Ames' visit 2013

First thing first,

HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYONE!

Look what the skeleton fished up LOL.

Any plans for tonight? Or for Halloween in general? If everything goes well, I'm going to be curling! Yay!

Still no review; however, here are some pictures from Ames' visit. I wanted to have them up earlier, but alas... It seems that Ames and I are jinxed LOL. Whenever she plans to come visit, there's always something that happens. Last time was a fall resulting in an injured elbow, this time, my ruptured appendix... I'm glad though Ames elected to still come and even more glad that I was in shape to welcome her :) Still, we had to change our plans a little. Initially, the plan was to spend the long week-end in NYC. Visit Hilcia, Christine and Mariana, catch some shows and do a lot of shopping... And at first, I still wanted to make the trip. We were all looking forward to it sooo much and I was feeling okay... but in the end, good sense prevailed LOL. It just didn't make sense to leave a country where I had access to free healthcare to visit one where I wouldn't ^_^; Add in the shutdown... and in the end, we decided to go to Quebec City instead. It was good because I got to visit my uncle, aunt and cousin :)

Here are some pictures of Old Quebec. It's quite a nice city :)

Ames, my sister, my cousin and me goofing around :) LOL, my cousin was all gung-ho getting on the cannon, but getting down was another story...

We also used this opportunity to celebrate my sister's birthday :) I was feeling bad that I wasn't able to do anything for her on the actual date, so this was my chance to make it up for her.  It was kind of a surprise for her and she ended up baking her own birthday cake, but it turned out good.

We spent the long week-end in Quebec City and I had taken a few extra days off. On our return, we had poutines :) You cannot come to Quebec province and not have poutine LOL. Ames had the original, I added merguez sausages to mine and my sister had the Elvis if I remember correctly, which includes ground beef, green peppers and mushrooms :) After our meal, we decided to stop by Mount Royal to take a look at it in fall with all the colorful leaves :)

Our main goal of the day though was the Chihuly exhibit at the museum. It's funny because Ames and I had actually seen some of his work together on our trip to Holly's wedding... We had visited the Bellagio hotel and in the lobby, if you look up at the ceiling, that's Chihuly :) Anyway, I have heard a lot about this exhibit and thought Ames' visit was the perfect occasion to go see it :) It was really pretty! By the way, those boats are real-size... LOL, I had seen pictures from friends and thought they were table centers, but nope, a lot bigger!

One other activity we did was to go the Montreal's Botanical Garden. Every fall, they have a Chinese lanterns festival. I've never been, but sounded like a good activity to do with Ames again :) Unfortunately, we missed the International Mosaicultures exhibition - sculptures done with plants, flowers and trees - but were able to catch some remains LOL. Next time, I'll definitively have to check it out.

After the botanical garden, we picked up my friend V and had supper at P.F. Changs. I didn't know we had one in Montreal, but it works out great because a stop at P.F. Changs was on our schedule for our NYC trip :P Ames had their lettuce rolls a few years back while she was visiting Monroe and has been praising them for years :) Glad I was able to try it out!

And LOL, that's it for the pictures :) We took so many in the first half of her visit that in the second half, we just didn't bother. We did do other stuff such as going to the UBS and Ames got to watch me curl... and we did watch a lot Doctor Who episodes :) All in all, another great visit! I loved having Ames over and was so glad she stayed a whole week. Can't wait for the next time and hopefully, we'll make it to NYC!

Review: Letters to Nowhere by Julie Cross

Hi everyone!

Yes, I'm alive. I guess I jinxed myself in my last post when I said that I was doing "quite good" ^_^; On Tuesday, I noticed a rash under my left armpit and after a visit to the doctor, the diagnostic was shingles. Sigh. Gotta say though I wasn't too surprised. Shingles is basically the reactivation of the chickenpox virus that lies in you dormant. It usually occurs when the immune system is weakened. Let see, hmmmm. Ruptured appendix, antibiotics treatment, possible allergic reactions, allergy test, stress from every twitch and twinge, lack of sleep and start of curling season... Yep, it could be that my immune system was a bit weakened. Luckily, I went to the doctor promptly and started the anti-virals within the three days the rash appeared, which is when the drug is most effective. As a result, my rash didn't spread - yay! - and I was also lucky that it wasn't painful nor itchy. Today is my last day of anti-virals and the rash has lost its redness :) Hoping to play curling this week!

With everything going on, I haven't really been in the mood of blogging. I'm so far behind in my reviews, it's kind of getting overwhelming. Plus, I'm not really sure what I'm in the mood to read. I was waiting for today impatiently!! Need to replenish my pile of new releases LOL. Despite everything though, I was able to put together a buddy review with Ames over at Breezing Through. We both read Letters to Nowhere and wanted to share out thoughts with everyone. Be sure to check it out because we're also doing a giveaway! Click here for the review :)

Letters to Nowhere by Julie Cross
self-published in August 2013

Set in the tough world of Elite Gymnastics... I've gotten used to the dead parents face. I've gotten used to living with my gymnastics coach. I've even adjusted to sharing a bathroom with his way-too-hot son. Dealing with boys is not something that's made it onto my list of experiences as of yet. But here I am, doing it. And something about Jordan--being around him, talking to him, thinking about him--makes me feel like I can finally breathe again. That's something I haven't been able to do lately. He knows what it feels like to be me right now. He knows what it's like to wonder--what now? I think about it constantly. I need answers. I need to know how to get through this. In the gym, if you're struggling, you train harder, you do drills and conditioning. How do I work hard at moving on? At being on my own? And what happens if I might be...maybe...probably falling for Jordan? I mean we live together now. That can't happen, can it? But kissing him...well, let's just say it's not an easy activity to forget.

Genre: Young Adult/New Adult, Contemporary
Series: Letters to Nowhere, Book #1

Hauling Sunday CXXI

Hi everyone!

How are you doing? Yes, I'm still alive and actually doing quite good. Still having some twitches and twinges from time to time, but aside from that, everything's good :) Can't believe it's been two weeks since my last post! I didn't mean to stay absent for so long, but I've been quite busy and my blogging muse is still absent :(

Last week, Ames was in Montreal for a visit! Initially, the plan was to go to NYC and visit Hilcia, Christine and Mariana... However, with the ruptured appendix, we elected to stay in Canada ^_^; So instead, last week-end, we went to Quebec City which was good as well since I got to visit my uncle :) I'll have a post with pictures up some time this week :) Also, curling started again! Yay! I played two games already... Was supposed to play another one today, but I woke up yesterday with some pain on the right side. For a moment, I was afraid it was my appendix getting worst, but after a day of rest, I think it was only soreness. Still, decided to take it easy and got a spare. Seems like I'm going to have to revise my curling schedule a bit ^_^;

Reading-wise, it's been going oh so slowly. Just too busy and not really in the mood. However, that has never stopped me from getting books LOL. So here are my new precious :)

I pre-ordered The House of Hades a while back. Lucky too because at first, I was debating whether to pre-order it or wait till I go to NYC to buy it. In the end, I was able to use a 25% off coupon in addition to the 24% discount we get on books online, so I got it for pretty cheap. It took me a while, but I did finish it yesterday :) I requested The Sugar Cookie Sweetheart Swap over at Netgalley, but really wasn't in the mood to read the proof copy. Thanks to Kobo's coupons, I decided to buy it. I'll be reviewing it once it's read... Probably some time closer to Christmas. I also purchased Broken Silence as an e-book. I mean, it's Karen Rose! Can't wait for Watch Your Back to come out!

Also, as it is customary when Ames comes over, we went to the UBS :) It's been a really long while since I've last been... I was able to pick up High Passion. I read High Risk and enjoyed it and I know Ames liked High Passion... and I was able to find a copy of Sea Swept, trade-size edition. The Cheasapeake Quartet is one of my favorites by Ms Roberts and so I've been eyeing the new trade-size edition ever since they've been released, but 18$ for books that I already have seems a bit steep a price. 3.95$ though was a steal!!

So that's it for me in the past two weeks. What about you? I can't wait till October 29 for release galore! LOL.

Hauling Sunday CXX

Hi everyone :)

So I'm a bit bored and thought I'd write up this post since it's long overdue.

Things are going okay on my end I guess. I'm taking things easy. I'm still paranoid about every twinge and twitch... and turns out I started my periods as well, so that doesn't help matter. Sigh. However, I don't have a fever or more pain, so that's good. Side effects of the antibiotics are still hitting me from time to time, but less, so that's another good thing... Also, it's my sister's birthday today and we're not doing anything... and I feel guilty for it :( Since we spent the week at the hospital, we didn't have the chance to prepare anything. Hopefully, I'll be able to make it up for her when I feel better!

There's a "Buy one book and get 50% off on the second" promotion going on at Chapters/Indigo this week-end, but I don't really have anything to buy. All the books I really wanted, I've already pre-ordered and the others... well they're either not available at the bookstore or I can keep waiting. Plus, it's raining so that's making me lazy...

But here are some new books that found their way to my house...

 

I got Fangirl and Thankless in Death in the mail a while ago, actually before the trip to Washington D.C., but was kind of busy... and then, the ruptured appendix happened and did not have time to blog about it. I've read both books and enjoyed them a lot :) As for Twenty-Eight and a Half Wishes, I just downloaded today on Tabitha's recommendation (yes, she's still alive :P). Lucky too as it was a freebie on Kobo!

So that's it for me right now :) What about you? What new books did you get recently?

Rough week...

No reviews this week, sorry :( I don't usually need excuses for that or at least, nothing more than my usual  "blogging muse has been on vacation" explanation... but this week, I have a good excuse. Week has been a rough one and long story short is, I have a ruptured appendix ^_^;

I started feeling some abdominal pain last Thursday... Pulses of pain that came and went. Nothing alarming or excruciating, just uncomfortable. I was hoping it'd go away, but it didn't... so on Sunday, I went to the clinic. When the doctor pressed on the lower right region, it did hurt. Combined with a slight fever, she suggested that I headed for the emergency because it could be my appendix. After hours of waiting at the emergency and a CT scan, the diagnosis was indeed my appendix. Doctor told me I looked good for someone with a ruptured appendix and I have to say, I was a bit stunned. Anyway, I was admitted right away... After meeting the surgical people, there was two options: 1) remove the appendix right away or 2) treat it with antibiotics and have the appendectomy in a couple of months (an interval appendectomy). My first reaction was to want to the surgery right away. Why keep it in? However, the appendix was very inflamed and I was told that there was the possibility that if they went in now, they'd have to remove more than necessary. Yeah, not really what I want. Given my age, the low level of pain and symptoms that I had, they'd rather go with option 2. They started the antibiotics and I was all set to leave on Wednesday when my left foot started to swell... and I developed a rash on my belly. It's most probably an allergic reaction to the IV antibiotics I received, but by that time, I was set to start a different kind of antibiotics in pills. Still, they called in the immunology/allergists to check it out. They had a look and well, didn't seem to be alarmed. So I get an appointment for some test in two weeks. I also got a doppler ultrasound for my left leg to be sure that the swelling wasn't caused by a clot.

So far, everything seems okay-ish... I had a bit of a rough time with the side effects of the antibiotics - nausea, dizziness, abdominal discomfort... but today seems to be better. I need to be aware that my appendix could develop into an abscess and that means going back to the emergency... And that means I'm being a bit paranoid with any abnormal twitch, sigh. But we'll take it day by day and see how it's going :)

While 2013 is not over yet, I can say it's been a mixed year... So many ups and downs! Every time I seem to get back into a blogging rhythm, something comes up and I need to start over. I'm not stopping my blog or anything, but you can understand that I'm not really in the mood to blog lately. Or I'll blog, but not review :) And seriously, at this point, I'm soooo far behind ^_^; Ah well.

What about you? Hope you've had an easier week than I did :)

Washington D.C., Annapolis and a wedding

So I've been wanting to write this post ever since I came back... but my blogging muse is still MIA. Ugh. When is she coming back?! I miss her!! I seriously do LOL. However, I don't want to wait too long... so let's give it a try without her :)

One thing that I realized prior to this trip is that I need to learn to relax before leaving... I don't know what happened, but for the last few trips, I got so nervous and ended up having to run around like a headless chicken... it's just not fun ^_^; Although in my defense, this time around, there were a few details that were a bit iffy. First, we flew to Washington D.C., but the wedding was actually in Annapolis - it's about 40 miles away. Therefore, I had to rent a car and that's not my favorite thing to do. Also, my cousin from Germany was coming for the wedding, so we had to coordinate pick-up with him. Hotel rooms, how much money to give to the happy couple, what to wear, etc. So many things to plan and organize and guess who was in charge? Yep, yours truly. Then, there were a few changes of plans which necessitated modified reservations and so on... So yeah, I was a real bundle of nerves!

The trip was from Thursday to Sunday, with a rehearsal dinner at 6.30pm on Thursday and the wedding taking place at 6pm on Friday. I don't know about you guys, but Friday evening weddings are not very common for me. Then again, apparently, the bride and groom didn't really have a choice because the bride's paternal grandmother is very traditional and superstitious and the only good date to get married in September was that Friday LOL... and in the end, I think it was meant to be :P

Initially, the plan was for me and my sister to arrive in Washington D.C. at around the same time as my cousin, wait for him at the airport and then proceed to get the car and drive to Annapolis. Then, my sister asked about shopping... Now, me and my sister seem to have acquire a reputation for being shoppers LOL. I'm not saying it's undeserved, but really, we're not that bad :P I mean, if you go to a country or state that sells things cheaper than where you live, wouldn't you take advantage of it?! Anyway, back to the topic, shopping. There's a Premium Outlet not far from Annapolis and we wanted to go and I thought Friday would be good since the wedding only started at 6pm. However, my sister was adamant that we spend time as much time as possible with the family and so, instead of arriving around the same time as Oliver, i.e. 5.30pm... We got to Washington D.C. at 9am. LOL, okay, maybe we deserve our reputation... However, it worked out great because we got to shop to our heart content without dragging our cousin which I'm sure wouldn't have been interested anyway and then, spend time with the family the rest of the week-end :)

Here is my sister shopping :) We were actually on a mission because she was looking for high heels for the wedding. She saw a pair earlier this summer, but hesitated and missed her chance to buy them. Shen then found a similar model at DSW, so that's where we headed. She was also on the look-out for running shoes and have been searching for leather boots... Most of the time, we have goals and purposes while shopping :) We did stop at Barnes and Noble, but I didn't really have any books to buy ^_^;  We also hit Trader Joe's for dried mango... but I didn't buy enough! We only have two packs left... Luckily, I'm heading for the States soon again :)

My cousin's flight ended up being delayed and arrived at 6.30pm instead of 5.30pm. Poor guy because his itinerary was Luxembourg to Paris, Paris to Detroit and Detroit to Washington D.C. Yes, Detroit ^_^; Apparently, it's my fault because I told him to go to Ronald Reagan National Airport... I thought it was the bigger international airport, but turns out I was wrong. Oups ^_^; Then again, he paid about 500€ for his ticket, so he didn't mind. LOL. In any case, his flight being delayed worked out well because that meant we had time to do everything we wanted and also, miss the traffic. Once we picked him up, we rushed to the rehearsal dinner. It was great to see our relatives again!! After the dinner, we went back to the hotel and called it a night :P

The next morning, we went sight-seeing :) My relatives are mostly from Boston, but the groom's family is from Maryland IIRC. They chose Annapolis because the groom and bride wanted their wedding near the water. I guess what makes Annapolis stands out from other touristic towns around Chesapeake Bay is the US Naval Academy and that's what we ended up visiting. The tour was very interesting! It's just a pity we didn't have time to see everything.

Up there is the picture of my aunt - mother of the bride - and her brother. It's funny how relaxed she was LOL. We thought she'd had lots to do, but nope... I guess that's the advantage of a wedding away. So as usual, she played our guide and figured out what we'd do and where we'd go :)

Soon, it was time to get ready for the wedding :) Here are some pictures!

Earlier, I said that it was meant to be because it was a lovely wedding and the weather was simply perfect for it :) Warm, but not too hot and sunny. What more can you ask? The venue was also very nice and they were able to get the dance floor (wasn't sure initially given the number of guests). First picture is me, my sister and my cousin from Germany. In the second cousin, my older second cousin with her two kids. The picture with the older couple is the bride's maternal grandparents. The older gentleman is my maternal grandmother's older brother. My cousin walking my aunt down the aisle. My older second cousin's kids were the flower girl and ring boy. Groom waiting for the bride... I was surprised because I thought the groom would be decked out in his uniform as he's part of the Army (National Guards). However, for him to wear his uniform, that means they would have had to hold a military wedding with a series of requirements and they didn't want to. The bride is also my second cousin :) Isn't she gorgeous! I loved her dress! It suited her perfectly! And guess what? It had pockets! Which my sister thought was amazing LOL.

What is cute about their story is that she's only 23 years old, but they've been together for 9 years! They met when both families were on vacation at the beach :) They kept contact, did the whole long-distance relationship thing and when she graduated from college, she moved in with him and found a job in the area. 9 years! Although they are young, I do think they're going to make it work :)

The wedding was very simple and it fit them perfectly. What was cute is that the bride is a big fan of Star Wars and was able to add a few touches of her fangirlness to her wedding :) There was a photo booth at the wedding which I think is now the trend :) And plenty of Star Wars props to play with. Her party favors were chocolate shaped in Star Wars icons - Darth Vader, Yoda, etc. And you can't see, but on the wooden stick of the programs, on one side there was the symbol of the Empire and the other, the Rebellion. Cute :)

 The kids were really the life of the party :) It was just sooo cute to see them all dance! And instead of the throwing rice at the bride and groom's departure, we lighted up sparklers!

While I thought it was weird to have the wedding on Friday, it was kind of cool at the same time because it gave us a lot of free time to do stuff for the rest of our trip :) So we did what we wanted to do: hang out with the family :)

Then on Sunday, it was time to leave... and we managed to squeeze in a little bit of sight-seeing. We went to the memorial monuments with my cousin before dropping him off at the airport. And after that, we went to the Smithsonian museums.

 

And that was it :) Everything went super, the weather was gorgeous and we managed to do everything that we wanted! Well except seeing the White House, but next time! LOL.

On that note, two more pictures I'd like to share with you guys :) The first was taken 11 years ago!! The two ladies with us in the pictures are the bride's sisters :) How time flies...