOOO do), I try to eat carrots, grapes, and crap like that.

What would be your snack of choice?

Double D - out

3 days and counting...

noreply@blogger.com (Dal) — Wed, 30 Aug 2006 17:26:00 +0000

Today is day 3 of me not smoking. Yep, after 13 years, I've decided to quit, well, try anyway. And so far, its been pure HELL.

Everyone was saying, "Oh you weren't a heavy smoker so it will be easy" or" If you really want to quit, you will" or my personal fav "I quit cold turkey, NO problem!" . Sweet I said, this will be easier than I thought. Its true that I never was a heavy smoker, I'd say an average of 3 smokes a day (not counting of course, the whole packs I would smoke when there was alcohol involved) tops! So how hard can it be right? Oh, how naive of me to actually BELIEVE THEM!!

My fucking head is pounding, I'm depressed, my person is ragy/neurotic/psycho and I'M hungry ALL the time. I honestly did not think it would be this hard, but it IS! Now I remember why I failed to quit twice years ago.

They say that there are 3 critical 'instances' that are the hardest to go through: 3 days, 3 weeks, and 3 months. Well, I'm at the 3 day mark and I want to die! Maybe its all in my head, maybe I am just using my quitting smoking as an excuse for my everyday bitchiness...who knows, and who cares really? I don't! I just want this to end!

I try and convince myself that this is a good thing by saying: Dal, with all the money you will save you will be able to buy more clothes! (*notice that I make no reference to my health). But even THAT doesn't make it any easier. I can see how people get addicted to drugs, alcohol, shoes, and whatever else. I mean, we know that we will die of it, but we still give in to our addiction. Pathetic really, that we let some shit kill us because we can't stop...

So to help me live through this hard time in my life I will list good reasons why I should quit:

I will save money (that I will just end up blowing on useless shit)
I won't need to look for a lighter (that is NEVER where you had left it last)
I won't develop the yellow fingers syndrome (that is just gross, thank GOD I never got it)
I won't have complete strangers asking you if you have an extra smoke (NO, why the fuck would I have an extra cigarette loser?)
My breath won't smell like death ( self explanatory)
I won't pay 10$ for 25 things that will slowly kill me(scary when you think about it - you are buying death...)
I won't have to look at the gross pictures that are on packs ( my fav is the blood clot one, nice!)
I won't be freezing my ass off in the winter
I won't look like a dried-up prune when inhaling death (did you ever look at yourself in the mirror when smoking? If you haven't already, you will now!)
I will have a lesser chance of dying of lung cancer.
I won't fell guilty everytime I light up coming out of the Goodlife (what are you looking at? At least I GO to the gym!)
I won't have to listen to my dad say "Ah, j'ai laché moi PAS de problème, c'est facile!" (spare me)
My lungs won't collapse when I take the stairs (well, I DO work on the 4th floor people!)

Well, I think that is plenty for now. Can you think of more?

So my pathetic self will be put to the test this weekend when I go up to the cottage. There will be food (not the healthy kind), people who smoke, AND...alcohol. Good times, as my friend Kerry would say. Can hardly wait. Wish me luck and I will surely post a sequel on Monday.

Double D - out

Water, water, and MORE water!

noreply@blogger.com (Dal) — Mon, 24 Jul 2006 17:22:00 +0000

Yesterday Rob and I went white water rafting at Wilderness Tours in Renfrew(I think...) and had a BLAST!!! This place is pretty cool, even for people who don't like rafting. There is a camping ground, bungee platform, kayaking (in non-deadly rapids - also available) and much more. If you want to plan an exciting holiday of outdoor fun, check this place out!

This was our second time risking our lives in deadly waters and here is how our little journey unfolded...

We got up and left the house at 7h45 on a SUNDAY morning and picked up "H" downtown and then headed off to Wilderness Tours, which is about an hour and a half out of Ottawa.

Around 9am Rob and I were starving to we stopped at McDonald's because we are weak. You will be glad to know that we resisted the 1 million grams of fat McGriddle and chose the Egg McMuffin, which only contains 500 000 grams of fat, instead! "H", being in excellent shape and all, did not order anything, making us feel even more like shit. Thanks buddy! Between 9h01 and 9h04 Rob and I ~~devoured like cavemen~~ ate our combos joyfully.

We arrived at Widerness Tours around 9h30 and let me tell you, we were f***ing freezing! I think it was about 15 degrees or something crazy like that. So cold that my nipples were poking through my 18 layers of clothing. Can someone PLEASE explain to me one thing?

Why did I almost DIE in the bus last Monday because it was so HOT, and then almost died again every day of the week because it was so humid that the f***ing air literally attached itself to my lungs? And then the ONE day you want it to be warm its - 100 degrees!!

After thawing out in the cabin, we had to go get our gear which included a helmet (that is worn by thousands of people so I wore a bandana to make sure that NO part of my head touched it), a bodysuit top, a life jacket, and a paddle. Well, let me tell you, the stench that came out of the bodysuit thing was U-N-R-E-A-L! I had to choose between losing my nipples, or enduring the BO/swamp smell for the day, I chose the smell. "I need my nipples" I thought...

So all geared up and smelly, we walked down to the river to embark on our voyage! It was around 11am by that time. We go through the safety measures, do this so you don't die, if you do this you will die, blah blah. At 11h05 we were off. We started paddling away, heading towards our first rapid! BOOYIA!

While we were waiting for our turn to go down the rapid, this guy with a dumb ass video camera was filming people randomly...I thought to myslef: "Oh God, imagine if he were to film me...I would..." I hadn't even finished my thought when all I saw was a f***ing thingy in my face. Yep, there he was, Video Man, in-my-face! So all excited and waaaaay too pumped he asks me "So, how ya' doin?" All I could reply was '"Goooooood" in the most lame and pathetic tone you can imagine. They showed the video afterwards and I looked FAR worse than I actually thought I did. Holy shit, did I ever look like a dumb-ass, Rob was pissing his pants!

After that horrific incident we finally went down the rapid. All was good, people were paddlin' away like idiots (yes - including me) and all of a sudden half the guys in front of me fall into the bottom part of the raft (at this point the raft is vertical - not horizontal) including a 13 year old kid. So Rob, being the kind person he is, decides to leap OFF the raft to avoid crushing the poor kid at the bottom of the raft! So, no more Rob!

Suddenly I see his freggin' yellow helmet bopping up and down in the rapids....but then, when I think he's safe, he gets pulled under by the current again. Holy shit, he's gonna die (didn't he listen to the rules at the beginning?). When he resurfaced again he was closer to the raft so we were able to pull him in...all body parts intact. Thank God!! I guess the entertainment was worth the quasi-heart attack.

Once people stopped laughing at Rob we headed towards the second rapid, which happened to be called Butcher Knife....good times! This one was fun too but not as crazy. Rob stayed in the raft along with everyone else. Afterwards we all jumped into the water and let ourselves and my pee be dragged down the river by the current.

Then at 1pm it was lunch. We were starving yet again so we ate plenty! With our tummies full we headed back out on the river. We went through a couple more rapids and then went cliff jumping. After people competed to see who could do the biggest canonball, we left for some rapid surfing. Now THAT was fun!!

Rapid surfing is when your raft kinda gets sucked into the rapid, stays there for a couple of seconds, and gets spit back out(kinda hard to explain...). Anyways, there is a part in the video where you see Rob and I in the front getting facewashed by the rapids. At one point, all you can see are 2 yellow dots through the water. This was by far the best part of the trip!

Our trip ended around 5pm so we went back to the cabin, changed into dry clothes that did not smell like BO/swamp and went for a beer and something to eat. By the time we got home it was 10pm. We were exhausted!

So in spite of the smelly outfit and not so warm weather, we had a blast. We will be sure to go back soon! Any takers?

Double D - out

Death to OC!

noreply@blogger.com (Dal) — Mon, 10 Jul 2006 16:01:00 +0000

As you all know, I live in Orléans, about 15 minutes out of Ottawa. I work in Ottawa and because the traffic is beyond retarded from Orléans to Ottawa, I take the bus. Can yobelieveve that I live 15 minutes out of Ottawa but it would take me AT LEAST 45 minutes by car on a good day and cost me 150$ a month in parking? And lets not forget part of my sanity due to road rage related issues. So to avoid all that BS I take the bus. Its better for the environment, cheaper than driving, the bus driver deals with dumb ass drivers that deserve to be shot, and I can peacefully drink my much needed morning coffee. No brainer right? WRONG!!!! E-V-E-R-Y-D-A-Y I get into work pissed off, or, option B, when I get home at night. Today was definitely, option A.

I had a really rough weekend so I had to drag my fat ass out of bed (even harder to do when my significant other is sleeping soundly next to me). Anyways, after showering and poking my eyeballs out while trying to put in my contacts, I go downstairs to make myself a nice gallon of coffee. Well, well, looka here, there's no fucking milk!!!!! Son of a bitch! Why me? Screw it, I'll drink it without the cow juice and add a cup of sugar to compensate.

While I sip my coffee I look at the time...its 7:21 and my bus passes at 7:23. No need to panic - throw her in high gear and she'll make it, no problem. I grab my milkless coffee, bolt out the door, and I start running (if you can call that running) down my street. As I am running towards the bus stop I can hear the bus coming. So I throw her in super high gear and sprint towards the bus stop, jumping over the street curbs like an Olympic hurdle jumper. After avoiding getting run over by a car, I make it to about 5 feet from the bus doors. Haleluia! I made it, so I keep running towards the doors...OMG NO, NO, the bus is actually f***ing leaving!!!

And so I stood there, looking through the back window, watching the people at my stop taking a seat in the bus like a shit head. It was just like in the movies when a mother's son is going away to school and she watches him looking back at her through the back window of the car...well ok, maybe it wasn't that dramatic, but you get the picture.

I was so PISSSSSSSSSSED!!! I felt the urge to run next to the bus and give the driver the finger. Instead, I took my coffee mug and threw it at the bus. Okay, maybe not, but I wanted to! And what makes me even more angry is that a lady I take the bus with TOLD the driver I was coming, TWICE!! What does he say? She can walk to the corner and take another bus! You asshole!!! So the next morning I have him THE nastiest look.

This happened to me before, when I lived in Vanier (that on is own deserves a post) but that time my foot was literally in mid-air as I was taking a step INTO the bus when the driver closed the doors and left! So I took my cell phone, called OC Crapo, and gave a client service lady HELL! You don't wanna mess with me in the morning. They don't call me 'Grizzly' for nothing motha' suckas'!

And its not just the fact that most drivers are bad ones, but the buses are old (some older than me, yes like 30 years old!), they have NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO air conditioning, and if they do, they don't turn it on (I once told the driver to turn it on and he said it was "broken") so you boil to death in the summer. And the list goes on and on...

So my dilemma is this: should I suck it up or should I start taking my car and possible killing someone? what would you do?

Double D - out

Home sweet home!

noreply@blogger.com (Dal) — Thu, 29 Jun 2006 16:29:00 +0000

Well, not really...

I know I'm a little late but i've been so busy since we got back from our trip. We got back exactly 2 weeks ago actually, wow, time flies!

We had a GREAT honeymoon, we saw so many beautiful things, people, dog shit, buildings - you name it! I must say that my favorite place was Capri - a small italian island west of Naples. We stayed at an amazing B&B and had a sea view(not just a fake one like most hotels offer) but a REAL one, with sunset and all! Umberto, the owner, was so cute, typical older Italian man, very charming! I miss him...he promised to let me know when he was coming to Ottawa :-)

My second favorite was Zurich (and Florence and Venice and Bordeaux) in Switzerland. We took the train from Venice to Zurich and let me tell you, the scenery was spectacular. We were surrounded by snowcapped mountains hovering over us, waterfalls pouring down and the sun shinning brightly. It truly was breathtaking. While I was trying to take it all in, I turn around to see if Rob's mouth was also wide open - and what to I discover? Hhim SLEEPING! Are you kidding me? "His loss" I mumbled... There is so much more to talk about so I'll keep some for later, I promise! In the meantime here are a FEW, and I emphasize few (I have 967 in total!) pics:

Of course, the famous Eiffle Tower

This is a beautful castle in Bordeaux France

Okay, for some reason I can dowload more than 2 pictures...so this all you will get for now, sorry guys...

I'm really glad we made this wonderful trip! It truly was an unbeleivable honeymoon, the best! So where to now? ;-)

Double D - out

Viva Italia!

noreply@blogger.com (Dal) — Thu, 18 May 2006 18:22:00 +0000

I thought this was a little appropriate...

Your Italian Name Is...

Lucia Mancini

What's" Your Italian Name?

Lucia Mancini - out

Move over Mustang Sally!

noreply@blogger.com (Dal) — Tue, 16 May 2006 15:40:00 +0000

Here comes Mustang Daddy!!!

I was on the computer finalizing my will and testament in case I die going to Europe, when Beaver called. (Beaver, for those who don't know, is my brother's nickname) He wanted to stop by for a quick smoke, "Sure" I said. ONE minute later, his girlfriend Caroline calls "We are kinda of in a rush so can you wait outside?". I held my breath and said "Okaaaaay" and hung up a little annoyed because I HATE being rushed but whatever... so as I go to open my front door I see this HOT Mustang (I've always wanted a Mustang but kinda knew that it was a stupid expense and that I would die as I have some speeding and road rage issues). coming up my driveway. And then I look in the driver's seat, and there he is, grinning like a mad man, my Dad! What the *bleep*?!

I didn't know WHAT to say! At first I thought he had rented it or something, or borrowed it from one of his mafia friends, but no, he bought it last Thursday. To top it all off, I saw him all weekend and he never said a word, he had me convinced that he was going to buy a SmartCar to replace his shitty 1987 Jeep Cherokee. He had to SHOW me his ownership papers for me to believe him. Why did I not believe him? Let me tell you why: My Mom!

Everytime my dad would dare say the M word it made her think back to the 70's when hanging motors, oil puddles, and toxic fumes were a far too common thing in their garage. And the fact that a week or so after my dad had his 1969 Mustang he drove into a phone pole. Still insists that he didn't know the car was that powerful....riiiiight. So I'm sure Mom celebrated when my dad finally sold his Mustang when she was prego with Beaver - little did she know...

So I asked her last night "As if you let him buy one?!" All she said was "Well, we needed a car so..." I was dumbfounded, she must be planning an expensive trip or something. I must admit its nice to see my dad this giddy - like a little kid in a candy store. We went for a spin and you could tell he was excited, kinda brought him back to the good ol' days of bellbottoms and perms. The second best part is that my dad told me that when I get back from my trip, that he will show me how to drive it!! GIDDIUP!

Double D - out