Tuned in Tuesday - Kill Your Heros - Awolnation

 

I visited HMV in Montreal the other day and I picked up a few CD's for myself as it was recently my birthday. I bought a CD I'd been wanting for about a year or so. It is the best CD I've listened to in a long time. Since I've had it I've shared it with 3 other people. 1 of them bought it. 1 of them intends to pick it up this week and the third person was BF who says he's stealing it and putting it in his truck. FAT CHANCE!

 

So without any hesitation I definitely recommend Awolnation :)

Bloggy Break

My friend is arriving in just a few hours. SOOOO excited!!!

I went to the store and picked up some foods he likes. I baked cupcakes. The house is clean. I bought wine AND sangria. I feel prepared. Even had time to do my hair.

While he's here I'm going to MIA from my blog because I'm desperate for human interaction so I'll be totally glued to him :)

See you next week! 

What's Cooking Wednesday - Cranberry Sauce

For Thanksgiving this year we chose to make our own cranberry sauce. I was a little nervous because I heard it was hard to do. Boy was I wrong. It was super easy and tasted way better than any cranberry sauce out of the can. Even BF and the children who don't especially care for cranberry sauce enjoyed it. I am never going to buy canned ever again! For this recipe I just followed the directions on the bag.

8 Cups    Whole Cranberries

4 Cups    Brown Sugar

2 Cups    Water

8 Tbl Sp   Lemon Juice

Mix all together in a sauce pan or pot. Bring to a boil and then let simmer for approximately 5 minutes. During this time you will see the cranberries popping. Once the majority are popped I brought out my potato masher and mashed it all up so there wouldn't be any big chunks. Let cool or serve warm. 

I decided to put ours in this little jar from the Dollarama. It was so cute sitting at the table. I froze the rest in a small container. It's so easy to make this ahead of time and just pop in the fridge until you need it. It's good warm or cold.

Overall I'd say this was a real success. I only made 1/4 of the recipe which was easy to do when you look at the measurements. It was more than enough for dinner. I think that if I made the entire recipe it would have been far to much. Then again, I've considered making a large batch next year and "canning" it to give as gifts in an assorted basket. Next time though I'm going to try another recipe because I've read a lot of recipes online that suggest replacing the lemon and water with orange juice. The orange-cranberry flavour is supposed to be amazing. I would also like to reduce the sugar somehow but I realize the cranberries are quite bitter on their own. 

I've been attempting to make a lot more things from scratch to control what's in my food. I hope to grow a garden next year. BF's parents have told me that if we decide to stay in this apartment another year that they encourage me to grow a garden which will be perfect for canning and eating food we grow ourselves from organic seeds. Super excited for that!

Shout out to the Cranberry farmers here in Quebec for supplying such a magnificent product. Your cranberries are delicious!!!

Savings Update

2 awesome things happened today as I was updating my savings.

1. I broke the $1000 mark in my House savings fund. Very exciting!!! Now I just need to do that 39 more times. ...
2. I am just over half way to my savings goal for the month.

I'm really focused on my savings now. I stay up late looking at houses online. Sometimes I send the links to BF to look at. I recently saw two houses that were incredible. One was over the top for me. It was the perfect location for me and so affordable. It was $210,000 and right on the water after traveling up a very private drive. I love that! It almost broke my heart that we're not in the position yet to put in an offer. 

Tuned In Tuesday

This post is dedicated to AP because I know how much she loves this song ;)

Savings Plan Mishap

I've decided to rename one of my savings accounts. BF and I have decided not to buy anymore furniture until we buy our house. We figure we can get by on what we have until then. If we do make any purchases they will be smaller and I don't feel I need to save especially for that anymore. 

Then I realized that there is a big gaping hole in my savings plan. I have nothing put away for health! I've decided to remedy this right away and this will replace the furniture fund. This account will be for many things.

1. Vet Bills - My furchildren have annual exams and vaccines coming up. Better put away for that a bit at a time. Nobody ever wants to imagine their kids getting sick but just in case I better have something available to pay the bill
2. Dental - I know I will at some point need some major dental work done. Not sure if I posted this here but before the move my crown snapped, breaking the little bit of tooth was there and pulling out the post. Its glued in again but I was warned that I will need to fix it at some point because it was temporary. He said my post on the other side was almost ready to give too. Eek! We have no dental through BF's work plan.
3. Spectacles - I need some new glasses. I hate shopping for frames. I might get an eye exam done and buy new ones whenever it is that I visit BC so I can go with my patient Mommabear :) We are lucky to have partial coverage on the glasses but not the exam.
4. Orthotics - Mine are overdue to be replaced. BF's insurance will cover a portion of these but on average they cost about $500.

How could this have slipped my mind? Well it's on my radar now so I'll have to add it to my priority savings list. It's like trying to squeeze water from a stone but I'll make it work.

Is there something in your savings plan that you've overlooked? 

I Have Amazing Friends

So my birthday is next weekend. I haven't been looking forward to it all. I haven't made any friends since I've been here and its a big number. I'm turning 30. There is something horribly awkward about this number. Not only am I leaving my twenties behind but it makes your wind whirl with all the things you thought you'd have accomplished by this milestone. So I've been feeling cranky about it.

Here comes the silver lining. I have amazing friends. One of my best friends is taking a trip out from BC just to be here for my big 3-0. He'll be staying with us for a week which is the best news I've had in a very long time. I am SOOO homesick. I need a friend to hang out with and chat with. I need somebody from my home life to relate to. Somebody who can go out and wreak havoc with me in the streets of Quebec, lol.

It couldn't have happened at a better time. I'm desperate for the interaction with somebody I care for deeply. This is the sign of true friendship. My friend moved out East many years ago to pursue his educational goals. He says he remembers the secluded feeling and wishes to cheer me up by coming out to check out my new life here.

He arrives on Wednesday. I couldn't be anymore exited :)

Surprise Thanksgiving!!!

Last weekend was Thanksgiving. It is one of highlights of October in my opinion. Who doesn't love getting together for a delicious turkey dinner with the family? Crazy people that's who. I was disappointed to learn that BF's family doesn't celebrate Turkey day. Whhhhhhhaaaaaaaatttt? Boourns!
I had spent the day driving around with them during the week before and in the car I told them how much I love turkey dinners. I told them about how my family gets together and we have a great time celebrating. I shared my sadness that there would not be any Thanksgiving this year. Well there would be... but not for me. I told them I was probably going to wait until the week after, purchase a cheap one and eat all by myself, lol.
The night before Thanksgiving I stayed up most of the night talking online to my family. They were going to be having the annual dinner the next day and I was super jealous and heartbroken. I've been very homesick lately. I cried before I went to sleep.
The next day I was slumping around the house in my sweats all mopey bear. BF came in the house and asked me to come see Chipotle sitting way up in the tree. I went out and played with my cats in the yard for a few  minutes. Then my MIL came and started to talk to me. She asked if I bought my turkey yet. I said no. She asked me to come in the garage to see my FIL. So the 4 of us were in the garage laughing and talking. Then it happened....
FIL brought up turkeys and then told me he went out that morning and searched for a fresh turkey. It was in the oven and we spoke. He told me he wanted to do something nice for me and so they were surprising me with Thanksgiving dinner and the whole family was invited. (crying as I'm typing this). I was so shocked. I thought he was kidding at first. Then when it sunk in I started bawling. LOL. Then everyone else started crying. I was so excited and touched.
I went to the grocery with BF to pick up some things. Once we got home I made cranberry sauce for the first time ever and it was delicious. I packed it up in a cute little jar. BF made an apple crisp and we went upstairs to his parents apartment.
Everything was laid out very fancy. I helped my MIL prepare some veggie plates. We opened wine and drank Ceasers. Then we started dishing up. The food was amazing! As soon as we were all seated and the wine was poured FIL decided a toast was in order. He toasted to the family's first thanksgiving in honor of me. This of course made me well up again with tears but I kept it in check this time. Everyone clinked glasses and we chowed down.

Best feeling ever!!!! Made me feel like part of the family.

I will post the recipe for the cranberry sauce on Wednesday :)

Autumn Stroll

4.5 Earthquake

Just a half hour ago we experienced a 4.5 earthquake. I was sitting on our couch on my laptop when it started. The building started shaking and there was a fairly loud low rumble. I yelled out for BF who was sleeping in the bedroom (it was 12.19am). He felt and heard it too.
It was very scary. My first instincts were to wake BF and scoop up the furchildren. I wanted to run outside. With all my earthquake training I know you're not supposed to do that but I live on the bottom floor so .... you get it.
Moving from Vancouver Island I thought I'd escaped this but I suppose not. I have experienced my fair share of earthquakes living there. I've been woken out of a dead sleep. I've seen things knocked over by the shaking. This was the first time I heard that horrible sound. That's what poured fear into my heart as I glanced over at my two little guys staring at me with alarmed faces.  :(
I hate earthquakes so much. They freak me out.
Living on the Island we were always doing earthquake drills and being told to prepare for the "big one". Everyone says its inevitable that it's going to happen at some point. On the Island though the more scary thought is that an earthquake can be paired with a Tsunami. *shudders*
I have to say though that information was available almost instantly online for me to be able to confirm my suspicions which helped me calm down. If you are curious here is the link:

Earthquake Info

Sorry if this post is all over the place. BF went back to bed and I'm still jittery.

Have you ever been in an earthquake before? Do you have an emergency kit prepared?

October Goals

I know... 1/3 of the way into the month.. like really?! Ahaha This is my life :)

October is THE BEST MONTH EVER!!! I mean what is there not to like? SO many awesome things happen. Let me name just a few:

1. My Birthday - Boom! Enough said
2. Thanksgiving - Who ever says no to a turkey feast?
3. Halloween - The worlds most important holiday
4. Autumn begins - Crisp air, delicious apples, cranberries and other yumminess come out to play. The leaves are changing color. 
5. A lot of other awesome Libras around me celebrate their birthdays - Yay, its a birthday fiesta!!

5 glorious reasons to love October. Those were just the ones that popped out of my randomness. I'm sure there are many more reasons I forgot to list. Care to share your favorite thing about October?

So as hard as it is to keep focused with so much amazing stuff happening all around me I must buckle down and accomplish a few things between all the fun.

General Goals

1. Enroll in French classes - More on this later this week :)
2. Finally send in MSP reimbursement paperwork that was supposed to be done a million years ago
3. Send in BF's old MSP cheque he thought he had lost to be reissued because its out of date
4. Turn 30 - ok so that not a goal but a requirement of life, ugh
5. Organize my whole place because company is coming - Another post upcoming
6. Cancel MSP (msp... get off my back, lol)
7. Introduce my couponing obsession to blog - exciting - yes or no?
8. Get some winter clothes - a BC girl starting a new life in QC needs some warmth
9. Enjoy October to the max!!! Find fun activities to enjoy my new province

Financial Goals

1. Set up new RRSP account and start the process of transferring over last jobs contributions.
2. Save $1000 - I did it last month and trying it again might be setting myself up for failure but I've got to put pressure on myself so I'm going to try for it again. 

Health Goals

1. Drink 4 cups of water a day - I will start this from today. I really need to drink more water. 
2. Take 3 long walks a week - I need to get off my ass and get moving around. 

There ya go folks. I'm late to the game and I've got a big list but I'm going to try my little heart out. What is your biggest goal for October?

Tuned In Tuesday

October is just flying by

Wow I can't believe we are a third of the way into the month already! Feels like yesterday it was October first. I'm sorry for my lack of posts. I've honestly been loving life a lot this month and caught up in other things. Bad blogger! If you're a regular reader you know this is one of my naughty habits.
Later today I'm going to post my Tuned in Tuesday :) Also this week I'm going to do a post about my Thanksgiving weekend, October goals (better late then never) and that long overdue post about our big purchase.
Excitement is in the air. I can feel it. October is so amazing.