Blog Name Change

Hello Beloved Readers (friends & family hopefully now, perhaps a few recipe-borrowers too!)

As you well know by now, my blog's name has changed. I wasn't counting on it changing quite so soon, but perhaps it's for the best. I like this name better, and it's unique on Google (as opposed to my old domain name which is apparently associated with a lot of other things out there.)

Hello Novel.

Novel means a storybook as well as something new. I write my stories on here, and I hope I'm sharing some new things too.

In addition, I had saved this domain name for the time when I get a chance to read more and spend more time reviewing my favourite childhood books - many of which aren't part of mainstream children's lit anymore. Someday, I think you'll find a new tab up top.

Anyways...I changed my blog due to the fact that some alerted me to the fact that students are reading my blog. And apparently that wasn't a positive thing.

Now, I've always been careful not to mention names and not to use my blog to vent on directly school-related issues, but apparently that wasn't enough.

When I used my personally-named blog, I chose not to allow Google to search it or for it to be publicly listed. You had to type in the exact name to get to it. I didn't bother with this blog, because my last name was never associated with it.

Anyways. Things have switched over. Hopefully this 'does the trick' with a minimum of hiccups.

And then you can all continue reading about my adventures :)

Cause # 5: We Need A Law

Better super late than never...right?

Yikes...It's nearly the end of the month of May already, and I'm only just getting to this post. *Gulp*

I'm sorry?

But hey...here it is. The May Cause, fitting since May is also March for Life month in Canada. And all these things are part of a movement that I've watched grow and grow and GROW since my early teen years (not all that long ago.)

In Canada, we have NO abortion law. Nothing. And because there is no law governing abortion in Canada, even partial-birth abortions, as rare as they are, are not considered murder of a child.

So disgusting. Our country falls into a category with North Korea. And China. That is bizarre, in an extremely disturbing way.

And this has clearly disturbed the current generation of youth. The stereo-type of a pro-lifer is a gray haired old man standing in front of an abortion clinic holding a protest sign - and this is a stereotype pressed forward by the pro-'choice' movement. (It helps their side, can't you see?)

I hate to even call it the "pro-choice" movement, because it's a choice for only one person in the situation. The pregnant woman. Teens as young as twelve don't need parental permission for an abortion, the child's father doesn't have a choice, and certainly the child isn't given a choice.

So, visit the website for We Need A Law and learn about the issue. Learn how you can join a multitude of Canadians seeking a law that limits abortion.

I encourage you to begin reading on the myths page and go from there. And pass this information on!

Parking on a Friday Night

NO! Not THAT kind of parking.

The kind of parking that involves going to the park and enjoying the beautiful warm weather with your toes in the sand and an energetic little girl running around, excitedly trying EV-ER-Y-THING (with the attention span of a squirrel: "Was I going this way? Or that way? Or thi--? Or --?" *rushes off in a new direction altogether*)

I got lots of great shots. She is such a little poser for the camera!

Hairdressing at the park? Sure...why not?

If you noticed the frog I was holding in the last pic, Mommy Frog was for me to hold so I wouldn't be scared of getting my hair done...

Pretty sweet hairdressing if I say so myself!

Ham :)

Look at that tongue!

 

 

 

 

Yeah, I'm mean, but this was toooo funny!

She tried these too, but I had to hold her up.

In addition to this, she spoke/listened through the tunnel machines, tried all the other slides and steps, did the fireman pole twice, walked like a gorilla, went on a big-girl swing, did everything another time through....and conquered climbing up the big slide (another post coming for that one!)

So, basically, and awesome Friday night at the park :D

Holiday Train & Boat

After a shockingly long sleep-in after the wedding, I quickly lethargically got my gear together to head down to Hamilton for the weekend.

The sleep-in, let me tell you, is a short story worthy of it's own book. I woke up to a text that said "Good afternoon...." Gulp. A check of the clock confirmed: nope, not 9 am. Not even 9:30 am. 12:50. PM. Yikes! That'll teach me to not set an alarm. Probably the last time I slept solid through to that kinda time was well.... never. I might have stayed in til ridiculous times in my university days, but always after turning over a number of times and sneaking in a novel or some such.

Anyways. The point. I walked out of my house sometime that afternoon.

To 30 degree temperatures. 30 Celsius. So, how do you spell summer again?

Then, as I drove, I took a detour to First Line. Because when you live in Guelph the summer season is also known as the road construction season. Of the three major routes through the city, one is completely shut down, one is down to one lane, and the other has nearly permanent daytime 'traffic.'

And on this detour, of course, I had to run into a slow moving train. So slow-moving that it was in fact, stopped at one very brief moment. The people in front of me turned around. I just took pictures. And realized that as soon as the others had turned around, the train went faster, and I could see the end of it. Waiting was a good option.

And THEN, I got to Hamilton. Where we packed up our kayaks and went for a paddle. It was absolutely gorgeous out. Smooth water, sun shining, warm. We paddled for about 2.5 hours, and it didn't feel like that amount of time had passed! After paddling, we went out to Easterbrook's for dinner. The original location near the RBG has tons of character. I'd recommend it.

Basically, a perfect Saturday afternoon.

Swan family

Papa Swan making sure we stayed a fair distance away

Wave breakers at the back of the RBG

Paddling out to the ship - Skyway bridge in the background!

Made it :) Hello size difference!

Guaranteed to Make me Smile

I have a chalkboard in my "front foyer" (&<-- a ridiculously fancy sounding name for the place where I drop my shoes off before entering my apartment.)

I will [very occasionally] write messages on this board. So occasionally do I change these messages, that I don't generally look at it too often, because it always says the same thing: God is good - all of the time!"
(And by not looking at it often, I mean I don't read it often, but I do know it's there and just by that I'm reminded of the message!)

But then, I  noticed an addition:

• "Hugs from Le'

Quite awhile later, I noticed another addition:

• "Hugs from Le. & Ed"

Then, later yet,

• "Hugs from Le. & Ed. & Kim"

Now, a few months later, it's changed again and I notice it nearly every day and smile.

I am loved. And I love that.

Wedding Photo

I managed to get one photo of wedding related stuff.
Just one.
Good thing they had awesome wedding photographers. If I can, I'll share some of those photos later. They snapped a few of Ed & me that I can't wait to see :)

If I say "church mouse" or "hickory dickory dock, the mouse ran up the clock," what do you immediately think of? This, maybe?

This was in St Andrew's Presbyterian church, where the wedding ceremony was held. I love the sense of humour people at this church have. The mouse was fake. Excellent.

(Also, I took this during rehearsal Thursday night - not during the wedding ceremony. Just so we're clear, okay?)

Since I can't believe that was the only photo I had, I took some of my bouquet the morning after the wedding. The big lilies have all opened up now, and my house smells like lilies.

quite beautiful :)

It was a great wedding. I like great weddings.

Mexican Tortilla Soup

Mmmmmmmmmm! Yum :)

Ingredients

• 1 onion, chopped
• 3 tsp garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
• 1 (10.5 ounce) can condensed chicken broth
• 1 1/4 cups water
• 2 cup whole corn kernels, cooked
• 1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chile peppers
• 1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 2 boneless chicken breast halves, cooked and cut into bite-sized pieces
• crushed tortilla chips (or baked tortilla strips - see below)
• sliced avocado
• shredded cheese
• chopped green onions
• sour cream

Directions

1. In a medium stock pot, heat oil over medium heat. Saute onion and garlic in oil until soft. Stir in chili powder, oregano, tomatoes, broth, and water. Bring to a boil, and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes.
2. Stir in corn, chiles, beans, and chicken. Simmer for 10 minutes.
3. Ladle soup into individual serving bowls, and top with crushed tortilla chips, avocado slices, cheese, sour cream and chopped green onion. 

I'm not sure where this recipe comes from. I adjusted it too.

Vegetarian: change chicken broth for vegetable broth, add white kidney beans for the chicken


My baked tortilla chips:


Ingredients:

• 5 tortillas (any kind! I love using ones out of the freezer, since they're being baked anyways.)
• 2 tbsp Olive oil
• salt, black pepper, paprika (all optional) - to taste

Directions: brush tortillas with olive oil and sprinkle with spices, cut into strips, place in a single layer on a foil-line baking sheet & broil (500) for 2-5 minutes.

Wedding weekend!

Last night, we set up tables & chairs in the tent.
Tonight, we rehearse.
Tomorrow, I don't go to school.
Because she's getting married!

WOOT!

Pictures to come...

But for now, one from before:

NOT her dress! No spoilers here :) Her dress is clearly far more beautiful even. And I'm confident Jason won't see this, so we're alright.

Honey-Garlic BBQ Sauce

It changes every time, but this time people asked for the recipe, so I thought this time maybe I'd better write it down!

To be clear, you can easily change this recipe to fit what you have in the house. I'll list substitutions that I often make in brackets behind each ingredient.

Yield: 2-ish cups

Ingredients:

• 1 c. ketchup
• 1/4 c. worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 c. brown sugar (or syrup, maple syrup)
• 2 tbsp honey (or syrup, maple syrup - don't use more if added above)
• 2 tbsp dijon mustard (any other mustard works too - even 1.5 tsp ground mustard)
• 1 tbsp minced garlic ( 3-4 cloves or jarred)
• 1 tbsp white wine vinegar (red wine vinegar, white vinegar, apple cider vinegar)
• 2 tsp hot sauce 
• 1.5 tsp chili powder
• 1.5 tsp black pepper
• salt to taste
• 2 tsp cornstarch, just liquified w/ water (optional, do this only if heating sauce prior to using - to thicken)

Directions:

1. Mix it all together. 
2. Use as a marinade or on your favourite sandwich, burger, ribs, grilled cheese
3. Leftovers can be stored in the fridge for about one week. (If used as a marinade, throw the excess out.)

24

This girl (lady?) wrote an awesome list of what she all learned in her twenties. A lot of what she wrote sounded scarily familiar. Minus the hospital stay.

Basically, I felt a connection, and thought...I'd love to link up! Sounds like she has a solid & firm foundation that's right the same as mine. Plus, we majored in the same things in uni, and aren't using them now. Plus, her second last piece of advice is gold. Pure gold.

Since I'm 24, I've got a fair ways to go to make a complete list of the things that I learned in my 20s. But I know for sure that by 30, I'll forget a lot of the lessons I'll want to remember.

So, 24 lessons I've learned so far:

1. True love takes patience. Don't be impatient.
2. I love flowers. And working with plants. It's not just some chore your mom makes you do.
3. University gets you a degree. But during your quest to get your majors in history & political science, you will choose courses which are almost exclusively impractical to life outside of university. Be deliberate in maintaining a learning attitude.
4. My high school teachers were grossly under-appreciated. Being a high school teacher is not easy.
5. Speeding actually doesn't get you anywhere faster. Ever pass someone only to see them pull up beside you at a stoplight? Exactly. So, unless you're travelling for 500+km at a time....
6. I am a list-maker.
7. Having a "lot" of money in the bank isn't always a good thing. Trust in God is harder then.
8. Dreams that you've dreamed might be handed to you. And when they are, you might realise they're not your dreams anymore. And that's ok.
9. Be forgiven. Many people find it hard to forgive others. Me? I find it hard to be forgiven. Am I the only one?
10. You're not meant to forget the ugly things you've done in life. Otherwise you might repeat them.
11. Love and respect go hand in hand. It is not love if there is no respect. It is then only a desperation to love or a fear that perhaps you are not capable of love. But it's incredibly hard to recognize. So run it through the respect test, if you're concerned.
12. Shop smart. If you can, don't buy something cheap for the sake of buying something. Or just because its on sale. Buy something that's made well. You'll enjoy it more, and for longer, because a year+ later it's still looking and/or functioning as good as when you got it.  But also then, make sure it will stand the test of time trend-wise. If it's meant to be temporary, then by all means, head to Ikea.(Disclaimer: I love Ikea.)
13. You're the only person who can see your pimple. And, I've always, ALWAYS been completely surprised to find out that so-and-so wears 6 sizes up from me when I offer to lend a piece of clothing.So what you see about yourself is often not even close to living up to the standards of what other people are seeing.
14. Travel is an excellent use of money.
15. Thrifting is cool!
16. Prayers are answered. Often. Regularly. Without our notice.
17. You will only get busier. Unless you're really, really careful.
18. God doesn't want a do-er. He wants a worshiper. Be very very careful that doing committee work, service work, etc doesn't replace work on your relationship with your Heavenly Father.
19. Puzzles are oft-forgotten good times. Board games too, just less so.
20. Be aware of what you are putting into your body. You'd be surprised at what's in your food. It's easy & delicious to eat differently/healthily!
21. Your family appreciates you. But if you live with them, its easy to let the grumpy, cranky moments take over your perceptions of what your family think of you. 
22. Make a point of finding the positives in a person or situation. If you can't see it, it's all the more vital for you to pray.
23. You can tell yourself some pretty convincing lies. Don't believe them.
24. God is essential to my well-being. It makes sense. I was created to worship God, of course I can't feel well without Him. I had this first on my list, but

Random Thought Thursday

1. Fresh-out-of-the-dryer towels make me as giddy as the first date. No. Really. (Sorry?) (I kinda sounded like Scrat.)
2. I need to clean my toilet waaaaaay more often. The dust on the outside, I mean. The inside gets cleaned regularly.
3. I'm super excited about the PC Organics Power Fruit blend. It has dark sweet cherries! The only kind of cherries I can eat! And it's my favourite smoothie fruit. I haven't had it in three years or so! Yay!
4. All-beef pepperettes make a good supper. Um. Ok, I'll go eat.
5. I got Dominion today! (See my Giftlist tab :)
6. I have the most awesome boyfriend who sends me random messages that make me instantaneously happy.
7. It's amazing how hastily-done homework can make me happy. (But much less so than random messages from a certain someone....)
8. I need to figure out how to dehydrate kale (and if it'll re-hydrate well....). Check!
9. The third (& last!) load of laundry is washing.
10. Grocery list-making is a pain in the butt.
11. My May monthly cause is gonna be March for Life/Letters4Life/WeneedaLaw
12. I have an organized pantry. For the first time in 2.5 years. Maybe longer.
13. Tomato paste leather. Now there's a good idea for the kayak trip! Hmmm...
14. It would also take care of one of the 6 jars of pasta sauce sitting in my pantry.
15. I should pack for the weekend. Already. Again. Can't wait til I live more centrally!
16. I just read a blog. By a girl with some crazy similarities to me. Sort of. I feel drawn to connect. I'm off to go link up.
17. (I just read over this list of randoms. Wow. I think about food a lot.)

Chili ($6, 12 people)

I make chili a lot. Of all the meals I make, it ties right up there with my favourite pasta recipe for number of times made.
Only, unlike my favourite pasta, my chili is never the same.

Chili w/ TVP

The Staple Ingredients:

• 6-bean medley - 2 cans
• chili powder
• garlic
• fresh ground salt & black pepper

The Optional Ingredients: (pick a few, or all, if you prefer)

• tomato paste
• pasta sauce (I'll often use a spicy one)
• black beans (one can)
• corn (one can, or 2 c. frozen)
• jalapeno pepper (with or without seeds, depending on your heat preference)
• chili pepper (probably just one of these two kinds of pepper)
• white onion, chopped
• regular bell pepper, diced
• carrot, thinly sliced & chopped
• onion powder
• pumpkin puree (not my fave, but doable, if you have leftovers to kill.)

The Added Protein:

• TVP (textured vegetable protein) - I use Bob's Red Mill brand. It is awesome and looks like ground beef, but tastes so much better (imo.) Basically, it's defatted soy flour that soaks up the flavour of whatever you add it to. Plus: cheap! I used it for the first time in the chili pictured above. I'm a new fan.
• Ground beef. Browned to a crisp first.

I like to serve it with some nice fresh bread, preferably spread with garlic butter.

12 servings too much for you?
 Freeze it up! Lunch-size portions are a way healthier (&cheaper) alternative to store-bought frozen dinners.

{I say $6 cuz that's about all the one above cost me. I almost always buy my beans & sauce on sale.)g

The Promised Quinoa Salad Recipe

I love this light, summery quinoa (keen-wah) salad.
Yeah, I know. Took me forever to realise that's how you pronounce it.

I love quinoa. So many uses. This is about my favourite. I like savoury foods. Many other recipes that use quinoa make it with sweet ingredients. There's even a quinoa bread recipe out there.

Quinoa can be used like pasta, like rice, like flour (somewhat), like oatmeal...

Anyways, here goes:

Veggie Quinoa Salad (originally from the back of a box of Casbah brand quinoa)

Combine the following in a bowl:

• 225 g. quinoa, rinsed, cooked in 2.5 c. broth & cooled.
•  For the broth, I used water and a veggie bouillon cube.
• I think you could just cook in water too. But realise there is sodium-free veggie bouillon out there, if sodium-free is your concern!
• 1 c. grape tomatoes, quartered
• 1 sweet yellow pepper, diced
• 1 cup cucumber diced (or just a whole cuke. Yum.)

Dressing:

• 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• I used 1 tbsp white vinegar & 1 tbsp apple juice.
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• pinch of salt (optional - especially if you used broth! With water-cooked quinoa, use the salt!)

Pour dressing over quinoa mix & serve cold. YUM! And, it's pretty.

Serves 8-10 (as a hefty side.)

A Busy Life

I'm a teacher, and it's a good job.

But it can be such a disappointing job too.

Outside of teaching, I often have friends & family members who wonder aloud how I do it. How do I do so many different things? Teach high school, be a friend, serve on a couple of different committees.

And sometimes, if they don't know me too well, these are the same people who conclude that I must be able to do it because teaching is so easy, with the summer break and other school vacations. Plus, teachers get paid well and have great pension plans, so they can retire early. Didn't you hear?

It's the same job that makes me feel completely inadequate and a total failure too. I find myself constantly making excuses for things that I haven't accomplished. I'm hard on myself for not planning two 75-minute lessons and marking a set of essays, along with vacuuming and cooking a healthy dinner for myself, while also making time to visit a friend I haven't seen awhile and getting to bed at the reasonable hour of at least 10 pm. In one evening. If I have a committee meeting to attend I just limit myself to expecting a healthy dinner, the meeting, 2 lessons and some marking.

These are my expectations of myself.

And then I get overwhelmed because of all the things I expect myself to do, that I can't function well. It would be better to expect less, feel less overwhelmed, and get more accomplished.

And so I realise how ridiculous my expectations of myself are. How unrealistic. I can either a) have a clean house or b) get ahead of lesson planning while keeping up with marking or c) get enough sleep or d) actually have quality time to spend with my God.

So I never feel like I've slept enough, always feel behind on marking, and feel accomplished when I wash up the few dishes...biweekly.

And God tells us that that last one is more important than any other one.
When my life is not right with God, my earthly work cannot take priority. And I certainly can't let people make me feel inadequate for that.

Okay. Blog post done. I have a lesson to plan, a shower to take, a lunch to make, devotions too. And bed. Bed by 11? Oh I hope so.

Expectations. Grr.

Coming Up!

I love the month of May. I don't know why.

But when I was a little girl, May was gonna be my middle name once I figured out how to change it.
And, I was going to get married in May, when the trees were in bloom and I could carry a bouquet of lilacs. I saw a wedding once in May, with the lilacs blooming. The bridal couple pulled up in a horse-drawn carriage. It was the stuff of little girl dreams. As for my groom, well, back in my little girl days he was fairly insignificant. My latest puppy-dog-love would be the warm body to fill the spot. He just had to approve of lilacs and call me Amy-May.

I got over the name thing. I still love the time when lilacs bloom, but right now I'd rather be married in August. Which works perfectly with my teaching job, but proves a problem in the flower department. My newest favourite flower is a spring bloom as well. Ranunculus. (Did you know that someone has even named a kid Ranunculus? Great flower. Weird name.)

And this month, I still get to experience a wedding. Two actually. In one I get to be a bridesmaid. I'm looking forward to it!

What else? I'm sure more kayaking will be involved. I'm looking forward to it! And, after this month, there'll only be a few more weeks of school before summer break. Time flies!