NYE

Well, all I can say is that Christmas was a blast. An honest to goodness blast. I could go into great details but I won't seeing as how it's mostly my mom that reads this and she was with me. :o)

Now I'm back and it's time to get ready for New Years. While in Kamloops, I went for a walk with some family members and I had a great conversation with Emily, my youngest cousin. We were talking about NYE and all the hype about it and how we both, oddly enough, feel the same that NYE to us should be August 31st. When you're in school, for a great portion of one's life, the "new year" begings in September. New classes, responsibilities, etc. I don't know about you out there, but September has always been my month for better organization, start projects around the house, set goals. It's even better because the Fall is my favorite time of year. I'm motivated to do stuff.

However this year I'm kind of looking forward to December 31st. I don't really have anything plan except I'm excited to start some new goals for 2011. One of which, is running a half marathon. My training commences on January 1st and I can't wait. I bought a Runners Journal to keep track of my training because I would really really really like to run the half somewhere between two and two and a half hours. Crazy goal, but I'm determined. So hopefully it will work!!!

Anyway, I'm off to sweep up my floor for the second time today. For some reason all of the animals have decided to shed their coat. Bastards.

Wellington & Torte...

I decided to make beef wellington on the weekend. Not just any old beef wrapped up in pastry and smeared with some sort of sauce, but real wellington. From an afternoon of shopping to a day of preparing, it truly was the most incredible meals I have ever made. Ever.

First, make the yummy mushroom portion of the spread. Takes about twenty minutes, but worth it. Second comes the chicken livers!!!! Yes, I made my own chicken liver pate and holy cow it was AWESOME. (The recipe made enough for leftovers which Rob and I ate on crackers last night with some herb goat cheese....) I then made some yummy crepes which didn't come out as perfect circles, but close enough. You then sear the beef and let in cool. On a clean surface, lay down the crepes and smear the mushroom/pate spread all over. Place the beef in the middle and wrap in the crepes. You then roll out some puff pastry (I didn't make this as I ran out of time), place the beef wrapped crepe in the middle and wrap in the pasty, sealing the seal with egg. Place seam side down on a greased cookie sheet and place in the fridge for 45 minutes. Heat an oven to 475, then place the beef in and reduce immediately to 425 degrees for ten minutes. Reduce again to 400 until the meat is cooked medium rare.

Simple enough and one of the most delicious things that has ever come out of my kitchen. I also made the Madeira sauce from scratch which was positively amazing. We of course have left overs and I have to say, I liked the wellington better cold then warm.

So the wellington was somewhat of a complicated procedure but completely doable. New ingredients, methods, good times. The one thing that kicked my ass was..... the chocolate torte. It was date night so I decided to pull out all the stops and make dessert. You know the saying? There's cooks and then there's bakers, but not both.... I am now living proof. My chocolate torte recipe only called for five ingredients. How hard could it be? Well holy jesus, but the time it was done, I managed to get chocolate everywhere and anywhere. I don't know how something that only takes five ingredients ended up making my kitchen look like a chocolate bomb went off taking every kitchen utensils and bowls with it. Unbelievable. I had chocolate EVERYWHERE. I'm still finding chocolate stains. At one point I think I cried and declared the torte to be the winner. Nonetheless, I managed to get it done and it was delicious!

So all in all, it was a wonderful dinner, with a yummy bottle of wine and even better company. :)

So far, so good

Last night I had the pleasure of meeting my friend Jen for some tea and cheesecake. Our friend Sarah joined us later. We went to this neat little place we like to go to on Main/8th Ave. It's called Eight.5 (eight and a half). It's a really nice cozy place with good food and drinks. The tea list was pretty good as was the cheesecake.

Today however has so far been the best!!! I woke up and declared it to be my day. I had lots of invitations to do stuff with people but I politely declined. Sometimes, you just need to hang out with yourself. I started off by taking pups to the beach, MacDonald Beach in Richmond. It's such a great off-leash dog park. Big dogs go there and it's hard to find where big dogs hang out in this city. Sadie and I spent an hour there walking around the trails, up and down the river bank. The sun was out so it wasn't really cold.

The only problem with this beach is the river. Sometimes your dog can hop into the car after playing there only to smell like a bog. Sadie smelt like a bog. YUK. So I drove from Richmond to North Vancouver to my favorite dog washing place, Dirty Dogz (she doesn't have a site). For $20 you can bathe your dog. Some of you without dogs might be wondering why you just wouldn't bathe your dog at home. Yes, small dogs, you can totally do at home. Big dogs.....HELL NO!!!! Dirty Dogz is perfect. The tubs are up high so you never have to bend over. Everything is right there and the best shampoo is available (mango is my favorite). You're in, you're out. Within 20 minutes you'll have a clean mango smelling dog.

After that I came home, got changed and went to hot yoga, the studio below my friend Heather's. I did hot yoga about a thousand years ago with my other friend Cari. I really enjoyed it. So today I thought that I would give it a whirl again. With all my running, I know I'm not stretching properly so I thought throwing in the odd yoga class would be a help. OH YES IT IS. I can't believe how NOT bendy I am. I used to be bendy. Now.... not even slightly. So it's my mission to perfect bendiness. I forgot how good the skin feels after. Anyway, I then came home, ran a bath, sipped some bubbles and watched another episode of Being Erica. Made myself a salmon and broccoli dinner and now I'm about to take pups out for a walk. All and all, a pretty darn good day.

Tomorrow I'm off to the Santa Clause parade with Christine and the dog, then maybe a christmas party at night. Or, I just might have a bath and watch Being Erica. That's a nice bonus about living/being alone, you can do whatever you want. You're not "tied" to a schedule, someone else's schedule. So I'll just see how I feel after the parade. Who knows, something else might come up!!!!

Being Erica

My Uncle Stan has been on a trip that sounds absolutely amazing and finished it off in London. So my parents hopped on a plane and spent the last week showing him around. They're excellent tour guides. My mom just called me a few times and the calls kept getting dropped so we went on to Facebook and she got booted, probably bad internet. So I went on to her blog to have a read and wanted to leave a comment but for some reason her latest blog isn't posted properly so I can't comment on it, just read it. So I guess I'm not suppose to be communicating with my mom right now. hahaha.

We were talking about the show Being Erica. For a Canadian production, it's really darn good. It's about a girl her has regrets (don't we all) and meets a therapist who can make her go back in time, to those moments of regret, so she can do things differently. The moral of the show is this: Life is about choices. Some of those choices leads to regret. However, if given the opportunity to do things differently, would you and would the outcome be any different/better? So in each episode, something in her current life happens, she then see's Dr. Tom, goes back to fix a regret but each time she goes back, it applies to the conundrum she's in today. Awesome concept and it really makes you reflect on your own life and choices. Plus the character Erica Strange, is a fantastic. She draws you in (the actress's real name is Erin).

Anyway, mom, if you're reading this, you can watch the complete season 1 and most of season 3 (the current season) on CBC's site. I bought season 2 yesterday so when you're done with season 1, I'll lend you season 2. Maybe we can have a "Being Erica" day and watch season 3 together.

Well, time to get back to work then off for a run, pick up the dog from daycare, eat something then meet some friends for a glass of vino. Tomorrow I think I'll take pups for a hike then spend the evening watching season 2. :o)

Lovely Cold Nights

I know it's been awhile since my last blog but I've been busy!!! SPCA fundraisers, catching up with friends, watching movies with the boyfriend, work..... the list could really go on. Oh, and my new found hobby: running in the rain. God I love it!!!! Once you surrender yourself to the fact that you're going to get wet, it's an amazing experience. Running itself is such a release of stress or any negative thoughts, that paired up with the rain, it's fantastic. It feels like the rain washes it all away.

Last night I got Rob to drop me off on the way home at E. Hastings/Clark. This neighbourhood is, well, a mixture of unique and sketchy, if you stay on Clark. But if you run through Strathcona, you've entered such an amazing hidden treasure of a neighbourhood in Vancouver. The city has done sooooo much at improving this hood and I love running through there. Anyway, I made my way to Science World and I felt as though I hadn't ran far enough so off I went along the seawall into Yaletown, then back up and over the Cambie Street Bridge. By the time I got home I was soaking wet from head to toe and a bit cold because I ran into a neighbour and we stood and bitched about our strata for a bit.

The second best thing about running in the rain, besides it washing away ickyness, is climbing into a hot bath with bubbles. I'm currently addicted to the show Being Erica and you can watch all the episodes off of the CBC website. Once click and you're off!!! So I set my laptop up on top of the toilet, climbed into my bath and watched an episode. I have to say, that's some pretty good therapy!!!!!

So if you ever decide to give it a whirl, either walk or run in the rain, do so then finish it off with a hot bath. I promise you won't be disappointed.

Dog Walking

It doesn't matter if it's cold out or if it's raining or perhaps the sun is beaming down and it's so hot out that you can't think straight......the dog needs to be walked. When you have a house with a yard, you open up the door, kick the dog out and let them back in later on. Unfortunately while living in a loft, you can't just open the door and throw out animals. Well, you could but I'm sure strata would have something to say about that.

I didn't realize how good I was at going from point A to point B while the weather was crap here in Vancouver. Since I've lived here I've never owned a rain jacket, rubber boots, or even an umbrella. Then I got a dog. That's when I realized that the dog could care less about what the weather is doing outside, she still wants/needs to go out. So now I own a rain coat, rubber boots, waterproof pants and a really good hat. So here I sit on Wednesday evening, the temperature outside I'm sure is below zero, knowing that I have to get dressed (takes about ten minutes) and go outside. Ugh.

So for all of you people out there that don't have pets or at least have a yard, I only have two words for you: lucky bastards!!!!!

Cooking for One

Cooking for one kind of sucks. It's really hard to make a meal for one. Also, I don't really "do" leftovers. My belly rebels against eating the same thing twice, back to back. So I'm not a good candidate for making lots and eating it again the next day for lunch. For dinner maybe, if I eat something completely non-related for lunch in between.

But tonight I finally succeeded at making myself a meal for one!!!!! Shepherd's Pie. My favorite. Yves veggie grind, carrots, celery, cauliflower, corn, tomatoes, garlic, topped with yummy mashed potatoes. I usually make a HUGE dish of it because Rob's usually here for dinner and he loves having it for lunch the next day. So tonight I decided to give it a whirl and make a smaller portion. As my mom will probably agree, her and I are not that great at making portions small. But tonight I did and I'm very proud of myself. :o)

So now that I'm full and finally warm (takes a while to warm up after standing outside with the dog) I'm going to run a hot bath and read my new book, Raven Stole the Moon by Garth Stein. He wrote another book I quite enjoyed, The Art of Racing in the Rain. Good stuff.

Night!

Race Time!!!!

Tomorrow morning is the last 10K race of the year, the Fall Classic held out at UBC. I'm sad that it's the last race. I usually sign up for the next one the day before I run a race, just to keep me motivated. But tomorrow's the last.

Anyway, tonight I did my usual routine and had my usual dinner. Baked potato with chives and sour cream, broccoli sauted with ginger, garlic, red chilies and a dash of soy sauce, baked chicken with my sundried tomato/artichoke topping. Yum yum. The only thing that I messed up was the time I actually sat down to eat it. Usually you need to eat at 6pm but tonight it was 7:30...hope that doesn't do anything.

So wish me luck. I'm off to bed to get a good sleep so I can hit the road running nice and early. Hope it's not too freakin' cold out.......

Random Nights

Last night was sort of random and sort of not. I went to a fabulous cooking class with my friend Tanya (who passed her motorcycle's license test earlier in the day YAY). It was a fancy schmancy cooking class and we had a blast! The chef, a lovely woman named Andrea made us the most delicious martini's ever, to sip while she demonstrated some of the dishes that we were going to make. OMG. So good. She is like me, she insists on having a martini in her kitchen while she cooks. She might not drink it all (neither do I) but the presence of it brings happiness in a weird way. I totally get it. I have a gin martini every time I cook. Sometimes I drink it, sometimes I just look at it and occasionally sip it. This is my kind of chef.

Anyway, we watched and learned and then broke off into groups to cook. What an amazing time!!!!! Tanya and I were in charge of the Cinnamon Duck Breast on Raisin Crostini's. Once again: OMG. We F'N rocked it!!!!! Ours were the most elegant looking, just like Andrea's, and they ended up being the favorite at the end of the night. That's right, toot toot of my own horn. I also learned how to properly cook a duck breast. And how to properly boil a lobster. Cut a pear without cutting yourself. Oh ya, I also had the best dicing skills in the class. I was shocked to see that most people can't dice effectively. I rocked the onion. I'm now getting off track....

So after we were all done cooking, everyone put out their trays of delicious food and they poured us wine and we ate and ate and ate. When I got home, Rob was there and asked if I wanted to go for dinner. I was full, but I also wanted to spend time with him. So we took pups for a quick walk around the block then off we went a walking. He wanted to try a new Indian place a few blocks from the loft on Broadway. I had no idea which place he was talking about but off we walked. About six blocks away he realized that he didn't know what he was talking about either. So I suggested the Banana Leaf as it was a block away. Got there....under reno's. So then we decided to hop on the bus and randomly go to Joey's at Granville. Now it's about 10:00pm and I'm tired as I was up at the crack of dawn and busy all day, but how can you pass a chance to hang out with your boyfriend on a crazy adventure!!!!

When we got on the bus, Rob paid my fare. Oh ya, a puuuurrreeee gentleman. Not all guys will pay a gal's bus fare. We got to Joey's, he had the usual, I gulped down their soup and we took the bus home. We chatted the whole time. Laughed. It was awesome. It was random and awesome. :)

Working & Schedules

I love working in the morning. There's something so inspiring about getting up and heading into the office bright and early. Right now the sun is beaming in through the window and I had to put up my black cloth blocking it out!!! What a glorious Tuesday!!!!!

The other thing about working in the morning is having the office to myself. I get so much more done when I'm by myself. However today I discovered something I wish I hadn't...... I can watch full episodes of CBC programs on my computer without having to download anything. So right now I'm watching Being Erica and I'm finding it a little distracting when I'm trying to do calculations. So I think I'll pause the show until 11am when I've scheduled myself to do filing. That's the other thing I do that most people don't. Schedule stuff all day long. And I don't mean meetings or lunches. For instance, this is my Tuesday:

6:30am wake up. wake up dog.
6:45am finish making lunches. wake up dog.
7:00am drag sleepy dog to car and take her to daycare.
7:25am get a coffee.
7:45am check for phone messages.
8:00am reply to copious amounts of emails and faxes.
8:30am work on File A and get summary out to investor.
8:45am work on File B and email orginating broker.
9:00am work on File C while talking to mom on phone.
9:30am - 10am read blogs and write a blog.
10am - 11am Bank Rec Masters/MCMC for Sept-Oct and send out two NSF letters.
11am - Noon file everything including receipts.
Noon each lunch and pay bills.
1pm - 2pm respond to emails, start marketing plan/business plan for the BCSC regarding Masters and bring Rob up to speed on the day's activities/messages.
2pm - 2:30pm finish two renewal packages and send them out and help Rob with File D.
3pm complete 9K run.
4pm pick up dog.
4:30pm shower and get ready to meet Tanya.
6pm - 9pm cooking class with Tanya!!!!
9:30pm - 10pm walk dog.

I schedule everyday like that. I have so much to do and so much responsibilities that if I just float around, nothing will get done. Each moment of my day is dedicated in blocks for work. Oh, it's getting close to 10am and time to stop writing and reading blogs. On to the next task.

Tuesday!!

Today didn't start out so great for moi. Starting around 4am I started to have belly pain :( It kept me up so I didn't get the greatest sleep. So today I decided to spend a day at home working, puttering around and getting ready for something awesome.......MOMMY TIME!

I bought this place in April of 2008, finally moved in, in August and tonight is the first night my mom is coming over. Bad kid, bad!!! Mommy time is hard to come by. There's many of us children, a needy husband, a busy travel schedule, so trying to fit mommy time in can be a challenge. My friend Heather mentioned to me the other night and has posted on her blog, that she's needing mommy time too. So why not share my mom?!!! So tonight they are coming over, vino in hand and we shall eat and drink and be merry!!!

Time to go to London Drugs and buy some Mr. Clean and wash my floors. These women deserve a nice clean, non-streaky floor. :)

AHHHHHHHHHHHHH

I just typed up a lovely blog post only to have my computer freeze and crash and I lost everything. ARGH! I don't have time right now to retype everything. :o(

Why bother!

I put myself on a strict budget. Now having to fork out the money for an apartment, my wallet has shrunk. Considerably. So I decided to cut out things and opt for the cheaper, perhaps no-name brands. Big mistake.

When I first moved into the loft it took me MONTHS to figure out the best mixture for cleaning the concrete floors. It's actually not that easy to clean concrete floors. A lot of brands left streaks or didn't bother cleaning at all. Until one day I found my orange bottle of Mr. Clean. LOVE IT. This magical orange liquid is perfect for my floors. Super awesome, no complaints. So for the past year and a half I've used this product.

The other day I went to Save On to grab some TP and floor cleaner. I only had $10 with me. I also like my TP, a certain kind and I don't like to waiver. Charmin. Yup, the brand promoted by cartoon bears. However, it tends to be a bit more on the pricey side. So I decided to go cheap with my floor cleaner instead (I did only have $10). So I bought the WF orange liquid thinking that would be the same. Obviously I forgot the first six months of living here. I HATE IT. Streaks everywhere. I even tried washing it with just warm water. NOPE.

So now I'm throwing the leash on the dog and heading to Save On to cough up the extra $2 to get what I want. Sometimes, it doesn't pay to be cheap.

Animals

They drive me crazy! Well, the cats do at least. I'm not sure how I ended up with the zoo. Rob wanted the dog to begin with, yet I have the dog. I also have his cat. It wasn't so bad when he was living here because we would share animal duties. But now that it's just me, it's a big job!!!! A really big job!!!! I now understand why people who have crazy amounts of pets let their house go and turn into shambles. It's not because they're lazy....it's not because they don't care.... it's because it would be a full-time job taking care of them!!!

I only have four pets (I say so casually as if it's normal to have four) and I'm going mad. Crazy mad. Psycho mad. Example: I cleaned my loft on Tuesday afternoon. Scrubbed it down. Washed the floors (concrete's surprisingly hard to keep clean), the bathrooms, did my laundry. My friend Jen was coming over for dinner that night so I wanted the place to be animal hair free. After I was done, the place looked great! Wonderful! I loved my home.

The next day I came home and found track marks. Fred track marks. He was out on the balcony, got wet and muddy because they pressure washed our building and haven't cleaned up the balconies yet, but Freddie managed to walk all through it then track it into the house. There is a perfect trail of him going from the balcony door all the way into the kitchen to his food bowl, and back out. He obviously did this several times. So now I have to mop again!

I then went up stairs to find that one of the cats barfed on my new clean bedding. ARGH! BASTARDS. I had to throw everything into the washer AGAIN and wait for it to be done before I could go to bed. While it was washing, I was in the bathroom flossing when I heard a strange sound down stairs. The dog barfed up what ever it was she ate at the park that I couldn't identify. So I had to stop flossing and go clean that up. When I came back upstairs, Chicken (Zhu Zhu) hacked up a hair ball on the floor and Freckles shredded the last of my toilet paper that I stupidly left on the counter (you have to put it up high as she loves to shred). I think it was at that point that I started to cry.

So you see, it's not that crazy pet people are crazy and lazy, it's just a full-time job.

Family Dinners

Last night was our family Thanksgiving Dinner. YUM! We were unable to have it on the Monday of the long weekend due to a new addition of our family being welcomed into the world. So we had it last night.

I usually jump at the chance to bring along a friend or two to our dinners as you never know what's going to happen except guaranteed laughing. Yesterday my mom told me that there was an extra spot at the table. I quickly ran through my mind who I would invite. But then I decided not too. I wanted to have dinner with my family.

It was fantastic!!! Mom had this yummy white wine that normally I wouldn't have because it was on the sweet side, but it was tasty. Not only that, they were at the vineyard on their last trip. So it was neat having something that they enjoyed on their vacation.

Next surprise, my sister April made the most yummy of all yummy turnip dish. I don't like turnips and I don't dislike turnips. I just don't think about them. But now I will, all of the time thanks to Aprils dish!!!! It was creamy and sweet and spicy. I'm hoping she passes along the recipe. That one is going into my book! Her dish went really well with the most hilarious story about her friend Jess and a swing set.

So all in all, it was a great night and Rob and I left full and happy. I love my family. I feel lucky that they're in the same city. We don't always get to see each other so it's really nice when we finally do. I think that's why I didn't want a friend to come along this time, it's been awhile since we've had family time. I wanted to be selfish!!!!

What a Tuesday!

I haven't really felt like going into the office lately. I find it depressing. Work is piled up all over, files need to be filed, deadlines looming, etc. Not much fine. Not very inspiring. So on the weekend I decided to bring home my laptop, a couple of files and some accounting. I set myself up at the dining room table and yesterday morning, started to dabble with some work. I used to work at my little home office set-up, but I stopped when my printer died. It had a piece of paper jammed in it, so I fixed it but the printer thought that there was still a jam. I did EVERYTHING to fix it. I uninstalled the printer drivers and reinstalled, I turned it off and on several times, and I even shook it violently but alas, nothing worked.

Yesterday I had a commitment letter that I had to get out. I didn't want to drive all the way to the office just to print off a stupid commitment letter. So I marched on over to London Drugs and purchased myself a new printer/copier/scanner machine. Brought it home, placed it on my shelf under the fax machine and moved my laptop from the dining room table to my desk in the corner. I did my commitment letter took the rest of the day off.

This morning I got up and came down stairs and saw my little home office. My new printer, my fax machine, my laptop... all that was missing were piles of admin work, deadlines and filing... "Interesting" I thought to myself as I had this weird happy feeling inside. I went and made me a cup of coffee, brought it to my little desk area and suddenly felt inspired. I didn't have to worry about stupid admin, or filing or anything else. Today, today I could be a broker. I could do broker things. I could actually do things that help make me money instead of doing things that don't make me money but keep the boat afloat. I made contacts with new brokers and got two lunch dates out of it. I made contact with a new realtor and made a date for coffee. I got a new deal and sent a commitment letter! I even got word on my land fill deal from a broker in Victoria, that his lender is looking at it tomorrow!!!

I got more done in the last two hours then I would have at the office. A change of scenery. That's all it took. Don't get me wrong, I'm still going to get a part-time job and volunteer as a dog walker for the SPCA, but it felt good to sort of like what I do again. It also made my assumption correct, I'm done with MIC's and admin. I just want to be a broker.

Life is good.

A fabulous weekend!

I have to say, this weekend has turned out to be a pretty good weekend. On Friday night, my friend Chantal met me at Diamond, a local drinking/tapas spot in Gastown. One of our favorites because of the delicious cocktail, Isabella - Sparkling wine, basil, mango and ginger. So yummy!!!

After that we ventured over to our next favorite place, Salt Tasting Room. If you haven't been here, go!!! It's wonderful little place in Blood Alley (also in Gastown) that offers up fine cheese, meat and plenty of wine, sherry, port, etc. It's such a neat little place and always busy. WAAAY back in the day, Matthew and I went to Salt when they first opened and became addicted. Now he works there so it's even more fun to go now!!!! After I walked to Chantal to the bus and waited with her until she was safely on it (I'm a good date) I went home, walked pups and had a fantastic sleep.

Saturday morning I made two coffees to go, toasted two bagels with cream cheese, threw the dog in the car and picked up Rob for our morning date with the dog. I took Rob and the dog to MacDonald Beach in Richmond as Rob hadn't been there before. I hadn't either until last weekend. It's dog heaven. It's at the airport so it entertains me as well, watching the planes land. Fun!!!!! Then I dropped him off, cleaned my loft and got ready for my hot date that night. Rob was coming over for dinner and to watch our shows!!!!

I made a delicious red wine risotto, grilled asparagus, bbq'd some steaks that we had previously wet aged and tossed a bit of greens in a spicy strawberry dressing. YUM YUM. I also bought a lovely bottle of wine, under $20 because we're broke, that tied in the whole thing. Rob showed up promptly at 8:30, looking quite dapper, and we had the most wonderful night.

Now it's Sunday morning, the sun is out, the dog has been walked, coffee in my cup.....time to watch some football. :o)

Lunch

I'm not afraid to admit that I am a creature of habit, when it comes to lunches at work. When I had the office at home I would eat a can of tomato soup with crumbled up white aged cheddar, freshly ground pepper and some crackers crunched up. Delicious! Jeff, my ex-colleague, used to make fun of me for eating the same thing. At the time, I also ate the same breakfast, scrambled egg whites, veggies, crumbled feta, lots of garlic and hot sauce.

But it was easy having those two meals because the office was in my house. So cooking lunch was fantastic. Now, I have an office outside of the home and it's a bit different to try and eat the same thing. Well, so I thought but I've gone back to eating the same thing. This time salad. Lots and lots and lots of salads. Right now I'm on a Kale salad kick with chopped up peppers, carrots, celery, cranberries and a fantastic dressing, Renee's Gourmet Spring Herb Italian Vinaigrette. I usually make my own dressings, but I keep a bottle in the fridge at work because this dressing is delicious and not that bad, ingredient wise. No added sugar, dairy free, egg free, gluten free, etc... Even though there's a lot of "free" it's tasty.

The nice thing about my office is the fact that no matter what time of year, it's an average 24 degrees inside. I face south, no A/C or window to open. HOOOOOTTTT is an understatement. Rob, my lovely boyfriend/business partner kindly spent 30 minutes when we first moved in, tin foiling the solarium part of my window. It's a little ghetto, but I won't completely roast. The point is, because it's "summer like" in my office all of the time, I get to continue eating salads (seems wrong eating salads on cold days).

So if any of you reading this have some suggestions on your favorite salads, please post!!!! I can't keep eating Kale forever. Although I could. :)

I'm an Aunty again!!!!!

That's right people!!!! I'm an Aunty again!!! My wonderful brother Kevin and his wife welcomed their second child into the world yesterday, a beautiful baby girl!!!! He sent me pictures of him holding her this morning and no words can describe the feeling. Not one. To see your brother beaming ear to ear, and to see his daughter...so incredible.

Last night I had a wonderful conversation with my mom. Some of our conversation included the fact that we were both taken aback as to how we felt when Fenton, my brothers first child, was born. I have step-brothers & sisters that I have known practically my whole life, and when they had kids, it was "neat". Not super exciting or overwhelming, but "neat". When Kevin and Tandy had Fenton, I was expecting the "neat" feeling. I didn't have that. I had an "OMG can you believe this beautiful baby"-tear flowing-heart warmning feeling. I don't like babies, I don't hold babies, I don't go out of my way to see babies, but there was something completely and totally different with Fenton. Was it because he was family? Because he was blood? Because he was my first true nephew? Whatever the reason, I wasn't expecting the feeling I did have.

Well, I had that same feeling this morning when I downloaded the picture of Kevin and his beautiful daughter. I can't wait to meet her!!! I can't wait to hold her!!! Sucks that they live so far away!!!! And even better..... I can't wait to hang out with Fenton again. Such a smart smart smart kid, way to smart for not being three yet. And to my surprise, I can't wait to hang out with him. EEEEE!!!!!!!

Anyway, happy Thanksgiving everyone! I got the greatest gift an Aunty could get....another baby!!!

Saturday!!!!

Today turned out to be a pretty good day, and it's not even over yet! I woke up nice and early this morning (the boyfriend stayed at his own place) and threw the dog in the car and headed out to meet Christine for breatfast. I'd say brunch, but it was really early, so it's "breakfast". I like to try somewhere new every time we go. Because of doing this, we've found some hidden gems in our city that serve up the best breakfast! Twisted Fork is a must, for those of you who haven't experienced it yet.

Anyway, today we went to Gypsy Rose (no website), a small cafe on 4th that serves mostly crepes. I'm not a crepe person, it's not a food item I crave. However, I wanted to give it a whirl and we were quite delighted! On top of delicious crepes, they serve JJ Bean coffee. HELLO my favorite bean!!!! I had the crepe filled with tomato, basil, feta & spinach. Delicious!!! Cheap too. We sat outside so Sadie could sit with us instead of waiting in the car. It was quite warm out so it was nice to be outside.

After breakfast pups and I headed out to the beach. I actually remembered to wear my rubber boots in case the tide was out. No luck, the tide was completely in. But pups and I had a great hour regardless, walking up and down the little beach that was there. I then dropped her off at home and headed out again for Chapters. While roaming through the books trying to locate a book on how to run a marathon, my mom called to tell me that I'm going to be an aunty again at any moment!!! YAYAYAYA and BOOOO!!!!! at the same time. We're suppose to have a family thanksgiving dinner on Monday but now the parental figures are heading to Courtenay. Oh well.

So now it's peeing rain out and I'm in my loft with a snoring dog, the fire is on and about to make a pork tenderloin stuffed with bacon, gouda & apple. Yum! Hopefully the boyfriend will come over for dinner otherwise I'll have WAY too much pork!!!!!!

Maybe a bath before the boyfriend comes over, in case I fart in the tub again.

Thanksgiving

This is my favorite holiday. Don't get me wrong, Christmas is fun, but it can be pretty stressful. Presents, splitting time between families, traveling, etc. Yes there's food, wine and turkey, but there's all of that other stuff too at Christmas. Not with Thanksgiving!!!

It's an entire weekend of eating! If one spouse needs to see their family, you have the choice of three nights and that's totally ok to celebrate on either of those nights. Unlike Christmas where you technically have the one day. So I'm looking forward to seeing my family on Monday. Maybe Rob's on Sunday. Who knows. But that's the nice thing about thanksgiving, it just doesn't matter!!

Balance

Ahhhh..... life. Life is great. Life can be bad. It can also be challenging, rewarding and once in awhile, offers contentment. One thing that is hard to find, is balance. You can have balance for a few moments, hours, days or to some people, even weeks. But it's hard to have balance when you're bored.

I'm bored. Not in the sense of it's Tuesday night and I'm eating the same dinner that I have every Tuesday watching the same shows that I would watch every Tuesday. I'm bored with, well, life.

Work is busy, organizing my house the way I like makes me busy, preparing for my next 10k trail run is making me busy. But through all of this "being busy", I'm bored. I can do most of what I do in my day to day life with my eyes closed. And now, I'm bored.

Maybe I need a part-time job, other than the industry I'm in, to keep my mind active. Which I still may find, however I got thinking about my friends. It's really easy when you feel like your own life is lacking in something to be curious or even envious of your friends. Usually that's a bad frame of mind to be in, but I've decided to take it as a positive which leads me to this:

I LOVE MY FRIENDS. Every single friend I have, male or female, are in my life because they are awesome and offer me all sorts of positives. Laughter, support, knowledge, inspiration, blah blah blah. So I think the answer to my question of being bored and what to do, is answered with "my friends". Each one of them has something that they love to do that makes them, well, them, and seems to make them happy and offer them balance. Yoga, shopping, rock climbing, gardening, reading, cooking, snowboarding, lip gloss .... the list can go on.

So I've decided to do something that each of them do:

#1 Apply lip gloss at all times because super sexy lips no matter where you are at, are an asset. Some of you may think that this is an easy task. Well, it's not. If you're not used to wearing lip gloss all of the time, it's actually a hard habit to get into. However, every time I put it on and catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror or reflection off a car window (because we all look at ourselves while walking past cars), I have to say, it makes me feel pretty.

#2 Yoga. I haven't started on this one yet, as I have to consult a friend as to which class/school would be a good place for a beginner that doesn't exactly have the body of Gumby, so stay tuned. But I have done it in the past and it did make my body feel better, especially after all of the horrible running & gym activities I put it through.

#3 Rock Climbing. Found a gym. Now I'm going to go see if I can do it. Heights scare the crap out of me, but I do have incredible body strength (yes, I'm tooting my own horn here) and I'm awesome at mapping out things in my mind, so this might actually be a good thing.

That's it for now. One step at a time. So I'm going to start here. If anything else, I'll understand & respect my friends even more (which is a win-win if you ask me) and find out more about me. This is the year of the Tiger which is me, and I did claim this to be the year of change for me, so maybe stepping out of my comfort zone even more so then I already do, is needed in addition to kicking out my boyfriend and still date him. Yay!

Survival Guide Part Two

When you live with someone, whether it's a roommate or significant other, sacrifices and comprises are the key component to happy communal living. Toilet seat stays down, bath mats don't remain on the floor, small simple things. When you live on your own, you can have your place any which way you'd like. What a novel concept, that I'm starting to figure out. And boy, I don't know if I would change this!!!!

The first room to pack up was the bedroom. I started by kicking him out of my dresser. (I used to have four of the six drawers and now for the first time of me owning this dresser, I get the whole thing). The thing about most men, or at least Rob, he is a strong believer that clean clothes go into the laundry basket or on top of the cat post, then eventually on to him, and then finally they'll end up in the hamper. This clothes cycle of his drives me crazy. Oops, drove me crazy. It's like the bath mat. I like the bath mat to stay on the floor. It's pretty, it's nice to stand on in my bare feet, and I don't really care if Fred sleeps on it. Rob however insisted that once you are done your shower, the bath mat needed to be draped over the tub to dry properly and effectively. Hrm. Why not have two bath mats for two separate purposes?

The other thing about living on your own is the ability to freely fart. For the most part, girls fall into one of two categories when it comes to farting in front of the significant other (or at least this is my observation). There is the A category: the girl that doesn't mind farting in front of the guy. The lift-the-leg-let-it-rip then relish in the smelly gift the bowels have just given her. Then there is category B: absolutely mortified if the guy knows wind has just slipped out of you. I am most certainly category B. I didn't realize how good I became at leaving the room or blaming the dog. Don't get me wrong, one or two would randomly pop out without warning, usually when I'm in the beginning relaxed stages of sleep where I'm about to drift off when this loud sound happens and I then pretend to stay asleep (because that somehow makes it better) but secretly want to die inside.

Anyway, I was in the tub the other night reading a book by candlelight listening to Fred sleep on the bath mat next to the tub, when the worst happened: a loud ripping sound followed by liquid bubbles. I couldn't believe it. I stopped reading. I squished my eyes as tight as possible (as if that would someone how transport me to another part of the planet) and prayed that Rob didn't hear the bath tub sounds. Then I suddenly realized that I was alone. Completely and totally alone (except for Fred who looked at me then left the bathroom). I was alone. I WAS ALONE! I could fart in the tub all I wanted!!!! How awesome is that?! I could let liquid bubbles fly and not feel ashamed!!! Not feel rude!!!! I could be free!!!!

However, I did put the book down and get out of the tub because no matter how good it felt to have such a new found freedom, I find it hard to soak in a tub full of fart bubble water.

Survival Guide for When Life Decisions Hit Back

Recently my boyfriend and I came to a decision that has changed both of our lives. This decision is a good one and I would like to think that it's very adult of us to have arrived at it. We work together and live together. I wouldn't recommend this for anyone. You wake up together, leave for work together, come home together, eat dinner together, go to bed together.... Needless to say, it's been a roller coaster of a relationship. Not always a fun ride to be on but it's one I would like to stay on. So in order to do so, we decided to do this. But first, a little background.

Back in January we had a conversation that maybe we should seek some outside help. I took it upon myself to find the right counsellor for the job. In the past, we went to his counsellor (once) and to mine (also for only one visit). I don't recommend that you see each other's counsellors for couples therapy. It just doesn't work. Someone (mostly me) is left feeling awkward and wanting to run away quickly or fake an illness in order to have the session end early. Why? Because my counsellor Trevor knows me. He knows my past, my issues with certain situations I've encountered, my feelings, my sense of not being grounded sometimes, my fear of birds and clowns, and other things just as odd. That being said, I should state that it is also my opinion that anyone who has gone to therapy might not always open up and share about a certain something, event or feeling in the exact way that it actually happened or how it really made you feel, I'm no exception. As a matter of fact, I might have started this rumor based on my own experiences. (A person would think sharing your most intimate secrets and emotional turmoil to a stranger would be easy, a stranger you're even paying to listen to you whine and blunder on, but it's just not).

So in January I decided to find us a new couples counsellor. A fresh start. A new perspective on us and our relationship. So I did what any reasonable sound minded person would do. I went to the counsellor of British Columbia website and scrolled through the hundreds of pictures until I found him; my white haired, beard bearing, kind hearted grandpa like counsellor. I'm sure he had excellent credentials and came with all sorts of praise, bu I wasn't interested in that. I needed someone I could talk too. Someone that had white hair, big beard and a kind face. So with great joy and delight, I made us an appointment. We continued to see this counsellor for many months until we finally decided to stop and made a big decision on our own. The adult decision. The "lets move out together" decision. So Rob's moving out.

This is where the survival guide starts. There are a couple of things I have learned that I would like to share in case any of you are thinking about perhaps testing out the Oprah/Stedman philosophy of relationships. I'm sure there are many more lessons coming my way, but I have learned the first two today and had to share.

Rule #1.

On the day he gets his new place and you are now about to pack, do not make it the day you get your period. Period + PMS + Realization that you are about to live alone with cats in your mid-30's = SAD. I haven't experienced PMS since I was on the pill (which after 18 years I stopped taking in January). No cramps, no bloating or need to eat really salty things then cry about being bloated as if the salty products had nothing to do with it. Or just cry. But today the nasty three letter word seemed to have crept back into my life.

Rule #2.

Do not go to IKEA. Rob and I were walking through the kitchen items department when I saw a package containing two wooden cutting boards. I turned to Rob and asked if he was taking any of the cutting boards. He said yes. So I picked up a package. We stared at each other. I had this overwhelming feeling of sad swhoosh over my body. I looked around and there they were, happy couples. Couples holding hands, smiling at each other and picking out what kind of cutting boards they would like to have in their kitchen, the kitchen that they share. And there was I, holding a replacement package for which ever one of us needed it, looking at my soon-to-be-not-living-with-me-boyfriend.... The tears started to flow and thanks to Aunt Flo, boy did they ever. I quietly put the package down and walked away silently to the candle section hoping that the thought of me having baths to candlelight would somehow cheer me up. *sigh*

So there you go people, the first two rules. This actually happened last week (I'm a little behind on posting) and I have encountered a few more since. Time to make a gin martini and watch bad television.

September 1st

September 1st is tomorrow. September 1st is also the beginning of a new chapter for me. Rob is moving into his own apartment, luckily only five blocks away. I will be living alone. With cats. And a dog.

I've always lived with someone. Roommates, boyfriends, family. Except for one time. When I was 19 I got my very own apartment in North Vancouver. It was in a slum area, but it was all mine. I was working at the office during that time, taking home $930.00 a month. Big bucks when you're 19. However, $600 of that went to rent. I didn't have a car and didn't eat much except frozen pot pies, so I made the $330 last the whole month. It was a small apartment, no bedroom but one HUGE closet that I fit my bed into and made it into a bedroom. Nice big kitchen, balcony and a fantastic view of downtown Vancouver. It was mine. All mine.

I loved living on my own. I got to do what I want, watch what I wanted on tv, eat pot pies by the dozen....... Bliss. I even had an awesome cat, Meatloaf who fetched. Well, now, after 17 years I get to experience that bliss again. And I'm excited.

I'm so excited that I am packing up Rob faster than you can say Bob's your uncle (I never understood that saying *shrug*). Tomorrow I'm borrowing my parents truck, going to IKEA and buying him a bed that has a storage space under it. Then going to the storage locker and getting out the table and chairs. I want to start my next chapter and I need to start it now!!!!!!

I Love Sundays

Sundays. Mmmmmmmm Sunday's. I used to HATE Sunday's. The night-before-school sick stomach. Yuck! Cramming in homework that should have been done on Friday. Yuck! Cleaning my bedroom. Yuck! Well, now I love Sunday's. Could be my favorite day, and to name a few reasons:

-No more sick stomach. I love my job.

-It's like a mini New Years Eve every week. New week. New goals.

-Sunday night dinners

-Taking the sheets out of the dryer and making the bed right before I go to bed (lets not forget the delicious smell of vanilla softener)

-Buying flowers for my home (especially on my nightstand)

-Having a bath, going to bed on fantastic vanilla smelling sheets and reading a book

Today (it being Sunday) has been really good. Not only for the reasons above, but I spent a great portion of my day throwing stuff out. Oh ya baby, throwing stuff out. It started yesterday actually, but once you're on the train of chucking, it's really hard to get off. The downstairs of my loft is, well, empty. (I feel as though I have been unpacking for two years. Oh wait, I have!) I even did my upstairs closet. Why the sudden inspiration ? Most people do this in the Spring. Well.....Rob's moving out!

Speaking of which, finding a place to rent in this city sucks. Especially if you have a full-time cat, part-time dog. We've now decided that Sadie will be my full-time dog and a visiting dog for him. Easier.

Today we went to see a place that sounded promising. However, everything on Craigslist is either "promising" or a scam. Don't get me started. Anyway, it was $1050 and they would take both animals. Hrm. How do you spell shithole? Every place we've seen to date has been just that, a shithole. This included.

Feeling a little disappointed, I grabbed my BlackBerry as soon as we got back into the car and just on a whim, looked at Craigslist again. And then there, beckoning me, was a place. Not just a place, but the place. Here are some positives:

-5 blocks from the loft

-They like cats & dogs

-Rooftop garden space

-Did I mention that it was 5 blocks from the loft?

It's $1,100, not sure what it includes, but who cares!!!! We drove by the building and it's awesome. It's five blocks from me AND he can have his cat and Sadie!!!!!! So fingers crossed, we view it tonight (probably along with 30 other people) we get it.

Wish us luck!!!!!

Running + Dog = Interesting

So once again, running has come back into my life. I love to run. I don't know why because it can be hard and boring, but I love it! The key to running is to not have a plan. Don't plan on running every second day, or map out your weekly route, etc. You'll stop running before you begin. Why? Because running is hard on the body and boring and your distance and how often you go completely depends on how your body is THAT DAY!

I usually do a minimum of 5K each run. However, some days I can keep going, so I do! I like to mix it up as well. Treadmill / trail running / seawall / etc. I'll listen to happy upbeat music or sometimes I just like to run and clear my head.

On Saturday I decided to go for a run. So Rob, my sweet sedentary Rob, suggested that I take our dog with me. I protested. He insisted. I protested more. He insisted more. I finally agreed to give it a try. It was a lovely and misty day (perfect weather for running if you ask me) so I threw the dog in the car and off we went. I decided on the Seymour Demonstration Forest. You can't run with the dog on the lovely new road, but if you run from the parking lot to the gate at the graveyard and back, that's 6K. So we did that. This is the dog/run journal entry:

First half KM: Dog was joyful. Happy. Excited to run.
Last half of first KM: Dog was suspicious.
Second KM: Dog realized that we were not stopping. Kept sideways glancing at me.
Third KM: Dog now obviously unhappy. Starting to drag a little.
Fourth KM: I decided to run a KM in the woods. I let her off leash. Dog sort of happy.
Fifth KM: Dog about 20 feet behind me giving me the stink eye.
Sixth KM: Leashed up dog. Dog not happy about pace but we both finish.

Now we're at the car. She's standing in front of her door. Looks at me. Looks at door. Looks at me. Looks at door. I open the door. She slowly crawls in and then completely ignores me. At home, she snored for about four hours. Later that night I had to pick up Rob from a friends. I brought the dog. As soon as she saw the car, she turned around and started heading back to the garage door. I dragged her to the car. The next morning we went to take her to the beach. She saw the car and stood still. Looked at me. Looked at the car. Looked at me. Looked at the car. Rob finally got her. As she passed me, in a soothing reassuring voice, I told her that we were not going for a run. I don't think that mattered. She gave me the stink eye.

Um, ya. I don't think I'll be running anytime soon with pups! She might end up not liking me!
:)

PHEW!

Where has the time gone??!!! It has been awhile since my last post. I just wanted to do a quick entry to let everyone know - I strongly believe I have a thousand followers ;) that I haven't fallen off of the planet.

Tonight I'm throwing a bottle of wine in my bag, hopping onto my bike and peddling to my friend Jen's place on The Drive. I haven't sat my ass on my bike in a few months, so this will be interesting. Yes, "interesting". I know the good old saying is "like riding a bicycle". Um, right. Obviously anyone who has said this clearly hasn't dug out their bike and have gone for a ride somewhere lately.

So hopefully I'll make it there and back in one piece. I'm not nervous riding my Ninja, but yet my bike....strange.

These are a few of my favorite things.....

I LOVE salad. I LOVE soup. I LOVE egg salad sandwiches. I LOVE potato salad. No, I'm not 70 years+. I'm just a girl who isn't afraid to admit her favorite food even if it's commonly referred to as Old People Home food.

The reason I mention my favorite things is this: people assume that those items are boring. Yes, boring. I have to agree that I have come across bland soups & egg salad sandwiches in my time, but they don't have to be!!! Screw the dill and add a little curry to spice up an eggie sandwich! Add some chili flakes to your next salad dressing! BTW, one of the best eggie sandwiches I have ever had the delight in eating was one I bought from a little corner store/deli/liquor store/movie store/last place on earth to buy Thrills gum (yes the gum that tastes like soap), on the Sunshine Coast in Halfmoon Bay. The best potato salad hands down is my mom's (especially the last batch).

So tonight Rob wanted barnyard and potatoes. So I made my challenge a salad dressing. I have the most awesomest (yes that's a word) salad dressing book, Salad Dressing 101. The recipes are fantastic and they do it on a rating system. 1 to 3. For example, if a recipe as the #2 rating, then that dressing is best for the more hearty greens.

So I made a salad dressing tonight. Honey, paprika, red wine vinegar, tarragon, dried basil, pepper, salt & olive oil. I dipped my finger and it was pretty tasty. Anyway, we forgot to eat the salad. We were consumed with Dragon's Den and forgot to take the salad to the table. Our loft is about 1001 degrees so by the time we finished dinner and went into the kitchen the salad looked like it had been beaten with an ugly stick. But I did dip my finger pre-dinner and it was tasty so that technically counts. SO THERE!

Mmmmm Salad

So tonight I finally did it. I made a recipe from scratch without adding my own influence. I was pretty darn hungry (just got home from working out) so I wasn't really in the mood to fuss. So I grabbed a magazine, flipped it open and just picked something. Luckily for Rob and I, it turned out to be pretty tasty. But first, let's back-up just a bit:

I have gone back to my veggie ways the past few weeks in addition to adding runs to my life (5K three to four times a week). By doing this I have managed to fit back into some clothes (mostly jeans) that I thought I would never squeeze my ass into again. But no, apparently eating well and regular exercise comes through again as a winner. So I can still have my glass of wine with dinner and not feel guilty. A glass of wine in addition to my gin martini, straight-up with blue cheese olives that I have every single time I'm in the kitchen cooking. Comfort zone people, comfort zone.

Any-who, I asked Rob as to what he would like for dinner tonight: barnyard, ocean, garden or combo. He said no to ocean as I did just make the most amazing seafood linguine anyone will ever have on Saturday, so he elected my delicious peanut butter pork burgers. It's been awhile since I had meat so, why the hell not. Plus I did just get back from a run. So the challenge tonight was the dish to accompany the burgers. Which brings me back to what I mentioned in the first paragraph...a winner!

As I mentioned I grabbed a magazine, the 2006 August Chatalaine. Yes, 2006. Like I said, I have a collection of magazines and cookbooks that I need to utilize. Wasn't joking people. Anyway, I made this salad that had a simple dressing (honey, lime juice & cumin) over greens with peaches, avocados & blueberry's. Rob wasn't sure about the blueberry/avocado mix but holy cow.... let me put it to you this way: Rob loves my peanut butter pork burgers. He eats the burger first. Always. However, tonight I kindly reminded him that he had to eat the salad at some point and give me feedback. If he didn't want it after a few bites, I would just take it for lunch tomorrow. I'm happy to report, he ate the salad first. All of it. I didn't actually finish my salad. But he did. A first. Well, except for that one time I was afraid his vegetable intake was down and made a salad and got him to eat it only because I sprinkled bacon on it (men eat anything with bacon on it, in it or beside it).

So tonight's cooking challenge was a success, thanks to August 2006 Chatelaine. I wonder what other gems I have hidden on my shelves...........

Tomato Tomato Tomato!

My most favorite tomatoes are heirloom tomatoes. They're expensive so I have them as a treat every once in a while. They're in season right now so I have been making the odd trip to Whole Foods to buy one or two.

I usually make a salad that consists of chopped tomatoes, S&P, fresh basil, goat feta, olive oil & a touch of balsamic vinegar. This is pretty much my lunch that I have everyday at work. I sometimes use heirloom, or just plain orange/yellow/red tomatoes off the vine.

I was reading a magazine I had randomly bought one day, Women's Health, and in there was my salad recipe. Which didn't really surprise me as it is extremely basic. BUT they had added one ingredient I hadn't ever even thought of.....peaches! Yes, a chopped peach.

So I decided that yesterday I was going to make this salad, add a peach and that would count as a recipe that I haven't made before (sort of) from a magazine or book that I own that I haven't made something from.

Well, let me tell you folks......I will never eat that salad again unless it has a peach in it. It took it to a whole new level. So get out there, treat yourself to a heirloom tomato or two, chop up a peach to go with it, mix it with fresh basil, salt & pepper, drizzle with a touch of olive oil and balsamic, sprinkle on some feta.

YUMMY!!!!

Mmmmm.... Salt!!!!

Last night I had the pleasure of dining with my bud Dianne at our favorite spot for wine and cheese: Salt Tasting Room. If you haven't been here before, you_must_go. It's located in Blood Alley. If you don't know the history of Blood Alley, I suggest you click my link and read. Very interesting.

Anyway, Matthew and I started going to Salt the day they opened their doors back in 2006. It truly is a gem hidden amongst the rats and homeless people.

They have a wonderful menu of beverages mostly consisting of wine, sherry, port and the odd beer. You can have a glass, bottle or do three tasters of wine, 20z each. They list their wine by having the most light to the most dark and chewy. So for instance, if you want a light wine, look at the top of the red list. If you want dark-chewy-stain-your-teeth, look at the bottom. Once you pick what you want to drink, you proceed to order your food.

You get a choice of three things: meat and/or cheese. You can have two meats and one cheese, or two cheese and one meat or three cheese (I think you get the idea). With each of these items comes a condiment such as quince paste, local honey, relish, Guiness mustard, etc. Very tasty. Oh, and a delicious assortment of bread.

Now for me, I believe in doing Salt the way it was intended: pick your wine, let them pick what you eat. The reason? Because the experts know best as to what goes with what. The whole point of Salt is to explore wine and food. So last night I let our lovely waitress pick and I wasn't disappointed! BTW, you can tell them what you don't want, like head cheese. :)

I would also like to let you in on a little secret......Salt carries wine that isn't on the menu. When Matthew and I go we love to ask for their favorite that's not listed and we have NEVER been disappointed. Some of my favorite wines have come from doing this.

So don't be shy, ask!!!!!

An Ending.....

As some of you may know, I am in LOVE with the show Deadliest Catch. If you haven't seen DC or have any idea as to what I am talking about, it's a show on the Discovery Channel about crazy men that fish for crab (voted one of the most dangerous jobs in the world). Boats sink, crab pots are empty, drama on board, coast guard rescues....it's really an exciting show.

Anyway, I bonded with the captain of the Cornelia Marie. Phil Harris. He reminds me so much of my step-dad Bill it's almost creepy. On one episode, Phil said that he found the right kind of fishing grounds based on the fact that he could smell the crab fart bubbles. Ahhh.. fart bubbles. I understand his humor. After spending most of my life floating on a boat on the west coast of Vancouver Island, I know all about fart bubbles (although mine were from fish, not crab).

I remember sleeping on the boat just so I could go out at 5am with Bill in order to catch the big ones. The boat would fire up, he would let it run as he checked his gear and prepared bait by stabbing a toothpick through their eyes.... Finally, I would feel the boat slowly pull away from the dock....

Anyway, back in January, Phil, my beloved captain, suffered a stroke. He passed away in February. The new season started in June and now, almost finished, Phil has now suffered his stroke on the show and is in the hospital. Discovery Channel has been advertising that tonight is going to be a two hour episode, Phil's last....

So tonight I decided to make a special meal, drink some wine and remember the man that has kept me entertained for the past few years. Tonight's menu: my all famous lamb burgers and a pasta salad THAT I HAVEN'T MADE BEFORE! That's right, I picked a recipe from a book I haven't used.

Ok..... I didn't realize how hard it is to A) pick a recipe you actually want to make from a book B) follow it from scratch. Apparently I have just "read" recipes and have made my own adjustments, or my own combination of recipes in order to make one. Tonight was a challenge.

After reading about 20 salad recipes, I decided on a pasta recipe from my book How It All Vegan. After it was done I tasted it and thought "blah". So I called in Rob, my handy taste testerer (that's a word in my vocabulary). He thought it needed something. I told him to have at it. He added hot sauce. Sriracha to be exact. It suddenly became tasty. I have a feeling this challenge to make something exactly from the recipe is going to be just that: a challenge.

Anyway, we finally settled down with our burgers, salad and a lovely wine, Strut Red Over Heels (everyone needs to drink this) and started watching Deadliest Catch. I was happy. Until I went to fast-forward through a commercial only to discover that it was only an hour long, not two.

Apparently Canada's Discovery Channel didn't do the two hour special. Oh no, that would be too much to ask for. So this wasn't the episode that my beloved Captain died. I mentally prepared myself. I cooked the "last meal". Only to be screwed with. Thanks Discovery Channel, thanks a lot. Now I will just have to go through this again next week!!!

UGH.

Yummy Indian Food!!!!

Last night Rob and I went for dinner with his lovely mom Jan, to celebrate our birthdays. Yes, our birthdays were in June, but Jan is a jetsetter and has spent the last month and a half in California hanging out in Napa with the occasional side trip to Vegas. Retirement is tough I hear :)

It was Rob's choice and after much deliberation, he decided on having Indian cuisine. So we went to one of our favorite places, Maurya. If you haven't been here before, GO!!!!!!! Every dish is absolutely amazing. We've never had a bad experience here. Not once. It's romantic inside even though the place is HUGE. It's still cozy and smells delicious! The website is crazy and doesn't do them any favours of showing how romantic this place is, so don't judge by the site!

As we were finishing up, Dianne & Phil joined us as yesterday was Dianne's birthday and they too had Indian cuisine on the mind. It was Dianne's first time dining there and she was amazed and raved about the Dahl (the one dish I haven't tried yet).

So if you are craving yummy Indian cusine in a romantic setting, this is the place for you!!

Three Years and Counting.......

Yesterday Rob and I celebrated our three year anniversary. It was fabulous! We were going to go out for dinner, but seeing as how we had to pay $1000 for my car to get fixed that day, we decided to stay in instead. Which is fine by me!!!

Rob and I have date nights. I believe that it's important to have random date nights. It's easy when you are sharing your life with someone to not take the time for each other. An anniversary is no different!

The night started off with our favorite cocktail of the summer, Garden Party Cocktail. Some people might say no because of the Tequila, but honestly, Tequila is not exactly the flavour that comes through. So refreshing and delicious. Anyway, after we finished sipping on our cocktails, it was time for the first round of food. Mussels. Thai Coconut Curry Mussels. Yummy!!! We also had the mussels with a delicious bottle of white wine that Heather and I discovered at Bao-Bei on my birthday.

After the mussels, it was time for our main course: New York steak perfectly grilled on the BBQ with my yummy potato "risotto". For this round, we cracked open a bottle of wine that I have been hanging on to, Mission Hill's 2003 Syrah. Yummy!!!! We had a wonderful conversation, listened to music and bonded over our favorite things; good wine & food.

The best part......no doggie!!!! Yup, we had the place to ourselves. April and Andrew so kindly took our Sadie for the weekend. Don't get me wrong, we love our dog. But sometimes it's really nice just hanging out and not having to worry about taking her for walks. It's kind of like when the kids go to the grandparents for the weekend.

All in all, a fabulous weekend. Oh, and starting this week I will be making a recipe from one cookbook and one magazine. :)

Cooking Magazines & Books

I don't know about you, but I love cooking books and magazines. It's an obsession. I love how they look, I love how they smell, I love the glossy pictures, I love reading ingredients and imagining in my mind as to their taste and what I would do differently. I don't always use the recipes, but reading a bunch gives me ideas.

Yesterday I bought the new Donna Hay magazine that just came out. I went home, settled into my chair with a glass of white wine and flipped through the beautiful pages. Roasts, cakes, cocktails....all these wonderful recipes filling my mind. After I was done, I put the magazine down and realized something remarkable. I buy these magazines, I read them, study them, and then promptly file them away. Very rarely do I actually make something from them. One exception being my favorite cooking magazine series, Fine Cooking.

So I've decided to put my magazines and books to use. Every week, maybe twice a week, I will actually make a recipe from a book and/or magazine until I have officially made something from every book/magazine I own. I kind of started last night with my favorite book, Weber's Grilling: Over 200 Recipes (a must have book for anyone that owns a BBQ). Yes, I've made lots of delicious things from this book, but I figured this was an appropriate entry because what I had made is not something I usually do.....

Rob wanted corn on the cob. Rob never wants corn on the cob. So I figured that instead of the "normal" way to have this delicious summer veggie, I would BBQ it. So I went to my BBQ bible and found a recipe for corn on the cob, BBQ style. Now, it's not that hard to make corn on the cob via the BBQ, but what I found interesting was the butter paste you put on the corn before you BBQ it. Butter, parmesan cheese, basil, garlic, etc.....it was simply the most wonderful corn on the cob.