Still Having Fun!

I've been a bit lazy about posting. Time goes so fast!!

Our Christmas flights have been booked! We pretty much couldn't get any time off at all. So our visit will be super short, but it's better than nothing! We will arrive in Halifax late on Christmas Eve, stay the weekend and return early on Monday. Back to work Tuesday. I work untill 2pm on Christmas Eve, so we couldn't get home any earlier. All of my vacation requests got denied. Basically, if you want Christmas off, it has to be booked in January. This is what I figured would happen though, starting a job in October. So although it is not ideal, we are grateful for the time we do have and look forward to seeing our loved ones!

John is still loving his job. He comes home with big smiles every day. I'm still in training until the end of the month. It's pretty dull, but it's a stable routine at least. I'm definitely getting a better grasp on all of the insurance concepts and am remembering the little details better as well. So all is well there.

We found the most amazing Mexican restaurant last weekend. Erin and Alan, you must come visit so we can take you there! We went there to celebrate John's new job. Everything was from scratch, even the sour cream! And the flavours had both strong and subtle elements and were amazingly combined and balanced. I think it was the best meal we've had since we arrived in Toronto. (Do you know it's been almost 4 months we've been here?!?)

We also found a Vietnamese place where the prices are low, the portions are ridiculously big and the food is amazing! It was my first time trying pho and I fell in love. It was so good! The broth was light but so tasty, with scallions, Thai basil and other flavours I couldn't identify. And I think it was only $5 for a bowl that was more than I could finish.

That same afternoon, we went down to Dundas & Yonge and watched the Christmas parade for a few hours. It was awesome to see it in person rather than on TV for once. Plus we scored some candy canes. The crazy part is that it was so warm I took my sweater off and just wore my t-shirt. Kind of strange for a Christmas event! We probably watched it for an hour and a half before heading out, so we didn't see Santa, but it was still a good time.

Yesterday the subway was shut down south of our stop. Insanity!!! Apparently a contractor had been digging for one reason or another and accidently dug right into a subway tunnel! So rocks fell onto the track, and they weren't sure how stable everything was, so they had to shut it down. People were already upset because subway prices have just gone up ($3 a ride!) and I guess that when the service was shut down, they flipped out. I wasn't there myself but one of the girls at work said she was actually shoved into a train. Crazy. I guess there were three hundred thousand people stranded at Bloor and Yonge (the major intersection of the subway). I guess on this one street corner they were lined up right around the block waiting for shuttles.

So I am feeling quite fortunate to work on the same block that I live (not to mention the $120 I save each month by not buying a metropass). And John works in the North, so although delayed, he at least was able to get home on the subway.

I hear that the Olympic torch was carried across the bridge yesterday! I am sad to have missed this a once in a lifetime opportunity in Halifax. It seems like whenever I leave, that's precisely when the excitement happens.

John's brother Allan came to stay with us for most of the week. We have a pretty good deal: I made him cookies and he made dinner for us last night (mmm, porkchops). And I came home to a kitchen that had mysteriously been cleaned during the day. So that's a great kind of houseguest to have! John managed to get today off work so they could hang out.

That is the news around here for now! I'm going to go enjoy my first glass of eggnog of the season!