The car is out to get us

I was going to do an outfit post buuuuuut that will have to wait till this weekend or next week. Unfortunately my strapless bra is dead and a lot of my summer clothes require a strapless bra. And I am not of the no bra wearing variety, so some outfits look stupid with my bra straps showing :P

Besides that it is so hot here! I hate it. I need the cold weather back *falls to ground crying*

Marc bought a coupon yesterday for half off at a Chinese restaurant in the area. We have never been to this place but the reviews seem good. I am nervous though. I am not a fan of Chinese, Thai, Japanese....Asian style food, in general (except sushi). But I am picky about Chinese food, I had some bad experiences and only one good one. The one good place is downtown and pretty expensive so that's a no. I guess I have to be brave and try it. I'll let you know how that goes.

Next week I think Marcs sister is coming up with her daughter. It will be nice to see them. We are then having a party or something for Marcs parents but I'm not sure if I will be sticking around for that. What we might do is go down to their place early, and then I will leave to go see my mom and come back when Marc is ready to leave. I'll need to check what my moms doing first but I think that is what I will do. I haven't been to my moms in awhile and since I am in the area it makes sense to take the little detour.

This weekend Marc and I had a spat, we have been really stressed and then the stupid car decided to be an ass. All of it at once was too much for us. We found out though, at least I figured it out, that we have not been communicating much (talking about how we feel, the stress, being on what I have called "death watch"). With my dad gone and now Marcs dad in and out of the hospital we have been pulled all over the place and it got to be too much. We did though end the spat in a good way. We agreed on some things and he realized that I have not been able to see my family in awhile (that's why he's fully supporting me in not attending the party next week).

The car. That stupid car. It pisses us off so much, but I kinda love it in a way. It's our first car and I think 10 years from now we will laugh about it. Anyways, Friday night Marc had a GURPS game. It ended at around 11:30 or so and on his way home he stopped to grab some milk. When he went to leave the car would not switch out of park. So there he is in Ile-Perrot at a Couche-Tard close to midnight. He tried and tried but the car would not move out of park. We are both freaking because it must have something to do with the transmission, and it may not be covered and that could cost a lot of money we do not have at the moment. He calls CAA but when he's on the line he decides to try it one more time and of course the car works! He heads home and then the spat starts.

Saturday we drive around a bit and the car behaves but we are still nervous about potentially spending a lot of money. So more stress on more stress. Marc checks online for issues with our make of car and he comes across something about an issue with people not being able to switch out of park. It is not a recall, just an announcement. BUT the issue is not serious at all. It's just an annoyance. PHEW! Also it should be covered under our warranty so we only pay the deductible (which is totally doable). When we have more time we're going to take it in, but in the meantime it is nothing to worry about :).





Stupid car

Samosas and Chutney

Yesterday and today have been beautiful days. the sun has been shinning, the birds are singing and I bought two glasses reserved only for pina coladas. All is right in the world. In all seriousness though, it has been lovely out. I am finally airing out my apartment, I cleaned windows, and I cleaned my car. My skin is loving this weather too, it's not bundled up in leggings or tights and long sleeve shirts. I also bought two new pairs of flip flops yesterday :)

The husband went out and bought samosas because he wants to make a homemade chutney sauce. I am a little nervous as it requires a lot of tamarind and I don't really like tamarind. But if it doesn't turn out good we have some store bought stuff (well made by the owners and packaged to be bought).

Cooking the chutney made the apartment smell a little nasty but once it was cooked and cooled it smelled pretty good. I gave it a try and compared to some other tamarind chutneys I have tried it was one of the better ones :)

Recipe:

Tamarind Chutney

3.5 oz/100g of tamarind pulp, chopped (we used half that amount in tamarind concentrate, and it basically became a broth)
2 cups of water
half a thai chili or to taste, seeded and chopped (we used a jalapeño pepper)
generous 1/4 cup brown sugar or to taste
1/2 tsp salt


Put the tamarind and water in a pan and bring to a boil. Because we used tamarind paste we kept it at a boil for 25 minutes but if you are using the pulp turn the heat to a simmer, stirring occasionally. 


Tip the pulp into a strainer and use a spoon to push the pulp into the rinsed out pan. We skipped this step obviously.


Stir in chili, sugar, and salt and continue simmering for an additional 10 minutes or until the desired consistency is reached. Let cool slightly then stir in extra sugar or salt, to taste.


Let cool completely, then cover tightly and chill for up to 3 days, or freeze. We used some about an hour after cooking it and it tasted good, i'm sure after 3 days it will be better.

P.S. I finally updated my older entries. The dates may be off a bit though but only by 2-3 days. Also this recipe is from Indian Cooking by Beverly Leblanc ISBN: 978-1-4075-4921-7

Not cool car, not cool.

O my car is giving me grey hairs I swear. Yesterday it decided that it was time for it's yearly break down. This time it decided it was time for a bushing in the back to die. It's like over 500$ to fix a rubber bushing! BUT our warranty covers it so we are only paying the 100$ deductible. We can do 100$ no problem! Although I really do not want to spend money fixing this car again I am glad I do not have to pay more than 100$.

Besides that things are alright. I am still having some pretty bad off days but I'm learning how to handle them. I am getting a tattoo on Sunday and it will be pretty cool. We are also trying to plan a trip out west to see Marcs sister, brother in law and our little niece. We hope it works out, we have the money aside but you know how life is...things pop up! Hopefully our car will behave!

I also listened to the most horrendous song out there...It's called Friday by Rebecca Black. OMG I wanted to rip my ears off! Her voice was grating, the lyrics were...I don't have words for it, the video was special. I am pretty sure I lost brain cells.