MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

This is turning out to be the best Christmas holiday that I can remember. There's quite a few things that makes this year so special. It's been almost 3 years since our entire family were together during the Christmas holiday. It's nice to sit down and have a meal all together again.

If that wasn't enough I received the best gift ever. If I don't get another gift or have to give away all my gifts thus far, it wouldn't matter to me. This afternoon, on Christmas eve, I opened the front door to throw something out and there was an envelop lying right in front of the door. Not uncommon for the mailman to leave bigger letters outside our front door but then I noticed the logo on the top left corner...It's from...from the Canadian Alliance...
My results, they've arrived. They told us that we would have to wait at least 12 weeks and it's only been 6. This could either be really good or really bad news but I wasn't as nervous as I was opening the results of the written exam. When I saw that it was in a big envelop with a stamp of "Do Not Bend", it could only be good news. Nobody cares what condition a letter is in if it's bad.

I opened it up and read the magical word..."Congratulations"...WooHoo...Finally it's over...I can finally close this important chapter of my life and start a new one. I have waited so many frustrating months for this. To be able to say that I am officially a fully registered Physiotherapist in Canada. How freaking awesome is that??? BooYa!!!


The best part was telling my parents and watching their reaction. They were so excited to hear the news. My mom was surprisingly more nonchalant about it after the initial excitement. My dad kept going on and on about what a great xmas gift this is and how relieved he was. At dinner he was saying how worried he was and the hassle it would've been if I had failed. My mom kinda got offended that he didn't believe that I would pass....My dad, not close to even being a school person, just kept saying that you never know with exams...Maybe he was speaking from experience. It was interesting listening to my parents discuss this right in front of me. This news is a gift for them as much as it is for me. Overall tonight was a great Christmas eve dinner of just me and my parents. (My bros already had previous engagements planned.) A quiet one before the craziness of pot luck dinners and bigger family gatherings.

Timing is everything and this one was perfect, just like the white Christmas that we're going to have this year.Hahaha, I put my mom up to this pic...

Merry Christmas everyone!!!

Poor puppy...

I was barely through the front door when DC's mom looks at me and started saying something to me. All I heard was something about my dog. "Pardon?" She repeated it again, saying that something happened to my dog. I don't have a dog. What the heck is she talking about?? She's never spoken to me in this tone before and both DC and Michelin are both just standing there waiting for her to tell me this news. Her being a parent my first thought was, am I in trouble?? What the heck did I do?? I feel like I did something wrong. Oh no...What's going on?? Think brain think...

Then suddenly a light bulb turned on...Oooh my heat pack that's also a stuffed dog. It's one of those beanie heating packs that can be warmed through in the microwave. I lent it to them to use awhile back. Then for the 5th or 6th time, she repeated herself "I broke your dog" or something to that extent.

We then went inside and she handed me the poor dog. It had a little hole on its side, from slightly getting overheated in the microwave. It must've blown up for that to happen. Apparently Michelin told her to put it in for 1 minute but she somehow thought she said 3 minutes. Don't ask me how that happened. What's funnier is that when my poor dog was getting overcooked, DC thought someone was making popcorn because that's what it smelt like...haha...note to self: burning beanie dog = smell of popcorn...

DC's mom looked soo sad and disappointed, kinda like a kid who knew they were going to be in trouble. I felt bad because it wasn't a big deal at all. Nothing's meant to last, especially stuff like this. Just shows how fast a situation can change. I went from thinking I was in major trouble to being the one in the position to distribute it.

Engine idlers

I went to pick up my bro and sister-in-law (yay for them being back for the holiday) at the airport the other day and I got there early even though I knew it would take them awhile to get through customs and retrieve their luggage. I parked in the free parking lot designated for curbside pickups. That's where I was surrounded with my biggest pet peeve: People idling with their engines on.

I understand when you have to warm up your car in the morning but it's unacceptable to keep your engine on for prolonged periods of time when you're just idling. I'm talking about more than 15-20mins. Why do people do it??? Is it because it's cold outside?? It's winter, what do you expect? Either wear more clothes or keep a blanket in your car. What's worst is that more than a few people had their windows rolled down while the engine was on. That just defeats the whole purpose. There was this woman who parked her car right beside me then proceeded to make herself comfortable, probably thinking that it'll be a long wait. She first took off her jacket and then angled the seat back...all the while keeping her engine on. Keep your damn jacket on and turn off the engine!!!

Seriously people, the environment is not getting any better and the accumulation of all this pollution is gonna kill us, and if not our offsprings. If you don't care about the environment, then think about your wallet. Gas is pretty darn expensive these days and I'm sure you can be saving some major gas money.

Alright that's my little rant and lecturing for the day...I had to get that off my chest. Please don't be an engine idler...spread the word...Hmm maybe I should get a bumper sticker...

Snowman

That's right people I went out and built myself a Snowman the day after the big snowstorm. The snow was still a bit soft so not quite packing snow but you work with what you've got. Before I reveal he makes his debut, here are some pics from around my block:



And now...making his debut..He needs a name...


Hmm I think he needs some accessories.


My bro says it's way too chubby but he can't help it. He's just too jolly.
Go Leafs Go!!! Still needs something else...hhmmmHappy Holidays and have a Happy New Year everyone!!

Snow Storm

This past weekend Southern Ontario experienced the biggest snow storm in years and it's not even officially winter yet. It started snowing Saturday and didn't stop till late Sunday evening.

Everyone knew we were going to be hit with a lot of snow but it felt like I was waking up on Christmas day on Sunday. It was so exciting to see that much snow. It reminded me of what winter use to be when we were growing up. I heard on the news that this snow storm guarantees us a White Christmas. WooHoo!!!

Here's a pic of the scene at 8am Sunday morning and this was only the beginning:

Pics of the same corner at around 6pm, yup still snowing:
And finally the day after pic:Nice soft snow, perfect snowboarding/skiing weather. Not good for playing in the snow but that didn't stop my bro from trying.

We went to church early to help shovel and my bro decided to build a fort right in front:
I was extremely impressed as to how fast the city cleared the streets. They were literally everywhere and going non stop throughout the day. That's great for the cars on major roads but as everyone knows they tend to create massive snow banks as we experienced first hand later in the day.

The next series of pics are the effects of the city snow plowers going through a major street and unintentionally blocking the off ramp highway exit:

There's a woman trying to get off the highway but is clearly blocked from the snow plowers so she takes out one of those emergency baby shovels. We couldn't stop to help the poor woman because of the traffic. There were so much snow that some people thought it would just be easier and faster to travel around with their skiis:We went to help our dad clear all the snow at his store. Here's a pic of how much snow had accumulated. It was almost up to our knees. It took the three of us almost 2 hours to get it all cleared up and just as we were done two snow plowers came by and blocked the entrance again. My dad owns a tire store so he needs the entrance cleared for cars to drive in. It was a really losing cause as long as it kept snowing but at least the roads are being cleared:

After hours of shovelling, my pants were frozen:
Here are some more pics of the day after. You have to appreciate how much snow has accumulated.

Our front lawn:
The snow were up almost to the swings. I love the smooth layer of snow:

Change of Seasons

I've been waiting impatiently for the weather to get cooler and allow the leaves to change colour but it's been a really warm, summerlike, Autumn. Here are some Autumn shots but as you can see, the colours of the leaves could've been better. Autumn's one of my favourite seasons, perfect weather in my opinion and beautiful to look at.
Being told that last year there was barely a winter I'm ecstatic that it's already cold and snowing. We've had a few light dusting in the past 2 weeks but last weekend we experienced our first heavy snowing. It almost made me feel like running outside and make snow angels...

This is a pic taken from my porch the next morning: