finally, i’ve come up with a couple of guilty pleasures to post about. it’s not that it’s hard to think of something – more so, there’s just too many to narrow it down! i’ve actually started a list just so i can remember what i’ve posted – as well as list of ideas i may want to post about.
sadly – most of my guilty pleasures centre around food. read more…
i have to blog about easter but need to sort through the photos and upload them first.
i use to be more devoted to my photography – lately, i just haven’t been inspired. which is fine. when we go on our vacation this summer, it might hit me then. so a break is not a bad thing.
for now, i’ll blog just about yesterday. it was easter monday and while i had to work, doug and chaeli both had the day off. i wish i was with them, of course, but didn’t mind so much because when i got home, due to the lack of homework and the absence of the after work/school rush, it was a peaceful evening.
in fact, its what i look forward to during our summer months. there will still be the drop-off and pick-up with chaeli’s summer camp. but not having to dedicate time for homework makes a huge difference in one’s daily schedule. i look forward to the day where she’s doing homework more on her own, though i know (or predict) that we’ll still have to push her to just hurry up and get with it – the earlier she can get it done, the more time she has for leisure activities (this is what we’re trying to teach her now – it’s a never-ending struggle). and it’s not that i don’t appreciate the homework she’s given – obviously it has its value. but still – when you don’t get home until close to 6pm and you want your kid in bed no later then 8:30pm because she has to wake up around 6:30am the next day, it’s a very, very tight schedule.
this is when i get why it’s easier for one parent to stay at home. or why people hire a nanny.
thankfully, on days doug does not have to work, it’s made the schedule a little easier. for one, he will do the drop-off and pick-up. but still… the rush hovers over us. maybe not as greatly, but it still does.
anyway, yesterday was not like this type of day and i was very thankful of it. i had time to create an antipasto spread while we had some yummy, mixed spring greens, bococcini and procuitto salad (honey-lemon dressing) and some leftover roast beef from easter dinner. i sipped my red wine – one we bought last fall when doug and i went on a bit of a self-guided wine tour in the niagara region (aged for several months now, it definitly tastes better then the day we taste tested it) – and indulged our generous spread. no one was really served anything – all was just put in the middle and up for grabs by fingers both large and small.
doug also took chaeli to dim sum earlier in the day. i admit i was a bit jealous but at the same time, was glad to hear they did a father-daughter thing. just the two of them. in fact, they had a great day together which made me feel content. they have been spending some of their spare time painting miniature war game soldiers and yesterday, had enough to start a game (no idea how it’s played but it seems to involve rolling a dice and measuring out distances – this is doug’s geeky guilty pleasures).
it’s always a challenge to entertain a kid all by yourself and i admit i wasn’t at my best this weekend. friday was not so bad – chaeli and i went to the dog park then i treated her to mc d’s for lunch. we spent some time geeking out on sci-fi movies like transformers and star trek (2009 release). but on sunday, my stomach was bothering me and i had very little sleep the night before (late night + snoring husband) so she was left on her own with her nintendo while i took a couple of naps. doug made up for his by doing a lot with her yesterday.
i can’t help it. after completing all seven seasons of buffy, i found myself yearning for more slayer stories.
thankfully, i found out that buffy’s world continues with season 8 – only through the comic book series from dark horse. i’ve purchased the first two volumes and am reading them on my ipad.
yup – that’s my most recent guilty pleasure.
i know, i know – but kale is healthy so how can it be a ‘guilty’ pleasure?
because with the way this is made, it tastes so good that it seems like it should be on the unhealthy list.
go to my guilty pleasures” blog to read more and see the easy-peasy recipe.
my dad went to the ER last tuesday night.
it was really, a horrible week.
he did get transferred into a normal room but even then, we still didn’t know the full story of what was wrong with him. he arrived at the hospital suffering horrible upper, abdominal pain – he wasn’t even able to stand up fully. he was also shaking violently and uncontrollably and had a soaring fever. it was evident that his pancreas was inflamed but why, they didn’t know.
by friday, we knew the name of the bacteria – gamma negative bacilli. by saturday, we knew the strain of the bacteria – e coli. and by sunday, we learned that the e coli was actually produced from within his body – his gall bladder. which will be removed after he heals.
they changed the type of his antibiotics three times – the first not really working because at the time, they didn’t know what bacteria it was and when they found out, they knew right away that the antibiotics they were using was useless. gamma negative bacilli responds to only a few types of antibiotics.
i left work early everyday to be with him, even though he protested, stating he would be fine and i needn’t come everyday. i didn’t want to tell him that i was doing it more for myself then for him. all that ‘not knowing’ part flooded me with unfortunate memories of when my grandmother entered in to the hospital. and she never came back.
but, it seems that he is progressing slowly back. now that he’s at home, a nurse comes ever evening to administer the antibiotics through IV. he will continue on the meds until a week from now. then he’ll have to go back for more blood work to determine if they’ve zapped the bacteria – they need to have it controlled before they remove his gall bladder.
i’m more relieved then i was leading up to this past weekend. but still… i’ll feel better once those test results come back with a big fat negative.
to relieve my stress, i’ve been taking advantage of all the great deals online. i visited two online stores and saved myself a great deal. not only were all items on sale but there was an additional discount due to black friday. plus, free shipping and a use of a gift card for one of the stores. i think i walked away saving around $200.
click below collage to see individual purchases:
clothes, clothes, clothes - and some boots
i also purchased some ‘jeggings’, a couple of casual t’s, two more blouses and these faux-snake skin pumps (something i’ve been wanting for awhile now). i also purchased a couple of tall boots last month… but i honestly have to dedicate an entire post just for boots alone. i’m not a huge fan of shopping (though doing it online is great) but one day, i hope to have a closet just for shoes and especially boots!
and to keep myself even more in good, positive spirits, i’ve been thinking and planning for christmas. this weekend, i’m looking forward to putting up some decorations – outdoors and indoors. but not the tree – or the train that goes around the tree. we’ll leave that to the weekend before since we want the tree to be fresh. and for hobbes not to destroy it.
but that last weekend, doug will start working at his assigned fire station. i can then plan to send hobbes to daycare on the days he’ll be working (which is only that one day during the week leading up to christmas weekend). i know hobbes. no way he’ll be able to resist ‘playing’ with the tree. or the ornaments on the tree. the last thing i want is to come home with a tree fallen over and ornaments everywhere.
anyway – i love christmas decorations. having our living room/dining room decked out will set a peaceful vibe.
i created a side blog to contain all my guilty pleasure posts (which will be linked from here with every new one).
spicy pickled eggplant
i have it weekly - at the least
thanks to my good friends, t and b, i’ve been introduced to this lovely antipasto!
i seriously wish i discovered this sooner. to be honest, when it’s just in the jar, it doesn’t look like anything special. but when i pop one of these bad boys in my mouth – bliss!
i normally have it with either cheese and cracker or pate and cracker.
but b says that it’s great with a simple pasta dish. and i’ll bet it doesn’t do any harm to add it to a hearty, italian sandwich.
filet-o-fish
it’s my fast-food comfort food. one that i can’t have often but when i do, i savour every single bite of it.
but… it’s not just the taste of the soft, flakey, white centre or how the breaded batter gives you that delicious crispy texture on the edges (especially from the four corners). this mc d’s creation holds a lot of memories for me.
for one, it was my grandmother’s (my pwo-pwo’s) favourite item whenever we picked up some mc donald’s. and from her, it became a favourite of mine. each time i bite into one of these babies, i always remember her.
secondly, it reminds me of my best friend… ada and i even have had email conversations about the love of the filet-o-fish.
the last one was about the cheese – how it should be a full process slice rather then the half. i complained that it’s rarely positioned in the middle and usually askewed to one side. she claims that it’s really just a bonding agent to hold it all together.
she could be right. i’ve made a point on my to-do list to email the corporation and inquire exactly what the purpose of making the slice only 1/2. and why, at the least, can’t they centre it so that there’s a better distribution of cheese throughout the sandwich.
but whatever the answer may be, i will forever be faithful to the filet-o-fish.
postsecrets
for several months now, i’ve been diligently following the weekly postsecret posts.
of course, like most, i’ve been hearing about this site for a very long time and while i peeked into it in the past, lately, i’m starting to get addicted to it. i look forward to sitting at my computer every sunday morning with my freshly brewed cup of coffee as i read each posted postcard.
i sometimes wonder what wakes me up more – the caffeine or some shocking confession from some anonymous stranger out there.
i think it’s very much the latter.
some secrets are sweet and touching. others are truly sad. though, i think i like the quirky ones the most. the kind of secret that defines how human we really are. that we all have these weird idiosyncrasies. like one recent person stated that he/she sits on toilets sideways. and another admitted that cleaning out the lint from the dryer as being her favourite laundry pasttime (which made me realize that i quite enjoy that part too – the thicker the layer, the better! and i hate doing laundry.) such strange revelations. but to me, the most fascinating!
then there are the dirty secrets. usually involving theft or infidelity. and they are bad… really they are. yet i enjoy reading them. so much that lately, i started to question whether i’m becoming the type of person that i never wanted to be. you know, the type of person that enjoys gossip.
sure, i suppose it’s a bit better that i don’t know any of these people but there is a sickness to the pleasure i get from reading the naughty postcards. it obviously doesn’t paint me as a good person – but it’s true. i suppose while i try not to indulge in the workplace gossip (especially as 95% of the gossip turns out to be untrue), if i need to have an outlet, indulging in postcards from strangers, sharing some controversial secrets, is the best way to go.
anyway, the website doesn’t archive pervious weeks but i have them archived by grabbing their rss within my google reader.
here’s one posted a couple of weeks ago that i found quite amusing:
