A Taste Of Hawaii

The winter of 2024 has not been a typical winter by a long shot. It has felt more grey and dismal than usual, and the rollercoaster temperatures haven’t helped. One moment feels like spring, and then boom, a few hours later it’s winter again. Because of this, and because I have a goal to travel…

A Wee Challenge Update

Earlier this month, I decided to take on the Push-Up Challenge issued by the Canadian Mental Health Association. The challenge – complete 2000 pushups between February 1st and February 23rd. Given my lack of upper body strength going into this, I really wasn’t sure what to expect. But here I am, 23 days later with 2145…

The Quantified Man

It should come as no surprise that I love spreadsheets. And numbers. And spreadsheets with numbers. I love playing with data, and personal data are no exception. So it should also come as no surprise that in my efforts to reach some of my goals (see here), I have created a fancy new spreadsheet and…

The Recipes Of 2023

Last year was another great year for me in the kitchen. From testing out new-to-me recipes to returning to old standards, I managed to use my kitchen adventures to significantly reduce the amount of money I spent on food and beverages while I was on campus. And although I still spent too much money ordering…

The Year That Could Be

Alright 2024 – you’re here and I’ve got my eye on you. The last few years have been challenging for a lot of people, and I’m expecting that this year will continue in that vein. Given everything that’s going on in the world, I don’t think this is an unrealistic expectation. To help me maintain…

The Year That Was

So it’s time to reflect on the year that just ended. Normally I am much more organized and have my yearly reflection sorted in advance of the new year – mostly because I like to give myself ample time to consider what I was able to accomplish (or not) to develop realistic new goals for…

The Year That Could Be

As is typical of this time of year, I usually begin January with a list of goals that is intended to help me shape what the next 12 months could be. I don’t identify these goals for the sake of determining the year’s worth when it inevitably winds down on December 31st – because these…

The Recipes Of 2022

After the culinary success of 2021, I decided that I would once again attempt 26 new-to-me recipes in 2022. And while I did manage to complete this task, I’m afraid that my lack of writing means that my list is incomplete or lacking detail.

The Year That Was

Helloooo 2023 and all that you could be. The last year was another tough one, but I can honestly say that I’m feeling more hopeful than I have in a long while. I credit that to a lot of work setting boundaries, improving life-work balance, and the incredible group of people in my life who…

Mmmm, Coffee Cake

The last two times I made coffee cake, I somehow managed to completely mess them up. In both cases, part of the cakes remained gooey and unbaked. Apparently, when I checked the cakes with a toothpick, I managed to poke them everywhere except where the gooey unbaked parts remained. And I didn’t notice my mistake…

Six Weeks Later

It’s been 6 full weeks since Frank and Beans made their way into my daily routine. In that time, they’ve been to the vet twice (for vaccinations and their first check-up), demonstrated their wrestling expertise, zoomied around the condo at an Olympic pace, and have helped establish my morning schedule. I also have a much…

Mmmmm, Pi

Today is March 14th, the day nerds and pie-lovers around the world celebrate Pi Day. As I am both a nerd and a lover of pie, today represents probably the most significant day of my year. To celebrate, I’ve just whipped up a blueberry, blackberry, and raspberry pie that’s currently baking in the oven. And…

All The Windows Are Open

It’s Sunday, March 6, the sun is out and the temperature climbed all the way to 13 Celsius. Every single window in the condo is wide open and it finally feels like spring is just around the corner. Obviously, I’m not going to hold my breath because I live in Canada and know that Mother…

Frank & Beans

I’d like to formally introduce everyone to Francesca and Beanard. Francesca (affectionately known as Frank or Frankie) is a roughly 6-month-old predominantly grey striped kitty (although there are specks of orange and white mixed in there as well). Beanard is also about 4 months old and goes by Beans. He’s mostly black save for a…

Sweet

Last night, before settling in to rewatch Daniel Craig as James Bond in Spectre, I decided to whip up my first ever batch of pralines. I had been thinking about making pralines ever since I received some as a Christmas gift. However, since the gifted pralines were dairy-based, I had to miss out on their…