Today Husband and I ate Square Boy for lunch. I LOVE their chicken souvlaki in a bun with a big fresh greek salad. The bun is tender and juicy and the salad is crispy and refreshing. I've eaten that exact meal about 10 times this week.
I was nearing the end of my meal when I took another bite from the bun. The texture of the meat didn't seem right so I looked down at the nugget of chicken. What I saw was horrifying... the chicken was totally RAW inside. Not slightly pink. Totally R.A.W. It was so nasty to realize I had half of it chewed up in my mouth. I spit and called Husband to take a look and save me from my now inevitable, painful death. "What do I dooooooo?!?" I cried out.
Husband folded the evidence up in the paper wrapping and put it aside. I pleaded, "honey, can you Google what you should do if you eat raw chicken?" Husband replied, "I'll call Telehealth".
After giving the nurse on the other end of the line everything from first and last name to postal code, she finally put Husband on hold to what I suspect was to Google, "what you should do if you eat raw chicken." She ended up telling us to wait for symptoms and then go get medical attention. Thaaaanks. I was hoping for some clever preventative measures like, "induce vomiting" or "take a plum, heat it in the microwave, shave some almonds on top and eat it similtaniously with a hot pepper."
So, if I don't make it, please think of me fondly... remember, no one has faults after they're dead.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Debbie in LosAngeles, wrap-up
Saturday, January 17
Today the kids were home from school so Husband and I took them out to enjoy time with them and let my sister and her husband pack up the house. We took them to see Bolt at the Beverly Center. The movie was hilarious. The kids got popcorn and soda and sat through the whole thing. One of my favorite parts was the pigeons - New York pigeons vs. Los Angeles pigeons. I would even see this movie without kids.
We walked back to the parking lot with the kids and the first sign that things weren't going to go smoothly was that we weren't sure what floor we parked on. I don't think I have to tell you how nerve-wracking walking through a busy parking lot with two hyper children is at the best of times. We wandered two levels and were not getting any closer. 5yr old nephew "O" kept telling me, "I know where we're parked! We're at 3-B! Not 3-G. THREE-BEEEE." "Sure, honey" I replied to "O" looking at my husband with an exhausted eye roll. We decided to divide and conquer so I took the kids and Husband set off into the parking jungle. He returned with a grin... our car was parked in 3-freakin'-B.
Later that afternoon, we took them for a walk. Actually, they rode their bikes and we chased. It was so nice to spend time outside - in January.
After the kids were in bed we went for a long drive to a wonderful restaurant called Geoffrey's in Malibu. It was absolutely breathtaking. We were there after dark so we couldn't see the water but we could hear it's thunderous crash as the waves hit the rocks below us. The air was mild and fresh and we ate, talked and laughed under the stars. It was a perfect ending to a wonderful visit.
Sunday, January 18, Departure Day
- We packed up and left in the morning to LAX. Note: American Airlines has turned into a "No-Frills" airline and next time if we have a choice we wouldn't fly with them again. They charged me for nuts.
- Loooong flight. I really hate flying. It's boring and uncomfortable and loud and smelly and... etc.
- Two things happened at Pearson that have had impact on my life. The first is physical the the second is mental.
1) I dropped our laptop bag and smashed my screen so now it looks like I have a frame of black and green foliage. See photo below:
2) We were waiting for the Park n' Fly shuttle to take us to our car and it was freezing cold outside. There was very little to shelter us and the shuttle was taking far too long. The number of people waiting was building and tempers were getting hot in the bitter cold. Husband and I looked around and both came closer to the decision to move away from this. We had to wait even longer at Park n' Fly while they shoveled our frozen car out of the lot.
Husband is ready to leave Toronto tomorrow. I'm not all the way there yet. I love Toronto and I would sincerely miss it. The thought of saying goodbye makes me sad. At this point, however, I think I'm fighting the inevitable. We're skipping town and it's just a matter of how soon.
Today the kids were home from school so Husband and I took them out to enjoy time with them and let my sister and her husband pack up the house. We took them to see Bolt at the Beverly Center. The movie was hilarious. The kids got popcorn and soda and sat through the whole thing. One of my favorite parts was the pigeons - New York pigeons vs. Los Angeles pigeons. I would even see this movie without kids.
We walked back to the parking lot with the kids and the first sign that things weren't going to go smoothly was that we weren't sure what floor we parked on. I don't think I have to tell you how nerve-wracking walking through a busy parking lot with two hyper children is at the best of times. We wandered two levels and were not getting any closer. 5yr old nephew "O" kept telling me, "I know where we're parked! We're at 3-B! Not 3-G. THREE-BEEEE." "Sure, honey" I replied to "O" looking at my husband with an exhausted eye roll. We decided to divide and conquer so I took the kids and Husband set off into the parking jungle. He returned with a grin... our car was parked in 3-freakin'-B.
Later that afternoon, we took them for a walk. Actually, they rode their bikes and we chased. It was so nice to spend time outside - in January.
After the kids were in bed we went for a long drive to a wonderful restaurant called Geoffrey's in Malibu. It was absolutely breathtaking. We were there after dark so we couldn't see the water but we could hear it's thunderous crash as the waves hit the rocks below us. The air was mild and fresh and we ate, talked and laughed under the stars. It was a perfect ending to a wonderful visit.
Sunday, January 18, Departure Day
- We packed up and left in the morning to LAX. Note: American Airlines has turned into a "No-Frills" airline and next time if we have a choice we wouldn't fly with them again. They charged me for nuts.
- Loooong flight. I really hate flying. It's boring and uncomfortable and loud and smelly and... etc.
- Two things happened at Pearson that have had impact on my life. The first is physical the the second is mental.
1) I dropped our laptop bag and smashed my screen so now it looks like I have a frame of black and green foliage. See photo below:
2) We were waiting for the Park n' Fly shuttle to take us to our car and it was freezing cold outside. There was very little to shelter us and the shuttle was taking far too long. The number of people waiting was building and tempers were getting hot in the bitter cold. Husband and I looked around and both came closer to the decision to move away from this. We had to wait even longer at Park n' Fly while they shoveled our frozen car out of the lot.
Husband is ready to leave Toronto tomorrow. I'm not all the way there yet. I love Toronto and I would sincerely miss it. The thought of saying goodbye makes me sad. At this point, however, I think I'm fighting the inevitable. We're skipping town and it's just a matter of how soon.
Friday, January 16, 2009
Debbie in LosAngeles, continued
Friday, January 16
- the usual (do I even need to tell you at this point? We are creatures of habit.)
- started to drive without the GPS... Santa Monica, Venice Beach (got out and walked barefoot along the beach), Merina Del Ray, LAX (not on purpose), Manhattan Beach, and finally 3rd Street Promenade where we sat down for an early dinner at Bravo Cucina. My meal came with a side salad and the dressing was so good that I inhaled all the greens on my plate before I even tasted my main dish. It was herby and incredibly flavourful. Light yet creamy. If they sold it, I would have bought a bottle. The waiter was kind enough to give me a small container to bring home to my sister.
- nap, put boys to bed, cheese plate with the adults and a movie, laptop, bed.
"But all the kids in my class are nose-pickers!"
"One kiss is a hundred hugs... and a hug is 2... actually, a hug is 51 minus 2."
"What's a googleplex plus infinity?"
- Nephew "O"
- the usual (do I even need to tell you at this point? We are creatures of habit.)
- started to drive without the GPS... Santa Monica, Venice Beach (got out and walked barefoot along the beach), Merina Del Ray, LAX (not on purpose), Manhattan Beach, and finally 3rd Street Promenade where we sat down for an early dinner at Bravo Cucina. My meal came with a side salad and the dressing was so good that I inhaled all the greens on my plate before I even tasted my main dish. It was herby and incredibly flavourful. Light yet creamy. If they sold it, I would have bought a bottle. The waiter was kind enough to give me a small container to bring home to my sister.
- nap, put boys to bed, cheese plate with the adults and a movie, laptop, bed.
"But all the kids in my class are nose-pickers!"
"One kiss is a hundred hugs... and a hug is 2... actually, a hug is 51 minus 2."
"What's a googleplex plus infinity?"
- Nephew "O"
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Debbie in Toronto -> Debbie in LosAngeles
Debbie in Los Angeles wears her sunglasses a lot more. It's literally been some of the coldest days in Toronto this week (-16C = 3F) and I walked around all day here in a white tank and flip flops. Ok, I was accessorized L.A. style with a strategic scarf, designer jeans and large funky ring so don't go thinking I'm a big shlumpadinka with "tourist" across my forehead. (I just got a visual that I had to clear up for you) :)
I'd like to use this blog as a supplement to my insufficient memory, so I will track Husband and I's trip with a daily wrap-up on where I went and did, possibly ending with a meaningful quote from either my 5 or 2 year old nephew.
Sunday, Jan 11: Departure Day
- Went to the office one last time before escaping.
- Drove to Park&Fly and shared a Twix with Husband while waiting for the shuttle to take us to the terminal. (Yes, chocolate bars are important enough to make it into my journal)
- Did a self check-in with American Airlines only to find that we had to pay $16 per check-in bag!!! 2 bags = 32 big ones. That gets added to: $404 airfare plus $111 taxes per person = $515 x 2 tickets = $1030 on our Visa
- Left perfectly on time and arrived perfectly on time.
- Went to pick up our rental car from Avis. The first they gave us was a Pontiac G6. It was nice but our gps mount was not compatible with the air vent panel thingies so we got the Dodge Caliber. Our gps works in this one but what a terrible car! No wonder American car companies are going down the tubes! I can't imagine anyone taking this car for a spin and saying, "now this car makes me feel like a king!"
- Drove to my sister's house in West Hollywood, jumped around with excitement to see not only my sister and brother-in-law that live here but also my other sister visiting from New York.
- ate leftovers, went to sleep.
Monday, Jan 12
- the Grove for bagels and coffee from Coffee Bean
- went to Trader Joe's to pick up groceries for Husband to cook his delicious shrimp pasta. It was too busy so we went across the street to Ralph's. A lemon in Toronto is 25 cents. At Ralph's in West Hollywood it's $1.49. Husband went to the cash register and bent over.
- finally saw 5yr old nephew "O" after school and got a big hug
- ate delicious meal
Tuesday, Jan 13
- slept in and went to Coffee Bean for bagels and coffee
- was joined by both sisters and just as we settled into a nice seat outside, a nice gentleman off his meds tried breaking the front glass of the store with the table he was sitting at. The L.A.P.D. took unnervingly long to get there and eventually took care of the situation.
- we sat there for a long while chatting and enjoying each others company
- shopped on Rodeo but didn't find anything buy-worthy. Gave up on clothes and went into a bunch of furniture/decor stores including Fendi, Kartell and White Orchid.
- babysitter arrived and we all went out to a hot restaurant named "Mark's" for dinner. Turned out that it is a tres gay spot and that night was particularly busy because it was a "gay mixer". Had a great meal and great time - lots of laughs. Husband told stories of his rebellious youth that thoroughly entertained us.
- visited the condo my L.A. sister is moving into this week with her family. Actually, the main reason we're here at this particular time is to help with the move.
- had a long heart-to-heart convo with N.Y. sister till the wee hours
Wednesday, Jan 14
- Husband went to a business meeting in Burbank
- hung out with N.Y. sister till we were joined by L.A. sister and went to Terroni for lunch (a Torontonian restaurant with a new location right in my sister's neighbourhood - cool huh? Doing very well, by the way) . Husband joined us and when he sat down he announced that he was ready to move here. It hit him while he was driving with the windows down and the sun in his face that it was JANUARY.
- picked up little nephew "C" and went for milkshakes at Millions of Milkshakes
- sang the boys to bed
- took N.Y. sister to the airport :( boooooo
- ordered take-out sushi, stuffed ourselves and went to shluf (sleep)
Thursday, Jan 15
- The usual... long stroll to the Grove to get toasted Jalapeno Cheddar bagels and coffee. The girl now knows us and says she will save our favorite bagels for when we come back tomorrow.
- L.A. sister received a lewd and totally hilarious gesture from a man on the street. It can be interpreted as his appreciation for her voluptuous boobs. lol
- walked back home and stopped for a 7-11 slushy on the way
- Drove through the hills. Saw an incredible view and took a picture. I'll upload it from my camera when I get back.
- visited my brother-in-law's plastic surgery office and got a couple not-so-beautiful beauty marks lopped off. Two on me and two on Husband. We feel much lighter now.
- Trader Joe's for groceries to make chicken and shrimp fried rice. I must say, grocery stores are so much more beautiful and well maintained here than at home. I also love the idea of eating fruits all year round that don't have to travel half way around the earth to get to your table.
- Husband cooked up some dinner while L.A. sister and I sang the boys to bed.
- ate, watched tv, worked on laptop... GOODNIGHT!
"I'm older than my brother which means I'm going to get freckles first. I mean, wrinkles."
- Nephew "O"
I'd like to use this blog as a supplement to my insufficient memory, so I will track Husband and I's trip with a daily wrap-up on where I went and did, possibly ending with a meaningful quote from either my 5 or 2 year old nephew.
Sunday, Jan 11: Departure Day
- Went to the office one last time before escaping.
- Drove to Park&Fly and shared a Twix with Husband while waiting for the shuttle to take us to the terminal. (Yes, chocolate bars are important enough to make it into my journal)
- Did a self check-in with American Airlines only to find that we had to pay $16 per check-in bag!!! 2 bags = 32 big ones. That gets added to: $404 airfare plus $111 taxes per person = $515 x 2 tickets = $1030 on our Visa
- Left perfectly on time and arrived perfectly on time.
- Went to pick up our rental car from Avis. The first they gave us was a Pontiac G6. It was nice but our gps mount was not compatible with the air vent panel thingies so we got the Dodge Caliber. Our gps works in this one but what a terrible car! No wonder American car companies are going down the tubes! I can't imagine anyone taking this car for a spin and saying, "now this car makes me feel like a king!"
- Drove to my sister's house in West Hollywood, jumped around with excitement to see not only my sister and brother-in-law that live here but also my other sister visiting from New York.
- ate leftovers, went to sleep.
Monday, Jan 12
- the Grove for bagels and coffee from Coffee Bean
- went to Trader Joe's to pick up groceries for Husband to cook his delicious shrimp pasta. It was too busy so we went across the street to Ralph's. A lemon in Toronto is 25 cents. At Ralph's in West Hollywood it's $1.49. Husband went to the cash register and bent over.
- finally saw 5yr old nephew "O" after school and got a big hug
- ate delicious meal
Tuesday, Jan 13
- slept in and went to Coffee Bean for bagels and coffee
- was joined by both sisters and just as we settled into a nice seat outside, a nice gentleman off his meds tried breaking the front glass of the store with the table he was sitting at. The L.A.P.D. took unnervingly long to get there and eventually took care of the situation.
- we sat there for a long while chatting and enjoying each others company
- shopped on Rodeo but didn't find anything buy-worthy. Gave up on clothes and went into a bunch of furniture/decor stores including Fendi, Kartell and White Orchid.
- babysitter arrived and we all went out to a hot restaurant named "Mark's" for dinner. Turned out that it is a tres gay spot and that night was particularly busy because it was a "gay mixer". Had a great meal and great time - lots of laughs. Husband told stories of his rebellious youth that thoroughly entertained us.
- visited the condo my L.A. sister is moving into this week with her family. Actually, the main reason we're here at this particular time is to help with the move.
- had a long heart-to-heart convo with N.Y. sister till the wee hours
Wednesday, Jan 14
- Husband went to a business meeting in Burbank
- hung out with N.Y. sister till we were joined by L.A. sister and went to Terroni for lunch (a Torontonian restaurant with a new location right in my sister's neighbourhood - cool huh? Doing very well, by the way) . Husband joined us and when he sat down he announced that he was ready to move here. It hit him while he was driving with the windows down and the sun in his face that it was JANUARY.
- picked up little nephew "C" and went for milkshakes at Millions of Milkshakes
- sang the boys to bed
- took N.Y. sister to the airport :( boooooo
- ordered take-out sushi, stuffed ourselves and went to shluf (sleep)
Thursday, Jan 15
- The usual... long stroll to the Grove to get toasted Jalapeno Cheddar bagels and coffee. The girl now knows us and says she will save our favorite bagels for when we come back tomorrow.
- L.A. sister received a lewd and totally hilarious gesture from a man on the street. It can be interpreted as his appreciation for her voluptuous boobs. lol
- walked back home and stopped for a 7-11 slushy on the way
- Drove through the hills. Saw an incredible view and took a picture. I'll upload it from my camera when I get back.
- visited my brother-in-law's plastic surgery office and got a couple not-so-beautiful beauty marks lopped off. Two on me and two on Husband. We feel much lighter now.
- Trader Joe's for groceries to make chicken and shrimp fried rice. I must say, grocery stores are so much more beautiful and well maintained here than at home. I also love the idea of eating fruits all year round that don't have to travel half way around the earth to get to your table.
- Husband cooked up some dinner while L.A. sister and I sang the boys to bed.
- ate, watched tv, worked on laptop... GOODNIGHT!
"I'm older than my brother which means I'm going to get freckles first. I mean, wrinkles."
- Nephew "O"
Monday, January 5, 2009
Another night in front of the T.V.
Our day looked something like this: Sleep in, go to Good Life Gym to check out the facilities (hated it), go home, eat lunch, go to work, get big pulsing migraine, go to Extreme Fitness Gym, sign up and pay, pick up a large pizza from Amato, eat, watch TV.
Yes, we finally joined a gym. We got a great price and it's a beautiful, clean facility that I'm really looking forward to. We have our fitness assessment on Wednesday. For some unexplainable reason, I'm nervous. I know that it's not a competition but I always want to get the best score in a test. I'm used studying and going into the test thoroughly prepared and in this scenario, I feel like the worst student in the class. I'm totally out of shape and it's going to be embarrassing. I can't even touch my toes these days! The part that I'm dreading the most, by far, is they gave us both a sheet to fill out tomorrow with a list of everything we eat during the day. I've decided to rebel and not to do it. Fuck them - they should mind their own fucking business, nosy mother fuckers. I'm detecting that I might be a tad defensive about my bad eating. Whatever, I just made a batch of cookies yesterday and I'm not going to let them go to waste. That's just wrong.
So, while we were eating we were watching the Sweden vs. Canada hockey game. The Prime Minster was there and we saw him taking a photo with a fan... a shirtless man with a jersey painted on his torso. Only in Canada. I can't find a photo online but if you do, send it over and I'll post it!
After watching the game for a few minutes, my husband sweetly asked, "you don't mind if we watch this for a little longer, do you?" To which I replied, "sure... but you're going to pay for it 10-fold. I'm going to make you watch the Bachelor!" He then said, "great. It's the first episode where we meet all the hot chicks!" I told him, "your not watching the Bachelor." Ooh, he's good.
Speaking of the Bachelor, I must say that I'm truly dissappointed with the choice this season. I was reeeeeally looking forward to seeing more of Jeremy and I was convinced he would be the next bachelor. He's dreeeeeeamy.
Yes, we finally joined a gym. We got a great price and it's a beautiful, clean facility that I'm really looking forward to. We have our fitness assessment on Wednesday. For some unexplainable reason, I'm nervous. I know that it's not a competition but I always want to get the best score in a test. I'm used studying and going into the test thoroughly prepared and in this scenario, I feel like the worst student in the class. I'm totally out of shape and it's going to be embarrassing. I can't even touch my toes these days! The part that I'm dreading the most, by far, is they gave us both a sheet to fill out tomorrow with a list of everything we eat during the day. I've decided to rebel and not to do it. Fuck them - they should mind their own fucking business, nosy mother fuckers. I'm detecting that I might be a tad defensive about my bad eating. Whatever, I just made a batch of cookies yesterday and I'm not going to let them go to waste. That's just wrong.
So, while we were eating we were watching the Sweden vs. Canada hockey game. The Prime Minster was there and we saw him taking a photo with a fan... a shirtless man with a jersey painted on his torso. Only in Canada. I can't find a photo online but if you do, send it over and I'll post it!
After watching the game for a few minutes, my husband sweetly asked, "you don't mind if we watch this for a little longer, do you?" To which I replied, "sure... but you're going to pay for it 10-fold. I'm going to make you watch the Bachelor!" He then said, "great. It's the first episode where we meet all the hot chicks!" I told him, "your not watching the Bachelor." Ooh, he's good.
Speaking of the Bachelor, I must say that I'm truly dissappointed with the choice this season. I was reeeeeally looking forward to seeing more of Jeremy and I was convinced he would be the next bachelor. He's dreeeeeeamy.
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