Love Life... Be Happy

Happy Holidays... Happy News!

On Friday, December 22nd at around 2:30pm, I said "yes!" to my future husband. Wow. I think I'm still in shock. I'm engaged. Wow. WOW. (whoa?! haha, Just Kidding!)

It's been a fun-packed and happy holiday time for both Jello & I. Though, we are crazy exhausted! I think I've repeated the "proposal" story at least 20 times by now. (No Joke!) I'm very happy and excited for good things to come in the new year but I have to admit, I'm also slightly overwhelmed. I think the both of us are. I'm trying my best to just "enjoy" the moment and have an awesome time over the holidays.. with my time off work and seeing family and friends.

Funny thing is, I thought I would have "perma-smile" for a long time (at least a month!) but it's tiring to smile big for a long time. haha. Let's just say, my face muscles have been getting a nice work out since Friday!

After the proposal, Jello and I went out for dinner then dropped by his parent's house, then his best friend's house (where of course, he had the cognac ready for us to make a toast!) then over to my parent's house.

On Saturday, I tried to take it easy by going to my massage therapist for a relaxing 45-minute massage - oh la la! It turned out pretty good though the guy kinda hurt me. lol. He was a bit more rough on the shoulders than normal but then again, maybe I had major knots there?! Well, they're gone now! Then in the evening, we celebrated my parent's wedding anniversary (34 years!) and our engagement together over dinner. My brother also got back from his week long cruise to a number of tropical places such as Jamaica, the Grand Cayman Islands and a couple of other islands... so it was nice to have him there as well since he's always "on-call" at the hospital. After dinner, we went over to our friend's place to surprise them.. and yes, they were VERY surprised to see us! We spent the evening there, eating popcorn & yummy frozen yogurt... and lots of wedding planning talk (as our two friends are getting married in August 2007!).

On Sunday, Christmas Eve... Jello & I had a very busy schedule (again!). We went to his grandparent's house for a nice lunch with his mom's side of the family. Everyone was excited and happy to hear of the good news - especially his grandparents. After lunch, we went to my God Daughter's house to see the 4 kids and their parents with my parents and brother. We spent some time there, chatting and playing with the kids. I was so excited when I saw that one of the boys - Ethan - had a DS lite too!!! I actually had something in common with them.. so I asked him what games he had.. what he was playing.. and that next time, I would bring mine over so we could play multiplayer. The parents (especially the boys!) laughed at me because they thought it was funny but cool that I had one myself. After visiting our friends, my family, Jello and I went to church. It was interesting... because it's the first time that Jello & I have ever gone together to church. The last time I went to church was probably a year ago. So, it's been awhile for me. After standing at the back of the church for the entire mass, Jello & I rushed to my aunt/uncle's house on my mom's side of the family to celebrate the holidays with them. I ate SO much food! It was great! My plate was so piled up high, I almost couldn't finish it all. After dinner, we made our way to the basement.. and had some laughs with my cousins, brother and their fiance/wife as we watched Mission Impossible 3. Before we left, we opened lots of gifts... so that was fun!

After going to my aunt/uncle's house, we went to my parent's house for some more "gift giving". We opened up some more gifts... and ended off the night with a hug and kiss. I got Jello 3 sweaters, 2 tickets to the Maple Leafs Game (vs Montreal Cdns!!!) and 5 orchestra seat tickets to see Phantom of the Opera (with my family)! Aren't I just such an awesome "fiancee"?? Whoa. I'm no longer the girlfriend. Okay, that deserves it's own blog entry. lol. He also got pjs from my parents and a $20 gift card to Starbucks from my cousin. :o)

Tomorrow, I'm going to my aunt/uncle's house (my dad's side of the family) with Jello and my family for the early afternoon and then going to Jello's dad's side of the family's get-together at his parent's house. That should be fun as both families tomorrow have "no idea" about the "engagement surprise". So, that'll be my Christmas Day. :o)

I do have "some work" to actually finish up on either Christmas Day (late at night) or early morning Boxing Day.. which kinda sucks but it's a report I "have" to have completed and sent out. You know me, I'm a perfectionist... and I don't let things go undone... especially when it comes to work. So, probably just 3-4 hours of pain (ahem, I mean work! lol) and I can go back to enjoying the holidays.

It's now 1:18am on Christmas Day, I'm the only one awake.. typing away in the den... I should probably go to sleep now as tomorrow is another long day.

Merry Christmas Everyone!!!!!! I hope you all have a wonderful time over the holidays... one thing I have learned, spend every second... every ounce of energy you have... with your loved ones... especially during this time of year... and tell them you love them. It's something that I should do more often... It's definitely a happy time of year... and maybe happier right now for me as I'm still on "cloud nine". :o) Ohhh.. here comes the perma-smile again! lol.

Merry Christmas.

Love,
Ellen :o)

Guys and Washroom Talk

What's wrong with talking in washrooms? I don't normally go into a washroom to stand there and chit chat... but if I run into someone I know, I normally just say the quick "hello". If a conversation somehow forms, I normally gesture to walk outside because I just don't like washrooms.

I know lots of girls that talk in washrooms and guys that HATE it and would never go beyond the simple "hello". Most guys have told me, "it's just wrong".

One friend told me that he even saw a guy checking his messages on his blackberry while in the washroom. How insane is that?

Washrooms are just not a place to be doing "business". Or rather, that kind of business.

Celebrity Look-a-Likes

Check out this website! It's pretty cool. I got it off of one of the blogs that was linked to Anthony's blog. It's all in good fun...

My Celebrity Look-alikes are not too bad. lol. THOUGH, I STRONGLY disagree with the Donatella one. haha.

Here are links to both mine and mike's look-alikes!

http://www.myheritage.com/FP/photo.php?siteID=1&photoID=7213918&source=album&sourceID=1428503&albumID=1428503

http://www.myheritage.com/FP/photo.php?siteID=1&photoID=7214861&source=album&sourceID=1428503&albumID=1428503

Welcome to the Wonderful World of Gaming!

I did it again. I stayed up last night from 2:30am to 5am playing Super Mario Bros. What is wrong with me?! I know I have a competitive nature in me... but this is getting extreme. When someone gets frustrated that they have trouble jumping on those bouncy mushrooms, avoiding running into those flying turtles and getting to the most desired place of all - jumping on that flag at the castle... it's a bad sign.

I have to admit... I desperately need a new sport.

Anyone up for some shopping?? :o)

Nintendo Junkie

I never thought I would see the day where I would be so hooked on not just one video game... but a ton of them.

I bought it. A white coloured Nintendo DS Lite. I wanted the pink one but it was all sold out! I checked Sam's Club, Best Buy, Toys R Us and Zellers and none of them had a pink one.

Somehow, Stewie and Mr. Chairman convinced me to buy one. I bought one... only because I really wanted to play "super mario bros" lol.

So, now that I have one, I think I've officially entered into the world of (no, not warcraft... I'm definitely not quite there yet) the "gamer's club".

Today was an interesting day though. I had played Super Mario Bros from 1am to 4am and had to wake up at 10am to go to Sports Chek to buy myself a squash racquet and protective eye gear. I somehow woke up, drove myself over to sports Chek, bought the racquet and eye gear, walked over to timmies to buy myself a croissant and coffee then made my way to Stewie's place. Traffic was bad but I got to Stewie's place on time - 12:30pm.

Stewie and I walked over to the Athletic's Centre and waited for Darth and his friend Pat. Stewie and Pat partnered up first and I played a game with Darth. Scary thing happened though...

Warning: For those that are interested in playing squash one day, please do not continue to read. (haha)

Darth tossed me the tiny black ball and when I tried bending over to pick it off the ground, I somehow pulled both of my upper leg muscles. I don't even know which muscle it is... but it's the one that sits right under the butt, on the leg and sort of on the side. I was (and still am) in SERIOUS pain. I don't think it was the weight of the ball (lol)... but have a strong feeling that the pain I went through a week ago (playing squash with Stewie!), had something to do with it.

So, I ended up sitting out most of the time and played a light game with Pat and Jasper.

After playing squash, we went out for dinner to a Japanese restaurant called "Next Generation". We all had sushi except for Mikey. Poor Mikey.. :o( He ordered a Sukiyaki dish with beef in it (thinking that it was like a fried/beef teriyaki type dish) but instead, it was some "soupy" dish :o( I felt so bad.

After dinner, we went to Stewie's place to hang out. While watching a number of movies, "Mean Girls", "X-Men 2" etc., we all took turns in playing with our Nintendo DS lite. Darth and Mikey played Mario Kart for probably 1.5 to 2 hours... and Stewie and I drank some tea and ate some ice cream. I felt like a kid today haha but it was SO awesome!

We played so many multi-player games tonight that it just made me even more EXCITED. I am now determined to set up some "gaming nights"... I can't wait until Mr. Chairman gets his DS lite. I've already given him a heads up that those calendar invites are "on its way" to his inbox :o)

Anyhow, Mikey, Darth and I left Stewie's place at around 10:30pm but after finding out that Mikey was just going to go home to sleep... I had to convince Darth to go back with me to Stewie's place to play some more Nintendo. We ended up going back lol.

We knocked on Stewie's door again and when he opened it up, he had this look of amazement and "confusion" on his face as we explained to him that we wanted to stay longer and play some more Nintendo. haha. We played for another 2 more hours... hahaha. Insanity!

Let's just say, I am now a PRO. I am UNBEATABLE. :o)

After playing so much, I had to peel myself away from his futon (now I have a creak in my neck!)... and had to slowly adjust my vision... from the colourful screen to reality. I still can't believe, playing games could make someone SO tired. I felt exhausted.. but even now (at 3:08am), I still crave to play Super Mario Bros. It's crazy. What is happening to me?!

WOW... how ironic... to think that I used to despise WOW gamers. lol. Though, I have to admit, my "temporary" addiction to Nintendo games is NOWHERE near the WOW phenomenon.

Signed,
Nintendo Junkie

Winky Faces - How much is too much?

What is a Winky Face? This is my winky face ---> ;o) (You've gotta have a nose to your winky face). Though, some people prefer this ---> ;)

I spend a lot of time chatting with people on MSN as well as through my work chat. I am one of those people who absolutely love to use smiley faces - especially winky ones. It's like I'm obsessed with winky faces - I write them everywhere! I just love it! :o)

Problem is... some people "interpret" winky faces as "flirting", others use it after a smart one-liner or joke.. and I.. well, I use it for many things but mainly just to indicate a 'friendly smile'. Sometimes, I almost think it's pure habit. It's almost, as Stewie would say "it sickens me" to see SO many winky faces. :o) Winky faces are cute... but should there be a limit on how many you use per conversation? or perhaps a rule that you shouldn't give a winky face at the end of EVERY SINGLE SENTENCE? :o)

How much is too much???

Signed,
Obsessed-Winky-Face-Typer

Silly Stewie

Everyone knows who Stewie is. But, does everyone have a "Stewie" in their circle of friends. I sure do.

My friend "Stewie" is the classic Stewie. He is the Stewie of all Stewies. He lives, breathes, laughes, eats and talks like Stewie. There is no denying it... he is SO Stewie. That picture of Stewie there even looks like him. I can picture him now, his brows curling downwards, with a devious look on his face.. saying "it's irrefutable. I heart being meticulous".

You know who you are. Stop denying it. You are SO Stewie.

Warning to friends: Beware of Stewie. He is not to be trusted.

Signed,
LN - "Terrified of Stewies..." (haha)

Nintendo Machine

I've been recently introduced to a new "thing"... the Nintendo Machine (or more specifically, the Nintendo DS Lite hand held device).

I used to play nintendo a bit when I was little - playing games like Super Mario Bros and Donkey Kong (was that nintendo? or playstation? well, whatever machine it was, it was one of them).

The only game I've played on one of those machines lately is "Bubble Bobble".. or wait.. no, it's called "Bust a Move". haha - great, I've been referring to that game as "Bubble Bobble" all day lol. I'm sure you can all tell, I'm no gamer. BUT, I do play a mean game of Bust of Move. I challenge any of you to beat me - besides Michael. lol. He is a maniac on that game - he actually holds one of the highest scores (used to be the top one but somehow, someone beat him) at one of the standing machines at Sheridan College. Check it out - his name is there. lol.

So, what's so great about this nintendo DS lite? I need to hear more about it. All I know is that there are Super Mario bros on it and that is getting my attention... lol. If it has that Wii thingie in it, not sure if that's a smart idea for me... as I'll probably poke my eye out or hit something or someone in the process.

Signed,
Game-deprived child

Correction (Part 2)

haha - ok, I meant to type "Montreal Smoked Meat" and not "Roast Beef". hahaha - you have to admit, that was funny though. I can't stop laughing.

And yes, another one of my famous nicknames is "Qui-Gon Kim". For those Star Wars fans out there - I'm sure you can figure out why I might've been called that... or not?!

Signed,
Formerly Known as Qui-Gon Kim (lol)

Mike, Michael, Mikey, what next??!

Nicknames. Wow. I have so much to say about that topic. You'd be surprised (or maybe not surprised) to know that I have a nickname for every single person I know. Weird? Not really.

I'll give you some examples.

Example #1:
Michael (aka Jello) is a good one. Almost every single person calls Michael... by "Mike". I don't. I call him by his "real name" - Michael. There's a big difference...

I'd prefer to call him Michael - even as formal as it sounds, that is his name.

Mikey is okay. But still... not his name.

Example #2:
My name - Ellen. I've been called many names - Kim, El, Elenor Kimberly (no joke!), LN (catching on as one of the most popular lol), "the mom", miss roboto, china doll (don't ask!), pudding (long story), avocado (even longer story!) and other ones that I shall not repeat here. :o) Do I have a preference? Sure I do. I love being called by my real name... so, "Ellen" is great.. and ok, I have a soft spot for "pudding" and "LN" (as phonetically.. it's correct lol).

It's funny how certain groups of friends call me by a certain name... Kim is cool - and mostly used by my ibmer friends. "LN" and "China doll" are used mostly by my dragon boat friends.

Okay, I'm tired. It's 12:34am and I'm going to have to end this blog entry short.

Still in pain from squish squash racquet ball.

Signed,
Ellen (aka Pudding, LN, Kim, Elenor Kimberly, China Doll.. umm.. ok, you get the point lol)

Correction - Montreal Salad

Actually, I have to correct myself. (Thanks for pointing it out Mr. Chairman) :o)

Ed says: you should've something about how even montreal's smoked meat and bagels can't compare to that salad

Ed says:
it's the best thing in montreal

END OF STORY.

Montreal Salad (Part 2)

Let's just say.. my rebuttal is in the "taste" of the salad. lol.

The Most Anticipated Rebuttal in the History of Rebuttals...

...

Salad. What can I say about salad? Honestly, I don't really care for Salad. I eat it at restaurants because it usually comes with the entree. That's about it. It's a leafy dish... with some sauce on it to give it some flavour but normally, not my cup of tea.

Montreal Salad. Well, now we're talking! That's a different story.

You've never tried a real salad until you've tried a salad in Montreal. Old Montreal to be specific... at the restaurant (name unknown lol) at the bottom of the hill, with a patio, on the right hand side if you're facing the water.

Sure, Montreal is known for their roast beef sandwiches, steaks, poutine and even their bagels! but I'm telling you, their secret weapon is their salad in Old Montreal.

Imagine this. Crispy cool lettuce, with a tender piece of chicken breast... topped with a delicious creamy bernaise sauce. Eating that of course with a few glasses of Sangria! mmm... I'm hungry now.

My Mission this Summer: Take family of 5 to restaurant to try the most amazing salad ever - for lunch. It will be the BEST $10 you ever spent on a lunch!

There is no competition here with this salad. It's the ultimate salad... It's the KING of salads... and once you try it, you'll keep on going back for more!

No salad will ever taste the same.

Hence, my true reasoning of why I don't enjoy eating salads here anymore. It's just not the same. It's not a Montreal Salad. :o(

Domo Arigato ... LN is a Roboto

Today, on MSN, I referred to myself as a "robot". If you don't understand why - pls refer to previous blog entry :o)

Mr. Chairman, updated his MSN name to "Domo Arigato... LN's a Roboto" and check out what I found when I did a search on google for fun.

Warning: this is freaky.

Video in the link below:
http://www.geocities.com/jesse010192/theatre/roboto.html

Check out the lyrics - there is a little plug in for IBM. lol. Craziness.
http://www.styxnet.com/styxlyrics/roboto.htm

Weird what you can find on the internet.

Signed,
Miss LN Roboto :o)

Squish or Squash? That is the question...

Squish... all I have to say is that I am in PAIN. (stop laughing stewie) And you too Darth! :P

I played 3-hours of squash (for the first time) on Sunday. I never thought playing in a small room, with a tiny black ball that barely bounces (with dots on it that are like "code language"), a racquet and safety glasses would be so much fun! I'm hooked!!!

It's crazy... something that causes me PURE PAIN... I'm craving to do it again!

I went into work today - probably wasn't a good idea - as I couldn't walk properly. Best way to describe my shaky/stiff movements is picture a robot walking. It was that bad. My butt, thighs and forearms hurt the most. I couldn't even laugh (and you know me and laughing lol).. without holding my stomach. I felt every single muscle in my body tighten whenever I would laugh or walk.

Anyhow, that was today.

Yesterday was squish squash or what I call - Racquet and Ball. :o)

I have to admit, I learned quite fast. At first, I was a bit scared of the tiny black ball and the noise it makes as it wacks the hard concrete walls... but after getting hit right under the chin, it didn't really affect me anymore. lol. Yes, I got hit by the ball, right under the chin... felt a sting... but Thank God... NO bruising.

Once I got the hang of it, of course, Stewie made it even harder for me by making me run like a mad-woman. He told me that Darth told him: "make LN run!". grr.

Challenge to Darth: My mission is to beat you in a game of Squash. That includes you too Mr. Chairman! :P

Anyhow, next time, I know to wear shorts. I kept on rolling up my track pants (I know.. gross.. it was bloody hot) but thankfully, I did have a tank top on!

I did try to wack the ball REALLY hard. I tried my best. Well, 80% - just to make things easier for Stewie as I didn't want to scare him lol. I did wack him in the back (by accident).

For the record: Apparently, it wasn't my fault that he got hit. Rules say that he walked in the path of the ball I hit... so, I'm innocent. :o)

So, now that I'm hooked on Squish Squash Racquet Ball - anyone up for a game (or two)? ;o)

(I'm being serious too!)

Signed,
LN - (as Mr. Chairman would say... "Domo Arigato... I'm a Roboto")

Timmies Commercial

I just saw that Timmies "father-son-hockey" commercial about 1/2 hour ago and (again), I cried. Well, at least shed a tear. haha.

That commercial is so sappy though - but it somehow makes me cry.

It's almost like a test for me. Whenever I see that commercial on tv, I leave it on, take a deep breathe... watch it... wait for the "ultimate climax" which is when you find out that the dad DID actually watch all the son's hockey games... and the son says "Thanks Dad". Then of course, it's all over for me - my tears well up in my eyes and I shed that one single tear. (hahaha...). Then laugh when the dad says "give me back my picture!".

ohh goodness. It's a classic moment. lol.

After that, I can never drink a double double without feeling somewhat emotional. (haha, just kidding).