Recovering in Maryland

Things have been very busy here in Maryland, but I have had some opportunities to relax, take naps (who remembers what that is!!!) and just recharge. On Saturday, we all went to Leesburg outlet. While walking out of the Williams-Sonoma outlet, I did something to my foot. My heel precisely. I'm not sure what happened, but I felt this shooting pain just above my heel. It became very tight and difficult to walk. That night was probably it's worst. I could barely put any pressure on it and I walked with a stick as a makeshift cane. Every day since it has gotten a little bit better. Today I can still feel a stiff soreness but I can walk on it with only a slight slower pace. (For a while, Cat was referring to me as her "handicapped" cousin. )

We have been enjoying all my favourites while I've been here. California Tortilla, Chick-fil-A. We've made some yummy food. I made last night for dinner Chicken Parmigiana with Tomato Basil Spaghetti and Salad, with my Chocolate Chunk cookies for dessert. Today we're making my Chicken Mandu, with Apple Pie for dessert… Grace said to me last night after dinner, "I love it when you come to visit, Aunt Carol!"

We've also watched a couple of movies courtesy of the local Redbox. Warrior (About two brothers involved in MMA…very good.) and Rise of the Planet of the Apes (Good…but a little fantastical)

Thank goodness, I still have a few more days.

Arriving in Maryland

My parents and I arrived at Cat's place last night.

When my parents went to Florida last year, the one thing they commented about was how the mountains they past on the drive made their drive a little harrowing and difficult. I told them then that I would help them drive down this year and save them some of the ordeal. My original plan was to drive down to Orlando with them (me driving most of the way) then flying back. Maybe stopping at Cat's, spending a few days there, then coming back home to TO. What we ended up deciding on was for me to drive down to Cat's, all of us spending the night, then my parents heading down to Florida on their own. If it were up to my dad, he would have just stopped long enough to let me out and continue on. I wanted them to relax and get a good night sleep before continuing on. Let's face it, they are getting old!

The trip started at 7:45 Thursday morning. The rain was pretty bad for most of the drive to Niagara. (I had worked until late the night before so I slept in the car until the Peace Bridge.) I then took over and drove the rest of the way down until arriving at Cat's at exactly 5:45pm. We made pretty good time, since we stopped a few times along the way, duty free, snack/coffee, lunch, stretch our legs, gas, bathroom. Apart from the rain, it was an uneventful smooth drive.

Once at Cat's, we showered/got cleaned up, relaxed a bit before meeting Cat and the kids at Chopstix for dinner (a local asian/fusion eatery). Afterward, my dad went straight to bed. Cat and I stayed up a bit, catching up and trying to figure out the schedule for the next few days.

When I woke up, I could hear my mom's voice. It was 9am and I expected them to have already left. Apparently my dad had been very ill all night. He said he was feeling a little upset stomach even before we went to the restaurant last night. Suffice it to say, they decided to stay another night. They've been resting and napping the day. As long as they make it to Orlando by Sunday, they are good.

As for the rest of us, the kids are incredibly busy as usual… Cat and I have already gone to Costco, and made Ginger spice cookies. More updates to follow.

New Years Day at Uncle John and Aunt Sandy's

We all gathered at Uncle John and Aunt Sandy's around 1:30pm for Duk Gook, a traditional rice cake soup. Food, family and babies were plentiful...Marley, unlike her older cousins seemed thrilled to be playing with Sadie (the dog) She was so cute. Despite the late notice, everyone was happy to see the home made desserts come through the door. Elijah was so cute enjoying his cupcake.
I didn't get to try it but Uncle John's new toy, the full body messager he bought himself for Christmas was a huge hit. Everyone who tried it, Cat included, thought it was incredible. Even Samara asked her mom Meredith if she loved the chair more than her daughter. (Actually I think that was Mark, Samara's dad asking her through Samara's voice...lol)
Happy New Year everyone! Hoping 2012 brings you good health, good luck and many "sweet" memories. xo Carolyn

NYE at Barque Smokehouse and last minute notice again!

For the last few years we've celebrated New Year's Eve at Ferrovia. This year we decided to try something different. Nelson arranged reservations for the 5pm seating at Barque Smokehouse on Roncesvalles. The 5pm seating (or the Geriatric Seating as I called it) was perfect since I was finished work at 4:30pm. It was delicious but a crazy amount of food. Competition Chicken Thighs with Apple Fennel Slaw and Boston Bibb lettuce. Glazed Baby Back Ribs with pork belly studded Baked beans. Wilshire Farms Pulled Pork Shoulder with garlic crostinis, red onion compote and Barques Signature sauces. Brisket slices and Burnt Ends with sauteed kale and paprika dusted potato chips, and finally Southern style Galette des Rois with bourbon spiked almond cream.
It started innocently enough, a single chicken thigh with the salad. I thought delicious but small portion, perfect for pacing though. The ribs were delicious. I would come back for them. 3 ribs each. Nelson ordered us a side of smoked bacon to try. Pulled pork, good but not my favourite. The portion was huge! I was full after that. It didn't stop me from eating the brisket but I couldn't fully enjoy it. Vivian couldn't even finish the brisket. It was way too much food for her. i definitely would go back. Just not too soon. They have a nice patio. I can picture us sitting there on a warm summer night enjoying those ribs...yummy.
While I was eating, at 6:04pm, I get a text message from Diana asking me if I was going to Uncle John and Aunt Sandy's on New Year's day. Apparently, Uncle John notified her that morning. Talk about last minute notice. Brutal. I called my parents to find out if they were going. They decided not to. With my brother out of town, I was once again going to be my family's representative. After dinner, I headed to Cat's parents' place to pick her up then we swung by my place to pick up some ingredients to make my Chocolate Chunk Cookies and Vanilla Cupcakes. We baked and spent time with Gracie and Hoseok, ringing in 2012. 2011 went by so fast. Hopefully 2012 will be my best one ever.
Note. Your eyes are not deceiving you...that IS smoked bacon rimming the Caesars. Also, that just "looks" a lot like my Jewish friend Nurit enjoying the ribs. It's really not her at all.:) Nelson knows and fully expects he'll be going to Hell for that.

Charlotte, the Accessorizing Queen!

My four year old niece Charlotte is a girly, girl. During her birthday dinner in November, my cousin Sooky had a "talk" with her about her jewelery choices. She told her it was a little much and that "next time", before she leaves the house, she should take one thing off. A little while later, Charlotte's dad emails Sooky, asking about her "advice". Apparently Charlotte, before leaving the house took off one ring and gave it to her daddy. "It's too much." she declared to him. When Sooky told me the story, I thought it was hysterical...
When I arrived at my Uncle John and Aunt Sandy's for New Year's Day, Charlotte came running to me to give me a hug. This is what I saw. Whoa! It was a lot to take in. Obviously her penchant accessorizing seems to have taken a disturbing turn...LOL. When I showed Andy (at work) the photos, he thought she looked like a miniature Jewish grandma...although I think her bright blue nailpolish gives away her age.:-)

Queen's Park and Banjara

Cat, always thinking of learning experiences for the kids, thought it would be a fantastic idea for the kids to have a tour of Queen's Park and learn about provincial government. (Being Americans, this would be an all new experience.) We entered through the East entrance. We asked a construction guy for directions for the tour. He directed us to the security desk on the lower level. Unfortunately, security was surprised that we were able to get in since everything was supposed to be locked tight for the holidays. (We had actually passed by some of the MP's private offices) We took a few pictures and made our way to Banjara, an Indian restaurant near Christie Pits. The food was good and the warmth from the room was cozy after being outside in the cold and snow.

Lunch at Queen Margherita Pizza

Even though I was getting over a cold...(I had stayed home for a day) I wasn't going to let it keep me down too long. I met up with Cat and the kids, with Sooky and Diana and Miss Marley for lunch at Queen Margherita Pizza. The pizza was delicious as usual. It was Cat/Gracie/Hosie's first time eating the Naples style pizza. They loved it. Miss Marley, ever the energetic little miss, kept us all hopping until Diana could get her to fall asleep. At least then, Diana was able to enjoy her pizza. We then headed to Sooky's for dessert. Cupcakes from Diana's favourite Desmond and Beatrice. It's so nice to be able to have a lunch date in the middle of the week. It felt positively decadent.

Merry Christmas 2011!

Another festive celebration at the Kim house. Cat and the kids made it for the first time in years. Cat had decided it would be a good idea for an "ugly headpiece" component to our usually fun get togethers. She found reindeer antlers and I found springy Santas, snowmen and Christmas tree headbands. About 20 of us suffered effects from our various colds, but that didn't stop the babies or grown ups from having a good time and enjoying the craziness of Christmas. Even with my cold, I managed to make my Bread pudding, a huge Caramel apple pie with pecan toffee streusel, chocolate brownies and Vanilla bundt cake. Everything turned out really well. I think I've found my go to recipe for apple pie. It was gone in a flash. I had to stop someone from taking the last piece just so I could take a picture.

All the kids were so cute. My gifts went over really well. John was surprised and relieved that I was his secret Santa again. It was another successful and memorable Christmas. I'm so lucky to have such an amazing family.

Oh, and congratulations to Justin and Jenny on their engagement. Justin, you've finally knuckled under the inevitable truth that you are part of the Lee family. Soon you'll be legally bound to all of us. Welcome!

iPhone heaven

I've been wanting to change to the iPhone for ages. My old Samsung phone was working perfectly forever. That is until this week. I kept having trouble hearing when I called home. Even when I tried to call Cat a couple of days ago, I couldn't hear her but she could hear me. That was the last straw. After I finished work, I went straight to Rogers to get the new phone. After some deliberation, I got the iPhone 4S 32G. I cannot fully express the feeling I had. First fear of the unknown, since I've never used a smart phone before. Then this feeling of excitement. While I was there, I also bought my brother a blackberry. I had been scoping out what kind of phone to get him. John has not carried a cell phone for the last 10 years. To say he was overdue, is a gross understatement. Sometimes he can be gone for days and no one can get in touch with him. He mentioned his friend Joe had a Blackberry so I thought, he could BBM, use it for emergency purposes. I got him the cheapest plan that could still text and message. Rogers was having a promo where if signed up for family plan, you get a Samsung Galaxy tablet for free. The problem was it didn't make sense to sign up for more plan and money than we needed. The next night, I was showing him what his phone could do and he was playing with my iphone. His comment about the iphone was "this phone is sick!" After analysing all the plans on the Rogers site, he decided it made more sense to go for the iPhone and get the larger plan. So the next day he came to Sherway and spoke to the Rogers rep. We returned the Blackberry and he got the 4s in the 16G. We signed up for a larger family plan and he got the tablet. After years of being the anti phone guy, he goes to the other extreme, the most coveted technologically advanced phone there is. The whole day at work, I had this odd feeling...like the world had tilted on it's axis. The world as we know it is forever changed. Possibilities are now endless.

I'm not quite sure what happened?

I posted this collage with my post about Charlotte's birthday and my crazy Saturday, but I'm not sure what happened. So here it is again.

Happy 1st Birthday Talia!

Mark and Mer wanted to have a party to celebrate Talia's 1st birthday. Once they pinned down a day, I started contemplating their dessert menu. The week before we finalized the details. I wanted enough variety, something seasonal, something chocolate, lots of bright pretty colours and some fruit ;) I had only the evening before and morning of to create the desserts, so I had to be very selective. I prepped the chopped chocolate the thursday before (a little tedious). I should of prepped the caramel apple filling but was too tired. The final menu was Devil's food cupcakes with vanilla frosting topped with Lindt white chocolate hearts (+a 3 layer mini cake version to blow out a candle), Pecan pumpkin whoopie pies with pumpkin cream cheese filling, Chocolate Chunk cookies with Guittard and Hershey chocolate, Cookies with Lindt white chocolate, toffee bits and oatmeal, Caramel apple triangles in Phyllo pastry, and Chocolate Pavlova.
I worked on Friday from 9-5:30. I went to buy Talia's birthday gift on my lunch break. Picked up the photos I had developed after work. Traffic was horrible. It was on the way home that I realized I forgot to borrow the Whoopie pie pans from work...so I called Yorkdale and had 2 put on hold. By the time I got home, had some dinner, tried to explain to my dad that he can't just save numbers on his cell phone, he has to input their matching names too...I started baking around 9pm. Cookies first, then cake and cupcakes, pavlova meringue base. Too much to do, I asked John to peel some apples and wash some dishes. (He declared the peeling part...Fun:) Made the white chocolate hearts to chill in the fridge. Made the caramel apple filling, left to cool. Made the frosting for the cupcakes, did the lighter pink first, then added extra red for the second half. At 4:45am I called it a night after I put all the cupcakes and cookies in containers and meringue under plastic. (Thank goodness John helped with the dishes)
The next morning, I woke up before my alarm at 8:50am. I bolted up, afraid I had overslept. I immediately asked my mom for some help rinsing and cutting the fruit for the pavlova. I started on the apple phyllos triangles. Then the whoopie pies and cream cheese frosting. Lastly the whipped chantilly cream for the pavlova. With my mom's help as dishwasher, I was able to even have a shower before I had to pack up the car to go. The car was so packed up, that I had to ask mom to carry the mini cake on her lap on the way down in my dad's car.
Once at Withrow park, thankfully John Kim (Mark's cousin) helped me unload everything and we set things up in record time. The place was open and airy. They decorated it with huge paper balloons and hundreds of 8x10 photo copies of pictures from Talia's first year.
I was very pleased with the result. I received many complements on the desserts and how pretty everything looked. Even Cat's mom pulled me aside to tell me she "loved" the caramel apple triangles. I packed her up 6-7 to take home (and another bag for Sooky's mom)
The party was lovely, although a little short on time. It seemed like we had just settled in when it was time to pack up and go. When I think about how short a time it took me to make everything on my list...essentially 10 hours, I'm amazed at how well everything turned out. Next time though, I'll save myself some heart palpitations and insist on having the day off the day before.

Following Korean tradition, the birthday child picks items to predict their future. For the record, Talia picked a paint brush, money and the book. Happy birthday Talia...xo Aunt Carol.

My crazy Saturday and Charlotte's 4th Birthday.

Last Saturday, November the 19th was one of the most hectic I've ever had. It started off calmly enough...sleeping in late and lounging around with my family. Then I went to Walmart to buy a birthday gift for Charlotte. It was crazy busy there. It reminded me of Christmas...or I guess just a typical Saturday at Walmart. Because the checkout line was so crazy I was late getting to Mark and Mer's. We planned to go over some plans for Talia's birthday party the following week, menu and planning. I left their place at 5:15 to head to Congee Queen at Don Mills and Lawrence for Charlotte's family birthday dinner. So cute. We ate, hung out for a bit, before I headed out at 7:15pm. I had to meet a group of work friends for dinner at East Side Mario's near Sherway. We were meeting Andy's boyfriend for the first time. Lovely evening. I was still full from chinese, I ordered just a mini pizza and ate half. At 9:30pm, I made my apologies and goodbyes before racing out to meet the gang to watch UFC at Boston Pizza at Warden and Eglinton Ave. They have a minimum $20 charge so I had to order something. I ordered apple crumble and a diet coke. I hoped my friends had eaten enough to cover my shortfall. The fights were incredible. The Henderson-Rua fight was probably one of the best ones I've seen ever. At 11:45pm I left to go home to sleep. My stomach was not so happy with me...but I didn't have time wallow. I had to go to work for 8am...I feel tired just remembering it all.

Car trouble, and missing book club.

Last Saturday night was my bookclub meeting at Maureen's house. After baking a Maple Bread pudding the night before and working all day, I was driving out of the parking lot with Halina when I noticed no response from the car when I was pressing the gas. In fact the rpm's dipped. I stopped the car and restarted and still nothing, then the engine just stopped. Some fellow coworkers Bonnie and Carol were following behind me on their way to Maureen's. They stopped to help me try and figure out what happened. I called Maureen to let her know about our delay and ask if anyone there had any jumper cables. In a few minutes Maureen and Kellea arrived with the cables. We tried to boost the car but it didn't work. Luckily Maureen is a member with CAA. She called a tow truck. We waited in her car, taking and laughing, while the other book club members were all hanging out at Maureen's. The tow truck driver arrived about 30 minutes later. The first question Maureen asked him was "Does she have to go with the car?" Still hoping that I'd be able to go to the bookclub meeting :) I sent the bread pudding with them. He gave me a lift to the garage in front of my house. After hearing my story about the car, he guessed the problem was a broken fuel pump. He was right. Two days and $360 later, I got the car back on Monday afternoon. Absolutely bummed about missing the book club. It's always a great evening with fantastic women. Everyone told me how missed I was...but at least they had the bread pudding. It's damn good bread pudding ;)

Happy 70th birthday and UFC

Nancy and Eunho hosted a 70th birthday celebration for his mom on the 29th. It was a surprise party. So everyone convened at their house at 5pm. Diana and Gerwyn picked up her mom at 6. Everyone was there, even my brother John made an appearance. Diana hired our second cousin John and his wife Lulu, to take pictures of the party. They also took some family photos. My family gave her a Vitamix blender. She seemed genuinely touched. Diana told me she's been using her old blender since 1975. That's how long Diana has been alive.
After dinner, I went up to Newmarket to Ron's place to watch UFC. We had planned on continuing our Halloween tradition of carving pumpkins (Pip had purchased a dozen huge pumpkins), but we never got around to doing any carving.
I never got to test out my new carving kit.:(

White Chocolate and Strawberry Cheesecake

In honour of Sooky, Eunho and Diana's mom's 70th birthday, I made a cheesecake and the WS Vanilla bundt cake. I think it came out beautifully. It was the first time I was arranging the strawberries like this. The resulting effect looked pretty spectacular. Hopefully everyone thought it tasted as good as it looked.

Happy Birthday Meredith!

Lovely Meredith celebrated her 40th birthday this year. Marky, her husband, planned a whole weekend of adventure and celebrations. I thought we should recognize this milestone too. So Sooky, Diana, Hanna, Jenny and I braved torrential rain storms to take Meredith out to Queen Margherita Pizza. We enjoyed a cozy dinner and fun conversation celebrating this fantastic woman. Love you Meredith!

Thanksgiving 2011

A couple of weeks before Thanksgiving, I emailed the cousins, asking what we were doing for the holiday this year. After a bunch of emails with no real plans, Sooky decided to have a small gathering with her immediate family. She ordered a $100 Organic Turkey from Rowe farms and asked if I wanted to join them. Then, in typical Lee family fashion, Uncle John called everyone on Friday to let them know they would have it at their place on Sunday. So I made my promised Sausage, Mushroom and Chestnut stuffing, WS vanilla bundt cake, Bourbon Apple Crumble, and Pumpkin dessert squares. Everything was a hit. The kids were sooo cute. I love that picture of Samara and Charlotte on Grandpa John's tummy. The dogs are new Sadie and Cailey. They were just so adorable. All they wanted to do was play and lick. Charlotte and Samara, however, were petrified. A shaking Charlotte was holding onto me for dear life, while Samara burrowed into my side while I reached out to Sadie, to show them how sweet she was. They didn't buy it.:( Good food, fantastic family, it doesn't get any better.

Hanging out with Mer and Talia

One Thursday late in September, I called Meredith to catch up. She was heading out to Metro Hall to meet up with Mark in the park. Apparently they have an outdoor event called Indulge every Thursday in the summer. It has food vendors, live music and a farmers' market and market vendors. It was a beautiful fall afternoon. There were numerous food vendors to choose from. I picked the one with the longest line. I figured, the regulars must know something I didn't. The back bacon sandwich was delicious. We enjoyed the festival type atmosphere and the good food. Talia was such a good baby, so happy. We headed back to the house and had dinner with Samara. She is a natural ham, just like her dad. Obviously the apple didn't fall far from the tree :)

I'm back...and Cottaging with friends

So I'm back! I lost my USB cord for my camera and couldn't download any photos. That shouldn't have stopped from blogging but...I'm a visual person. I need to remember while I blog. So get ready I'll try to catch up...
The gang rented a cottage up at beautiful Port Severin. Unfortunately I wasn't able to go up the entire week, but I did manage a few days. The views, lake and surrounding landscape was spectacular. It was just lovely spending time with my friends, eating amazing food, napping in the afternoon and just relaxing with my kindle. The photo of Sabrina with the Cheetos was the picture I took when she woke me up. Her whispering "Carol" and crunching on Cheetos...so cute.

TIFF 2011 Melancholia, Alex, Kirsten and Ryan too!

Alexander, Kiefer and Kirsten.

This is how Ryan looked tonight...Wow!

I have never attended a screening at TIFF. The Toronto International Film Festival is world renowned as one of the world's best. I love movies and yet have never been. Sooky asked me last week if I wanted to go see Melancholia...the new film by Lars Von Trier. Alexander Skarsgard was coming to promote it. Last year at Comic-Con in San diego, it was one of Sooky's and my greatest regrets that he was not there to promote True Blood. We missed the opportunity to see him. When I checked the TIFF website last week, it said it was sold out. I was also interested in seeing Drive...Ryan Gosling is supposed to be fantastic in it. According to the website, at 7am on the day of the screening, potentially additional tickets will go on sale.
This morning, at 6:40am, I happened to be awakened by my mom since I had fallen asleep reading again and left the light on. She came in to turn off the light. I probably fell asleep at 3am. I thought to myself, "It can't hurt to check the website to see if any tickets are available..." So I turned on the Kindle to read for another 15 min, then I logged on to the website. Tickets were available to Melancholia!!!
But, my computer, the piece of crap, crashed and I couldn't get the tickets. In frustration, I called Sooky at 7:10am. She logged onto her iPad and got the tickets! We arrived at the Ryerson Theatre about an hour before the show. Just in time to pick up tickets from the box office. Unfortunately, the line up for admission went all the way around the block, down Gerrard, right on Church, all the way south to next intersection. We still got a decent seat. On the way in, we could see Alex Skarsgard and Kirsten Dunst doing their interviews...Wow! They were both so gorgeous. Inside, the cast introduced the film then came back at the end to do some Q&A. This picture was the best one I took out of 25...(I really have to figure out low light at distance shots). The movie was depressing, the performances were very good. Kirsten Dunst was luminescent and tragic. She won Best Actress in Cannes for this performance.
On the way out, we passed the interview area again and Sooky and I got to see Ryan Gosling!!! No more that 10 feet away from us. Sooooo cute!!! I couldn't get a real picture, because I'm short, there were too many people, and the volunteers were fanatical about keeping us moving so the next crowds could get in. We would have loved to watch his movie Drive, but I'm just happy I got to see Ryan. Pretty awesome for my first TIFF experience.