Cedar River Camp

Ladies and gentlemen, we have found a gem! The cabin we stayed at over the weekend was fabulous in so many ways! It was the perfect half-way point from my sister-in-law's family and our family to meet at, it was beautiful, peaceful, clean, and very luxurious in terms of cabins (remember I am used to staying in cabins with no running water or electricity, so this was like a 5-star hotel to me!).

We both arrived at the same time on Friday night (9pm). The owner came by to make sure everything was OK, and we chatted for a little bit and went to bed pretty early.

Saturday morning we had a great breakfast of eggs, bacon, beans, and toast. We then went for a walk. First we walked to the owner's house (across the road) to borrow a sled and ask if it was safe to walk on the snowmobile path. With a sled in hand and our minds at ease, we started out along the snowmobile path. We used Taco's new harness to have him pull our nephew in the sled! It was really funny to watch them, my nephew especially loved the sled. I was impressed at his enthusiasm when he went really fast down a hill! Lunch was sandwiches and in the afternoon we played Scrabble. I am very sad to say I lost (pretty miserably) and that the two non-native English speakers won the game! We then decided we'd head to the nearest town for mass at 4pm. We all got into the car and... got terribly stuck! It took about an hour, over ten tries, shovels, planks, and a lot of muscles (from very nice snowmobilers who happened to be passing through) to get us out! Needless to say, we didn't make it in time for mass. Instead we drove around for a little bit and took in the beautiful surrounding lakes and mountains. We had burgers for dinner and then played Trivial Pursuit 90s edition, which we thought would be easier than the original, but some of the questions were really obscure!

Sunday we got up, had some healthy granola and packed all of our stuff. We were worried that the second car wouldn't make it up the hill, but it made it no problem - a trusty, rusty, old Toyota! We went to mass and then to lunch at a super cute sandwich shop called Eats and Sweets. We parted ways and went home with some great memories.

Here is some free advertising for the cabin we loved so much: http://www.adkbyowner.com/listings/VR5393.html

And the cutest picture from the trip:

Homemade mayo - NOT!

I realize the title to this blog post is super nineties. I guess kids these days say something else. Anyway, today was the second time I've tried to make homemade mayo and ended up with a gooey mess. My friend and my brother have both showed me how to make it and I follow their instructions step by step, but it just doesn't seem to work out!

The first time I tried, I used extra virgin olive oil. BIG MISTAKE! It tastes horrible! I also made a huge batch that I ended up throwing out, and I don't like being wasteful, so this time around I figured I'd make a smaller amount. Also, since last time I had a lot of liquid, I was able to make it in the blender.

This time around, I started playing the egg yolk in the blender and the liquid went to the bottom so the blender was useless. Then I started adding canola oil and whipping it with a fork, as my brother had showed me. After whipping for about 15 minutes, my arm was tired and my mayo looked like this (right).

I added more oil, kept whipping and then added lemon juice and salt to make it tastier and 10 minutes later ended up with a nice strong right arm, and this (left). I don't know if you can tell here but it is actually runnier than when I started. Urg! So I threw out another batch of mayo and for the moment am returning to store-bought mayo because not only do I prefer the flavour, but the texture as well!




This isn't just a rant though. I will leave you with a few beautiful pictures I took this week, since we got quite a bit of snow!

Here's a better view of the tree I was talking about a few posts ago

I spoke too soon..

So you know how I said I luckily hadn't gotten morning sickness at all? Well it turns out I spoke too soon. Who knew it could creep up on you at week 16? I sure didn't! So here I sit, hoping that my breakfast stays down today, Taco napping beside me and knowing I should be reading for my Masters class this evening.

Speaking of Taco, we had a trainer come by on Monday to help us with his bad habits of pulling while on leash and not returning when we call him. She said that we were off to a great start! Taco is such a sweet dog that I knew it wouldn't be terribly difficult to train him but the extra help is very appreciated. She gives us a lot of little tips and tricks and I will definitely let you know how it goes over the next few weeks. We especially wanted to take care of this before baby comes, so Taco doesn't pull me out into the street or anything crazy!

As for my masters in second language education, things are going really well. I'm happy to be back at McGill where I did my undergraduate degree. This semester I'm taking Stats and Critical Race and Indigenous Theory. I hadn't done any math since high school, so stats is definitely a change of pace for me, but it has been going really well. In CRIT, I've been reading about so many things I didn't know about such as slavery in Canada (our history is full of covered-up blemishes of the sort) as well as mass incarceration in the USA.

To those of you who have previously dealt with morning sickness, do you have any tips? I find now I'm afraid of eating!

I'm a REAL tree hugger

First of all, for those of you who aren't aware:

Our family is growing and so is my belly! It is super duper exciting! Now that I'm out of the first trimester, let me share with you a few things that I did not expect about pregnancy, so that if you are thinking of getting pregnant you might be better prepared (then again, everyone is different, so this may just be my personal journey):

1. I had crazy doctor issues when I found out I was pregnant so I had to run around to find a doctor and felt very stressed about it. Now I can't complain too much because every doctor I saw was free (yay free healthcare!) and attentive, but if you don't have a doctor yet, I suggest you find one BEFORE you get pregnant - it will save you some stress.
2. Nausea is different for different people, and I was one of the lucky who didn't have terrible nausea, but when I did, it did not feel like what I expected. It was this odd sensation of being REALLY hungry, like my stomach was about to eat itself, but at the same time the thought of food made me want to throw up. Basically its a vicious circle because you are terribly hungry, but when you think of something you could eat you feel sick. As I said, I was lucky I never got sick and I found the way to trick my body was to NEVER allow myself to get hungry. This brings me to my next point:
3. You will eat and sleep CONSTANTLY. Oh dear. I literally ate every two hours, but I always tried to eat healthy small snacks, like carrots, mandarins, yogurt, crackers, those kinds of things. But I was ravenous the whole time. I also am off work on preventative leave so maybe I wouldn't have slept so much if I didn't have the choice to sleep so much. I napped two to three times a day and slept a solid ten hours a night. I figure this is like putting money in the bank for the sleepless nights ahead... haha... 
4. You feel like you are getting fat. I gained 7 pounds during the first trimester but there is no cute belly to show for it yet, you basically just get thicker around the middle. It's a very odd sensation. 

Now I know you know I'm a pretty spiritual person and that I am quite quirky. Since we moved to our condo, I walk by this tree on my way to the metro every day, twice a day: 

You can't really tell from this angle, but that huge knot in the tree looks like a fetus (at least it does to me). Every time I walked by it I thought somehow it would help me get pregnant when the time was right, and it did! So now when I walk by, I hug it. When I told my husband this he laughed and asked what people said when they saw this. I have had no comments and no strange looks so far, people tend to mind their business. I feel an odd connection and sense of gratefulness to this tree, as crazy as that might sound. I'll continue to hug it whenever I feel the urge, as I somehow think it helps keep baby and me healthy. 

Christmas and New Years

A week ago, a few friends came to spend Christmas with us. I met her when we were two and three years old in Monrovia, Liberia. My mom heard French and just walked up to the door and asked my friend's mom if we could play together. A wonderful friendship ensued. She ended up in Geneva, Switzerland, and I ended up in Calgary for my growing up years, and then Montreal. We spend three consecutive summers together with a lot of road-trip bonding time. Afterwards we met up during a few more summers, but this was the first time we saw each other during the winter. It was the first time our husbands met, and it was great to see how everyone got along.

We did our traditional Christmas activities with my family. On the 24th, my family came over for snacks before mass. I was singing with the choir (oh yes I kept almost ALL of my 2012 New Year's Resolutions!) so we headed to church at 10pm. Afterwards we went to my parent's house where we ate more. On the 25th, we lazed around, opened gifts, and walked the dog a bit. On the 26th, we went to my uncle's for a big family reunion dinner. On the 27th, there was an incredible snow storm here in Montreal. We met some friends for lunch and then more friends for dinner.

A few pictures of the storm:

Montreal in the snow

There's a car under there!

Huge pile of snow

All the way up to the gate

 From the 28th to the 31st, I went to a remote cabin with my family in which there is no running water or electricity. We heat using the wood stove and melt snow to make water. It is so nice to have a break from our fast-paced lives and just relax and enjoy each other's company. We always have fun cross-country skiing, playing in the snow, and making up games in the evening.

The 31st was fairly quiet, our friends had gone to NYC to celebrate the New Year, so my husband and I just had my parents over and watched end-of-year comedy shows. 2012 was quite the year.

Highlights include:

• getting a dog
• trip to Mexico in April
• trip to Calgary in July
• visits from great friends
• re-starting my Masters

For 2013, I hope to continue to do an outdoorsy activity at least once a month and go swimming more often. 

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and New Years with family and loved ones! May 2013 surprise you by bringing out the very best in you!

A few random photos:

Advent calendars + homemade potpourri for friends and family

Nativity scene

We are dog sitting for a friend this week

Fall musings

This one's for you L! (I never know if I should use real names on a public website, but you know who you are).

I have been incredibly busy this fall, and it has been wonderful. I love my job, I love learning during my masters classes and being inspired by so many great minds, I love coming home to my wonderful husband and dog, I love walks with my dog, I love seeing my family as often as possible and I love re-uniting with good friends. I have also begun to cook, thanks to www.soscuisine.com and I'm enjoying it!

Here are a few pictures from the Fall to make you appreciate the changing colours, the comfort food, the wind, the rain, the cold that's coming soon...

Chili and cornbread muffins

Taco playing at the dog park with the fallen leaves

Our best man, S, and his gf, came all the way from Germany to visit us!

Enjoying deserts at Juliette et Chocolat

Waiting in the line-up outside Schwartz

Schwarts = best smoked meat in Montreal

At a pumpkin-carving party

Decorated pumpkin expo at school (older students, teachers and administrators came to visit our class!)

My love affair with Celine

Most of you know that I love Celine Dion. I just watched a two-hour TV special and cried for about half of that time! The reason I think I love her so much is that all of her songs hit that spot deep down inside me that remind me of who I am. I think we are similar in many ways, especially in the fact that we harbour at least two languages and cultures. Honestly though, I can relate to so many of her songs, it's almost like she is singing about me! When I'm having a tough day with my students, I put on a few Celine songs on and it almost instantly makes me feel better. As I said before, it's almost like through the lyrics of her songs she reminds me of who I am. I can't say any other artist does that for me.

This is definitely not a promotional post in any way, but if you are a fan, her new French album came out a few days ago and is called Sans Attendre. I already love it! I'm going to try to wait until Christmas to get it (hint hint), but I may cave beforehand!

In Geneva, at the Taking Chances world tour

There she is!