Late Bloomer

My Christmas cactus has decided to flower!

This is an especially momentous occasion, because for nine months last year my beloved houseplants did not have me around to care for them. Not pointing any fingers of course, but without watering TLC , they suffered. And in fact, my beautiful, bushy, English Ivy...died. Crispy as a potato chip.
The others were on the brink of destruction, but I set to work, and now, months later, they are on the road to recovery. And I have this lovely flower as proof.
Its good to be needed.

Chilling in the Boonies

I've just got back from a few relaxing days spent at a tiny little cabin in the middle of nowhere with some great camp friends.
The much-anticipated convoy of 5 Victorians arrived around 2AM Thursday morning. I was getting some beauty sleep at the time, so I didn't see them until a more reasonable hour, but it was quite exciting to see Barb, Victoria, and the guys again! Katie also joined us before we headed out.
Ted's dad has a place somewhere up near 100 Mile, very close to the tiny little village of Lake Bridge. He is a great man, and allowed a total of 8 Homewood crazies to borrow his place for a couple days.

Its a pretty awesome spot, with a great view, wild animals (we saw 2 moose --mama & baby-- on the drive up!!) and total quiet. Not to mention a solar panel, propane stove, wood heat, and no running water! I love it. The seat in the outhouse does tend to be a little chilly at -15 though...
We had to pack our stuff about 10 minutes up a hill to even get there. Unfortunately, I was under the impression that this place was accessible by car...not to mention I don't even own a decent backpack...so I packed all my stuff in a huge suitcase. It made sense at the time...I fit my pillow, sleepingbag, snowpants, extra blanket, and change of clothes in there, so actually it wasn't so much bad packing as it was a bad choice of luggage. (of course the guys wouldn't understand that.) Luckily, among our number was the truest gentleman I know, David Nadeau, and he hauled the beast up after I was about halfway. Thanks Dave!
Friday morning we tempted Whiskeyjacks with crackers. Dave was at one with nature...
Mark didn't have so much luck.
It was a pretty chill couple of days. we spent our time hanging out on the deck, playing board/card games, snowshoeing, chatting, and having lots, and lots, of fun!

The Finer Points of Fitness

I've always been interested in Pilates.
As far as I could tell, it was a lot of stretching, and wouldn't require much standing.
After a long day in the kitchen, always on my feet, a form of exercise that doesn't require any standing really appeals. Or at least appeals more than, say, running.

Anyway, after thinking about it forever, I finally got out to London Drugs one day and bought a Pilates For Beginners DVD. It was even on sale. Must be destiny!
That first session hurt a LOT. I was huffing and puffing and aching...but it was a good hurt. And my feet weren't aching. That's always a plus.

For my birthday, I got a pilates mat and exercise ball. Now I felt even more pro.
I was doing a good 45 minutes a day for a week or two.
Feeling good, energy levels high, losing a few pounds...

I've learned that the important thing about exercise is being consistent.

So...what happened after that week or two?

I'm not sure. But I haven't watched that DVD in...a week or two...

And I've been enjoying lots of tasty morsels during my Desserts block at school. Not to mention "homework"...

So the other day I decided to go for a walk around the neighbourhood, and ended up slipping on the icy roads. Somehow managed to pull muscles in my left shoulder and right ankle. Dumb? yes.

Oh, and I've also been playing badminton at the free walk-in session at TRU with a friend from school. That's been good exercise AND a lot of fun!

Goodness, this post is all over the place. I am tired, guys. I'm not going to lie to you, I usually go to bed really early because of school, and 11PM is like...WOW, can't believe I'm still awake.

I'm not even really sure what I've just written about.
I promise my next blog will be better.

Reading Break

I knew if I didn't make a plan, my reading break was gonna slip away from me.
But...I never made a plan.
Its been nice to sleep in though. And I've been scrapbooking. Finally got my Yorke Island pics done, even though it was a bittersweet experience (see previous post). I also have been getting into card making, which is slightly easier than scrapbooking because its smaller. Who knew.

I do have some big plans for the break though! Some camp friends are coming up tomorrow, and Mike and I will be join them for a few days at a cabin in 100 mile...hanging out, hiking in the snow, and having good times. I'm pretty stoked about it, especially about seeing my good buddy Barb again! We worked in the Homewood kitchen together for a couple months, and such situations create tight bonds :)
Plus both Barb, and friend Ted, have been through culinary school, so I have much to learn from them in the meals we will share!

I have a TSA meeting Sunday night, so I have to be back for that, and Monday is gonna be ROUGH I just know it. Oh well. It will be a theory day, so I will get home early to SLEEEEEP.

Ugh, I totally should have done some pilates today. I feel so sluggish.

WAIT a minute, you guys don't know about TSA or my new pilates workout, do you?
You probably dont' even know where I'm (not really) working!
I have really been neglecting this blog lately, its kind of sad.
When I look back at all the funny/interesting things I used to write, it makes me want to weep.
I just can't dig stuff out of my brain anymore.

I will try to do better. Upcoming posts:

*TSA- The Stupid Assignment
* Jobs are a Joke
* Fitness with Jill: what not to do

sounds promising, doesn't it?

Lost Forever

I've had some prints from my trip to Yorke Island sitting around for probably like nearly 2 years. Since that day had a militant/paintball theme I told myself I was going to find some camo style paper to scrapbook them with. That's why they've been sitting there for so long! I couldn't find the paper anywhere...until today.
I was so excited when I spotted it at Michaels this morning, and so pumped to get some serious scrapbooking done.
When I got home, and had all my stuff set out, I realized I was missing 2 pictures....so I was like, "Oh well, I'll just find the CD with the pics on it, and print them next time I'm in town".
So I went to find the CD.
But it wasn't with my other picture CDs. So I looked on my laptop. Not there.
Wasn't on mom's computer either.
In fact I couldn't find any of my Homewood pictures.
I began to wonder if I had ever burned that CD. If it even existed.
Panicking, I searched the whole house-- everywhere I could think of that those pics might be.
Nope.
No Homewood '07 files anywhere. Except the ones I loaded onto Facebook. Which are no good for printing.
Somehow they must have been deleted without being backed up.
Six very special months of my life ERASED!
I am sooo upset. Its SO FRUSTRATING!
ARGH!

My Lizzie is All Grown Up and...

Getting Married!

Congratulations to my friend Liz & lucky Mr. Tim Taylor, on their engagement!
I'm so excited for you both :)
Your names make me laugh, and knowing how perfect you guys are for each other makes me smile.

Culinary Quips

I didn't make these stories up. They either happened to me, or I overheard them.

~*~

Student: Where can I get an elastic band?

Teacher: Follow me, I'll show you.

Teacher leads student to the very back freezer.

Teacher: How much?

Student: How much what?

Teacher: Glace de Viande!

They claim after working in industrial kitchens for so many years, their hearing is effected.

~*~

Male Student overheard during class:

"Girls in the culinary course look totally different than other girls. Say, like, if a girl is doing like...sciences...or something...she will have her make-up perfect, be like...totally skinny...whereas in our course, the girls look like they really enjoy food, and like to eat, ya know?"

Flattered, I'm sure!

~*~

Student to teacher:

"Should I cut the cheese to order?"

~*~

Teacher 1 to Female Student: And when you line the lamb bones in the pan like this...there, you have a nice little rack.

Teacher 2: (chuckling) well that's a nice little compliment for you.

Female Student: OH MY.

Welcome to the world of culinary humor!

Chillaxin' vs. Challengin'

Today I kind of realized that I don't like to be challenged.
It makes me nervous.
(Both the fact that I don't like it, and the being challenged part)
I was moaning to a friend of mine at school about how boring the Meat-Cutting section is, and one of my instructors, Sully, overheard me. Sully is a very wise man, and he asked me why I thought it was boring. I told him we are doing the exact same stuff as we did last semester, and even the written study-guide material is almost identical. I did all the self-tests without studying, and got most of them right because they are the same questions as last semester.
"Have you told Toby that its not challenging enough for you?" He asked.
Umm...no.
As I mumbled excuses, he said he smelled bullshit, grinned, and left.
Now my feelings are hurt. Mostly because I know its true that it is my own fault that I'm not being challenged in this section. I'm content to sit around, fold my arms and lean back, and let the day pass as it will. I'm comfortable at the level I know I can achieve, and I don't go beyond.
But when I think about it, I'm really the only one I'm letting down. Its my time, my money, and my effort that I'm wasting. If I'm not pushing myself to learn more, I'm holding myself back.
I'm also a huge wuss. I'm scared that if I DID ask to have a little more challenge thrown my way, I wouldn't be able to cope. I'd flub it and fail, and then people would laugh at me because I had been cocky. Sometimes I think that would be worse.
So did I triumph over my wimpy ways, and talk to Toby about it?
Umm...no.
Maybe tomorrow.
Did I mention that I'm also a huge procrastinator?
I'll save that for another post.

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun!

Yesterday afternoon 6 good friends of mine and I went up to Robbins Range hills and spent a couple hours "tobogganing" in the snow! Thing is...we had two GTs between us.
It didn't take long for us to ditch the GTs, and step into the new latest thing: Garbage bags!
We poked holes in the bottom for legs and wore them like diapers! It was seriously the best! However we were slightly ashamed of our garb, especially in front of the large groups of snowboarders/snowmobilers gathered around fires at the bottom, so we found a great spot up behind the first hill, where we were mostly hidden from view. It was great. The most fun was when we would all join up in a train...the speed we picked up was amazing!
Whenever the odd snowmobile or snowboarder would come by, we would all flop to the ground and laugh SO hard, hoping they wouldn't notice our, erm, unorthodox sleds.
Later on we became more creative with our bags. Soon it turned into a full-out fashion show! We had tube-top, halter, and off-the-shoulder styles that were so hot the snow was melting...
After much fun and laughter, it started to get dark and we decided to head on back home. We decided on a grand finale: we would make a train slide down the big main hill in front of everyone.
We would prove to the world that we were not ashamed of our garbage bags; they are obviously a superior method of sledding. Ok, maybe SOME of us were ashamed, but we were peer pressured into it.
It would seem that our embarrassment was meant to be. Our train would NOT slide. We inched down the hill, laughing SO hard. When we finally reached the bottom and were packing stuff into the car, Rebekah couldn't get her backpack off-- her clip had frozen shut! Then, as we were about to drive away, a girl knocked on the car window and offered us a glove that had been dropped. And THEN we almost got stuck in the snowbank trying to get onto the road again!!!

Nevertheless is was a lot of fun, and a great memory!
Moral of the story: Garbage bag sleds are awesome. You should try it sometime!

Entry Level One

Today the NEW Level Ones entered the kitchen for the first time.
I am no longer among their number, for I have entered that prestigious elevation of LEVEL TWO!
In case you didn't know.
As a Level Two my role has changed in the kitchen. I must take more responsibility and initiative, and get more things done, and ask far fewer "Level One" questions.
My dishes have to be on time, I must know my cooking methods, and I must use my recipes less.
This has all been strictly implemented and enforced these past 2 weeks. "No more excuses" has become the instructors' (and bossy/arrogant students') mantra.

As the newbies trundled into the kitchen this morning, wandering around looking for aprons, setting out their cutting boards and pans in the way you are taught but nobody actually uses, and staring at recipes with glazed-over expressions, I fondly remembered my own first days.
Or not so fondly.
The confusion, the chaos, and general mayhem were definitely memorable though.
My first week in Veg Station was a nightmare.
I was terrified of my instructor, Sully, I didn't understand the service system, and since the Level One class outnumbered the Level Two class by nearly 3/1, it seemed like NO ONE knew what they were doing. We were yelled at, we burnt things, and we were never on time.
(By the second week, many of the wrinkles had been ironed out, and Sully quickly became my very favoritist instructor ever)

Watching the new recruits today was interesting because they asked many of the same questions I did, and made the same mistakes, and now I can see how my work habits have changed, and my knowledge has increased in the past semester. Its encouraging. It makes me believe that MAYBE...just MAYBE I might be capable of Level Three when the time comes.

Burns & Blisters

I resurrect this poor neglected blog to inform you of a most tragic event.
Yesterday, whilst pan-frying a salmon fillet, my left hand was spattered with boiling hot butter. IT HURT. A LOT.
But...the show must go on. I finished the dish, and then rinsed my hand under cold water for a few seconds before completing the rest of the fillets. It stung, but it was bearable.
At the end of the day, as I was putting away my uniform and knives in my locker, I noticed a large, bulbous growth on my hand.
A blister!!
Ouch.
(Please note also the other red grease-burns nearby. They want your pity too)
I was nervous about this blister popping because it hurt a lot to touch. So I treated it gingerly, applying it with vitamin E when I got home (but I took the picture for you first), and being careful not to brush it against anything.
Then...of course...in a moment of forgetfulness, I put my hair up in a ponytail, and the elastic that had been on my wrist snapped across the finger and squeezed the blister ' til it popped!!

At least I didn't have to worry about popping it anymore! It got a little grimy from lint before I covered it with a band-aid, and it still looks pretty sick.
But it gets better: today I had to sear off my chicken ballantyne in hot oil. And guess what...that's right...I burnt myself AGAIN! On my RIGHT hand.
It didn't take long for a blister to rise to the surface. Not as big as the original, but puss-y looking nonetheless. I couldn't wait to get home and take a picture of it for you.
Unfortunately, as I was sweeping the floors during clean up, too much pressure was put on it, and it burst.
So now my hands look like I have a severe case of leprosy or something. Yay!
Just what I always wanted.

Hiatus

I'm not calling it quits with my blog, (It would certainly be a desperate time in order for that to happen!) I'm just taking....another....break.
Reasons?
1. No time. After today all my free time (aka not at school and not working) will be consumed with copious amounts of homework. I have 3 tests to write next Thursday, plus assignments due at the end of this week, and studying for said tests. The study guides are HUGE. ARGH!
2. No inspiration. None.

So unless I find myself driven to a desperate method of procrastination, you will probably not find this blog updated for at LEAST a couple weeks.
BUT...
luckily for you, there are many blogs out there who have taken up the NABLOPOMO challenge, and will have daily updates for you blog cravings.

See ya later :)

Monday

I can hardly believe that I will have to set my alarm for early tomorrow morning.
I will have to don my poofy checkered pants, and black non-slip shoes.
I will brave the morning chill and icy roads.
Tomorrow I begin my second semester at TRU.
I'm not exactly excited...but not really dreading it either. The worst part is the homework, really.
I am kind of nervous about the first couple weeks, because I remember how the chefs made examples of the second level students in front of us newbies...some sort of intimidation tactic, I believe. And now it will be my turn to be yelled at...luckily there are quite a few of us level IIs this time around, so the love will be spread a little thinner than it was for those poor wretches. (Only 2 students graduated from level II this past semester)
I bought myself a little toolbox to replace the annoying soft black case from Bookies. Its shiny and red and beautiful. Its also stocked with a zester, courtesy of eldest brother, Paul. Isn't it fun to start school with new stuff? :)
Unfortunately I went to get my chef knife sharpened on Saturday and they said it won't be ready until tomorrow...so hopefully I won't need it too desperately on my first day!!
Anyway, it will be fun to see everyone again, and learn new things...I'm sure I'll get back into routine in no time.

Back to the Blog

I've never felt so non-Bloggish before.
I actually have no desire to blog right now. I'm only doing it out of a weird sense of guilt and obligation. And a lot of boredom.
Since my first semester ended on December 12 I've been working full time at Erwins Bakery, downtown. The new owner knows my Dad through NL, and I initially got the job because they needed some seasonal help. Now, however, I will be staying on for part-time work during the next semester. That means no more Dominos! Hooray!
I don't even know if you all knew that I started working 3 days a week at Dominos Pizza in November. But I did. It was pretty mindless. But good for after school work, when the last thing I want to do is think.
Anyway, over the break I worked both jobs Mondays and Fridays, and then one or the other on practically every other day. So it was pretty busy, and it was nice to have Christmas & following weekend off completely!
Christmas was a lot of fun. It was great to spend it with the whole family, even if most of it was spent sleeping on the couch!!
I also spent a few days this week house-sitting for the Gedderts, and looking after their little dog Pippa. We're good buddies now, even though I felt like the worst person in the world when I would leave her alone every morning, heading to work. those eyes....
Sunday night was spent with the C&C group which was a lot of fun! Being so busy lately hasn't left a whole whack of time for late nights and socializing, so it was extra special to be able to do that. We playing Apples to Apples, Battleship, and American Idol (on Xbox)!! Good times!
Some other highlights were spending time with friends Liz (who is living in Alberta), and Cort (living in Vancouver) who were in town over the holidays. I didn't get to meet up with other out-of-town friends unfortunately...3 weeks just isn't enough time to do eveything I want to do!
School begins again on Monday. I'm not exactly excited...but I think I'm mentally prepared to head into another semester. Is it bad that I'm already looking forward to the end of April? Or that I'm already freaking out about our Practical Exam?
Anyway, that mostly sums up where I've been, and what I've been doing this past month.
As for New Years...
if you ask me, 2009 doesn't have the same ring as 2008 or 2010. Its such a 'tweeny sounding year. I'm not really looking forward to anything specific this year, which might have something to do with my less-than-enthusiastic attitude. Its full of things that I have to do, but it won't be until this time next year when I will be able to start doing things I want to do. That's when I'll be graduated the culinary program. I hope.

Also, I rang in the new year by plummeting into the ditch on the side of the road this morning, when I lost control of my car on the way up Barnhartvale hill. All I'm saying is-- that this doesn't bode well...

Aren't I so postive and uplifting??? This is why I haven't been blogging, folks.

Baking Block

I haven't died.
Not yet, anyway.
I've just not felt like blogging for so very long.
I'm sorry that the above sentence is unintelligible, but it can't be helped. That is how my brain is working right now.
I've come to realize that even though I've subtitled my blog "culinary chronicles" I hardly ever talk about school...at least not the specifics. Its just really hard to explain my day to you all since you don't know my classmates. And sometimes its just very routine. But I'll give it a try.
This week and next I am in the bakeshop. Its downstairs, apart from the rest of the kitchen. Its like we're in our own little world.
I liked the bakeshop right from the beginning because of that. Its so peaceful down there. Just the hum of the appliances, and now and then a voice or two. Nothing like the bustling, noisy, clattering, kitchen.
Its a large room with long wooden worktables, a massive oven at the far end, and a storeroom stocked with all sorts of delicious things! Every kind of imaginable chocolate, flavorings varying from rum to lemon, and other delights.
Our instructor, whom I've introduced to you as "the Grandfather" is a bizarre and hilarious Austrian man, well into his fifties or maybe sixties. He is always making the strangest and most random jokes, I can't help but laugh even if they are TERRIBLE, because he laughs so hard himself.
For instance, he asks us in his thick Austrian accent,
"What is the opposite of Christopher Reeve?"
We're all in the middle of scaling our ingredients, and like...what the heck?
He giggles, and says,
"Christopher Walken!" and howls with laughter. I'm busting a gut, not sure whether to be horrified or what...
Or he says to us,
"In the village where I grew up the population always stayed the same."
I am like, "Oh?" I mean, for all I know he DID grow up in a strange Austrian village!
He giggles and says,
"Whenever a girl had a baby, a man would leave town!", and he howls with laughter.
Its the funniest thing. Only terrible. And funny.
Needless to say, its been an entertaining week.

So far my culinary achievements in the bakery are pretty limited. The first day I made chiffon cakes, the second day I made pie pastry and cheese bisquits and almost burnt them (Grandfather pulls them from the oven, saying, "Black is beautiful, but not in baking!"), I made a chocolate terrine and finished the meat pies yesterday, and today I assembled a Princess Cake, and it was the big Christmas Banquet so we spent the day prepping and serving. Tomorrow my cake will be served to the president of the university...so ya, I'm pretty important stuff. HA!

anyway this is a fairly good-size post, so no complaining.
I might post some wart-age later, but I didn't feel inspired tonight.

Warts

Wanna see the latest progress on my warts?
Its pretty sick guys...but strangely entertaining to blog about.
Waddaya say?

Frosty Window Wisdom

Wednesday morning my car windows had an impressive layer of frost on them.
Its very cold and dark at 6:30 AM, almost perfectly silent, and my brain is functioning at its most basic level.
Bundled in coat and mitts, I begin to chip the frost off with my (mom's) handy-dandy scraper tool.
I begin at the driver door window, and move right to the backseat window. And so on to the rear window...and then the other passenger window...
Suddenly a figure appears next to me. Its wearing a head lamp.
"Don't worry," it says, "Only six months until you won't have to do this anymore."
The figure, who is a old man with a short gray beard, chuckles, and then walks away.

I pause.
So many questions.
Who is this person? Why have they come to me?
What is the significance of his statement?

Perhaps it was Old Man Winter.
Or maybe it was the old guy that delivers the Daily News in that truck parked across the street.

Either way I was too tired to give it much thought.
Until now.
He was really random.

Long Weekend Shopping Trip

Last Tuesday some friends and I piled into 2 cars and roadtripped out to Kelowna for the day! We did the mandatory stop at Orchard Park Mall, LuLu Lemon, and Tim Hortons/A&W. We also stopped for a quick break at the lake to take pictures and enjoy the view.
A good time was had by all.
My favorite part may have been when Rebekah and I were walking through the mall, and a very, VERY, aggressive salesman in a booth flagged us down and shouted as us to come closer and listen.
But that's not all. He was selling.....are you ready for this?.....SHAMWOW towels!
Now...you may not have heard of SHAMWOW towels before...but my infinitely wise brother, Paul, has.
While I was ready to hear the spiel, Rebekah needed a bit more convincing, so he bribed her with a FREE SAMPLE! (which she promptly handed to me)
It was hilarious. He was very energetic and hilarious to watch...but very forceful. So basically when he turned his back I grabbed Rebekah and ran!
With the free sample of course :)
Afterwards we went to the lake and goofed off...




There.
I didn't talk about warts or scabs, or anything gross. Happy?! :P

Wart War

During my summer at Homewood I made this disturbing discovery: two warts on my right foot.
Although I was given much helpful advice on how to get rid of them, I never did get around to it, and actually became quite used to the new additions. They were quiet, unobtrusive, and minded their own business. We got along just fine.
Until recently.
I noticed the other day they had added another to their tribe. A THIRD wart has sprouted on my middle toe, sort of nestled in a hidden place between two toes.
The whole secrecy of it has me all riled up. This uninvited guest is not welcome. I was fine with two little warts, but I've come to realize they've been plotting a hostile takeover this whole time...they were just waiting for me to become complacent.
(there is a little arrow pointing to the sneaky little wart...the other two are fairly obvious)

I've turned to Compound W for help.

Yesterday I applied the first coat. It turns them all white and fizzly. I hope it works.
Its time for the Warts to MOVE OUT!!!
I'll let you know how it goes.

(That's right...I'm subjecting you to another series of posts about grossness)

Ode to the Eleventh Month

Remember, remember, the fifth of November
only twenty-five days left to go.
I see no reason
for this dull, gray, season,
caught between bright fall leaves, and snow.
Oppressing, oppressing, my spirit depressing;
drudgery, and gloom abound.
I can only have hope
I'll find some way to cope,
until December is found.

Ok, ok, I was never great at poetry. But at least you don't have to look at those awful yearbook photos anymore...

Jill: Through The Ages

I think my brothers and I went trick or treating maybe 3 times since we moved to Kamloops. After that, I never had an outlet for my weird fascination with costumes and "dressing up".
Maybe that is why I was suddenly driven to www.yearbookyourself.com tonight. I needed to have a good laugh at myself ...

I bring to you, Jill Coulter, age 20, year 2000 AD.
Those bangs are amazing. The curling iron definitely belongs to my mom though.

1998: this isn't even too bad. I always wondered what I would look like with a little bit of curl in my hair.
Stepping further back in time now, to 1996...I distinctly remember my mom looking like this when we were kids. Scary.
I could be McGyyvers girlfriend with hair like this. Its 1994, and I've just had my weekly perm done. The resting-chin-on-hand is one sexy pose. I'm also a fan of the padded jacket.

Back in 1990 I was still getting into my perm routine, so this is mostly just the work of a curling iron and hairspray.
Ahhhh....the '80s. Those were the days. Shoulder pads were THE thing, I tell ya.
I'd like to forget 1984 ever happened. Please.
Now THIS is hot stuff. Gotta love 1980.
Not sure what's going on here, guys. After all, this is 1978.
A personal favorite. I think I would have done well in the '70s. Particularly '78.

Or maybe not. '74 wasn't good for anyone though...right? RIGHT?

This is more like it! Look at that saucy grin. Look out world, its 1972!
1970: Someone please strangle me with those fake pearls.
Wowee! I had a neck in 1968!
Oh boy...OH BOY. We need to bring '66 back, guys. Who's with me?
'64...an atrocity. What the heck was going on.
The best thing about this 1960's photo is the collar.
Yup, I was definitely meant for the 50's. It doesn't get any better than this.

I think I will go weep now.