eLsOn

Orlando Airport...

2012-01-24T13:42:00.001-05:00

At the Orlando Airport now, the luggage is taking as long as the Toronto Airport. The tail was a bit loose on the landing approach, kept things interesting though.

Good to be Home...

2012-01-07T09:04:00.001-05:00

It feels good to be home after a week away. Albeit it was Vegas and the show and meetings went extremely well. Our new line presented extremely well and there were A LOT of excited customers.

Christmas Present and Dinner...

2011-12-25T20:01:00.001-05:00

One of Amanda's present was a Crosley record player and dinner at Grandma's with pics of Ricky and RJ.

Xmas Morning...

2011-12-25T12:31:00.001-05:00

Xmas morning at home opening presents with Amanda and Tatlim.

Ginger Bread Houses...

2011-12-24T23:02:00.001-05:00

Two completed houses, you be the judge.

Gingerbread House Competition Begins...

2011-12-24T21:46:00.001-05:00

Xmas Eve Begins...

2011-12-24T17:50:00.001-05:00

Waiting on the gang to get home and start the Xmas eve festivities.

Xmas Eve...

2011-12-24T14:48:00.001-05:00

Slept in today and headed out to pick up grandma to have brunch at Ted's. Gonna make a tomato soup for dinner and have Xmas eve party and games, and oh ya, ginger bread house competition.

Burrito Dinner and Sewing...

2011-12-23T21:20:00.001-05:00

Full day's cutting and sewing, Amanda already finished her three versions of chocolate gifts this evening. Went for a Mucho Burrito dinner before coming back to sew again. Will blog the complete gift package on Xmas morning before heading out to Grandma's.

Sewing and Xmas Yummies...

2011-12-23T11:36:00.001-05:00

Making our shopping totes for the family today and making Xmas yummies to gift away. I see a bottle of wine on the horizon... just because i have to make some room in the wine fridge, wink wink.

Holiday Begins...

2011-12-22T15:31:00.001-05:00

Holiday begins today with Polar Express playing on the Samsung now and Xmas lights on full time. Will be making Xmas yummies tomorrow, we're ready for Santa, are you?

Holiday Starts Later...

2011-12-20T21:56:00.001-05:00

Tomorrow was to be my first day of Christmas holidays but still too much going on at work, tomorrow though will be my last work day for the year. Starting off next year with a bang in Vegas for sales conference and tradeshow. Will blog pics over the holidays and when I'm in Vegas.

Count Down...

2011-12-18T20:30:00.001-05:00

The count down begins, 7 sleeps before Christmas. Amanda's done all her wrapping already and I'm half way there. For at least 6 weeks now, it's been Christmas movies on our Samsung so here are my top Christmas favs in no particular order... but I've watched National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation at least 20 times this season:

Getting Ready for Party...

2011-12-10T11:59:00.001-05:00

Getting ready for family at Windfield. Of course the wines will start breathing before everyone shows up but the food is being prepared right now with Buble Christmas playing on the Bose.
Still figuring out this Blogger Android app on my new Samsung GSII, looks like some of the pics are't rotated properly.

Pickled Roasted Peppers...

2011-12-05T22:24:00.002-05:00

Pickled some roasted peppers a few weeks ago. They're takeaways when the family comes over this weekend for Christmas at Windfield Farms!

Christmas Starts in November...

2011-11-20T19:10:00.000-05:00

Have you guys started decorating your houses yet? Yes, it's the most wonderful time of the year again. Let's get festive and let us share our Christmas spirit with you.
FYI, this year's Christmas Movie Count:
National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation = 7
Elf = 4
Love Actually = 2
White Christmas = 1
Holiday Inn = 1

Toms for Everyone...

2011-09-25T16:42:00.000-04:00

Got ourselves some new Toms, the brand that started the One for One initiative, with every pair of shoes sold, Toms will give a pair of shoes to a child in need. Great cause, great style, great comfort and great Karma. Hop into a pair and help someone in need without even going out of your way.

Elton John concert...

2011-09-09T23:52:00.000-04:00

Just came back from the concert. Amanda and I were literally walking down the isle when Elton appeared no further than 30 feet from us. We were 5 rows from the stage and eye level with Elton when he started the concert of with The One, one of my favs from him. He continued the concert with some of my other favs such as Levon, Daniel, Tiny Dancer. He even played some classics such as Sixty Years On and Nikita (which I remember watching the video as a kid). The crowd was the dullest group of people I'd ever seen at a concert, then again I'd never been to a music event in Oshawa. I finally had had it and jumped up to dance assuming that's what people were waiting for, someone to start but I looked around only to look into a sea of zombies still, I couldn't care less and just kept dancing. Sir Elton John, thanks for coming to Oshawa and it was genuinely one of the best concerts I've ever been to.

Elton John concert...

2011-09-09T07:21:00.000-04:00

Amanda and I are going to the Elton John concert tonight, eat your hearts out!

Best 9 yet...

2011-08-28T22:17:00.000-04:00

Yes, yes, yes... it's been a while but it's just been so busy and the summer's been too nice to sit at the computer to type. As promised to lots of you, eLsOn will start to blog more again. Let's get back to it with some golf. Played at Mill Run on Saturday, only my second time out this year and played my best 9 ever on the back 9. Shot a 2 over with 4 pars and 2 birdies. You ask how about the front 9? Don't ask, I did salvage an 85, that's all I'll say.

Drink Local...

2011-07-10T18:50:00.000-04:00

Niagara, what a wonderful place! Even after the ridiculous Toronto traffic, it took us almost 3 hours yesterday to get through 401 and QEW at a snails pace. We finally hopped off the highway and drove along the beautiful back roads of wine country. As usual, we hit our favorite vineyard Vineland and then we hit Thirty Bench for their great Riesling and even bought 2 bottles of their "Red" this time. We drove around some more and discovered Beamsville Bakery Patisserie, a quaint European style bakery with treats made with artisan methods without shortcuts and artificial ingredients, worth swinging by if you're ever in that area. We also tried a winery that we've never been to before, Creekside Estate. Interesting blends of wines and judging by some of their creations, they're kinda the punks of wine making, we ended up collecting 3 bottles that we liked. The weather was great, Amanda and I had a wonderful day that ended in Niagara's Botanical Garden and Lundy's Lane strip.

Vacation in Cleveland

2011-06-18T09:56:00.001-04:00

11 06 06-07 - Vacation in Cleveland, a set on Flickr.

Off the Cleveland we'd gone to visit the incredible Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. If any of you call yourselves rock fans, it's a must see. It was surreal to be so close to artifacts like Jim Morrison's letters to his mom, Jimi Hendrix's grade school drawings and the Band's hand written lyrics to The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down!
Another destination for us was the Christmas Story house, if you've seen this Christmas classic, you'll understand why Amanda and I had ear to ear smiles when we pulled up to the front of the house. The Leg Lamp was around but the Red Ryder BB Gun was no where to be found, Ralphie must have locked it away safely.

Windfield Patio - Final

2011-06-18T09:48:00.002-04:00

11 06 05 - Patio Progress Day 14, a set on Flickr.

I don't know what happened but I'd posted 3 blogs but only the Gazebo blog entry went through. Anywho, here is the final result. Rob and the crew was nothing short of amazing and we're so glad the job was done, it was everything if not more than what we'd hoped for. Of course, immediately, we had to run out and personalize with colorful flowers, grasses and other plants.

Windfield - Gazebo Build

2011-06-16T21:17:00.002-04:00

11 06 05(2) - Gazebo Build, a set on Flickr.

Not even a full weekend since the patio's been finished, Amanda and I have to put our touch to make it truly ours. The day previous we'd already planted more flowers, grasses and bushes, but we have been waiting weeks to put our gazebo up. It was anything but a breeze, it took hours to put the top together. We also lifted this 300+lb beast ourselves THEN Amanda tried to install the legs while I Olympic style weight lifted the roof. We got the one side installed and while lifting the other side as the legs torqued from all the weight. Our neighbours came to the rescue and helped us finish what we'd started. With four people it was still a struggle. My suggestion for any of you thinking of tackling something like this, DON'T, hire someone else to do it, and make sure they have insurance!

Off to Cleveland...

2011-06-05T23:53:00.000-04:00

Got lots done this weekend! Amanda and I still don't feel like we're on vacation yet since we've been hustling and bustling since Friday after work. Lots of pics but no time to post, almost 12 now and have to leave here by 5am to head to Cleveland for a few days of relaxing and touristing. Check back soon!

Windfield Patio - Day 12

2011-06-05T23:50:00.002-04:00

11 06 04 - Patio Progress Day 12, a set on Flickr.

A few days work but I didn't get a chance to take pics until this morning before Rob started working again. It's coming along very well and I'd have to say, it's looking pretty damn good.

Windfield Patio - Day 11

2011-06-01T21:36:00.002-04:00

11 06 01 - Patio Progress Day 11, a set on Flickr.

Another great summer day (about time after all that rain we'd gotten), another surprise. Our builder had put in our new tree on the boulevard. Not only that, fence boards have started to go in and the backyard in general is really taking shape. I'm looking forward to the next few days, we're truely stunned at what a great experience it's been so far working with Rob and his crew.

Windfield Patio - Day 10

2011-06-01T21:33:00.002-04:00

11 05 30 - Patio Progress Day 10, a set on Flickr.

Wow, extreme heat alert and 41 degrees with the humidity. I don't know how they did it but the work done today was simply incredible.
6"x6" posts in (look at the one side, we were laughing about maybe Rob didn't get our joke when we meant we wanted a 10 foot fence, LMFAO).
All that done and they'd found time to make even further progress with the patio. At the risk of getting extreme sunburn, hats off to you Rob!

Windfield Patio - Day 9

2011-06-01T21:30:00.002-04:00

11 05 28 - Patio Progress Day 9, a set on Flickr.

A few rainy days have halted progress but it was finally dry enough to start digging the holes for the posts. I looked down them and saw China, so I think they've dug deep enough.
The rain didn't stop us with trimming our tree out front and helping my tomatoes grow.

Windfield Patio - Day 8

2011-06-01T21:28:00.002-04:00

11 05 25 - Patio Progress Day 8, a set on Flickr.

Blink of an eye and tada... Absolutely stunned at how quickly thing come together and with such precision and quality. I looked back at our original drawing and guess what, it's taking shape and becoming reality.

Windfield Patio - Day 7

2011-06-01T21:25:00.003-04:00

11 05 24 - Patio Progress Day 7, a set on Flickr.

After May two-four weekend and Rob and the crew don't seem hungover, progress is moving along and looking goooood.

Windfield Patio - Day 6

2011-05-21T00:05:00.002-04:00

11 05 20 - Patio Progress Day 6, a set on Flickr.

Friday before Victoria Day long weekend, Rob and the crew's pulled through another productive day. More and more the patio is taking shape and you can really start to picture what the completed product will look like. Also, enjoy some pics of our front garden that we'd fertilized and tidied up during the week.

Windfield Patio - Day 5

2011-05-19T22:48:00.002-04:00

11 05 19 - Patio Progress Day 5, a set on Flickr.

The morning was so foggy that Environment Canada issued a near 0 visibility warning and for the drive in, it was brutal. Luckily the sun peaked through slightly and the fog dissipated, allowing a good day's work for Rob and the crew. Benches are in and the layout for the body, inset and border are being prepared!!! It's really taking shape, Amanda, Tatlim and I are so stoked.

Windfield Patio - Day 4

2011-05-19T22:45:00.003-04:00

11 05 18 - Patio Progress Day 4, a set on Flickr.

Wow, after so much rain our contractor was able to get half a day's work in before the skies opened up again. They were able to lay out the concept of the benches in position for Amanda and I to review. The forecast for Day 5's work didn't look too good but we caught a break...

A&E's Windfield Garden (Day 2)

2011-05-16T22:37:00.002-04:00

11 05 15 - A&E's Windfield Back Garden (Day 2), a set on Flickr.

Here are day 2's pics.

A&E's Windfield Garden (Day 1)

2011-05-16T22:36:00.002-04:00

11 05 14 - A&E's Windfield Back Garden (Day 1), a set on Flickr.

The weather on the weekend was just terrible, it rained non stop and actually started to get cold again. But that didn't stop Amanda and I to spend the whole weekend in our backyard landscaping our new garden, replaced an unhealthy pine, planted 8 new cedars and removing/laying sod. Here're day 1's pics.

Windfield Patio - Day 3

2011-05-16T22:13:00.002-04:00

11 05 13 - Patio Progress Day 3, a set on Flickr.

Here's the progress on day 3 with step laid out, ready to be set. Also, Rob and the crew gave us two options of benches to choose from which will span 8' on either end of the patio.

Windfield Patio - Day 2

2011-05-16T22:12:00.002-04:00

11 05 12 - Patio Progress Day 2, a set on Flickr.

Here's the progress on day 2 last Thursday!

Windfield Patio - Day 1

2011-05-16T22:11:00.003-04:00

11 05 11 - Patio Progress Day 1, a set on Flickr.

The weather cooperated and gave the guys a great Wednesday, Thursday and even Friday to get the project off to a good start.
Here are the pics of day 1, I'll follow with other posts to mark each days progression, enjoy the pics. We can't wait to have the patio complete and enjoy some privacy in our backyard!

Summer Must Be Around Soon...

2011-05-01T15:08:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was beautiful and took my bike out for a spin for this first time this year and first time at Windfields. The roads around here are great for cycling and having woken up early, there was barely any traffic to speak of.
It calls for rain all week starting today but Amanda and I got up early and was able to get our front garden started. The builder had put in a makeshift garden so the neighborhood streetscape looks welcoming even if you aren't into gardening. Of course with us, the basic garden is not enough, we got rained on a little but now it's sunny again.
Enjoy the pics...

Windfield in Nov 10'

Let's see where we should plant?

"Rain or shine, we will garden"

Job Well Done

Come Chill with Us...

2011-02-27T20:01:00.000-05:00

Yes, a totally chilled out weekend. Friday night after work, went to Amanda's grandma's where she'd cooked me my belated birthday dinner. I brought the camera to take pics of the food but we wolfed it down so quickly that the camera didn't even have a chance. She'd asked me what I would like her to make so I chose my grandma's specials. Chinese fried rice (grandma's style), deviled eggs, steamed veggies (broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus...) with LOTS and LOTS of cheese sauce. I ate so much that my pants haven't fit right since.
Saturday and today, Amanda, Tatlim and I just hung out and did some errands, it was great to have such a relaxing weekend. Now watching the Oscar's preparing for another busy week at work. Here are some pics of Tatlim chilling.

Veggie in Utah...

2011-02-13T14:22:00.000-05:00

As promised, I'd post some of my food pics from the Salt Lake trip. Here they are and enjoy.

Yummy arugula salad with a pint of Utah's own polygamy porter

Portobello burger with arugula, roasted red peppers and goat cheese

Sage's Cafe, best vegetarian restaurant I've been to so far

As seen above, best Faux Escargot you'll get, the best I've tasted

Sage's Cafe was so good, I had to go back the night after, chow down on a veggie chicken philly faux cheese sandwich

January Blues...

2011-01-28T12:46:00.000-05:00

Damn it, January isn't even over yet and I'm sick as a dog. It started last week but I thought I'd gotten over it, then when I came back from Salt Lake City this week, it got worse again and I was literally immobilised Wednesday night. Passed out shivering and sweating, couldn't even lift my arm. Going to see the doc today, hope he can get rid of this stupid bug or whatever it is.
No pics this post, I'll post some of my Salt Lake City pictures next time. Btw, some great veggie options out that way, surprisingly.

Oops...

2010-11-29T20:55:00.002-05:00

Forgot to post the pics of our new Green Buddy Sommelier and his trusty German sidekicks.

To Serve and Protect...Our Wines

Truely One of a Kind Weekend...

2010-11-28T17:53:00.001-05:00

Hope all you had a good weekend. Amanda and my weekend was truly One of a Kind. As mentioned before, we'd finally hung up our Michelle Rose painting (a full year later) and today we've hung up our newly acquired Andrew King's "lemieux's lament".
But our fruitful weekend didn't end there. We'd found ourselves a 60's Telefunken phonograph stereo console to start birth of what will become our lounge room. The record player and surface will need some restoring but the sound and tuner is incredible, listening to Sinatra and Crosby right now and feels like we've gone back in time.
Further more, we've found our new sommelier and he's green. Made of recycled materials, our new wine opener is totally green, balding and cool. We even found a Boy and a Girl bottle stopper from Germany to accompany him when we enjoy our wines. Enjoy the new pics.

Michelle Rose

Andrew King

Simply Telefunken

Tatlim-funken?

Telefunken Guts

Telefunken with Sinatra and Crosby

One of a Kind Gain...

2010-11-26T23:38:00.001-05:00

Just came back from the One of a Kind show. If you remember, last year Amanda and I finally acquired one of Michelle Rose's great works. Michelle Rose has been an artist that we'd admired since our introduction to her work 5 years ago.
This year we were lucky enough to be introduced to another extremely talented artist, Andrew King. Amanda and I stood at his booth wondering what void would take over us if we don't purchase a piece from him. We thought long and hard to figure out how we can possibly choose, they're all simply amazing. We finally came to a decision to pick up "lemieux's lament". We will be hanging it up tomorrow. For the time being, I've snatched the image from his website.

Andrew King's "lemieux's lament"

p.s. stay tuned, tomorrow I'll be posting pictures of Michelle's and Andrew's paintings hung up in our home

Windfield Grass... (retro blog Nov 7th)

2010-11-15T21:14:00.000-05:00

On the rich soils of Windfield Farms, many prestigious race horses have trot.
Steeds have been bred for years to become winners.
And on November 7th, grass was laid on our property where the memories and prestige of these horses will forever live.

Amanda excitedly inspects the freshly laid grass.

The future home of our back patio complete with kitchen.

Who needs Alarmforce when Tatlim is around?!

Windfield Tree... (retro blog October 23rd)

2010-11-14T16:48:00.001-05:00

Guess what? WE HAVE A TREE!!! This is how it went down:
- I wake up
- Amanda has already woken up before me so I decide to get up as well
- I'm in my bathroom brushing my teeth and a scream breaks the silence of the morning
- I rush downstairs to see what's going on
- Amanda is at the front bay window screaming "We're getting a tree, we're getting a tree"
- I run into the other room to grab my Nikon D90
- The rest, is what they call photography history

Settling In... (retro blog October 10th)

2010-11-14T16:34:00.001-05:00

It's been a while but Amanda and I have just been fully occupied with getting the house to A&E (Amanda and Elson) standard. But finally, I am happy to say that we are excitedly settling into the new house and have had a few moments to relax to enjoy our weekends. Although it'll continue to be a working progress to get it exactly the way we picture it, it's now gotten to the stage where we can be comfortable and proud to have people over. I know it's been a while since I'd posted any pictures but here they are! I'll follow with a few more posts...

October 10th - Settling in at Windfield Farms

Sick

2010-10-19T14:24:00.000-04:00

Sick as a dog last night with a high fever, the shivers and the sweats. My head is still pounding sitting here with my hoodie on and watching Bridget Jones trying to get some rest.

Signing Out from Sunnybrae...

2010-10-01T19:43:00.000-04:00

It's been an emotional and draining day. Sunnybrae is empty and Windfield is now filled with boxes of our belongings. Tatlim seems to have settled into the new place well and she's already found her favorite spot to watch birds out our back patio window. I'm sitting here at Sunnybrae in what used to be the office, posting my final blog entry from here. It's been an unforgettable 2 years here. Amanda and I have created countless memories at what was our home. We now have a new home and a new beginning once again. I look forward to sharing new memories with all of you here, keep following pals.

Count-down to Windfield...

2010-09-29T22:38:00.000-04:00

2 more sleeps...

Windfield PDI...

2010-09-27T22:15:00.000-04:00

Went to visit the new house today for the pre-delivery inspection. The place looks great, Amanda and I are totally stoked and can't wait. A few touch ups here and there but they'll be fixed by Friday, the big day. Friday will be the day we say goodbye to Sunnybrae and HELLO WINDFIELD!
Since we've packed almost everything away this weekend, including my iMac (which all my pics are on), my next blog entry and pictures posting will mean we've settled into Windfield. Come back and join us in our new home.

KISS this...

2010-09-14T22:06:00.000-04:00

Wow, how about this. Amanda and I finally took a few days off to relax and to get some running around done last week. And where did we decide to go in the midst of our relaxation, WE WENT TO THE KISS CONCERT at the Molson Amphitheatre. Much to my surprise, I really enjoyed it. There were two opening acts.
1. THE ENVY: they sounded decent with some good writing but I have a gripe with them. They're Killers knock-offs with Fall Out Boy flair. Nevertheless I enjoyed their act and if they clean up their sound, we may hear more of them soon.
2. THE ACADEMY IS...: I had no time for them and couldn't wait until they got off the stage, with vocals being their weakest link.

When KISS finally came on, they rocked, preached, flew, exploded and bled on stage for a solid 2 1/2 hour performance. Extremely entertaining and even though I didn't recognize any songs until the encore, I was amazed! Now I know why these guys have endured 3 decades of pop culture, musical revolutions and trend changes. They're simply professionals and how ever much you pay for their concert, they make it worthwhile. If any of you get a chance to see these guys come to your town, it's excellent entertainment. KISS, keep on rock and rolling all night and party everyday, you guys have earned it!

Windfield Driveway...

2010-09-06T16:49:00.000-04:00

The exterior of the house is pretty much finished so we don't expect drastic changes anymore when we visit the site now. So to our surprise when we visted yestreday that the driveway was paved. Also, a few of our new neighbours have started to move in. Before you know it, it'll be our turn and restassured, there'll be many pictures to follow.
Windfield - Driveway

As Promised...

2010-09-06T13:45:00.001-04:00

As promised, here are images of the SOLD sign. Like I said before, we are looking forward to moving into Windfield but it's going to be difficult when it comes time to say goodbye to what we've called home for the past 2 years.

GOOD NEWS...SOLD!

2010-09-01T21:52:00.006-04:00

OK, ya I know the label to this post says Windfield Farms but it's really about our current home Sunnybrae. In essence, if Sunnybrae never sold, there most likely wouldn't be Windfield.
We've sold it to a very nice buyer and we're sure the new owner of this home will enjoy their time here. Amanda and I are definitely going to miss our first home which we've customized to our liking. From Amanda's beautiful flower garden always kept in perfect condition to the personally designed master, walk-in closet and bathroom.
It'll be a new chapter when we move into the new place when we'll start all over again to make it to our perfect liking. Ideas are already flying in our minds and can't wait to see where it takes us.
p.s. Yes, it's a cheat to show this picture but it's 9:45 at night and I'm already settled in, so all yous will have to wait for the SOLD sign photo in my next posting.

Guess Who?! UPDATE on Windfield Farms...

2010-08-25T21:36:00.010-04:00

Wow, how long has it been? Too long. It's been extremely busy at work and life has simply been hectic. OR, you can say I just got lazy for a little bit.
Ok, let's catch up and start with some updates on the new house. Here are some links to view the progress that you guys have missed over the last few months:
Windfield Progress
May 27th, 2010 Windfield - Shingles
June 6th, 2010 Windfield - Bricks
June 21st, 2010 Windfield - Inside/Framing
June 24th, 2010 Windfield - Siding
Enjoy the pics and will catch up more in a bit.

Setting New Foundations...

2010-04-25T21:05:00.001-04:00

Drove by Windfields today and the foundation is up on the house. Looks like they're building our house simultaneously with our neighbours. Great to know once we move in, there won't be any construction going on beside us. Let's see what the progress will be next week, until then here's what was done this week.

Windfields Ground Breaking...

2010-04-19T22:36:00.004-04:00

Guess what everyone!!! Amanda and my Windfield home has had its groundbreaking. It's been quite busy getting the house ready to be put on the market, with our hectic work schedules and our usual weekly adventures like Hot Yoga, arts & crafts shopping, movie watching and biking; there just hasn't been enough time in the week to blogs and posts photos. But finally I've found a moment to breath after our Hot Yoga session and to share with all you some photos of our new home, Flickr over.

Windfield Update...Chillin' Out

2010-03-20T09:06:00.006-04:00

Windfield Update...
Well, it's been over a month since our new Windfield's home announcement. It took a bit of work but we've finally chosen all our trimmings for the house. Bricks, shingles, tiles, carpet, cabinets, on and on and on... We'd worked within our budget to achieve our dream home at this stage of our lives. The builder proposes to break ground in April. Will keep you all posted.
Chillin' Out...
Typing in my blog to share with you guys right now and chillin' with Verve//Remixed3. So Come Dance With Me, Speak Low while you Sing, Sing, Sing cause it's Just One Of Those Things. Highly recommend picking up this quality collection along with Verve//Remixed2. Hurry out to buy these two albums if you dare call yourselves music lovers (don't even think about just downloading these off iTunes, art like this deserves better appreciation than just a download).

Track Listings
1. Little Girl Blue [Postal Service Remix] - Nina Simone

2. Speak Low [Bent Remix] - Billie Holiday
3. Sing, Sing, Sing [RSL Remix] - Anita O'Day
4. Fever [Adam Freeland Remix] - Sarah Vaughan
5. Come Dance With Me [Sugardaddy Remix Tom Findlay and Tim Hutton] - Shirley Horn
6. Just One of Those Things [Brazilian Girls Remix] - Blossom Dearie
7. Gentle Rain [RJD2 Remix] - Astrud Gilberto
8. Peter Gunn [Max Sedgley Remix] - Sarah Vaughan
9. Stay Loose [Lyrics Born Remix] - Jimmy Smith
10. Boy's Doin' It [Carl Craig Remix] - Hugh Masekela
11. Lilac Wine [the Album Leaf Remix] - Nina Simone
12. Yesterdays [Junior Boys Remix] - Billie Holiday
13. Baby, Did You Hear? [Danger Mouse Remix] - Dinah Washington

What's new...

2010-03-20T08:51:00.000-04:00

Well, work is extremely busy and the sun's been shining bright so the days are going by fast despite 'longer' days (daylight savings time). Just went out for a spin on the bike this morning, only 10K's, it got a bit chilly and started to spit so I decided to turn around and come back home for a cup of Starbucks instead of freezing my ass off. About the start the weekend with an optometrist appointment and maybe head to Whole Foods for some groceries. Catch up more later.

Announcement: New Home

2010-02-19T19:30:00.001-05:00

Amanda and I have bought a new house. It's in a new development in Oshawa on the lands of what used to be Windfield Farms. We're stoked about our new purchase and in a few months, we'll be moving into the new home (hopefully without any delays). Things are still really preliminary, more details to be followed.
Here are some pics.

Veggie HotSpot update

2010-02-19T18:56:00.000-05:00

New entry on our Veggie HotSpot blog: Mid Feb Vegan Update

Veggie HotSpot update

2010-01-30T15:42:00.000-05:00

New entry on our Veggie HotSpot blog: February Vegan Month (for Amanda)

Movies: Pirate Radio and Paper Heart

2010-01-30T15:29:00.000-05:00

So, watched two feel good movies last weekend and just getting around to blogging it now. Pirate Radio (The Boat that Rocked for those of you outside North America) and Paper Heart.

The Boat that Rocked...

Those of you that call yourself music fans, this is a must watch. A quick about, this movie follows a boat of pirate DJs bucking the establishment. They played and said what they wanted, in a less accepting time of open feelings and free speech. As usual, Bill Nighy and Philip Seymour Hoffman were greatly entertaining. Not only did I appreciate the dry British humour but the music was great. A true journey back in time to visit some of the great musicians who bravely opened the door for today's artists. One song that stuck out which I was surprised to hear was Yusuf Islam's (better known as Cat Stevens) Father and Son, an incredibly touching song, solid.

Paper Heart...

This movie needs only one word, cute. This movie (documentary/mockumentary?) follows Charlyn Yi's quest to find out what true love is. The random appearances of some of today's greatest comedians was greatly welcomed by Amanda and I (we love stand up and anychance these unsung artists get recognition is ok by us). Basically, watching this movie is like having a story book read to you by innocently funny people. A great movie to cheer up the day.

Still around...

2010-01-28T09:08:00.004-05:00

Hey all, I'm still around. Can't believe it's already January 28th. Over a month since my last post, time's just flown by. Really busy at work and personal life, the weekends have been packed also (you guys know how much I love my weekends), it's been quite hectic. Looking forward to some down time, whenever that'll be. Anywho, post more later, just wanted to let everyone know I'm still around.

Avatar...

2009-12-19T19:17:00.005-05:00

Went to watch Avatar with Amanda and her sister, IT IS A MUST WATCH. It's easily my favorite movie of the year. I'm not a super Sci-fi fan so it doesn't top my fav movies of all time list, but definately top 10. It was an interesting way to expose how ignorant the human desire for wealth and fortune is. The movie is a perfect reflection of everyday life on our earth. It not only portraits how we can thoughtlessly destroy mother nature in general but also how we can destroy others homes for self profit without a care. Overall, this movie is incredible and definitely worth watching in 3D.

Mark This Day, Dec 9th...

2009-12-09T21:21:00.004-05:00

No time to chat, cooking. But MARK THIS DAY of 2009, December 9th, SNOW!!!! No other words needed.

1 of a Kind & Christmas Elf Greetings...

2009-12-03T00:02:00.007-05:00

1 of a Kind...

Went to the One of a Kind show last night to see some artists' works and lots of great unique crafts. Going back on Saturday to do some thoughtful Christmas shopping, hope the weather holds out and I don't freeze my ass off. Also, the Princess Gate had a beautiful chandelier that you can see from quite a distance. You would never guess this is the same corner where the the Indy cars make the a 100+ degree turn at extreme speeds after the fastest straight away on the course, wow.

Elf Greetings...

It's Dec, that means Christmas, that means Elf Amanda and Elson has a new voicemail greeting. Enjoy the vdo.

Shaved my head...

2009-11-30T22:45:00.002-05:00

Weekend Shopping...

2009-11-30T22:28:00.008-05:00

Went downtown AGAIN to do some shopping with Amanda, got quite a lot of gifts done and hopefully won't need to leave anything down to the last second this year. Eaton Centre looks great decked out in decorations. Check out our pics.

Christmas November, Food Inc...

2009-11-26T22:55:00.013-05:00

Christmas November

This weekend, spent Saturday with Amanda's sister. We went downtown to shop, went home to eat raclette and Red Tea Box $15 cakes, then to the late show to watch New Moon. The movie was corny as expected but it was still sooo good, the story and characters are amazing despite the poor acting. On Sunday, brought out Snowman Bob and Tatlim jumped right onto him. He's a gift from our aunt last year, he's absolutely as cool as Christmas.

Food Inc

Watching Food Inc for the first time, highly encourage everyone to check it out. Let's all start living smarter and think at least once before we put what we call food into our bodies. Living well doesn't end with humans, all animals deserve to live well too (needless to say die well). Stop relying on medicine to get well after the fact and let's start being well, living well and eating well. Even if you do eat meat, eat ethically. Go organic, go free range or at least try. Know your food and where it came from.

Nail in tire = cash out of pocket...

2009-11-16T19:42:00.005-05:00

Damn it! Realized there was a nail in my tire and had to go get it fixed. Tried to see if it was fixable but the nail was way too close to the side wall of the tire. I actually felt the end of the nail when I pushed on the side wall. Took it back to the dealer and luckily didn't have to replace both back tires (so the tires are balanced) because the tires are relatively new. The down side was I still had to replace a tire instead of repairing it. Anyhow, at least the tire didn't blow and I didn't get stranded. Thanks to the CRV's tire pressure monitor. It had warned me that the tire was low and triggered me to check the tires out. Thanks Honda, I guess.

2012ing and Christmas Shopping...

2009-11-14T18:44:00.004-05:00

Went to watch 2012 today. Amanda wasn't too crazy about it but I enjoyed it as I thought I would. I had been looking forward to this movie for a while now and it was the typical Hollywood disaster film. It was The Day After Tomorrow on steroids, filled with hundred foot waves and continuous explosions. It was an enjoyable 2 1/2 brainless hours. We then started our Christmas shopping and got a few of the kids done, the shops are starting to get busy and we are glad we're starting early. Picked up the third segment of Underworld [Rise of the Lycans], which indeed is a prequil to Underworld and Undeworld Evolution so we're watching the trilogy as I'm blogging and wining with another bottle of Vineland's Chenin Blanc. Gonna have to call Vineland to get a case to cellar before the vintage is sold out.

p.s. Keep an eye out for Amanda's dad's truck tomorrow at the Santa Claus Parade. He'll be driving the truck pulling the Star float in the world longest running Santa Claus Parade. Send me photos of the Hurley Bros. truck if you get hold of any.

Christmas season and OUCH!

2009-11-11T20:49:00.004-05:00

Christmas starts in November...

Amanda and I put away all the summer stuff outside this weekend and put up our Christmas lights around the house. We had some nice weather on the weekend and decided to take advantage of it. Cleaned up the remainder of the leaves that were on the ground, took down the canopy in the back and put away the patio set. We found out when we got home tonight that our great neighbours even got matching lights and strung them up the same way we did so it looks symetrical. Will wait for a nice clear night and take a pic of the house with the lights on. We're gonna start our Christmas shopping this weekend before the shops start getting crazy, but of course there'll always be some last minute running around come December 24th.

OUCH!...Went out to play volleyball with the old team last night, they were short players so I figured I'd help out. It was fun to play again, I hadn't played since I'd injured my ankle in April. It was all good until I went up for a spike, hammered it straight down and got the point. The bad part came when I'd landed right on my heel and for some reason my knee and back were straight over the heel. Pain shot straight into my lower back like someone had twisted by vertebrae. Going to the chiro tomorrow, hope he can fix it but I'm walking like a 500 year old turtle now, hope I can actually get some sleep thru the pain tonight as opposed to last night. Until next time.

BOO!

2009-11-01T20:52:00.004-05:00

Spent Halloween at Amanda's grandmother's. I went out as a fried egg on a teflon pan and Amanda went out as a bag of jelly belly. Amanda's little cousins Alexis and RJ got loads of candies, one house even gave out mini music boxes. Hope all your Halloweens were great.

Thanksgiving weekend wrap up...

2009-10-12T19:27:00.016-04:00

Sitting here, just watched Underworld and My Super Exgirlfriend, now watching National Treasure. Just chilling out after another busy weekend and dinner with the family yesterday. Made a Lasagna today and had it for dinner with some garlic roasted cauliflower and broccoli.

Niagara was great, had superb weather and it wasn't too busy at all. We managed to visit Vineland and Frog Pond (an organic winery), the tastings were excellent and discovered a few wines along with some old favs from Vineland. Added a few more bottles to the cellar and our counter top including:

Vineland St.Urban Riesling

Vineland Chenin Blanc

Vineland Cabernet Merlot

Frogpond Chambourcin

Frogpond Chardonnay

Gesundheit - Juice by Niagara Juice Company

After some shopping and an early dinner in Niagara On The Lake, we headed over to the Botanical Gardens and the School of Horticulture. It was beautiful and quite a sanctuary, they even farmed fowl there, it was wonderful to see them live in tranquility without the threat of being farmed or slaughtered, the way it's supposed to be.

We drove home, stopped at Tim Horton's on the way and had a few glasses of wine.

Hope those of you reading in Canada had a great Thanksgiving weekend and stay posted.

Thanksgiving weekend...

2009-10-09T23:13:00.013-04:00

Let's start the long weekend. Just came back from dinner with Amanda's dad and the fam @ Bella Notte. Amanda's sis Lindsey graced us with her presence tonight. Great to see you Lindsey, Sunday morning run right? Have fun at the Mariana's Trench concert tomorrow night. Dinner was great as we've come to expect from Bella Notte, had a great bottle of Italian Red and an average Californian Sauvignon Blanc.

Plans for the weekend...
Sat, Got an appointment in the morning with the chiropractor then Amanda and I are heading to Niagara to visit our wineries and do some shopping, hope Vineland got the memo to keep the VIP spot open. Sun, hope to get out for a ride and a run before we head out to Grandma's for dinner with lots of fun, pics, food and drinks. Mon, just chill out and get ready for the week,
hopefully another run if we didn't overeat the night before.

La glace et le petit gâteau de Les Glaceurs de Montréal from our trip the last long weekend

Running and SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT...

2009-10-01T21:06:00.008-04:00

Cold, wet, tornadoes...
What's been up, the damn cold, that's what! It's been dipping into the single digit temperatures for the past few mornings and nights. The rain has been on and off and another tornado even touched down just 20 minutes away from our house! That's Fall and Winter in Canada for you.

Run...
So, Monday we starting our Learn to Run with the Running Room and it was fabulous. About 30 people are in the group (compared to the 8 last year this time). There was an introduction of everybody, a quick clinic and then we went for a 3K walk/run despite the wet and cold conditions. It was a great intro for Amanda and I, we look forward to meeting some really nice people from this group.

Special Announcement...
As you all know by now, Amanda and I have moved into our new house for over a year now and agreed that it is finally time, not even our parents know about this...

wait for it...

...I am turning FULL VEGETARIAN, no more pescetarian. Amanda has been a vegetarian for over a year now and I have been convinced that I shall make the leap too. Also, in our quest to become savvy Veggies, we've started a new blog where we will share our Veggie adventures with everyone. Restaurants, food product reviews, new animal friendly products & places we come across and everything else in between. Now you can follow us Veggie Heads at where else?! www.veggiehotspot.blogspot.com
Enjoy, spread the word and keep following!

Dinner at Calico and Wines with Tatlim...

2009-09-20T20:39:00.015-04:00

Hey all, went to check out a new vegetarian restaurant Calico and the food was immaculate. The service was excellent. The menu was creative but simple, most important of all though, the food was fresh. How fresh, most of what was on our plates and glasses came straight out of the garden behind the storefront. There were three of us and this being our first time to Calico, we ordered everything, some of them even twice. What was on the menu? Enjoy the pics.

We also had some wine on the weekend! Amanda, Tatlim and I...

From left: Collection of corks, Swiss clay character, Vineland Chenin Blanc, Flat Rock Riesling, Masi Campofiorin, Amanda, Tatlim, Elson

Labour Day Weekend update...

2009-09-12T08:23:00.006-04:00

Been trying to download the pics from labour day weekend last week but either my RAM is too slow or my card reader is messed up. So, what did we do?

Saturday - We woke up early and drove to Montreal. We were going to go shopping in Pennsylvania but decided to have a visually and culturally stimulating day instead of being shopper zombie budget hunting mode. We were thinking of visiting some wineries and microbreweries while there but didn't get around to it. We got there and had brunch at Commensal, delish and perfect choice to continue the heavy on raw food diet. The city was packed with locals and tourists, perfect chance to practice my french. The government has done an excellent job putting money into the core downtown Montreal and Old Montreal. Bike lanes lined every roadway and instead of walking or taking the taxi, we hopped onto Bixi's and rode to Old Montreal from downtown. Excellent program to reduce carbon emission replacing taxi rides with well kept bikes that ANYONE can use at reasonable prices. Chapeau Montreal for following the footsteps of bike friendly cities like London and Boston, Toronto take note! Old Montreal was beautiful with great artists trying to make a few bucks, we found a gem of a wine holder which is now holding out 06 Chenin Blanc from Vineland Estate.

After a full day of walking and biking, we drove into the suburbs of Montreal and sad to say, they were kinda scummy but still had bike lanes linking to the city core, what a concept eh?! We drove back the same day so we can take full advantage of the long weekend by waking up in the comfort of our own home.

Sunday and Monday - We just kicked back with lots of biking, gardening, cheeses and wines, dinner at Thai Hotspot on Monday, great food and supporting a local business (we've been there 5-6 times in the past month). A great weekend, did lots and relaxed lots too. Will post the Montreal pics once I download the rest of the pics from the Nikon DSLR.

Raw Food Week Over... Keep Staying Healthy

2009-09-04T21:49:00.005-04:00

Last day of the raw food diet, went to Rawlicious tonight. How did it compare to Live Raw Food Bar we had on Tuesday? It was comparable but I personally liked Live better. Here is what we had:

Rawlicious:
* Nori Rolls – sprouted quinoa, marinated mushrooms, avocado & fresh vegetables
YUM, this was SOOO good, the best dish we had here.

* Nacho Platter – the classic trio of Guacamole, “Sour Cream” & Salsa served with sliced green olives, green onions, hot banana peppers & a pile of Rawlicious Nacho Chips
This was good but the one at Live so much better.

* Warm Pizza – Our daily special pizza served on a warm sprouted Buckwheat Crust "ours had tomato puree, tomato slices, red onions, olives, zucchini
This was really tasty, the tomato flavour was so rich.

* Rawitch – Fresh veggies & sprouts, piled high on Earth Bread or Onion Bread
Also really good, the sprouts were just great with guacamole and fresh tomatoes.

* Drink was Chocolate Nut Milk – Almond Milk, Raw Cacao Powder, Agave, Vanilla
Milo/Ovaltine like, it was ok, nothing out of the ordinary.

* Dessert was Brownie
Tasted yumm but we couldn't finish it, we were so full!

Live Raw Food Bar:
* Poutine - Jicama makes up the “fries” of this mouth watering dish.Topped with a cashew herbed “cheese” and miso gravy
My fav dish here but not Amanda's, she didn't like the crunchyness of the "fries", the gravy and "cheese" really made the dish, the mix of flavours and textures were amazing, chapeau Chef!

* Nachos Fiesta - Our famous corn “chips” served with salsa verde, guacamole and cashew sour cream
The salsa, guac and cashew sour cream beats out Rawlicious hands down and THE CHIPS, wow, we bought another bag after to bring home, yes, it was THAT good"

* The main was a mix of four items Spring Roll, Pad Thai, Lasagna and Pizza slice
Everything was yumm, sounds like lots of food but the portions were perfect to be enjoyed.

* Dessert
Amanda's favorite cake EVER, ya, she said that and the cake wasn't even baked nor did it have flour. RICH chocolate cake make with avacado, agave and nuts.

K, basically after listing the foods we had at the two raw restaurants, what does this mean? Well, I definitely feel better, Amanda is sleeping better and less tired. It all makes sense doesn't it?! Raw and even cooked vegetables are what our body needs. Stop with the protein BS about meat. I'm not forcing no meat upon people, hell I eat seafood still. I'm just saying you must learn about what you're eating and putting into your body. Educate yourself and stop living off what's on sale this week in the flyer and oh what's convenient and quick BS

Upcoming posts and sad event in Toronto...

2009-09-01T22:28:00.005-04:00

My next blogs will cover Amanda and My week of going on a Raw Food diet. We have already started it and I'm pleasantly surprised that I'm not having too many cravings and feel pretty good so far. I'm easily seeing more raw food meals and days in our routine in the future. Stay posted.

Condolences go out to the victim's family in last night's incident which cost the life of a cyclist during a confrontation with a vehicle. As an avid cyclist myself, sometimes it is frustrating to be pushed around by motorist on the road but keep calm and don't lose control of yourself. This will be a real high profile case as it involves former Ontario Attorney General Michael Bryant. Follow @ CP24 or theStar. I hope the truth will come out in the end and the proper actions are taken and Toronto can continue to progress in it's quest to become a more cycling friendly city.

Let's catch up from the weekend...

2009-09-01T21:34:00.013-04:00

So, it has been a while since I last blogged. The week back to work following the vacay was hectic and this week hasn't been any easier. Let's see what we did on the weekend...

Saturday...
Wow, a few days has passed and I can barely remember what we'd done. One of the major things had to be working in the garden and getting the fall plants ready. Went to pick up some nice decorative cabbage/kale (green and purple) and also ornamental purple peppers. Ya, they look like mini eggplants but they're peppers. Otherwise we'd just chilled and did some cleaning around the house, drank some Alsace Riesling and watched movies. Our definition of a perfect weekend.

Sunday...
Slept in a bit, went to grab breakfast and then headed to check out Autofest where Amanda's dad's Camero was being showcased, what a beaut.

We ended up spending 4 plus hours at the show, what a group of vehicles and the hours of blood and sweat that had gone into them. We actually stood through three sun showers as some of the cars participated in a parade. The atmosphere was great and the smiles on the faces of not only kids, but the adults were priceless.

After the show, Amanda, Amanda's dad and I went to Shrimp Cocktail to have dinner. The 1.5lbs plus lobster special with butternut squash risotto that Amanda's dad had looked and smelled amazing. There was beet & mixed greens salad and vegetarian cannelloni for the vegetarian Amanda. There was also fresh raw oysters and Mediterranean spaghetti for the pescetarian me.

To great friends and sad farewells...

2009-08-22T18:25:00.006-04:00

Aileen and Jurg are two of the closest people to us. After spending a week with them, we keep asking ourselves why we aren't in Europe where we can see them more often. It was such a pleasure to have spent some really valuable time with them. This morning, we had a wonderful breakfast together at Sunset Grill and shared more laughs together. Dropping them off at the hotel was really emotional, it was truly difficult for me to hold the tears back.
Aileen and Jurg, we hope you guys are going to have a great remainder of your vacation in Miami. Amanda and I love you guys and can't wait to visit you guys in Switzerland.

CNE

2009-08-22T18:06:00.006-04:00

Visited CNE yesterday. What great weather and the crowd was managable considering it was the opening day and $1.75 admission. Aileen, Jurg, Amanda and I had such a blast. We spent the day there and then had dinner at Jack Astors before we stepped into the world of Inglorious Bastards. The movie was so smart and hilarious, Quentin has got some mind in that big head of his. We all got home late and then spent some time together as it was the last night Aileen and Jurg were at our home b4 they fly to Miami. This week has been so fun and seeing Aileen and Jurg was so great, we're so happy that they'd decided to visit and stay with us.

Paintballing with Fam, Friends and Strangers...

2009-08-19T23:59:00.004-04:00

Went paintballing at Camp X today with a bunch of us. It was the first time all of us had gone and it was extremely fun. Getting shot hurted like a b1tch for the first few moments but that's all part of the fun. We were talking later about how it would totally take the fun out if you had full gear to block the shots. First shot was the worst because we didn't know what to expect, especially with my first shot being right at the nipple during a showdown with someone with in 20 feet of me, I thought I'd got him but I guess it wasn't the case. When we got home, I had realized that I had multiple welts on my body but never had noticed being shot there during the game. It was really cool to be in the combat situation, really gets your adrenaline going. Had dinner at one of our favs Bella Notte and as usual, food was yumm! Catch up more later chums, chao!

Niagara...beautiful weather, wines and friends...

2009-08-19T23:16:00.010-04:00

Amanda, Aileen, Jurg and I came back last night from 2 days of Niagara wineries, foods and relaxation. We started out the 2 days trek with a hearty breakfast at Amanda and my regular Sunset Grill. The traffic was actually not too bad compared to the usual backlog. We first hit Vineland Estates and what a beautiful place, service was great and Katherine spent more than half an hour explaining their wines with us, we were more than happy to have bought 12 bottles of wine from them. We had also visited Flat Rock and Strewn. I bought 2 bottles of my usual beloved Terroir Strewn Three at Strewn. Did sooo much, let's do a photo blog instead of me making you read... enjoy friends...

Seeing, shopping, eating and drinking...

2009-08-17T00:40:00.003-04:00

Aileen and Jurg are finally here and staying with us. We dropped off Tatlim at Amanda's mom's house yesterday afternoon after much tidying of the house. Tatlim was stressed but we managed to stay a few hours with her to get her acquainted with her new surroundings. We then went to Fressen for a really nice dinner, one hint, don't bother with the vegan caesar if you appreciate a real caesar.
We went to pick up Aileen and Jurg's luggage at the hotel afterwards, we're so glad we'v got the new CRV, the 9 PIECES of luggage just fit. We settled in and caught up at home, it was so nice to start our vacation.
Sunday...
We grabbed breakfast at Bagel Stop then headed down to the Beach. It was such a hottttt day, the sun was just blaring. Lots of people at the beach and checked out a few neat stores. We had dinner at the Distillery after some more shopping but what an experience that was. The servers were in space and messed up our orders, and when asked about which burger was which, the waiter had the audacity to open up both burgers with his filthy hands, MANAGER, COME OVER HERE NOW, WE'VE GOT A FEW ISSUES OVER HERE. The food was good and the beer was delish, unfortunate to have had to deal with a few dimbos who's replies to MSG was "most things now have MSG in it", UNACCEPTABLE for any restaurant, especially at the Distillery!!! On the way back from dinner, we happened to have driven by a closed off Church Street and the Fetish Festival was happening, got a few interesting shots but the spirit was GREAT, everyone was just having fun and living it up. Gotta go to bed now but will for sure post some pics when I get a chance. Going to wine and dine some more tomorrow in Niagara. Keep posted for more...
Elson

Eating and Cleaning Up...

2009-08-10T21:26:00.008-04:00

So, what did I do this weekend? Seemed like lots but the weekend still flew by.
Friday...
Dropped off our Cervelos at Wheels of Bloor for full tune ups so they're in pro shape for the second half of the season.
After dropping the bikes off, we had dinner with Amanda's dad and family at Bella Notte. We love this restaurant but unfortunately my mushroom risotto was made with chicken stock so being a pescetarian, NOT GOOD. Oh well, just have to keep reminding myself to ask some questions. The dish tasted good anyhow and the salmon carpaccio app was delish. Drinks wise we opened two bottles of Wolf Blass Yellow Label Cab Sauv, their latte was good finish to the night's meal. After dinner we went back to Amanda's dad's place and had a swim and water gun fight, food was good and weather was great, it was a wicked night.
Saturday...
Woke up early to go to St.Lawrence market. Picked up Amanda's cousin and aunt on our way there and had a great morning. The local produce were beautiful and smelled so fresh, just seemed like everything was in season. Came back home and then started cleaning the house to some great jazz on the radio from the digital box. The two bottles of Amanda's new love, Pierre Sparr Riesling were wonderful in heat. Had a relaxing dinner on the patio as the storm blew in and just chilled for the rest of the night.
Sunday...
Woke up early AGAIN! Went to grab breakfast at Sunset Grill and then went shopping for everyday stuff and some stuff we didn't need but got anyways, hahaha. Grabbed some decoration for the walls around the house that we thought were just wonderful. We'd been looking for a chalk board or chalk board paint for one of the kitchen walls but we found this peel and decorate chalk sheet instead...

we also found these to go on the main entrance hallway wall...

And of course I found something to treat myself with, yep, finally Riedel. I'm ashamed to say it's taken this long. SO EXCUUUUUSE ME you wine snobs, I actually drink to enjoy and not for the la-di-da factor.
Wow, see I did do a lot and I'm already skipping lots. Let's wrap it up, we continued to clean the house and then went out for Japanese, came home and then started to prepare for the week ahead.

And the most important thing about this week... AILEEN AND JURG ARRIVES ON WEDNESDAY!!!!!!!!!!

Trained, Drank and Getting Ready for Holidays...

2009-08-05T21:04:00.001-04:00

Hey, wow, it's been a few days since my last post. The long weekend was great, weather held off and finally a long weekend that was fully enjoyable.
Trained...
Went out for a long ride on Saturday morning in a group of three. Did 75k's and averaged a respectable 27km/h. What a work out but felt damn good for the rest of the weekend. Hopefully I can get that average speed up very soon. I'm trying to drop a few pounds before the winter (that's when the weight piles back on), stay tuned and keep track of my fitness here with me.
Drank...
I'm sure the wines aren't helping the point above but damn if I will ever give up my Venetian and Alsatian wines and German beers.
Getting Ready for Holidays...
Amanda and I started to tidy up a few areas around the house to welcome our bestfriends Aileen and Jurg in a few weeks. We're totally stoked. Worked on the garden and lawn to get it back into shape from all the storms and constructions through the earlier part of the year. We also stripped down two big windows, recaulked everything and then repainted them. Hope they'll last us a few more years before replacing them, although they do need to be replaced soon. It looks tip top now and a few more windows to go.

Gardening...

Window before...

Window after...

Oh ya, painted the garage door trim too...

Training Bike and Wii...

2009-07-30T22:14:00.000-04:00

Riding
Rushed home after work so I could get a ride in. Had two plate fulls of spinach and mushroom salad with some nice and bitter calamata olives. Watched some TV while stretching and digesting then got changed and headed out before the sunset. The skies were beautiful tonight as opposed to the past few evenings where it looked like scenes from Independence Day, sans the aliens... so we think, hahaha. Anywho, felt great tonight and kept the speed up whenever I could. 31km's, averaged about 27.5km/h, those last two hills were killers, I was feeling it on the Cherrydown hill, WHICH I HAVE to come back up if I want to get home.
Wii-ing
Locked the bike up, took a bath and then came down to play Wii fit which Amanda was just finishing off a 1060 steps step session. The damn Nintendo told me I'd gained weight since 6 days ago, I blame it on the 2 liters of water that was still in my belly. Luckily for my ego, I had just weighed myself upstairs and my body fat % had actually come down. What a system Nintendo had come around with, I've never had a system where I was still interested in after a year.

K, enough blabbing, signing off now. Going to pour myself a glass of Pinot Grigio and then off to bed. Cheers.

Nothing news and training...

2009-07-27T21:44:00.000-04:00

Hey all,
Had a rainy weekend and barely got a chance to do anything other then mow the lawn and had a relaxing breakfast and coffee on the patio with Amanda and Tatlim on Sunday. Went to MEC to get myself a new saddle for the bike, hopefully it'll be comfortable. Went out for 15km this evening and it felt good for the short ride, we'll see if I'll get a chance to test it this Wednesday (if the rain holds off). Nothing exciting happening which is actually a good thing considering all that's been going on lately.
Taking the CRV into the body shop tomorrow and hopefully will get it back by the end of the week. We'll go get some glamour shots with it once it's fixed and prettied up.
p.s. Stay tuned for another blog that I will be writing, this one will be with Amanda's help. Don't ask me about it, it's top secret!
Signing off for the night, talk to yous soon.
Elson

Training and Tatlim's test results

2009-07-22T21:22:00.000-04:00

RIDE
Just had a quick dinner, reloaded after my training ride. Did the same route as Monday and then finally had the legs to do two good hills. The way out was really windy, almost got blown off the bike when a gust came from the side while I was trying to unwrap my chocolate bar, had at least one hand on the handle bars after that. After the regular route, went and did the Olive hill, not too long but steep, at least to me, reached 57.5km/h on the way back down. Then did the Cherrydown hill to get home. Not a bad ride overall, 30k's, about an hour six, averaged 27km/h.

TATLIM
Got a call from the vet to let us know Tatlim's blood tests. They said her kidney and liver looks good but her white blood cells were a bit low, a sign of stress. They asked that we take her back next month to do another blood test to make sure everything is ok. She's eating her food and drinking fine but still not 100%, we'll have to keep an eye on her.

Tatlim to vet, TdeF...

2009-07-21T21:48:00.000-04:00

Took Tatlim back to the vet today, third time in the last three weeks. They took some blood from her for testing, we're so proud of her, she behaved even after she was swept away to another room away from us for the blood test.

They shaved a patch on her neck where the blood was taken, we were so surprised that they took it from the front. We'll have to wait a few days for the test results to come back. We'll have to keep monitoring her diet and water intake.

TOUR DE LANCE!!!
What a stage at the Tour. Contador must have thought Lance was down and out for the count but he must have been surprised when Lance bridged a 40 second gap on the steepest part all by himself. What a few days in the mountains it will be, I'm still confident Lance will be in Yellow in Paris. Go Lance, and let's make it 9 next year. Keep your ears out this Thursday, what is this "American" partner Lance is talking about for next year. Good-bye Astana, hello _ _ _ _???

Training

2009-07-20T21:25:00.000-04:00

Just came back from a training ride, caught the last of the sunlight. A little less than 26km, took about 56 mintues, averaged 27.6km/h. Did some full out sprints but just wanted to get some miles in the legs. Hopefully it won't rain on Wednesday and can do another 60k's, missed last week but the week before was great. It's nice to get a few days of riding in during the week and then a long ride (if not two) on the weekends.

Concert, Friends and Tatlim!

2009-07-19T15:03:00.000-04:00

A bit late posting this one, we shot the vdo yesterday morning. The Live concert was pretty cool, it took a little bit to get into it but sure brought me right back to the 90's.

Just got word today that Aileen and Joreg have booked their tickets to come here in August, totally stoked. Can't wait for them to get here and we'll have a great vacation together, we miss her so much and I'm so looking forward to finally meeting Joreg. Woo-hoo!!!

Tatlim hasn't been feeling well lately and it's got us concerned. We've taken her to the vet and they suspect it's just a case of really bad hair ball, will have to keep an eye on it. She hasn't been too keen on her food since we took her in for her rabbies shot. Hope she'll come out of it and back to being herself soon.

Found It! Let's get ready to LIVE.

2009-07-16T21:42:00.000-04:00

"Clowning around at Mark's farewell party"

Finally, after much running around, I found the hitch adapter that I was looking for. Went to a place earlier in the week to pick it up but they wanted to charge me $65. Picked one up tonight for $17 (even though it says $15 on-line, maybe it's Quebec pricing, hehehe...) HITCH REDUCER. Let me throw the bike rack on the CRV this weekend and go for a ride on the Waterfront Trail with Amanda. Stay close for those vdo blogs.

Tomorrow night, Amanda and I will be heading to Casino Rama to rock with Live. Let's hear the dolphines cry until we're too tired to stand.

New Hair Do and Car Update

2009-07-15T22:36:00.000-04:00

Got a new hair cut today after work. Tried a new place @ 7 and Leslie called The Edge. Wow, was the dude ever talkative. I was thinking "you better stop talking and pay attention to cutting my hair". It turned out OK, I'll post a pic tomorrow when I get a chance to style it my way.
Went to show the CRV to Dent Tech http://www.denttech.ca/, going to arrange for the hail dents to be fixed in the next week or two. I'll comment on the job once it's complete. They are working on 200+ cars for a local dealer that got hammered by the same storm and seem to be reputable specializing in this type of work.

"Fishing contest at Amanda's little cousin's 6th birthday party. Ya, I kicked ass and won the prize. I used the Crouching Kowloon fishing technique "

**Make sure you guys catch Lance this weekend as he will start his week long attack to secure his crown as the best TdeF rider of all time.