less of myself

I have a hard time saying statements like "I am a good student" or "I am a good cook" or "I am a good friend". When i really start thinking about it though....it just takes practice. E swears he's never eaten a meal that i've cooked that he didn't like but I think he's the most forgiving, forgetful person i know. 

I remember bread that would not rise, stew that i tried to rush and fish that stuck to the pan because i didn't know how to cook. not really. But i'm drawing a line with this one. i'm at that place where i can ad-lib a recipe and it turns out great. Where something is not quite right or needs something and i can figure it out on my own. 

 I made chicken korma and fresh naan the other day only kind of using the recipe. it was fab and tasted like home. And those rolls and that soup. typical sunday at our place. 

and this tart? Tasty. So i'm calling it. I can cook. It took practice and i didn't really notice that i was slowly but surely getting better. I'm better. I'm going to try and apply this lesson to other life things. Like school, and friends, and excercise, and creative writing and many other little things. 

GO HABS GO!

So maybe my new facebook profile picture looks like this:

Not all that surprising when you consider that they actually changed the night of the federal election debate (french speaking) just so it wouldn't conflict with the habs/bruins game. Seriously. 

I'm also crazy amused that there are more teams from CALIFORNIA than from CANADA in the NHL playoffs. Really. 

It might sound silly but this is totally part of my heritage. Watching games at home on TV with my dad. Playing street hockey "CAR"! Going to live games, the scrape of skates and the cold smell of ice.  

Skating for PE on Friday's in the winter and even better....skating on outdoor rinks under the stars. One of my earliest memories involves skating on the Rideau canal with a hot chocolate and a beaver tail. 

I may live in sunny Arizona, and yes it's true that I can almost always get away without wearing a jacket year-round. But inside....i'll always be Canadian.  So, GO HABS GO! 

Stretching.

So for the past few months i feel like i've been stretching and adjusting to my new normal. 

E started grad school which means that there is a lot less free time and cleaning the house time. It's a great thing and i'm really happy he is back in school but two full time jobs + both of us in school means we could/should really hire a maid/cook/assistant.

At work i switched positions. I was working in for two felony trial attorneys with one of them assigned to sex crimes/dangerous crimes against children. In January a position opened up to work for the chief criminal deputy who is assigned to homicide and i jumped at the chance to work with him. good stuff: he is a really amazing prosecutor and a really respect him, homicide is actually slightly easier to deal with, my work space is tucked away in a corner, he is very open to me being flexible with work hours (coming in early or working through lunch) if i need to for school. hard stuff: he produces a TON of work so i am really super busy, i really miss working with one of the attorney's i left...we had worked together for 4 1/2 years and it was one of the only reasons i was sad to make the switch. We also have a conference going on for the national victims' rights week and i somehow got pulled in to doing a bunch of graphic design stuff, posters, banners, flyers and even a movie ad for the local theaters. I love that i feel recognized for some skills that i don't usually use at work....but see a few sentences back about being really super busy. 

So i'm feeling stretched, in good and bad ways. Sometimes it's stretched too thin and painful and sometimes it's the feeling of a really great stretch in a yoga class. When i'm really in the zone and feel like i got just a little deeper into Ustrasana then ever before and it feels so damn good. 

Things have been quiet around here mostly because i get very introverted sometimes when i'm feeling stretched so this is just a friendly hello to say i'm here. hi!

(pictures are totally unrelated to this blog but as a side-note i've been very into making soup on Sunday's, that was turkey chili, and when husband and i have a chance we are playing blokus. It's rad. very logic/puzzley which works for the chess coach, although i frequently beat him)

confessions

i have a 4.0 GPA and even though i completely (totally) understand that this will matter not at all once i finish school and that it really doesn't matter all that much right now...i am kinda focused on keeping it.

i can't stand having things open like cupboard doors, closet doors, drawers, boxes...if it won't close correctly because something is sticking out...i have to fix it. to the point that i will get out of bed and fix it. 

i love to eat things like tofu stir fry with brown rice (tonight's dinner) but i feel VERY granola when i say things like that out loud. also goes for recycling, composting and using reusable shopping bags. 

b.t.w. and f.y.i. it is much easier/faster to make a big batch of brown rice at the beginning of the week and keep it in the fridge cause it takes eons to cook. 

i know hot to spell words like methamphetamine and Saskatchewan but today realized that i didn't know how to spell Oklahoma.

this is my first ever "loaf" of bread. since i started this whole "yeast baking" thing i've made rolls, bagels, pretzels, and freeform loaves but a loaf in a loaf pan was somehow neglected until last weekend when i made this lovely, if i do say so myself, loaf to go with some home made chicken soup (with brown rice).

i sometimes (like now) procrastinate doing homework. 

Lately

I've been creating:


and cooking
www.thepieholeproject.blogspot.com

and de-christmasing my house

School starts back up on Tuesday so I guess i should just own the fact that i've been reveling in not having many commitments since 2011 started. And i loved it!

Christmas Cats

Every time that I break out my 50 mm fixed lens I wonder why I don't bring it out more often. 

These little cuties loved playing under the tree (and batting the ornaments, and chasing them all around, and maybe breaking things).

We had a lovely Christmas and i'm filled with hope for a positive new year. 

Cheers for 2011!