Christmas in Toronto

One of the reasons I moved to Ontario was so that I could explore the city of Toronto more. It is Canada's largest city and it has lots to discover but I have been awful at visiting. I'm not really sure why. I used to go into Vancouver all the time and Toronto's not that much further away. I guess I just need a reason. Anyway, Sunday evening Grace, Esther and I packed up our ice skates and headed into the city with the intention of skating at Nathan Phillips Square and then checking out Eaton Centre. We left Grace's car at a shopping mall just off the 401 and then I drove us down towards the city centre.

In typical Heidi fashion I kind of aimed the direction I needed to go and started driving. Initially I knew I was going the wrong way so I just waited until it was convenient to turn left and then drove that way for awhile. The road curved, and split and I turned once and then I was on a major road which I took until I could turn left again. I was reading street signs but I hadn't actually looked at what road I needed to be on. Sure enough, within about five minutes, our EXACT DESTINATION showed up on the left!!! Amazing! I totally just stumbled on it. Yeah me! LOL

So this was our destination. City Hall (above) which I've never been to before but it's pretty distinctive, and the ice rink at Nathan Phillips Square which is right in front of City Hall. Can you see the CN Tower peeking through the buildings?

I haven't been ice skating since I left BC. I bought skates in January when I had time before Ashley's funeral (Collingwood has a Canadian Tire. How convenient.) But last winter was too mild and I never got a chance to use them. It took a bit to get going but I was impressed with how fast I managed to move. The rink is a good size so it didn't feel like you were going in tiny circles and it wasn't very busy which was nice.

The crazy part was the weather. It was WARM. Seven degrees Celsius. You can see from this picture how wet the ice was. It makes for a pretty picture! As long as you didn't fall, the wet ice was actually kind of okay because otherwise it was really chewed up. The wet ice was smoother if that makes sense. I managed to stay upright the whole time as well which is good because otherwise I would have been soaked.

We skated for close to an hour and then changed back into boots and stashed the skates in the car. Then we walked around the outside of Eaton Centre and back through the inside. I posed with a mannequin...

Esther posed with a tree...

And we found the massive Christmas tree and 20 foot tall reindeer inside. The stores in the mall were closing by the time we go there which was fine because we weren't there to spend money anyway. Mostly it was just nice to walk around and enjoy the hustle and bustle of the city during the holidays and spend time with each other. I'm going to miss these girls an awful lot while I'm gone!

Friends understand when friends need to stare off into the distance

 I worked over 42 hours this week. I'm exhausted. I didn't have any exams (the last one isn't until Tuesday) so working was my primary focus. Today after work I met up with these three amazing ladies. Kerri, Erin and Heather. We were thinking of watching a movie but instead we just chatted and then made an amazing run to Uptown Waterloo for some treats. We bought pizza, tea from DavidsTea and cupcakes from Honey Bakery. We brought them back to Heather's and proceeded to polish it off. I ate an entire half a pizza plus my cupcake. It was amazing. We're all pretty fried with it being the end of semester and we're trying to not get too depressed with the fact that this is the last time that we'll see each other so we just quietly sat around and visited. It was nice to be able to just be with people who understand how done we are and who didn't mind that we packed up around 6:30 so we could all go home and keep studying. I love these ladies. The next time we see each other will probably be in Europe. That excitement makes parting easier.

It's amazing what a few hours can do

I kept track of everything I accomplished today. It's a rather impressive list if I do say so myself! It's amazing what actually having time can allow one to do.
- Worked 5-9am
- Attended Meeting
- Attended Christmas party
- Talked to three profs about school work and planning for the future
-Dropped off old laptop for recycling
- Bough travel health insurance
- Picked up guide books and maps
- Bought part of one Secret Santa gift
- Picked up school transcript for France Application
- Confirmed registration for winter semester
- Talked to business office re financing
- Picked up second Secret Santa gift
- Called BC Student Loans, scheduled a call back
- Submitted Certificate of Immunization to GSU and received confirmation of receipt
- Received one of two letters needed for France
- Confirmed accommodation for travel to Georgia
- Called Rogers regarding phone contract
- Posted on Facebook about phone for input
- Spoke with BCSL, confirmed that I don't have any action until January
- Made ginger molasses cookies
- Talked to Mom
- Assembled first Secret Santa gift

I still have lots to do but it sure feels good to have achieve this much and I'm a lot less panicky today. (and yes Karin, the chocolate helped :))

So. Much. To. Do.

I had a momentary panic attack tonight. It set in during church when my mind was relaxed but I started going over everything I still have to accomplish in the next just over three weeks. So much paper work and arranging and planning and PACKING and I'm working 40+ hours which is great because I need the money but it's overwhelming. Anyway, I reached out to a few people and they talked me down and I'm okay now (aside from a headache from crying). I sent a few messages when I got home and arranged a few things. I added to my list too. I'll do more tomorrow and I know it will fall into place but man, it sure gets overwhelming!!! Wish me luck!

Truths I have learned

Hey blogland. I know I've been totally MIA again, and I truly do miss blogging. I think about it but somehow I never get her to post. Anyway, this is a bit of a vague post because I'm not about to post the gory details of how or why I learned these truths but suffice to say, I have some incredible friends and awesome people in my life and I thank God for them daily.

Recent Truths I Have Learned:

It's good to be human.
It's good to feel.
Things are rarely as big or as important as they seem in your head.
Life is too short to be spent worrying.
It's not what you do, it's how you do it.

This semester has been interesting in it's own special way. A good lesson in patience but also a lot of growth. I have an incredible 2013 lined up and I'm super excited for it, but I'm not quite ready for this year to be over yet either.

Welcome to Year Three

Summer's gone and I hardly blogged at all. It's not even like it was all that busy, I just never got around to it. Anyway, instead of burdening myself with trying to recap it all, I'm going to start with today. My first day back at school. I'm in my "third year" but I'm technically a half credit short of being a "third year" student which is why I titled this "year three". It's confusing. I know. It will get more confusing as time goes on. The bottom line is, after this year, I still have two full more years to go to complete my undergrad. It's all good.

So, first day back. I have four classes again this semester (hence why a four year program is taking me five years, because I'm only doing four classes at a time instead of five). This semester my classes are all on Tuesdays and Thursdays with one tutorial on Friday. I start on Tuesday (today) at 10am with African History. I took this class for two reasons. 1) I know nothing about Africa and I think it will be interesting. 2) I heard the prof speak at a History Students Association conference a few years back and I loved him. After the first class, I still love him and I'm super excited for this class, although not so much the readings that go with it (they look depressing, I'm sure they'll be interesting though).

That class runs for an hour and a half (well, 80 minutes but for arguments sake, 1.5 hours) and then I have a 1.5 hour break. At 1pm I go to my "Canada Before Confederation" history course. Again I took it for two reasons. 1) I love the topic and think I want to pursue this era. 2) I haven't heard great things about the prof and I want to form my own opinions because there is a chance I'd have her for upper level courses in the future.

Then I have a 1.5 hour break (are we seeing a pattern here?) and at 4pm I start what might be my favourite class. It's officially called "War and Memory in North America" but it deals specifically with the War of 1812 followed by World War One. We have some really cool projects to do and we've planned a field trip to the battlefields at Niagara! Oh, and this prof is amazing. I haven't had him but I've heard fantastic things and judging from the first class, they're right.

After that class I have a short 30 minute break and then I head off to Quebec Culture IN FRENCH for three hours. I have been apprehensive about this class, even after talking to the prof. I'm happy to report that I understood a lot more than I had anticipated. After hardly doing any French over the summer I managed to understand the majority of what the prof said tonight. Granted she has a pretty anglicized accent but she still speaks fairly quickly so I was a bit worried. I'm going to have to work hard but I have easily a dozen friends in that class so we're planning weekly study sessions and I think we'll do well.

Thursday is the same as Tuesday minus the three hour class. Also, the middle one (Canadian History) doesn't have a lecture on Thursday's but sometimes there are what she calls "remedial classes" which are essentially tips on how to do the assignments or what to study for the final. So that's what I'm up to! The other day's I have open for working and for my campus club activities. I'm very active in French Club again, a general member in the History Students Association and, most scarily, a Co-President of NASSA (North American Studies Students Association) eek! And speaking of, I have work to do. Wish me luck!

Hell Week is Over

I don't guarantee that I'll be posting more but maybe. I call last week Hell Week because I worked roughly 30 hours at Headstart and well over 20 at Starbucks. Headstart is a program on campus for incoming first years. It runs on random days in May, June and July but last week it was five days in a row (I worked four of them). My roll was largely directing traffic and making people parked in the proper lot. I did that morning and afternoon for two-ish hours each time. In between I helped students with online registration for classes and then led tours in the late afternoon. It was exhausting but a lot of fun. It has helped to break up the summer but I am sure glad it's over. Being on your feet for eight hours at a time at Starbucks is one thing because you're generally always moving and doing things. Being outside in the HOT sun and standing mostly in one place is a different kind of exhausting. It it has been HOT. And humid. It makes me question my sanity regarding moving to Georgia. I keep reminding myself that I'm going in January though. Hopefully it won't be too hot.

Anyway, Headstart is done and I'm back to just working my 30ish hours a week at Starbucks. It's almost like being on vacation! LOL

Stoney Creek

A couple of months ago I was hanging out with Heather and Kinsey and we were discussing (among other things) our summer plans. I mentioned that I wanted to take advantage of the activities planned in remembrance of the War of 1812 and Heather informed me that she has a friend who is a War of 1812 reenactor! I went home that night and immediately added Ryan as a friend on Facebook...or maybe he added me. She messaged him to say that we needed to meet. (Can you tell which one is him? LOL) I've been chatting with him infrequently ever since. Picking his brain about reenacting and the upcoming events. 

Sunday, June 3rd I had an evening church service and Ryan was in Hamilton at the first major event of the year. The 199th Anniversary of the Battle of Stoney Creek. Heather had been away for most of May so I talked her into coming to Stoney Creek with me so we could catch up (it wasn't that hard to convince her). It was a grey, overcast day. I had on a hoodie and I wore it all day. At one point it warmed up and I pushed up the sleeves but that was as hot as it got. Still when I got home my nose and cheeks were rosy. Stupid UV rays! Anyway, it was actually good weather for an event like this. Too much hotter and it would have been miserable. 

We arrived just before the memorial service (second picture) and afterwards went up the monument to see the view. After that we wandered around and took in the sites. We tried oat cakes made by someone on site, learned about early 19th century diseases, listened to musical performances and sat for over an hour and listened to "Tecumseh" (left). He was a very passionate speaker and very engaging but I got bored. Heather loved him though.

The main attraction was the battle at 2pm. It was preceded by an artillery demonstration (that's Ryan on the  cannon crew). The battle was fully narrated so that us "civilians" could tell what was happening and why. It was fascinating. There was a small group of Americans portraying the "other side". It ended with a moment of silence for all the fallen.

Renactments are interesting to watch, especially when the British are involved in their red coats. 

Heather and I after the battle.

Ryan and Heather. I can't wait until the next event!

The Shallows

A few weeks ago I met up with my friend Steph for drinks at a new cafe in town that I recently discovered. It was a gorgeous day so we sat out on the patio and then went for a walk through Uptown Waterloo and browsed in the shops. We ended up in a bookstore where I picked up a few books from the bargain bin. As I was paying I made a comment about hoping I could concentrate long enough to actually read them. I'm finding that my ability to lose myself in a book for hours on end like I could when I was a kid is gone. I was questioning if it has just been the books I've been reading (are they not that interesting?) or conditioning from working as a receptionist for so many years where you're constantly interrupted. The owner of the book store asked me to wait and he went and pulled a book from the shelf entitled "The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains". I almost never buy full priced books but this one looked so interesting that I just did it. And luckily it was. The book itself is pretty full of stats and results of studies and surveys but the bottom line is that the inability to concentrate that I am feeling isn't unique to me and the culprit is actually the internet!

One passage that really stood out was near the end.

"The influx of competing messages that we receive whenever we go online not only overloads our working memory; it makes it much harder for our frontal lobes to concentrate our attention on any one thing. The process of memory consolidation can't even get started. And, thanks once again to the plasticity of our neuronal pathways, the more we use the Web, the more we train our brain to be distracted - to process information very quickly and very efficiently but without sustained attention. That helps explain why many of us find it hard to concentrate even when we're away from our computers. Our brains become adept at forgetting, inept at remembering. Our growing dependence on the Web's information stores may in fact be the product of a self-perpetuating self-amplifying loop. As our use of the Web makes it harder for us to lock information into our biological memory, w're forced to rely more and more on the Net's capacious and easily searchable artificial memory, even if it makes us shallower thinkers.

The book talks about the lull of electronic stimulation and how our brains have been reshaped and reformed to need it. On one hand it's a bit depressing but on the other, it's nice to know that I'm not the only one feeling like this and it CAN be reversed. It just takes dedicated time to rework those neural pathways. Interesting stuff!

Distillery District

I'm having adventures faster than I can blog about them! Let's see if I can catch up a bit here.

I do realize the irony in following the previous blog post up with this one but I want to stay chronological here. So after posting about how much I like doing things with my friends, Wednesday, May 30th I headed into Toronto by myself. My destination was the First Parliament Interpretive Centre. I need to back up though and give a bit of background. Before I moved to Ontario I was at a ScrapShare Washington Retreat and discussing my plans with my friend Linda. She suggested that I connect with her friend Wendy who is involved in some of the fields I am looking at employment opportunities in. Wendy and I added each other on Facebook and then life got in the way. I moved, settled into school, went to Quebec and took my epic road trip last summer. She moved between Ottawa and Toronto and got divorced. This year when school ended I contacted her again and made plans to come out to visit. Wednesday was that day. 

I was late leaving Waterloo but traffic wasn't too bad so I got to Toronto around 1pm. Wendy was waiting for me and greeted me by name when I walked in. We started chatting and talked for probably two hours straight. It was great. We discussed the exhibit and how it developed, her involvement and the other places she has worked. From what Linda had said I knew Wendy would be a good resource and I was right. We discussed the job market in our field in Ontario, ways to network and a bunch of other things. The exhibit itself is a temporary one so it's mostly just informational panels. I didn't take any pictures but it was interesting to read and a good introduction to the War of 1812 bicentennial events happening in Ontario starting this year.

 The exhibit closed at 4 and I left just before that. Wendy directed me to the nearby historic Distillery District (which is where I had ended up parking my car) and because I wasn't in a rush to get anywhere, I hung around for awhile. I browsed through the shops, ate the lunch I had packed while people watching and treated myself to some fabulous chocolate and a tart from the bakery. In a store called Bergo I found THIS. I first saw it in the MOMA gift shop when Meredith and I were in NYC. I also recently pinned it on Pinterest. I know you can buy it at uncommongoods but I found it for cheaper here. I don't know what I'll use it for. I have no need for a creamer but I've regretted not buying it for two and a half years so I had to get it. Interesting side note. I had a feeling I would find it in that store. All their other stock was similar gadgets and by the same designer so I was working my way through looking closely at each display. Just before I found it I got a call from Meredith. We had been playing telephone tag so I was expecting her call. I also had a pretty good idea of why she was calling. The day before I had learned that one of our elementary school classmates had passed away. I don't even know the last time I saw or spoke to Laura but she used to live across the street from me and we played together a bit. This is really random but one of the clearest memories I have of Laura isn't even about her. It was of Meredith telling me, in maybe grade 3 that Laura had said that her older sister was "bleeding from between her legs". It was the first I had ever really heard of menstruation and I remember Meredith sounding really concerned about Laura's sister and the fact that it could happen to us. I also remember responding in that "I'm-younger-than-you-but-the-oldest-child-in-my-family-calmness" that "There must be an explanation for it. We just don't know what it is yet". Anyway, as I said. Random. The point of that segue was to say that just after I hung up with Mere I found the creamer so in a weird way it felt like she was there with me this time too. Anyway, this has gotten kind of long and rambly. I guess I can finish up by saying it was a nice, relaxing, productive day and I can't wait to get back to the Distillery District and to other parts of Toronto over the summer.

BlackBird Vintage. Another amazing shop that was like having my Pinterest boards come to life. It was everything I could do to hold back and not drop major $$$!

The chocolate shop

The Art of Asking Questions

There is a challenge that floats around that invites you to create a tag line for your life. One quick phrase that summarizes what you are all about. In the past I've considered "A Life with Three Brothers" because being the only girl really does shape your view of the world. Another option is "The Art of Asking Questions". Being able to ask interesting engaging questions is a skill I have honed very specifically and use frequently. Sometimes it's harder than others but usually I can people to open up and share all sorts of information about themselves. I believe it is this skill (and my wonderful personality ;)) that has helped me establish some wonderful friendships. I met up with my friend Laura earlier this week to "plan our summer". She and I have similar interests when it comes to exploring historic sites and we got together to discuss which ones we wanted to visit this summer. You may remember the one adventure we managed to have last summer. I called my parents afterwards because I was so excited and my dad asked "how do you find so many people that you get along with so well?" And so many people that want to do what you want to do. So I told him my secret. I just like to GO. Get out and do as much as possible as often as possible. As you get to know people, and ask questions, you find out what they like to do, and then when you want to do that thing, you call them. I have different friends that I do different things with. If I want to go for a hike our be outside, I call Jess. If I want to go shopping, I call Grace. If it's something to do with food or cooking, Heather and Kinsey are at the top of the list. If I need someone to hang out with or go for coffee or ice cream on the spur of the moment, I can be assured that Steph or Lindsay will be game. And that's just a few people. Yes I make friends easily but I know how to BE with them and to do things that they enjoy. I think that's the key. Get to know them and then meet them on their level. It works great and I'm super excited for what Laura and I have in store!

Grace's Birthday Part 2!

Sunday after church Jerusha had a bunch of us girls over for "Grace's Birthday Part 2". J wasn't able to join us at Niagara but she still wanted to do something to help Grace celebrate so she hosted a lovely luncheon. She had appetizers spread out on the table when we arrived and served a delicious Trinidadian meal. 

After lunch we played "Whoonu" and "Never Have I Ever" and enjoyed this fun cupcake creation. It was a lovely relaxing day. Have I mentioned how much I love all my friends here lately?

Star Wars

My friend Sharlaine moved from BC to Ontario just a few months before I did. She's five years younger than me so we weren't really close in BC but since moving we've developed a deeper friendship. It helps to have someone around who understands what you left behind and knows the same people you do. Sharlaine is a HUGE Star Wars fan. I like Star Wars but I honestly can't remember the last time I actually watched the original three movies. I know I have seen them, probably more than once, but it's easily been ten years or more. Before we moved we made plans to get together to have a Star Wars marathon. On Saturday we finally achieved that.

I worked in the morning and then headed over to Sharlaine's mid-afternoon. I got there around 5pm and we made pizza and settled in to watch the movies. Unfortunately we only made it through the second one (Episode V) before we were both dozing off so we called it a night. Still, it was fun to hang out and remember how much I really do like those movies.

I made little individual coffee flavoured cheese cakes decorated with a Star Wars themed kit from Williams Sonoma for dessert.

Good Timing

(I wrote this post on my Blackberry today while I was killing time. So if it's a bit choppy, that's why. Hopefully it's okay to read because it's about something rather exciting for me.) First a bit of background because I can't remember if I've blogged this before and if I have, I don't expect my readers to remember it. Rewind to first semester of first year. Following the advice of the history undergrad advisor I took a course called "North American Studies 101". The prof and I hit it off extremely well. Out of a class of 200, I participated a lot and often stayed after class to chat. She's also from BC and we found we had a lot in common. As I worked through my first year homesickness, I found I could often turn to her as proof that it would all turn out okay.  Our final exam was on December 22nd. As I was leaving we chatted a bit about our plans for the holidays (both of us were going back to BC) and she asked if I had heard of her NO202 course called "North American Narrative Place and Identity". I was aware of it but, because it was a second year course, I hadn't thought about it much. Well, she invited me to take it with her in the winter semester since the following year (my actual second year) she was scheduled to be on sabbatical and wouldn't be teaching it. It didn't take me long to realize that when a prof invites you to take a course, it's a good thing, so I enrolled. To keep the story short, it was one of my favourite classes ever. The paper I wrote was called "The Representation of the Senorita in Contemporary Country Music" and I got 93% on it (!). I got an A+ overall in that class (the only one I've received so far). So by the end of that year, because of her and how much I enjoyed North American Studies, I declared myself a double major in History and NAS.  So second year goes by. She was on sabbatical and I've taken three other NAS classes (none of which were taught by her anyway). As I was building my third year schedule I realized that the only course that I could take with her is a French course (she's cross listed as a prof in NAS and French). This is a course I was planning on taking for my French minor anyway. It's on Quebec Culture and can be double counted as credits for both French and NAS. But, it's IN FRENCH! I have to admit I was pretty nervous about having to participate and write in French. The content isn't too bad, I mean we study Quebec a lot in NAS, especially in contrast to English Canada and, when I was in Montreal I learned that history really is the same in French as in English (for the most part). Anyway, I talked to a few of my coworkers who have had this prof, in French, and asked what their experience was. In general it was a pretty favourable review but one of them did caution that she seems to pick favourites. This is criticism of her that I've heard before and I admit I laughed it off because we all know where I stand that way ;) the thing that concerned me was possibly losing that status over my less than stellar language skills. Keep in mind that I see her as someone who could be a fourth year seminar advisor and a very good contact for future opportunities so maintaining this status is important to me. I decided to be proactive and go talk to her before classes start in September. Just be really upfront and explain that while I am looking forward to this class, I have some concerns. I figured honesty is the best policy and that way I don't feel like I'm hiding anything and that I can go to her for extra assistance when I need it. Okay, now to the point of our story. So I'm psyching myself up to talk to her in September and guess who comes in to Starbucks on Monday? Just as I'm about to go on my lunch break too. I almost didn't recognize her since it's been a year since I saw her last but I recognized her voice. I said hi, welcome back, etc and we started chatting like no time had passed (except that we had a year of stuff to catch up on!) She ended up staying in the store while I had my lunch and we talked about everything. My experience with Explore and living in Quebec (she did the program 20 years ago), my trip out East, the 2011 playoff run (she's a huge Canucks fan), me going to Georgia, my review of the French profs I've had this year AND the WHOLE structure of this course that I'm taking with her. She was happy to hear that I am going to be in it and I was really upfront with my feelings. I told her why I'm nervous and she told me why, for what I want out of it, I shouldn't be. Apparently when this course was first designed there were only 30 seats. That allowed for a lot of interaction and participation and people wrote papers that were graded with feedback. Now the class has expanded to 80 seats with no marking support. 80 people means there's a wide range of language ability and it makes in class discussion difficult and grading papers a monumental task. She kind of apologized for that and said that from a "French language improvement point of view", the class would be a disappointment. It's mostly listening and reading. There will be weekly readings with short answer "homework" assignments which are mostly completion marks, two multiple choice mid-terms and a final that will require writing but not a lot and it will be graded on content rather than grammar. So for anyone looking to improve their speaking or writing skills (which I am not really) the class wouldn't be good. But for anyone looking to learn about culture (which I am) it will be fine. So there. I was prepared to worry for another three months and now I don't have to! Plus she has emailed me some of our readings so I can get a headstart on the more difficult ones. Talk about good timing and how everything works out for the best. I need to keep believing that!

Port Dover

Monday, May 21st was Victoria Day. I worked a six hour shift at Starbucks (time and a half baby! ;)) but I was done by 1pm so I made plans to meet up with Jess in the little town of Port Dover on Lake Erie. It's about the same distance from my place to Port Dover as it is from hers and there's no real convenient place to meet up so we just met there. It worked well though because Jess had the whole day off so she was able to go out early. I got there around 3pm and joined her on the patch of beach that she had staked out. This picture was taken later in the evening when the beach had cleared off. It was BUSY, which makes sense since it's the "official start of summer" and probably the nicest May Day we've had in a long time.

We both brought snacks but we got fish and chips for dinner anyway. I had the perch and she had halibut. Food eaten outside always tastes better and this was no exception.

The line for food was crazy long. Can you see Jess (in the grey cap) and Chili in line?

We both had books so we just sat and enjoyed the nice weather. We read a bit, chatted and did a lot of people watching. It was a wonderfully relaxing way to welcome summer. I hope we can have a lot more days like this.

Niagara Falls

This is my friend Grace. She turned 25 on Friday. She was having a hard time with that number. I think we all have issues with some number or another. For me it was 23. 25 was actually pretty fun. Anyway, since she needed a distraction, a group of us decided to go to Niagara Falls for the night. There were seven of us total so we got two hotel rooms just a few blocks from the falls. We carpooled down and arrived about an hour and a half before our dinner reservations. I had anticipated the early arrival and packed a selection of cheese and crackers which I served as an appetizer on the slate cheese board that I bought Grace as a present. (I bought the same one for her brother and sister-in-law's wedding last year and she's been coveting it ever since ;))

Grace is a very girly girl so we decided to use her birthday as an opportunity to get dressed up. Our dinner reservations were at the Keg so we all pulled out our fancy dresses and did our hair. We got lots of looks but the "Happy 25th Birthday" balloon that we made Grace carry explained a lot :)

After dinner we changed into more comfortable shoes and then set out on a scavenger hunt that Sharlaine created. (Note the feather boa and blinking crown for Grace ;)) We broke into two teams and had to find 25 things such as: ONE famous person (a picture or a statue), a person with TWO tattoos, THREE people drinking coffee, etc. And of course get a picture of a team member with each person. It was a lot of fun. We only gave ourselves 45 minutes so there was a lot of running involved. My team won but only because we managed to get a group picture with TWENTY people looking at the camera (in Tim Hortons, we just kind of shouted and everyone looked LOL)

Saturday morning we slept in, had our own continental breakfast in the hotel (I brought fruit, one of the other girls brought homemade biscuits, and we had the leftover cheese) and then we headed out to see the falls. Even though Grace was born and raised in Ontario this is the first time she had actually been to the falls (other than crossing the border). She's been lots of other places. England, France, BC and on two cruises but sometimes the things in your own back yard are just as hard to get to.

It was a fabulous day for sightseeing. It was the holiday weekend so it was a little busy but not as bad as it will be later in the summer. It was sunny and warm with a slight breeze so when we did get hit with the spray from the falls it was refreshing more than annoying. The mist at the Canadian Falls was there but it wasn't really all that bad.

The first time I visited Niagara Falls was during my trip to Ontario at Easter in 2000. We drove down on Good Friday and had to be back for an evening church service so we didn't have a lot of time. It was a cold overcast day as well so it wasn't all that enjoyable. Aside from the brief stop I made on the American side of the falls in December 2010 I haven't been back. Maybe it's all in my head but I swear the falls look different from when I was there in 2000. I feel like I can tell that they have receded. It's really interesting to see.

Grace, Sharlaine and I decided to take the Maid of the Mist. Again, I did ride it twelve years ago but this time we were able to go SO much closer! Right up to the base of the Canadian Falls. It was awesome!!! Well worth the money it costs.

These are the American Falls as seen from the Maid of the Mist.

I didn't actually realize the bird was there until I uploaded this picture. I like it. There are tons of birds all around the falls and they are interesting to watch too.

After the boat ride the three of us joined up with the rest of the group and we visited a few of the shops in Niagara. The Hershey and Coke stores were favourites. This picture was taken in a hotel lobby by a friendly guy with an accent. That's me at the bottom, Susannah, Sharlaine, Elizabeth, Grace, Rachel and Esther. Just some of my awesome friends in Ontario :) 

Grandma & Grandpa

Today would have been my maternal grandparents sixtieth wedding anniversary. Unfortunately Grandma passed away just after their 45th and as I mentioned in my last post, Grandpa passed away this last Christmas (December 28th to be specific). They had an incredibly rich life though. They met in Germany where they were both working on a farm after the war. The married on May 18, 1952 at the Lutheran Church in Beedenbostel, Germany which is just outside of Gockenholz where the farm was. In 1953 the emigrated to Canada along with my grandmother's parents, three brothers and sister. The landed at Saint John, New Brunswick and took the train to Raymond, Alberta. There they all worked on a sugar beet farm for a few years to pay back the fees that the Lutheran Church had paid to sponsor them to come to Canada. From there they moved up to just outside of Edmonton and lived on a farm and then in town for the rest of their lives. They had five children. Two boys, two girls and fifteen years later, another boy. My mom was the youngest girl. Because my family moved from Alberta to BC when I was three I didn't have daily contact with my grandparents but we'd visit several times a year and often for a longer stretch during the summer so I did have a good relationship with them. It's hard to believe they're both gone now and that Grandma has been gone for half my life. I still miss her every day. I was given her wedding ring when she passed away. It's just a simple gold band with Grandpa's initials and the date of their wedding engraved inside (HB Mai 52) I wear it every single day and rarely take it off. Today means that it is at least sixty years old as well. It's a reminder of their quiet love and simple endurance. I treasure it more than anything and am honored to wear it.

Ashley

I know a lot of people and I consider a lot of people friends. Some people are particularly special though. One year ago today I met one of those people. One year ago today I arrived in Chicoutimi, Quebec and when I got to my host family's home, I realized that there would be two other students living there with me. What I didn't know was how much and how deeply one of them would impact my life and in how short of a time. I met a lot of people during my time in Quebec but Ashley Gibson and I formed the deepest bond of all. As someone who only had brothers and who hadn't had much success with roommates, I never knew the intimacy that could develop when you live with someone, especially when you are sharing the experience of the Explore Program. It is very intense and without Ashley and the other friends I made, I don't think I would have made it though.

Ashley and I initially connected because we were so close in age (she only had six months on me). Our other housemate, Museb was much younger and good was a good sport about taking on the role of "little brother". In the five weeks that I was in Chicoutimi Ashley and I were pretty much always by each others sides. She was in a different classroom but we often ate lunch together and sought each other out at break times and for group events. Most evenings we either had dinner at the school or with our host family and then she and I (and sometimes Museb) would go out. I spent more time in pubs and bars in that time than all the rest of
my life combined (well...it felt like it anyway ;)) But really, that's what we did. Ashley drank, I drove, we were a fabulous pair. Then on weekends we'd go exploring. It was generally someone different in the back seat. Victoria joined us a few times, Beth, Vita, Steve, Adam, Connor, the list goes on but it was always, ALWAYS, Ashley and I together in the front. We covered the Saguenay Region in the sun, rain and fog and sampled every cheese curd, ice cream and beer (for her) that we could find. It was around the fourth week that I had to go out quickly. I was driving away from the house when I realized "this is the first time I've been alone in my car since I arrived!!!"

I wouldn't have had it any other way. We shared so much in such a short time

I saw Ashley twice after Quebec. Once on July 8th when I was passing through Toronto and managed to meet up with her for dinner (I met her mom that night too) and once on August 31st when we met up for lunch at a restaurant just down the street from her house. Once school started our lives both got so busy it was hard to coordinate our schedules. Even so we BBM'd frequently and stayed in touch on Facebook. Over Christmas we made plans to get together for her birthday on January 6th. My return was delayed by the death of my grandfather and her party was postponed due to the death of her grandmother. A few days after our last exchange which was "I'll let you know when we reschedule" I received a phone call from Ashley's mother telling me that Ashley had died. As far as I know her death was caused by a bad mix of new prescription drugs and just like that her young life was ended. She had just had her 32nd birthday. I did make it up to Collingwood for the funeral. That was one of the hardest drives I've ever had to make but it was also therapeutic in it's own way. It seemed like a long drive was a good way to pay homage to someone who I got to know so well in my car. I still miss her like crazy and think of her often. I've lost other friends and acquaintances but never one whom I was so close with. Even if she was only in my life for a little over seven months.

My $8.80 Gamble

So, as a follow up to my previous post, I present My $8.80 Gamble. This is the dry goods I bought at the bulk foods store as a result of reading Pinterest. (clockwise from top left) Dry kidney beans, dry pinto beans, bulgur, flour, couscous, dry black (turtle) beans and cornmeal. The flour and cornmeal aren't really a gamble, I've used them before and I was low. The beans, bulgur and couscous however, were. I have used beans before but only ever the canned kind. I even called my mom and asked why she never used dry beans. They are SOOOOO much cheaper! And, in the spirit of "real food" don't have any additives like salt. Her response was mostly that it just took too much planning to get them, soak them, cook them, and THEN include them in a recipe. It's much easier to just open a can and dump them in your pot. Fair enough but I'm finding that all the prep that goes in to cooking, especially clean cooking, is part of the fun of it. It's kind of a game for me. Now, I realize that I'm one person and if a dish I'm planning isn't ready I can just have cereal for dinner. It's different when you're feeding a family. I get that. But still, it seems worth it to me. So the black beans were for a delicious Black Bean Salad that I'm already craving again. The kidney beans, pinto beans and bulgur were for a vegetarian chili. It took me almost a week to prep it. Tuesday I started soaking the beans, Wednesday I cooked them on the stove. Thursday I soaked the bulgur and would have made the chili but it was a GORGEOUS day and just not chili weather. Friday I finally made it. Vegetarian chili is initially a little different to get used to because it doesn't have that hearty meaty taste but I added extra chili powder so it's still got kick and it's very satisfying. Plus, removing the meat makes it much healthier which is the point. I made cornbread muffins to go with it. Lastly I used the rest of the pinto beans for Easy Slow Cooker Refried Beans. My landlord has a slow cooker which she stores downstairs and has given us permission to use. This was my first time using a slow cooker, ever. I like refried beans as a base for my version of Mexican food (basically just a tortilla with beans and lots and lots of veggies on top). This recipe was easy. The only thing I would do in the future is be sure to only let them cook for eight hours. I left them in for closer to nine and all the water was gone. They're a bit dry but I just add water before reheating and they're perfectly fine. The good news is that even though I've eaten over a third of it already (in wraps, pitas, etc) I still have a ton so I won't even be trying it again for a long time. 

So there, that's my report on the cooking adventures that eight dollars and eighty cents bought me. And I haven't even use the couscous yet! I have some plans for that though. I'll let you know how it goes. And who knows, maybe I'll inspire someone else to use dry goods. 

How Pinterest Changed My Life

That sounds dramatic but stay with me here. I'm online every day and accessing certain websites via my phone all day. Before Pinterest the websites I visited were very limited. Facebook, ScrapShare, my school's website, Hotmail, the bank, and a couple of radio stations. There were a handful of blogs that I visited as well but I mostly read those through the updates sent to my email. I was aware of Pinterest but avoided it like the plague because it seemed to all consuming. I finally broke down back in March or so and asked a friend for an invite. As predicted, it was immediately addicting but I found that I didn't only repin things, I actually clicked the links and visited the websites. And I made the stuff I found! So Pinterest has opened up a whole new world of websites to me (ones that I never ever would have visited on my own) and it's inspired a new passion for cooking. I have a separate board for some of the Recipes I've Tried if you're interested.

The other part of how Pinterest "changed my life" is more directly credited to a website I found because of Pinterest. 100 Days of Real Food doesn't really say anything different than anyone else but it's presented in a way that just makes sense. Initially, as a student on a very, VERY limited budget, I was drawn to Lisa's 100 Days on a Budget. If she can feed a family of four healthy, filling "real food" on $125 a week, then surely I can do it on even less than that. Especially since I have a ton of staples in the cupboard already. I read all the entries for the 100 Days on a Budget and then moved on to the Original 100 Day Pledge. Lisa follows Michael Pollan's mantra from his book "In Defense of Food" "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants." I haven't read the book yet myself but I plan to this summer. This plan just makes sense and in the twoish months since I discovered Lisa's blog, I have started making these changes. For the first couple of weeks to say I had "changed" was laughable because I was still eating the food I had on hand. All the processed frozen things in my freezer and boxed items in my pantry. Over time the change was reflected in my shopping habits. The best part about how Lisa presents her suggestions is that is empowering. Instead of feeling deprived because I "can't" eat certain things, the difference is that now I "can" but I CHOSE not to. For a stubborn person like me who HATES to be told what I SHOULD do (should is my most hated word ever) being given the choice of eating crap or eating whole, clean, real food, is liberating.

So this discovery of a website (with recipes) that focus on "real" food along with the eye catching pictures from Pinterest, have combined to really, finally, change how I think about food. And the best part? It's FUN! I look forward to each meal I prepare now. What a concept. :)

Wonderful Weekend

Saturday night my Uncle Doug (dad's younger brother) his wife LaRae arrived in Ontario. We met up for dinner in Burlington where they were staying before heading to Niagara. It was wonderful to see them (they're the first family that has "visited" since I moved here!) We had a nice dinner and then went for ice cream. The whole time we caught up on each other's lives, discussed all the family weddings scheduled for this year (my two brothers, their son, and one other cousin/nephew). We also reminisced about family history and discussed the genealogy research I've been doing out here.

Since I was already in Burlington I had made plans to stay over night with my friend Jess. I got to her place just before 10pm. We chatted a bit and then went to bed and slept in on Sunday. It was the first Sunday of the month so we had a late service (7pm) which meant we had the whole day to do whatever we wanted to. We started with breakfast and then went for a walk along a section of the Bruce Trail. It was a perfect day for a walk. Sunny and warm with a slight breeze that keep it just right. We walked along a creek and then up a hill and looped back around to the parking lot. The whole thing took just over an hour.

Next we drove into Oakville and went shopping in their downtown district. This was my first time visiting there and we weren't looking for anything in particular so it was just nice to poke around in the shops. Jess bought a beautiful linen skirt and we shared some meringues from a bakery while sitting in a park and watching all the little kids run around on the grass.

Once we were done shopping we went back to her place, had an amazing dinner of fish, new potatoes and salad and then got ready for church. Nothing about the day was particularly spectacular (except for the weather) but it was incredibly relaxing and wonderful. This week I am doing a lot of closing shifts at work so I am going to enjoy having my days to myself.

Back Online!

I know no one here has probably missed me since I'm blogging so infrequently these days but I was offline for the early part of this week. Not totally because I do have access on my phone but something got messed up on my computer so I couldn't get online. I finally broke down and it took it into the tech shop at school where one of my Starbucks regulars ran a "network system restore" and now it's all happy again. So how did I survive for three days without regular internet access? And why did it take me that long to decided to fix it? Two words: Downton Abbey. I borrowed the first two seasons from a friend of mine...well, a week ago today and I finished watching them last night. It's SOOOOOO GOOD! It's been a long...no, scratch that. I don't think I've EVER been this addicted to a tv show! I had heard good reviews of the show and when I heard she had it, I was excited to see what all the hype was about. I'm happy to report that it was just as good as it was made out to be. It's really what I needed following exams. Just some mindless entertainment. I also have the last few seasons of Road to Avonlea (I started watching that last summer after I got back from PEI) and I'll borrow "Larkrise to Candleford" from this same friend soon. I may rewatch Downton before I give it back though. It's that good!

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.