It's beginning to look a lot like another carbon footprint

Things are starting to feel a lot like Christmas out here on the west coast, even in spite of the fact that all our snow from last weekend has been rained away. Most of the downtown streets are lined with a variety of those lit tacky Christmas decorations, drivers are extra vigilant in their bird flipping and shoppers are realizing that their Lululemons also make for great wear when fighting their fellow Vancouverite over that last pair of leather gloves on the store shelf. From east to west, it seems in some situations us Canucks are all the same.

Kuy and I chose last Sunday as the day to hunt down our Christmas tree. It took us a little longer than expected because we first had to go on Aur's guilt trip for chopping down a real tree, and then we had to battle Vancouver's first snow storm of the season. But she was worth it. Our little tannenbaum '07 is a beauty! The tree is a nice compliment to our Christmas pyramid (thanks Neables!), our mantle and our nativity statue (thanks Marasco's!). Our apartment now has that warmth and coziness that is the holidays...all we're missing is the family & friends, but we'll be together soon enough.

Face Fart

So the other day, Kuy and I were sitting on the couch watching TV. Everything was great; the lights were twinkling on the tree, we were warm under a comfy blanket and there was cake. Then all of a sudden, I hear this fart-like noise come from Kuy's mouth. Startled, I jumped back and quipped, "Oh, my God...did you just face fart?". He started laughing and replied, "You mean, burp? Yeah".

Oh, right. There is a term for that oral air expelling process already. (But there's a part of me that thinks face fart sounds better. And funnier.) Who's with me on starting the face fart movement? According to the Tipping Point, it doesn't need much...just a few of us to get the ball rolling until it hits that critical mass.

Happy Thanksgiving

"Those aren't pillows".

Recite this phrase to any of the Cameo Avenue Marasco posse and it's guaranteed to get a smile. After a quick visual of Steve and John in bed together, the next thought that will pop into mind is of those many years of the Marasco's American Thanksgiving celebrations. I'm not even sure when it started really, but every year my sisters and I would come home from school (elementary, high school or university) on this day in late November to find Pop wrapped in an apron somewhere between the Cowboys game and basting the bird. We'd usually throw Planes, Trains and Automobiles in the VCR (it took place over the US TGiving) and by the time it was done, so too was the turkey. Sweet Lou never let us down - we'd feast on the real deal - turkey, taters, squash, stuffing, and gravy. And he usually made a pie too...

It really isn't that we're big fans of the Big Mac Nation or the we pay particular homage to the star spangled banger...fast forward through the Anti-American rant... but they sure know how to do Thanksgiving right. A little brown pop, a little football, more food than you can throw at a sumo wrestler and quality family time. We girls didn't know it at the time, but looking back on the fact that my parents would come get us and our room mates from university, drive us home and bring us back after dinner was done, it is pretty clear that family time is what made that whole deal so fabulous.

Over the past few years, we've forgone American Thanksgiving; with Sweet Lou and his lady living in Hong Kong, it just hasn't been possible. This year though, Kuy and I tried to do the tradition proud. He whipped up a roast chicken and parsnips while I contributed with a salad and pumpkin cheesecake for dessert. We even cracked open a few beers and watched the Cowboys game. Not too shabby if I do say so myself. And just so you know, there's always tons of left overs so feel free to swing by next year if you're in town.

Harrod's Bridal Assistant

Gia, Aur and I, together for the first time since the engagement, headed to Harrod's of London for the obligatory bridal shopping (doesn't everyone shop there?). If you're thinking 3 'rasco's in one city is a lot for one metropolitan to handle, you're not alone; the cabbie that picked us was pretty shaken, afraid he was seeing triples. But he dropped us off right in front of the store, so we forgave him.

The bridal department was a lot less intimidating than I expected. While the gowns were lovely, it wasn't overwhelming and no one looked at us like they could see the pork rinds in the ziploc in my purse. I guess when you feel like a fish out of water (or a girl out of Stitches) you think that everyone else can see it too. Anywho, we were asked to have a seat and wait for a few moments until our assistant was ready.

And then she arrived. At first I didn't think much of her; she seemed lovely, and well manicured, but as she was slight and soft looking she didn't command much of a presence. Until she opened her mouth. With a big inhale she said, "So, when's zah big da?" Oh. My. God. It was Andrrrrrea, Franck Eggelhoffer's younger sister. I'm not even kidding...everything was either "Fab" or "Mahvelous". The way it goes at Harrod's is you choose 5 dresses from their collection and then you have 1.5 hours to try those and only those on. Kuy was pretty wary of this whole idea to begin with - what if I ended up falling in love with a dress that I couldn't afford? Fortunately two things happened; firstly, the dress I fell in love with the most was pretty much exactly like the dress I found in Canada (and could afford) and the second is that most all but one of the dresses I tried on were under 2000 pounds. All things considered (including the marble washrooms down the halls, and the diamond studded saucepan for sale a few floors down) it wasn't that crazy.

Turns out we were there on the 10th anniversary of Diana's and Dodi's death, so at 11:00am we exercised two minutes of silence (most exercise I've done in awhile). Interesting that we happened to be there on the exact day. And even more so that I remember exactly what I was doing that day 10 years ago - packing the car to go back up to university. What were you doing?

Sweet on Danish

Touring Copenhagen with G turned out to be quite the lesson in Danish culture. Convinced that all streets could be referred to as Knipplesvongarde (there is one street that's actually called "Knippelsgade"), Gia and I took over Copenhagen this weekend. What would I have done without this whiz of a mapper, this master of the Danish language?

In town to visit a customer, I asked Gia to join me in Copenhagen for the weekend. It worked out fantastically; she arrived on Friday evening just after I did, and left for London just a little while ago. We stayed at the Palace Hotel, which in its day was probably quite majestic. Now, while still very central, its got a hint of creepy mixed with a splash of germy (you know like when you peel the bedspread off the bed minding to touch as minimal amount of finger derma as possible for fear of catching any disease). Also, this hotel didn't have Internet in the rooms...actually aside from the 8 or so rooms they are renovating, there was only one Ethernet port in the whole hotel, and that was in the lobby. Sigh.

Good thing we were out for most of the weekend. Saturday we braved the mid-teen temperatures and took the heel toe express around Copenhagen's core. We saw Tivoli gardens, ate wienerbroed (which are the typical pastry "Danishes", and not weiners as you might think!), trekked to the statue of the Mermaid, and walked through Hans Christian Anderson's 'hood. Gia of course bought a cute pair of paten shoes, and I soft serve ice cream. Who knew the Danes knew how to do ice cream? It was much creamier than the McDonald's kind and rolled in as many toppings as you wanted. By about 5 in the afternoon we were so pooped, that not even the Gay Pride concert happening in the square across from our hotel kept us up; we conked out for a much needed 60 minute nap. By about 8:30 we were back up and ready to go. Like many European cities, Copenhagen is riddled with cobblestone alley ways lined with patios and umbrellas. Even the cool temperatures couldn't bring the Danes inside, so we joined them on the heated patios for dinner.

Sunday we had planned to shop, however since most stores were closed, we enjoyed a leisurely brunch and stroll through another area of town. For a densely populated city, Copenhagen has many well groomed parks. We passed a practicing marching band (a little odd...but interesting) and of course the groups of elderly men discussing the important details of the worlds affairs, who speak as passionately about it today as they did they first time they meet at that park 40 years ago. It was a lovely way to spend a Sunday afternoon, and after 28 years of sisterhood, it was the first time we had done that together. Couldn't have been much better!

It was tough to see her go so quickly, but I'm comforted in knowing we'll be hanging out again later this week in London (how lucky we are!). If I had to some up Copenhagen in a few words, I'd say expensive (a small bottle of water at 7-11 is about $4), stylish (even the mullet-esque hair do's looked cool) and timely (while the culture seems to keep moving forward, the architecture reminds of the history that has unfolded here). If you're in the area, check it out - the pastries are just the icing on the country!

Baseball in Seattle

The Jays were in Seattle, the weather looked good and it was a long weekend. What could have been better? Kuy and I headed down for the weekend and stayed graciously at our friends' place while they were out of town.

We arrived late Thursday night after a brief bit of damage at the Seattle Prime Outlets and a Baja Fresh gorge fest. Thanks to some wireless and free long distance, Kuy and I worked from there Friday and then headed downtown for the afternoon. The weather was touch and go so we did a little ring shopping, bought some fresh King salmon and a good bottle of wine for dinner at the Pike Market and then headed home. It was a simple but lovely way to kick start the weekend.

Saturday was brilliant with lots of sunshine and warmth so we checked out the trail up to Twin Falls. It was that perfect kind of hike, just long enough to validate the Baja Fresh calories and short enough so as to not require a Swiss army knife. We got back to the house in time for a quick nap and then headed into town for the evening game.

For $25, our seats were pretty fabulous; they were out in right field only a few rows back from Alex Rios and at a great viewing height for the rest of the field. Plus, while everyone else was in shade, we were still able to bask in the sunshine. And bask we did. Safeco field is a gorgeous blend of traditional ball park style with all the modern amenities. For example, while someone still makes a living manually changing the score out in left field, all of the seats had large cup holders. In addition to the classic pistachios, we had all the good ballpark food. This included the famous garlic fries, a snack that you'd never make at home, but for which gladly wait 2 innings in line and happily pay exorbitant rates. Safeco field welcomed the "Little People of America" to the ball game; while it was a little eerie when 6 came out of the bathroom stalls at once, we still had a great view of the field so couldn't complain. The Jays sucked and lost, but we didn't care. We were seeing a ball game!

Sunday morning we picked up Tyler and headed to Bojana and Andrew's for brunch. Uber tasty. The 5 of us proceeded to took in the afternoon game at Safeco. I have to admit, it was a little odd for me to go to the ball park on a full stomach but I couldn't help it - Bojana's crab cakes were too scrumptious to say no! It ended up being a pitchers dual and unfortunately the Jays again came up shooting blanks. Oh, well...once again, we didn't care. We were on holidays, seeing a ball game, with some great company!

More nuts than you bargain for at Pharmasave

So Kuy and I are walking home from the bank earlier and veered into Pharmasave since we were both craving a snack. After Picky McFussy went over the snack isle options five times, I finally settled on a pack of trail mix.

Kuy goes to pay for it and the woman behind the counter who obviously wasn't an expert on health foods and who faintly smelled of redneck, asked in a perky voice how he was doing. "Great", he replies, "How about you?". "I'm doing great!" she yelps. We quickly get chatting about the trail mix and how I'm excited that it's on sale. She goes on to mention that her sister-in-law makes it fresh. I resisted asking her how you exactly you make a dried fruit and nut trail mix 'fresh' and instead asked her if she has tried this brand before. "There's a good chance that might be 99% sheee-itttt."

Kuy and I almost died. We quickly took our change and hustled out of there. Not only had she said "shit" in a sales engagement but she confirmed that she just sold us a less than stellar product. Man, you can't train that stuff. She's just a natural.