Writing and Spaghetti

      Sooooooooooo .... I have been a  looooooooong hiatus from writing. However, these past couple months, I have filmed two movies, and on  the flight home, was inspired to start really writing again. Something about being up in the clouds, just makes me not able to not write. It was marvelous! Not only am I working on the second novel in a set of three I plan to finish, but I have two new ingenious ideas for two totally different books.
      My stories are for me. If other people, someday, get the change to read them, then even better. If not, then no loss.

     As for spaghetti, I have a wonderful recipe I make from scratch, that I am going to get around to posting one of these days. I have pictures from the last batch I made, but I think I want to take new pictures this summer, when I make it again. Although, I may just end up posting it.

GRILLED PEANUT BUTTER!!

Just OMG YUM! 

Make peanut butter sandwich with banana. Drizzle honey and sprinkle cinnamon over bananas. Butter outside of sandwich and grill like a grilled cheese. So yum!

Unwrapped Tzatziki Salad

Love eating wraps, but I don't always like the mess of them (I may be guilty of over-stuffing). Also they aren't easy to take for lunch sometimes. So I started eating unwrapped salad.






Cucumber
Sweet red pepper
Romaine lettuce
Avocado
Spinach wraps
Tzatziki sauce
Cayenne pepper

 

I like my veggies all cut up into nice little cub-y pieces. :) 

Then mix-y mix-y mix-y. YUM!

"Run Away, Run Away, Run Away From The Stench And The Trenches"

Title from "Run Away - Monty Python's Spamalot"

So, I have decided to actually START the Couch-to-5K. I'm loving it and hating it. The weather has gotten cold ... well some days are FREEZING while other days are warm. Today was warm and I made the mistake of wearing a fall sweater. But the other day it was colder than it seemed and I just about perished in my t-shirt.

Despite some minor setbacks last week, I have moved on to my second week of the program. I found some free podcasts that talk you through the intervals (with music and stuff). So, I'm really hoping I can get back into the swing of being active again. I used to run all the time and loved it, and then with my accident and ankle surgery, I just stopped everything. So, now my plan is to get back in shape, and lose the weight I put on since my surgery (YEARS ago).

I'm a little worried about the running though. Winter in fast approaching, and the 9 week program will most probably run into snow. AND, since I don't want to throw away 9 weeks of work, I'll have to keep running through the winter, which is going to be hard to do this year. Being out in the country, while all the big trucks are out here working on a project, leaves the roads not the safest to run on in good weather ... I'm not going to think about it now. I'll deal when the time comes.

Hodge Podge & Leaf Lettuce Salad!

We drove out to the country store, and bought some nice fresh veggies from the farmers today, to make Hodge Podge with Leaf Lettuce Salad. OMG GOOOOOOD!

First you wash all the veggies, snap the ends of then green beans & break them in two, dry the lettuce, peel the carrots, scrape the peeling off the potatoes (not peel ... and sometimes, depending on the potato, leave the peeling on).

Put the dried off lettuce in a big bowl with a piece of bread; cover and put in fridge. The bread helps to keep the lettuce crisp.
Cook all the veggies (expect the lettuce & chives) in the same pot. Let the water boil off until about half (or more) of it's gone. Add enough milk to completely cover everything. Continue to simmer.

For the salad, rip up the leaf lettuce (other kinds of lettuce just aren't the same). Add the chopped up chives, sour cream and salt. Simple as that. (Salt to taste.)
This meal is fabulous when the veggies are all small and coming up all new and fresh. While not AS good later in the year, it still taste good and is a good way to use up extra veggies lying around. Any veggies can be put into the hodge podge.


In the spring of the year we use:
Hodge Podge
Fresh green/yellow beans
Fresh garden peas
Fresh small carrots - washed, not peeled, snapped into 1/2 or 1/3's
New baby potatoes - washed, not peeled

Leaf Lettuce Salad
Fresh leaf lettuce
Fresh chives
Sour Cream

More Papers ... AND Coloring!!!

Sooooooooo .... it's raining AGAIN!!

I'm about halfway through scanning my papers. There are literally thousands of pages from only two years. UGH! At least I have a whole slew of shows to watch, and lots of coffee to drink.

I think I'll scan another class or so and then color for a while. Just bought a coloring book! New markers, pencil crayons, and crayons! There is nothing quite like the feeling you get from smelling a newly opened box of crayons! (Or a new book!) :)

Foods and Papers

So, lately (well, the past two days), I have been scanning thousands of papers so that all my old classes are in single pdf files that I can access on my ereader. I like the idea of each class being one file, instead of each class having 15-30 or so different files. They have some really nice scanners out now. This one is no bigger than my girly forearn, and it scans the pages in only a few seconds, I've been having show marathons, and I just keep feeding the scanner. :)

Food ... For a long time, I just haven't much cared enough to eat well. (Also I was just on a 3 week trip/vacation, and it was splurging time.) So the past two days, I have been eating super healthy. I think my body went into shock yesterday from the overly healthy binge. I have kept up the healthy eating today, and I am starting to feel a little better; not quite as tired anymore. I think after a week or so of healthy, I will start running again. I LOVE running, used to run for hours at a time with my boyfriend back in university. It's been a long time since I have run. I do miss it. So, I'm hoping next week, I can really get the ambition to start building my endurance. I'm also hoping my recently spranged ankle will be built up enough to be able to handle it.

CATS!!!!!!!!!

My friend's cats! They are so cute! Click Here

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7TxE8zTyDE

Here We Go Again!

And Here we go again. I forgot how much I missed travelling by the seat of my pants! My flight isn't until tomorrow night, but I made some calls and booked a flight with just enough time to get to the gate from my place. Really thinking now. I just need to "gypsy" again. This stable, scheduled existence was never my thing. :)

Miss the Stars

Darkness in the city. (After 1:30am) ... Miss home. Miss the stars.

All Packed!

Well half of my clothes are now all packed and ready to go. I don't leave the city for a week, but I am changing locations for a week, then I am leaving, so everything needs to be packed for the trip, now. I have also decided to send half my clothes home to stay. In March, there will be a car driving to my home, and I am working on boxes to pack to have shipped back. I am trying to relocate at least 50-75% of my belongings back to the old country! That way the mass exodus (yes, my very own mass exodus) out of this city will be less of a challenge - whenever that may take place. May/June 2014 is the very latest ... but honestly, the way things are it might be sooner, who knows.

Talking with people today ... was it today ... or yesterday ... ? Talking with people today, I realized that there are a lot of people who are feeling the same way as I am ... apparently others are having daily thoughts about quitting, transferring, or changing programs of study entirely, just as I am.  ...I really need to push my writing!

You know ... most the time I am glad that I never knew what was coming, because it would have changed my decision, and I wouldn't have experienced any of the good that came with the not-so-good stuff. But honestly, there's really not much good in all of this. This in one very rare time, that I wish I did know then, what I know now, because I wouldn't have touched this path with a 10-foot pole.

One step at a time! That's all I have keeping me here at the moment. If I think into the future in any way, it's too much to cope with, and considering even some of my professors and clinicians are treating me like a flight risk at the moment, I don't allow myself to think past what I need to get through in the present day (but that is another story).

Eff This!

OMG!!!! I am so frigging sick of all this crap!!!! To be honest, I really wanted to work with people and help them, but this school has made me no longer care! I don't care about taking care of people any more. I even hate the idea of being a dental hygienist. This feels like the worst profession ever. Good thing I still have my writing! I think I'm really going to focus on that this summer, and start submitting some to see about publishing. That is my goal. Dental Hygiene is my prison until I can escape.

P R O C R A S T I N A T I O N

So, I am supposed to be doing so many other thing right now and only have 1.5 hours till I need to go to sleep, to get up super early tomorrow, and I'm having so much trouble focussing. I have been perusing random randomness on the internet. There are so many things that I just do not need to know!

Tomorrow we are back to our Wednesday Night suppers. Looking forwards to games and hanging out.

OH OH OH!!! There is like grass EVERYWHERE! Walking home this afternoon I kept seeing spots of grass everywhere. I got so excited! I know more snow will most likely fall again before spring arrives, but it was just nice to see it.

Okay, back to doing the thing I haven't been doing!

Night View

This is what I look at now. Very much different from what I used to. Hmmm, I should make a collage of all my favorite views!

Posting Fiend

Look at me! I'm just a posting fiend today (for me). I just have to give a shout out to W and a great big thanks!!!! Pho, very tasty spring rolls, fabulous bubble tea, fancy ice cream from my favorite coffee shop, and super fun-ness after the eating was done. Fabulous post-BDAY night! When was my BDAY? Well ... I'm starting to wonder myself ... I have been legitimately celebrating it since Friday night, and am still going (It's Thursday). And this weekend there is a  Pidglet Day party! And I am incorporating that into my celebration.

What is Pidglet Day you ask? First you must know what a pidglet is. WELL!!! Shhhh that's a secret that only a select few know. And no you can't search to see what it is. Just like the whole "Cactus" secret (or event) is still unknown, even though I was supposed to unveil it a couple summers ago. It got delayed, but it will still happen - cause I am really excited to do it!

I wish I hadn't had to abandon my old blog! It was my first, and I miss it ... yet security measures were needed and stalkers had to be banished! There were a lot of good memories there. I was thinking of saving them ... but sometimes it's good to close the book on a chapter and not look back - good or bad. My posts just have not been as epic on this blog ... well my adventures have not been epic lately ... but they will pick up again once the serious "responsibility" ends - oh how I miss the crazy!

I Love Myself Today!

So last night, I lifted weights with the guys. Tonight, I did a 10-storey climb-twice. So, 20 flights total. Why? Because I love myself today. Enough is enough! I am getting back into ... well everything. Tomorrow I may swim some laps (depends who is in the pool). If not swimming, I'll climb another 20 flights.

Tonight, I'm going to do a little studying, have a nice hot shower, and then as a reward write a little (had an awesome new idea on the train today), and then watch a show or documentary.

I WAS FORGOTTEN! ... but not really!

Was supposed to get a ride this morning. Thought A2 forgot me, but she thought class was 1 hour later and was in the shower. Took the bus. Was only 25 minutes late. Got a free muffin AND a free coffee!!! LOVELY!!!! The weather has been nice. The snow has almost all melted. I've been feeling creative and started planning movies and filming. WOO! Excited!

Mah Birthday Weekend

It was a great weekend. Friday started with a party and it continued until Sunday night for supper. Now full of yummy goodness and bed!

Summer In my Thoughts

Summer is in my thoughts! While the extreme cold, or this ice isolation never lets me forget that I am in a frozen tundra, I am trying to focus my mind on happier things. I have been doing a little bit of writing and I am just starting to plan summer shooting and filming. I'm a little excited. There have been some really cool movie ideas run by me so far. I have also gotten too many requests to ignore a sequel to my first horror movie. So, I think I will have to give in, but only if my supporting actress will come back to star in it with me!!

I think I may also be doing a music video as well. There was talk of me doing a music video with this lovely little story, me playing the violin, but I'm not quite finished  composing that piece yet - maybe that will be a project for in between projects this summer. D has been very much insisting that I finish the song and film the video ... so I'll probably end up doing it, since I know he won't stop asking. Well I'm off for a Wednesday Night sessions. Cheers!

SNOW!

So it's snowing. Ugh! And very messy. Bus was literally sliding sideways. And tomorrow we are supposed to get 15 ml of freezing rain. woo...