taking a break this summer

This is my first semester without any classes.  My last course was cancelled due to low enrolment - which was likely due to summer vacation. So I am free this summer to do whatever I want.  Not having wine class is pretty weird for me. 

I have decided to stay busy though.  Next month, I will be resuming my cake decorating classes at Michael's craft store.  I have always wanted to go back and continue but ever since I started the wine program, I just didn't have time.  My most recent creation were rose cupcakes for a friend's birthday.  I still enjoy baking but I only do it at certain times of the year.  Usually when I am planning a trip home to see family, I will bake something to take with me.  I don't usually eat a lot of my own baking because I watch my weight.  I would be appalled if I ate two dozen cupcakes myself :)

On the sports front, I also decided to go back to playing tennis.  Every time I watch tennis on TV, I get the urge to hit the ball myself.  Luckily I have a few friends who are quite skilled at tennis and are willing to play with me.

I signed up for tennis lessons this month and I picked things up fairly easily.  My forehand has always been good and my backhand is fine as well.  I can't wait to hit with my friends.

There is a badminton club that is running during the summer if I want to drop in to play.

I will also continue training for a run this year.  I haven't decided which race to participate in.  There is the Army Run which raises money for our veterans.  And then there is the CIBC Run for the Cure which I missed last year.  Both causes are fantastic charities but I can only do one.

I have to plan a long overdue trip to Niagara.  I have chatted with several wineries over the last few months and I really need to get myself out there to meet the winery owners and winemakers.  Work has been extremely busy these days that I haven't had time to plan a vacation.  Off the top of my head - Vineland Estates, Colaneri, and Pilliteri Winery are the must see places for me.

Gosh .. Doesn't sound like much of a break, does it? :)

My last two courses ended on a high note.  I worked hard on these courses and it paid off.  The Beer Course was one of my favorites.  I still keep in touch with my instructor who worked very hard to make sure I walked out of the course with a favorite beer.  He also was a great instructor to have discussions with.

I am going to miss studying wine when this ends.

Anyway .. It's late and I must get some sleep. 

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Countdown to Easter Weekend

Only a few more days and I will be home for Easter weekend.  It's been a while since I've been home and I soooo miss everyone - family and friends.  As usual, I'm booked to see a few folks during that weekend.  But I want to spend time with my family as I have not seen them since Chinese New Year.

I spent the day busy baking .. chocolate chip muffins for Amanda and vanilla cupcakes for Amelia, Anson, Aidan, and Chloe.  Hmm .. why did we give Chloe a non-A name??  :)

Because I work in a government town, I get Easter Monday off!  Yay .. extra long weekend for me.

After this visit, my next visit will be in May for a wedding.  If the entire lunch group attends, it will be the first time we all get together in a very long time.  I'm so tempted to bring my camera and shoot but if I'm wearing a dress and heels, it might not be a good idea.  I'll leave that up to the professionals.

Next on my list .. ugh .. I gotta get these winter tires off my car!  It's spring already.

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2010 Year in Review

Wow. The year went by so fast! It's that time of year where I recap everything that I have or haven't accomplished this year. Back in April, I had created a to-do list of things that I wanted to do over the summer. It was a long list as is .. and during the fall and early winter, I started adding more to my to-do list.

Let's see ..

To Do #1 - Continue taking yoga on a weekly basis.  - COMPLETED
Instead of taking yoga, I started taking pilates at the gym every Saturday afternoon. I love this class and I know I will continue taking it into the New Year.  I have to look for a class elsewhere because my current instructor is pregnant and so she will no longer be teaching the course at my regular gym.  :(

To Do #2 - Take the Wilton Cake Decorating I course.  - COMPLETED
Course 1 was completed. I enjoyed it and will likely take course 2 & 3 in the New Year.

To Do #3 - Take up tennis again  - Did Not Complete.
Instead of tennis, I continued to play badminton. I have met a few friends who are avid tennis players so that may happen next summer. We'll see.

To Do #4 - Experiment with different recipes - COMPLETED
I manage to cook at home every night and I don't mean instant ramen noodles or tv dinners. Every night, I try to make a starch, a veggie, and a lean protein. I also try to bake every once in a while. Some of my best baked goods - mini cheesecakes. My worst? The pear crisp I blogged about. That was embarrassing! :)

To Do #5 - Catching up with friends. - HALF COMPLETE
Every trip back to Toronto, I have made it a point to meet up with my former co-workers or university friends. If I don't meet up with them, I have made a phone call or two to keep in touch. I still have so many people to reconnect with .. I know what you're thinking .. just move back! :) I'm gonna try .. seriously.

To Do #6 - Badminton - HALF COMPLETE
My secret goal was to be good enough to play in the Mark Grantham team tournament this year. Unfortunately, the tournament will be held on the weekend of Chinese New Year. I will be in Toronto that weekend because CNY is important to my family. However, a friend of mine recently asked if I would play in the University of Ottawa tournament in mid January. So even though I won't get to play in the tournament I was hoping to play in, I got asked to play in another. It's funny how things have worked out. :)  I have to rest my shoulder as there is a bit of tendonitis that needs to be 'fixed' before I can continue to play on a regular basis.  I give this a 'half complete' because the tournament is in 2011.

To Do # 7 - Rediscover my hobby of photography. - COMPLETED
I have always loved photography. And the last few years, I didn't have much time for it. In the fall, I decided to pull out my camera again and start shooting. I almost forgot how much it made me happy. I get to be creative and it challenges me artistically. I've been shooting tournaments as practice.  In 2010, I shot two tournaments.  This is another thing I will keep doing in 2011.

To Do #8 - Take the Christopher Leadership Course - COMPLETED
This was another fall/winter goal of mine. I had heard about this course and I decided to take it in the fall. It was an 11 week commitment about gaining leadership skills through public speaking. This course has helped me on a personal and professional level. I started off shaky and for the first four weeks, I kept wanting to drop out. But I stuck with it and I got better and better. I started to see what the course was about and I saw the change in my attitude, mindset, and outlook. I am very grateful for what I learned in this course.

To Do #9 - Try something different food-wise - COMPLETED
I tried my first shawarma! :) It's Lebanese food and in Ottawa, there are lots of shawarma eateries. The best is at Shawarma Palace. I went there with friends after badminton one evening and the line up was so long! You know that's a good sign. My friends told me I had to try the platter. Wow. The platter was huge. It was a dinner for two. It came with salad, rice, potatoes, pickles, chicken shawarma, and the most garlic-loaded garlic sauce. That garlic stench lingers for days but it's soooo good.

I also ate at St. Hubert for the first time. It's like Swiss Chalet. I can say I've been there, done that. It's not bad but Swiss Chalet fries are better than St. Hubert fries.

To Do #10 - Make health a priority - COMPLETED
Funny how this to-do comes after my blurb on shawarma and St. Hubert. :) My health has been a priority of mine. I hardly eat out now because eating out isn't always the healthiest. By not eating out, I have learned to cook healthier dishes and try new food items. My new favorite food is avocado. I only buy these every once in a while because they are pretty expensive. When I want to treat myself, I buy an avocado. :) I've also committed to going to the gym twice a week. I notice that when I don't go to the gym, my energy level drops. I always feel good when I'm finished with a workout. When I am home for Christmas, I will likely spend some time at the gym.

Whew .. not bad for a whole year, eh? :) I must say, I had fun doing everything.

With 2011 starting soon, I'm already thinking of what should go on my next to-do list. Hmmm .. what adventure should I try next? Snowboarding? Ice skating? P90X?

What is your goal for 2011?

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First Baking Disaster

It had to happen.  Nobody's perfect.  :)  Tonight, I tried to make a pear crisp and it turned out bad.  I am too embarrassed to describe how bad the crisp turned out.  I know what I did wrong and will try again.  Unfortunately, I made three of them.  Two individual servings and one big one.

I tried to salvage them but in the end, it could not be saved.  Pears are not an easy fruit to work with.  You never know the moisture content and how it will turn out in the cooking.  I was hoping that there would be a bit of moisture produced during the cooking process but little to none came out.  This caused the flour to stay ... well .. white.  This made the crisp dry.  After baking it, it smelled good but when I cut into it the fruit was still coated with raw flour.  :(  Gross.

So embarrassing .. but I'm not going to quit.  I'll try again.

pudge

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Baking with Blueberries

This weekend, I decided to tackle another item from my to-do list.  I had a couple of pints of blueberries in my fridge, some ramekins in my cupboards ... hmmmm .. individual blueberry crisps?  :)  I bought the ramekins for a reason and that was to make fruit crisps with them.  So tonight, I made two individual blueberry crisps.  They turned out pretty good - not bad for my first time.  I made a pretty thick layer of crumble topping because I find that sometimes I have too much fruit and not enough crumble.  The unfortunate part was that there is no ice cream in the fridge!!  :(  What is blueberry crisp without vanilla ice cream?  Oh well .. maybe tomorrow I'll pick some up.

The crisps inspired me to make big blueberry muffins for tomorrow morning's breakfast.  :)  They turned out very good too.  Very easy to make.  Baking is starting to become a hobby of mine.  Actually cooking in general is something I really enjoy now.

My Breville Smart Oven is like an Easy Bake Oven for grown ups.  When I bought it, I knew I would make use of it.  I've used it to make everything:  toast, pizza, chicken, ribs, salmon, muffins, cakes, cupcakes, and now crisps.  This thing is one of the best countertop ovens out there.  I am glad I bought it.

I have to start thinking about tomorrow's dinner/Monday's lunch.  I always make more so I have a lunch for work on Monday.  I am limited to non-seafood proteins when I have to pack a lunch.  There is a fellow at work who is highly allergic to fish.  He sits in the office across from me and apparently, the smell of fish would cause anaphylaxic shock.  :-O

Hmm .. I have beef tenderloin, ribs, and chicken in the fridge?  Hmm .. maybe I'll make barbequed ribs.  Yummmy.

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