back in action!

Hello lovelies! It's been a while but I decided to plant my rear in front of this computer and get back to blogging regularly. We had a fantastic Christmas and New Year minus a few run-ins with the evil Norovirus (aka near-death stomach flu.) 

 We're all feeling better now and I'm looking forward to an amazing 2012. I won't lie, 2011 wasn't my favorite year (fairly poopy overall) and I wasn't sad to see it go so here's hoping that 2012 brings on many bigger and better things...

However we did attend a super fun New Year's Eve party at our friends Angela and Peters house...things got kinda crazy (in a good way) and I finally decided to pull the kids away at 3:00 am (yup, our crew parties with their kids included) and my 2 little guys would have gone all night long.

{We were ready for the big countdown}

{kid #2 might just have a minor video game addiction}

{Kid #1 got his party-on!}

{drunk Greeks are the most fun Greeks!}

Hope you all had a great New Years shared with the ones you love! 

This week was back to school and back to reality including the kick-off of 

Massive Weight Loss 2012 (an annual tradition, obviously some years are more successful than others...pfftttt.)

 I've kissed carbs, alcohol and pretty much anything that's tasty goodbye and I'm begrudgingly saying hello to the elliptical trainer. Most of my girlfriends are back on the wagon too, so I'm fairly sure Weight Watchers and Jenny Craig are laughing all the way to the bank this month. 

~Here's to a healthy, happy and skinny 2012!~

V-day miracle. For real.

We've all heard of Christmas miracles but on Monday a Valentine's Day miracle happened. 

Husband brought home flowers. 

I just about fell out of my chair when he walked in with these.  Yes they're boring super-market roses (probably $19.99 from Safeway) complete with tacky Baby's Breath but who cares. He actually bought flowers.  Swoon and sigh, he loves me.  

Ooooohkay, of course it does take more then flowers to demonstrate his love but the fact he took the time to buy these proves that he's not completely clueless on Valentines day.  I may have to retract my last post.

{ Photo evidence is always required when documenting a miracle}

We went out for a romantic Valentines Day dinner to a local restaurant called LeVilla.  We inhaled enjoyed several deliciously decadent courses including Saffron Seafood Chowder, Duck Breast and Arugula salad, Oysters Rockefeller, Enoki Mushroom Risotto, Lobster with Black Truffle Hollandaise, Filet Mignon and then dessert (since we apparently weren't completely full yet.)

 And of course we enjoyed several bottles glasses of an amazing Sauvignon Blanc. 

 It was all obscenely calorific.  Yum.

Ingeniously after a few glasses of vino I completely forgot to pull out my camera to snap some pics of our meal.  However I did take a pic of the heart shaped pizza I ordered for the kids from Boston Pizza. They thought it was the coolest thing they'd ever seen and it totally made up for the fact that they weren't allowed to join us for our adult-only dinner.

 {Who orders over priced heart shaped pizza on Valentines Day? Mama Does.}

I hope all you lovelies enjoyed your Valentines Day with the ones you love the most and that you were gifted with something pretty...like a super-market bouquet of flowers.

Tacky Christmas lights, fat little trees and purple sparkle

It's Christmas time all up in here! And while our outdoor Christmas lights are about as classy as the Griswolds, my kids think I'm an electrical engineering genius with this "display" of lights. 

Moving inside I"ll bore amaze you with our indoor decor. Honestly I'd like to do so much more with the house but Kid # 2 is at an age of pure destruction. He's just so excited by the lights and ornaments that he wants to touch (and break) everything. I'll give our poor tree a week before he pulls the whole thing down onto himself...

 That's one fat little tree, but he's real! 

On the weekend we got our drink on at a pre-Christmas house partay.  These pics were taken way later in the night after much wine/scotch/rum/vodka had been consumed...

 Green party cups mean drink up!

Mama in purple sequins

We love wine. As always.

 Since almost everyone at the party was Greek Canadian it quickly turned into a basement dance party. Who dances in a basement? We all do apparently...

Basement pole dance...

After shots of Ouzo, shirts were being unbutton. Husband decides to rock out on a pink guitar and it seemed awesomely cool at the time...  The picture obviously proves otherwise!

More wine... but just a taste

This past Saturday night we hit up the annual Rocky Mountain Food and Wine Festival....3 days of fabulous local restaurants showing off some of their yummiest dishes and of course some amazing wine tasting. I adore wine tasting, such a dignified (and legit) way to put back a whole lotta vino.

Fortunately there was no shortage of delicious booze fine wines and we didn't totally drink the place dry...

{Booze hounds, wine aficionado's at play}

{Maple pecan cupcakes anyone? Sounds pretty Canadian to me....}

I decided dress a bit on the casual side for the wine fest...and I'm still trying to get used to my dark hair.  I finally took the plunge and went dark a couple weeks ago.  After my hair was coloured my stoopid stylist chopped 3-4 inches of precious hair off (I asked him to "dust" my ends.) WHY the frack do they always cut off so much when all you want is a trim?!?  In my own defense he distracted me with mindless chatter and before I could say boo, the hair was on the floor.  Sads.

 Safe to say my dreams of Kardashian hair-greatness were dead in the water.

{Reoccurring Jacket- H&M (honestly I don't really wear it all the time), tank- H&M, Jeans- Zellers (cheap like Borsht!), Boots- Steve Madden (Macy*s)

Apparently Michael Jackson lives on....

On Friday nite we managed to "score" some tickets to a performance by our local Philharmonic Orchestra.  I'd be totally full of shit if I said this is my idea of a good time but the nite was dedicated to the Music of Michael Jackson's album, Thriller. A few of my gf's are absolutely gaga for MJ and saw his recent passing as a total tragedy.  Me, I was kind of indifferent but I'll admit I did like him when I was a kid. Thriller was my first "real" album...( album as in a record, for a record player.)  

I was never really a huge fan of MJ, ok sure, maybe I fantasized about him appearing/entertaining at my 6th birthday party, popping out of a refrigerator sized box with a big red bow on it. But that was a long time ago and frankly I think that while he was talented he was also obviously crazy as the day is long emotionally unwell. 

 Anyway, the philharmonic was fabulous and they were accompanied by an amazing MJ cover band and vocalist....not an impersonator (fortunately). We hit up the after party at a restaurant and bar called Teatro....needless to say the girls and Mama enjoyed a few cocktails in honor of the King of Pop.

{Two guys in the isle dancing to "Thiller" during the performance, of course they knew all the zombie shuffle moves from the original video, really who doesn't?}

{What could be cooler than the cello?}

 {Drinks and pics during intermission}

{More drinks during the after party... and no red leather jacket for me}

 {Dana posing with the "Michael Jackson" for the evening. A great performer and fortunately he didn't resemble the real MJ in anyway}

 {Never allow a Hobbit to take your picture...nothing worse than a shot from below}

 {Our friend Voula (in the white) might be the biggest MJ fan in the world}

 {Dana and Tracy after a just bit more red wine.... Note the MJ wanna-be in the background. Where does one acquire a red leather jacket anyway?}

Thanks for a great nite of music Michael Jackson. You may have been completely wacko, but your music does live on...

Reunion rewind

We made it back from our long-weekend family Wine-Reunion 2010 and it actually turned out to be a pretty decent time. It was great spending time with family that travelled from all across the country to be together. (Canada is tres large.)
On Friday night Kid #2 ran laps around my aunt's home until I was sweating like a buffalo feeling a bit warm from chasing him. But fortunately one of my BFF's that lives in the city was able to take him away babysit the remaining evenings so I could at least spend a bit of time catching up with my relatives.
Mama may have gained 5 lbs in BBQ/Italian/Ukrainian food and wine but I'm pretty sure it was worth it!  All of the 3 days of family activities revolved around food and drinks. Is that normal?...

{Note serious focus by diners on dinner plates...that's how my family rolls. It's all about the food (and booze judging by the table of assorted liquor.)}

{ Dinner at my aunt's home, food,  food and more food....}

{My lovely cousin and me looking a little deer in the headlights-y}

{Our hotel room was actually 2 attached rooms that included a kids themed room. Of all the pictures from Finding Nemo they had to pick the one with angry sharks??!  Needless to say Kid #1 had some concerns about sleeping with the fishes that night.....}

Wino-holic-ism and other vices....

Since right after I was pregnant with Kid #2, I've developed a crazy love for wine. I don't know if it was the fact that it was off limits for 9 months, (so was sushi, Brie cheese and excessive amounts of coffee) and while I did crave those things, I really really missed my vino!  We always want what we can't have. That probably makes me sound like a super wino and really I'm not, in fact I'll maybe have a glass or two with dinner on Sundays only. But I just can't get over how much I enjoy a delicious, refreshing glass of white wine (or red, I'll knock that back too.)

 

{Common, millions of Japanese and French women ate this stuff during pregnancy, is it really that risky?}

I'd probably drink way more if it weren't for the fact that I'm alone with the kids 6 nights a week and I can't very well be drinking while I'm on the job (can I?)  And besides, who wants to drink alone. And no, the kids being present does not count as 'social drinking'.  I prefer to enjoy my wine with people over 5 feet tall.
And if you can believe this, the numero uno reason that I don't drink more wine is because of the calories.  Massive Weight Loss 2010 continues (as always) and I just can't justify the extra calories. Really, this is what it has come down to. I don't drink more because I'm afraid it will make me gain weight!!?!  Whatever keeps me off the sauce I suppose....
I'm not sure why I feel guilty about my lurve of wine. It's not like it's a bad thing in moderation. But honestly I'll catch myself dreaming about big glass of vino on some random Tuesday night....  "Oh look Kid #1, you've spilled your yogurt all over the couch. Again. For like the 3rd time today. But that's ok because Mama's drinking a giant glass of Chardonnay. Carry on...."    

It's sorta the same way I feel about smoking. While I don't actually smoke and never have, I will most definitely have one if offered it in a social situation. It's a guilty pleasure you'd think I would have grown out of by now. (And there was a time when I actually considered smoking as a weight maintenance strategy! It works for models right? But then so does snorting coke so I guess that's a weak argument.)  Obviously common sense won out on that one. I mean, it's not like you can smoke anywhere anymore anyway...

So I suppose this means that I don't drink more because I'm afraid I'll get fat and I don't smoke because it's really just inconvenient.  Whatever keeps me in line....?!!!


Do you have any guilty pleasures that kinda make you feel, well, guilty?