While friends and family down East enjoyed a snow day on Friday I still had to slug it out at work. Sigh. I could really use a snow day. Saturday and Sunday are days off--yes--but they are not snow days. A snow day is a gift--a treasure--a bonus! A snow day is a day that can be spent with a good book and no feelings of guilt because you didn't do the dishes or laundry--they are not scheduled snow day activities.

I would like to spend my day today reading a book or visiting the 4 or 5 Value Village stores in Edmonton...but I really need to clean and do a load of laundry and clean out the truck and buy groceries...etc. Hmmm.

.....almost 2 hours later and no official decision on what to do today has been made. Breakfast is over, the dishes are done and I'm enjoying my free extra channels on tv. I've been addicted to deja view since switching over to Telus for my communication needs. It shows so many of the classics--Golden Girls, Cosby Show, Who's the Boss, Three's Company....all the good wholesome shows of yesteryear. You remember the time before 'reality tv' took over. I miss good half hour sitcoms.

Just over a month till my temporary return to PEI. I really need a vacation.

4 years ago today I arrived in Pangnirtung, Nunavut. (New-na-vout) Which means that 4 years and 4 days ago I left PEI to embark on a new adventure. Wow...time sure does fly. During those four years I've been to Newfoundland, Boston, various places in Maine, Ottawa, Montreal, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Yellowknife and lets not forget the trip to India. In the territory I made it to 16 communities. Not bad mileage for an Island girl. :)

Would I consider going back up North? Yes and No. I carry so many wonderful memories of my time up North...memories that I hope I keep and cherish for many years to come. I'm glad for the blog I kept during my time in Nunavut. I printed off the entire blog and it sits in two binders in my storage closet...in case it isn't available online in the future. My art collection and appreciation for art have certainly grown in the past few years. I guess my love of art has always been with me but when you get to meet the artist and watch them create the art it certainly changes your feeling. The landscape is/was amazing. Rough and gentle all at the same time.

The North can be a hard plae to live. The long winter nights, the isolation from things, people and places. The cost of living in the North both mentally and financially can be hard on people. It isn't like you can just go for a visit...the closet community will cost you a plane ticket and hotel room, not a highway toll.

It is a difficult place to explain. You love it or you hate it there is no room for in between.

I've recently explored the possibility of going back up North....I don't think it is in the cards at the moment...but I've learned not to say never.

My new favorite kitchen tool--my hand blender. Thanks to Mom and Dad for that great Christmas present. I am blending everything. I made turkey soup after Christmas and 'creamed it' with my hand blender. It was so yummy. Cream of Turkey and Vegetable soup without the dairy. Sunday of this past weekend I made some vegetable soup and again out came the hand blender. It is SOOOOO good.It is good due to a combination of FRESH herbs and the hand blender. Yes, fresh herbs make a huge difference. I even made my own pasta sauce a couple weeks ago with some diced tomatoes and fresh veggies.

Friday evening was nice. It is always good to visit with old pals. And the funny thing is I will be seeing him again in a few weeks in Cambridge Bay. This is the person from Pangnirtung that I used to dog sit for--Saber. It was a nice visit until I got us a bit, hmmm, misplaced. Let's just say that you can't turn left where I wanted/needed to so I took another route--which was under construction so I had to detour. I followed the detour signs until I didn't see anymore of them and by this time I figured we were really on the wrong track. I think that had I of continued down the road we would have eventually come out close to where I wanted to be, but I wasn't willing to chance it...so I tried to back track but realized I hadn't been paying attention to some of the turns and ended up on another street. I finally took out the McDonald's map and within two turns was able to get back on track. No worries...no one was harmed and it was only about a 10 minute detour.

I'm finding it hard to believe it is the end of January and at the same time I'm tired of January...come on February....its a short month and always seems to fly. Off to bed with another good book courtesy of the local library.

They have begun.

I mentioned a while ago there might be ads showing up on my blog. They are here and I'll decide in the next couple of months if I am going to keep them or not. It is part of an experiment I am doing so bear with me.

It's Wednesday...um, no actually it is Saturday. I'm not sure why I wrote Wednesday the first time. Huh. Oh well.

I headed to the Farmer's Market again today. I'd go all the time but the 30-40 minute drive is certainly a deterrent to me. The shelves at the market were a bit bare. I'm going to assume it is because it is late January and everyone's yummy produce has been sold and they are displaying all they have left. The meat folks and bread folks are still doing great but the yummy veggies are certainly at a low. I bought some yummy carrots--orange, purple and yellow. They are super sweet. Also picked up a nice fresh looking cabbage, some fresh made bagels and a spaghetti squash.

If you have never tried spaghetti squash I highly recommend it. It is super easy, takes awesome and gives your body a vitamin boost.

Take spaghetti squash and cut in half vertically or horizontally--remove seeds (just like a pumpkin). Place cut size down on a baking sheet and pop into the over for about an hour at 400 degrees. If you can get a fork through the rind it is done. Simply scrape out the inside and voila! spaghetti squash. It comes out in strings--like spaghetti. It has a very soft flavour and I really enjoy mine with a meaty pasta sauce.

I am looking forward to eating mine in the next day or so.

My eye and nose are on the mend but still not quite 100%. Last time it took two rounds of the anti-biotics and I think it will be the same again.

I had a trip to the library today. I have now officially paid for my library card--it was $12. I read the Julia Childs bio, and have rented a couple of dvd's. Money well spent. This week I am enjoying Season 2 of Meerkat Manor and another novel. Things were getting a bit out of hand the past couple of weeks with books around here. I had three on the go at the same time. Yep, three. Each one a different mood, different room and different type. I may cut down to two this week as I have been neglecting one book that I started a couple weeks ago. And now...to find something decent on tv.

No rest for the wicked...I must be really bad. After the Dr appointment yesterday I headed to the office...for a couple hours...famous last words. Why you are asking did I go in? Because people expect to be paid.

I've been pulling double duty since November 2--payroll and HR. Yeah me. Not! Monday my temp help for payroll started and of course I was then gone the next day...unfortunately payroll needs to go in this week and since I am the only one who knows how to do it...I had to slog in. I survived the afternoon but desperately wish I didn't need to go in today. Sigh.

I have the meds and am hoping they kick in quickly but I don't seem to recall a quick fix last time, in fact I recall having to go back and get a second round of the antibiotic. Hmmm.

And yes, I can't believe it is already the 21st of January...this month is flying...thank goodness. I will be quite happy to see the beginning of February. Maybe I just need some flowers to make myself feel better.

Oh, I have an old friend popping through Edmonton on the weekend. We are having supper on Friday night and then I am helping with some shopping before he heads up to (ironically enough) Cambridge Bay. We met in Pangnirtung four years ago this month. Life never ceases to amaze me. I'm looking forward to seeing him and catching up on the news.

It is day 4 of no diet pepsi. Surprisingly things are going well. I had a moment of hesitation today when I ordered lunch at McDonalds...what would I get to drink? I opted for Chocolate milk. Healthy! Yeah, sure it is only 4 days...but with no cravings that is impressive.

The eye/sinus problem that reared its head last year is back...I have a Dr app't tomorrow and will hope to get on the same meds as last year...and will then buy some Benadryl. Last year when I went on the medication I am hoping to be put on again I was having issues with allergic reactions. Here's to hoping I won't need the allergy pills this time.

I spent the day at home today. My eye was too messed up this am to drive safely and then based on the issues I was having at home I'm glad didn't go in. Staring at the screen, tv or reading all hurt after a few minutes. I can only imagine how great I would have performed at work in front of two monitors. The problem though with being home when you aren't feverish, vomiting, generally feeling totally miserable is that boredom can kick in. I couldn't watch tv--but I listened. I couldn't read. Couldn't work on any of my photos or read a good book. I sat on the couch and thought about all the stuff I'd like to do. I shouldn't complain...I did manage to get a few of my pictures re-arranged on the walls but that is about the extent of accomplishments.

I am hoping to go in tomorrow after my Dr app't. If I can see. If not they said stay home and we can always bring stuff to you...yeah, thanks..just what I want. LOL.

Can you believe that it is almost the end of the week? YEAH!

Now, who's going to cook supper?

Countdown to PEI continues...41 days. It is going to be a jam packed hive of activity. The problem with vacations is that there never seems to be enough time to accomplish everything on your list. Ah well.

Not much else new today...just working on some homework. I didn't sleep well last night and had to be up super early this am so I thin me and my book are going to hit the bed and get to know one another. Hope your week started off well...start as you mean to go on!

Sunday. A great day and a depressing day all in the same way. It's a great day because all the cares and worries of the week before have faded away. The depressing side becomes the realization that in less than 24 hours one must return to work and the cycle starts all over again.


Today's post is about cooking!

I love to cook. I don't know if I have shared that with you before. I would love to be the kind of person who hosts dinner parties all the time and has people over for cocktails. I don't seem to live that lifestyle at the moment and so the only one enjoying my culinary experiments is me...but that's ok. I enjoy the labour of love regardless.

I have in the past had cupboards full of cookbooks. Cupboards. I went through a phase a number of years back when I was buying sets of cookbooks from Value Village, Salvation Army, yard sales, etc. I wanted/needed more. I could imagine in my mind the meals I would cook and how fun it would be to experiment. Well, things change. I pared down on the number of books in 2005. I narrowed it down to about 2 cupboards full. When I moved North the majority went into storage and I took only a few essential books--Fanny Farmer, the Tryon Christian Friends cookbook and the Taste of Home cookbook. I purchased a couple while living in Nunavut, Indian food and one for the slow cooker. Arriving back in the South and being re-connected with my collection of cookbooks was great--and I decided to start narrowing down again.

I've purged the cookbooks a couple times in the past 18 months and will be doing a bit more today. A couple weekends ago I decided I'd try a recipe each week from one of my cookbooks--best of intentions and all that. I opened up my slow cooker book found a recipe that looked interesting and wrote down the shopping list. It still hasn't made it to the pot. The slow cooker recipes seem to be extremely high in fat and calories. Why would I spend time slaving over a dinner when the fat content is equivalent of a big mac? So the cookbook is headed to the VV box. I'm trying to eat healthy--I'm getting older you know and the fat and calorie count are more important then say 15 years ago.

The cooking spree will begin shortly. This week I am making my Shepards Pie recipe--its my own recipe. I substitute ground lamb for the hamburger--lamb has such a nice flavour and doesn't need fancy spices to give it flavour. I use pureed cauliflower instead of potatoes. I'm not adding peas this time instead I'm going to try a combination of diced carrots and turnip. Yep, Sheppard Pie my way. I'm also making some spaghetti squash today. Also on the menu, Lazy Chicken. It's a recipe from the Christian Friends cookbook--tried and true homemade recipes. I'm stock piling. It's great coming home to ready to eat foods. The meals from today will keep me going for a couple weeks. Can't beat that. The only problem is that I like to cook so much by next Sunday I will want to cook again and not need to. It's probably a good thing I dumped my small deep freeze or I'd end up cooking enough meals for a few months and then they would go to waste.

The cauliflower is calling!

Thanks for all the positive feedback on my visit. I knew I could count on you! I will let you know my plans closer to the actual date--and yes, a visit with some former work pals is definitely on the menu.

Habit forming...

How many days does it take to form a habit or change your behaviour? Apparently 21 or 30. A new friend M said it was 19 days. She was pretty close according to my limited research. Today is January 13--for those New Years Day resolution makers that means you are half or just over half way to making your resolution a new habit. Congratulations! Or have you laid that project aside already?

If you wish to change a habit or behaviour in your lifestyle you need a plan. If you are going to stop smoking--what are you going to do instead? If you want to exercise every day what are you eliminating from your schedule to fit it in? Have you written down a plan of action? Have you written down your goal? Your reward? What happens if you fail? Do you give up entirely or re-group, evaluate and try again?

I have attempted several times in my life to give up pop. Diet Pepsi specifically. I just don't seem able to break the habit. The little voice in my head is always saying "If this is the only bad habit you have why give it up? You aren't addicted to crack cocaine...it's only pop." And I always agree with the little voice and crack open another can. Ah, refreshing. Long time readers know I even wrote a post one day about my love of diet pepsi. Can I give it up? Why would I give it up? I am preparing to potentially give it up--again. It is more of a financial thing that anything. It costs me a fair bit of cash to support my habit. It may not seem like a lot of money, likely about $7.50 per week on average. $7.50 X 52 weeks is $390.00. That is one sweet shopping spree at my favorite clothing store or a couple nights in a hotel somewhere.

Do you get the feeling I've been looking at my budget lately and crunching some numbers? LOL. I blame TLC. Over the holidays they kept showing all these budgeting shows and how they people on the shows can save some money. I figured after looking at my budget I should give it a try and pare back in a few places. There are a number of fixed costs that can't change, so something that is an elective needs to be cut/eliminated/cut back. It's something I think I will try and do every six months or so. Hey, I purge everything else in my house a few times a year--why not my finances?

The first cut was to my cable/internet/phone bill. For the next 6 months it will be half of what it presently is at the end of the 6 months it will be about 75% of the current bill. I'm switching companies. Simple. Done. What next? What else could I do I asked myself? Ah, the food budget. The one area I've always allowed myself to just spend what I want. I still need to eat and I like to eat well so what could I do? Hmmm, I looked at the case of DP sitting across the room waiting to head to my office and knew. It must be the DP. Perhaps it is the limited Catholic training in me saying that if I am going to give something up it needs to be meaningful and be hard...not like giving up dating for lent...cause I haven't dated in months...so giving it up for lent wouldn't mean much would it? Giving up DP will have meaning in my life.

So...19, 21 or 30 days...it's all the same isn't it. So...here's the game plan. I have a few DP left at the office...I am allowed to finish those over the next couple days...then give them up and not buy anymore. I am leaving for Cambridge Bay in mid-February and that will about a month for my experiment. The plan...cause if I am going to take DP out of life I need to find something to fill the gap. I am now officially a tea person so I am going to buy myself a nice green tea to fill some of the gap and some Crystal Light water flavoring to fill the other part of the gap. There will be an initial outlay of $ for the tea and flavoring, but not as much as the DP costs over all.

If I fail, I am not going to worry about it--after all this is diet pepsi we are talking about, not crack cocaine.

Let the experiment begin!

Let's give a big HURRAH for weekends! What a marvelous invention. I had a zillion things on my list to do...or possible to dos and have managed to accomplish simply the basics. I have clean clothes and food for next week. Time to relax.

In about 50 days I will be getting on an airplane headed East. Yep, I'm going to be on PEI in early March. (Insert look of shock and smile here!) The trip to Italy off and vacation time to use...well, kind of. Let's say a good seat sale and some persuasion and a ticket was booked. I'll be on the Island March 2-16. At some point closer to the actual visit I will post a couple of chances to get-together for coffee/lunch/drinks. As with most trips there are so many people to see and never enough time to have individual visits.

It will be just over 18 months since I stepped foot on the sandbar.

If I hear one more person say "Why March?" I am going to cancel the trip. As an adult with a job I'm sure you understand that when you want to take holidays and when you can take holidays do not always match. Sure, I'd love to book my ticket to PEI during late July when the water is warm and the surf is up. But that is my busiest time at work. I have 250+ employees to take care of and with two week on and two week off rotations there is always a person (or ten) to hire. July is not a good time for me to be away. Take it or leave it.

Why, when someone is excited about something do people need to be negative? Instead of "Oh yeah, that's great. Can't wait to see you." I get..."Why March? You should visit in June."

Sigh.

All the negativity aside I am still looking forward to the visit. I have a list of things and places to see or do including a birthday party for my niece and nephew. I can't believe it has been 18 months. Huh. See you soon PEI!

Good thing I didn't make any resolutions about posting every day in 2010.

Airport Security.

I've noticed lately a lot of talk about airport security. On Christmas day there was a breach of security on a flight headed into the US. Suddenly we are boosting security measures--again. About two weeks after 9-1-1 I flew to the US. It was a flight that I had been taking on a regular basis for quite some time at that point. Routine. Yes, security was tighter than I had seen it before but it wasn't interfering with my life, my ability to get on an airplane and it didn't involve my personal life.

Flying has been at least up to now, one of the safest forms of travel. Fewer people die from a flight than car accidents every year. That stat seems to make the non-flyers comfortable. It doesn't bother me either way. Flying is a safe, comfortable way to go. Perhaps I am too trusting, but I have always left the regulation of safety and security measures up to a higher power so to speak--the government. The set speed limits, seat belt usage, all kinds of measures and rules to help keep me, my passengers and everyone else on the road safe. I  have also always felt that they are going to try and keep me safe in the air.

If the government wants to increase security measures to keep me safe while I am strapped into a plane 30,000 feet above the ground--let them. While I may be able to swerve my vehicle out of the way of incoming traffic that could harm me, stop my vehicle and toss an unruly passenger out, (which I never have had to do thankfully), or slow my speed to avoid a collision these options are not available to me in the air. Let's face it--you are trapped in a tin can with wings. Long time readers know how much I enjoy to fly. Love to fly might be a better phrase. My suitcase is ready to be packed in minutes and I'm out the door shouting 'where are we going'. So the idea of being strapped into the tin can is of no bother to me,it is a fun, exciting trip even if it is only a flight to Vancouver.

When I hear people talking about the new security regulations the governments are implementing and how against it some people are I have to wonder--what is your plan if it happens on your flight?

A full body scan. It really doesn't seem bad to me. If it keeps me safe and everyone else on my flight safe--DO IT. As with most security measures in place there is a chance some of the information will be leaked, tapped into somehow and my personal scan could potentially be floating around in cyber space. So. What are you going to get out of a body scan? You might see a few piercings in places you were not expecting, you might see who has tiny bits of steel and titanium inside them, find out who really is big boned. But so what? Unlike a potential breech of information from a financial institute what are you really getting out of my scan? 

I will admit that I have not done research on the new scan machines. My only information comes from the snippets I see and hear on the news. I'm not planning to do research. It is being implemented--period. I can't see the harm. If it keeps me potentially safer when flying--great. Do it. Mr Airport Security Guard, I'm ready for my close up.

Time is flying by this year...can you believe it is the 5th of January? I can't. I kept putting the 4th on everything I did today. Luckily when writing the year I generally catch myself before putting the 9 down and slip a 1 in front of the zero.

I feel like I have accomplished a lot already this year. I know that seems odd and the accomplishments are minor but I am 'starting as I would like to go on'. Yeah, that sounds right. Work is its usual up and down roller coaster ride. Just when my stomach starts to settle another event happens and we are off to the races again. Oh well, it pays the bills. What have I accomplished? The apartment is clean and tidy and remains so 5 days running and I am waiting for the water to cool a bit before tackling the dishes. I like to pat myself on the back for the little things.

Thank you for all the wonderful ideas for my jewelry. It seems like when you think about an issue you either solve it yourself or get stuck and can't seem to think of anything. I was the later, now I am first one and thanks to your ideas and suggestions I have a ton of thoughts running through my head. A trip to Ikea, Walmart and Home Depot are now in my future. I'm going to look at a number of different options. If the jewelery is going to take up a significant amount of wall space I would like it to be nice to look at.

Plans for the week include taking my recycles to the recycle place (including my tree and all the boxes from the office), finding out if I need another eye appointment in order to replace the glasses that were stolen from my truck (in October--yes, I'm finally getting around to replacing them), and a trip to the laundromat this weekend. I actually did laundry here on Christmas day and while I did get it all done I must say I enjoy my jaunts to the laundromat. The movie and subway sub certainly don't hurt the occasion, but it is mostly for the people watching that I enjoy going. If I didn't do movie and sub it would be cheaper by far than my building, but the cost outweighs my time and efforts. I can't wait for home ownership to come knocking on my door so I can have my own machines again.

And that is about the excitement in my life this week....laundry and buying new glasses. Yep, look out I'm wild and loose in the city.

Welcome to 2010!

I haven't forgotten you out there in cyber world, I've just been taking a break from reality for a bit. I can't say I'm back to reality but I am writing again. I took a short walk yesterday, short because I was not dressed to be outside. The plan was to walk and take photos but I should learn to check the weather channel before walking out the door. A cold Arctic wind blasted me as I rounded the first corner. I made it a couple blocks before heading back to the house. Yes, I could have put on a different coat and headed back out but the mood was lost. I am aiming to try again tomorrow.

The trip to Italy is off. Lots of reasons, I'm the one that canceled. Sometimes you gotta go with the gut.

I'm looking for ideas to store/display my jewelry. If anyone has some ideas I would certainly appreciate it. I have tried a couple of different things and they never seem to work. I need something that will hang a lot of necklaces and display my earrings. I have a fair amount of jewelry and don't wear half of it because it gets lost in the drawer. At the moment most of it lives in clear fishing tackle boxes but it isn't working.

Here's my tip to you when buying a new wallet. Try it out first with your bank card, visa, valued shoppers card, etc. I purchased a wallet in Banff summer of '08 and it needed replacing this year. I purchased one at Value Village--it looked new. I would have been surprised if anyone had used it. I took it home and found out why. I can't get my cards into it. Someone at work said the spaces would relax after a bit, but it has been a few weeks and I have given up using it because I almost couldn't pay for my groceries the other night--my bank card was stuck. Today I headed out to Walmart and purchased another wallet. I tested it out in the middle of the store. The guy buying a new wallet didn't try his...I wish him luck.

It's the beginning of a new year...many people are making resolutions. My only resolution is to make and break all my resolutions. I hate setting myself up for failure. Sure I'd like to be a better person, lose 10 pounds and all that, but a NY resolution isn't going to make me a better person, I am. It takes personal dedication to change habits and the desire to change. The date on the wall is not going to give me desire or dedication. I prefer to take on new tasks and changes when I feel like it.

A few projects I am working on this year...on going and a few new ones....

-another necklace (I bought the supplies in August)
-some scrapbooking (maybe 2 or 3 pages)
-macro-photography (I need a new lens)
-going to the library again (I did in Calgary but stopped when I reached Edmonton)
-sort some of my many folders of pictures--and print a few off--I need more wall space to hang them

and finally, picking one recipe every other week out of one of my many cookbooks.

Most of the above has been in motion for a few months/weeks...

I have selected two pieces of art for my office walls. They are prints, one from Pang and one from hmmm, I think Iglook. I'll post pictures once the office is finished.

You may start to see ads on my blog. Consider it an experiment. I am also going to try and expand my audience...so topics would be greatly appreciated. I don't know what to write about some days and so I ramble.

No new interesting photos, but I thought I'd re-post a few from my trip to Paris.I find it hard to believe that it was December 2005 that I was there....