Bad Blogger

I've been a bad blogger over the holidays. There was just too much stuff going on, and frankly, I was happy to sit on my parents' very comfy sofa in front of the fireplace and read my book (read an entire Nora Roberts trilogy in a week. Oh, the glories of junk literature!) However, I'm back in Halifax now, and so the blog goes on.

Super quick holiday recap. Spent a ton of time with my family, which rocked. My parents and I built an ottoman & picture frames for the family room. I love Rona! I am a total daddy's girl, so I had a lot of fun with him in his workshop, and I miss him right now. My mom & I bonded over shopping and jewelry making, and I can't believe that I'm not going to see her until June! My parents have done a fabulous job on their new house, and I didn't want to leave, it was so pretty & comfortable! My sister & I had a rocking time at Fionn MacCool's on New Year's Eve. I was out until 4:30, which I haven't done in quite a while, so that was an event. My already tall cousins have gotten even taller, my Nanny is shopping for a new car, and my small cousins are respectively adorable and crazy (Connor would be the crazy one. Man!) I'm sad to be back in Halifax right now, but I know that once I'm back in my normal routine, I'll love it as much as ever. But as much as I'd love to live here forever, I don't think that I could. I'm a family girl, down to the ground, which means back to Ontario for me. It appears that I have an LTO (long term occasional job) for September at my favourite school in Mississauga, so my plan of teaching for a year and then applying to my Ph.D. is coming together!

On the present front, this Christmas was a bonanza of kitchen goodness, so stay tuned for lots more recipes and cooking experiments/ fiascos. It could be either, you never know! But for my lovely kitchen (not as lovely as my parents, obviously, but lovely for student digs, that's for sure), I have a lovely new:

• Slow cooker (yea for a hot supper waiting for me when I get home from school!)
  
• Espresso maker (Coffee addicts rejoice!)
• Milk frother (to compliment said espresso maker)
  
• Roasting pan with drip rack and sturdy handles (Yea! No more foil!)
  
• Nigella Lawson's cookbook Feast (which has in it many lovely roasted chicken recipes, which will give my roasting pan a good workout)
• Digital meat thermometer (also for those lovely chickens, and some sweet rare roast beef. Yum.)
• Cheese grater (IKEA rocks. This one has two sizes of holes, and the graters clip right onto a tub in which you can store the cheese after you're done. Smart!)
• Heatproof measuring cup (The numbers melted off of the old one)
• Place mats (since my old ones shrivelled up in the washing machine)
• Thermos & travel mug (so I don't spend money on Starbucks/Second Cup/Tim Hortons)

And yes, I fit all of this stuff (plus three new pairs of pants, two new sweaters and a new pair of shoes, three posters, and everything that I brought to Ontario with me, parka & boots included) into two suitcases and a carry on when I flew home this afternoon. And this is a massive slow cooker. I am a genetically gifted packer- you wanna go on a road trip, you call me, 'cause I can pack enough stuff for a small army into the trunk of a Smart Car. I'm also really good at getting the weight of suitcases just right. WestJet limit= 60 lbs. My bigger bag= 59.2 lbs. Thanks for the genes, Dad!

My first slow cooker experiment is a sort of chunky, spicy tomato sauce with peppers, onions, and hot Italian sausage. I'm not sure if it's going to end up like sauce or stew, but I'll let you know. It looks like it's gonna taste good, though.

For all of you who are heading back to class or work tomorrow, good luck and have fun. For all of you who are still lying on a beach somewhere (cough, the hubby, cough), have fun and see you soon!

Oh, and a PS for Dennis & anyone else who was wondering- I used the picture of the audio version of The English Patient in my post on it because it was the best quality one that I could find, and also because I just thought it was neat that they got Willem Dafoe (who plays Caravaggio in the film) to do the reading. I normally find Willem Dafoe kinda creepy, but as Caravaggio or as Gill in Finding Nemo, he's the man.