Thanksgiving 2013

Hello Followers! Okay so in awesome fall tradition, I will tell you about my thanksgiving with friends in Calgary.

So Corrina was realllly excited this year to cook her first turkey ever! So we started planning and the day finally came. Monday October 14 was my first day off from both jobs in over a month and I was looking forward to it like a kid at Christmas. I wake up to Corrina handing me a cup of French press and cooking me bacon and "Eggy Toast" as she has coined the term. Think of french toast but WAYYY better.  She is actually my favourite human. One day, her kids (all boys she hopes!) will be worshipping her thats how good of a mum she'll be! But back to Thanksgiving! After breakfast, we get ready and head to the store for some last minute things and of course wine and champagne. You can't forget those two. They are almost as crucial as the turkey. We pick up our things and drive out to the house that my roommate Victoria had been housesitting. We arrive at the house around 2, which is late to get our 12 pound turkey into the oven. Corrina had confirmed that all of the materials we needed (baking pan, etc) was there. We arrive and a baking pan and tin foil are no where to be found. I don't think I have seen Corrina this frustrated in a while. Brandon (her boyfriend) and I set out to the store to grab the things we need.

The Longest "5 minute" Store Trip of My Life. 

After 15 minutes of running around Superstore with our heads cut off and me being distracted like a 5 year old by things like Pillsbury Pumpkin Sugar Cookies (Which i bought , completely unnecessary) We ask the lady where the pans are. She says theyre out! Imagine the look on our faces. Out of the corner of my eye, I spot a pan sitting on top of the frozen turkeys. I dash towards it, moving through the soccer moms and homemakers to claim my prize. I snatch the pan and head for the checkout. So picture this, were in the self checkout line on Thanksgiving Monday so its busy as shit, and there just has to be the most annoying humans in this line. First, an Asian couple that is moving at the pace of a glacier with a cart that DEFINITELY has more than 25 items (Like Wtf?), Next a middle aged woman that makes the poor attendant run around the store to price check her 24 pack of yogurt to find out its 2.97$ (Which is CHEAP AS EFF) only to tell him "Nahhhh, not today". Then the cherry on top of this slow ass cake. An older gentleman with at least 50 things in his cart. We watch this guy as we are painfully waiting and he suddenly takes a peak in a 180 degree radius and "pretends" to scan his 0.97$ paper plates. I don't see this sneaky mum move until Brandon leans over and says " What a weasel." I immediately burst out laughing and as I'm getting annoyed looks from the other impatient patrons waiting for these people, I see the attendant run over as she catches him red handed. He plays dumb and proceeds to lie about the amount of cans of something rather in his cart. At this point, the attendant starts to count individually the items in his cart and by this point I'm about to snap. Thank Baby Jesus, the till beside him opens up. We finally rush over and pay for our items and get back to the car. After 45 minutes, I never want to step foot in this place for a while. Corrina is meanwhile frantically calling to make sure we hurry back so we can get this damn bird in the oven.

The Preparation 

   We get back and get the turkey in the oven. Already, I have some awesome excitement. I havent had some good home cooking for a while and I wanna pop some bottles to celebrate this first day off! 3:00 and the turkey is in!

HE's IN!

     As the bird begins to roast, Corrina, Brandon and I pop a couple bottles of champagne." Like a 2'6" as Corrina so awesomely puts it. 

So we sit out on the deck on a gorgeous holiday monday and get our drink on. Now this house had 5 cats and 2 dogs in it (Mine and Corrina's heaven), and we drank and had some awesome times. 

Young Love <3 C&B

Three Musketeers!

The Feast

It gets to the time where we need to take out the turkey and does this bird just look PERFECT ! Look at how golden brown that bad boy is. Frank really roasted nicely ;). 

Corrina Unstuffing Frank

THE BIRD

Corrina made her famous twice baked potatoes and miniature apple crisps for dessert, Vic and Amanda did the roasted peppers, brussel sprouts and zucchini and I did my Mom's signature candied yams with roasted marshmallows and a peach raspberry pie. The look on Corrina's face was so proud! A GREAT success! And for the most part gluten free! It was a win win!

Everyone LOVED the food and my candied yams were a hit! Ryan will have to fight me for the recipe ;). 

Ready to Eat! Corrina looks proud! Ya girlllll.

After we finished eating and cleaning, we played a new board game, Battle of the Sexes, had some great wine and laughs with friends and called it a night . I say SUCCESS! Until next year, this is one of the top ones for the books. In tradition of the real meaning of the holiday, it made me thankful for the awesome and caring friends that I have. Even in a new city that I am vulnerable to, I have found people that I love that I can laugh and have awesome times and great fun with. Even though my family isn't always near me, I am so thankful for their awesomeness as well! 

Happy Thanksgiving and be thankful for the love and support that surrounds you! 

XOXO

S. 

My New Adventure

Hi guys! Sorry for the hiatus I have been insanely crazy busy. I moved to Calgary exactly 10 weeks ago and so far, I'm loving my life here. Life's pretty crazy and it has thrown me some serious curveballs in the last month. With holding down two jobs (which I love by the way) and our basement flooding I have been barely holding on to my sanity. All in all , I have fallen in love with Calgary. The city itself is such a lively city, with a rambunctious nightlife and loads of great restaurants and coffee shops to keep you busy in the day. Here it doesn't matter if its a Saturday night or a Tuesday, people are out and about and enjoying their lives. They don't succumb to the perils of the 9-5 life and live their lives like tomorrow will be their last day.

After weeks of searching and perfecting resumes and cover letters, I landed two jobs to sustain my new life. Here's a little bit about them!

Dr For Moms Chiropractic And Family Wellness

      When I got the job at Dr For Moms, I didn't know what to expect. I have an introductory knowledge of natural health disciplines, but chiropractic I hadn't really looked into. My first impression was that it was a lot of "back" cracking. I was hired at the center and immediately felt a warm welcome by the team. Dr. Hort and her team really exemplify the meaning of "it takes a village to raise a child". The center makes moms feel welcome and encouraged to bring their children. Whether its holding babes to entertaining toddlers or changing a diaper or two, were there to help. Thats my favourite part. I love that I can be some form of help to these moms and expectant mothers  in their hectic lives. Even though I have only been apart of the center for 10 weeks, I have already learned so much about chiropractic care for adults and children. If the nervous system is able to operate at an optimal level, the rest of the body systems seem to be able to work themselves out.  Our nerves are majority what controls physical pain, or our nociceptors. When the joints are misaligned, this can cause the body to perform improperly and can interfere with how the you innately heal. These are called "subluxations". Dr. Hort has programs such as "How to have a baby in 6 hours or less and love to tell about it!" . For the women in my life that have given birth, I know they would have killed to have this knowledge! Whether you are pregnant or not, male or female, young or old, chiropractic care can help with many different conditions.  For children and babies, adjustments are very different than those for adults.  They are gentle and effective in relief from such conditions as torticollis, plagiocephaly, collic, acid reflux and much more. I love that I feel I get to learn every single day.

        The center is multi-disciplinary, with three chiropractors with wide ranges of areas of expertise, two massage therapists and a health and wellness fitness expert. We make everyone feel like they belong and are taken care of with exceptional standards. Chiropractic care can never be detrimental, only progressive and I believe everyone in life should experience this! Come and join our village!
www.drformoms.com

Roosevelt Food and Drink

       When I first moved here, I was under the impression that I was finished with the serving industry. It isn't that I had hard feelings towards it, as I worked in restaurants throughout university and was able to make a decent living.  I just wanted to utilize the skills that I believe I had acquired in the 5 years of education I had just finished. Nonetheless, reality hit and I decided if I wanted to financially be in a comfortable place, serving would have to continue for a while. With the amount of experience I have, I was able to hunt around and try to find a restaurant that I believed I would fit best in. A friend of mine, Chanelle, worked at Roosevelt and had great reviews to say about it. So I went in and applied. Immediately, I felt welcomed. In many restaurants, girls can be competitive and snobby. It is very off putting. But when I started, I didn't feel that at all. Everyone was really nice and made me feel comfortable. Roosevelt is an upscale pub and lounge that has something to offer to everyone. Taking service standards to a new level, we like to get to know guests on a personal level. Weekends are awesome with FREE milkshakes and mini donuts at brunch and awesome DJs on Fridays and Saturdays that are guaranteed to show you an amazing time! Plus the 5$ Happy Hour drinks and FULL sized flatbreads cannot be beat. I have been told in the cold fall days that have recently passed that we are the one of the busiest places on 17th! I love being apart of such a fun crowd and team and look forward to serving all of you! 

I am really excited about my new adventure in Calgary. With the help of these two positions, I have expanded my network and can't wait to see what is in store for me. 

Until next time !

xoxo

S.