Friday Fill-ins

And...here we go!

1. Vegetables are best period. More on this in another post.
2. Pinterest has too many mason jars; and I don't have enough.
3. How wonderful it is to do nothing and then relax afterwards. <-- one of my favourite quotes
4. Five Love Languages is a book I'd love to recommend.
5. Using leftovers: I like all leftovers. It means less cooking!
6. Good music makes me incredibly happy!
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to studying, tomorrow my plans include writing two exams and Sunday, I want to PARTY BECAUSE I'LL BE DONE SECOND YEAR!

Friday Fill-in Blog

After my French exam I was craving Greek so we went for Egyptian. That makes sense right? No? Okay, let me explain. I've been nursing a craving for tzatziki for a few weeks now. My friend Heather and I were discussing it after a recent trip to the St. Jacobs Farmers Market and she mentioned that there is an excellent Egyptian restaurant in town that serves amazing lamb, tzatziki and the tabouli that I sampled at the market for the first time and fell in love with. In celebration of completing my French exam yesterday, we went for an early dinner. I followed her lead and ordered her usual: lamb kofta served over Egyptian rice mixed with vermicelli noodles, tabouli, some sort of spicy bean mixture that I forget the name of, and of course the tzatziki. I also had some pickled (in beet juice?) turnips. It was delicious. Different from anything I've ever really eaten but I loved it. It's also a HUGE portion so I have at least half of it still waiting for me in the fridge.

So what's the Greek tie in? Just the tzatziki. When I say I'm "craving Greek" I really mostly mean the tzatziki. This stuff was different from what I am used to in that it had chunks of cucumber rather than the shredded version I have had in the past but it was still good. It inspired me to try and make my own as well. I bought "Balkan style" yogurt last time I was at the store (instead of the regular pre-sweetened stuff I usually buy) but I used it all in my morning smoothies. I need to go shopping again and I'm going to get either Balkan or Greek style yogurt and see if I can make my own tzatziki. I'll let you know how it goes!

My own Passion Tea Lemonade

I've been meaning to try this for awhile. Today I'm just sitting at home studying for my 7pm exam and getting tired of drinking water. I brewed up a large cup of Tazo brand Passion Tea (I got a tea bag from work so I could try this) poured the brewed tea into a  glass, added approximately a tablespoon of lemon concentrate (that yucky stuff from the bottle that they say you're not supposed to use but I do because it doesn't go bad like real lemons and I need it for the bran muffins I like to make), a bit of honey, all the ice cubes in my Ikea ice cube tray, and water to fill the glass to the top. It totally works! It's not exactly like Starbucks Passion Tea Lemonade but it's very drinkable and a little better for you since it's sweetened with honey instead of Classic Syrup. Plus it doesn't taste like tea (I don't like regular iced tea). I'm going to get a whole tin of Passion Tea because I can see myself making this a lot more during the summer.

Random Easter Memories

I suppose any annual event makes you think about past ones but today I'm reminiscing about past Easters. When I was a kid the chocolate was there but the emphasis was, as with every Sunday, always on church. Doing an Easter egg hunt was always a bit awkward because it was either completed in a hurry before church (like the picture) or we had to wait until after which was just painful :P

Because we moved a fair bit, Easter is very much associated with the house we were living in at the time. For example I know, from our ages and the angle that this was the house on Harwood. I very clearly remember the excitement of finding our chocolates in Mom and Dad's closet too. And our "baskets" that were actually empty Becel margarine tubs :)

The year we were on Astoria we had our hunt in the back yard. That summer we found a stray chocolate egg in the dryer vent. Somehow we had missed it and by then it was very melted. Ooops!

One year on Perth we had to do the hunt in the living room because it was POURING rain outside.

When I got older it was less about the chocolate and more about the fact that I had a long weekend and it was a great time to travel. In 2000 I visited Ontario for the first time and in 2007 I was in Texas. It is crazy to think that I now LIVE in Ontario (I joked about moving back then but I never, ever would have done it) and it floors me that Texas was five years ago already.

Easter is obviously about much more than chocolate or travel. After this weekend my heart is full of thanksgiving, love and new memories as I look back five years, twelve, twenty some and two thousand to where it all began.

Yeah for impromptu ice cream dates

I had just sat down for dinner when I got a text from a friend asking what I was up to. She wanted ice cream so after I finished eating I caught a bus over to the school and we walked a few blocks down to DQ. I had a peanut buster bar, something I've been craving for awhile now. Then we walked back and I caught the bus home. All in all I was only gone for about 45 minutes but it was nice to get out and enjoy the spring evening. Yeah for being spontaneous!

Five Friends and yummy bread

I thought I blogged about the last time these lovely ladies and I got together but I can't seem to find the entry. Because of that, I'll give a bit of background. We met on the History Students Association trip to Quebec City in January 2011. While everyone else was out drinking we bonded. We see each other around campus but don't really hang out a lot. We met up in April 2011 for an outing to a bakery in Guelph and again in August or September for coffee at Williams here in Waterloo. Getting five people with crazy schedules together every few months is a bit tricky but we love catching up so I think we'll make a point of doing it for a few more years. L-R is myself, Megan (back), Laura, Louise and Adrienne. I actually have history classes with Megan and Laura this semester so I talk to them a bit more but I rarely see Louise, who is an English major or Adrienne who is an Archaeology major. 

Since I was the one who contacted everyone to organize the get together, I got to chose where we went. We decided to stay in town again and this time we checked out a new German Bakery in town (Mere, this is the one I was telling you about) Adrienne had a year end brunch banquet that day so we just met up for mid-afternoon coffee. I had one of the donuts and bought a big bag of day old buns for $5. 

The bakery actually makes it's bread IN Germany and then has it shipped over about 60% baked. They finish the baking here and serve it. The result is fresh, authentic German bread that throws everyone who supports buying local into a fit of confusion. The bread itself is obviously not local and the carbon footprint is huge but it IS a local business and it's just so good! Plus the shop itself is adorable. I'll definitely be back (this is already my second visit) they have my support for sure.

As for my lovely friends, we're all spreading out over the summer but I'm sure we'll meet up again in September, if not before.

Heidi's tips for Saving Money: Win stuff!

I'm happy to report that my track record for winning things from the local radio stations has continued in Ontario. So far I've won the newest Eric Church CD - Chief, and the previously mentioned Hunger Games movie tickets and sound track. I also "bought" (with points earned by entering bonus codes online) tickets for myself and two friends to go to to the Waterloo Region Food & Drink show at the Kitchener Market.

My latest acquisition was a "call in and win" thing on FaithFM. On Sunday nights they have a gospel hour and they've been giving away cd's and dvd's of the Collingsworth Family over the last few weeks. I've been caller 3, 4, and last night I was 2, 4 AND 7. Luckily 7 was the lucky number and I won a copy of the the "A Decade of Memories" dvd. The Collingsworth Family is here in concert this week but I can't attend because of a prior commitment so this is a nice substitute. Plus, it was freeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! :D

Good-bye

My latest roommate has moved out. It's a weird feeling. She's been here for six months but we hardly ever talked so I can't really say I'll "miss" her. We both just let each other do our own thing and didn't get in the others way. We shared the fridge and kitchen space but she let me have a lot more space than she ever took. The fridge looks weird because it's half empty (like, the right half is perfectly clear) and the shelf where she kept her food is empty. Other than the fact that her bedroom door is open and the room is cleared out, nothing is really different. I didn't get a chance to say good-bye though. Maybe that's what feels weird. Even though "good-bye" would be more than we've said to each other in a long while.

A new girl took a look at the place the other day. I haven't heard yet if she's going to take it or not. For the record, whoever moves in next will be my fourth roommate in two years. The first one drove me nuts, the second one I never, EVER saw, and the third one who just moved out was just there. Very unobtrusive. I'm interested to see how the next one will be.