Pumpkin Puree.

I know this is a little late, I started writing it, almost finished and then jetted off the Europe for a few weeks, so the whole blogging thing fell to the wayside. So here it is, not super useful now, but next fall I highly recommend it!

It is Fall. Therefore it is everything pumpkin. I, like 90% of people seem to be obsessed with everything pumpkin. The downside, everything store bought is super high in sugar or in quantities to feed a family not two people. If I buy an entire pie, I will then eat an entire pie. So with my love to bake I have been searching Pinterest for some healthier pumpkin alternatives. Most recipes called for canned pumpkin, but at almost $4 a can, it was looking like an expensive fall season.
I was at the market yesterday and saw a section of pumpkins labeled 'pumpkin pie pumpkin's'. I had no idea what that meant, but I assumed that somehow I could turn that pumpkin $2 or 3/$5 into a pie. I had no idea how to turn said pumpkin into a pie, but I was determined. I then came home and was very disappointed in finding no information on how to make the pumpkin into a pie. So after searching a number of resources I figured I would wing it. It turned out great and with one small pumpkin I made a skinny pumpkin loaf and pumpkin zucchini dark chocolate chip loaf with some left over.

Skating Lessons.

I have been feeling very blessed as of late. I am lucky enough to have a job I love, that also allows me to have a ton of flexibility due to the limited number of hours I work. One of the major perks is that Thursday mornings I am able to spend hanging out with my crazy niece. We have so much fun. A few weeks ago she started skating lessons. 

July/August Books.

Reading the past few months has been slow as most free time has been spent preparing for our european adventure coming up in a few months, but some of what I have been reading has been great.

Delirium by Lauren Oliver - I started reading this on recommendation from a coworker, the perks of working at the library is that your coworkers are always reading and know a good book. It was just what I was looking for, action packed with a twist and a bit of romance thrown in. If I must compare it I would say it is a little Hunger Games/ Divergent esque. Basic concept, in the future love is a disease and if caught you are said to have delirium. It is a horrible thing and there is a cure when you turn 18. The story is of a girl who is about to turn 18 and falls in love. It ends on a cliff hanger which does not disappoint in the second book. Well worth the read.

Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver - This is the follow up to Delirium, there are actually three and I am currently waiting for it at the library. The book was good. Potentially even better than the first, which is a rare thing. It was written in a similar style as Gayle Forman's books 'If I Stay' and 'Where She Went' which I love, the one present chapter and then one past. It also leaves you at a point where you become desperate to read the next book. I am excited.

The Giver by Lois Lowry - Read this book in preparation to see the movie that was in theatres. Little did I know that the movie was only in  our local movie theatre for about a week and therefore I had missed it. It was an easy read, but a wonderful one. I had read it back in about grade seven but did not remember much about it. I enjoyed the plot and the fast pace that I was able to read it. The only down side was the ending. The ending of the book, not giving anything away, left me furious! It kind of just ends and leaves you guessing as to what happens next. I get that then allows you to guess as to what happens next and believe what you want, but lets be real, I am not having that. I finished it late at night and was so frustrated that I had to immediately download the next book (I had no idea there was a next book) in desperate need to figure out what happened. Not impressed.

Cycle of Lies by Juliet Macur - This book was the first non-fiction audio book that I have listened to. Next time I will pick something a little more action packed. It was a little dry. A little too naming names and drugs and hard to follow along with. A number of times I wished it would just end, but I stuck it out until the end. Don't get me wrong it was interesting, I was once a huge Lance Armstrong fan, I wore a yellow rubber bracelet for years, and understanding just what was actually going on all that time with all of the lying and cheating was intriguing however I might have been more satisfied had I just read a ten page magazine article over listening to over 8 hours of an audiobook.

Fall Children's Display.

Fall is here! I love fall! I tried really to find a plastic rake for the children's display at the library as my original plan was to have books missed with the leaves and it to say 'Rake in a Good Book' but apparently those are the hardest thing ever to find. I looked a few falls back for one for my niece to help with the raking and I feel like in the end I bought her a plastic shovel, not the same.
So it is super simple and super cliche, but it is also my first attempt at a display so I wanted to start small and work my way up. I am also very excited to start my collection of cut letters. I have bought a file folder and as we finish with them save them for another project.
This makes for a wonderful children's display as it incorporates reading, the season and lots of bright colours. I also personally love to have a variety of formats and lots of options in terms of items able to be checked out to accompany the theme of the display. Here I have Easy Readers, Board Books, Picture Books, Non-Fic and Fiction books.

Playdate.

I recently took on a new position at the library. It pays a bit better and has more responsibilities but for the time being it has a lot less hours. I am only working a guaranteed 10 hours a week, however the benefits of a lighter work schedule include a now weekly playdate with my beautiful niece. Starting in September we will be doing skating lessons during that time. For now however it has included visits to the Ontario Early Years Centre (which a awesome if you have one near you it is great and probably right up there with the library for our favourite places to visit). We spend our post lunch in a bit of quite time (this big girl is past naps) with movies and cuddles on the couch. The warm afternoons have then either been spent at the splash pad or local kids pool. The pool is wonderful as most of it is shin high and the deep end is only up to my waist, she loves it because of all of the toys and being able to do it all by herself. So we have been having lots of fun together as the summer comes to an end, but I am very excited for her to start skating in the fall and she is excited as long as the teacher is a girl.

Tea towels make the best baby blankets. 

Snacks at the OEYC.

We went on a bug hunt!

Just making eggs for the dolly. 

Playground just outside of the OEYC.

ALS Ice Bucket.

ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis) also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease, is a neurodegenerative disease in which your neurons stop functioning. It causes one to lose control of their body. It effects everything from fine motor skills, walking, talking and swallowing, progressing further and eventually taking away more movement, all while being completely aware that this is happening. It is a disease to which there is no cure, no treatment and no understanding of the cause. It effects each person differently with an average life span once diagnosed of 2-5 years, in some extreme cases however, just a few months.

June Books.

In May I started to read a number of books, and that resulted in many books being finished in June. June was a very hard month for me and I found it great to escape into books, however as I am one who cannot leave a book unfinished, I wish I had thought a little bit more about the kind of books. Many of these books had a rather sad element and I might have actually cried at some point during each book. 

Allegiant by Veronica Roth- This book took me forever to finish. I kind of knew how it was going to end and I was actually excited about the outcome.  By the end of the second book I was starting to hate the main character. The book was okay, however still a bit of a let down. I feel like that is a common theme with series books as of right now. It is however always hard to see a wonderful series end. Now I must wait for the next movie to come out next year.

The Fault in Our Starts by John Green- I cried and cried and then cried some more. I was not in a mentally stable place to read this book. I did however read it in a super short period of time as I could not put it down. At first all I could get from the library was the audiobook, this actually resulted in me sitting in the hot car trying to listen to it. I finally had enough and borrowed the book from a friend where I read over half in one night. I loved the book, but due to all of the crying, am certainly waiting to see the movie so I can cry all alone in my living room. I enjoyed the story and the fact that it really does not go as one might think. It is a beautiful love story.

If I Stay by Gayle Forman - I always read books before the movies and I saw a preview for this movie and knew I had to read it, well listen to it. I could not get my hands on the actual book, so I did the audio book. I listened to it on the many drives to and from the hospital. Again, I cried like a baby. I think this is a common theme of the books this month. Either they are all super sad or I am overly sensitive. I loved the way the book was written with one chapter in the present and another explaining the characters past. The audiobook is also very well read.

Where She Went by Gayle Forman- I loved this one even more than the first in the series (If I Stay). I read this one and frequently found the voice in my head of the narrator of the first ones audiobook, which really means I loved how well read the audiobook was. This book was great on so many levels and I read it quickly loving every minute.

OSAP GONE!

We have reached an exciting moment in our adult lives today. Today marks the last day of paying back our outrageously large amount of student debt and lets be honest, it feels GREAT!

I am one who believes in student debt. All debt sucks, but at least school debt has a priceless outcome. It is one thing to invest in that will make its money back for you over and over if used right. We are currently attempting to put our university education to good use, but the fact that we no longer have this debt hanging over our heads feels fantastic.

No more school debt in this house, until January at least, Lord willing. So happy!

Budget Friendly Party.

Yes we had a birthday party for our cat, you can check it out here. No we are not completely crazy. It was really a reason to dress up the cat, take some cute pictures and spend some great time with friends and family.
Now because he is a cat and because no one really cares all that much about what decor there is we kept it super simple. Our apartment is small and would be filled with lots of people so we needed things that did not get in the way, also because it was a cat we wanted to save some money. We threw the entire party for under 10 dollars plus the cost of food.
To stick to a small budget I recommend a number of DIY projects that are simple and cost effective, also a colour scheme can go a long way.

The Decor

1) Gather all picture frames in your home, if you are like us, they are already empty sitting on your shelf so you're half way there. Now if its a person, filling them with cute pictures is an awesome idea, if it is a cat that might seem strange, so we went with the idea of party theme. At the dollar store I found some wall stickers for a $1. I put them on construction paper and filled the frames around the apartment. Total Cost = 1$ Total Time = 10 minutes, 5 if you do not have a cat trying to lay on the paper you are cutting.

2) For a dramatic table we went with a balloon over head display. I bought a bag of balloons in bright colours at the dollar store that already came with string. Next time I would have gotten a bit bigger of balloons. The party theme was solid bright colours such as red, blue, green and yellow, so we went with a whatever was in the package, if you were going for a pink party I would have gone with shades of pink. Total Cost = $1 Total Time = 5 minutes, I suck at blowing up balloons.

3) Food supplies. Paper plates and napkins were solid red and bought at Target post valentines day so they totalled 60 cents and I have a bundle left over. The fun straws are a staple in our home and I keep buying them whenever I see them on cleaence anywhere. Cups were bought at the dollar store $2 because I wanted a mixture of colours and we simply glued eyes on them to make them look like monstors. Total Cost =$3.60 Total Time = 5 minutes to glue eyes and draw mouths

4) Party hats. I considered making my own party hats, but I figured why bother and found some in priomary colours that were perfect for the party and only cost $2. I glued googly eyes onto them and the husband drew some funny faces and we called it a day. They were really awesome, but at an adult party total under apriciated. Total Cost $2 Total Time = 10 minutes.

5) Fancy Candle. I added google eyes to a number one candle that I bought at the dollar store for 50 cents. So easy and looked awesome on the cake. Total Cost $.50 Total Time= 2 minutes

Total Cost = 8.10 cents.
Total Time = 32 minutes

Obviously food and drinks and such cost more because we fed a number of people, but that would be expected regardless. I loved how it all turned out, it was fun and easy and everyone, Baxter included, loved it.

Baxter's 1st Birthday!

I would like to preface this with we do not have children. Baxter is our baby and therefore it was only appropriate to throw him a first birthday party. Two  parties to be exact but that is more so a result of our tiny apartment and not being able to accommodate everyone. We had the parties back to back, a family fiesta on Friday and a few friends over the next day. That resulted in a lot less work because obviously I decorated. It was monster themed, and we were able to use the same decor for both days. Honestly the decor might have actually stayed up for another month, and still the party hat is on the entertainment unit and every time my niece comes over she insists he wears it.
We had a lot of fun and clearly so did Baxter. His birthday and parties were back in April, but with everything that has been happening this is one of those super late posts. So happy very belated 1st birthday Baxter.

A little party decor. 

The bib says 1st Birthday under his chin. Couldn't find a tshirt, he would have liked that better.

We have awesome friends who put up with us and love our cat. 

He loved his cake.

Opening presents like a boss. 

Exhausted after all the partying. 

Jemma is 3!

Today marks the third birthday of my favourite little girl, my niece Jemma. I cannot believe how fast the past three years have gone, and how quickly I could fall in love with her. She has her Auntie's heart and she knows it. She is a precious little girl who is full of energy, love and attitude.
I have been blessed to have a close relationship with Jemma and love spending as much time as possible with her. Jemma loves to come over and visit and she absolutely adores Baxter. A little jealous because he likes her best for sure. He lets her try and carry him around the apartment and put stickers on his paws, they are BFFs. She always wants freezies or frozen tubes of yogurt so we are sure to keep them on hand. Fort, Disney movies and my old barbies are common activities during visits.
Jemma loves to play dolls and names every one of them Kara, her favourite colour is blue (hence we are out of blue freezies), she is afraid of wolves, is a dare devil and loves jumping and going fast. She needs her stuffed dog Captain to sleep at night and every time we drive together she insists on listening to Taylor Swift's We are Never Getting Back Together, on repeat (she knows all the words).
I am so proud to be her Auntie and she continues to impress and amaze me. Happy 3rd Birthday Love!

Dance recital. Rocking out to the Backyardigans. 

Trip to the Detroit zoo. She fell asleep on my head shortly after, and was disappointed that we only saw baby wolves.

Jumping on her big trampoline is one of her favourite activities. 

She hates loud noises, but sparklers are right up her ally. 

I have so many selfies on my phone. 

She is wild and crazy. 

She is obviously an aspiring photographer. There is no view finder, which confuses her and she likes to touch the lens.

She loves to mother anything and is even willing to change poopy bums. 

Love.

March & April Books.

In March and April I took a break about half way through the third book in the Divergent series because I started to be unhappy with the path it was taking and instead started working on finishing the Karen Kingsbury series I started, hmm, two summers ago. Crazy to think I have been trucking along for that long. Now I can honestly say the end is near. One more to go.

Learning by Karen Kingsbury - As I might have mentioned before the Bailey Flanigan series has been far and away my favourite set of books thus far. It might be because it was a faze of life that I recently went though and kind of still am and therefore find it relatable or it might be because I am just a sucker for a great romance. And a great romance it was. This book is a little frustrating because 

Longing by Karen Kingsbury- This book was magical. I enjoyed watching the love grow and the grand (read: unrealistic) gestures that were taken. 

Loving by Karen Kingsbury - I read a few reviews on this book while I was putting in my most recently read books and currently reading into goodreads before I had actually started reading it. I therefore somewhat ruined it for myself, finding out who she actually chooses. However, I completely disagree with all of the negative comments this book was getting. I was actually very happy with who she ended up with in the end. I had wanted it from way back and I understand the frustration that fans felt after having so much put into a relationship. But I enjoy the explanation, some people just are not meant to be.This book was both wonderful and frustrating. You know that moment when you are reading a book or watching a movie and are so frustrated with the characters lack of communication. Seriously, who goes that long without talking? Or that everything could be resolved with one short phone call, yea I felt that. But all in all I am happy that the pretty much fairytale book series came to a fairytale ending. 

Family Day.

A few weeks ago we here in Ontario celebrated family day. Family day is kind of a silly holiday. It comes in the middle of February. You had Christmas just over a month ago and for school kids they have March Break in about a month. Maybe I think it is silly because it came around when I was already in university and always seemed to coincide with reading week which resulted in no extra time off. Now that I am working, I still think it is silly, but I will gladly take any holiday time off I can. Contract workers do not have a thing called vacation, so we take what we can get.

For me family day was a good day. I was able to sleep in, woke from a text from my brother about taking my niece skating and was able to get a number of chores accomplished. Sadly, it is not a holiday for all and the husband had to work. So I settled for a morning skating session with my brother and niece, followed by some grocery shopping, and errands.

I got home shortly after noon where I was able to spend the afternoon cleaning, baking and enjoying some time with the cat. I finished the day with a session of boot camp. It was a busy day, but a productive day, which I love. I could certainly take one of these each month, maybe then my to do list will not be as long.

So much fun. 

February Books.

Valentines.

I have never been one for Valentines day. I think it is the result of being a little bitter and left out at school dances and such throughout elementary school. I was one of those kids who then put on a tough face and pretended it didn't matter when really deep down it probably did.
Now however, I realise there are so many more important things in life and I have a valentine for the rest of my life so why do I need just one day to make a big fuss and put on a show to tell him I love him. Should that not be everyday? The hard part for me however is that on the one hand I do find it silly, on the other, gifts and acts of service are totally my love language. Brent has kid before that he should just wrap up random things around the house, pretend they are presents and I would be happy. He is right. This year at Christmas and my birthday I had a little helper help me open my gifts and it made me a little sad that I did not get that joy. You can also call it selfish. I did in the end resist the urge to push her down and open it by myself.
Anyway, as a result of all of these mixed emotions for a greeting card company day I still get a little excited. This year I woke up to flowers, a pile of presents and cute card from the husband. The real gift in all of it however was the fact that I got to sleep in and he didn't wake me for presents. I love presents, but I also love sleep.
So the morning was presents. The afternoon my work schedule worked out that I got to go and watch some hockey with dad on my lunch and tonight I get to spend the night with my two favourite people. Jemma and the husband. We are taking my niece to a church skate and then to Tim Hortons for a treat. We will then drop her off at her house and then head home for a late dinner and a movie. Low key, but eventful. I am excited.

This is us skating last year. Excited to go again.

January Books.

This is probably my most exciting month of books. I do not know how I went so long without reading the Divergent series, but I am glad I started.

The Daughters Take the Stage by Joanna Philbin - This is the second book in the series. It was good, nothing awesome and I started the third and left it about a few chapters in. I do like how the author gets you connected with each character as each character is kind of the star of the different books, which is really good because when I started it was sad that the same person was not the main character. For me to like a book there needs to be one of two things, either a good love interest which the first in the series had, or relatable characters.

Divergent by Victoria Roth- If you have not read this series I would highly recommend you do. I might have spent my day off in the bathtub for 4.5 hours reading. It was that good! It is a movie in March and I am all about reading the book before seeing the movie. It was a great book. Not at all what I was expecting, but great none the less. I did make the comment however after a few chapters that I really hope there is a love interest in the book because I am not sure I would have been hooked otherwise. On that front it completely delivered. It is however so much more. I would compare it if I had to, to the hunger games, in that it is a world that is somewhat like ours, but futuristic (set in Chicago) and really looks at the other side of human nature in a lot of ways. It was a wonderful book and I would totally recommend the read.

Tiffany.

Tiffany is one of those friends you consider yourself lucky to have. We met Tiffany about a year and a half ago at a gathering in the summer at a friends house. We then got thrown together a number of times after and gradually became good friends. I don't really remember how it happened, but I honestly thank God that it did. I believe our friendship grew even fonder as we spent a week on a road trip to NYC last summer and after spending about 15 hours in a car in the dead of summer with no air conditioning, you either leave the situation loving each other or hating each other. I am glad our friendship survived and became stronger in the end. 

December Books

This month was a fluff month for reading. I quickly got addicted to a few teen series and actually might have spent the entire first day of my Christmas vacation starting and ending one of the books.

2013 in a Nutshell.

So I got this from Rage Against the Minivan (here), who got it from someone, who potentially also got it from someone else. But I liked it and was struggling to write something about 2013. I have a lot of mixed feelings about it as with most of my lows, I have been able to see many positive things come from them. I have big dreams and big goals for the year ahead, but also know that it will be an emotion and difficult year. Regardless I am excited for what the year might hold.