Tabs

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Renting a Car

I just picked up the car I rented to get to North Battleford. I ordered a mid size car, but they only had a full size one for me (at no extra cost which I suppose is a good thing?). I then drove back to work and proceeded to have a melt down in some other office building's parking lot. I usually rent mid size cars (like the Civic or the Cobalt) because they are the perfect size for me. I can park and zip around with ease. This full size car I have an issue judging just how big it is (it feels like a boat to me) and I couldn't parallel park it. And then I felt really stupid. And then really mad at myself for feeling stupid. Which made me really mad at the rental place for not providing me with what I had asked for and therefore leading me to have a huge melt down.

This has made me jump to the conclusion that by next spring I will buy my own car. A cute mid size one that I love driving around. I am also still a bit upset right now with the entire parking situation and this could just be upset talk.

I have no idea how I am going to park this thing in all of the situations where I will need to park it in the next week. I ended up parking it in the fairly empty lot at work and hope they will only give me a parking warning.

Sunday, October 25, 2009

Busy Weekend and a Busy Week

What a fantastic weekend.

I was able to attend the ballet and watched Romeo and Juliet leap and twirl through out Verona. I sat in my usual Silver (aka second) Balcony seats, but had row A so didn't have to worry about any body's head. My ballet partner is moving out of the province so I am taking applications for a new partner. I still want to see Moulin Rouge and Elton this season.

This morning was GirlTalk's Books and Brunch, and once again conversation was great. Everyone had a similar story to share that related to Eat, Pray, Love. I also have a lot of thinking to do from the sage advice I listened to today in regards to my own relationship situation. The idea of making the wrong decision terrifies me. The idea of life always being like this terrifies me. That said, if somebody would like to finance a year long journey abroad for me so I can figure some things in life out...I AM GAME :)

This afternoon, I went to the Hitman hockey game courtesy of the company I work for. WHL games are pretty fun and the kids are right into it...dancing and cheering up a storm.

I leave Wednesday morning for North Battleford and THE Halloween wedding of the year. I have so much to do in the next two days at work and at home to get ready for this. I am super excited to put the final touches on my costume/ bridesmaid's dress. I am also kind of excited for November, when I won't have wedding costs to deal with and can maybe focus on my finances (remember my finances? They are in a bit of an SOS situation right now...mostly because I have let things slip).

Saturday, October 24, 2009

Because not only am I an encouraging creator, I am also a follower

I saw this quiz on a couple of blogs I read and decided to try it too. I think it does sound like me an awful lot..... BUT I like me, so I am okay with that :) Also, I think I want this in a t-shirt....


My personalDNA Report




Friday, October 23, 2009

An Afternoon of Hockey

I am back at the office today. Just in time to join my floor hockey team for the United Way Floor Hockey Championship. It was $50 a team to enter and all proceeds go to United Way. There are also hot dog lunches for $5 (chips and a soda included) as well as you can pay $2 to show off your mad hockey skills. Every goal made gets your name entered to win Flames tickets.

Last night's Food and Fiction was a heavy debate about The Time Traveller's Wife. We questioned if Henry was selfish and gave Clare no choice by visiting her when she was 6 and telling her they were meant to be. Except when Clare is 20 and meets Henry's 28 year old self who has never even heard of Clare, she gives him the same story. So did they trap each other into this relationship OR would it all have happened anyway? If you read the novel, please leave your thoughts.

AND it's the weekend. One week till Jsquared's Halloween wedding. I have a lot to get done this weekend for my road trip to North Battleford.

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

A facebook status

I read this on someone's status. I really liked it.

"Change is the essence of life. Be willing to surrender what you are for what you could become."

It's really hard to surrender what you are...in the sense that bad habits are hard to break and change is really scary. It's easier to say that I am something and will always be something then to shed that skin to become something better. I want to be the best me though and therefore need to face my fear and surrender.

Monday, October 19, 2009

A Working Vacation

My work sent me up to Edmonton to help out during small business week. I love manning the display tables/booths and talking with people. And I love the posh hotel rooms that come with this. AND I love my erratic schedule of an hour here, an hour there.
I am just sitting in my hotel room, reading, playing cafe world and thinking. I want to go on a writing retreat. My mom gave me a book about how to create writing retreats when you can't get away. I should open this book and see if it's as good as it appears.

On the weekend was GirlTalk's Jubilation theatre night which was showing Thank you Mr. Presley. I was the host for the table and therefore felt the need to channel some Elvis (with a touch of Priscilla inspiration). The show was excellent. It described 4 different couples at Heartbreak Hotel who were in different stages in love: The newly found couple who are smitten, the newly married couple thinking about starting a family, the married couple who seemed to have lost their spark and the old couple that enviously hold hands while walking to the Zellers diner. Through out the drama that unfolded for each couple, the ghost of Elvis offered sage advice and many of the stories were told through his songs. I really enjoyed this take on the King's music. The food was okay (it is one of four dishes, all cooked the same for everyone) and the drinks were fabulous! I had a blue suede booze -- so yummy :)

Three ladies attended this event with me and each was so unique. I find the more opportunities and events I attend with this group, the more confidence I gain in myself. Two book club events left this month -- both look to be full of awesome discussion. We read the Time Traveller's Wife and Eat, Pray, Love this month.
Here is my Elvis-inspired outfit:

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Mise en Place

French culinary term that means having everything prepared and in its place before you begin to cook

Last night GirlTalk events organized a session at Mise en Place where we could prepare meals to take home and freeze. There were about ten ladies there and we prepared everything from a Thai Prawn and Coconut Rice dish to Baked Macaroni and Cheese to Pizza. Each dish was priced differently and you were allowed to make as many dishes as you wanted (the average was 6 dishes per lady).

The concept is simple. All of the ingredients are chopped and set out for us with simple instructions. You basically just add each ingredient into your bag or bowl, mix or shake and voila! You have created a meal that you can just “throw together” when company arrives. While we were there we had sparkling pink lemonade (lemonade with a little bit of ginger ale added) and a slew of appetizers. We were real chefs working up a sweat and needed refreshments! Okay, maybe not working up a sweat...but half the fun of cooking is eating :)

I met some really great girls last night and we had some awesome laughs. The employees at Mise en Place were so friendly and helpful too. They even stock their own freezer so if you don’t feel like mixing it yourself you can just shop!

I am pretty excited I discovered this little gem in Calgary. Cooking is always more fun when you are with a group of great people and everything is ready for you. Mise en Place does home parties as well which might just be what I am looking for as a home warming party when I have my own place.

Monday, October 12, 2009

The First Supper


The first Thanksgiving dinner that I put together myself. Thanks for the tips on breast side down! It did make the meat moister.

Saturday, October 10, 2009

I am thankful...

...for friends that make me laugh, friends that provide hugs, friends that listen without judgement

...for family that is always there to help me out and to provide me with advice that has my best interests at heart

...for Molly and Oryx and the unconditional love that pets provide

...for a roof over my head

...for a stable job that provides me with stimulation and challenges in a rocky economy

...for butterflies and the hope they provide in accepting change

...for myself and the chance I have given myself to become fully me


~Happy (Canadian) Thanksgiving to Everyone~

Friday, October 9, 2009

Strange day in the news...

...but after serious contemplation, I think I might buy the Marge playboy issue. I am kind of curious.

...Congrats to Mr. Obama. :)

...does anyone know how the bombing of the moon is going? If we do find water, does that even really mean anything being as water is made of 2 parts hydrogen and 1 part oxygen and all sorts of things have this combination in them? Does NASA want to bomb me because I have water in me? I think this is actually a way to test new weapons while making it seem logical.

...that said, I want to buy the Marge playboy issue therefore my sense of logic and rational may be debatable.

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Dear Onion News

I love you. Thanks for all of the laughs.

~Laura

Monday, October 5, 2009

Dear Internets

This coming weekend is Thanksgiving weekend. I am attempting to make the whole turkey-stuffing-(mashed)potatoes-she-bang. And this is going to be the first time I have ever attempted something like this! So, any tips, recipes, catering companies you can suggest I would greatly appreciate. Because the last thing I want is to burn down an apartment building on Thanksgiving. It could take away from people being thankful.

Sunday, October 4, 2009

Weekend Wanderings

Does anyone from Canada remember the show Catwalk? I stumbled upon it on youtube this afternoon and now I am remembering when I would stay up late to watch this show that was sadly short lived (but I was young, it could have been really bad tv and needed to be short lived). I was also looking at some other shows I watched like Tarzan Dan's Hitlist, Breaker High (still so badly wish I could have done high school that way!), and Reboot! I miss when weekends were spent catching up on shows to talk about on Mondays at recess.

My weekend was spent creating 200 favours for my friend's Halloween wedding. I am so thrilled with the results. And once we got into a rhythm, it was really nice to chit chat with the other bridesmaid and assemble. Results are as follows:

As you can see, we used a spider ring in place of the traditional ribbon which I love! I think I may find a way to incorporate spider rings into my hair style that day too :)I am glad we were able to get them done. One less thing to worry about before the wedding.