Post-Christmas Team Building Party

For our "Christmas Party" our fearless leaders at Dynamic took us all (and our guests) to The Cookworks in Toronto. For those of you that have never heard of it- it's a restaurant where you break into teams and make your meal alongside professional chefs. It was so much fun (and super delicious)

The First course (my group) made Hot Pot Soup, the second course was a yummy salad with the best balsamic dressing ever, the main course was the best beef i've ever tasted, and the dessert group (Kyle's group) made pastry filled with iced cream and covered in chocolate and iced cream.

The favourite team of the evening turned out to be team drink. It was unlimited drink here, and everyone took advantage of- and then some. I definately work with a unique crowd- either that or I have never gotten drunk with middle age people (everything from dancing around the table to singing in unison to feeling other people up!)

Here are some of the pictures! (courtesy of a co worker!)

(Andrea, Me, Kyle, and Neil)

(The Chefs)

(The Winning Team)

I forgot to mention- each group had to present our dish in a creative way- and Dr. Kyle Pile's claims that the dessert was everyone's window to weight lose completely took the cake! Here he is with his prize.. a gold scrubber brush- which means he's in charge of scrubbing all the pots for LIFE!

(Sand and Kyle's quest for a half-desent picture continues.. an awesome picture of Kyle, but I look like i'm trying to eat the flower.. but it was the best one that my bosses husband could get!)

Happy New Year!

Hope you all had a VERY Merry Christmas and enjoyed a happy New Year's Eve...
Kyle and I went to this CRAZY James Bond 007 party up at Blue Mountain. (Although without the scantily clad young women carrying large playing cards and the James Bond Logo on the big screen one may have run the risk of missing the boat on that one- especially at the lack of martinis!)

But we had an awesome time.. got to dress up.. DANCE.. and Kyle even ran into a slew of friends from high school.

Here's the skinny on the evening as a whole:

THE BEST PART: (after spending an evening out with Kyle of course!) would have to be the large ice sculpture of the Coors light beer bottle.. i like to say its hick meets chic.

THE WORST PART: (after fighting an awful cold that would later turn into bronchitis) crazy little town has no cabs guys! we waited for about an hour and 45 minutes (in the designated cab area) and saw not one cab. In the end we took a shuttle bus back into Collingwood and had to walk home in the rain.. in my heels.. with my cold.. and Kyle threatening to move to a town where cabs are plentiful.

Lisbon

A couple pictures from our day trip to Lisbon- my FAVOURITE city in the world!



































This is Di'a picture... 3 months later and i'm starting to appreciate it!






































Diana finally appreciates my favourite strip in downtown Lisbon! (I don't think she's ever purchased anything from a street vendor before!)





































The entrance to the Vasco de Gama center.. perhaps the greatest shopping mall in the world...





















Me and my purchases waiting for the train!

more Sintra pics

Di, Ines and i- after the 2 hour hike up the old ruin's stairs















The georgeous palace that we weren't supposed to get into.. th eline for tickets was something like 2 hours.. but the nice man at the gate let us in without them!































































































































This little bakery is part of my ongoing portugese pastery tour.. quite tasty but i think Belem still holds the "best portugese pastry" title..



















These are some people i don't know. but the picture sure turned out well!

Portugal

Well- better late then never right? after about two months of careful deliberation i've narrowed my 850 potugal pictures to... well.. somthing less that 850!















Yummy barbequed sardinhas! And the trick to picking the fresh ones? make sure they're still bleeding. (words of wisdom from a little old potugese lady at the market)
















This is Diana's stomache. sure- it looks calm and serene on the outside.. but after a half a bottle of wine and a whole wheel of cheese it's not so happy on the inside. On top of it is the "natural" laxative she sent us out for!




















My cousin Ines chillin' on the Beach. In Portugal for a total of 3 weeks, and we got to spend over 2 on the beaches of the Algarve!!!!















Don't i look like i've been super-imposed on top of this picture? was i really even there?

Diana and I enjoying our nightly cappucino at bar 42 in the Algarve... so yummy.

Valter (Ines boyfriend), myself, Diana and Ines enjoying a deliciously girly cocktail with super long straws.

The Beautiful scenery of the first beach we hit in the algarve (Lagos)

These are some pictures from our day trip to Sintra. It was beautiful- but tons of walking.. we hiked up like 1.5 hours worth of old stairs to get to the top- but the view was worth it! (interesting tid bit- you could also see the house where they filmed the Ninth Gate.. probably the closest i'll ever get to Johnny Depp)

Ahhh!

Guess what! Ryan has finally proposed to my sister.. something i have been waiting for for a very long time! you know what this means? I pretty much get a license to look at wedding magazines, go wedding dress shopping- all the fun with no strings attatched!

He proposed after picking Di up from the airport after our trip.. surprising her with a romantic dinner, roses, and champagne truffles.. (di was still completely surprised when he pulled the ring box out of the fridge for "dessert" thinking "what kind of dessert comes in there?")

(this also means we're that much closer to having a bun in the oven and me being an aunt!!!!!!!)

Congrats Di and Ryan!

Ciao Ottawa

Song of the day- Bright Eyes "First Day of my Life"- download it... it's great- and if you have a second watch the video...

Yes- While everyone moves on to bigger and better things/places (Kingston/Calgary/South America) i'm regressing and moving back in with my parents.. but there are bonuses right? no rent... free food... a loving home.... no buses... a fuzzy dog???
















Anyway- yesterday was my last full day enjoying the city/my independence, so Kyle and I took to the market, packed a picnic lunch and hung out on the hill overlooking Ottawa/Hull. We had an awesome day.. In other news- only 7 more days until i leave for Europe!

If you see a heat wave, should you wave back?

Good lord people- i've tried and tried.. but i have quickly realized i can not live without an air-conditioner... or at least a cool basement...

I've been taking about 3 COLD showers a day, sleeping with 3 fans on me.. and i still sweat like a fat kid chasing a cheeseburger...

AND tomorrow i have to start packing- in this heat? i don't think so.
I think it just might be a beach day if this humidity keeps up.

Any suggestions????