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.