20,000 Blogs Under The Sea

I have very much enjoyed my time off this past week.  Like a complete weight was lifted off my shoulders.  I did go into work today and busted my booty for 5 hrs straight.  Luckily Dec 31 is not our year end, but month end is always busy.  And on top of that I had an email distribution to do.  The database is not completely up to date, so sifting through hundreds of clients and removing ones which are inappropriate took a bit of time.  And of course I left this task until the very end as I was very much dreading it.  We were waiting on boss approval for the final letter going out but it looked like he was in transit and wouldn't be able to respond.  Wanting to get out of the office asap, Dean gave me approval.  And just as I was about to send, an email came in from the boss with the stamp to go ahead.  It felt good having the real final nod, and it also felt good to have waited for his approval and not to have sent it seconds before he said yes.  Then I would have looked like a total dingus.  I also got to reveal to my boss a banking error I had made earlier in Dec.  She does the bank rec so I can't get away with any foolish mistakes.  I was waiting for the bank to correct my mistake, which they normally do, but it seems to have fallen into the too-bad-so-sad category, and we'll have to see what our bank rep says in the new year.  She said it was no biggie but it had been eating at my soul for almost two weeks and I'm happy to emotionally move on.

I ran a bunch of errands with Nikki after work.  After the bank deposit I swung by her place to pick her up.  Shoppers, LCBO, Home Depot, T&T, Food Basics, and Dollarama.  I didn't get home until about 7pm which was a full 12hrs since I had left for work.  Woofty.  Nik helped me pick out some caulking because YAAAAAY I need to recaulk my bathtub.  I am massively not looking forward to this.  I've heard it's easy, but I tend to take extremely simple tasks and turn them into total disaster shows.  Example, at T&T it took me a good 15 seconds of staring at the cart trying to figure out where the loonie went until Nik grabbed it from my hand and shoved it into the obvious (yet somehow hidden) slot.  How?  Why?  And how???  Also at the LCBO I almost cried foul when my gift card didn't work.  I went to Customer Service and said WTF-mate.  They said it was zero balance.  I asked if they could tell if it had ever had a balance and they said no.  Well first of all they're lying, if you look online you can see when and how much you have redeemed.  But secondly, when I did that I could see a full redemption from May 15, 2013.  There are two occasions for which I tend to buy alcohol.  NYE, and May 2-4.  So mystery solved, with minimal embarrassment.  I don't think they heard me yell, "Enjoy my $50 you thieving bastards."  All's well that ends well??  I'm going to go with yes.

Christmas was nice.  For once I wasn't the one causing problems and throwing tantrums, so that felt nice.  I could write an essay about the foibles of my family (myself included) but I shall refrain.  My mom and I rocked the G&M giant crossword.  It seemed to us to be a lot easier than years prior.  Not as many random proper name references.  One year we went over and over the clues and felt like we were making zero progress.  And this year it was like butter.  The answers just poured out of us.  I feel a great deal of satisfaction working on crosswords and figuring out the answers.  I think it started at U of T, when I would pick up the Star and do their crossword, 2-3 times a week.  If I got stumped I would text Ausma, "Coup D'____", and she'd write back, "ETAT".  And that fondness for crosswords carries on to this day.  Except for dumb ones that I can't figure out lol.

I have tomorrow and Wednesday off.  It's like a mid-week weekend.  This xmas season has been so amazing for days off.  But I guess the reason I started this post was to share two photos.  First, my mom framed a poster I bought from the AGO.   Perhaps I was fooled into believing the rights to reproduce prints was being taken back by the family descendants.  Either way I'm glad I got a copy.  And since it's no longer rolled up in a cardboard tube, Sim we are officially wall art twins.

And also a few weeks ago I brought my varsity arena bench inside, as it was starting to age rapidly.  It has found a new home in my front lobby.

Right now it's sitting on a layer of drawer insert from IKEA.  I will at some point give the edges a trim so it looks less tacky.  And yes, I do need to physically move the bench to use the front closet, but I actually don't use it that often.

I have a short to-do list for my two day break.  Continue cleaning this place up.  Use my brown bananas to make something delicious.  Finish the book I'm into so I can start fresh Jan 1.  I need to make some more laundry detergent.  I'm hoping use of a nice mandarin fragrant soap will add a much needed pleasant scent.  The previous bar of soap I used was rather bitter smelling.  But it was called laundry soap so I had to try it.  Clean out my car?  Not likely tomorrow but maybe on Wednesday.  My parents actually got me a little car garbage bin that attaches to the head rest.  I desperately need somewhere to throw my garbage because I currently just give things a blind heave over the shoulder.  More than ever I feel that it's time to make a new year count.  This just might be my year.

So happy new year loyal readers, all three of you.

2013, out.

Dance I Like The Way You Move

I think Simona is right when she says there's something about winter that makes the soul want soup.  Nice, fresh, homemade soup.  I still have about 8 lbs of carrots to go through and another soup wasn't going to hurt anyone.

When my parents moved and gifted me their smaller slow cooker I looked up about 8 recipes I wanted to try out.  I had some chicken thawed out, and all the right stock veggies leftover.  So I pulled up the slow cooked Chicken Stew recipe on my desktop and it was go time:

http://www.yummymummyclub.ca/food/recipes/slow-cooker-chicken-stew-recipe

It was tasty but not my favourite.  I don't think it helped that I used chicken breasts instead of thighs.  They just don't hold up the same to the slow cooking.  Or maybe I was supposed to put it on 6 hours on low?  Everything was kinda mushy and I even finished it 30 mins early.  Oh well right, that's how we learn how to do things properly.

Adam's on board for the January long read.  He's yet to pick a book, but there is still time.  I tend to just take a look at my massive stacks of unread books and try to pick a relatively big one, that would otherwise intimidate me.  I actually haven't read much of anything in the past six months so this reboot is sorely needed.

I cleaned up a bunch of cardboard boxes that needed to be broken down and recycled.  My den has turned into a dumping ground of sorts.  Only having one closet leaves the possibility for a lot of crap to be left out in the open.  I took a lamp from my parents because they were going to get rid of it.  I think it's a nice lamp, just need to find a spot for it.  And when mom showed up at my office to drop it off it came with a side lamp.  But she stole the lampshade to reuse at her place, and passed along a rather unflattering one.  It's not ugly, but it's a bit deco.  And when I say deco I mean it looks like it belonged to Ron Burgandy.  Maybe I can thing of a way to make lemonade.  Make-work project?  I know I mentioned my recent furniture hand-me-downs before, but I forget how much was said.  I also took two bedside tables, that actually fit perfectly (with an inch to spare) underneath my desk.  And now I don't have to buy a drawer unit.  My mom wanted to get me the drawer unit that comes with the desk but a) it was more expensive than the desk (thank you Crate & Barrel for being completely absurd) and b) I just didn't like it.  It was one big drawer which would have had very little purpose or use for me.  My mom was getting rather pushy about it but I shut it down.   I told her under no circumstance did I want a stupid drawer unit with only one drawer.  3 drawers was my minimum.  Well, these bed side units have one drawer each.  But I guess that's the sacrifice one must make for shit being free.

I finished up the Cuban Rum.  It did the trick, but it wasn't the best tasting.  I'm not a huge rum fan to start with.  And even though it's less than the standard 40%, somehow it tasted like a much higher proof.  Like that time Nikki snuck a shot of 151 into my beer and I sadly had to dump it proclaiming it had gone bad while she and her friend snickered.  Well it took me three Fridays but it's finally done.  Normally liquor casts a spell on me, and makes me want more and stronger drinks each time.  This was weirdly a challenge.  But I finished, what's my prize??  We'll have to see what happens next Friday, if I'm suddenly struck with the unexplained desire to drink.  Maybe that's my prize, the gift of drinking alone.

I've been telling myself for the past week that I need to clean up around here.  I do bits and pieces but it seems to be a losing battle.  Maybe tomorrow will be my day.  And I will do ALL THE THINGS.

Soup, And Other Important Topics

Last night was a soup success!!  I've gotten an early start on my recipe resolution, and last night made a nice cabbage soup.  I saw cabbage on sale, and then thought about what would make a nice cabbage soup, so I picked up some potatoes and bacon.  When I got home I got to searchin.  There were a few contenders, but to be honest most of them were just about the same.  I didn't want a thick soup because the extra step of blending would have made the task seem insurmountable.  At any rate, I settled with this one:

http://www.rachaelraymag.com/recipes/rachael-ray-magazine-recipe-search/soup-recipes/cabbage-and-bacon-soup-with-garlic-bread

I skipped the bread and just ate a crusty bun to the side.  And I added carrot and celery.  Celery because it makes for a great tasting stock.  Carrots for the same reason but also because I recently purchased a 10lbs bag of carrots (for less than $2) and I need to start using them in my meals, post haste.  I must say, I do love me some cabbage soup.  There's just something about the consistency of boiled cabbage.  That sounds wrong, but it's so right.  YERM.  I did make one colossal mistake, but that being said it was still a fairly large success.  The instructions said to add the bacon at the end but I thought I would be smart, or my own personal interpretation of smart, and add the bacon at the beginning of the boil.  I thought it would add some level of bacon infusion that would be insanely brilliant.  Instead the boiling process ruined the consistency of the bacon and left very little to be desired in terms of baconinity.

I've been rewatching IT Crowd on Netflix.  I usually get around to it every year or so.  Never lets me down.  In fact I would go one step further and say that it's one of my favourite shows.  I was actually inspired to start my rewatch in a less than flattering way.  I was facebook creepy one of our customers and they had posted this photo:

 

I wish I could draw like that, I really do.  Maybe next year I'll leave some room in the resolutions for artistic improvement.

I saw Adam on Monday.  He found himself at Sherway after work so rang me up for some company.  His lady friend is returning from India tomorrow so I'm getting some Adam-time in now before he's fully occupado.  I made my way over, and we did some light shopping and got a coffee.  Not actually in Sherway but out-and-around, in the general vicinity.  Knowm' sayin.  So he calls me and for whatever reason my phone rings once and is done.  I love the feature on my phone that texts me my voice messages so in seconds I see his message is to call him, which I do, and he responded with something ridiculous like, "Go for Adam."  Reminded me of the calls I would take when I worked operations in Calgary.  If the right person was calling I'd just pick up and with a somewhat Chicagoan accent say, "Talk to me."

I'm looking into taking ASL classes.  I've always wanted to learn how to sign.  The extent of my current knowledge is an extremely rudimentary alphabet.  Last year during the Toque campaign we sold a toque to a deaf lady.  I would have loved to have been able to have properly communicated.  Though I did manage to sign a thank you at the last minute. I also remember the man Jackie and I met at the Arms.  I think  I managed to get our names out and that was about it, then we switched to pen and paper.  I've kicked it all off with an inquiring email about dates and times and cost.  We'll see what they come back with, and maybe this is something I'll be moving fwd with.

I desperately need time off of work.  We close up on Tuesday at noon and don't have to come back until the following Monday.  Then we're closed on Tues-Wed.  It's going to be awesome.  Technically it's only been 4 mos since I took my last day off, and maybe it's just because this 5 day break is so close that  I'm getting the itch.

I've picked my Jan long read novel.  TBA when I'm done, as if it's exciting to anyone but myself.  I picked up the last of my xmas gifts.  I didn't really go all out at all this year.  Not at all.  I might top off each gift with a $30 gift cert for Canada Helps.  Let the fam make a little donation to their charity of choice. 

I've really been having a great time with my managing my finances with the program I picked up.  Everything is pre-budgeted and this holiday season was a breeze.  I'm building up my reserves dedicated across the board.  I had a few hundred for presents, a few hundy put aside for random car shit.  Which lets face is, is never much less than $400-$500 unless it's routine maintenance.  Once my reserves are built up then the savings really begins.  And by savings I mean passing almost every penny onto my mortgage. (Da-da dah dah)(Da-da dah dah).

I have a new home project.  I need to re-caulk the tub in the en suite.  Rosco has offered to come over if I feel I'm in a jam.  But his second recommendation is to study google videos and get er done.  I think I'm going to go with the latter, and then when I have sufficiently ruined my tub I'll call him.

That's all.  Done.  Done like dinner.  Aint no thing but a chicken wing.
JULIE OUT.

Are You There Internet? It's Me Julie

I don't have much to report, but I'm in a rather good mood today so thought I would type it out.  As always it feels amazing to finish on Fridays at noon.  I went to Canadian Tire and picked up some new wipers.  I feel intimidated doing things for the first time.  I'm not going to be completely anti-feminist and call them guy tasks, but if I had someone around they are tasks I would gladly share/avoid/delegate/not do.  I've never changed a wiper before in my life.  Perhaps once during a car check-up I okayed new ones to go on.  But never by my own hand.  So I've never had to pick out wipers before.  It's rather intimidating.  I wasn't sure if the ones I was getting would fit on properly, or if I could even manage it myself.  After failing to find any useful information in my car's manual I texted Nikki for support.  She's taken on a lot of car duties herself over the years and we've actually talked about her obsession with wipers before.  I've been driving around with the tip of my passenger wiper peeling back, so it just dangles from the rest of it, and leaves a nice thick unsqueegeed patch when I turn them on.....for over a year.  It can sometimes be bothersome, but it's liveable.  But now that snow is coming, and it's borderline unsafe when it rains, I took the plunge.  An almost $50 plunge might I add.  Shameless at work I asked Dean,  "How do I buy windshield wipers?  Is there a brand that's good, or are they all about the same anyways?"  He gave some half-assed advice and now I've got a pair of mid-ranged wipers waiting for me to give them a go tomorrow morning.  I also picked up a new air filter.  And I was going to get some stocking stuffers for my parents - a specialty key for them to cut their new house key on - but I didn't know you needed the key in hand for them to properly size the specialty key.  I've since called my mom and tasked her to go to CT in Cobourg and buy her own stocking stuffer and I'll pay her back.  Wish I could have kept it a surprise, but alas.

I'm going to a party tomorrow, but am going to wait until the weather settles to decide how to get there.  To drive or not to drive.  The good news is, it's less than a 15 minute walk from the GO station, so I can always bus it if need be.  19 would take me right there.  I'm excited to see Dom, but I'm still shocked that he's engaged.  Not that I am particularly involved in Dom's life these days but, it's still a shocker.

I had a fairly amusing text with Adam a while back.  He got a new car.  A cute little bright blue Nissan.  It smells amazing inside.  It syncs with his phone.  It...is...awesome.  When I pulled up next to him I unrolled my window and just blurted excited words towards him.  I found out later he wasn't ignoring me, but the tint required to be not rolled down for 3 days after being installed.  Adam recalled a funny story about getting out of his car to order at a drive thru.  In his defense it was in the wee hours of the morning so going in on foot wasn't an option.  I sent him an admittedly dumb text a few days later, and was quite amused with his response:

Julie: You would not believe who just bought the sickest car.....YOU DID lol
*3 days later*
Adam: Woooo!! Lol delay expert
Julie: Lol who is this?
Adam: Uncle Leo
Adam: ?

I recognized the reference, but must admit I had to google it to appreciate its hilarity in full.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSrVhfNK2So

That's all for me.  It might be another dirty Cuban rum night.  I really just need to get rid of this stuff, and a waster of alcohol I am not.  My liver needs something to do other than sit there and look pretty.

Byeee.

Bei'rslved

I've been thinking already about my resolutions for next year. And I think I need to start them a little bit early. Nothing too out of the ordinary. Run of the mill resolutions. But good to say them out loud, increase accountability and such (minimally).

1) Start working out, and stick to it this time.
2) Play more guitar. Lots more.
3) Keep up with new recipes, maybe two a month?
4) Reading. I want to try to read a book a week this coming year. Excluding January which will be dedicated to my one long book of choice. I'm flirting with Catch-22. I don't know if it's long enough to qualify but I think the judges will bend the rules just this once.
5) Keep it clean. Car, apartment, life in general.
6) Hang all of my wall art. Post haste. Have no fears about making holes because for once I own the walls.
7) Plan something awesome. TBD

But that's all for now.  Tonight - I drink. Something I haven't done in a very very long time. Rosco brought me some Rum back from Cuba that has been sitting in my trunk for 6 months. And soon it will be in my belly.

Little Red Hot Tamales

There are some things in life that amuse me to no end, and this odd clip from the Jimmy Fallon show is just one of those things.  Aside from the singing, my favourite moment is at 2:15 when Mandy Patinkin just barely musters the ability to say "I'm proud of you."  And every other moment they break character to laugh.  It just kills me.  This has unfortunately just added to my strange obsession with Patinkin.