Dummies

I am fascinated by the "For Dummies" series of books. Last month I borrowed "Power Yoga" from the library. This week, I selected "Etiquette" and "Vocabulary". Next time I might try "Spanish Phrases", or "Latin". Learning is fun when no testing is involved.

Repeating the past

Dear new downtown Manitoba Hydro building (going back to entry #2 for the first mention):

I have this recurring fantasy that when employees move into you sometime after your projected completion date of May 2008, more people will be taking the bus, which means Winnipeg Transit will have to add more 11-K buses, and there are already a lot, so it’s going to be just fantastic.

http://www.hydro.mb.ca/issues/downtown_cams_north.shtml http://www.hydro.mb.ca/issues/downtown_cams_south.shtml


Your friend,
H.

Small Change

Lately, life has been mostly about small change. Nothing quite new years-resolutiony, just little things.

Getting out of bed earlier to stretch a little longer, mostly focusing on reversing my office-troll-hunch (over the computer desk) and lengthening my hamstrings (was (wo)man meant to touch his (her) toes? Because I wasn't quite made that way.).

Rolled some small change from a couple of jars we've been keeping. It added up to $23 - better than a kick in the pants.

Re-reading a favourite, just short of a year after I first did. I felt it was time again, and it's helping me cope with anger, and the winter at large.

Lastly, paying a little more attention to food labels, with a general goal of trying to eat more food that actually is food (mostly plants), which I just noticed that I also mentioned a year ago.

I'm not saying I won't eat anything with msg/transfats/etc, I'm just saying... well, to take the example of a granola bar versus a chocolate bar - if the granola bar has a similar nutritional value, I'd rather just eat the chocolate bar, y'know? It's not as succinct as these inspired words of wisdom, but it'll have to do.

Crochet World March-April 1990 Vol 13 Number 2

What's that, you say?




You heard me. I scanned these out of a Crochet World that my mom had lying around.

Home

Going for a long walk after work because it's finally hit a balmy -15: FREE

Passing a grown gentleman enjoying a Double Big Gulp slurpee as he walked past me: PRICELESS

Ruby Tuesday

I have a hearty craving for food of the Ruby Tuesday variety. We ate there twice (same location) on our honeymoon through SD, and now I'm stuck surfing the menu, a mere four hours north of a whopping 3 locations in Fargo alone. Both visits I had the salad bar (so good), and my husband had the mini-burgers, which he found beyond delicious and I found teeth-achingly cute.

Case of the Mondays

Here is a photo taken from our old apartment.


I wouldn't mind seeing a rainbow or five after this long, cold winter.

Sunday Snark

Where do I go, when I want to indulge in a light snark?

TV - Television Without Pity

Celebrits - Oh No They Didn't

Baby-sitter's Club - Baby-sitters Club Snark-fest

Winter Springs

Path to Pelican Lake near Ninette, MB - this is what happens when springs flow out from underground during the winter.

You say it's your birthday

Today, a belated happy birthday wish to a Mr. Rick Astley (Feb 6).

Fun facts:

• Rick Astley and Tone Loc were born in the same year
• Rick Astley and Tone Loc are both awesome

Gailed

I saw Gail Vaz-Oxlade speak on Wednesday. She tells it like it is, just like on her show. My husband and I introduced ourselves and she recognized him from posting on her blog, because we're cool like that. He and I have had a few good talks since then, and today we finally had a date with the tape measure and a home improvement store to cost out the impending basement renos. Then we tried to ascertain whether it was possible to go to the Daytona 500 next February as well as to Europe in a year and a half (2009), and determined that short of a bingo windfall, it's looking like no, though a smaller race in March might be a possibility. Especially as I can't possibly visit Florida without accidentally visiting every Disney and Universal Studios park. I guess we'll see how everything goes with the basement first.

Spanakopita

Spanakopita is one of the only things I know how to properly make. I can teach you to make it too. Let me know if you want to give it a go. Here are the ingredients:

phyllo:
1 pkg phyllo pastry (the kind from Superstore, with the recipe and directions inside)

filling:
1 pkg frozen spinach
~175 g of ricotta cheese (the recipe says feta, but I prefer the ricotta, and usually get the light variety)
1/2 pkg (125 g) cream cheese (usually use the light variety)
about a stick of butter, or margarine (I use butter, to make up for the lower fat ricotta & cream cheese)

As I recall, the recipe also says something about pine nuts and garlic, but I don't worry about such things.

The filling according to the recipe isn't quite enough for all 36 triangles (which you should get out of 1 pkg of phyllo pastry), so you might end up making a bit of apple mixture to fill the remainder, or you might end up just filling them with leftover ricotta. I'm just saying.

Alright Ireland!

In 2002, Ireland passed a tax on plastic bags; customers who want them must now pay 33 cents per bag at the register. There was an advertising awareness campaign. And then something happened that was bigger than the sum of these parts.

Within weeks, plastic bag use dropped 94 percent. (NYT)

94 percent! That's a heck of an accomplishment.

That being said, while I am rocking some classier office clothes, I still need to buy a big-girl purse that fits my lunch so that I can stop toting my not-so-classy reusable supermarket bags to work.

Hello, fashion lovers

Last weekend, I took a trip to another province with my sister and good friend, to see our favourite band play a show. While there, they and another friend played Stacy & Clinton as I played the chosen one.

I don't know exactly which combination of reasons caused me to accumulate so many unflattering clothes over the years, that did not properly fit me, but it was time to make some changes.

I tried on a lot of clothes in a few sessions over the two days. I learned a lot, like if something is hard to get on at first, it probably actually fits. A few sweaters tried to eat me in the change room before the girls were able to straighten them on my body. Upon my return, I also learned that well-placed safety pins makes shirts with buttons fit far better, though adding 5-10 minutes to my morning routine.

The girls don't know this, but the day after I got home, I tried on a lot more clothes - the ones that were already in my closet. Then I filled a garbage bag with clothes that I should not be wearing, for numerous reasons, which I will drop into a charity box when I get around to it.

I had a lot of excuses for not dressing properly, but I'm slowly getting over them, with a little help from my friends.