Feeling a little 'wolfish'

Do I brag about my child too much?

Well, tough bunnies...she's amazing and I just can't help sharing.

This diorama was Lizzie's spring break project which she started AND completed on the first day of holidays on Good Friday. She was inspired after remembering a similar large scale wolf habitat model she completed with her class in Grade 1. 

Lizzie made everything herself with the help of one of the school project landscape kits from Michaels. The cave is a piece of floral foam that she discovered in my stash, carved and painted. Doesn't it look great.

The little wolves were sculpted out of Sculpee. What a good daddy wolf for bringing home dinner to his family. Javier suggested that it was "bunny meat", but I don't know how any wolf could be so cruel.

Mama wolf looks on hungrily as she waits for her share of dinner. See the little wolf puppy between her front paws. Mama wolves need lots of food to care for their babies.

Thanks for indulging my Mama pride.

Lizzie's it's-april-so-why-is-it-snowing vegetable soup

After almost a week of beautiful 20+ degree sunshiney goodness, we Hatters woke to this dusting of snow. After the long hard winter we've had this year, this is the last thing anyone wants. Hopefully, it won't last too long and we'll be able to once again don our flipflops before too long.

Lizzie was thrilled however, because it gave her a chance to try out her new recipe.  My recuperating little one has a bit more time on her hands lately so my resourceful daughter has decided to try her hand at writing recipes. "Can I make dinner, mom?" she asks. Uh, yeah.

She started with 4 carrots and 2 potatoes. Her original recipe called for 3 potatoes but we only had 2 left in the bin. .

After carefully removing the skins and chopping them, she tossed them in the pan along with 1 peeled chopped onion and 1 clove of garlic. Sous-chef mom assisted with the onion chopping.

For seasoning, she added 1 tsp each of dried oregano and rosemary, plus a dash of salt and pepper. 4 1/2 cups of vegetable broth and 2 cups of water later she was ready to cook.

She brought the soup to a boil and then allowed it to simmer for 45 minutes, until the vegetables were tender.

It was a delicious dinner served with a piping hot buttermilk biscuit. Lizzie liked it so much that she took it for lunch the following day!

Revisiting the list

I'm rapidly hurdling towards my 37th birthday, so I thought I'd take a minute (or 30) to reflect on what I've accomplished this year vs. what I wanted to do.

1. Complete a half marathon in less than 2 1/2 hours.

Nope. The just did not happen. HOWEVER, I will be running a 5KM race this coming weekend which I will hopefully do in about 30 minutes, so at least I'm active, which was the main reason for wanting to run in the first place.

2. Learn how to swim

Still dog paddling. Maybe this year.

3. Take a really good photograph

The term "good photograph" is pretty subjective. I've literally taken hundreds this past year. These are a few of my favourites, some are beautiful and some just conjure some great memories.

4. Complete at least 4 things on my household "to do" list

I started last summer with 13 things on my list. I accomplished 7 of them, which I think is pretty good. I exchanged the living room blinds for curtains, cleaned the basement and fixed up the laundry area, finished painting the outdoor fence, and cleaned the bedroom closet (several times actually), plus a few other things too.

5. Hike the Crypt Lake Trail

I thought about it. We talked about. But it just didn't happen. Life got in the way.

6. Complete my Bachelor of Nursing Degree

Yes!!!

7. Write the Canadian Registered Nurses Examination

Yep! And I passed it too. I got my official registration in the mail today, so I can now write RN at the end of my name. Yay for me.

8. Get a job

I get to snuggle babies for a living. Awwww...

9. Go sledding

Surprisingly, I don't actually want to play in the snow. Sounds good in theory, but I'd prefer to stay in my nice warm house.

10. Learn 52 Spanish words or phrases

We started out strong way back in May 2008. We planned to learn a new word or phrase every week so we'd be ready for our trip to Spain. But the trip got cancelled and we only made it 3 weeks before the whole learning plan dissolved. And we've already forgotten what we learned!

11. Read a classic novel

I know I read at least two "classics", but I can't remember what they were.

12. Organize my photographs

I moved all my photos into photo boxes. Does this count?

13. Make 75% of my Christmas gifts
I think I did pretty well on this one. Maybe not 75%, but at least I made some presents. There were reusable shopping bags and coffee cozies all around.

14. Bike to Echo Dale Park

Lizzie and I really wanted to do this last summer, but it was too hot to bike that far. Maybe we'll go this spring before the plus 30 degree temperatures hit.

15. Go berry picking

There just never seemed to be a good time to do this. I must make this a priority this summer.

16. Make a perfect pie crust

Yeah, never got around to it.

17. Set foot in Saskatchewan

I did this not once, but 3 times. Once camping in Cypress Hills, and two stopovers in Regina. One stop was a little longer than expected as we got very familiar with one of the hospitals in Regina because of an acute case of appendicitis!

18. Fall in love with one poem

Gee. I completely forgot about this one. Still not much interested in poetry.

19. Plant tulip bulbs in the fall

Forgot about this one too. I didn't get around to winterizing my flower beds at all this year. Oh, well, there's always another year.

20. Stop drinking coffee for one month

Nope. No way, no how. My doctor actually told me not to stop so I take her at her word. I just switched to lattes so I get more milk now (for the calcium)

21. Participate in a non-apron blog swap

I participated in three non-apron swaps--the toadstool swap, Saucy's Halloween swap, and Club Little House. I still haven't shown off my little house goodies. Hope to soon.

22. Send Christmas cards

Thought about it, but was too busy finishing school and graduating.

23. Sew a quilt
I definitely won't finish the quilt, but I'm working on it.

24. Volunteer for one day
I volunteered at our skate clubs competition this year. I "get" to join the board this year

25. Take an art class

Some day, some day, I hope to have the time.

26. Learn to play a new song on the piano

I was really excited, thinking I actually came through on this one. I remember learning a duet which I played with LIzzie at one of her recitals. Then she reminded me that was two years ago. Duh.. I blame school again.

27. Make curtains for at least one room in my house

Lizzie got curtains in here newly redecorated bedroom.

28. Get my visa balance down to $0
I tried, but then I stopped trying. This might be a lost cause.

29. "Repoof" the "poof" cushion

The "poof" is a lost cause. Poor thing has been in my basement storage room devoid of any stuffing for about a year now. 

30. Knit a pair of socks

I'm not even sure WHY I wanted to do this one, but it definitely did not happen.

31. Teach someone how to knit

I just never got around to this one. I know someone who wants to learn though. And I found a "Learn to Knit" book so I'm all set.

32. Reconcile with my father

My daddy and I are friends again.

33. Laugh so hard my stomach hurts

This happened a bunch of times. Usually involved a silly SNL skit.

34. Do absolutely nothing for 2 hours

I can't even sit and just watch tv for two hours. Still, this is a skill that I should perfect.

35. Stop using plastic shopping bags

I THINK about this every time I'm at the grocery store and realized my reusable bags are in my mudroom at home. Yeah, I know, put them in the car....

36. Attend bible study

Again, I just never had the time. Maybe a personal bible study is more appropriate.

37. Host a themed dinner party

I won't fit this is under the deadline of my birthday, but we are hosting an Australian-themed dinner party in May. All I know at this point is there will be lots of Aussie wine involved.

Still here...

I had a bit longer absence from my blog than I'd anticipated, but fear not, I haven't been sitting around twiddling my thumbs. In addition to work (which I do love), I've been...

Running

I figure I've logged about 40 km so far since the beginning of April. I've been preparing for a 5KM race this weekend. Sometimes, it is torture, and sometimes, like yesterday, I come home feeling euphoric. The occasional euphoria (or runner's high, as I believe it's called) is definitely worth the torture. Plus, I'm definitely feeling more energized over all.

Stitching

I'm still working away at my dollhouse rug. It's almost finished. Now I actually have to start building the house.

More stitching

Actually, I guess this is quilting. One of my more ambitious projects at present. I found this wonderful old twin-size sheet at the thrift store and decided that it would make a marvelous throw quilt for the end of my bed. I've never quilted before, so I'm learning as I go, and the end of my fingers are raw. I guess I really do need those thimbles after all. This quilt is one part of my whole bedroom redo plan. My room (yes, it's Javier's too, I guess) is looking a bit sad these days.

Reading

I can't leave the library these days with any less than 6 books. I'm trying to figure out how to quilt and read at the same time.

Weeding

We finally get to have spring around here and things are turning green. Unfortunately, I didn't get around to winterizing my flower bed last fall, so I get to clean things up now, which is not so much fun. However, it is awfully fun to be outside enjoying the sunshine.

I hope to stop by for visits soon! I hope everyone is well.

A few notes on this blog

Some of you, who've been following my blog for some time now, may have noticed changes in my blog recently. Mainly, I haven't been posting as much as I did in the past. Part of this is a conscious decision to share less of my personal life on the internet. The downside of this decision is that I eliminated about 95% of my previous blog topics. I decided that I would focus more on my crafting and other artistic and culinary pursuits. However this transition from student to practicing nurse has been much more challenging that I ever anticipated, and I've had less time and energy to direct towards anything other than work and family.

People warned me that the first year of practice would be difficult, that the learning curve would be great, but I was sure I'd be okay. After all, I was the Super Star Student Nurse! Of course, I've quickly realized that over-confidence it not necessarily a good thing in this world of nursing... I love being a nurse and I can't wait to feel more comfortable in this new role of mine. I don't necessarily want to share all this, though. I want this blog space to be more happy, not filled with my rants and complaints.

So my blog posts are fewer and farther between, and perhaps not quite a scintillating as they were previously (perhaps they were never scintillating at all?). I'm still here though, and I'm grateful for those of you who continue to visit. I will continue to post when I can and I will still be out there visiting you!

My New BFF (BLOG Friend Forever)

More than a year ago, when my little blog here was just a newborn, MJ was the very first person to leave a comment on my blog. Here is the message she left...

Very cute photo of you taking baby steps. Welcome to the blogging world! Hope it will bring you friendships, laughs and support! Best wishes on your year of study ahead!

It was so exciting to get my first comment. I was thrilled that someone actually took the time not only to look at my blog, but also leave a message. I still get that little thrill.

Well, as time went by, we left comments on one another's blogs. We mailed things back and forth. We discussed having a little blog get-together along with Saucy way back in February, but other travel plans got in the way and we all had to postpone.

My family recently took a little road trip which took us through MJ's hometown. We arranged to get together for dinner on my evening in town. 

Following a flurry of emails, MJ and I agreed to meet at a local tapas restaurant. 

It was a bit like a blind date, as MJ also reflected on her blog. But from the moment we met the conversation flowed like sweet wine, or rather sangria (it was tapas after all). Three hours flew by before I knew what happened.  It was strange meeting someone you already feel you know. But a nice kind of strange. We talked about things we already knew about one another and learned a few things too.

I hope to meet up one day again and continue the conversation.