From the inside out

Welcome to 2007

2007-01-20T19:51:00.000-05:00

I promised myself that I would put together a little something summarizing my week in Sudbury over Christmas. It was a jam packed week, but incredibley fun. It was great to see the family, and all the friends. So here are a few select pictures from Chrismas with the family and pictures of hang outs over the week, including our reunion at the Wolves game.

Aunty Pina and Uncle Jer.

This is the cutest picture. Nanna and Nonno P.

Uncle Frank & Aunty Pina

My mom & uncle Frank

Nonno P & I

Christmas Eve supper (somwhere in between 2nd course (broccoli soup) and 3rd course (bacala)). The 7 th course included a good 3 or 4 rounds of B-52's and uncle Jerry moving from the head of the table to passing out on the couch.

Christmas Eve at the Perri house. We still have the "adult" table and "kids" table. No matter how old we get, nanna and nonno's house isn't going to get any bigger, and thats ok (its cooler in the dinning room anyways).

Christmas Day at the Simonato House (after the 1st of 2 big meals had that day).

And here is Sierra, some seven months later (see previous blogs). She is so grown up and big and unbelievably cute (with those little pierced ears!).

Boxing Day at the Townehouse with my peeps.

As sly as these two are, we caught them sharing a moment on the Townehouse dance floor. Ruth is all shy (probably 'cause she is the yongest in her family).

Ruth and one of the coolest dogs I know, Yukon (tied for coolness with Bailey of course).

When I was yonger I thought the stuffed wolf at the Wolves games was cool. It would sail across the ceiling when the Wolves scored a goal. This time around I found it slightly disturbing.

This picture was inteded to be a group shot, but I'll take the next best thing, a close up of Derek.

C.Mac. and Shasta chillin' (literally).

Good to see Dr.Kumar out, although she did burst my bubble (not all hospital internships are fully equipped with McDreamys, McSteamies and rendez-vous in the on-call rooms). Well at least not yet (you go girl!)

Pam, Vaness and I. This is about as good looking as a picture can get.

Mr.Cutler sandwiched by 4 lovely ladies. If my calculations are correct, this is Derek's first winter in a few years. It looks like him and Francie are handling it quite well.

I tried to make a bubble comming out of Jordy's mouth, but I am still a novice at this whole bloggin stuff but if I remember correctly it was something along the lines of "YAHHHHH ITS MY BIRTHDAY BITCHES!!!!!". Angela, Alynne and I tried to calm this picture down.

It's good to see Heather making it into a picture (insead of taking them...)

Da'boyz.

Greg sandwiched by two hot mommas.

Geo & A-Bass

Kara and I lookin' all cute ...

I couldnt hold that kiss long enough to take the damn picture, but 2 seconds earlier Sean was the luckiest man alive being sandwiched between too very fine ladies.

It's not often that we're all back in the 'Bury so it was great to see everyone making an effort to come on out. Good times had by all.

So far 2007 has been pretty good (finally got some snow!).

Stay tuned for more adventures.

Happy 2007!

Love Claudia

Now I'm Mad...

2006-12-14T19:12:00.000-05:00

I can't take it anymore! Evertime I turn on the radio or tv, or flip open the newspaper, there is some story about how we have to make Christmas....oops or should I say Holidays....oh gosh maybe Festive Season, more politically correct.
Seriously...is this still an issue???

The last time I checked, wishing someone a Merry Christmas, was filled with good intentions, love and friendship, not intended to be hurtful or mean spirited. And yes, Catholics around the world are celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ, but that's just it, we are celebrating, it's a happy time! Woooohooooo!

On the news today I heard that a Toronto Judge demanded that a Christmas tree that was put up in the court house be taken down because it may be offensive to some. I almost drove off the road. I realize that if you were to trace back the history of the Christmas tree, it does have Christian origins, however I would venture a guess that 99% of the population (including Christians) would not have thought so. Correct me if I'm wrong, but a Christmas tree has always been a symbol of cheer, light, traditions, memories and depending on who has deocrated it a thing of beauty and art. So come on, its December, you broke the law, you head into the court house and bam! you are welcomed by a beautifully decorated tree, with lights and shimmering decorations. I highly doubt that this someone, be it Jewish, Muslim, Budhist, Atheist, etc will react with anger, hurt or offense, but I would hope for a tiny second, a ray of hope and happiness. But then again, I could be wrong.

So whether or not you celebrate Christmas, the religious celebration or the sharing of presents, please do not be offended when you are wished a wish of joy, peace and love.

Merry Christmas Friends.

Love Claudia

So behind in the blogging....

2006-11-11T14:24:00.000-05:00

Its been awhile once again since I have updated my space. October has been a crazy month...super busy with work...working all over the place....a fantastic Thanksgiving weekend filled with great family and a turkey dinner with all the trimmings! And well October is also birthday month in the Simonato household. So for my birthday this year we did it up Toronto style, with a pre party at Paul & Melissa's place and then hit up the bar scene. It was alot of fun. I have to say though that I did feel old....yes age is only a number, but it was very wierd being at a bar with my baby sister.....but very fun at the same time.

Here are a few other pictures from our super fun night out and about.....

Ok so if you've seen the movie 'The Ringer' the above picture will make sense (and hopefully chuckle), if you haven't seen the movie, Paul and I are just demonstrating how big our pipes really are....
It was also Laura's birthday celebration (the good looking lady on the far right), but the best part of the picture is Paul who looks like he has been photoshoped into the picture.
Me doing my very best Mick Jagger impersonation.....
And now for my cupcakes...these are my vampire cupcakes that I made to celebrate the birthdays

And these are my spider cupcakes that won me first place at the Aqua Terre Halloween baking competition. Yes that is black icing with edible black sprinkles, rope licorice legs and marshmallow and m&m eyes.

So much to blog about...so little time...

2006-10-01T18:32:00.000-04:00

Dear friends:
I have to start off with deepest appologies. It has been well over a month since I have updated this blog. And well there is so much to write about!

First off I promised to give a picture filled summary of the Nova Scotia adventures, and well that did not happen. There are so many pictures, so many stories...but here a few quick ones:

This is the best picture I could grab from our whale watching trip on the Bay of Fundy. Its a humpback whale, and it was pretty much the largest animal I have ever seen in the wild. I also have some pretty great video of the whales, and me talking to them, but im not smart enough to figure out how to upload video.

This is the balancing rock, just waiting to drop. We passed it on our way back from Briar Island. Pretty amazing. Even more amazing is that I got a shot of it with no crazy tourists hanging off of it trying to push it off.

When in Halifax we stopped at the Pier 21 museum. It was a pretty amazing experience. Both sets of my grandparents came through Halifax on their way to Sudbury. In the background is a large Carnival cruise ship. From the pictures ive seen and the stories Ive heard, a boat ride across the Atlantic was anything but luxurious some 50 years ago.

At the end of our east coast trip we stopped in to visit with Caitlin who is living in Dartmouth with her boyfriend Thomas. They were very nice to let us stay with them for two days and show us around the Halifax area. Our last night in town we took the ferry from Dartmouth to Halifax to enjoy some lobster and beer. We then went back to Caitlin and Thomas' to hang out, and Thomas promised to mix us up some martini's. He however had to slip into something a little more comfortable.....

Thomas actually sewed this costume himself. I was totally impressed (and the spidey martinis were kickin too!)

Ok so thats a very brief wrap up of Nova Scotia 2006. I promise to be back this week to upload more fun pics from the summer.

Love C

Toronto Beer Festival

2006-08-17T21:00:00.000-04:00

One of the perks of summer, are the warm, sunny afternoons spent drinking beer. Thats exactly what we did last weekend...hit up the Toronto Beer Festival at Fort York. I have to say it was a pretty good time....a great combination of 3 of my favorite things...beer, friends and festivals. And here is a picture of Team Beer.......

I know you are rubbing your eyes right now, but yes this is a cargo van with built in taps on the outside. If only our work vans were this amazing ( the taps would clearly be used to dispense distilled water and liquinox).....

Now I had to rub my eyes when I saw this dude...yah thats a mullet, after my double take I realized that it was a wig. What would a beer fest be without a mullet or two..(this guy actually had a mullet wig wearing friend with him, but he didnt make it into the picture...)

The sun was pretty hot, and poor Paul was getting a little too much sun on the old forehead. The Beer Festival folk were selling rediculously overpriced hats (including Molson hat made out of 12 pack cases), so Richard made a stylish hat out of a complimentary poster. It also served to find each other in the crowd....

Toot toot toot....Melissa got a pretty rockin' hat FOR FREE (those nice people at Steam Whistle, including a real toot tooting whistle)

....and the hat was even big enough for me :)

So in theory the beer festival...great idea...and it was alot of fun. For some reason though we though that we could continue partying it up into the night. Yah we ended up crashing out well before midnight.

Cheers to beer,
Love Claudia

Nova Scotia - Part 1 featuring Peggy's Cove

2006-08-11T21:58:00.000-04:00

Alrighty, here is the first entry of what promises to be a lengthy series highlighting Claudia, Andrea and Michelle's summer trip to Nova Scotia. We flew into Halifax pretty late and got to our motel in Timberlea and settled in. We didn't realize though that this cute (and very reasonably priced) motel was located right on a river.....

....this was the view from our motel window looking out the back....it was very pretty, and this fabulous clear sunny summer day was what followed us throughout our entire week in Nova Scotia!
Our first stop was in Peggy's Cove. We hit up this little fishing village quite early, before the tour buses started rolling through (...great tip from the Lonely Planet guide...visit before 10 am!!!)
Peggy's Cove is a very picturesque fishing village, some 40 km from Halifax. It is home to roughly 60 permanant residents. The homes were so cute, very old with alot of character.
The pictue below was taken from the top the granite hills looking back towards the village.
Ok now lets talk about these oversized seabirds. This sea gull was massive. Probably one of the largest sea gulls I have ever seen. Seeing as how I have spent very little of my life close to an ocean or sea, I would imagine that these are quite normal (definatley not like those sickly ones you see in the parking lot of the McDonald's in Parry Sound who survive solely on french fries that people passing through insist on feeding them, as though they are one with nature....). That is actually NOT a smile on my face, it is pure fear. Thank heavens I had on sunglasses or i'm sure that little bastard would have pecked my eyes out! There was also a very keen mother telling her kids that there are no such things as sea gulls.....although I have heard this before...what the hell would you call this feathered friend????
Awwww...Michelle and Andrea.....very happy that they are on vacation and not working!
One of the benefits of being at Peggy's Cove so early is that you can actually get a picture of the famous lighthouse without it being littered with random tourists (...its wierd to think though how many other peoples pictures from around the world you might be in....)

I tried to play around with my new digi cam, and put together this little panoramic shot...probably better viewed in a larger format...

Looking back towards the village, and inland you can make out the unique landscape that surrounds Peggy's Cove....all of those little boulders are known as "erratics".....ask your fellow geologists for and explanation ! :)

Ok so this entry outlines the first hour of our trip....I promise to fast forward a few hours for the next entry.....

See you Soon

Love Claudia

Northern Road Trip 2006

2006-07-20T19:40:00.000-04:00

Toot toot for one wicked road trip! Kate, Paul and I headed up to the Sault to visit with our friends, and enjoy some beverages and golf.

Our road trip started out with stops at all of the over sized northern Ontario pocket change sites:

The Big Nickel, Sudbury, Ontario

The Big Loonie, Echo Bay, Ontario

On Saturday we hit up some Sault golf....mother nature tried to stop us, but when you are this hardcore about golf, very little will.

Team golf consisted of (from left to right) : Seven Iron Steve, Daryl the Driver, Andrea 'Ace' Buttazzoni, Kate 'Mulligan' MacDonald, and Putter Paul.

Ok so the Marshall was really nice to us at the beginning....however Kate and I were slowing things down considerably so we had to distance ourselves from the team. Here are a few examples of stellar golf manoeuvers we perfected on our own. Please speak to Kate or myself if you are interested in some of our golfing tips.

What the heck would you do if your ball landed under a tree??......

...Or on the gravel cart path??

Although a few days early, I brought Andrea up some birthday gifts. If you are in the Sault area, Andrea now owns a full out martini set, so go visit her and she will whip you up something yummy and full of alcohol. Ok so I want to post more pictures from this trip but this bloody program is driving me nuts and wont let me. So this is the end of the July long weekend story....

Peace & Love

Happy Birthday to Andrea!

2006-07-10T20:07:00.000-04:00

Happy Birthday to Andrea....Whooooooohoooo 26!

Ok so for your birthday friend I tried my darndest to get you a hot one night stand with an Italian soccer super star....however given the pleasant turn of events (Viva Italia!) Mr Cannavaro could not make it to the Sault but sends his best regards with the attached photograph....

Have a wonderful year friend!

Lots of Love

Claudia

Little Angel

2006-06-19T21:04:00.000-04:00

I am pleased to present the cutest baby known to man....Sierra Lane Dusick. Born May 10th, only two days late, Shasta and Jeremy welcomed this little doll to the world! Sierra and I had our first hang out when I was in Sudbury at the begining of June.

Ok so from this angle she looks pretty big, but in reality she is a little peanut...a loveable, cuddly little angel!

Sierra and Shasta have some pretty intense days filled with feeding, sleeping, burping, pooping and then sleeping again. Now thats the life!

Cute little baby feet!

I couldnt be happier for Shasta and Jeremy. Shasta is a natural mother (and all smiles during our hang out...and who wouldnt be with this little doll???)

Looking forward to the next visit!

Love Claudia

Golfing with the pros.

2006-05-22T20:19:00.000-04:00

Ive decided that the new hobby for the summer is going to be learning to golf. A few weeks back Derek and Kate took Lisa and I out for a lesson. Much to my surprise (ok not really surprised) there is a whole lot of technique that needs to be mastered before I will be kicking anyones ass on the greens. First lesson was how to put on the golf glove, to ensur proper fit.

1. Place glove on hand

2. Make fist with glove on.

3. Velcro glove with hand in fist position

4. Hand feels great in glove, ready to master this game of balls and clubs.

Thanks Kate.

It didnt take long before Lisa, Kate and I were whacking those balls way out there...not as far as Derek....Derek can really get those balls a flyin'!

Me..all about the concentration yo...

Derek...teaching that ball a lesson it wont soon forget...

Lisa....is that your ball still in the grass????

Kate...golf ball killah....

Stay tuned for round two.....

Lots of love

Cbass

October Visit to Thunder Bay

2006-05-13T08:58:00.000-04:00

This past October, Dale (our trusty co-op student) and I, were able to fit in a few trips to the outskirts of Thunder Bay.
I finally dug out the pictures, so please enjoy the sights of the T-Bay in the fall!

This is the Sleeping Giant. It took me awhile to make it out, but I finally got it. Take your time and look at the mountain...it looks like the worlds tallest man lying in Lake Superior with his arms crossed.

Our second stop was at Kakabeka Falls (pictured above). First we start with the legend of these falls and of Princess Green Mantle.

The maiden’s Ojibway tribe learned of the plot that the Sioux had hatched to destroy and annihilate her tribe. The princess devised a plan. Paddling up the Kaministiqua River, she left her canoe at the foot of the falls. Quickly making her way upriver, she found her enemy’s campsite. At once they pounced upon her and captured her. Pretending to have lost her way, she led them to believe she was very frightened. Bargaining with them she followed through with her plan and told them that if they would spare her life she would lead them to her father's camp. The Sioux Chiefs were elated, thinking that they had indeed been blessed by the Gods. The following morning the young Princess was placed in the lead canoe and the great band, in their war canoes followed, tied as Green Mantle suggested, one behind the other so that they would not get lost. However, she did not tell them about the falls and as they swiftly turned the bend of the river, they plunged headlong into the great gorge, killing all. Princess Green Mantle of course lost her life also but all of her tribe were saved from the torturous hands of the most dreaded of all Native tribesmen.

The Great Manitou looked kindly upon the brave little Native maiden, and if one takes the trouble to walk down the viewing pods, the figure of Green Mantle can be observed in the mist, standing as a monument to the memory of the Princess who gave her life for her people.

Here are a few other pictures from the park...

Stay tuned for some pics from my northern travels from this spring!

Love,

Claudia

April showers bring....

2006-04-29T19:46:00.000-04:00

....May Flowers (and the occasional alergy attack)!!
Things are heating up in the garden...the daffodils (previously pictured popping out of the ground) are in full bloom and the peach trees are in bloom. I spent the afternoon snapping up some pics....enjoy!

Mmmmmm....Birthday cupcakes...yUmMy....

2006-04-25T20:32:00.000-04:00

This entry is long overdue!! Many appologies to my girl Kate. Happy Belated Birthday friend. We had a broo-ha-ha for Ms. Kate prior to the actual event, complete with decorations, alcohol and cupcakes. And to top it off we partied on at The Social (and rumor has it that one week prior, Mr Clive Owen himself was shaking his groove thang at the very same location!!!!!).

(Yes that is a blue singing birthday candle that Laura had in her purse in case of emergency...good work Spink!)

(Im giving myself a shout out for whipping up these bad boys...whoop whoo....just 'cause I can ;) )

Now I dont want to take away from Kate's night or anything, but I did catch a glimpse of the bestest looking legs I have seen in awhile....

Our next celebration is slated for sometime in May celebrating both Jack Johnson AND brownies.....yum yum....

'Till we meet again my friends,

Love Claudia

The Bitch-mobile....

2006-04-23T19:31:00.000-04:00

Ok, so most people checking out my blog have most likely, at one time or another, taken a ride in the sweetest ride...thats right the Butttazzoni Bitch-mobile! This pimped-ass ride is a '92 Plymouth Acclaim...she has been a lot of places and seen a lot of faces (and her windshield is worth more than the entire car itself).

Her interior is in mint condition and is actually quite roomy...I think she once accomodated 8 passengers....

The cold and snowy Sault winter took its toll on her...thats right, the driver side door has developed a small patch of rust.

So thats it for my ode to the Bitch-mobile. She still has a lot of life infront of her. So if you see a sweet sky blue Plymouth Acclaim cruising in your neibourghood, give her a little hoot and/or hollar (chances are this friendly face will be behind the wheel).

Play safe and buckle up!

Lots o love,

Claudia

Happy Easter !

2006-04-16T11:54:00.000-04:00

Have a wonderful Easter holiday!
Lots of Love
Claudia

Playground Update

2006-04-08T13:28:00.000-04:00

I received an email last week, from Derek, regarding his playground project for the orphanage in Honduras. The organization through which the fundraising has been taking place ( Give Meaning ) found an organization in Vancouver to complete the giving group and donate the balance of the money needed to achieve their goal of $5,000. An organization named Terre Des Hommes will be transferring the money down to Honduras for Derek and his team to start the project.

You can track the project through updates at the Emanuels Home website.

Stay tuned for updates.
Keep up the great work Derek

Love Claudia

This is what happens when you drink to much on Boxing Day

2006-04-07T21:55:00.000-04:00

This past Boxing Day, we celebrated with a bottle of rye. I have clearly been out of the drinking loop for way too long, because kids these days aren't mixing up the drinks in glasses, they are mixing them in their stomachs. My dear cousin Jessica demonstrated this technique for me by shooting back a 2 0z shot of rye, chased by a glass of fruit juice (at least 6 times). One thing led to another (including Rebecca and I in a bathroom stall doing up Jessica's pants) and Jessica had to call it an early night. She made it home, however Pina and Jerry found her cleaning the toilet bowl with her pony tail. Thank goodness Pina had some film in her camera, and took this amazing shot of Jess sprawled out on the floor...

Thanks for the laughs Jess. No one was hurt, however Jess was hurting the next day.

Completely unrelated...Jessica's out of control hair. I shouldn't say out of control...Jess and Ruby have AMAZING curly hair, however with enough love and attention, can be made into a fabulously large afro......

...or a sleek and sexy mane....

Hopefully, with the help of a FANTABULOUS application, Jess will be busting some asses at the Lorne Street Beer Store. Good Luck Sness. (Stay tuned for a Ruby-Blog )

Love Claudia

Getting Ready for Baby Dusick

2006-04-04T20:38:00.000-04:00

Yippee...Baby Dusick is almost here! A luncheon shower, hosted by Ms Andrea, was held a few weeks ago (yes I know I am way behind in my blogging!). Shasta looks fabulous, and yes she has that I'm-going-to-be-a-momma-soon glow about her. It was nice to see the familiar faces who were there to help Shasta and Jeremy celebrate their wedding also come together to welcome the new addition to the family.

Baby Dusick is one lucky baby....he or she (we still cant 100% rule out the "he") received many beautiful gifts. Kaylee was a big help to Shasta in getting all that paper straight away to the garbage can (she is so cute!)

Mmmmm....Miss Kaylee enjoying her strawberries!

Props have to be given to Mamma Simonato...she helped to wrap the jolly jumper in receiving blankets - when I say wrap I mean sew the blankets together to cover the entire gift. 100% environmentally friendly and practical...now that's what I'm talking about!

Another shout out has to be given to Andrea for knitting a beautiful blanket for the baby. Andrea, you better starting knitting one for my future offspring, and I think Michelle is looking for four for her future sprouts....

Here is the final shower favor....there were some tense moments due to a serious shortage of cookie cutters in the GTA, but crisis was averted, and well I think they are pretty darn cute!

We are now into the home stretch. Although the last 9 months have had their ups and downs, Shasta and Jeremy have a lifetime of good times and memories ahead of them. I cant think of two better parents! Estimated time of arrival for little Shasta or Jeremy is May 10th..plus or minus a week. Stay tuned!!!

Love, Claudia

It's Spring!!

2006-03-21T16:54:00.000-05:00

Happy First Day of Spring! Although I think it was warmer in January, the first full day of spring has been filled with amazing sunshine. And a true sign that things are heating up are the daffodils waking up in the garden.

Stay tuned for regular growth updates.

St Patty's Day

2006-03-19T16:24:00.000-05:00

Good times were had by all this St Patty's Day, especially by Lisa, who was able to help Greg with his glass.

And beer does taste better when it is green.

Paul had a bit of a headache on Saturday morning, after having his head crushed by Kate's mighty fingers.

And Derek was REALLY happy that we called him 1,000,000 times.

Thank goodness St. Patty's day fell on a Friday this year....Saturday was rough, but well worth it. Looking forward to the next beer guzzling holiday (Kate's birthday I presume??.....)

Play safe
Love Claudia

Help Build a Playground for children living in a Honduran Orphanage

2006-03-15T14:33:00.000-05:00

I have entered a link to the Give Meaning website, which will enable you to help out Derek Cutler in his work to help give orphaned children in Honduras a playground. All of the project details as well as photographs can be found through the link. Derek has been collecting donations since December, and is so very close to reaching his goal.
Thanks for your help,

Claudia

Vanilla Cream Cheese

2006-03-14T21:17:00.000-05:00

This morning, for breakfast, I had a bagel. It was a pretty boring bagel. I found some Nutella in the pantry, slathered up one side of the bagel with some of that lovin' and decided that a slathering of vanilla cream cheese would be perfect on the other half. The problem is I have never come across vanilla flavored cream cheese. If you have, please send me some. If not, please join me in pressuring the dairy producers of Canada to whip us up a batch of sweet vanilla lovin'

Sweet dreams
Claudia

4:00 @ Work

2006-03-01T15:57:00.000-05:00

I am at work and trying not to gauge out my eyes with my ballpoint pen.
I keep thinking about how 2 weeks ago, I was lounging on the beach with my girls, enjoying some El Presidente, napping in my beach chair.
To that end, here is a picture of that magical time....

Welcome!

2006-02-23T20:53:00.000-05:00

I have been inspired by many friends to start up my own blog.
I will hopefully be able to update it with my random thoughts, shout outs, and stories.
So yah, that's it for my intro....stay tuned......

roger out

From the inside out

Welcome to 2007

Now I'm Mad...

So behind in the blogging....

So much to blog about...so little time...

Post a comment...first thing that comes to mind...

Toronto Beer Festival

Nova Scotia - Part 1 featuring Peggy's Cove

Northern Road Trip 2006

Happy Birthday to Andrea!

Little Angel

Golfing with the pros.

October Visit to Thunder Bay

April showers bring....

Mmmmmm....Birthday cupcakes...yUmMy....

The Bitch-mobile....

Happy Easter !

Playground Update

This is what happens when you drink to much on Boxing Day

Getting Ready for Baby Dusick

It's Spring!!

St Patty's Day

Help Build a Playground for children living in a Honduran Orphanage

Vanilla Cream Cheese

4:00 @ Work

Welcome!