Sunday, January 24, 2010

It's All Finished . . .

But the surprise hasn't yet happened so I still can't share much. Do know that I am really excited with how it all came together. And I hope that everyone shares the same opinion as myself.

On another note, though - I am starting my photography class tomorrow!! Woot woot!! Excited about all I am going to learn and I certainly hope that all of you will see noticeable results as well!

p.s. does anyone know where the spell check went to?? can i still trigger it within blogger or am i destined to no longer be able to veil my mistakes??
It even required me to put the top down on Zinny to load the car!!! Any guesses??

Saturday, January 23, 2010

Stay Tuned

I just spent the day running around gathering a bunch of items I need for a very fun surprise!! Cannot wait to post the pictures and tell you all the details.

But in the interim, know that I am soooooo very excited about this one!

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Olympic Pride






Yesterday the Olympic torch found its way to Calgary. I have been anxiously awaiting its arrival for the last week. And finally it was time.

The timing was perfect. Jimmy picked me up at work a smidge early. We found a parking spot right outside my apartment and bundled up a little for the anticipated wait. 1410 was a short stroll in the afternoon sun from my place and the olympic torch was promising to pass right along 17th Ave turning at 14th street.

We made it to the restaurant at 5 and as I had anticipated the place was still fairly open with a couple of tables right along the windows facing the street. Jimmy ordered us some snacks while I looked up the route on the iphone. Never hurts to double check, right??

As the web page open, I slightly panicked as it was only listing the 17th ave route up to 8th street. But the interactive map link confirmed that we were sitting on the route.You could feel the excitement in the air as others piled inside to wait it out and the streets started to fill with red jackets and touques, scarfs and flags. Yeah!! This was going to be perfect.




Our snacks arrived and we alternated between people watching or trying to determine where on the route the torch was at with the live olympic coverage on the tvs. The excitement continued to grow and I could no longer contain it. I think Jimmy was laughing at me as I kept checking my phone to see what time it was.

The timing was perfect, our snacks were done, the bill was paid, we bundled up and found a spot on the sidewalk right as Brenda was walking over to join us!!




Before we had a chance to pick up any swag, we could hear the music coming our way. The first of the caravan was the Coca Cola stage.






It even had a live band on it.



Next came the RBC stage. What a great job that would be - to follow the Olympic torch all over this beautiful country of ours!












After a moment's reprieve, the cheering started again and we could see the torch heading our way.




\

I was so excited with everything that i didn't hold the camera still for any of the pics . . oops!!! Just passed us, another runner got out of the van folloiwng the torch and we saw the flame pass between the two. The runner that went past us turned out to be someone with 1410 - kind of cool!



The tower had the flame lit for the olymjpic torch celebration downtown at Olympic plaza. When Jimmy and I got back to my place, we went out onto my balcony and were able to watch it.

What a fantastic evening it was. I couldn't have imagined it any better than it was.

Saturday, January 16, 2010

Lina's

Lina's is one of my favorite places in Calgary. It is a little Italian market that is stuffed full of tasty meats, delicious olives, fresh pastas, yummy little desserts, fresh produce, a wide array of olive oils and balsamic vinegars. As I wander up and down the aisles I am drawn to a new kind of biscuit, a tasty chocolate sauce or the aroma from the warm focaccia breads.

The majority of my dinner parties involve a stop at Lina's as I know that I will find something different whether it be a cookie to serve with my chocolate mousse, chocolate sauces to drizzle over whipping cream for the latte's, little chocolates from Europe to put at each person's place or maybe a little hostess gift in the household section.

However, my absolute favorite part of Lina's is the cheese section. So many varieties and flavors across three big coolers stocked full of cheese. By shopping at Lina's all these years I have developed various traditions. And Jimmy can certainly vouch for the fact that these traditions are as special to me as Lina's is. As you will soon find out, the majority of the traditions are around that cheese cooler.

Today I was bringing a cheese plate to Lincoln's little baby shower and so of course I needed to swing by Lina's. It was extra busy on such a beautiful Saturday but I lucked into a close parking spot. As I walked through the entrance into the store, my eyes automatically glanced to the left . . . YES!! . . . the new City Palate was out and it is the January/February Cheap Eats edition. As I am still on the condo plan, it's the perfect edition.

As I walked into the store and grabbed a basket every aisle looked jammed. My heart sank as I knew I was on a tight timeline. I weaved my way over to the breads. Elbowed through a couple people to get a bag and managed to find a fresh focaccia. By the time I grabbed a second bag, a whole new group of people had stopped in front of the breads. Curses . . . don't they realize that I need some time in the cheese section.

I made my way to the olives cooler and already had my choices made before the lady was ready to help me - a large mixed olives and a small sundried olives.

Next up, cheeses!!!

I patiently waited while the remaining customers were being served. I had to look at all the cheeses anyways so I knew which ones I wanted to try first. A nice young gentleman kindly asked if I had been helped yet. I felt my heart lift just a little from the anxious pit and smiled sweetly while responding, "No."

Sarah is a maple and berry lover so I decided that the maple cheddar was the perfect start. And this is where the tradition starts. You can't just buy a cheese there; it may not be what you are looking for. Regardless of how many times I have bought a cheese, it still needs to be tasted. So of course I had to ask for a quick taste. He found the maple cheddar, cut off a small bite and handed it to me. Yummy, just the right maple flavor.

Next I wanted to try a stilton . . . this week Lina's had quite the variety of stilton’s: apricot, cranberry, ginger mango and so I thought the ginger mango could be either quite tasty or the wrong mix of flavors. One bite and I knew that it was totally the wrong mix of flavors.

Nicole has declared her love for chevre fromage so of course I couldn't leave her without a lovely cheese. By the time I told him I was looking for a goat cheese, the gentleman had caught onto my game. He suggested a couple and gave me samples of each. They were both delicious but I quickly chose one.

Now onto another hard cheese, three samples were passed my way and after some thoughtful deliberation I made my choice. The anxiety I had felt as I drove to Lina's had completely melted away.

I needed a soft cheese and a blue cheese. For the soft I had spotted St. Andre which I have had a few times with Jimmy's cousins so I thought that would be a nice balance of flavors and my new found cheese friend was quickly unwrapping the blues for me to try. It didn't take long to choose a nice creamy blue with a rich sharpness to it.

As I put the last cheese in my basket I could hear a father beside me speaking to his son who was about 4 or 5. . . "Now that we are in the cheese area, we try a few cheeses before we make our choice. Shopping at Lina's isn't done until you have bought a cheese!" As the lady passed over a sample, the dad split it in two and handed half of it to his son.

The corners of my mouth turned up as a huge smile crossed my face. As I walked away I was so excited that someone else was passing Lina shopping traditions onto others.

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Blades of Glory



When I was little I used to dream about being a figure skater.

You see, my mom had this old LP that I used to love playing over and over again. The confidence in the name escapes me but I think it was 'Teenville' and it was a collection of singers from her high school years. I think it had Bobby Vee and a few others. One of the songs had the following lyrics:

Every day, it's a-getting closer, going faster than a roller coaster.

Love like yours will surely come my way.
Every day, it's a-getting faster, everyone says go ahead and ask her.
love like yours will surely come my way.



Every day seems a little longer, in every way my love's a little stronger.
Come what may, do you ever long for true love from me?



Every day, it's a-getting closer, going faster than a roller coaster.
Love like yours will surely come my way.
Every day, it's a-getting faster, everyone says go ahead and ask her.
love like yours will surely come my way.



Every day seems a little longer, in every way my love's a little stronger.
Come what may, do you ever long for true love from me?

Every day, it's a-getting closer, going faster than a roller coaster.
Love like yours will surely come my way.
Love like ours will surely be here to stay.

(For those of you dying to listen to this song, you will just have to ask me to sing it to you . . . there was also a point in time I dreamt of being a rock star . . . !!)
 
I listened to that record so many times I could sing almost every song off of it by memory and this one was certainly my favorite.
 
Since I lived on a farm, we had various bodies of water nearby that would freeze and the dugout in the yard was perfect for skating. Dad kept the ice pretty cleaned off and my brother would head out there after school and clean off the fresh snow. We would lace up our skates, make the walk across the yard with the skate guards making fresh tracks in the snow, slide down the hill to the dugout surface and skate for hours.
 
When Trev was out there with me, I had to use my inside the head voice to sing and practice my spectacular moves. But when Trev was not out there with me . . . well that was the perfect time to fulfill my dream not only as a figure skater but also a singer. I would belt out with all that was within me . . .
 
Every day, it's a-getting closer, going faster than a roller coaster.
Love like yours will surely come my way.


Skate in circles warming up . . .


love like yours will surely come my way.

Testing out gliding on one skate . . .


Every day seems a little longer, in every way my love's a little stronger.

Come what may, do you ever long for true love from me?

More sweeps around the ice to build up speed

Every day, it's a-getting closer, going faster than a roller coaster.

Love like yours will surely come my way.
Every day, it's a-getting faster, everyone says go ahead and ask her.
love like yours will surely come my way.

A little sit spin (in my mind it was a beautiful work of art; to my brother hiding in the trees spying on me I am sure I looked more like I was perched akwardly on an invisible chair with my arms flying all over to keep my balance) . . .

Every day seems a little longer, in every way my love's a little stronger.

Come what may, do you ever long for true love from me?

Skating, smiling and beautiful hand and arm work to prep for the grand finale . . .

Every day, it's a-getting closer, going faster than a roller coaster.

Love like yours will surely come my way.
Love like ours will surely be here to stay.

Here it is . . . the grand finale . . . the open armed, one skate bent at the waist glide to stand up and finish in a spin (again to Trev I am sure it was circles with a five foot circumference as my arms were no longer quite as graceful as they were during the prep phase. To the untrained eye it could be easily confused with the chicken dance.).

In my mind it was as beautiful as Tracy Wilson or Elizabeth Manley.


Dad informed me at Christmas that the dugout is no longer appropriate to skate on. I was quite sad that my nephews would never experience it and I wouldn't be able to share it with Jimmy.

But . . . mom told me tonight that they are now able to skate on the gravel pit in the pasture just down the road. Dad and Trev cleared it off on the weekend and everyone was out playing a little shinny this past weekend. Even little Chasey at 2 1/2 was able to find his footing on skates for the first time.

It made my heart smile. I cannot wait to go home in February with Jimmy. Watch a little hockey in town, skate a little on the gravel pit. It won't be the same without my awesome moves but making memories with my nephews that they will remember for years to come is even better!

Love like ours will surely be here to stay.


Every day, it's a-getting faster, everyone says go ahead and ask her.

Monday, January 04, 2010

Today was the first day back to work after the Christmas season. I am sure many rolled over and hit the snooze an extra time. I don't doubt that some were a little later than usual. I am quite confident that some needed an extra cup of coffee. Maybe some were like me and did all three??

But there is always one thing that is exciting about the first day back. Something that helps to put a a spring in your step. That one item that makes the day seem a little bit brighter.

And what shall it be? The new wool scarf from your chic grandma? Maybe the lovely pair of angora socks from your twin daughters? A glittery bracelet that was tucked into your stocking from your handsome fiance? Or the new sweater you bought yourself with Christmas money? Was it the new underwear from your mom? The engraved cufflinks from your loving wife? Or were you one of the extra blessed who got to drive to work in their new shiny red car from your fabulous hubby?

As I made my way to the office, I spotted some carrying bags of items they need to return. I saw others carrying their lunch in the coveted Holt Renfrew bag. I saw one lady who was most certainly wearing  a new hat and another who was sporting new boots. More than a couple people were walking to the beat of the music on their new iphone. And I am sure there was more than one office full of sqealing girls admiring a new hair do or captively listening to a New Year's engagement story whilst gazing longingly at a sparkling diamond ring!

For me? I was proudly wearing the new little earing from my nephews - they truly do have fabulous taste (thanks Kim) and a new pair of socks. Tomorrow? I'm going to look extra saucy with my freshly straightened hair (love it Mom)!