WHITE CHRISTMAS

So right now, it's Boxing Day, a day traditionally reserved for Shopping and visiting people's houses for little get-togethers. We did neither of these things for one simple reason... SNOW.

Now it's not like there was 15 feet of snow blocking our doors and windows so no one could get in or out and we'd turn into Popsicles but there was a lot of it over Christmas. So much so, our street hasn't been shoveled or salted and all the cars (including ours) are almost up to the windows in snow. Add to that, the roads are all slushy and most Vancouverites are probably the worst drivers in the world, especially in the snow and that adds to the growing list of reasons to stay in, so that's what we did.

And at this moment, Michelle is over at our neighbor's place baking with the girls, while the guys are over here, watching movies and drinking up a storm. Not the original plan for Boxing day but a great day nonetheless. Kinda like our Christmas.

We were supposed to go visit my parents for Christmas Eve but because of the snowfall and the fact that they live high up in North Van, there was no way or econo-class Honda Fit with all season tires was gonna make the trip, so we had Christmas Dinner with our neighbors Tom & Angela which was awesome. Tom whipped up a huge Smoked Turkey, Angela made some kick ass Broccoli & Cauliflower Gratin, we had Thai Wings & the classic Meat Tourtiere and ended the night with Scotch & Cigars. It was weird not seeing my Dad on Christmas Eve but it was a great evening with our Neighbors.

The next day, Laura & Chad stayed over to open presents with us and this time it was our turn to host Christmas Day Dinner. Again because of the snow, not everyone could make it to our place but we still had a great turnout including Michelle's parents, siblings nephews & kids as well as my cousin & step-brother. It was a grand night, we invited Tom, Angela & Carl over as well. I cooked the traditional Dijon Maple Ham while Tom & Carl mastered a Deep-Fried Turkey. We had Chili Garlic Carrots, Creamed Spinach with Bacon & Onions, Mashed Yams, Moonblush Arugula Mint Salad and Scalloped Potatoes... it was a fantastic meal and a fantastic Christmas.

Here are all the pics from XMAS... enjoy!

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE

WE HOPE THAT EVERYONE HAS A GREAT HOLIDAY AND A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

CORSIWORLD PIC PUBLISHED!!!

12/23/08 UPDATE - Another Corsiworld snow pic makes today's issue of 24 HOURS!! (Don't know who Corris World is though...)



Hey hey! Look at that! One of our pictures (seen below) got published in today's edition of 24 HOURS!!! You can see it on page 4 (first row - pic in the middle) or click on the link above and see it in all it's glory (even though they got the weblink right, they got the photographers name wrong - don't worry, I complained). Still very cool though!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TODD

It was a big weekend for us for a number of reasons!

1. FIRST SNOW OF 2008 - Downtown Vancouver had their first snowfall of 2008 which was awesome. What was even more awesome was watching all the club-goers who weren't prepared for the snow, slip in their miniskirts and freak out that the snow was ruining their hair... made me laugh.
2. NEXON STAFF HOLIDAY PARTY - We attended our first Nexon Staff Holiday Party this year which was a great affair at the Aquarium. Everyone got dolled up, there was a nice sit down dinner amongst the sealife and Michelle got the chance to meet some of my co-workers for the first time, great night.
3. AWESOMETOWN XMAS SHINDIG - Bill & Susan held the first (of what I hope is many) awesome holiday party in their newly renovated living room/kitchen. It was great to hang out with the neighbours and their friends and indulge in some kick ass appies & baked goods.
4. TODD'S BIRTHDAY - We also got to go out and celebrate the birthday of our good friend and Alison's main squeeze, Todd Pretty. We partied it up with Mexican inspired eats and drinks at a new place called DEUCE BUNGALOW. It was a great night and good to see Todd having a blast with all his friends! See pics for the night HERE!!!

All in all, a great weekend!

AWESOMETOWN: THE TV SERIES

As many of you know,we've named our cool little neighbourhood AWESOMETOWN because it is a fun and awesome place to live. LESLEY was kind enough to send me the link to the failed television pilot called AWESOMETOWN which was a comedy sketch show that took place in a fun and awesome place to live called, you guessed it, AWESOMETOWN. Warning: contains some nudity and foul language. Check it out...

CALDER CHRISTMAS ALREADY???

Okay, you know that the year is just flying by if it's already CALDER CHRISTMAS and that means it's Christmas time 2008... where did the year go?

Ah well, if things are moving at this supersonic speed at least we can slow down and take part in what has become a Holiday Tradition of sorts, the Alison Calder/Todd Pretty Christmas Party, or as we all like to call it, CALDER CHRISTMAS! Now I've been to a few of these in the past (see some pics 2005 or 2006 or 2007) and it's always a great way to spend the evening with friends, food & drinks o'plenty, secret santa and sometimes even party games.

You can see all of the 2008 CALDER CHRISTMAS shenanigans HERE!!!

Thanks for another memorable CALDER CHRISTMAS party Ali & Todd, it was a great way to ring in the Holiday Season!

ADIOS NOVEMBER!

A helluva busy month if I do say so myself! Let's jump right in!

• OBAMA is president... booya!!!
• Michelle started her own blog called RAINY DAY WISHES focusing on Design, Fashion and her eye for detail! Check it out!
• VANCOUVER EATS visited four restaurants in November: THE HURRICANE GRILL, BROWN'S SOCIAL HOUSE, DIX BBQ & BREWERY and THE CASCADE ROOM! Check out the reviews by clicking on the links.
• Both BROOKE and SARAH celebrated birthdays with great nights out!
• TIKI BAR TV realeased a 20 episode DVD set which is absolutely awesome, 3 of those episodes feature MR. AMBASSADOR which is even more awesome, especially for me!
• I attended my second HOPSCOTCH and got into a fight with a STUPID LADY over the names of our dogs.
• DEEP FRIED TURKEY... 'nuff said!

And that takes us to December! I can't believe it's already December, 2008 flew by faster than I could think possible, it only feels like a few months ago that we were in Europe! Alas, the old saying holds true: Time flies when you are having fun!