Thursday, April 21, 2011

#.64 Adopt an awkward teenager

Does my brother count?!

I have no options of awkward teenagers; I do however have one homeless brother who just happened to find a summer job in my town for the summer. He is working for Bell so any of you Canadians who are pissed with your telephone or internet service and want to take it out on somebody – I’ve got a sitting duck.

Will living with my brother be awkward? I would say definitely. I haven’t lived with my brother since the 90’s when we were forced to live together. He was so tiny we weren’t allowed to swear, Santa and the Easter bunny were still real, and my mom still picked out his clothes.

Now he’s turning 24 next month and occupying a spare room. When he moved in he brought groceries – a case of pepsi and a bag of bacon. He comes to me straight from living with four other guys in a house where posters of naked chicks on the walls were the norm.

The kid (and I can call him that because I’m so old) can eat. There will never be leftovers in my house. I ‘don’t do’ left overs, but this will probably cause T some discomfort when he can’t have a piece of lasagne or a taco for breakfast.

Speaking of T, he loves this new living situation. A live in friend to watch sports with, drink beers with, golf with, and play video games with, is the best thing that could happen to him. I myself, got a quote to get a bathroom installed in the basement, hopeful that if I put a fridge and a bathroom in they’ll never leave the man cave.

When my sister lived with us it was great. I had a chick for chick flicks, chick TV shows, shopping, and late night conversations, now I’ll have to ward off all the manliness from taking over as I’m outnumbered.

Wish me luck!

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

#80. Care about where your food comes from

It’s almost time for local farmer’s markets to get set up and start selling all of their produce and I can’t wait. With the cost of fuel going through the roof, and the fact that the majority of produce is delivered via truck, the price of food is going to increase.

So why pay higher prices for produce in the grocery store that come from Mexico (nothing against Mexico, I LOVE Mexico), when you can support someone locally and support your economy instead of Mexico’s – they get enough of our tourism dollars.

I am talking produce only. I am guilty of going over to the US and purchasing everyday groceries. Do I care that I am not supporting my local economy? no. Most items in the US are 20% cheaper, they have greater selection, and when they have a sale on something compared to the price here it feels like you are stealing it. The scene from the Ikea comerical when the lady comes out running "start the car, start the car!!" is exactly how it feels.


Sure there is gas at insanely high prices to get there, but fill your car up over there. You’ll thank me.

I have found that Canada has certain health regulations on products that the US doesn’t. For example their milk and cheese products – see THIS article. Just don’t buy those products if you are concerned. Or read the labels, if you know exactly what you need to avoid you can still find the products that meet Canadian regulations and they are still cheaper than here.

I also don’t tend to purchase meat in the US (as it is not supposed to come across the border), I always purchase a side of beef with my parents and stockpile our freezer once a year. I find that this option is great as you know where the cow came from (my parent’s friends), it is cheaper to buy in bulk, and lasts forever.

My aunt also has chickens so we trade empty egg cartons for full ones every time we are in the area.

Am I going to pay the insane prices for ‘organic’ produce? Not until the label ‘organic’ is regulated. The local farmers will continue to receive my produce purchases. I think your health and wallet will greatly appreciate it if you inform yourself of what you are putting in your body.

And, no matter where you are – buy local produce (if possible) !

Friday, April 15, 2011

#95. Give yourself flowers

What are your favourite flowers? Or favourite flowers to receive? Sure I could go grab a bouquet of flowers pretty much anywhere, but I wanted to give myself a gift that will keep on giving.

T and flowers are a rare sight. I believe in the 5+ years we’ve been together I’ve gotten flowers three times (I’m not counting the fake flowers he bought once – epic fail). So he’s not even averaging once per year. If I don’t buy my own flowers there are never any in the house.

While living in the city with no gardens or yard I would often go to a farmers market on the weekend and pick up fresh bouquets of whatever was available for $5. They would freshen up the drab colorless walls and the too white kitchen and bring a little of the outdoors (which we didn’t have much of) in.

So this year instead of just going out and buying $5 bouquets I’ve decided I’d like to plant flowers of my own. Flowers that will come in every year, that I can pick out of my own garden and put in vases, to show my relatively small green thumb.

While shopping at Costco I found these lovely Stargazer Lilly bulbs - 18 for $12.99
I plan on planting these in the yard and that they turn out to look like these that I found in Collingwood last summer on vacation.

Hopefully in a few months I’ll be able to update with a pic of the gorgeous flowers these bulbs turn into.

Friday, April 8, 2011

#74. Jettison your ‘skinny’ jeans & #69. Own a cashmere sweater

There is no greater fear or level of un-comfortableness than a muffin top and I am against all skinny jeans, leggings, jeggings, or anything with the word ‘skinny’ in the title. Tapering at the bottom of anything below your thighs should be illegal. There is no optical illusion that makes that look appear fabulous on anyone over a size 4.

So do I dare attempt to pull off a skinny jean? Hell no.

In reality I should have put on skinny jeans last April after I ran the ½ marathon, but clearly I wasn’t thinking straight. However I was thinking straight enough to go out and buy a whole new wardrobe in my new ‘smaller’ size for spring.

So what do I dread more than ‘skinny’ jeans? I dread squeezing my winter ass back into that tiny wardrobe. I’ve done zumba over the winter once a week, and have been running/walking once or twice a week once the ice melted, but with my recovery of my back sprain, my phsyical activity has quite toned down from last year this time.

Well today was the day. I was in a bit of a wardrobe funk and decided a pair of capris purchased last spring would complete the outfit. I’ve been off the mocha’s this week (probably another reason for the vodka last night?!) and having been eating somewhat healthier for the past few weeks (what big mac?!). So why not? The weather was supposed to be above 10 degrees and sunny so the start into spring clothing should take place.

Shockingly enough they still fit! So today I wear the ‘skinniest’ item I own and it still fits. Mind you the sun never came out, I don’t believe the weather has gotten anywhere close to 10 degrees, but they fit, so I don’t care.

#69 Own a cashmere sweater


I have been eying cashmere sweaters all winter to purchase but can never justify the price. T has some nice cashmere sweaters I have bought him over the years as gifts, but I’ve never spent that kind of money on a sweater for myself. So I was holding out until winter sales took place and I could get one for a good deal.

So here is what I bought! It was regular $238 on for $99 at Garnet Hill and a co-worker will be in the states next week so I have had it shipped it to her. Plus with the Canadian dollar being so good right now, it’s really not even the $99! I wanted something that I could wear both to work and on weekends and not look too done up but still be comfy. With my luck the first time I wear it I’ll spill something chocolate down the front of it.

Thursday, April 7, 2011

#37. Minimize pointless drama

This post is coming to you live from my closet where I’m currently in the dark drinking vodka listening to Sarah Slean sing ‘good night trouble’ over and over again. I determined that all of my pointless drama in the past 24 hours has come via something electronic so my Blackberry is currently two floors away in silent mode.

There is something to be said about my closet being my comfort place. I like it, it’s dark, it’s quiet, I can see my clothes and shoes, hell even my wedding dress is in here. Maybe after a few more vodkas I’ll throw it on for old times’ sake and make T dance with me? He loves me, he really does.

So, shit happens to everyone right? Just on different days, and then there are some days where it’s coming at you from all angles and it takes everything in you to just function. Generating complete thoughts or compiling complete sentences is just out. The commute home I didn’t know whether to laugh, sing, or ugly cry? I’m pretty sure all three made performances worth golden globes.

Ok, now actually listening more to the lyrics than “good night trouble”, it states “I kissed my friend”, so if you are in fact listening to the song it in no way relates to any of my current pointless drama… thank god.

Ok, so back to topic. How do you determine what is pointless? Watching drama filled tv shows like 90210 (guilty), or Grey’s Anatomy (guilty again), or how about that ER Pet Rescue … those are just setting yourself up, but what if it’s real life? What if it’s people close to you?

I guess you just determine it’s out of your control. There’s nothing you can do and worrying is not going to get you anywhere,… but maybe to the kitchen to get another glass of vodka (not straight, I’m not that crazy).

So to feel better and to relieve some drama inducing stress if I could right now I would give x* a job, I would remove the knife from x’s back, I would buy x a house, and I would love to be spending all of my time at a (not close) hospital doing crosswords, talking baseball, and watching the masters with x.

So from all of this rambling learn that whatever is tossed at you only makes you stronger (or just believe that as it helps you push through it), learn coping mechanisms (like drinking vodka randomly in your closet), and avoid pointless drama so that you have more gumption (love that word) to handle the larger drama’s that you have no control over.

*note that 'x' is not the same person.

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

#65. Eat Soy & #29. Make brownies from scratch

Here is what I made to ‘eat soy’ - Omega 3 Broccoli Slaw

I saw this recipe and decided that it looked easy to make and would be a healthy lunch option to make ahead of time and then grab in the mornings on my way out the door. The recipe called for soy sauce so it couldn’t have been more perfect. While grocery shopping on the weekend I picked up pre-packaged broccoli slaw and everything else I didn’t have in the house – who has seasoned goat cheese lying around? It took more time I think to gather the ingredients it did than to make a ‘batch’. I made two batches with the second adding a bit more soy sauce for the purpose of later re-heating. T happened to be lurking around and was starving and ended up loving this recipe. I didn’t bother trying it, just packaged it up and put it in the fridge for lunches.

Today I pull it out for lunch and this is probably just me, but I hate the smell and taste of re-heated broccoli… yes I know I’m not very bright for not thinking of this prior to making batches. I got a few bites in finding the bites with the goat cheese to be the best, but ended up eating a sandwich that was catered into the office for meetings. I am a very picky eater, so don’t take my opinion of this recipe to heart, T absolutely loves it, and that’s good because I’ve got enough stuff for another two batches in my fridge.

After the making and the storing of the broccoli slaw I decided it was time to make the brownies from scratch. I don’t usually bake anything from scratch, cook – yes, bake – no. I looked up a recipe and decided I wanted to make it my own. I had purchased and laid out all the ingredients listed on my recipe, and I wanted a ‘peanut butter’ taste to the brownies, so I purchased Reese’s peanut butter cups to melt down and ice the brownies with.

While on the phone with my mother I mixed all the ingredients and put them in the oven, got off the phone, became distracted, and completely forgot I had anything in the oven. I don’t know why I have an aversion to using the oven timer – it drives T up a wall.

Anyway, 10 minutes after the brownies should have come out I catch a wiff of the smell from upstairs and run screaming “NO, NO, NO, NO” through the house. I pull them out of the oven and after close inspection determine they are not burnt, possibly a little dry.

Melting Reese’s peanut butter cups is extremely easy, spreading them over brownies before they harden back up again – hard. So I iced the brownies in sections and all in all, I think they turned out ok? Ok enough that T has eaten ½ the pan and opted out of dinner last night and just ate brownies. I can’t judge, my favourite Thursday night dinners are popcorn and wine in front of the TV.

Looks like cake, doesn't it?!