Short week.....

Thank God, it was a short week. It was so busy at work, I am glad it is the weekend. The past week there has not been a lot to watch on tv. Mostly about the Royal wedding. Hopefully after today, it will all be over.

This week was professional administration week or something like that. At work, all the staff got flowers from the Vice President who has been my immediate boss since  November. It was nice of her to show her appreciation to the staff.

There were three different arrangements and I chose this one.

A former officemate of mine is leaving the company I worked for before and we went out to have dinner. I had prepared some appetizers.

Garlic butter shrimp.

Jacket potatoes with bacon, onion and mushrooms, this was good for 4 people.

We were suppose to go out for drinks as well but she had to drive a long way to their cabin so we will go another day.

Next week,  I am going to start a diet to lose weight mainly because of my diabetes. From time to time I will update how am I doing.

Enjoy the weekend.





The Royal Wedding......

I don't know how many people got up early to watch the wedding. I woke up and it was 3:45 my time and the only thing I wanted to see was the wedding dress. I was actually going to the washroom and decided to check out what is going on that time. So I waited until Kate came out of the hotel and did not see the dress until she came out of the car and I could not understand all the hoopla about it all.

After I saw the dress, I went back to bed. I am having breakfast now and the tv on and they are waiting for the couple to come out of the balcony at Buckingham Palace for the much awaited royal kiss.

I believe I am not a monarchist or whatever...maybe because there are more important things. I am sure to the Brits, it is a great event. Well, that is my take on the royal wedding. I have to get ready to go to work which is my reality.

Have a great weekend!!!!

My driving playlist....

On my drive to work, I can listen to just two songs and depending on whether I get all green lights on the intersections, I may not even finish the second song and I am alrady in the parking lot. Depending on which song, I sometimes would sit there and let the song finish before I get out of my vehice.



Easter treats......

At work, any holiday our Vice-President gives us something. Two weeks before we got all kinds of Easter goodies which we all devour. On Friday she gave each of us chocolate shell form Callebaut and it was kind of nice.

Chocolate shaped like sea shell and once you open it, there were more smaller seashell shaped chocolates. It was yummy!!





Easter childhood memories.....

My sister and I were just talking and she asked me if I remember something about angels on Easter Sunday.  Back home when we were young, probably 8-10 years old, the First Communion service for the students was always done on Easter Sunday.

The lady who was in charge chose 2 girls to act as angels. I do not know why but I was chosen to be an angel for a few years. I wore a white dress and something on my head that looks like halo and also wings. For some reason, I thought my sister was chosen at least once but she said, she was never chosen. When she had her first communion, I was chosen to be an angel and that made me think she was as I can even see the picture in my mind.

I don't know if that meant anything to be chosen and act as an angel. It was a nice memory and I am glad my sister grew up not resenting it and does not have to go to therapy because of it. Like what her husband said "for her it was a traumatic experience/memory".

Not to worry sis, you are an angel in your own little way.  But now it makes me wonder, was I that well-behaved or good when I was young to be chosen.

Easter weekend....

Growing up in the Philippines which is predominantly Catholic, I remember how important this weekend is. We call it Holy Week and people would go home to their home province and celebrate it with family. The church activities are packed with ceremonies, Holy Thursday which is also called Maundy Thursday, if I remember it correctly is the start. We would attend the service and after that there is the all night long vigil where you do the stations of the cross. Friday is a very solemn service because that was the day Jesus died and I remember it when I was young to be a very long service.

Then Saturday is like a free day to do anything and Sunday is Easter and we used to have new clothes sewn by relatives. I remember going to a family friend and we had Eater egghunt and it waas fun.

When we moved to Canada it was not as religious or solemn. Years ago, the stores were closed on Good Friday but now everything is open and it is like another long weekend.

At times, I feel like I am missing the kind of celebrations we had in the Philippines but the culture there is different. And like most stuff, we adjust.

Living in the city and in the downtown core, it is never quiet and the hustle and bustle continues whether it is Good Friday or any other Friday.  And it feels like I have shed the tradition.

I am going to just have light meals this whole weekend and do my share for Lent. I am actually starting to do some spring clean which is good for the soul.

And I am deciding to try and see if I could do forgiveness and forgetting. As of now I am in the get even phase. Maybe I am not ready yet.

Happy Easter everyone!!!!!

The week that was.......

So glad it is Friday! This had been a very busy week at work. We were short staff by two. And I had been doing the job of two and this week, of three. I am going to sleep in and just do nothing although I want to do some baking/cooking.

And winter came back!!!! 15cm of snow fell yesterday, after I had just washed my vehicle. We were supposed to try a Sri Lankan restaurant close to work but the roads/sidewalks were nasty. They have good lunch buffet and it would be a first for me. I don't know much about their food but I know they have curries.

I also have started crocheting a baby blanket which my sister will give to her husband's daughter-in-law. A different design I have seen in a book and a bit complicated but looks great. I will take a picture once it is done.

Driving...yes, I have started to drive again and it feels good to be independent and last Tuesday, I parked for the first time in the building's parking lot and when I got off work, the pigeons or whatever welcomed my vehicle with poop on the windshield, not one, not two but 7 clumps and big. It had dried and I had to drive straight to Bubbles to wash it off. A few on the hood and door as well. Ooooh so annoying!!!!

I am sending birthday greetings to an aunt in Yellowknife who is turning 98, yes 98 tomorrow. I hope you enjoy the day.

What is your plan for this weekend?

Weekend experiments.....

As I have said in my previous blog, I was going to try a few recipes this last weekend.  I got enough energy and enthusiasm and started Saturday morning.

I have a whole container of almonds and wanted to do something with it. At first I thought I would do something savory or spicy but felt like doing something sweet. So I tried my first brittle --- almond brittle.  I first roasted the almonds and made my mixture for the brittle.  I had to be fast and measured everything before I started, then I realized I could not find my candy thermometer so I did the dropping the sugar mixture into cold water and made sure it hardened.

It was easy and good recipe except I should have used a bigger pan so the brittle would be a bit thinner than what came out. But all in all the ladies at the office liked it. I even pounded some and put in on top of my vanilla ice cream for dessert that night. And  at work today, I put some on my yogurt.

almond brittle - not too sweet, good recipe I got online

I also had puff pastry and wanted to do something with it and again I made something sweet.  Cinnamon sugar puff sticks.  I really like these.

Cinnamon sugar sticks, goes well with tea or hot chocolate.

I was going to try a new recipe of buttermilk biscuits but I found an old recipe for soft dinner rolls and made that instead.  Just after taking it out of the oven I had it with butter and apricot jam. Comforting combination. I actually had a second one.



Yummy soft dinner rolls

I don't know if I will be doing something this weekend since I will be cooking maybe baking too on Easter weekend. But it all just depends on what mood I will be in. Actually, I wanted to make some empanadas so I can bring it for lunch. 







Easter is just around the corner....

In less than 2 weeks, it will be Easter, another long weekend. 3 days for some and 4 days off for the luckier ones. We have the 4 day weekend which is great. As always our office is decorated but not as lavishly as Christmas and Halloween

I am still deciding what to have for Easter menu, another dilemma. Most likely it will be ham with scalloped potatoes, grilled asparagus and a salad. And maybe cheescake or fruit salad for dessert. What are you having for Easter dinner?

Childhood memories......

Three weeks ago, a couple of friends of mine and I went grocery shopping at T & T at WEM. We were hungry and for lunch we went to this family owned restaurant called Mooshy Mooshy. The menu is Japanese and Filipino.

I was not in the mood for Filipino so I had a bento box with California maki roll. Sheryl had an assortment of Japanese dishes. Her hubby chose to have fried rice, native sausage, tapa and fried eggs.
When his plate came, I could smell the garlic in the fried rice which is how we do fried rice in our country.

This brought back a childhood memory. When I was young kid, I hated the smell of garlic being fried and I would go to extreme measures not to smell the garlic. I could not eat this fried rice, I would rather go hungry!  As I got older, it did not bother me as much and I can eat garlic peanuts or some other dishes we have that have fried garlic as condiment.

I could not believe but I could smell that fried rice and just amazed at how I liked the smell. So the next week end, I tried to make the garlid fried rice with different meat with it. So now once a month, maybe twice, I would make garlic fried rice and here are two different versions.

Garlic fried rice with chiken wings and pickled papaya.

Garlic fried rice with chinese sausage.



On the menu........

Fruity and frothy!!!

This is my new drink that I like to make and it is so easy and good for me as it has less than 50 calories. It is made with strawberries, ice cubes and diet 7up or Sprite and so refreshing.

Crispy chicken wings!!

So easy to make and crispy on the outside and very moist inside. It does not take long to make and I love having it on Friday nights with different kinds of sauces/dips.

Magic bars

I baked this to give to a friend of mine. Another one that is easy to do. And you can mix and match nuts and chocolate chips or butterscotch or skor

Pineapple filled bars

One of my favorite bars because of the combination of pineapple and coconut and not too sweet.

Prime rib roast

I had this when I had a couple of friends over for dinner. I always order my prime rib from Sobey's and it always perfect and good. And I always roast it just medium rare. I served this with homemade gravy, garlic mashed potatoes, green beans and steamed broccoli



This weekend I am trying my hand at making something with my puff pastry. And I am going to try a different recipe of buttermilk biscuits/scones. Sometimes I do not know if I am making scones or biscuits. Are scones made with butter and biscuits with shortening? Do scones include eggs? I might have to google it.





What's in your wallet?

A few weeks ago, my sister blogged about what was in her freezer, snack pantry and bar. After that I noticed that I could hardly close my wallet and wondered why and finally I realized I had too many things in there.

I did not realize I had my ID for my lens after I had surgery and I did not think I should be carrying that with me everyday. There was the number tag for my keys for my vehicle. And then the numerous reward cards for stores I buy groceries, toiletries, casino cards, credit cards, debit card, health card, medical benefits cards and more cards and coins. All 21 cards !!!!! I also have bus tickets, car registration and insurance,  coupons from Sobey's so I can collect more Aeroplan points
.
When I took this picture, the only thing missing is paper money which is the main reason why we carry a wallet. It was before the weekend and I guess I had spent all my money and I only go to the bank or ATM machines on Fridays after work. 

This weekend I will try to leave only the cards I feel I need. And maybe I will take a look at my purse and see what things I have there. Oh, there might be weird things, and I have no idea why they would be there.

It is almost weekend....enjoy it.



More freebies.....

When my niece and family came over for a visit, they had brought with them sandals and shoes given by my aunt and grandniece. They know I love shoes and I do and have a lot. My youngest son would say..."As if she needs more pairs",  I took two to work and only got pictures of the other two.

Thanks Wiwa and Victoria



Another freebie

A few months ago, one of my office mates was sent to audit a property in Slave Lake which is a norhtern town. Since she stayed in a hotel and had nothing much to do after office hours, she has done a lot of window shopping/shopping really.

She bought a pair of casual boots and took it home. After getting back to Edmonton, she tried the boots again and realized it was too tight for her. Now, she can't go back to return the boots.

She gave it to me as we wear the same size foot wear. Thanks a lot Jillie.



A busy weekend.....

On Friday my niece and her family came into town. My grandniece had a hockey tournament over the weekend. Saturday after lunch, they picked me up to watch one of her games. She was with a mixed team from Yellowknife and playing against all boys team. They had played against this team and had won and with this game, they were behind but managed to tie the game with much help from the 3 girls. All 3 were good, even the guys behind us were commenting on how good they were.

After the game we went to WEM (West Edmonton Mall). Where else would people who visit Edmonton go to shop? We went to stores the girl wanted to shop. When we went to Victoria's Secret, all of us bought some underwear. Then we went to The Old Spaghetti Factory for dinner. I had the seafood linguine with Alfredo sauce. It was good. As usual I forgot to take pictures. We went home when the mall was closing.

Sunday, they picked me up again and we went to have dinner at Pagolac, a Vietnamese restaurant. I had the hot pot (seafood combination). We had salad roll and spring roll for appetizers. Then they came and stopped by my place for more than an hour and we had fun just doing crazy things.

We might meet again tomorrow at WEM.

Victoria in action. She had one assist and a goal.