Shopping till I dropped.....

Well, I came to visit my sister and I have had the best time so far. Second, I had started shopping but I only brought one big luggage and it is now full and I no space left for anymore. Next time, if there is a next time, I will have one luggage just for shoes/boots.

I hope I can still be able to lift my luggage but that will be only when I take it off the carousel. It had been fun and I will now enjoy the rest of the time visiting.

Sad to hear that we have relatives who spent Christmas day in the hospital. I hope they will be out to spend the New Year home with their families. 

Thanks to my BIL, as my sister would say, who took me shopping and even found a very nice pair of boots while we were at Kohl's. He also found a pair of jeggings we thought were priced ok but got a lecture from my sister that we paid too much.

Also, I have a new method of buying boots. I don't look around for the type or design I like, I first look for my size and then open the box and hope it is the pair I am looking for. My sister's MIL found me the other pair of boots. 

Next time I will take pics of my stash and I know I have had a good deal. Now my New Year's resolution is to finally lose the last few pounds and hopefully my doctor will take me off the medication. Another, would be to stop shopping....I know, I know, how many pairs of shoes does a person need?

If I don't get another chance to blog....I wish all of you a Happy New Year.....and may it be a start of something good. 

Merry Christmas......

I would like to greet everyone a very Merry Christmas!!! And since there are people from different parts of the world who read my blog whether it was intentionally or by accident, it would be nice to wish you all in your languages.

Joyeaux Noel                                                              Feliz Navidad

                                         Maligayang Pasko                                                  Mele Kalikimaka

               Buone Feste Natalizie                  Pace Salute                 Froliche Weinacht

            Meri Kerihimete          Feliz Natal                Nadolig Llawen             Sawadee Pee Mei

                   Kala Christouyenna               Milad Majid               Geseende Kersfees

 Glaedelig Jul                            Selamat Hari Natal                                       Chuc Mung Giang Sinh      

                        Felices Pasquas                                    Heristos Se Rodi

            Shub Naya Baras               Kurisumasu Omedeto                    Vesele Vianoce

                                                                  Happy Christmas



Sunny but cold San Jose!!!!

Well, I thought I would be in warm San Jose but at night it feels colder than Edmonton with the humidity and dampness. I arrived here Thursday night and we went to a Filipino restaurant close to the airport. 

Jeff and Luckie's home is really cute and today we were really busy. We started shopping for groceries for the 3 meals we have to get ready for the next three days. But of course we had our side trips to shop for clothes and shoes. Yes, I have started shopping and will tell you more about it later. We actually went two times for shoes and clothes. 


Tomorrow will be celebrated with a few relatives of Jeff's and Christmas, our cousin with her friend will be celebrating with us. I have not seen her for a long time.


We have been busy cooking and baking. We just finished making potato and macaroni salad, magic and lemon bars and filling for empanadas and chicken pot pies.


I still have not finished wrapping the presents I brought with me so I will be doing that later which would be early morning.


So here is my Christmas wish to everyone....that you will spend it with family and friends and just enjoy and give thanks that there are presents under the Christmas tree.

I hope everyone will have a great Christmas Eve.  

I hope  don't gain weight with all the eating and celebrating. I have to watch it seriously. I have a doctor's appointment a few days after I get back home.

I am enjoying my time visiting my sister and her hubby. I hope my niece and her hubby are having fun in New York.

What's baking/cooking......

Usually during the holidays, I do a lot of baking and give them away as presents. This year I did not do as much since I will be away. I have made shortbread because it does not feel like Christmas at all without it. I also made steamed rice cakes for our cookie exchange.

Here are some baked goodies I have done in the years past.

Classic spritz

Pineapple filled bars

Kisses thumb print cookies

Chocolate crinkles

Steamed rice cakes

It is fun when you see them all baked and wrapped ready to give as presents. But I must admit it is hard work.



Gifts, presents and cookie exchange....

It is nice to get something we don't expect. It is sign of thanks, appreciation and just plain spirit of giving.

At our office, I do a lot of the contracts and so I deal with a lot of trades and when I find that they do a good job and the price is right, I tend to give them a lot of business. And during this time, they show their thanks and appreciation.

So in the past few days, we were discussing in the office that it seems like the trades have been affected by the world's economic problem. We did not get any baskets or boxes of chocolates and it is almost the middle of December. But then the trades have started to come and it is nice to be thought of at Christmas.

This is the first basket I got and it is from our snow removal company.

This trio is from our eaves trough company

These two ginger bread houses from our real estate guy. He also gave each of us a bottle of wine.

This trio, that's Tim Horton's card from our flooring guys.

This is one of the cookie exchange, home made biscotti which is yummy and I don't know the name of the cookies, but very tasty as well.

This is made with dark and white chocolate, something different, from one of my resident managers.

I am sure there will be more this week but I will be away from the office starting Thursday and will also miss our Secret Santa but will open mine when I get back after the New Year.





Shopping and packing done....

It feels good to finally achieve a mission. I got up early today to finish these two jobs. And I did it!!! Not only have I done it, but I saved quite a bit because I got most of it on sale. There was only one present I had such a hard time buying but when I found it, it was such a relief.

I also manage to get something to add to my own little collection. And I only get them at this particular store.

Then I met a friend as we wanted to go out for our Christmas dinner and we decided to go to Moxie's.

But before we went there we passed by Target Canada. Yes, we have Target and what a disappointment.. It was a crappy store and I have heard or read that Michelle Obama sometimes buy at Target, I am glad she is not Canadian because there is nothing she can buy at the Target here. It is an insult to us Canadians. To prove my point, when we got to the store, there were 4 other shoppers there and it is close to Christmas. Gosh, do they send what they don't sell in the US here?  That was my first and last time at Target. Now, I have a mission when I get to San Jose....I will see what their Target store is like over there.

Yes, I have a small collection of margarita glasses. I got this pair at Pier One for $2.98 each. What a deal!!!



Freebies..........

I did not realize I have not posted in a while. It had been very busy at work since we will be closed from Dec 23 to Jan 3.

I can't think of anything interesting to post for now so I decided to show a few things I have received from friends and office mates.

My office mate was brought this to wear at our open house and when she put it on, she did not like it, it was not comfortable. So we exchaned shoes for the night. At the end of the open house, I got my shoes back and this one as well.

A pair of boots given by the same office mate. I think she buys shoes and does not try them or for whatever reason, it seems like she buys them because she likes it and realizes she does not like it.

One more week and I am still finishing my shopping and packing. I hope everyone gets it done soon and just enjoy the rest of the week.







Christmas memories.....

This was one of my Christmas memories, quite a long time ago. I think this happened when I was 8 or 9 years old. And yes, I do remember it vividy.

Back in the Philippines, we celebrated every Christmas at my grnadparents house. Our celebration was on Christmas Eve and we would have late supper called Noche Buena at around midnight or a bit after,

Presents were given but before you can receive yours, the children had to sing. I do not sing and this was just a pain in you know where for me. I literally hated this part of Christmas. At first I would start to sing and by the time I am on a second line of whatever Christmas carol I chose to sing, I would be in tears. Finally, I had enough of it. I did not care if I ever get any Christmas presents. I would just refuse to sing.

I know at one time everyone had their presents and they started opening them and I still did not have mine and I remember it well, it did not bother me that much. But somehow an aunt or someone else would give me all my presents.

I was relieved that when we got older and was receiving envelopes instead of presents and we did not have to sing anymore. I think this episode in my life somehow tarnished my enjoyment of this holiday. And I hated the relative who was responsibe for this. Thus....karma....I do not have any kind of relationship with this person now.

Today, I still don't sing even if my life depended on it. Sometimes, my sister would ask me to sing with her and that is the only time, usually when the two of us are drivng.

This wsa the song I remember singing and stopped when I was just on the holy night, so the third word of the song. Of course, it was the standard one, this was a different cover of the song.

Busy, busy, busy.....

It had been a busy Friday for me. I took my vehicle to the dealership to get winter tires installed and took the shuttle back downtown. I had asked the shuttle driver to pick me up at 2:00 pm so I could get home early but my vehicle was not ready and I had to wait for almost an hour. But I met the most wonderful couple who was also waiting for their vehicle to get ready. They had a longer wait so the service guy gave them a Vera Cruz so they could drive to the mall and shop. That is what I call service.

At work it was training day for new managers and helping get the financial statements out. I forgot  my lunch bag in my vehicle so one of the ladies picked up lasagna (again) at Timmy's and I guess when you are hungry, it tasted a bit better than the first time. This is what my niece commented as well.

We are preparing for manager's luncheon this Wednesday and I hope it will not be another one of those deli meat, cheeses, olives, etc. I am not a sandwich person so I do not enjoy this.

I am baking my contribution to the cookie exchange.

Friday night was my Christmas shopping day and a friend and I went to High Street which is 2 blocks away from my place. They have very nice and different stores there. Luckily, I got most of what I wanted to get. I have to pick up one little item which will come from another branch in the city. It was hard trying to get stuff made just in Canada so I was really careful to get just items made here.

I will start packing soon although I am not taking a lot of stuff with me as I am shopping when I get to San Jose. It would be fun.

I just realized that I have not seen my fave sister in over three years. That is a long time. I am sure we will have lots of fun.

My sister is right, this is the best version of this song, I used to like Johnny Matthis's version.

Finally.............

This morning I am on my way to my Hyundai dealership to get my winter tires installed. What is ironic about it, there is no snow and the forecast is no snow for the next two weeks. I guess I will be ready when that dreaded white stuff comes sometime in the near future.

The nice thing about it is, I will be gone for almost two weeks on holidays so I don't really care when it comes.

Yesterday, I got my first Christmas basket at work and the first installment of the cookie exchange I participated in. I will bring mine Monday. It is nice because you don't get all the cookies at once.

Tonight I will be doing my Christmas shopping and hopefully I will not be running around all over to find what I want to get.

Also, tonight is the start of the display at Candy Cane Lane. This is blocks of home on the west by Stony Plain road area all decorated with all kinds of Christmas decor and it being Candy Cane Lane, every home has candy cane decor as part of their theme. It is crowded and I will propbably go see it sometime. You can check on You Tube as I am sure they have some videos or photos there, until I visit the area, that will be the time I will post some.

Weekend, another two days to enjoy...have fun shopping.

Really balmy weather!!!!!

This morning we woke up to a really balmy weather +9 degrees. I could not believe it. I had to take a second look at the tv screen to confirm what I had just seen. That was a nice surprise. According to the weather people, the last time we had warm weather like this was in the 1920s.

At lunch, the staff at work was treated to lunch at the Edmonton Petroleum Club......a place where the who's who of the oil companies go for lunch. It was a nice spread with a nice buffet. The chocolate desserts were amazing. I was too embarrassed to take pictures of the food. The shrimp cocktail should have been called prawn cocktail, the shrimps were BIG!

We came out of the club and it was snowiing!!! What a surprise again! Only in Alberta.

Today I found out I was in the short list of applicants for a job I had applied for last week. And the other one I applied for, the recruiter is submitting my resume to a company I have heard good things about. I had my phone interview last night. I am hoping that I get one of these jobs, it would be nice way to start the new year.



What's cooking/baking.....

This weekend was kind of relaxing for me. I did a bit of this and that ....cleaning my home, cooking and baking. Since I have started baking bread again, I now get excited when I bake anything.

On Saturday morning I baked pan de sal which is a popular bun in the Philippines and I made jumbo ones. 

As you can see they are big but still tasted like our pan de sal back home.

As soon as it was out of the oven, I spread butter on one side and butter and jam on the other side. Yummy!

Sunday evening, I barbecued chicken and made the marinade from scratch and it tasted good.

Took 2 pieces to work for lunch with scalloped potatoes.







Christmas .....my home..

As I will be away for Christmas this year....I wil be visiting my sister in sunny (hopefully) San Jose, California, I am a bit lazy decorating my home.

Don't laugh when I show the extent of my Christmas decor at my place. I will not give anymore excuses just a picture to explain what I have just said.

There.....I have my table setting for Christmas. I might have to put a bit more today.

Oh, I forgot my entrance rug, if that counts at all. It should, it is about Christmas. So there..... I have two things Christmas at my home

One of my favourite Christmas songs....because of the message it gives.

I have a wonderful memory of this song. We lived in Yelowknife for more than two decades. My former husband was a teacher. Every Christmas, the school prepares for their Christmas concert.

Michael is not a singer and could not decide on what song the class would sing so my sister who plays the guitar suggested this song and had him play the cassette to the class and the lyrics typed and distributed. I believe my sister came on her lunch time and practiced with the class.

On concert day, it was one of the hits because the song did not seem to be popular with the crowd. But the nuns were praising it because of the wonderful message of the song.

Work stress......

Once in a while we get stressed at work and get so upset that we want to find another job. Well, the past week for me has been so stressful that last night I sent out resumes to see if I might get lucky and find an exciting and challenging job.

So I sent out 3 resumes and hoped for the best. At lunch time today, one company called and wanted to interview me tomorrow. So I was excited about that and put my cell phone back in my purse as I did not want staff to think I have been on my cell all the time.

Then we had our open house and I socialized with the guests but I  was not in a very good mood so I went home early. Just about half hour ago, I checked my cell and realized that I had missed a call from another company wanting to interview me. Unfortunately, she will not be at work tomorrow so I have to wait until Monday to find out when the interview will be.

I guess I have been lucky.....2 out of 3 is not so bad. I have just realized that when it comes to looking for a better job, I have always been that lucky. Prayers and keeping a positive attitude help.

We'll see what happens.....and it is the weekend, it would be a relaxing one knowing I could be going to a better place professionally. Wish me luck.....

Christmas at work.....

Ok, now for me it is the official start of the Christmas season. I know for the US, it starts on Black Friday and I know in the Philippines it usually start the first month that has a "ber" so it is September. And as they say the longest celebration.

Now I don't mind if I hear Christmas songs on the radio. I am not going to be home this Christmas so I will not put up a tree but will just make my place a bit Christmassy with a few things.

But at work it is all out but not like last year, this year there seems to be a common theme with the regular decor of the office.

main entrance to the office

in front of the reception area

     reception area

our Christmas tree

in the kitchen

more trees

another kind of tree

another tree in the accountant's office

Yes, the theme of the decor is trees.

My favourite Christmas song

                                       

                                                                         

Lasagna.....a la Tim Horton's....

It was another stressful day at work, so a co-worker and I went for a walk and got to Tim Horton's. I am not a sandwich person so I opted to try their lasagna which a few of the ladies at work have tried and said it was ok.

I don't even know why they had called it lasagna and not just Timmy's pasta as it did not really look nor taste like lasagna. It is missing the bechamel sauce or cottage cheese that some people use. It tasted more like spaghetti with cut up lasagna noodles. At least there is real meat in the sauce.

Last summer, I tried their smoothies or fruit drinks and that was the first and last for me. It did not have any taste at all.

This is  not all about venting, I would like to say that I was at Shopper's Drug last week and tried their store brand chips Simply Food, sea salt and I found it really good and not as salty. I also buy my butter there as it is the cheapest place you can get it. It is kind of ironic that there are cheaper food items to be had at a drug store.

On my drive home today, I have seen homes and businesses decorated and it is starting to look a lot like Christmas.



Warm weather....some accomplishment!!!!

It should be noted that over the weekend, our weather was almost balmy -- 8 above and it has been above average temperature for a few days now. Snow has completely melted and the streets are clear which makes it feel a lot warmer when you do not see or walk on that nasty white stuff.

And I have just realized that I have been posting everyday now for the last 10 days and I never thought that I could do that because it felt like having an assignment/home work.

I say this because my sister who is retired was posting everyday but lately has been missing a day here and there. If it was not for DWTS, where I posted 3 days in a row, I guess I would not have accomplished this. I don't know how long this will last, we'll see.

My brioche was a big hit at work and I was a bit hesitant to take it to work this morning but it turned out all the ladies loved it with their coffee.

I will do maybe two new recipes and the next time will be at my sister's place in San Jose.

What's baking?

I have been busy today baking and getting recipes I would like to try for Christmas baking. But I still like the mainstay like shortbread, sandies and spritz.

This afternoon, I baked shortbread, banana cake and ensaymada which is like brioche with butter and dusting of sugar and cheese on top. I do not like the cheese part so I omitted that. They all turned out well and I am taking shortbread and the individual sized ensaymadas to work tomorrow.

I am getting excited about baking and having fresh bread. I did not put sugar in the bigger brioche so I can cut up and toast it and make it like regular toast with butter and jam or peanut butter.

banana loaf

shortbread

ensaymada

It was a busy afternoon but very productive.

Another work week, hopefully it would not be as stressful as the last.



Unplanned trip.........

As I posted yesterday, I was sleeping in when I got a call from a friend of mine and she wanted to go to the mall. So I went with her and had breakfast there.

We went to T & T and I bought some fish and soy sauce and fish sauce and coconut milk.

My friend got a call and her brother had aneurysm and so we drove to Red Deer to see him. I know him and I am so very fond of him. He calls me Imelda Marcos because I have lots of shoes and his wife calls me, the shoe lady.

He even mentioned that there is a room in the hospital for my hundred pairs of shoes. Anywway, it was nice to see him and still has his sense of humour. We stayed there just close to 5:00pm and then we went grocery shopping for my baking ingredients and she drove me home.

I was watching the Christmas concert of the group, Celtic Thunder, 6 good looking guys from Ireland and good singers. It was on PBS and it made my night kind of wonderful.....first Christmas tv show for this year,

Tomorrow I am baking shortbread and ensaymada. Hope it turns out well. Pictures to follow.

A much awaited weekend.....

After a stressful 2 days at work, this is really a much awaited weekend. Sometimes, things happen at work that make you want to quit and this happened to me this week.

I get so frustrated and wondered how the ladies there managed to stay for so long.

I am going to sleep in and just relax and maybe start baking just to clear my head. I have not even confirmed whether I am going to our Christmas party or not. I have googled the place and found out it is a German diner and not a restaurant and the reviews are not that great. Even a German friend had said she would not recommend it.

If you are going for brunch, it might be ok but somehow the reviews have definitely starting to turn me off. I am quite sure I will not go....will go shopping instead and eat somewhere else.

Enjoy the weekend, I know I will.



Thanksgiving....USA

To all my friends, relatives and people who accidentally get on my blog and live in the US, Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!!! I know this holiday is bigger than Christmas to Americans.

Also, the day after is important as well, Black Friday...the biggest and busiest shopping day of the year.I have noticed when I was reading some flyers today that there are some stores here advertising Friday sales here as Black Friday as well.

Today I tried to book appointment for my winter tires to be installed and I can't get any day sooner than December 9. That sucks!!! If I want it done on a Saturday, I will have to wait till January. In most places you have to just go and see if they can get you in...first come, first served. I have credit on my Go Auto account so I am getting it done at my Hyundai dealership where I am a preferred customer and I don't pay for oil change and have discount on service done. I hope there will be no white flakes coming down in the next two weeks, if only we could be so lucky!!!!

No exciting show to watch on tv so back to reading, at least I get to bed early now too.

One more day and it is the weekend.  Might be shopping Saturday or baking.

Winner is.....

RJ won and it is ok but I believe Rob should have won it. I hate to say that there might be some sympathy votes.

He is a war hero and has served his country well so I bet a lot of military people voted for him.

Being second is great for Rob as I am sure he did not think he would have done so well. It is a good experience for him as the judges have said he started as a kid and matured to a young man.

I only saw the last half of the show, at least I saw Lady Antebellum and they sang Need You Now.
I was buying my rims at Canadian Tire during the first half of the show. Now I only need to take my vehicle to Hyundai and I am all set once it snows again which I hope won't be soon.

Actually, the snow started to melt today which is good, now the roads are clear of snow.

This is it............

So one more dance tomorrow and the winner will be announced. I wanted to vote for Rob but too much work. I hope his famiy will vote for him, there are enough of them to get him to win the mirror ball.

JR seemed to be trying  too hard but it paid off in their free style. I am looking forward to the guests, Lady Antebellum, I like a few of their songs.

I wanted to watch that new game show that followed DWTS but it did not interest me that much. I guess it will be back to reading and sewing, I have a few projects that I have started. And looking at recipes for my Christmas baking, not a lot this Christmas as I will be spending it with my sister and my brother-in-law in San Jose, CA.

I might also go for a stroll along Jasper and try to find a gift for our Secret Santa. Or to High Street as I have seen a really interesting store there two weeks ago.

I have also rearranged my bedroom to be away from the heating vents this winter. The weather is ok and will be warmer and the streets are clear. I hope to get my winter tires installed soon. Waiting for everyone else to have theirs done and it won't be too busy in a week or so.

4 more days to the weekend.....

Finals....DWTS

Yes, I watch this show and the only one considered a reality show that I follow. It is interesting to see how the stars progress from day one to the final round.

Usually I get the winners right but then again it is a popularity contest. Why do you think Nancy Grace lasted that long? This time I wanted Rob Kardashian to win as I believe he improved the most although Rikki Lake can really dance and RJ is the favorite, I think.

I always wait for the free style as everyone goes all out for that dance.

Whoever wins is ok, they all deserve to be there. Now, after tomorrow night what will I watch next.
I sort of follow the X Factor but it is not as interesting.

Maybe sports.....we will see. Maybe I can start my Christmas baking. That would be exciting as I want to try different recipes, but will always have my melt in your mouth, shortbread.

For all those working folks, don't work too hard. Have fun this week.

Postscript....

Just a  short note....since we did not get to try the Jamaican restaurant, we ended up at Blue Willow, a higher end Chinese restaurant. And had dinner for two which was ok. The usual special fried rice, chop suey, shrimp, barbecue pork and sweet and sour ribs.

That will be the last time for a while I will go to a chinese restaurant. There are so many different to try.

Also, when we were shopping at Winners, this song was playing and there was this older lady, I guess a retired person, looks like one and she was singing the song.

I thought I know some of the songs but to know the words......

Was I impressed!!!!!

Cold weather....

Winter is upon us and the weather is turning really cold. -28 overnight!!! The good news is the forecast for Wednesday is +2. That would be balmy.

Anyway, I believe we have to just accept it and the City of Edmontom is being proactive and has already started clearing the streets of snow and is not waiting for more snow to fall before doing it. And the streets are safer when they do that.

Tonight, a friend and I were going to try Jamaican restaurant and it was a bit of a long drive and when we got there and entered the place which is like family style, she coud not stand the smell of the food wafting through the restaurant so we had to leave. And that was my Jamaican restaurant experience....all 3 minutes of it. Next time I will go with the ladies at work who are more adventurous.

We went out on Friday to Fat Jakks which is Asian and they had lunch buffet which consisted mostly of Filipino food and all the ladies at work loved it. One lady loved it so much she went back twice. And they all loved the dessert ...ginataan halo-halo which is made with coconut milk, taro, sweet potatoes, tapioca, sweet rice balls.

That was nice and the rest of the staff now want to go after hearing good things about it...so Friday might be another day to try it with the other ladies.

And shopping a bit.....long line ups and waiting to check out, maybe go out week nights instead of the weekend. I don't like Christmas shopping.

Go early and be done with it, is what I would suggest to those who have a long list of people to get presents for. Fortunately for me....it is a very short list, really short.

Enjoy the weekend everyone while we freeze out here in the west.

Wall sculptures....

As I have posted before, we have moved into a new office but in the same building. We now occupy part of the main floor which is an addition to the building so we have our own entrance, deck on the side of the building.

It is an open concept kind of office. It is finally finished and the wall sculptures were installed over the weekend. I took pictures of them before the Christmas decorations are up, they have started this week.
I will take pictures of that later on.

The main wall of the office

Wall by the Vice President's office

Inside the General Manager's office

In the boardroom

Executive Assitant's office

As you can see there is a theme to the decor....which is also theme of Christmas decoration.

What's cooking?

Last week, a lady from work brought pre-packaged tomato sauce/pizza sauce. So she gave me 5 packages, then a few days later she brought a whole box of the sauce which has 100 packets of the sauce and I got another 10 or more of the packets. And ever since I have been planning to make pizza with crust made from scratch,

So Monday night with the weather so yucky, I decided to make my pizza and that sauce was just great. I guess I can use it to make lasagna or spaghetti as well. That is my project for this weekend.

I tried a new recipe for the dough and it is easy and turned out good. So after having made this dough/crust I was enticed to start baking my daily bread.

When my two boys were aged 5 and 7, I used to bake bread everyday and remember them waiting for it to come out of the oven and cutting the two ends and slathering butter on top and just munching on them.

This is how the sauce was packaged and I must have 25 of them right now.

I always make pizza in a rectangular tray, because of the size of the recipe of the dough.

And my strawberry concoction...non alcoholic.





Winter has come.....

To me it is official, winter is here. Yesterday afternoon we got a substantial amount of snow. It was chaotic driving home. It would have been a lot faster if I had walked.

At least drivers were cautious but still the traffic was awful. It is the first dumping of snow and I have not changed into my winter tires yet. I need to get on it soon.

Now my dilemma, drive, walk or take the transit. I must admit I did like just taking the bus but that was because I had my eye surgeries last winter and it was safer for me to take the bus and walk on my way home which I quite enjoyed. Maybe it will help me lose a few more pounds.

This morning I am debating whether to drive or walk to work. I will see in a few minutes.

Anyway, I hate snow. It does not matter how cold it is, as long as there is no snow. Maybe I should be planning to retire in a warmer climate. But where????

Fluffy, white stuff...

Yes, we had the dreaded white stuff. Hopefully, it will not stay. We did not get a lot but enough that it stayed on the ground but luckily the streets are clear.

The forecast did not say more snow so that is good. I guess we just have to take it and hope that it will not be like last winter in terms of volume.

It was a lazy weekend for me as I did not feel well. A lot of ladies at work had some kind of cold/flu or whatever is going around. I stayed home and relaxed and slept in. I feel well rested.

Remembrance Day

Although this is a day off for most of us working folks, let us not forget what this day is all about. We call different names but the main purpose of the day is to remember all those who have given their lives for all of us...to have freedom and enjoy the kind of life we have.

They have given the ultimate sacrifice...their lives for us to have better lives. I know there are those who did not lose their lives but yet are suffering from wounds, whether physical, emotional or psychological brought on by their experiences.

We read in the news how some are homeless, jobless and alone. I don't think they deserve the kind of lives they now have. Let us do what we can, even if is just buying poppies and wearing them in support of them

I also want to remember those we have lost.... friends, relatives, officemates or acquaintances. Though they did not fight for us, they sure enriched our lives as well.

LEST WE FORGET....

My list....the best....

Sometimes when I have people visiting from another city, province or country, I am asked where is the best place to go, get items, eat, shop, etc.

So here is my list of what in my experience would be the best place where to go.

1. fries --- Urban diner, always fresh and made daily, not frozen and seasoned so well
2. bento box --Moshi, Moshi, good price too
3. homemade chips -- Free Press, close to my office but the chips are really good
4. small appliances -- Canadian Tire where you can get Lagostina at 35-60% off
5. fruits and vegetables -- H & W, I have posted this before
6. bread -- Cobs where you can get all kinds of multigrain breads and pastries
7. linens -- Quilts, all kinds of blankets,sheet sets, tea towels, love the bamboo sheet sets
8. toiletries -- Rexall or Shoppers Drug - toilet rolls always on sale -Charmin extra soft
9. one of a kind items -- Winners or Home Sense
10. oil change -- North Star Hyundai -- free for me as I am a Preferred customer
11. chips -- London Drugs, they have a wide range of selection
12. calamari - Treng Thien spicy and not chewy

I am sure you also have your favorite to go to stores to get items for your home or to eat.
I was just at London Drugs and got myself red rice cooker for $22, and mixed nuts (482)grams for $2.74.

The weather has turned cooler but it is still in the plus during the day. -11 overnight, I just turned back my clocks. Enjoy the extra hour, everyone. I know I will.

The week that was......

Glad it is weekend again, what a busy week at work. There are still a few things to be done in our new office and I am still waiting for my privacy wall.

I took some pictures of the interior but it does not look great because some of the wall sculptures have not been delivered yet. It is an open concept and now we are starting to realize that the accoustics is not so great and we can hear each other and it is quite annoying and disturbing.

I like to have music when I work and I am glad the staff close to my desk appreciate the music I listen to.

I better remember to turn back my clocks Saturday night and not be late for Sunday church.

Tonight a friend picked me up to show me her new  digs and we went to have dinner at the downtown casino. I did not play and as usual she won....because I was with her.

Our office....

Kitchen/dining room of our office

The boardroom

Another part of the kitchen

Client/guests washroom

Service area of the board room with bar fridge and Keurig coffee maker

I guess we are spoiled, will have more pictures once it is finally done.

Enjoy the week end, I am sure we are all looking forward to a short work week.

Happy Halloween!!!!!

Here are pictures of the ladies in costumes....

Radio playlist.....

Since I have been listening to the radio when I am driving, I am posting a few of the songs I have heard lately. I listen to FM 107.9 which is commercial free most of the time. A bit of news here and there, the weather, traffic and mostly music.



These are not my fave but just music that are ok to listen to when driving, won't put you to sleep for sure.

Couponing.......not that extreme

After watching the show Extreme Couponing a few times, I wanted to save as well when shopping. I know we don't have the coupons they have in the US but some stores do have them in their weekly flyers.

On Fridays, I take a bunch of the flyers from Edmonton Journal and go over it at home. We also have flyers in our lobby so I pick up that one as well. If I am not out Friday night, I look at what is on sale and cut out coupons, find which store has buy one get one free or buying items in multiples. Since the stores are close by, I go to 3 of them and pick/buy the best price on sale.

It is a great feeling when I know I have saved a lot by just being prepared. I know what I need and look for it or I wait until they go on sale which they will the next week or two.

I don't like grocery shopping but I do not mind it as much when I know I will be saving.

Another week end has come and gone and we will be back to work. Halloween tomorrow and I know some of the ladies are dressing up so I will take pictures and post it later.

Happy Halloween everyone!!!!!

Cooler weather......

As always, when it is close to Halloween, we get a bit worried that the white stuff will come and surprise us. This morning, it was -3 when drove off to work, but it warmed up during the day to about 8.

For lunch, a few of the ladies at work ventured to another Vietnamese restaurant. I went along and we tried the fried squid/calamari which was spicy and soft and not chewy.

The rest of the ladies ordered different bun and pho.

It is nice when you are in the downtown centre as there as so many restaurants we can try and we seem to be going to different ones trying to find the best.

Now, since it is getting cooler, it is time to get the winter coats, gloves, mitts, scarves out. It is time to put away summer clothes. I have donated some coats to Elizabeth Fry Society which is an organization that helps women/mothers in trouble. My good deed for the day.

I don't have any particular plan this weekend, I would like to do some baking and maybe get my vehicle to the car wash.

Enjoy the weekend.