Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Happy Birthday Matt!

I wish I had gotten you this cake. Anyway, I love you and hope you have a wonderful birthday. Now let's party it up with some seniors! (No, literally- it's the Eldercare Christmas party tonight and we're going.)


Oh, and people, I did it! I blogged every day in November. Man am I stubborn!

Monday, November 29, 2010

Highlights from Matty's Bday

As promised!
























We had an excellent time with our excellent friends. Much pizza, ice cream cake and beverages were consumed. I was exhausted (notice my red eyes in every picture- I was the D.D.) but it was fun.

The best part? Pregnant friend! She is due one day before my birthday. I told her she has to have her baby on my birthday. Also if it's a girl, name it after me. It's just logical. *Note-Matt is not pregnant.

Sunday, November 28, 2010

Ho Ho Ho!


I know I said I was going to blog about Matt's party but I lied. We put up the Christmas tree today after I pestered Matt for 2 weeks until he gave up with trying to make me wait until after his birthday. Isn't it beautiful?








It wasn't quick or easy, but it was worth it!

Saturday, November 27, 2010

The Force is Not Strong With Us All

What kind of things do my friends do on the weekend? Well, not everyone has seen the Star Wars movies so Steve is hosting a marathon. I'm not even a huge fan but I do like popcorn. Oh, and my friends. I think we're only doing the original ones- I can't handle Pinocchio's, I mean, Hayden Christenson's, acting. So wooden and unnatural, if you didn't get that.

But stay tuned for pictures from Matt's 13th, errr 31st, birthday party! There was pizza, games and a guest appearance by an adorable baby bump!

Friday, November 26, 2010

Where I spend a lot of time...

You can see my cute Christmas tree and all of my art. I love my office! I should fix my crooked pictures though...


It's a short post because today is going to be busy. It's Matty's birthday party tonight! Yay!

Thursday, November 25, 2010

Pier One is a Dangerous Place

On Monday the sista and I went on an evening shopping odyssey. I had things to get (like an ipod stereo thing with wireless speakers that's going back because it sucks) and she was desperately looking for hooks for the mantle to hang their stockings on.

This lead us to the danger zone, aka Pier One.

I seldom go into Pier One. I rarely think about Pier One. Most of my memories have to do with Cindy coming home with outrageous Christmas ornaments after shopping there. Like a pickle. I figured, they must have what Steph's looking for. Then I proceeded to buy one of everything in the store.

I am so excited for Christmas though! And they have so much lovely Christmas stuff. I have to decorate my office, right? And we need something to keep the drafts out anyway- we're in a house that's over 100 years old! An adorable reindeer is an essential. I am weak and can't resist. And now they have my email address. Great.

What haven't you been able to resist lately?

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

These things come in threes, right??

When I was driving home from my very long work day I was thinking to myself, "Hmmm... what do I blog about tonight?". Well Universe, this isn't what I had in mind.

I want to start this by saying I am okay and my Kiaster seems to be okay. But seriously- 3 people hitting my car in ONE year. For effin heck sake! So I was driving home and I go to turn left, pull in behind the car in the left turning lane, signal light on, stopped a safe distance away, waiting at the red light. There is an accident and lots of police cars blocking the way we were going to turn. So what does car in front of me decide to do? Oh yeah, REVERSE into my car. WTF!?! I just about peed my pants. I took her information (she "didn't see me") and will check things out in the light tomorrow but things are looking all right. I just want to sob myself to sleep. What did I do, Universe? Whatever it is, I'm sorry. Enough with the machines running into me already! Is this some twisted car-ma? Probably with puns like that, I suppose.

I hope your commute home was more successful. And hey, I guess I should look on the bright side- at least I wasn't involved in the serious accident across the street.

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Must Reads?

I think this is the BBC list. I'm copping out tonight since I am exhausted. Matty and KB also did this recently. How many have you read?
x= read

1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen x
2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling x (well 5 out of 7)
5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
6 The Bible x (not all)
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens

Total so far: 3

11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott x
12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare x (most)
15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien x
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
19 The Time Traveler’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger x
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot

Total so far: 4

21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald x
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams x
26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame

Total so far: 2

31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis
34 Emma - Jane Austen x (over half)
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen x
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis x
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini x
38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden x
40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne

Total so far: 5

41 Animal Farm - George Orwell
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown x
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48 The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood x
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding x
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan

Total so far: 3

51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel x
52 Dune - Frank Herbert
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon x
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Total so far: 2

61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold x
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68 Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding
69 Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville x

Total so far: 1

71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses - James Joyce
76 The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal - Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80 Possession - AS Byatt

Total so far: 0

81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry x
87 Charlotte’s Web - EB White x
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton

Total so far: 2

91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery x
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare x
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

Total: 2

Grand Total: 24

Pretty sad actually... Which ones would people actually recommend, you know, instead of just reading because they are "classics".

Monday, November 22, 2010

Quite Contrary

I've always said I have a black thumb but someone that I work with gave me a few plant clippings. They didn't die! So of course the next logical step was to start growing things from seed in my kitchen, right? I searched online for Korean perilla (sort of like sesame) and found some on eBay. So I bought two packages. Clearly I have never done something like this before since it turns out two packages could grow me a field of the stuff and all I needed was a few seeds. Aka one thousandth of what one package held. Crap. Oh well, anyone want to grow some perilla? You eat the leaves and it's great for making gimbap!

The next step was to grow the herbs. They are looking pretty good but the oregano just didn't make it. So this weekend we cheated and bought a little oregano plant and stuffed it in with the others so we're good to go! Someone with more growing sense than me said this is working because we have a south facing window? Excellent! All I know is that it makes me smile, especially considering it's -31 Celsius outside and I get frostbite walking to my car.

Sunday, November 21, 2010

What did I achieve?

So I made a list on Friday of what I wanted to do this weekend... Let's see how I fared.

  • Clean the apartment- bathrooms, floors, kitchen
  • Finish reading my book- Falling Angels by Barbara Gowdy
  • Give myself a pedicure
  • Floss
  • Grocery shop
  • Cook and eat something nutritious
  • Write out a Christmas list (both for what I want and what I need to buy)
  • Get Matt a birthday present
  • Put our new mixed CDs on the computer
Things are messy again but I did clean. I'm 60 pages from the end of the book... I clipped my toenails (progress!). I think I flossed at least twice. I sort of cooked (does peeling and chopping potatoes for the food Matt was cooking count? I think it counts!). I also managed to go to both Margaret Atwood events, tried to get into the art event (I'm pleasantly surprised that it was sold out. Hmmm... I guess there are more cultured people in this city than I suspected) and bought a space heater. It's adorable and I love it and have named it Rudy.

All and all a pretty productive weekend! How was yours?

Saturday, November 20, 2010

Listening to Margaret Atwood speak, not once but twice, was thrilling! She's exactly as I imagined her- pint sized, well spoken and feisty! I was too chicken to ask a question but Matt prepared and asked one. She was gracious enough to take a picture with me! I tried to take pictures while she was speaking but I will spare you all from looking at those- they are all either blurry, grainy or there is a microphone blocking half her face.

This makes me think- jeez I really need to attempt to read "The Blind Assassin" again. It's her only book that I haven't loved. In fact I've tried to read it a few times but gave up after a few chapters. Ironic since it's her Booker Prize winning novel.

I'm working on my list of things and made great progress this morning. Now I'm waiting for a friend to come by so we can see if we can get into the art museum Refinery party. The advance tickets are sold out but there are some saved for sale at the door. DJs, dance performances and Matisse- how can you go wrong?

Friday, November 19, 2010

Relieved it's Friday

November is crazy. It's going by in about 4 seconds. I am constantly exhausted, I have been eating terrible, sleeping terrible and barely exercising. What is going on? Maybe I'm booking too many fun events in? Nah, that can't be it! I haven't cleaned my house properly in ages. Things just seem to be sliding. I need to give my head a shake and get things back on track. I think I need to cut out my computer time and force myself to do other things. It's tough when you're tired though. It's so easy to just zone out and look at the screen.

So besides going to see Margaret Atwood, I want to do the following this weekend:

  • Clean the apartment- bathrooms, floors, kitchen
  • Finish reading my book- Falling Angels by Barbara Gowdy
  • Give myself a pedicure
  • Floss
  • Grocery shop
  • Cook and eat something nutritious
  • Write out a Christmas list (both for what I want and what I need to buy)
  • Get Matt a birthday present
  • Put our new mixed CDs on the computer
Okay, I will check back on Sunday and see what I managed to accomplish. Hopefully this will motivate me and keep me accountable.

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Photos From Dan Mangan


So I spent a lot of time trying to make this and there isn't that much to show since the computer hates me today and kept erasing my work. If you want to see my other pictures from the concert you can check them out here.

Here's a couple Dan Mangan videos for the road. You all should be fans. He's super talented, humble and adorable. What more can you want?



Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Even more excitement but with a side of UNBELIEVABLE!

I took about a million awesome pictures at the Dan Mangan show last night but this one was likely the best. I told you we were going to be best friends. Plus he signed my cd and the t-shirt I bought is super cute, fits amazing and has excellent fabric. Yeah, I'm talking about fabric.

I mean, look at how happy Dan looks getting to have a picture with us. Not surprising. I am sure he was watching us in the second row all night. And one of his opening bands (The Burning Hell) featured a ukulele. Coincidence? I think not.

Likely I will make a slideshow or collage of my best pictures soon but I am too tired tonight. But! There! Is! One! More! Thing! To! Say!

Holy cow, I am going to get to cross an item off my bucket list this week! My hero, Canadian literary goddess extraordinaire, Margaret Atwood is coming to Edmonton. She is speaking at the U of A on Friday evening (so going) and will be doing a reading and book signing on Saturday at the Garneau (would rather die than miss this). The craziest thing? Tickets for the book signing (and likely the lecture) are still available and for the book signing they are only $5!! This blows my mind. Seriously. The kids are NOT all right if they aren't flocking to this. She is a Canadian legend and a national treasure. I will likely pee my pants when I meet her so I will need to stock up on depends beforehand. 2010 is the year of dreams- first Our Lady Peace and now Margaret Atwood? If I can somehow squeeze Tori Amos in next month I can basically die happy. Now the only questions are- what do I say to her and what book should I get signed???

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Things to be EXCITED about!

Tonight I get to see Dan Mangan!!! I think it's going to be a mighty fine show! Plus since I left for Asia they started letting people take cameras into concerts. Holy crap that is exciting! Seriously, I remember the days when people tried to smuggle their Kodak disposable camera in their pants and the best picture you would get off the roll would vaguely resemble a humanoid Rorshach blob. But I digress...

What I am pretty sure will happen is that we will sit in the front row and then Dan will realize halfway through the show how cool we are and invite us out for beers afterward and then we will become best friends and he will finance my ukulele lessons and I'll tour the globe with him as his opening act. How do I know this will happen? Man, have I told you how cool, calm and collected I am around celebrities and quasi-celebrities. Perhaps one day soon I will tell you about how Raine Maida fell in love with me in May.

In other news, the sista is BACK! And look at the sweet Vegas swag we scored. Modeled by Matty of course.

The "satchel" is mine and the shirt is all Matt. Look how coy he is. He's going to look sweet wearing that to the show tonight. The purse is from Cirque du Soleil's O which Steph didn't get to see (she saw a different Cirque show) but she knows I really want to see. Hahah.. Sista is the best at presents!!!

Monday, November 15, 2010

What I have to show after a four day weekend...

Not a lot, unfortunately. I did a lot of playing on the computer. Some standing in line to buy shoes (hey! There was an exciting outlet sale!). We ate Indian food with a friend, went bowling (I won) and played video games until my brain started oozing out of my ear. I also baked some peanut butter chocolate chip cookies and did so by improvising my own recipe after screwing up the recipes I looked at online. They still taste good.

Oh, and I finished my next mix cd for my mix cd group. Shhh... It's a secret though because my partner hasn't gotten it yet. Unfortunately I can't find links to a couple of the songs... What do you think??
Sometimes It's Sunday
November 2010 Mix

1. Road Regrets- Dan Mangan
2. We'll Make Time (Even When There Ain't No Time)- Hawksley Workman
3. Go On- Basia Bulat
4. I've Been Asleep for a Long, Long Time- Hey Rosetta!
5. Da Da Da- Holly McNarland
6. Careful What You Wish For- Raine Maida
7. Face of the Earth- Joel Plaskett Emergency
8. Far Away- Martha Wainwright
9. Palmistry- Great Lake Swimmers
10. Our Hell- Emily Haines & The Soft Skeleton
11. Heavens to Purgatory- The Most Serene Republic
12. In the Road- Weeping Tile
13. Madeleine (I Want to be Brave)- Sarah Slean
14. Personal- Stars
15. Where and When- Hayden
16. Weighty Ghost- Wintersleep

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Blog Design

I'm trying to find a new template for the blog... Spruce it up a bit to help inspire me to post. I look at people who are great at making actual templates (you know, not just having to make due with the default ones) and am supremely jealous. There are at least 3 people on my blog roll who come to mind who have lovely personal blogs (Simone, Danielle and Sara).

What do you think about the new layout?

Adopt a Word!

I got this idea from my friend KB. I've always lamented my sub par vocabulary so this is a great remedy. For those of you who are concerned when they hear someone actually use "lol" in verbal conversation, this is for you! I think it's for everyone else too. Adopt your own word here!

My first little word baby is sparsile- (adj) of a star not belonging to any constellation. A little sad but pretty. What word do you wish was used more often?

Saturday, November 13, 2010

Make a Joyful Noise!


Being an adult when my parents divorced was tough but it has been great being old enough to see them meet and remarry new partners. Mom remarried a few years ago and Dad has been with Sharron forever but they just decided to take the plunge. It was a lovely, personal ceremony. Congratulations you two, I love you! Here are some of my favorite pictures.

October was my lucky month...

I probably told everyone about this already but last month I managed to be caller 9 on a local radio context and won some money. It was one of the most exciting things to ever happen to me. For someone who loves winning, I don't often win contests or draws. This contest had nothing to do with skill or knowledge- you just had to know when to stop. I am the queen of restraint....... Well, with money anyway. So I ended up winning just over a grand. I'm saving most of the money (well, using it towards my car, really) but I did have a quick splurge and got a really nice Mat and Nat wallet.

Friday, November 12, 2010

Lame Blogs

I'm keeping up with this blog everyday thing but my blogs are getting suckier and suckier by the moment. I promise the next couple are going to be great but now I have to go bowling. I am trying to distract myself from being jealous of my sister who is vacationing in Vegas right now.

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Tomorrow...

I have to return a book to the library unread for a second time. Dammit. And it looks interesting. I really need to get a handle on this library stuff. Anyone read The Slap by Christos Tsiolkas? Is it worth a third try? (I have to return it because I am not allowed to renew books that are on hold and requested by another lender.)

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

I will be stealing- ummm... borrowing this...

Look at what my Mom gave Matt for his birthday!!! Holy crap is it cool!

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Tea and Ukuleles

I've been a bad friend. I admit it. I am terrible at initiating contact. I loathe talking on the phone and I easily get caught up in silly online games. But, I am lucky that the friendships that I have endure despite my friendship faults. I think this is because I am good at choosing friends (but bad at calling them). So my friends, I am sorry. I may not get better at this but please know, I love you all and it isn't that I don't want to hang out. In fact, if you were to call me and ask or email me or comment on this blog... I would be very likely available and most definitely eager.

Tonight I got to spend time with a lovely, lovely friend who lives very close by but that I do not see nearly enough. We sat on her futon in her lavender apartment and ate lavender cupcakes (the taste, not the color) and drank peach apricot tea. We talked, caught up and watched ukulele videos on youtube. I secretly wish I could play ukulele- I think it's the happiest instrument in the world! Plus, I have tiny hands so it's impossible for me to play the guitar. Anyway, here's some ukulele for your listening pleasure!

Monday, November 8, 2010

Insomnia Non Sequitur

Monday nights Matt has class until 8pm. Usually this means I get lots of time to do whatever I want and yesterday I got all geared up for the awesome blog I was going to do. It was going to be major-epic-off-tha-chain-yo! And then I inexplicably woke up at 4am. WHAT THE FRUITLOOPS? Actually, I have been having trouble going to sleep for about a week but thought that daylight savings time had solved my problems. Alas and alack, this was not the case. And Mondays tend to be busy at work. Especially today Monday.

There's no reason why I should have insomnia, at least that I can put my finger on. I've had sleep issues in the past but I could always immediately pinpoint the problem. Oh I'm stressed about this or worried about that... Or I'm sick/in pain/addicted to playing Bejeweled. This time there really was no good reason. I'd even taken a melatonin to help me ease my way into sleep.

Admittedly, I am tired but not zombie tired. Still, this can't be old age? I mean, I know you need less sleep the older you get but 4 hours seems a bit extreme. I'm really crossing my fingers I can get some quality sleep since I've got things and stuff to do and lots of it.

So there you have it. You missed out on the blog of a lifetime all because it's all "exit" Sandman at my place. Dang-nabbit.*

*Let's hope I get some sleep. Apparently tired Amber is totally uncool and says weird things.

Sunday, November 7, 2010

October "Mixed Tape"

I'm in a group on Facebook where you get randomly assigned a partner and make and send them a mix (complete with cover art). Last month was my first and here's what I came up with. What do you think?

Sheela-na-gig October 2010 Mix
1. Queen Of The Crime Council - Julie Dreyfus
2. Sheela Na Gig - PJ Harvey
3. Tape Song - The Kills
4. Kiss With A Fist - Florence & The Machine
5. I Know What I Am - Band Of Skulls
6. The Waitress - Tori Amos
7. Doll Parts - Hole
8. Pauline - Eleni Mandell
9. Dimestore Diamond - Gossip
10. The Garden - Mirah
11. Napoleon - Ani DiFranco
12. Phenomena - Yeah Yeah Yeahs
13. Trigger Happy Jack (Drive By A Go-Go) - Poe
14. Bloody Mother Fucking Asshole - Martha Wainwright
15. Your Honor - Regina Spector
16. Where Is The Line - Bjork
17. Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God) - Kate Bush
18. Save Me - Aimee Mann


*Being that the videos are from youtube not everything is the original. There is a smattering of embarrassing fan made videos mixed amongst a few live recordings. You get the idea though! Any thoughts on what my November theme should be??

Saturday, November 6, 2010

A Sweet Surprise










Look what we got in the mail yesterday!!! Thanks Sharron! The cookies are delicious and it really made our day.

Friday, November 5, 2010

Review: Little Bee

I could hardly put down this book. Little Bee by Chris Cleave (also known as The Other Hand) is probably the best book I've read all year. It was funny, touching, endearing, heart-breaking and thought provoking all within the same chapter. It's the type of book that as I am reading it I can't wait to start re-reading it.

What is this book about? Well, here is how the inside cover of the dust jacket summarized it:

"We don't want to tell you too much about this book. It is a truly special story and we don't want to spoil it. Nevertheless, you need to know something, so we will just say this: This is the story of two women. Their lives collide one fateful day, and one of them has to make a terrible choice. Two years later, they meet again. The story starts there. Once you have read it you will want to tell everyone about it. When you do, please don't tell them what happens. The magic is in how it unfolds."

Go. Read. It. Now.

Thursday, November 4, 2010

Steph's New Bling

Look at my beautiful sista! Things were getting a bit blurry and so she decided to get her eyes checked. Low and behold she needs glasses... Taking after her gorgeous, intelligent, magnificent older sista in yet another way! Although she has fancy schmancy name brand stylish specs...


She doesn't need to use them all the time- mostly to read far away things. Of course we all had to try them on. Oh and then I figured out that Photobucket has added new features since I stopped blogging and so I spent a ridiculous amount of time playing with them.... (and ended up creating something every 9 year old girl would be proud of...)

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Boo-humbug!

This year we copped out and didn't celebrate Halloween. Crazy, eh? Maybe we're getting old or maybe we're just lazy? Last year we went all out. This year we didn't even carve a pumpkin or buy any candy. Hmmm. Anyway, not to worry, we didn't stay in and count our wrinkles. A friend of ours was born on Halloween so we went to his birthday party instead. What do you get someone turning 30 to help soften the blow?

How about a beer tower?!
Everyone contributed and the goal was to get 30 different kinds of 'beer' (not all were the alcoholic sort). I think we ended up with closer to 45 though! Many I had never heard of- I wonder if that Pumpkin Pie Beer is any good?

*Note, our friend did not drink all of these on his birthday.

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Let's Go Oilers!

I am going to make this post short and sweet because I have to get over to the local watering hole to watch tonight's game with Steph. I've always liked hockey but since returning from Asia I've been paying more attention. I think it helps that Steph likes it too so I don't have to watch the games alone. Matty's come a long way too (when I met him he used to ask me questions like, "What's a hat trick?" and "Who's Gretzky?") and the benefit of creating an adult hockey fan is that they automatically cheer for your team. I have hopes, not high but still hopeful, for our team this year. We've got a lot of great rookies and plenty of potential. Now we just had to get some experience and consistency going. Oh, and keep beating the current Stanley Cup champs 7-4. Heck, and everyone else too, please! Cross your fingers that one of us wins the draw for tickets!

Monday, November 1, 2010

Adventures in Domesticity

Now that I have a day job and Matt's a student again we have settled into a routine. It's funny; when I was younger I balked at this kind of predictability. I was all, "I'm going to stay up all night, sleep all day and then eat Slim Jims dunked in cream cheese frosting because I'm an adult and there's nothing anyone can do about it!". Now I look forward to coming home and watching reality TV or maybe curling up with a book and watering my plants. I think the difference is that I know I can still do all that silly irresponsible stuff but that I don't really have anything to prove. Plus it's sort of nice to get a respectable amount of sleep and take the time to exfoliate.

Anyway, Sundays seem to be our most relaxed day. Usually filled with housework, grocery shopping and a home cooked meal. Yesterday was no exception and I was feeling ambitious so I tried a new recipe for supper. (Off of Smitten Kitchen, no less!) Behold my mushroom bourguignon! I feel like Julia Child or something! It was pretty easy to make (except for those annoying pearl onions- thanks Steph for doing my dirty work!) and really delicious. It's even vegetarian! (Side note- I wish I was able to take better pictures or learn how to edit better so that my food pictures actually looked appetizing.)

After supper I watched the Amazing Race and Matty decided to bake up a storm for the bake sale fundraiser at school. Weird. But it did make our house smell heavenly! So how was your Sunday?