It Could Be Worse....

I know Toronto has been experiencing seasonal lows and an abundance of rain over the past few weeks, but we should all stop complaining.

Remember: It could be worse.

Snowed in!- Toronto, February 28, 2011

Thought of the Day

I always thought I wanted to have children. Crestwood Preparatory College is now making me reconsider. The school’s recent advertisement to recruit students finds me asking this of myself: Do I want to bring children into a world where girls are made to attend school pantless? Answer: No.

I mean, I know we are living in the 21^st century, a time marked by tolerance, inclusion and a shift in traditional values, but surely, our society hasn’t degraded to a point whereby “tomorrow’s future” includes co-ed schools where pantless girls outnumber fully clothed boys 2-1. I have heard that kids these days are growing up fast and, in view of this ad, that would seem to be true.

Quite frankly, I’m shocked this ad made it to print. How did an editor not catch this? Perhaps a bored or disgruntled employee mocked up this ad in order to have a laugh at the school’s expense. Clearly, no one who cared about this school’s image would think it wise to promote an educational institution in this way.

And yet, maybe we should give the school the benefit of the doubt. Perhaps Crestwood was understaffed and rushed to put this ad to print. Any number of factors could have lead to this egregious error. I’m sure the school is lovely; give it a chance. In fact, you could take the school up on their offer for a tour. But, of course, being female, I’ve got to wonder: am I expected to show up pantless?!

Cooking Club

In the interest of not abandoning my blog a mere month and a half in, I bring you another entry!

The aim of this blog is to motivate me to eliminate boredom in my life and subsequently to document my adventures throughout the year.

Enter the “cooking club”. The concept is not a new one. Apparently, clubs of these sorts existed, so I’m told, in the 70s, as an excuse for couples to get together to socialize. My cooking club is also meant for this purpose…and others.

My lovely friend Maria, the real creator and organizer of our club, recognized, after a lengthy European adventure, that several of our friends are self-proclaimed foodies. So, she decided to do something about it.

So, how does it work?

1. Get a solid group of people together who are self-proclaimed foodies and/or love to eat and/or love to cook.
2. Put them together once a month at a different member’s house (in our case, the last Thursday of every month).
3. Work together to cook a meal and learn new recipes chosen by the month's host.
4. EAT!

Maria began our little adventure at her charming apartment in downtown T.O. with a delicious menu (mostly borrowed from one Jamie Oliver). The best part of the whole experience is that you get to try new recipes that you wouldn’t normally get the opportunity to try, or wouldn’t think to try. You get culinary backup from others if you don’t know how to prepare something and of course, once the cooking is done (by this time, you’ve also consumed more than one glass of wine), you get to savour the fruits of your collective labours. 

So, what was on the menu?

Scallops with Pancetta and Mint Butter

Pan-fried Sirloin Steak with Chianti Butter Sauce,
Olive Oil Mashed Potatoes and Maple-Glazed Carrots

'Fifteen' Chocolate Tart

As you can probably see, the meal was delicious and memorable. Only a few weeks until the next installment of the club. I will keep you updated on the progress.

A special thanks to Jake for his fabulous pictures. You can see more of his photography on http://theweeklyclick.blogspot.com/

I'm also using the cooking club to knock another goal off my list: Goal #10- Cook Something Awesome. I'm guessing this goal will get accomplished more than once.

Goal #2

I have completed yet another task on my list. Yes, this particular item is ranked Number 2 on the list, but its number is rather meaningless. My list is NOT ranked in terms of importance. Instead, I compiled the list in a random brainstorming session one day when I was severely bored and never thought to reorganize it.

Nonetheless, I have accomplished this goal and I am proud. 

Goal #2- Try Curling

My experience curling this January marked my first foray into the “sport”. I use quotations here, because I had often mocked curling in the past. I had questioned its place in the sport category simply for the fact that I couldn’t quite see the athleticism involved. Prior to my curling attempt, I would have categorized curling as a game, akin to the likes of shuffleboard, bocce ball and darts. To be fair, curling is not the most athletic of the Olympic sports. I think we can all admit that the men and women of curling don’t undertake the same grueling physical training as say, a skier or swimmer.

Disagree? Please compare the physique of Olympic gold-medal winning swimmer Michael Phelps to Olympic gold-medal winning Canadian curler Kevin Martin.

Michael Phelps

Kevin Martin

 

Ah ha! You see! The swimmer triumphs. In fact, I tried to find a picture of Kevin Martin shirtless for a more accurate comparison, but the distinct lack of shirtless photos leads me to inevitably conclude that he is not as proud of his physique. It also left me wondering how many people attempt a Google search of a topless Canadian curler, but that’s beside the point.

But despite the fact that curling may be less of a physical sport than some others, I can now appreciate that it does involve some degree of athleticism. So, to all you nutty broom-wielding curling aficionados, I apologize. Because let me tell you, after curling for 2 hours straight, I was certainly having trouble walking for the next 3 days. My gluteus maximus was maximus-ly sore. That sport used muscles in my body that I surely hadn’t known existed. And more than that, I came to appreciate the difficulty of the sport and the amount of skill involved in playing it well.

Overall, a very enjoyable experience and one that I will certainly repeat! Why don’t you give it a go, eh?

Goal #45

I've done it! I have accomplished one of my many goals. This particular goal was number #45 on my list.

Goal #45- Complete an Entire Crossword Without Help

Here's my proof. As you may see here, the level of difficulty is Level 2.  Perhaps it was not the most challenging of puzzles. But I view this as a tremendous accomplishment considering the amount of times I have attempted crosswords and been stuck not knowing one or two answers.

You see my friends, it is important to take pride in the little things you do in life. All hail me, crossword queen.

I know you're jealous.

Thought of the Day

How do some people get their driver's licenses!?

I would like to think of myself as a good driver. I've never had an accident, or an incident of road rage, and I don't understand the desire of so many drivers to rush through a changing light in order to shave 5 seconds off their commute.

And although I have so many of these great qualities in a driver, I still managed to fail my driver's test.....twice.

So, you can imagine my consternation when I saw that this person, likely with a valid license, couldn't park to save his life.

Throughfare? This guy doesn't think so.

Picture of the Day

I begin with this picture. This picture is framed and resides on the wall of my parent’s kitchen. It’s one of those pictures that has been in my house for as long as I can remember, but I only just recently looked at it and said “Whaaaat?!?”

Well, the sentiment here is very sweet, you might say. Yes, I agree, it’s a very nice thought. The sentiment is likely why my parents have held on to this gem for over 2 decades. But what is going on in this picture!?! There are obviously 2 sheep, one appears to be male and the other female (as evidenced by the bell and flowers adorning their necks, respectively) and my best guess would be that the sheep are preparing for a wedding. It appears that this wedding is going to be presided over by their barnyard friends the goose and the rabbit. One can deduce that this ceremony is going to occur by the fancy attire worn by their guests (note: the goose and rabbit are wearing bowties). It’s obviously going to be an outdoor ceremony, which goes without saying. Whether the farmer will attend, remains to be seen.