And Life Goes On

So a lot of things have gone down in the last Month. So far I have passed two midterms, one I don't know the mark yet and the other has been moved around so much I could care less about it...not quiet true. I want to pass but I just can't stress about it anymore. I have no more stress to give!

Besides that I went and got a new tattoo. It has no meaning, no long sad story to go with it. I got it because I liked the design. Simple. It's on my thigh and right now it's driving me up the wall with how itchy it is!

3 months to go before we move. I am so not ready for this. If I could I'd just get rid of everything and buy new things...or have a glass of wine and pay someone else to pack. I'm trying to be smart this time and pack things ahead of time and get rid of things we don't want. I will probably spend some of Easter break packing things up or do homework. Neither one sounds like fun.

A couple of weeks ago my father in law lost the fight to cancer. He was fighting for about a year and it looked like he beat it last last year but it came back. We knew it was coming but it's still not easy. We have no more dads to go to for dad things. The husband has been handling it pretty good. He has his odd moments here and there. They will never go away. I just have to be there for him when those moments get to be too much.

The husband also shaved his head. He was talking about it for years and finally decided to just do it. He looks great with a shaved head :). I don't think he realized the amount of work in keeping a head shaved and has been talking about growing his hair back (which takes like 2 days to get to the length he had it at before the shave). It took me a few days to get used to the feeling of a bare scalp but after a couple of shaves the skin felt normal.

I guess I should get to the studying...


Well after I read one more article........

A Couple of Things

First off: We found a new place to live! We have been accepted so now we just wait for moving day! I feel so so happy. It seems to be the perfect place. It is very close to a metro, has a mall close by and many other stores we frequent. It has a working fireplace, air conditioning, a pool and it is within our budget. So now I start planning THE MOVE.

Also this week I found out I passed all my quizzes with pretty good marks. Now I just need to not freak out about midterms, which are after my March break. Yay!

And now onto the main reason I am writing this post:

Lush.

I adore Lush. I remember stopping at the Byward Market store in Ottawa in 2008. I had never heard of them before and the smell coming from the shop drew me in. Over the last few years I have mostly just been buying hand creams, body scrubs and bath bombs. I wanted to try out their face cleansing products but they are expensive so I held off. Two days ago I got a good chunk of change from a family member, so I decided to finally go talk to someone at a the Lush store on St.Catherines street and see what they have for my moody skin.

9 to 5 
This is a cream that removes makeup and cleanses. After two days of use I am in love. I used to wash my face with hot water because after years of trying different face cleansers I was sick of getting rashes, pimples, blotchy skin etc. But when using hot water my face remained blotchy and very dry. I just accepted that I could never have nice bare skin. Well I was wrong. After I wash my face with 9 to 5 my skin feels amazing. No blotchyness (is that a word?), no redness...nothing. I don't even have to put a cream on afterwards as my skin remains moisturized. It is also pretty good at removing my makeup. I only use this at night.
I rub 9 to 5 on my dry face then I take a warm face cloth and wipe away. This combination seems to work for me but there are other ways to remove it. The comments section on the site is very helpful.

Aqua Marina
The woman at Lush recommended this for my dry skin. I am not too sure on it yet, it seems to be doing a good job but I don't know if it's worth the price yet. Although you don't need a lot of it, it is still expensive. I use this in the morning while I am in the shower. I like the smell and I like that it's a paste you rub on your skin. Some people prefer a lather. I haven't noticed anything special yet with it but it's only been two days.

Ocean Salt
This is an old favorite of mine. I have been using this for a couple of years now. I only use this on my body as it is a little rough for my face. It smells amazing, like showering with a margarita, and my skin is so soft after using it. It is probably the most expensive thing I have bought at Lush but it is well worth the price. I freak out when I run out. I highly recommend you buy this.

Lemony Flutter
Use this with the Ocean Salt on your feet and you will have the softest feet in the world. I got this in 2010 and I still have a lot. You only need a small amount wherever you are using this, it is quite greasy. I only use this on my hands, feet, and elbows. Great for very dry skin.

Celestial Moisturizer
I only got a sample of this because I already like the Nivea face cream I have. But so far it hasn't done anything odd to my face like some other creams have. I use this after Aqua Marina in the morning. It smells pretty good and it doesn't leave any residue on my face. The verdict is still out there on this one.

Tonight I think I am going to go buy the Eau Roma Water Toner so help keep my face moisturized during the day.

I lost my way. O LOOK! Heart Arrows!!!

So apparently this thing called Valentines Day is coming up or something...I dunno. Apparently I am supposed to be a good wife (the husband likes the say WIFE in a British Accent, think Russell Crowe in Robin Hood. On that note, yes Russell Crowe you can take me away anytime. The husband wont mind at all!) and get the husband something and then he's supposed to get me something. It's one of thooooose days.

WELL we like to call it Anti-Valentines Day Day. I really hate Valentines Day, LOATHE it. I don't care that others enjoy the day. That's cool. I support your love for love day. We don't really do anything on Anti-Valentines Day Day, known as AVDD because I'm lazy and do not want to type it all out. Or Ctrl C&V it.

Anyways, as I was saying. Apparently this day is arriving. How can I tell? Ooooo just the obscene amount of hearts and red popping up everywhere at school. Also little cock heart arrows leading you to the booth of LOVE (please give us 5$ to give your love note to your love in class) that you can't miss. But you know, the arrows add to the decor! This really is not a rant, I'm giggling right now. Honestly I am.

So what do we do on this day of love or AVDD? We watch stupid movies and order out food. This year we are going apartment hunting and then going out for Indian food and lots of beer. No cards, no expensive jewelry (I'm getting sick of those peoples commercials!!), no chocolate. Well maybe chocolate but only because I like chocolate and buy it a lot so it's nothing special. The husband might get flowers though, and I DO like flowers. O, and we are doing this on the 18th.

The whole point of my post is that this day is coming up and I remembered something a few days ago about how the husband asked me out waaaaaaaaay back when I was 16 and he was 19. I just randomly thought about it while watching Dexter and then I giggled for awhile while telling the husband my memory. And then told him I would blog about it because that's what loving wives do. RIGHT?

The scene: Cloudyish day, he asks me if I want to go for a little walk (I think he wanted to get away from friends). There is a cemetery beside the school, we stop there.

The husband: So are we dating?
Me: Uhhhh.......I guess.

We then walk back to friends and announce we are now a couple.

It was pretty awesome. And would you look at that, in October of this year it will be 9 years since that "So are we dating"?

I also remembered something else. I don't know if the husband remembers this, but for me It was the moment where I thought "Hey, this could be the one". I never really believed in THE ONE before that moment but I had this surge of emotion and...peace, I guess. It was pretty incredible.

I had just failed a math test (big surprise) and was really upset. I forgot that I was meeting the husband at lunch and when I saw him coming towards me as I was walking with a friend I just wanted to run in the other direction. He was the last person I wanted to see (we were not dating yet, I may have even forgotten what his name was. WHAT? I'm bad at names ok!). So, he comes over to me and I'm trying to hide my red eyes and he asks how my day was. I just burst into tears ago and he tell him I failed me test and then he just hugged me. Out of nowhere. A hug. That 10 second hug was fucking amazing. To this day I have not forgotten it, and how I felt.

So there's my lovey dovey story for the day. Back to regular programming:

School. Ah school. I missed you but now I can't stand you. I got the homeworks and the tests and the "Sorry I'm an idiot, I have no clue what you have been talking about for the last 3 weeks" feelings. Fun.


O here are the cock heart arrows.

SexAY

Bringing home the BACON!

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Feels good to have Friday off. The teacher moved Fridays class to Thursday morning. I'd much rather get up early and go to class than have to get up early and go to class on Friday afternoon because I live on the other end of Montreal. Sleeping in and bumming around the house makes for a much better Friday, in my books.

So two weeks down...13 (I think) left to go. Not too bad eh. But now the classes are getting harder, and this semester is all about Commercial Law and Contracts. UGH. I hate commercial law and I hate contracts. Now, we aren't getting into the nitty-gritty of each yet, that comes next year, but still it really sucks. It's like I have a mental block or something. I hear what the teacher is saying but it just wont stick in my brain and then I look at my notes and I'm like "WHAT THE CRAP DID I WRITE? Is this even ENGLISH?!" To make matters worse half the stuff comes in french so not only do I have to translate English into...simpler English, but I have to translate French to simple English. I just need to keep telling myself, "Job. Career. MONEY!"

The husband can't wait till the day I can bring home the bacon.

Besides that life is...well life. Shit happens you know. I will not go into details on my blog because I feel that it should stay within family and close friends. But I hope this year takes a turn for the better. Well in August it will for sure, and one person knows why!

What else is new. Whaaaaat else?

February 4th marks one year since my dad died. I'm glad it's on a Saturday because I honestly don't know how I will deal with that day. I suspect I will just go about business as usual, and probably have homework, but I dunno.


Oh tomorrow, since I am at home, I will be prancing around the house in heels. I MISS HEELS! OMG. There was rain and then freezing rain and then rain and then freezing temperatures. Ice EVERYWHERE! My ability to walk in flat shoes is not the best so heels on ice...yeah no go there!

Also I am going to go munch on some cheese. Because it's TASTY!






Heels.My feet crave them.

Cooking: Butter Chicken

Well the first day of the school came and went and I think I survived. It was odd being in a new group, being the one they all look at and wonder why this person is messing up their seating. Preventing people from sitting with their besties.

I also need to remember to sit closer to the board so I can actually see and not get migraines :P

So we had my youngest brother over this weekend but I ended up getting a little sick so I couldn't go see Sherlock Holmes. Marc has been wondering if I have a problem with eggs. I don't know if you can actually have a problem with eggs but I guess anything is possible. Before he came he requested that we make him Butter Chicken. We made it for him maybe a year ago and I guess he missed it! We packaged some up so he can have some at home :)

If you're on a diet then please get off said diet for the night and enjoy this meal. Butter chicken is so good, it can be spicy or mild. Totally up to you. We like it a little spicy :).

This is the recipe we use and it is so good. I wont post the list of ingredients because you can just go check her blog out but when we make it we double everything so we can freeze it and have leftovers. I would say it is much better fresh but it's not bad as a leftover and it really fills you up.

 First Marc cuts the fat off the chicken and then he dices it.

 We add the yogurt and other spices and mix it up and then let it sit in the fridge for a few hours. That is a personal choice though, we usually want to get the chicken out of the way and then do other things before we actually cook it.

 All mixed up!








Once we begin the actual process of cooking I get all the ghee and spices ready in separate pots, then Marc cuts up the onions and I add the ginger and garlic paste. We measure the tomato sauce and then cook the chicken.

 Some of the onions

 All the onions with the garlic and ginger paste

Here is the Kasoori Methi (dried Fenugreek), Garam Masala (a bunch of different spices roasted and then ground up) and Kashmiri Mirch (chili powder but gives the curry a bright red colour). We actually add extra Kashmiri Mirch to spice up the curry more.

 The Ghee. Ghee is very fattening but really, it's Butter Chicken ENJOY!

Basic tomato sauce. Nothing special here.

And here we have the chicken pieces cooking in the ghee.








Once the chicken is cooked we pour it and everything in the pan into a pot and put aside. We then start cooking the onions in the rest of the ghee, add the spice mix and the let simmer for awhile. The smell is amazing!

 Onions cooking

 Here is the onions and spices, the aroma that comes once you mix up the spices in the pan is mouth watering.

 The tomato sauce and onions with spice is then added to the pot with the chicken.

When we want to eat we add cream to the sauce and let it simmer for another five minutes. We but the Butter Chicken on Couscous because I have a hard time with rice.

You really need to make this recipe. It's so easy to follow and so worth the day off the diet. But really you don't need a diet!

I've got my lunch packed up, my boots tied tight, I hope I don't get into a fight

OHHHH

Back to school!

I go back to the Paralegal program at O'Sullivan College on the 16th, and I am flipping out! I will be with a new group and well just going back to the daily grind of being a student. I have moments where I am flipping out and wanting to run and hide but then a second after that moment I get this overwhelming sense of excitement. I don't understand it.

Today I went school supply shopping in the hope that it will get me REALLY excited, it kinda worked. I LOVE shopping for school supplies, stick me in any bureau en gros and I get this tingly feeling. I spent the afternoon setting up the school supplies and figuring out transport schedules and what not.

I am still getting the "RUN AWAY!!" feeling though :P.

With the last week off I will watch Dexter reruns and try to calm my nerves.


Recently I have been thinking of going ahead and doing some OOTDs on my blog, you know to change it up. I thought about it awhile ago but I guess I was just too nervous. It invites whole other readership and well...trolls. But I think it's time to bite the bullet and test it out. It will take some getting used to and I wont be posting OOTDs on a regular basis at first but it will help me figure out new outfits and rework old clothes. The joys of being a student...always poor.

In the next few weeks there might be more posts on the joys of finding a new place to live and then the process of moving all our crap. I don't move well so there may be some rant intensive posts coming up.

Stay Tuned!

Catching up.....

Well not really.

I don't know how I will make it. There is a lot of school work and I just can't catch up. I have midterms for the next 3 weeks and it seems the people who told me they would send notes fell off the fucking planet. There is only so many times I will remind someone..if you don't want to do it then fuck off and don't say anything.

Anyways I wont make it this semester. I just wont. I will fail and get kicked out. What else is new? Maybe I can talk with someone in the school and get some kind of paper saying it wont affect my transcript...maybe I can start over next semester. Maybe. All maybes. That is all it ever is.

It's sunny here today and It makes me a little happy. I might go out later to get some hair dye and a few other things. I also really need to go get my tattoo touched up..I keep forgetting about it :S.

Exams. Exams. Exams. O look a dress!

I have two more exams to go through...two more. I can do this....I hope.
I don't remember ever being as stressed as I am this week about exams, I am actually making myself sick from stress. It's a little scary. Marc is pretty much leaving me alone because I think I am just mumbling, screaming and crying at random moments.
The two exams I did I think i did ok in. I mean I could be totally wrong and I could be fucked and have to repeat the whole semester but lets hope not eh!
Next Tuesday is my last exam and I want the end of that day to be here yesterday. I have to remember that I still have a huge assignment to hand in on that day too...I have yet to start this monster assignment.
Anyways the dress arrived today! I don't know what to think about it. It's not as nice as on the website and the zipper is SUPER cheap and in a weird spot. It like starts half way down the waist and goes up to the top of the dress. The way the dress falls on me is...well i'm not sure. I tried it on when I got home and I was still shaking from the exam so I wasn't in the best position to try it on. When Marc gets home we shall try it again, I am still stressed but not as much as before. Also  was told to rub some wax on the zipper to help it but I might return it so that wont be the best idea.
Sigh the time is flying until Christmas and I'm starting to get the holiday nervousness of trying to be everyone, do everything, please everyone and please myself. It can't all happen unfortunately.

Happy Dance!

Although I have to go to school for one class, and it is only in the afternoon, tomorrow is Thursday but more than that it is the last day of the week. Friday is a ped day! I get to sleep in and get some needed cleaning done and just relax...O I should probably start my paper that is due Tuesday....or not.
I've been so annoyed at my hand the last few days, my right hand has this ache..like my bones hurt in my hand. It hurts to pick a pencil up or just type..hell typing this hurts! And it is only in my hand, specifically the joints on my fingers. Every time i strecth them or move them it just hurts. I hope it goes away and isn't anything serious.
I looked at the school calendar this morning and holy shit there is hardly any school left till the holidays! It's going by so fast...but that means last minute projects will pop up and then I have to deal with finals and I ALWAYS over stress about them, then when I am in the exam I feel like i forgot everything! Horrid.
You know I have to say I am glad I wrote that last post, It isn't something to be told to the world but it's out and well it's over. So in January we find out how the operation goes with heparin. It happens fast and he should be out by dinner (he has to sit around for a bit after just to make sure nothing went wrong). When the hospital called to make the appoitnment we were taken aback when they offered the end of November! We would of taken it but I need to be there to drive him back obviously and that is right near review for midterms and I can't miss any class AND he needs to be on heparin for a few days ahead of time and getting in to see the blood doctor with only 2-3 weeks till the operation is cutting it a litle close.
Besides all that It has been getting darker at about 4:30pm now and I LOVE it. Means the snow will come!! Reminds me that I desperatly need winter boots...I have none :S.
A few days ago I was overcome with this need to take out the Christmas decorations and put the tree up but I had to hold myself back....so sad!

Parents. Weekend. Love.

I am at my parents place this weekend, it was a last minute decision. We woke up Saturday morning and I called my mom up to se what was happening and since nothing was we drove up! I don't remember the last time I was up, I think it was before i even knew i got accepted into the paralegal program but I knew i wouldn't be up until Christmas so coming up this weekend was a good choice. Marc brought the wii to play with my little brother and I brought homework....which is still sitting in my bag, unread. Procrastinator!
It was a good weekend though, my dad made us a yummy breakfast this morning AND the time has changed!! We get an extra hour of glorious sleep. AND I only have a four day week, Friday is a ped day!!
When we get home today we have to switch our beer over to the carboy for 2 weeks to ferment some more, then we might Skype with my sister in law (Marcs sister) and get to see my little niece! Then we are watching the delayed Halloween specials on The Simpsons and Family Guy.
I passed all my midterms, my last midterm i got a lower mark than i wanted but she is supposed to go over the exam once more just to see if the students can get extra marks so maybe it will go up....I hope it does. So now I get ready for finals and all the last minute assignments that teachers realize they forgot to give....FUN.
Marc has a procedure on the 10th of Jan. He will need to go on Heparin (sp?) for a few days, I think I will be the one injecting him (I've only ever seen it given in needle form I don't know it it comes in other forms). I don't think I will have a problem injecting him, I hate needles but when i think of sticking one in someone else it's good, when i think of sticking one in me i want to pass out LOL. We will get more information about the Heparin on the 20th of Dec.
Marcs leg has been behaving this week, i noticed his other calf looked huge but he told me it's because that leg is getting a lot more exercise and is making up for the other leg so the muscle is HUGE. I was scared it was another clot (which didn't make sense since his INR is low) but no it's just a giant muscle saying Hello.
O! This week i had to go on some antibiotics...again...not fun. The last time i had to take some i was sick, and had a headache 24/7. And i had NO energy for anything. I was scared when the Doctor gave me a higher dose, but I only have to take them for 5 days (which reminds me i have to go take my last one!) so I was hopeful i wouldn't get to sick. I was right! I have not been sick but OMFG i am sooooo bloated!! I feel fatter than i already am and just gross. But at least i am not throwing up right?!
I have to say though, being at my parents makes me miss my babies. I am pretty sure my tabby is meowing and bugging the room mate.....poor thing (cat) LOL.

Passed ma midterms! Recipe in post too.

So I passed two midterms so far. Got an 85 (I thought I would fail that one) and an 80. Not bad I say. I have one more midterm left and I get the mark for my word test tomorrow......should be interesting.

Anyways! I went out and me a batman mask, cause i'm cool like that. Apparently we need to dress up on Friday or else pay 5$. I don't mind dressing up and 5$ is not bad BUT  you can't force someone to dress up or to pay 5$ for charity (which I think is just for school purposes). I just think it is all wrong. Anyways, I bought a batman mask anyways because I really do not feel like getting into a spat over it, I wont wear it though until someone says something. Just to see if it's true.
Besides that things are going well, Marcs leg is not swollen or hurting at all. He's been resting it more so it's doing a lot better. School is going well, home life is going well except each day I am closer and closer to getting rid of my calico....well giving her to someone else. I wouldn't but sometimes she just goes to far. Like scratching the box spring in the middle of the night.....constant little scratches.
Marc is cooking supper tonight, he is making a pasta we foung in a cook book my mom gave me. It looked hard so I didn't want to try it but Marc insisted and it's actually really easy :P
Spicy Napolitana Spaghetti

 
2tbsp of olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
a good pinch of fine sugar
2 x 14-oz (398ml) cans of tomatoes
1/4tsp crushed chili flakes, or to taste
14 oz (400g) spaghetti
16 oz (450g) jar roasted red pepper or mixed peppers, drained and sliced
3/4 cup of stuffed green olives, drained and sliced
Parmesan to taste

You fry the onion in some oil, add the sugar and cook for 5 minutes or until just softened. While that is cooking put the can of tomatoes in a food processor or blender to make a puree.
Then you add the pureed tomatoes and the chili flakes to the onion pot and season with a little salt and lots pepper (We don't add salt...at least Marc shouldn't). Bring to a boil, then cook, stirring occasionally over a medium heat so that the sauce boils gently for about 20 minutes.
Cook the pasta according to packaging.
Put the pasta in a bowl and pour the sauce over top. For the roasted peppers and olives we slice them in a food processor and add them on top of the sauce...so yummy. Add your parmesan and you're ready to eat!
This serves 4.
It is from the Readers Digest Weeknight Meals Made Easy book 2009. ISBN: 978-1-55475-022-1. (I shortened the process because I didn't want to type it all out but the instructions are the same in the book just more writing and pretty pictures).

Sick. Home. School. Calico.

I am home sick today. Am i happy about it? No. I am missing a class, only one class but still i am missing it. I woke up feeling a little weird but i decided to see if i could get ready and go to class. It didn't last to long. Any movement made my sinus scream in pain and my stomach turn. So i sat down with some rice krispy cereal and green tea. Neither helped much. I still feel nauseous, i think it's actually getting worse. I do not want to be sick tomorrow, i have two classes and need to be there for both. I'm going to see if i have any soup and put a movie on, maybe that will help.

School is going good though, the classes are interesting so far. It will be a lot of work but i think i can do it. I hate the traveling to school though, i hate public transit but parking downtown isn't worth it. I can't wait to move downtown and to only deal with the metro (I plan to move near a metro station).

So my calico cat is peeing constantly outside the litter box. We keep it clean but she still pees outside of it. I'm not sure how much more i can take of her doing it. She hasn't lost weight, her attitude is still the same, she eats and drinks...nothing seems to of changed with her. I'm nervous to take her to the vet though, i don't have the money for it.

Anyways i am about to be sick looking at this screen so i'm going to go lay down.

Mini update!

I am officially a student again. I applied for a paralegal program in June and got a letter telling me that i am on a waiting list because it was full. Well this morning i got a call that there is a spot for me. I am so scared and so excited.

So things change now, but i am so happy to be doing something with my time this fall. I am going to look for a part time job since i will have a lot of free time (i have a college diploma so all the extra courses are done, i just focus on the core courses). I am nervous about the French though, i so alright in French but i will be reading French law books and that can get complicated.

Anyways that is my update, Thursday i go in for orientation and SIL is coming with so it should be fun!