Thursday, July 13, 2017

Thursday 13: What I'm Into Lately

Hey folks!  Sorry for the lack of posting lately... I have ideas!  Lots and lots of blog post ideas!!  But, the days come and the days go and no blog posts to be found...

Today, though, I'm making myself post something.  Taking the lead from incognitusscriptor and going with a Thursday 13 of  what I've been enjoying lately...

  1. Prison Break.  Oh, I know, you've all heard me ramble about this show before.  So I promise not to get too into it now.  But I really do think this is my favourite show of all time.  I watched it several years ago and got so infatuated with it.  I was eating, drinking, sleeping Michael Scofield for weeks.  I didn't think I'd get so would up about it again the second time around, but... I did.  I am.  Just as obsessed as the first time I watched it.  I think I'm appreciating it even more this time. Already dreading it ending again... 
  2. The Beach Boys.  I fell pretty hard for the Beach Boys when I was in college.  We used to listen to their music at the apartment and dance around to it.  I went through a big retro phase around that time - thanks in large part to my friend Sara - immersing myself in Elvis, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, and the Beach Boys around that time... I was a big Dennis Wilson fan.  (and yes, I'm aware that he's dead.  Didn't matter.)  Anyways, I had kind of lost touch with my Beach Boys over the years, until recently, when Sara loaned me Mike Love's autobiography, Good Vibrations.  I'm about half-way through the book and it has once again fanned my flames for their music.  I downloaded a Greatest Hits compilation off iTunes with 50 of their best songs, and I'm listening to it steady.  Current faves: "Wouldn't It Be Nice", "Do It Again", "Rock & Roll Music", and "Sail On, Sailor".  LOVE!!!
  3. Poutine.  I don't know what the heck is wrong with me these days.  Remember super-healthy Jill?  The girl who loved quinoa and sweet potatoes and Asian pears?  Well, now she loves poutine, and only poutine.  Lots of poutine.  I eat wayyyyy too much of this Canadian delicacy.  And I need to stop it, ASAP.  But not today.  It's National French Fry Day, after all. ;)

  4. Fruit Salad.  Gotta balance out that poutine with something a little bit healthy, right?  Inspired by my friend Sharon, who had a big bowl of it on hand last week when I visited her, I made myself a giant bowl of fruit salad to keep in the fridge for snacking this week.  I made it with pineapple, strawberries, blueberries, and grapes, and added Sharon's "secret ingredient" (vanilla pudding mix combines with the juices to create a delightful light glaze), and YUM!  Easy summery treat.
  5. Reading on the deck.  I truly do get a simple pleasure from a sunny day on the deck, reading a book.  I got through a big chunk of that Beach Boys book I mentioned earlier on the deck Sunday afternoon.  Unfortunately, deck time has been sparse as we're in the midst of a cool and wet summer around here.  But that makes me enjoy those relaxing times when they do come around, even more!
  6. The current colour of my nails.  Last night, Danica demanded I give her a manicure with the new nail polish Grandma let her pick out and buy while out shopping.  I loved it so much, I put it on my own fingers.  A delightfully summery shade of coral pink.
  7. I'm enjoying the anticipation of upcoming days off.  Next Wednesday, Lindsay and I are making a whirlwind trip to Montreal to see Ed Sheeran perform, something I've been looking forward to for months.  Ed is on my bucket list.  So glad I'm going to finally see him live!!  Then, at the end of the month I'll be off for a week's vacation, and even though plans are very much up in the air this year, I'm just looking forward to being off.  No alarms.  No rushing.  I'm craving a little break.
  8. Scoring deals.  Like, for Tupperware that I normally find too expensive... I've picked up quite a few pieces of Tupperware that I normally find way too expensive through some girls who are selling it locally and offering amazing prices from time to time.  I know it's worth it - my mom still has and uses many of the items she got a million years ago - but I can't rationalize it unless it's a screaming deal.  Also, a Scensty sale this week had me ordering a few new warmers.  Do I need them?  Definitely not.  But I couldn't turn down those $54 warmers on sale for less than $20!!
  9. Wildflowers.  Don't ask my why, but I'm delighting in seeing the colourful wildflowers growing in the ditches along the road I walk at lunch time.  I keep stopping to take pictures of them.  And then I'm like, "Jillian. They are weeds.  Get over it."  But... they're pretty weeds.  And they remind me of the wildflower painting I did this spring with Shannon. :)
  10. Going for ice cream.  It's one of those simple summer pleasures.  I haven't actually gone lately, but knowing it's just down the road, and any evening can result in a trip for ice cream...well, it makes me happy.
  11. Throwback Thursday photos.  On Father's Day, I sat down with some old family photo albums and made copies on my phone of some of my favourite old photos.  I've been having fun going through them each week and picking my #tbt.   Today's makes me giggle - an old photo of my dad with my cousin's pet goat, Marvin.  (at least, I think his name was Marvin.)  Marvin, a true mountain goat, used to walk along the windowsills of the house.  Moments after this photo was taken, Marvin stepped down onto the lid of the BBQ and peed all over it. Needless to say, that night's supper plans were ruined... LOL!
  12. Chips.  OK, so I love chips all the time, but I'm realizing lately how deep my appreciation is for basic, classic chip flavours.  I used to be all about "trying new chips", but now I just want my old, all-time faves.  Plain ruffles with dill pickle dip.  Or Dill Pickle flavour.  Salt & Vinegar.  Ketchup is about as wild as I want to get now.  Mmmm....chips...

  13. Zumba Country!  I haven't been doing well on the exercise front lately. It's been the summer of sloth and laziness.  So on a whim, I picked up a Zumba Country DVD, hoping it would encourage me to get my butt moving again.  I just got it on Tuesday, and already super happy with it.  I've been a Zumba fan for years, but I'm really liking the country twist.  Sort of like really fast line-dancing. haha!  So fun!
Happy Thursday, my chums!

Wednesday, July 05, 2017

A Happy Canada Day, indeed.

Hoooo boy, getting back into routine after a long weekend is TOUGH, man.  But here we are, a short work week, Wednesday already, and I'm feeling just about back to normal. Finally.

This past weekend, our country celebrated it's 150th birthday, so there were big celebrations from coast to coast to coast, and of course, our little town was in on the action.  As usual, we celebrated a day early, my favourite way to kick off Canada Day festivities!

The weather last week left something to be desired, and I admit, when they told us to leave work early on Friday, I didn't depart with that extra skip in my step that I usually do on a long weekend.  It was pouring rain, and my heart was sinking at the thought of what a damper this was going to put on our party.  Still, I went home and immediately went about my last-minute preparations - getting my nacho dip made and the burger fixings ready, changing into my red & white, painting my nails red, and decorating my yard with my flags and pinwheels.  Late afternoon, my mom, my sister and her kids, and her MIL/my neighbour Donna all gathered at my place, and we enjoyed BBQ'd burgers and dogs, salads, chips, nacho dip, and ice cream cake for dessert, as well as a tasty Canada Day cocktail my sister had whipped up.  Yum!

Miraculously, the skies cleared in time for the parade and the sun actually came out, so we all took our lawn chairs out to the front yard and watched a fantastic parade, one of the best I've ever seen in our town!  Other friends and neighbours joined us, and we had a fantastic time waving flags and shouting "Happy Canada Day" at the folks in the parade.  It was great.



I walked down to the flag pole for the annual flag raising ceremony and singing of O Canada, then joined friends in the park as we killed time before the fireworks while their kids played and had fun with the clown.  At dusk, the fireworks were set off at the river and it was an awesome show, the best our town has ever seen.  A big thank you to the Canada Day Committee for all their hard work and fundraising for putting on such an amazing show for our community!

After the fireworks, a group of friends and I headed to the Legion where a Canada Day party was going on.  I fully intended to "go for one", and ended up "staying til 3"!!  Whoops!!  But it was such a blast.  The DJ was playing great tunes, and the drinks were going down so well.  We had lots of laughs.  So much fun!!

So, needless to say, the next day - actual Canada Day - I was a bit out of commish.  Still, I managed to get myself up and back into the red & white, and headed for Shawville where my BIL's dad was entering his classic car in their afternoon parade, and my niece and nephew were going with him.  Once again, the weather co-operated, and it was another wonderful parade.  I was happy to take in some of the celebrations in Shawville, as I don't think I've been up there for Canada Day since I was a kid.  We returned back to my mom's to eat leftovers from the night before and a Canada Day cake that my BIL had brought us. I hung in there as long as I could, but I had to take an extended nap post-supper. LOL  I woke up just in time to catch the last hour or so of festivities on TV from Parliament Hill.


Sunday was a low-key and peaceful day.  I spent the morning relaxing and catching up on Big Brother before taking advantage of a few sunny hours and cutting the grass.  The afternoon was a perfect mix of reading on the deck, napping, and watching Prison Break on Netflix.  There were STILL leftovers left from our BBQ, so I joined my mom for supper to clean up what was left, before heading back home to continue my Netflix binge.  It was exactly the kind of day I needed!

Having Monday off, I was a little disappointed that I didn't have any plans - other than laundry - but unable to come up with anything fun to do, I had resigned myself to another afternoon on the deck reading.  But then, I got a text from my friend Kerry shortly after lunch, wanting to know if I wanted to go out on the boat with them for the afternoon.  Um... yes, please!  Finally a day of super nice weather, and the chance to spend it in my happy place, on the water?  I wasn't going to say no!!  I changed into my bathing suit, packed a cooler of drinks, and headed down to meet them at the boat launch.

It was such a nice day out on the water.  I loved every minute of it.  Just before supper time, we docked the boat at friends of ours who live on the water and decided to stay for "a drink".  Well, one drink turned to two, turned to three, turned to four... and as much fun as it was, with the sun started going down, I knew I needed to bail.  Calling in "sick" Tuesday morning wasn't an option for me, and I needed to get myself to bed in order to be functional at work.  We walked down to grab food from the chipstand, and then I headed for home.  It was the perfect way to cap off the long weekend!

So, yesterday was a bit rough.  Tuesdays after a long weekend always are, so add in the touch of a hangover, and...well... I was happy when 5 o'clock rolled around!  I ate supper and read for a bit, before putting on Prison Break and promptly falling asleep on the couch.  I got all caught up on my sleep and I'm feeling much better today!!

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend, celebrating Canada Day or the 4th of July!!