Weather or Not

Just when I was starting to enjoy the snow covered landscape, it up and rains. Yesterday was beautiful; sun shining (intermittently), slight bit of a chilly frost in the air, cool and crisp...and then last night it all came to an abrupt end. It must have been the earth flipping on its axis during the night that suddenly tossed my little outport on the northwest coast down to the Avalon near St. John's because, well let's face it, this crappy weather belongs out there. Where else in Newfoundland can you experience snow for two days and then rain the next?

The wind is certainly blowing a gail here today and apparently it did last night as well. I say apparently because I personally did not hear it, I am merely relying on the accounts of others who cannot sleep through rough weather. Fortunately for me, the weather has to be pretty bad before I can't sleep. Chalk it up to spending my whole life living on the coast of an island, I guess. I grew up with the wind constantly in my face and it was no different during those years I spent in Iqaluit. There it seemed that the wind would change direction just to spite me - in my face during my walk to work in the morning but still guaranteed to be in my face when I walked home in the evening.

Quote of the Day:
"The greatest lesson in life is to know that even fools are sometimes right." Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

Colour My World

After living in my house for 9 months, I have pretty well had it up the wazzu with the pale butter yellow that is everywhere. The previous owner obviously loved the colour because the whole house was pretty well covered with it - front entrance, hall, living room, dining room, kitchen....even the master bedroom and bath. Only three rooms in the house was not coated in the same colour; the two other bedrooms, one of which was painted pink (??) and the other one was painted a very pale sage which, coincidentally is the same colour in the main bathroom. Did the woman not have any sense of adventure?

Now I'll admit that it has taken some time for me in choosing my new colours. Neither me or the hubby particularly enjoy painting so I want colours that will last for a while, not something I'll be sick of in six months time. Since moving in we have managed to paint two rooms in the house. The pink room is now painted a cool Labrador Blue for the little guy and the living room is now a calming colour called Garden Path.

Now that we are determined to actually get some more painting done next week, I got my ass in gear and choose the rest of the colours this morning. The entrance and hallway will be painted Old Montreal, the dining room will get a yummy coat of Tiramisu, the kitchen will be transformed with a colour called Cherokee Brick. I have also picked a colour called Hot Chocolate for our bedroom but that's not on the tackle list for next week so I won't worry about that yet.

Quote of the Day:
"Start everyday with a smile and get it over with." W.C. Fields

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas

Over the last three days, we've gotten snow, snow and more snow....and I kinda like it, so far. What I don't like about snow though is that I have to leave my house a couple minutes earlier every morning to sweep the snow off the truck - apparently I had totally forgotten about that last week when I wished for the stuff. Thankfully though, I don't have to shovel in the mornings. It will take a whole lot of snow to keep me and my 4X4 truck from getting out of the driveway. I know the hubby is anxious to get some skidooing in this winter as well. And, with the way the economy is treating the mining industry in Newfoundland these days, it looks as though he may get plenty of time to do just that. Unfortunately it appears he's getting a temporary lay-off in the next couple of weeks - just in time for Christmas, too.

Quote of the Day:
"Imagination was given to man to compensate him for what he is not; a sense of humor to console him for what he is." Sir Frances Bacon

Childhood Cartoons

As I was sitting down last evening watching My Friends Tigger and Pooh on Playhouse Disney with the little guy, I noticed about how much better the graphics are in cartoons these days then when I was growing up. Strange, I know. High definition television is not usually at the top of my conversation list but trust me, there's an amazing difference between this show and the Winnie the Pooh shows we all grew up with. So I got to thinking about what cartoons from my childhood would be really wicked if available in HDTV and here's my list:

1. He-Man & The Masters of the Universe
2. Of course, I can't mention He-Man without bringing up his sister, She-Ra, The Princess of Power
3. The Smurfs
4. Disney's Gummi Bears
5. I'm not sure how many of you will remember this one; BraveStarr
6. Jem and the Holograms
7. Rainbow Brite

I could probably think of others, but these are just a few of those Saturday morning cartoons that I can remember fondly. What were some of your favorites?

Whatever Comes to Mind

All day yesterday I kept thinking that it was Wednesday - I have no idea why. So naturally, today feels like Thursday and I'm very disappointed that tomorrow actually isn't Friday.

Work has completely sucked the last few days...well, depending on how you look at it. As I have mentioned before, this is by far not my dream job and when it's slow here, like now, I hate it even more. I want a job where I'm kept busy the whole day so that the time passes by quickly. Instead I have spent the last two days confined in my office reading a book. (No, my coworkers are not aware that I'm in here reading a book. I can hear them coming and therefore can make it appear that I am really busy when they peer in.) Other than being bored out of my mind, I do really enjoy getting paid while I read.

I got a whole bunch of stuff that I ordered from Sears yesterday; some Christmas gifts for the hubby and the little guy, and my new window treatments for the living room and dining room. I managed get the dining room ones put up last night despite the little guy climbing up on the chair with me or trying to "help" in his own way (I'll leave the living room window for when the hubby is home.) I must admit that I am quite please with how it looks. The window looked unfinished with the previous curtains but now looks complete and cozy.

I desperately need to cook something for supper tonight. The little guy and I have just had quick meals for the last two nights and I really cannot eat something from a can again tonight. Besides, I need leftovers for tomorrow's lunch because I don't think my stomach can handle another sandwich this week. So chicken breasts it is. I haven't quite decided what I'm going to do with them; probably just bake them in the oven with some sort of sauce, steam some veggies and cook some egg noodles to go along with it. Works for me, it's easy and little guy approved.

Quote of the Day:
"Lots of people will want to ride in the limo with you, but what you want is someone who will take the bus with you when the limo breaks down." Oprah Winfrey

Caught Speeding

I ended up going to Corner Brook again on Saturday; this time with my mother. She needed a new Christmas tree and they were on sale at Zeller's Saturday and Sunday only. Since I hadn't actually planned on going, it was supposed to be a quick trip up just to get the tree. Yeah, right! My bright and early morning started off very well until 9:30 am when I got pulled over and received my very first speeding ticket. Oh Joy! Just what I needed! Luckily the RCMP officer was in a forgiving mood and did not charge me for the actual speed I was going (124 km/h just in case you were wondering.) I could have easily gotten a $250 fine and 3 points against my license but instead got a $55 fine and no points - Thank God! Am I surprised that I got a speeding ticket? No, not really. I'm actually surprised that I haven't gotten caught before now. Unless I'm in a community, I tend to speed - not recklessly, but I do drive faster then the speed limit allows. Unfortunately I'm going to have to be extremely careful now and that's going to be really, really hard.

Quote of the day:
"Learn from the mistakes of others. You can't live long enough to make them all yourself." Unknown

A Life of Its Own

The weirdest thing has been happening in my house over the last few months; some nights when we go to bed some of my son's toys come to life all on their own. Yes, I'm serious and no, I'm not losing my mind! Let me explain....

Like most children, the little guy has a lot of toys that are battery powered. The cool thing about some of these toys is that if left undisturbed after a long period of time it automatically goes into a power-saver mode much like a laptop. The toy has to be touched or moved somehow to power back up again. The weird thing about this is that some of these toys end up powering up in the middle of the night when everyone is in bed and no one is touching the toy. It all started with a toy garbage truck that someone gave the little guy last year for Christmas. When moved, the truck says, "Mmmm, garbage," or, "Phew, that stinks," but if left undisturbed, it does nothing at all. However, a couple of times a week, hours after we went to bed this thing would just start spouting off it's phrases when, obviously, no one was playing with it....freaky, right? It got so bad that I had no choice but take the batteries out of it.

This week the trouble starts all over again with one of my son's toy laptops. Wednesday night I'm in bed, the little guy is sleeping soundly next to me, all is quiet and suddenly the laptop goes off. "Select an activity." Needless to say, I got a little fright at first but then I realized what it was. So I got up and removed the batteries from that toy. Then this morning while both my son and I are in my room getting ready to leave, the other toy laptop (which was in the living room) goes off.

WTF is going on with these toys? It's really starting to freak me out. I mean, I'm not saying that I believe in ghosts or anything. Really, I can't say for sure. I've experienced unexplained happenings in my grandmother's house but there's a history there. My house doesn't really have a history, it's only 3 years old. So there's got to be a logical explanation for this, right? Well, what is it? Because I sure as hell can't think of a way to explain it.

Quote of the Day:
"From what we get, we can make a living. What we give, however, makes a life." Arthur Ashe

Up For A Challenge, Anyone?

Here's a challenge that could prove to be quite interesting....and fun, to say the least. However, I'll be naughty enough to go one step further and issue the challenge not only to married couples but to those couples who are shacked up and living in sin as well. Enjoy....

Random Thoughts

Not a whole lot new happening in my small world these days. The hubby and I tried to get a start on our Christmas shopping over the weekend but weren't very successful. Even though I love to shop, I can't stand having to fight my way down store aisles and stand in check-out lines for what seems like eternity, which is exactly what it was like trying to shop on Saturday. It pains me to know that the shopping conditions are only going to get worst from here on which makes me wonder, "Why do I wait until this late in the game to get those gifts bought?" To top it off, I seem to be suffering from some sort of gift buyer's block. I have no idea what to get anyone on my list. I ended up ordering a couple of gifts from Sears for the little guy and the hubby. Now I just have to work up enough courage to head back to the shopping centres again in a couple of weeks.

Am I the only one who felt as though there were two Mondays in this week? I thoroughly enjoyed having Tuesday off. It would have been a most relaxing day if it wasn't for all the laundry that needed to be done, but yesterday I felt as though I was in some warped version of the movie Groundhog Day....which I might add, was one of the stupidest movies I can ever remember seeing.

According to Townie Bastard, there is a radio station somewhere in Detroit playing Christmas music 24/7- WTF?? Holy Christ people, don't you think that's a little extreme? I'll admit that come December 1st I'm more than ready to start decorating for Christmas but I think this might be taking the whole Christmas theme just a little too far; it is after all, only the middle of November. Have they even celebrated Thanksgiving in the States yet?

The price of gas dropped again today - Yippee! It was getting to the point where it was getting too expensive to go anywhere in our truck. I was amazed last week when I gassed up and got a little over half of a tank for $40 so I'm anxious to see what the same amount of money will get me today. I wonder how long this pricing euphoria will last?

So here goes...and I know I'm going to get crap for this one...but, I'd like to see it hurry up and snow already! The pretty leaves are gone making the trees look bare, the majority of the grass is an awful colour brown, it's damp and chilly - it's time for snow. I feel as though my whole seasonal clock is completely thrown off. I'm used to it being a lot colder, a lot more snow at this point, and a whole lot darker later in the mornings and earlier in the evenings. All I could think this morning on my way to work was how dingy everything looks this time of year. We need snow to brighten it all up. As anyone who has ever lived in Iqaluit will agree, during the summer Iqaluit is more like a dusty, dirty gravel pit of a town but in the winter, it's absolutely breathtaking. Cold, but beautiful. Now I want to see that winter wonderland here...but with trees, obviously.

Quote of the Day:
"Don't go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail." Ralph Waldo Emerson

In The News

It seems as though every time I have read the news on CBC this week, I have come across one or two stories each day concerning a small child being beaten and/or killed by someone close to them, be it a parent, foster-parent or whatever. What in the name of our Lord above is this world coming to?? How does a person who does this live with themselves? Reading this stories disturbs me to no end (so much that I don't have the stomach to link them to this post). My heart aches for the innocent children and all the suffering they have/had endured. The cruelty of these situations make me sick to my stomach and I can only pray to God that I will never encounter these abusers for I really don't think that I would be able (nor would I want) to control my actions. In fact, I wholehearted feel that our government should not be housing these poor excuses for human beings, providing them with three square meals a day, a warm and dry place to lay their heads. If anything, they should be treated with the same respect and compassion that they bestowed on their victim.

It is time for people to wake up! Children are a gift, not a right. They are precious and should be treated as so. They are not your property to do with as you please; it is your responsibility to provide a loving and safe environment so that your child may grow healthy, well adjusted adult - someone who reaches their full potential. There are many people in this world who cannot have children, who spend years on adoption waiting lists, who spend thousands of dollars in fertility treatments, who would give anything to receive the unconditional love of a child - it is time for everyone to thank the heavens above for the precious gifts you have been given.

My child is the pure light of mine and my husband's life. I cannot imagine life without him. Our little guy is our greatest accomplishment and it is our privilege to raise him into the person that he is meant to be. And, tonight I will hug him a little tighter to my heart and say a silent pray for all those little ones who have not been that fortunate, who have had their lives so cruelly taken away. May God watch over their little souls.

Quote of the Day:
" Before you were conceived, I wanted you. Before you were born, I loved you. Before you were here for an hour, I would die for you. This is the miracle of life." Maureen Hawkins

It's A Love/Hate Thing

I hate my job! No - make that I REALLY HATE my job! (I'm very serious.)
I love my family but I hate that they get on my nerves.
I hate the fact that the little guy does not sleep in his own bed....but, I love snuggling with him in our bed.
I love Newfoundland but (at the moment) I hate living here. Don't ask!
I hate spider, bugs and other creepy, crawly things that sometimes find their way into my house.
I hate spending money but I love to shop.
I love decorating for Christmas but I hate having to take it all down.
I love it when my house is clean but I hate having to clean it.
I love the thought of changing the paint colours in my house but I hate painting.
I love chocolate (especially the expensive stuff) but hate the fact that I love chocolate.
I love laughing until my stomach hurts and I can't breath, and I hate the fact that's it has been a long time since that has happened.

Quote of the Day:
"A true friend is someone who thinks you are a good friend even though you are slightly cracked." Bernard Meltzer

Recipe Review

Last night I made the following recipe:

3 Cheese Penne with Broccoli

3 tbsp oil
3 cup broccoli florets
fresh garlic
2 1/2 cups penne
2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded
2 cups ricotta cheese
2 cups marinara sauce
1/3 cup of parmesan cheese
salt & pepper to taste

Set oven at 400F. Grease baking dish. Saute broccoli and garlic in oil for a few minutes, set aside. Mix sauce, 1 cup of mozzarella, 3/4 cup of ricotta and 3 tbsp of parmesan. Add in cooked penne and broccoli. Toss and season with salt and pepper. Transfer to baking dish, spread with remaining ricotta, sprinkle with remaining mozzarella and parmesan. Bake for about 20 minutes or until cheese melts.

So, my thoughts on this recipe? Well for starters, as I mentioned yesterday I had to substitute cottage cheese for the ricotta. It was pretty close but I did find that the cottage cheese still contained more whey than ricotta does and slightly watered down the sauce. I found that, once baked, the broccoli took on a bitter taste that my son and I did not appreciate. (I definitely prefer my broccoli raw or slightly steamed.) Luckily though, I had also added a small onion and some cremini mushrooms to the saute pan which, in my opinion, really improved the dish. If I was to actually make this again, I would omit the broccoli altogether and just use the mushrooms. I also found that the cheeses were a little on the bland side. The addition of provolone or a smoked mozzarella would have been a much better choice. That said, I think that it's reasonable to conclude that I will not find those cheeses in Deer Lake and will have to wait until I head to Corner Brook again.

So, to wrap up my review, I don't think that I would ever make this dish by the recipe again. I found the final result to be very disappointing.

Quote of the day:
"When baking, follow directions. When cooking, go by your own taste." Laiko Bahrs

Ramblings

It's Monday, absolutely the worst day of the week. I definitely did not want to get up this morning. The bed was too nice and cozy, and I was all snuggled up with the little guy...

Iqaluit had its first official snow day last Thursday, October 30. The whole town was shut down. Made me quite envious. I loved those blizzard days - I miss those blizzard days!

I found what sounds like a really great recipe for 3 cheese penne with broccoli. It calls for ricotta cheese and what do you know? I could not get any ricotta cheese at either of the grocery stores I shop at. What self-respecting grocery store doesn't carry ricotta cheese?! Anyway, I ended up buying lasagna style cottage cheese instead so hopefully there won't be much of a difference.

There are only 8 weeks left until Christmas which utterly sucks! I haven't done one bit of Christmas shopping yet. I tell myself every year that I'm going to start early, like in July, but never do. I could really use a kick in the ass.

Work is sort of painfully slow here today. Time is just dragging. I still have an hour and a half before I can head home for the day and I'm desperate to find something that makes me look like I'm extremely busy.

Quote of the Day:
"The fact that no one understands you doesn't make you an artist." Unknown