Where did July go?

I've been pretty busy this month that I simply haven't had time to write in my blog.  Do you really want to hear about my chores and laundry duties?  :)  Didn't think so.  Haha ..

July came and went in a blink of an eye.  Where did the time go?  I find that I'm slowing down now - it could be the heat or it could be that I feel like I've been moving at 100 miles an hr that it's really time to slow down and pace myself.

Later this week, my sister and her family will be stopping by to visit me.  I have not seen my nieces in a while and I miss them dearly.  I think the last time I saw them was back in May.

As a heads up to my Toronto friends, I will be in town the second week of September.  Maybe we can get together for lunch?  I don't see myself coming back any time before that .. :(  Just too much stuff going on in Ottawa that requires my attention.  I will blog about that later - I promise.

I'm still playing badminton and training at the RA.  Some days when I'm not focused, I play like a beginner.  I am disappointed in myself when I have a bad night.  Last week, I could not focus and it frustrated me.  I prefer to play more consistently.  Everyone has been training for the CPB tournament in Mississauga next month.  The play at the club is more intense.  I simply cannot slack off.  Tonight is another game night .. I'm on my third tube of feather birds.  I go through approximately a tube per month.  Sigh ..

Anyway, wine picks for the month ..

Low budget white - the Santa Margherita pinot grigio.  A portion of the sales goes to fighting breast cancer.  You'll get a great wine and contribute to a great cause.
Low budget red - Concha Y Toro Trio Reserva (Cab Sauv/Shiraz/Cab Franc) 2008
Big budget white - Beringer Chardonnay 2008
Big budget red - Shafer One Point Five Cabernet Sauvignon 2006.

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StarCraft II - Finally!

Today is a big day, my gaming friends.

That's right.  The long awaited StarCraft II is finally out.  Yay!! 

Am I weird to be excited over a computer game launch?  :)

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Blog Permissions

I decided to limit access to my blog today.  I usually can figure who has been visiting my blog from my visitor list.  But recently, I had a visitor accessing my blog from Mont Royal, QC.  As much as I enjoy having visitors from outside of Markham and Ottawa visiting my blog, I usually like to keep my blog between me and my friends.

Thanks for your understanding.

June

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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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Best Excuse to Eat French Fries Today?

Did anybody know that July 13 is National French Fry Day?  This is the day that I live for!  :)

http://eatocracy.cnn.com/2010/07/13/breakfast-buffet-18/?hpt=Sbin

Those who know me, know that I love fries.  But I'm also very picky about my fries.  Frozen fries are yucky and gross.  Battered fries are an abomination to french fries.  I think the best fries I've ever had came from the Woodgreen Fish and Chips restaurant down on Queen Street East.  The place was run by a friend of the family and they have been in the business for several years but recently they've decided to sell the place as the owners were looking forward to retirement.

My second favorite place for fries is probably Swiss Chalet.  However, half the order always consists of potato crumbs.  Boooo.  :)

There's gotta be better places for fries.  Any suggestions?  What about condiments?  I'm a classic ketchup girl.  I've heard that the French prefer mayonnaise. 

I hope everyone goes out and gets their french fry fix today.

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2009 Bordeaux Futures Update

In an earlier post, I gave my recommendations on what wines would be a good buy from the 2009 Bordeaux Futures list.  Well ... the LCBO list was updated recently and a fair number of wines from my recommended list ended up being sold out. 

Hosanna, Duhart-Milon, LaFleur-Petrus, and Doisy-Daene (Sauterne) were all sold out after the first offering.  These wines were indeed worth the investment.  If you got a case, count yourself lucky.

My guess is that in the next offering, Pontet-Canet and Malescot-St. Exupery will be the next ones sold out.  I didn't order these but I so wish I did.  :)

My general wine pick for the month is the J. Lohr Los Osos Merlot.  I may have mentioned this one before and I still recommend it.  It is indeed a great wine for pairing with grilled meats.  This one sells out pretty quickly too.

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iPhone OS 4.0

Recently I upgraded my iPhone OS to version 4.0.  Huge mistake.  In case any of you run into the following problems with your iPhone after the OS upgrade, here are some tips:

Problem:  my battery is not lasting as long as before.  battery drains overnight.
Solution:  there is an app on your phone that is using locations services. 
go to settings -> general -> location services. 
turn off the location services for whatever app is listed. 
then reboot your phone.

Problem:  why can't i delete my email from gmail?
Solution:  turn archive messages off.
go to settings -> mail -> your gmail account
turn archive messages off
save settings.

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