random ramblings of the canine kind...

important public service announcement...

2006-10-05T21:50:00.000-04:00

we've put this off for a long time but it needs to be said.

matti and i are no longer.

no, neither of us strayed. it was not something matti did, it was not something i did. but it is something that was bound to happen and we're better off for recognizing it now as opposed to 2 years, a marriage, and a bunch of complicated paperwork later.

while we continue to be the closest of friends who share a love for each other, there will be no wedding and the house will likely be put up for sale in the spring.

yes, it is a difficult time and we're both hurting but we thank and love all of our friends and family who have been and continue to be so supportive.

hugs to all...

31

2006-08-27T23:08:00.000-04:00

happy birthday to you!
happy birthday to you!
happy birthday, dear matti,
happy birthday to you!!!

(and marko too!)

postponed...

2006-07-18T10:54:00.000-04:00

the wedding of matti and tami has been postponed.

they say that timing is everything and the timing just isn't right for us, right now.

thanks for your understanding...

best birthday wishes to...

2006-07-18T10:32:00.000-04:00

emma! yea!

it's only 4 days, what could happen?

2006-07-16T11:04:00.000-04:00

so i have been back to work for 4 days and arrived again in oshawa to see how my mother was doing.

her incision is now infected and leaking and she is borderline pneumonnia with a fever, nasty cough, and a pile of fluid in her lungs. she was FINE when i left late monday night. i am not impressed.

people, a little bit of care goes a long way. remember that.

change is good...

2006-07-04T20:34:00.000-04:00

okay, so anyone who knows me, knows that i like change. i like moving. i like new places. i like new people. i like new things.

i also like new cars. so... i got me one. zoom zoom baby:

a 2006 mazda3 GT with gfx and luxury packages. in carbon grey mica. with black leather heated seats. oh yeah. it's hot. and it corners like it's on rails...

emma, this one is for you...

2006-07-01T20:50:00.000-04:00

so, the last night mom is at the hospital, i am leaving when i am stalked and attacked and repeatedly dive-bombed by none other than one evil june bug. i *hate* june bugs. i would rather sit in a vat of scorpions and play with a komodo dragon before being touched by a june bug.

as i'm walking across the parking lot, i hear the evil yet familiar buzz wizz by my ear. then again. then i feel it land. in my hair. after spastically thrashing about and shaking my head, i run like hell and jump into the car. cue in horror flick scene with chick heavy breathing in car and looking all around while locking the doors and getting the hell out of there.

as i start home on my merry way on the 401, i hear it again. IN MY CAR. the goddamn thing attached itself to me while i jumped into my car and WAITED until i was on the highway to start torturing me again. it starts buzzing around the backseat and i am terrified. i know it sounds ridiculous, but i seriously have a death fear of june bugs.

so i am opening windows and using cds to shoosh the offender out of the window and weaving all through traffic damn near killing myself over some stupid evil little insect that when you squish it, it leaks a greeny yellow puss everywhere. what a disgusting little creature.

i tear home, freaking the whole time, and run into the house. what do i get to kill the damn thing? jonathan. the great defender of tami and emma in times of june bug invasion.

(for everyone else, when emma and i were living in whitby, every summer during "the invasion," jonathan would save the day by rolling up a huge wad of newspaper and smashing the hell out of them. usually, we would hear "bug. smash smash smash. dead." while we hid in the basement.)

so jonathan came out, flicked the thing on the pavement, and crushed it into oblivion. god i hate those damn things so much.

on other notes, the hospital decided that giving everyone rotting vegetables wasn't enough so the floor got expired milk with dinner that night. imagine the fun that has been. but mom is home now and getting better every single day. she is even doing her physio without being pushed, so i am pleased.

HAPPY CANADA DAY! while i would much rather be in ottawa drinking a box of beer on a patio somewhere and enjoying all of the outdoor concerts, i am in da shwa. but alas, it is for a good cause. so instead, i am wearing underwear that says "100% canadian" and since i left my awesome new canada hat at home, that's about that.

emma and oliver arrive tomorrow and i can't wait to meet him! yea!

gestapo alive and well at ajax-pickering hospital...

2006-06-28T13:37:00.000-04:00

so i am awoken by a phone call and my mother crying on the other end because one of the nurses had hurt her so bad, she thought her hip had been dislocated. as anyone with a heart would, i went flying down to the hospital. when i got there, mom was getting ready for a shower. then my mother seized up, started shaking, and grabbing for me. why? because the nazi nurse had arrived once again to take my mother for her shower. i asked if she was the one, which my mother confirmed.

so i said to the nazi, "are you the one who almost dislocated my mother's hip?" to which she replies, "no, i merely placed her on the bed. your mother wasn't following directions."

me: "my mother has been here for 5 days. EVERY nurse has been extremely gentle at getting her in and out of the bed. you picked her legs up, dropped them on the bed, while yelling at her to drop her head? then you picked her legs up again and dropped them?"

to which the bitch starts saying that no, she merely told my mother to lie down. my mother disputed that and the nazi nurse started to actually yell at my mother. yelling at a patient? are you kidding me? i have been at the hospital for hours on end helping my mother and watching the other nurses help her. getting in and out of bed is a very difficult, slow, and painful process. there is a way to do it and everyone is aware of that. it's a rehab ward for crying out loud. this isn't new.

i asked the nurse what her name was. she didn't hear me the first time because she was still yelling at my mother in her wheelchair so i asked a little louder. she told me. i said through gritted teeth and blazing eyes,

"lynn, get your hands off my mother right now and leave this room. you are not to touch her again, do you understand me? heaven help you if i find you in here again."

so nazi nurse says something to the effect of, not hurting her and my mom not following directions, yadda yadda yadda. and then, get this, says she knows how my mother feels. i asked her how that was at all possible. she says, because she had the surgery herself.

me: "you had this surgery and you still treat people like this? that makes you even more disgusting. now get out of here and don't come back without your manager."

unreal.

later we heard her arguing with another patient down the hall who was also threatening to file a complaint.

halton, a good buddy of my brother's, has been visiting his grandpa who had the same operation and is a couple of doors down from my mom. apparently nazi nurse also tossed him around a bit. his grandmother is also quite upset.

at least the other nurses are totally fabulous.

today's update: last night's dinner had a certain food item which had been frozen, thawed, frozen, thawed, and then served. the entire ward is now extremely ill. is it just me, or should food made for patients in health care institutions be better prepared? getting food poisoning while in a hospital on a floor with 2 nurses and 25 people who are wheelchair-ridden is completely unacceptable. if you ever have to go to a hospital for an operation, regardless of what it is or how long of a wait period you will face, do NOT go to ajax-pickering. your life will depend on it.

if they don't kill or maim her first, mom should be coming home tomorrow.

ceramic or steel?

2006-06-24T19:43:00.000-04:00

on the 21st, mom had her hip replacement surgery at the most ghetto hospital i have ever been in (and i've been in a few).

we think that her surgery was somewhat successful as when she awoke as she had a major incision on her leg and could wiggle her toes but besides that, we had no idea. her surgeon hadn't talked to her or her nurses, the physiotherapist didn't bother to see her, and the pharmacy couldn't figure out her meds (besides the fact that she had given all of them her medication lists).

so as she sat in her dingy, dark room, i tried to cheer her up by playing "take your best guess at what that is" while we pointed to random markings in her room. we concluded that the item of choice on the ceiling was a mixture of jello and gum and that those sprays on the curtains were blood, not fecal matter. no, i am not making this up. the inpatient recovery ward has 2 wheelchairs and 1 commode. i haven't taken a head count, but i'm thinking there are no less than 25 patients on the floor.

as usual, the nurses were fabulous. showing more concern than her doctors and doing everything they can to try to make her comfortable. nurses just rawk.

mom is now on the rehabilitation floor. while more "updated", her roommate is nasty. this is just a sample of her pleasantries:

nurse: mrs. kaye, can i get you a drink? would you like some tea?
mrs. kaye: why don't you go to hell and back!

last night her staples opened and she started bleeding quite profusely. this seems to have been rectified but she is in so much pain, it just bothers me immensely. the rooms also are not air conditioned. the hallways are, but the rooms face west and it is hot and sticky.

if the hospital doesn't catapult my mom out early, she should be home tuesday morning. this is when the real rehabilitation will take place and its going to be tough. i just hope the end result makes it all worthwhile.

thanks to all of our friends and family who keep sending their wishes and visiting. keep your fingers crossed!

just one of those things?

2006-06-17T17:08:00.000-04:00

apparently, matti did not have a heart attack and for that we are most thankful and relieved.

when we got to the hospital and they did a blood test on matti, the results indicated that his heart enzymes were up and there was evidence of heart tissue in his blood, all signs pointing to a heart attack. that was when he was admitted for further testing.

matti had a chest xray, echo cardio gram, and an angiogram. ALL RESULTS CAME BACK NEGATIVE FOR A HEART ATTACK. also, the results showed that despite matti's elevated heart rate, there was no damage to the heart.

we still don't know what the trigger was and hopefully the pints of blood they took from him will narrow that down but he feels fine and life is back to hectic normal.

thank you to marko and christine for the beautiful flowers! (lilies, dahlias, roses, carnations, etc.) they were unexpected, gorgeous, and most appreciated:

mom, charlie, jonathan, tiki, tobey, and mai tai also came for a visit so here are some shots of tobey and mai tai just because they are so cute. this is mai tai jumping on tobey for the 10th time:

and this is mai tai, looking to chew on something besides his parents:

and of course, tobey chewing on chloe's toys:

thank you to everyone for the thoughtful phone calls and emails. we appreciate your support and are very happy to report that everyone is happy, healthy, and good!

the long and short of it...

2006-06-09T09:57:00.000-04:00

on wednesday, matti had a heart attack. he's 30 years old and the healthiest person i know but right now he is in the hospital hooked up to scary machines that beep and hiss and i sit beside him and tease him and make jokes to cheer him up but i'm really scared and crying inside.

on wednesday, matti and i got up. he went to jury duty, i went to work. it was a normal day. after work, i went to the driving range with pat and called matti to let him know where i was. he told me that he had stopped the trial and gone home sick around lunch. he said he was feeling really, really nauseous and had to even pull over in the car on the way home. but he said he was just lying down and not to come home. when i came home, he said he was feeling crappy but otherwise, fine. we walked chloe and went about our normal routine. we went to bed around 10:30. at 1:00am, matti woke me up and told me that we needed to go to the hospital and that his heart was beating really fast.

southlake regional hospital is only 20 minutes from our home. we got there and attempted to sign in at the emergency room. however, some drunk guy started beating up on nurses and there was a code white and security guards from all over the hospital were called in. although the waiting area wasn't excessively busy, it took us about 45 minutes just to get signed in. then matti was put in emergency.

matti's exam room is in the new room of the hospital with all the high tech gadgets and machines. our neighbour to the right was a 20 something guy who was involved in an "altercation" with police. so, buddy was shackled at the arms and legs and had a police guard at the door. he was also getting oxygen so i assumed that pepper spray was involved. a couple of exam rooms over was mr. wilson. a very, very old and fragile gentleman who seemed entirely uncomfortable. as matti and i were waiting, we heard a nurse yell to him "mr. wilson, we need to take your underwear off. we're going to stick a finger up your bum to see if there is any blood." ugh. at least matti and i had a laugh at the absurdity of our neighbours.

matti's heart rate was still really high. like 129 when it should be below 80. the drugs they were giving him weren't working. since about noon on wednesday, matti's heart rate had been constantly between 129-145. at 5am, i went and laid down in the family room. the hospital was FREEZING. at about 5:30am, the woman who was visiting mr. wilson came in and brought me a pillow. at 6am, the nurse came in and told me matti had a heart attack and that his heart muscle was damaged. i couldn't belive it. matti. my fiancé. 30 years old. works out 5 days a week and eats cottage cheese with flax seed, omega oil, and blueberries for breakfast. matti had a heart attack. wtf.

matti's heart rate still wasn't coming down. and now that we found out that he had a heart attack earlier in the day, he was upset and more stressed. they needed to take blood and get him to a chest xray and get him breakfast. so i went home, showered, walked chloe, and called my work, court, and liisa.

i went back to the hospital. matti's heart rate was still in the 120s. we joked about his breakfast and that he was probably only in the hospital for the sponge baths but i am still in shock. shortly after, liisa and jared arrived. we visited, talked, and lightened matti up. his fabulous male nurse kept popping in to check on him and make sure he was okay. his fabulous male nurse completely ignored that fact that there is only supposed to be 1 family member there. his fabulous male nurse came in to say bye at the end of his shift. kim also stopped in to visit and to let us know that she'd take care of chloe if we needed it. that was very much appreciated.

on thursday, matti had several visits with internists, cardiologists, and nurses. he was told that his chest xray was okay but they still wanted to do a ecg and angiogram on him. ecg is an echo cargio gram, like an altrasound they take of your heart to see where the oxygenated blood and deoxygenated blood is flowing. an angiogram is when they still a needle in your groin area artery and follow the artery up to the heart and release a dye to see where the damage is and if there are any blockages. apparently one has a 1 in 1000 chance of dying from this.

on thursday, at 1pm, they finally gave matti a beta blocker. for the first time in like 36 hours, matti's heart rate returned to 80.

since matti had to have lunch and get more tests down, jared and liisa took me to moxie's for lunch. it was damn good. and the place is beautiful. i just wish matti was there.

matti's parents came late thursday afternoon. i let them spend time together as a family and went home to walk chloe, eat dinner, and call my mom. since i hadn't slept yet, i'm just on total auto-pilot and wandering around in a daze and wondering why the hell bad things always happen to the best people.

my fabulous coworkers had called and left very caring messages on our voice mail. mark called and we talked and he made me laugh so when i went back to the hospital, i felt a bit better.

liisa and i spent the rest of the evening with matti watching smallville and so you think you can dance on the tv in his room which is no less than 8 feet off the ground and you have to stand on your tipetoes and use a waterbottle to change channels. liisa and i swiped towels and new sheets and new napkin-type-thing that ties in back for matti to have a fresh change of linens. his fantastic night nurse popped in several times to check his stats and to take more blood. we joked that his blood pressure would have to be lower now since they've taken so much blood.

liisa and i came home around 11:30pm and for the first time, i slept. when the phone rang this morning, i was in exactly the same position as when i went to bed. it was the hospital and matti was in getting his angiogram. when he got out, he would finally be in his own room in cardiac care and he would be able to call us. so, i'm waiting. and writing. and can't believe this is happening but it is.

thank you everyone for your calls and concern. i think matti is going to be okay. we just need to know how okay.

take care and please live life to the fullest. because you just never know.

be nice to me, i've had a hard day...

2006-04-17T22:40:00.000-04:00

on april 8, friends, family, and the like celebrated kody kicking cancer. kody was my roomate in first year of university. she is an incredibly intelligent, optimistic, and truly inspiring person who i feel honoured to know. she was diagnosed with non-hodkins lymphoma in september 2005 and has been undergoing chemo and radiation treatment ever since. she has treated it as a bump in the road and nothing more. kody is free to be and we are all thankful.

happy birthday to sean on april 14!

unfortunately, yoga and tai chi are now over so it's just the regular gym for me! i know better than to sign up for stuff all summer so i'll be back to to it in september. namaste.

i have spent a significant amount of time with the new puppies. they are beautiful and i adore them. all but one are now at their new homes. mai tai is the newest addition to my mom's household:

easter weekend was spent partly at my mom's and partly at matti's parents house. liisa and jared had a couples shower at the handley's and it was very nice. great bbq, fun photo show, and of course great presents!

jonathan is in nepal right now. according to his email, he got there just as it turned into a war zone. he says he is fine and that the tourists are hoarded to the nice area of town but not before seeing a bunch of burned out cars and police machine gunning protesters with rubber bullets! yikes. we'll be glad to have him home soon!

happy birthday chloe!

2006-04-09T19:58:00.000-04:00

chloe is 6 today!

march...

2006-04-03T08:48:00.000-04:00

did i not say that i was going to be much more diligent in keeping this thing updated? sorry about that!

oliver had his naming ceremony and i am honoured to be one of his supporting adults! here is oliver getting ready for his trip to spain!

matti has just enjoyed 3 weeks of holidays. his trial has been constantly delayed so he's a happy camper right now. he is not supposed to tell me anything that happens at trial so all i know is that it is an alleged asian gang murder and attempted murder from 2003. he is really finding it fascinating (when he's sitting, which isn't much) and is meeting fun people who are also fellow jurors. during breaks, they play poker with sugar packets from the cafeteria. your tax dollars hard at work folks.

work has been quite busy for me and will only get worse as the construction season is about to begin. being busy is always better than being bored so i don't really mind.

happy birthday to gary, our quicker-picker-upper who had his day on the 25th. cheers!

jonathan is now in viet nam. his last email i got was so funny, i almost wet myself. unfortunately, due to the language, i can not post it here but the kid kills me. he was in cambodia and musing about the opportunity one has to blow up a cow with a rocket launcher. he said he didn't have the heart to do it but would inquire as to the possibility of blowing up a car or other target.

mom's puppies are all doing quite well and 3 of them will be at their new homes by easter. tacey, the only girl, is lagging behind her brothers but she is doing quite a bit better. i'm glad that i had the chance to visit and play with them lots as this will be tiki and tobey's last litter.

on saturday we had a fun visit with sandy, rob, ben, becca, and colby. it was a full house as mark is staying with us as well. chloe and colby got along well and ben was playing ball with the dogs.

congrats to keith and alana on the arrival of anna marie on april 2, 2006, weighing a healthy 8lbs, 4oz!

on june 1, i will be participating in the big bike for heart and stroke. donations graciously accepted! $10 or more gets you a tax receipt! feel free to mail me a cheque (made out to heart and stroke foundation) or send me an email and i can send you the link to donate online. thanks for your support!

sorry if i forgot anything people. i may end up editing this note as time and my memory improve.

february...

2006-03-03T20:25:00.000-05:00

so jonathan is backpacking around south east asia right now. this is the most recent email i have received. the kid kills me...

Hey Im keeping this short cause the keyboards here were designed by neo cons. Im in Kula Lampur right now. It was a battle getting here from Bandar. 2 flights, 1 boat, 1 bus, and 2 cabs. A few days ago I climbed mt Kinbualu. 4200 meters, half of everest. i went up and down in 8 hours. my legs are in shambles. but nothin a few beers cant take care of. two days ago i was in Bandar in Brunei. the hostel was closed so i went to the canadian embassy to check hockey scores. I met the Canadian high comisioner and he invited me to his house for a embassy party. no joke, two hours later im pounding beers with the ambassadors of britain, united states, france, viet nam, laos and a couple people from the royal family. The best part is it was free booze in a country were booze is outlawed. (i know your wondering what im doing in a country with no booze, it was going to be a day trip) Im on my way to the cameron highlands now with a quick stop in the convineance store for some one dollar beers. so talk to you soon.

how cool is that?

on february 6, 2006, michael thomas berry was welcomed to the world by tara and rick. congrats guys! here he is:

i spent the february 18-19 weekend with sandy, rob, ben, and becca. i've never been around kids 24/7 before. i found it really overwhelming so i sure don't know how all the mothers out there do it. ben and becca are really well behaved too. i'd hate to see what colicky babies and terrible two-years olds are like together. ben and becca playing together:

emma has asked me to be a supporting parent for oliver and i'm just thrilled! unfortunately, i will not be able to attend the naming ceremony in england but i am writing oliver a list of promises to be read out at the ceremony. i sent oliver a canada shirt for the olympics. here he is after the canadian men's hockey team embarassed themselves:

and on to more birthing news, mom's dogs tiki and tobey have had their second litter of puppies! 4 this time, 3 guys and a girl. they were less than a week old when i took this picture:

sarah and julian made a visit to ontario and i got to spend some time with them in uxbridge. julian is 2 now!

and finally, matti has been called and selected for jury duty! for a 4 month murder trial! he's so excited! he is done school for the semester, no more kids, no more parents, and no more marking! he thinks it's a sweet deal and he is enjoying playing poker with the other jurors during breaks.

gotta go, las vegas has been moved to friday nights!

the T dot...

2006-01-31T14:32:00.000-05:00

we spent most of the weekend in toronto. on saturday, matti and i visited liisa and jared at their waterfront condo. we went to the mega liquidation sale at the ex which was a major disappointment. then we went to the lahore tikka house for pakistani food. matti, liisa, and i had chicken tikka wraps and jared had some spicy rice dish. they enjoyed it. me, not so much. i think i have had indian food about 5 times now, all from different places, all different dishes and i can honestly say that it all tastes the same to me and i just don't like it.

on sunday, i went and visited my friend kody who i have not seen in way too long. we had a great time catching up over photos at her place. then, we went for drinks at the panarama lounge which is on the 52nd floor of the manulife centre at bay and bloor. the view was spectacular and we enjoyed our beverages while overlooking the city. then, we went to hemingways in yorkville for dinner. of course, we couldn't even eat without two socially inept males trying to hit on kody. after some polite chit-chat, it was obvious that they weren't going to leave before the food got cold so i politely but firmly bid them a good night. i miss kody and i'm glad we had the chance to catch up. she's living in the city again so we'll be seeing each other lots.

matti's classes have their exams today. he'll be busy marking and recording grades for the rest of the week. at some point, we must take down the christmas tree! at this rate, the decorations will still be up next year!

god's second easter miracle...

2006-01-27T11:20:00.000-05:00

i ate my first cadbury creme egg of the season yesterday. omg. they are so damn good. and recently rated 9.8/10 on the snack satisfaction index by the WASAW!

in other news, jonathan left on the 24th for his 3 month backpacking trip around southeast asia. lucky guy. can't wait to see his pictures.

it's the beginning of exam week for matti so he's on partial vacation. as for me, work is really busy and has been for months. unfortunately, several people in my department have been off for extended periods of time due to family illness, death, and assorted other issues so we've been shorthanded as well. but hey, overtime is overtime!

i finished reading misadventures by slyvia smith and the misadventures of maria omara by deborah skelly. both of which can be summed up in one word: meh.

(see dictionary definition for the word "meh".)

viva las vegas!

2006-01-08T18:26:00.000-05:00

matti and i had an absolutely amazing time in las vegas!

upon arrival, there was a bit of a mix-up with the luggage. it was about 1:30am our time so we were tired and testy. it took about an hour and half to get our goods. preliminary observations: 1. the second you get off the airplane, there are slot machines. 2. people smoke and drink everywhere. 3. armed national guards patrol the airport in camoflauged outfits with automatic machine guns. i mean really. i think the police and airport security is enough. i realize that safety is important but does your finger really need to be on the trigger? this actually made me angry. it was intimidating and unnecessary. regardless, we got our rental car and off we went!

we arrived at the luxor and were upgraded to a huge suite! not a junior suite, but an all out executive suite! we had a living room with tv and stereo, a dining room with wetbar, a bedroom with a king size bed and a tv that rose out of a table at the push of a button, and a bathroom with jacuzzi tub, glass shower, and marble everywhere! the windows were wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling, and our 10th floor view was of the strip! completely luxurious!

the view from our room was gorgeous at night but too difficult to photograph through the glass. you can see tropicana, the tram to excalibur, MGM grand, and a bit of the mountains:

the luxor is an egyptian themed resort based inside a huge pyramid with a light beam from the peak which is said to be seen from space. the grounds, restaurants, casinos, relics, and detailed design were just amazing!

as for the gambling (which is everywhere, even in gas stations), matti won $150 in a single pull of a slot machine, i won $26.50 in a single pull on a slot, and matti won another $40 on video blackjack. he did good. as for me - not so good. but it was tons of fun and as long as you are sitting at a slot machine or card table, the drinks are free.

everything in las vegas is massive. you just stand and stare in awe at the sheer size of everything. we walked the strip and visited most of the resorts. each of them are known for something but our favourites had to be the fountains at bellagio, caesar's palace, new york new york, and mandalay bay.

the fountains at bellagio:

new york, new york is actually designed from the new york city skyline. the hotel and casino has a roller coaster, brooklyn bridge, statue of liberty, and everything inside the place is new york including the manhole covers! this picture isn't even all of it:

new york, new york during the day (another view, still not all of it):

we only went for 3 days and wished we had stayed longer. we had planned on visiting the grand canyon but due to the fact that it is a 5 hour drive one-way and that 20 inches of snow was expected, we decided to try that next time.

we did however get to go to the hoover dam. like everything in vegas, it was just HUGE. the security check consisted of a state trooper looking at the passengers in your vehicle, if you are white, you get waved through. if you are muslim, prepare for the body cavity search. i kid you not, we encountered racist comments more than once - including t-shirts being hawked that said, "welcome to america, NOW SPEAK ENGLISH." i'm surprised that the armed national guards from the airport weren't wearing them.

the hoover dam took from 1931-1935 to build and is 600 feet thick at the bottom (45 feet thick at the top). MASSIVE:

we shopped at the outlet malls, went for a couple of drives, had donuts at ronald's, and ate thai at the lotus of siam. we also saw master magician lance burton at the monte carlo. an outstanding show!

we also visited fremont street to see the golden nugget, binions, and the light show. this is where you get a 9lb burger, deep-fried oreos, and 99 cent daiquiris. just for all of you dieters out there.

matti and i loved the mountains that surround the city. we had read somewhere that the population of nevada is around 2 million and about 1.8 million live in las vegas alone. their "winter" is from november to february and the average temperature is about 16 degrees. the rest of the year is about 40 degrees hence the fact that daquiris, slushies, and ice cream are sold EVERYWHERE which of course, made matti very happy (not like i object either).

we absolutely loved it there and hope to make vegas an annual or bi-annual trip!

welcome baby willer!

2005-12-31T22:10:00.000-05:00

oh my god i am so excited! oliver henry arthur willer was born at 1:52am, on saturday december 31, 2005, weighing 6lbs, 10oz!

yea emma! i'm so excited for you! congrats to mark as well (oh, and happy birthday mark too - on the 30th!)

merry christmas everyone!

2005-12-22T19:56:00.000-05:00

matti, chloe, and i would like to wish all of our family and friends a very merry christmas and a happy, healthy new year!

we apologize for not getting christmas cards out this year but things have been absolutely hectic. we're certainly looking forward to our winter vacation to see family as well as to head off to vegas in january!

we have finished wrapping the gifts for the big day. here is chloe guarding the presents:

between the 24th and 26th, we'll be in fenelon falls with aiti, isi, and trent; oshawa with my mom, jonathan, tiki, tobey, and charlie; and north york with my dad and diane. we'll be a travelling christmas show!

happy holidays to all!

15 december 1977

2005-12-21T14:59:00.000-05:00

happy birthday to me!

there's always one in every neighbourhood...

2005-12-05T11:47:00.000-05:00

every christmas, there is always at least one neighbour who has to prove that their holiday lights and decorations are better than everyone elses. well, i think this guy wins hands down. turn on the sound and prepare yourself for...

the new griswolds!

imagine living across the street from this guy!

trent!

2005-12-04T21:14:00.000-05:00

we are having so much fun with trent! aiti and isi sent him here with a leash about 4 feet long though. so we tied another leash to that one and the big guy has broken it 3 times! we've been taking trent and chloe to the park and letting them loose. they are really enjoying the snow. matti and i, not so much. matti has come down with a cold. but he's drinking tea by the pot and seems to be feeling better. i'm trying to con him into drinking some neo citrin. we'll see how that goes...

playing catch up...

2005-12-02T15:00:00.000-05:00

november...

friday night (the 5th) i headed to niagara falls to hit the bars with bidemi, sean, gary, and mikey. sean and mikey have a tv that is so big, i'm sure you can zero in on it from google earth. we went to the cavern (damn good chicken nachos), mardi gras (wow, underage, over-intoxicated american girls and very dirty dancing), and hard rock. at hard rock i bumped into a friend from university who i used to be frosh leader and go camping with. greg is now engaged! i was happy to see him.

saturday, the guys and i woke up, went for breakfast, went back to bed, went for lunch, then hit the liquor store. i had so much fun! i really needed it.

on sunday (the 6th), matti and i participated in the buddy walk for the down syndrome association of york region. between matti and i, we raised close to $200! the event itself raised $5000! leah won second place fundraiser for the kids section. rogers tv was there and spent a lot of time filming leah because she's so cute! matti and i won hats and matti also got a VW t-shirt.

thanks to everyone who donated!

on the 7th, i got this fabulous gingerbread bride in the mail from my friend dena. when i was in OAC, i visited the university of waterloo during march break. dena was a first year planning student at the time and she took us on a tour. when i went to waterloo that fall, dena was my frosh leader. her and i have been friends ever since and i continue to look up to her. she is bright, adventurous, and so free-spirited. thanks dena!

the 14th was my ontario municipal board hearing. i gave expert planning evidence for the second time in my career. stressfull but great experience!

on the 24th we had to take chloe in for an operation. her face was all puffed up! turns out she had an absessed tooth. poor little girl has been in pain without telling us! i was really nervous about it because when we had her fixed, she did not deal well with the anesthetic at all. this time though, she did great! she is on antibiotics and eating mushy food and is almost back to normal!

the 26th was my office christmas party. matti was great at helping with the set-up and clean-up. the food was great and we enjoyed the company.

27th - happy birthday wishes to abbotts!

28th - happy birthday wishes to pat!

on the 29th i went back to southlake regional hospital to get my thyroid ultrasound done again. i'll find out the results on december 13. keep your fingers crossed!

on the 30th, we got trent to babysit! trent is matti's parent's golden retreiver. he is a wonderful, happy dog. i think chloe's nose might be a little out of joint but they sure are enjoying their walks together! aiti and isi are in san fransisco visiting marko and christine who may not be able to make it home for christmas.

whew. okay, now i'll try to be better at keeping this updated! thanks all and feel free to drop us a line!

p.s. 30 days to VIVA LAS VEGAS!!

tasty reads from the newstand...

2005-10-27T12:38:00.000-04:00

matti and i had a good laugh at breakfast today while reading the toronto star. there was an article about a teacher who is being reprimanded for saying "inappropriate" comments. here are just a few of the politically incorrect statements:

to the mother of two of his students: "who do you want to talk about first? dumb or dumber?"
to a student: "your mom is a M.I.L.F." (mother i'd like to f***)
to the class: "italians are fat, hairy, and should only pursue careers in cement"
to a female student: "i was looking at porn last night and there was a girl who looked just like you."

his consequences range from sensitivity training (you think?) to having his teaching license revoked.

babies, babies, and more babies...

2005-10-24T12:21:00.000-04:00

on saturday, matti and i drove up to kitchener to see sandy, rob, ben, and their new baby becca. keith and alana were also there and we had a great time catching up over a yummy bbq lunch. sandy made this amazing dessert. matti and i have already bought the ingredients and are just waiting for an opportunity to make it (preferrably with others around so we don't eat the whole thing ourselves). it's not exactly light on calories.

shameless request for $$$: on november 6, 2005, matti and i will both be participating in the 2km buddy walk for the down syndrome association of york region. any and all pledges would be greatly appreciated! any donations of $10 or more will get you a tax receipt. email us and let us know if you'd like to contribute. mark, a co-worker and very good friend of mine, has a 3 year old daughter with down syndrome. she is a bright, beautiful, spunky little girl and we are going to support her and her family.

awesome news: alana is 5 months pregnant! we are very excited for her as we know how much she wanted this. keith is already looking into getting golf clubs made for him/her.

more awesome news: tara is pregnant! again! looks like corina will have a baby brother or sister sometime soon.

wow. good thing i don't drink tap water.

4 years...

2005-10-21T12:01:00.000-04:00

yesterday was matti and my 4th anniversary! this is what i got him:

how fab is that? i can't wait! i'm looking into booking a coach tour to see the hoover dam and the grand canyon. we're only going to have 3 full days so i want to maximize our adventure. apparantly, las vegas is a great destination for shopping as well. we'll have to bring large and empty suitcases!

gobble gobble!

2005-10-10T09:00:00.000-04:00

thanksgiving potluck dinner was a success! and no one got ill! hurrah! matti cooked a most excellent turkey that was served warm and moist! liisa and jared made (i-have-no-idea-how-it's-spelled-but-it-sounds-like) latigut (sweet potato dish). aiti made spinach salad, beet salad, vegetable salad, and poula. my mom made pumpkin pie, peach toffee sticky cake, bean salad, and brought wine. it was a fabulous spread and everyone went home full and happy. no reports of hospital visits or violent mid-night "talking to ralph on the porceline phone" so i imagine no e.coli or salmonella either.

success!

we hope everyone else had a wonderful thanksgiving as well. best wishes to all!

filler...

2005-10-07T10:23:00.000-04:00

so i joined a new gym. because i got hosed at the old one, i got 3 months free. but i *love* it and wish i had gone to this one in the first place. i kinda over did it on wednesday though and now i am walking around all decrepit. people at work keep bringing in chocolate cake so it is not very conducive to the program but hey, it's chocolate cake. whaddya think i'm going to say? no? yeah right.

the wedding announcement/save the date notices have finally been mailed out! we have already gotten some very positive feedback so i hope by giving people early notice that more people will be able to plan their vacations for next december.

picking a resort is turning out to be harder than we thought. travel agents will not book this far in advance. which actually may be a good thing since we found out that our number 1 choice is being demolished next year.

i got my hair cut last night. it's now chin length. i like it enough. it'll take about a week before i get used to it though. my hairdresser, lisa, is also getting married next year. she has two beautiful golden retrievers so we chat about our "babies" quite often.

tonight we *must* clean the house for pot luck thanksgiving dinner on sunday. should be interesting. hopefully no one gets salmonella or e.coli or anything nasty like that. i hate cooking. hopefully matti will take care of the turkey and i'll just take care of drinks or something.

happy birthday wishes to...

2005-10-04T09:59:00.000-04:00

...aimee!

what a terrible weekend...

2005-10-03T20:38:00.000-04:00

friday night, tobey was hit by a car. we were so lucky in that he only has a broken leg. poor little guy is all doped up and his leg has been cast straight so he's very uncomfortable but it could have been so much worse.

i have made the executive decision not to write exactly what happened because the language may be found to be offensive by some and this blog is meant for family viewing. long story short, a certain person (charlie) repeatedly refuses to tie up the dogs when they outside (in a subdivision, backing onto a major road) so tobey chased some kids onto taunton road.

it's simply amazing that what is common sense to most just is not comprehensible by others.

awwwwwwww...

2005-09-30T12:59:00.000-04:00

bentley's new owners have named him gizmo and sent my mom a very reassuring email that he's doing just fine! their other dog, zues, is also doing quite well with the new puppy and is even sharing his bed! i'm so glad that we have the means of keeping in touch with all the new owners.

misc...

2005-09-29T11:50:00.000-04:00

bad news: kasey, the last puppy, has been sold. so there are no puppies left. poor tiki keeps searching the house for them.

good news: kasey's new home is 3 doors down from my mom. so we'll be able to see him quite often. and the family that chose him seems really responsible and caring too.

fun news: i went to a fantasia party last week. omg! i laughed so hard my stomach still hurt the next day. if you are ever invited - GO! and make sure you read the description of the dolphonizer trio. 'nuff said.

book news: had book club yesterday. i love the women in my book club. they are so funny and witty and bright! although, i suggest we should re-name it to wine and cheese club but hey, we usually spend at least 10 minutes discussing the book. this past month we read "never change" by elizabeth berg. i really enjoyed it. i cried like a baby at the end but it was quite good. for next month we're reading "the curious incident of the dog in the nighttime" by mark haddon. i'm already half done and am really enjoying this one as well.

busy news: matti and i will be stuffing envelopes tonight. we have now received all the inserts for the save the date/wedding announcements. hopefully, those will be mailed tomorrow. got word from the travel agent that it is much too early to be booking a place so we still don't know where/when/how/how much. bahamas, december 2006, is the best we can do right now. sorry!

thansgiving news: matti and i will be hosting thanksgiving dinner this year. at least it's pot luck. because if you know anything about me, you know that i don't cook. chloe will be in her element though - all these people and so much food.

very sad day...

2005-09-23T12:50:00.000-04:00

bentley has gone to his new home. i'm in tears, mom's in tears, even the woman who bought him and took him home was upset! bailey goes to his new home this afternoon. bailey leaving is a little more comforting because we know where he is going - to a friend of the family who is going to take him to work with them every day. pacey has also been sold but will not be taken until the end of next week. kasey is still available and a part of me hopes he stays but 3 dogs may be a bit much to handle.

well, we knew this day was coming but i'm still upset.

jonathanism...

2005-09-22T10:29:00.000-04:00

i sent jonathan an email about how my gym pulled a jetsgo and bailed. his response: "right wing theiving bastards. probably a subsidary of haliburton oil."

lol. i love that kid...

speaking of dubya, my friend julie sent me these pics:

to hear "george bush don't like black people" to the background music of kayne west and jamie foxx's gold digger, click here. note: the language *may* offend some.

grrrrrrr...

2005-09-21T11:16:00.000-04:00

so i *finally* find a gym that i like on my way home from work. i sign up and pay for my membership on august 31. today, i find out that the place has gone belly-up. doors locked, lights out, "sorry, we're disappointed too" sign on the door. somehow i *doubt* they are that sorry since they just ran a HUGE membership drive.

4 people i work with are also in the same boat. i.e. the same "bought our memberships in august and are now out of $$$" boat.

pat, a co-worker of mine who i hit the driving range with after work sometimes, even asked when signing up for her membership - "what happens if you go bankrupt after i pay my fees?" you know what they had the nerve to say to her? - "oh, don't worry. we have been part of the communty for years."

nice. freakin' scam artists...

quintessential canadiana

2005-09-20T14:20:00.000-04:00

ahhhhhhh... the great white north... (at 7:00 a.m. walking chloe, tiki, and tobey on the beach)

well, here it is mid-september and we finally were able to spend a weekend at the cottage with my mom, charlie, and 7 dogs. i love the cottage. it is so peaceful and relaxing.

2 of the puppies have already been sold (sniff sniff) so it was our last chance to play with them all together. they are so much fun! they don't walk, they bounce. tiki and tobey are such great parents! it really is something to watch them all together.

bentley (also known as tubby) has been sold. here he is rag-dolling a stuffed cow.

bailey has also been sold. luckily for us, to a friend of the family so he won't be too far away!

pacey, also no stranger to food, is still available. i guess the flash stopped him from chewing on the carpet fringe:

kasey is also still available. so playful these little guys!

and of course chloe enjoyed herself on charlie's new boat.

as with all weekends, it was way too short. i'm going to miss the little guys when they're gone!

is this a convention centre or a church? this place is massive!

2005-09-11T17:47:00.000-04:00

yesterday was maija-liisa and jonathan's wedding. it was held at the toronto airport christian fellowship church which makes a pearson international airplane hanger look like a broom closet. 300 of their closest family and friends attended and it was also shown live on the internet for those who couldn't be there. the ceremony was very sweet. maija-liisa wrote a song for jonathan and this woman with the most beautiful voice ever sang it to him. there was not a dry eye in the house, it was absolutely beautiful.

the happy couple:

after we all stuffed our faces at the afternoon tea (yummy punch, sushi, finnish poula, finger foods, and desserts), we headed off to the 400 and 7 shopping centre. of course i forgot that i needed a sweater as the dinner was held outside so any excuse to go shopping was popular with matti and liisa.

the dinner was fantastic! we all enjoyed ourselves under the trees, sunset, and candleight.

happy birthday wishes yesterday also to ben little who is now 2!

road hazards of driving in the middle of nowhere

2005-09-07T15:03:00.000-04:00

i almost hit a cow on my way to work this morning!

i have been taking a detour due to watermain construction. so i'm whipping along a concession when i see this mammoth brown pile of animal at the side of the road. just standing there. eating grass in the ditch. the thing was massive! no more grass for you betsy! i rounded up the works guys and sent them to go herding. lol. sometimes those tasks that go under "other duties as assigned" can be bizarre.

sigh

2005-09-05T20:51:00.000-04:00

labour day. the unofficial end to summer. very, very depressing. i *LOVE* the summer and am very sad that i wasn't able to enjoy it more.

at least we had a glorious summer of sunny warm days! even though we weren't able to enjoy it (condo clean-up), we had some good thunderstorms (it pays to live by a large lake). one even washed out a portion of finch avenue! we even managed to hit the golf course a few times.

yesterday, we had a visit from jonathan who just finished hitchhiking out to alberta. we went to the driving range. thankfully, there weren't any children around. the air was pretty blue. after that, my dad and diane came over for dinner. dad is now driving a new chrysler 300. wow! what a gorgeous car!

so what's the deal? no more white after labour day? is it shoes or clothes or handbags or what? does anyone pay attention to that stuff anymore?

whew... the burden has been lifted!

2005-09-01T09:19:00.000-04:00

we got tenants for september 1! hurrah! and this time, they are not oshawa crack whores!

a guy and a girl. one works days, one works nights, and he has a part-time four year old daughter. sounds perfect! let's hope it works out!

now we can start focusing on wedding planning... (it never ends!)

ahhhhhh, my one true day of summer...

2005-08-29T21:17:00.000-04:00

with work, the condo, the house, and everything else going on, i have not had ANY time to enjoy our too-short summer. so i took today off and matti and i hit the links at the highlands. it was the worse game of golf i've ever played but it was still fun!

starting to see some leaves turn... it makes me want to cry...

the big 3 0 !!!

2005-08-28T21:15:00.000-04:00

yesterday was matti and his twin brother marko's 30 birthday! to celebrate, matti and i went to see Chun Yi: The Legend of Kung Fu at the Princess of Wales Theatre. it is absolutely incredible how some people can contort their bodies with such rhythm and speed. absolutely spectacular! we were 9 rows from the front!

before that, we ate at Dhaba on king street and afterwords, we went for a walk along king west, spadina, and queen street. we had a fabulous dinner and dairy queen ice cream cake in fenelon falls to celebrate matti and marko's birthday with aiti, isi, matti, liisa, jared, marko, and christine. today matti, marko, christine, and jared played 9 holes at eagenridge and we met them for a delicious lunch. i also had chloe, tobey, tiki, and the 4 puppies with me! 8 dogs including trent! it was so cute!

these are the puppies! bentley (white with black patches) is the fattest. the others are pacey (all black with a silver bracelet), kasey (black with a brown head), and bailey (all brown).

you could wind up at the doctor's office - that's worse than school

2005-08-19T12:43:00.000-04:00

i love ferris bueller.

anyhow, after an hour and a half at the walk-in (my doctor can't see me until september) and 30 seconds TOPS with the GP, it is discovered that i have a bacterial respitory infection and possibly strep throat. beautiful. no wonder i feel like shit.

i hate being sick!

2005-08-18T15:05:00.000-04:00

ugh...

tuesday's board hearing was terrible! it started with a motion for a re-hearing (which we won) then proceeded into the re-hearing. i was so sick with a fever that i felt like passing out. it was so cold because of the freakin' air conditioning that i had to take walks outside to thaw. at 5:30, the member determines that we need another day for the hearing. i could have been home but instead i sat there waiting to be called to testify! grrrrrr...

yesterday was the mayor's invitational charity golf tournament. i golfed with our consultants at planscape. i won two trophies! closest to the pin - ladies and most honest team. huh. go figure...

today i am home sick wallowing in my own phlegm. i haven't been this sick since march of 2002.

ugh...

2005-08-15T16:28:00.000-04:00

i have a sore throat. i *hate* sore throats. it feels like i've swallowed broken glass and chased it with vinegar. ugh...

omb hearing tomorrow. ugh...

u.k. or bust!

2005-08-15T10:44:00.000-04:00

so, the day after the air france flight missed the runway and crashed into a ball of flames next to the 401, i left for england! my first trip to europe! and to see emma who got married on the 6th!

the wedding was fantastic! it couldn't have gone better! it was held at the marylebone registry office and was facilitated by a hilarious female registrar who put everyone at ease!

the reception was even better! i got to see helen, whom i haven't seen in YEARS. we chatted all night and it was just like old times! i have missed her. helen's husband neill is an absolute party and i'm glad i finally got to meet him.

the food was good and mark (emma's new husband) made sure there was enough alcohol on hand for the entire population of britain. i'm pretty sure the ratio was a bottle of wine, a case of beer, and a 26er for every one guest. needless to say, it was most enjoyable. emma's friend's jen and bill also made the trip. helen, neill, jen, bill, and i really enjoyed ourselves on the dance floor.

on the monday after the wedding, mark took emma and i to oxford. wow! what a beautiful city! so old and so striking! there were people everywhere! and due to the university and it's hundred odd colleges, it's an active place with lots of people my age. i could definitely handle living there!

on tuesday, i toured london via the tube on my own. i was fortunate to see westminister abbey, the houses of parliament, big ben, buckingham palace, st. james park, trafalgar square, etc.etc.etc. there was a heavy police presence, which normally wouldn't bother me, however, i am also not used to seeing police carrying around automatic machine guns.

emma and i then took a coach tour to stonehenge and bath. the history of stonehenge is fascinating. they have learned how it was built, but to this day they don't know why. the roman baths were quite interesting too although i found the green, algea water a little nasty to drink/bath in.

emma and i also went shopping amonsgt covenent gardens and went for a walk through the theatre district before heading off to our ghost walk - lead by london walks. it was done at night and was very eerie. every stop had a story and a history.

emma and i went south of the thames to a fabulous street market which happened to be right by where bridget jones lived in her movie. we had to-die-for pecan tarts! yum! i then went to the tate modern and spent a couple of hours admiring the paintings, installations, and sculptures.

the 8 hour flight home was dreadful. while the flight itself was fine, i was surrounded by screaming children and negligent parents. unfortunately, i couldn't change seats because the plan was full so i hung out in the back with jen and bill.

seems like a short summary for 11 days but i'm just exhausted! it was a great trip and i am so thankful to emma and mark for being such great hosts! i am keeping my fingers crossed that they move back to canada soon!

sad news: another one of the puppies died. the little guy just wasn't strong enough. it appears as though the other 4 are healthy.

the puppies are here!

2005-08-03T15:37:00.000-04:00

the proud parents:

OH MY GOD! tiki had her puppies today! there were six of them but one didn't make it. sadly, the excitement was marred by a funeral. both my mom and charlie were very upset. (tiki and tobey are my mom's dogs - tiki is an all black female lhasa apso and tobey is a beautiful male shih tzu). if you look hard enough, you can see 4 of them in the bed.

i think my mom has made about 12 different beds for the dogs. i feel sorry for her carpet.

%&#$ing oshawa crack whores...

2005-07-30T12:06:00.000-04:00

last summer, matti and i decide that we'd really like to start investing in our future together (i.e. early retirement). the real estate market was good, interest rates low, and so we bought a 3 bedroom condo within walking distance to UOIT and Durham College. we fixed it up (painted, new floors, new appliances, etc.) and rented it to two girls (i use that term very loosely). the complaints started about a week later. first, about noise, then garbage. this transcended into wild parties, booze, drugs, sex, and other "illegal activiities." they were evicted within four months.

it is going to take A LOT to bring the unit back to a non-condemnable state. we are talking dirty thongs, used condom pieces, broken glass, vomit, feces, urine, what appears to be blood, holes in walls, burns on floors, and bags and bags of rotting garbage.

our only recourse? taking the girls to court.

fun...

ENGAGED! me!?! incredulous!

2005-06-05T15:15:00.000-04:00

land of domesticity, here i come! (actually i was already there since matti and i have been living together for almost 3 years at this point.)

matti proposed to me yesterday! in such a romantic and creative manner! i am most impressed!

as we met at a chapters, he proposed to me in chapters! but not in a tacky, public sort of way. it was just about us and just for us. i loved it!

we met for coffee and cake and he handed me a magazine to read. as i was leafing through it, i found it. for my eyes only.

he had taken a black and white picture of us and superimposed a touching storey over top and pasted it right in the magazine! it was so sweet and so shocking! he's just the sweetest guy and i love him to bits!

(the ring is absolutely stunning!)

wedding: bahamas, december 2006. start saving your pennies!