I was having trouble getting on to blogger.com on the weekend so I haven't updated in a while.
We've attended a bunch of Christmas parties in the last few days. On Saturday night was the VPC Christmas dinner. It's for all the management at the press centre, and it's usually really well done. It's one of the few parties that still invites partners. We met up with Ram and Teresa, and cabbed it from their house. Any time you're out with Ram, it's a big drinking night, and this was no exception. It was at an italian banquet hall on Highway 27 north of 7. The food was great -- three courses, I had the caesar salad, porcini risotto, and veal picatta. It was an open bar and we seemed to end up near the bar having shooters most of the night. We were doing okay until Glenn had us try the grappa. I'm still acquiring a taste for that.
The VPC party usually winds down around 11pm so we joined Ram and Teresa at a bar near Yonge and Eglinton (the one right beside Spacco's). Had a Keith's and talked with John (his company did the tiling at our house). We're still waiting for the backsplash in the kitchen to be grouted and I keep forgetting to bug him. Got Rob's phone number (I think he's the supervisor of the crew). We headed home around 1ish.
On Monday there were a couple of parties. My group (about 10 of us) went out for lunch at Houston's. I had a 14oz prime rib, and some beers. Our department dinner was at 5:30pm (and it was a cash bar), so the plan was to go for lunch and eventually find our way to the dinner restaurant. Dinner was pretty good, although only four hours after lunch, so I was really stuffed. It was Monday night and after dinner, some people wanted to watch the NFL game, so we found our way to the Keg at York and Adelaide. I got home around midnight.
So after all the partying, I thought I would take it easy on Tuesday night. However, Tanya and Tony had their first kid, Natasha, on Monday afternoon (7pounds, 9 ounces), and so we went to see them at St. Mike's. Everyone was doing well, Tanya looked really relaxed and not at all like she had just had a baby. Marissa and Bernice were also there, and we hadn't seen them in a while, so we all headed to the Flatiron for a drink or two.
Here's some pictures of our tree:
We've been looking for a cool angel for the top of the tree, and I found this one for $7.20 at Linens and Things! Every year Heather and I buy an ornament for each other, and the two doves on the turtle is the one I got for Heather this year (our 2nd Christmas -- two turtle doves, get it?)
Well I should go cook dinner. I'm trying to make the porcini risotto and veal picatta like we had on Saturday night.