Shocked us too. This past Saturday we came out of Blockbuster to find this nice little surprise and no one around to thank. Optimistic as I am, I checked the windshield for a note...of course, there wasn't one. How badly do you have to drive to hit a car that is parked so far from the next parking spot (grass on the passenger side meant I could park really close to the grass and really far from the spot beside me)?? Geez.
I feel, after getting four estimates, that I got a good deal at $500 (+ a $68 car rental charge) and they did a superb job. Thanks Dixon's Auto Body. : )
Oh, I think they must have washed & waxed our car...it looks so shiny!
Lucy, I finally made a mango smoothie! It's not as colourful as yours though...I think my mangoes weren't ripe enough (they were okay, but not great). Maybe for that same reason, the mango flavour wasn't as strong as I would have liked. I'm going to have to try again!
Recipe from Ultimate Smoothies.
Missing episodes of your favourite show? Here is a great site to check out...it doesn't have everything, but it has a lot! When you go there, you'll see a big white rectangle at the top; type in the name of the program you're looking for (for example, Grey's Anatomy) and click on the yellow button to the right of that rectangle (it says 검색 on the yellow button). You should see a list of episodes beginning with the most recent one on file. To see more, scroll down, and you should see a little blue circle with a white arrow in it on the right-hand side along with the words 더 많은 프로그램 보기 (you will see this a few times; click the first one you see to get a complete list of episodes). When you click on an episode to watch, you'll be prompted to install 'active X' (or whatever it's called)...and finally, on the screen where the show will play, you'll see a bunch of Korean writing (I forget what exactly it says)...part of it is bold and underlined (if I remember correctly)--click on that to install the video player. I had to restart my computer after that and then I was good to go! I hope it doesn't seem too complicated because it honestly wasn't. You don't need to sign up or anything~~it's fantastic!! If you need any help, please let me know. : )
Oh, also--there is a 15 second commercial before each episode; it'll be choppy, but the show won't be, so don't worry. And, you can click on FULL (you'll see it just under the volume control) for a full-screen picture (the quality isn't the best, but it's not unbearable). Press esc on your keyboard to go back to the small-screen picture. Finally, I don't see an option to turn off the subtitles unfortunately.
Well, I thought I was going to make raspberry muffins, but turned out my in-laws had brought us cranberries from out west, not raspberries, so made some cranberry muffins based on the 'blueberry oatmeal muffin' recipe in Muffin Mania. Made them vegan and they turned out okay, but were not as light as I would have liked. Tons of mini-muffins later...
made some chickpea salad and served it on a bed of baby greens. Don't know where that shadow came from <grrr>. Used a simple recipe I found here:
1 15-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed (about 250 grams of actual beans)
1 tsp. fresh lemon juice (I used a little more and would have liked even a smidgen more)
1 ½ tsp. olive oil
A pinch of salt
¼ cup loosely packed shredded Parmigiano Reggiano
Combine all ingredients in a bowl, and stir gently to mix. Taste, and adjust seasoning as necessary. Serve immediately, or chill, covered, until serving. (chilled is nice!)
I also made a cauliflower-leek dish (resembles texture of mashed potatoes)...the pictures do nothing for it, so I'll just post the recipe and adjustments I made:
1 head cauliflower, separated into florets 1 leek, white part + at least one inch of green, cut into 1/2" slices 1 tsp salt 3 tbsp butter 3 tbsp cream (I used reg. soy milk) 1/8 tsp nutmeg (optional) salt & pepper Cook cauliflower and leek slices in boiling water with 1 tsp salt for about 15 min. (till very tender). Drain. Return veggies to pot and toss over high heat to thoroughly remove excess moisture (a few minutes). Place half the veggies in a food processor with half the butter and cream. Process till smooth. Add the rest of the veggies, butter, and cream and process till smooth. Mix in nutmeg and season to taste with salt & pepper.
Show us your favorite pair of sneakers.
Submitted by danatmedog.
When I was taking this picture, I realized that it's time for a new pair (hence, the limited view!). Once I bought my first pair of Saucony running shoes, I was hooked~haven't bought another brand of running shoe since. : )
This is only Day 2 on nothing but Nasaleze (which is non-medicinal)...not doing too well at all...come on...please work!!
UPDATE: I've pretty much given up on this stuff. For one thing, it's really difficult to keep up with using it every single time you blow your nose (as recommended in the directions). And, despite using it a lot and having it do what it's supposed to do (create a gel-like lining in your nasal tract), it has proved no match for the allergens I breathe. *sigh* I think I'll have to go back to searching for a medicine that actually works...I just hope the search won't turn out to be fruitless. NTS: I should really look into buying shares in Puffs tissues.
Today I had my first 'big ride' of the season. Okay, it might not seem that big to some, but I was hesitant to even agree to go 'cause I was worried I wouldn't make it. Now you're probably thinking it was an enormously long ride, but it ended up being just shy of 36 km (22.3 miles) roundtrip. The nice part was that we biked to the beach! There were barely any people there, so it was nice and relaxing...just the sound of waves and birds. This is what my hubby calls a 'basic ride' so who knows, maybe later in the season, I'll agree to go with him on one of his crazy rides. So far, the farthest he's gone is from Welland to just past the Peace Bridge in Fort Erie. You can get a visual here; we are in the top section of Welland (the north part I should say!). Anyhow, I'm happy I made it 36 km!!
Jeepers...my doctor told me to take both an iron and a calcium supplement, but I don't recall him (or the pharmacist for that matter) telling me not to take them at the same time. Only by chance did I just discover that calcium interferes with iron absorption. Is this common sense that I'm somehow lacking? I'm dumbfounded that no one would have thought to mention this to me...you really have to self-educate yourself I guess.
Things are getting back to normal since my in-laws' visit from Korea. We met up with them the evening of the 8th in Niagara Falls (they had been to Vancouver and Calgary before coming to these parts) and then were with them from the 9th to the morning of the 14th. Took them to visit some family first...that was actually the first time they had met any of my family, so that was nice. Then, it was off to Quebec City! What a long drive...ha ha...what were we thinking?! Seriously, though, I'm glad we went...I loved looking around the old part of Quebec City. Now I think I'd like to go to Europe!!
One common theme that cropped up throughout the visit was language. First of all, to all of the bilingual+ people living in Quebec, I am so sorry that I couldn't converse in French. You were all so understanding and spoke English with such ease...I was ashamed I was unable to reciprocate by speaking French. I wonder if the changes in the education system here in Ontario since I was in elementary school will produce people who are more fluent in French. I certainly hope so.
Second of all, my understanding of Korean in the dramas I watched in the past couple of months didn't transfer very well to understanding all the talking that went on in this household or during our trip. By day #5, I was a little grouchy simply from not being an active participant in many conversations...I don't think I've ever spoken so little in my life! It got depressing though, so I know that after I finish my MEd project, I have to improve my Korean. My worry about this extends to when my hubby and I have a baby...I want the baby to learn Korean and English (and French!), but I really don't think I could handle listening to conversations/talk between my husband and my child that I can't understand. What to do, what to do...
I finally broke down and got my hair straightened...I say 'broke down' because I had been vacillating about this for ages. I had quite a bad experience in TO (at K A Hair Salon--704 Bloor St. West, Toronto) last December when they burned off some of the hair near my part (not fun growing that out) doing the Japanese straightening. And before that, I tried the Korean panel straightening method also in TO, and while it relaxed my hair, it wasn't super straight (unlike when I had it done in Korea for under $100 and it worked like magic). So I finally tried the Korean 'magic straight' method at Kyoung Hee Hair Salon (611 Bloor St. West, Toronto) 'cause I know two people (who aren't Asian) who have had good results there. A LOT of money later, none of my hair has been burned off, and it is straight! It's going to be so much easier now that I don't have to struggle to get it under control every day...ah, heaven!
