The Word of the Night is Authentic

Happy Friday!!!!

Today was the last day of my first official week! yay! 

what better way to celebrate than going for sushi with my best friend?

I cant really think of one. 

Kind of a funny story though... we left with the intention of going to the local sushi place... but being Friday night, the place was packed...So the bestie whipped out her smart phone, punched in some magic catchphrase and pointed us in the direction of yet another sushi bar. 

I can honestly say I've never had such a good time in Fife... 

I'm not gonna lie... I'm a little skeptical of Fife... which made the idea of sushi in Fife a little less than appealing... but after sitting down at our booth and admiring their "authentic" decorations...I was feeling pretty confident about this place having delicious food. Everyone eating looked really happy, that's gotta be a good sign. 

the food took a while coming out but it gave me time to read the very high quality newspaper review they had posted on the wall next to me. Speaking to the authenticity of the place, there was actually a quote from the owner/chef that mentioned not "taking shortcuts" and "doing things the old fashioned way"

Boy did I have this place pegged. You could totally tell from their lanterns. :P

 The ordering system was a little crazy... it wasnt very descriptive...they had you jumping around between different cheat sheets and random pictures and everything was named funny... again AUTHENTIC. I was definitely confused, this was no Americanized sushi restaurant. Thankfully KB took care of the ordering for us... but I'm gonna be honest the chopsticks, and they're "good luck" message were far more fitting than I originally realized.

 What we anticipated being a "good" amount of food, turned out to be more like a gluttonous amount. And while I'm busy making confessions, I can't deny that we had most of it gone in less time than it took them to prepare it! It was so much better than I expected (I mean I'm posting about it in my blog despite the magnetic pull I'm feeling from my pillow!)

 Such a good end to my night.

Kitchen Tip - Green Onions

 I find that often, when I buy green onions I never seem to get the chance to use them all... mostly because I forget about them.. but it's always sad to throw produce away... 

While on Pinterest probably back in September I saw this awesome little tip... If you take the white parts of the green onion (you know the part you'd normally throw away) and submerge them in a shallow cup of water, put them in a sunny window and wait a few days, they'll regrow! With just a cup of water! Dont forget to change your water though, I try to make sure I do it daily. The pin originally said that you can harvest them almost indefinitely... I found that I get one good batch but even at that rate, we're talking buy one get one free! (in my case its a back up for the ones I almost let go bad) 

OH!

And, they grow so fast! It's REMARKABLE!

Good things come to those who wait

The last two weeks have been a solid reminder that sometimes patience really pays off...

WOOHOO!!! 

*insert confetti canons and start the band*

Ahem - yeah. 

SUPER STOKED!

It's a full time gig as an administrative assistant... sounds exciting, I know. As exciting as that is, it brings the question... where do I fit everything else into my week? As you can tell from the way I've neglected my blog, I have yet to find that balance of all of the things I want to do yet. Oh! But don't worry... you're not alone...

: (

On an up note... I've found that the last couple days I have a lot more energy at the end of the day.. I'm adjusting better to being up early and so I'm hoping this weekend I'll get a schedule planned that balances my art, my garden and my workouts a bit better...things have been inconsistent and since this is a definite GO... I gotta make it work.  

Anyway... this week has been monumental.

There has been progress!!

This was such a busy week... I bet you all are anxiously awaiting news about my potential new job.... well wanna know something funny?

Me too. 

They asked me to come in for another week, under the same terms and we'll see what happens. So I guess I'm playing this one by ear, REALLY hoping for the best. This will be good. I feel it! 

So what else has been going on...

Hmm. Lots.

I'm most excited about the seedlings though. I know I haven't done a good post on that project yet so here we go :)I started these a few days before my big work week began and this was the progress we had by Monday night! : ) I love how quickly broccoli starts up.

 And this is what I've got growing on my window sill right now! AMAZING!

I'm really excited that these seem to have gotten a decent start. And isn't that little sunflower on the right, just ADORABLE!?! So stoked, you don't even know! The weather outside has been crazy! It's gone through rain/snow/sunshine fits all week and this has been a nice little reminder that Spring will come... and maybe... this year my garden experience will be better.

Oh and something else that is growing well....

Mr.Cactus!

hello out there!

So I've been super busy. My mother had her knee replaced, I planted some seeds, I got my new laptop, I believe I mentioned having a "working interview" thing this week and I've got to say, so far so good!!! This seems really promising! So that has occupied my hours from 7am to about 6pm. Its hard sitting in rush hour traffic both ways so I think I'm gonna leave early in the mornings and maybe use the extra half hour I'd have before work to get some art done...sike, I'd probably nap but, it's the thought that counts right? ;)

I'm also finding it super easy to not go to the gym... boy, I just want to sit back and relax when I get home, but this is in fact a problem...... how do we solve it?? go to the gym before going home. This will require a little extra planning but hey... all for the cause! I'll be giving this a go tomorrow. 

So its now way past my bedtime but I cant wait to update on my egg carton planters, the strawberries, art that will hopefully get done and all that other fun stuff. Off to bed!

Busy Bee

I've been slacking. I've got stuff I need to update but I've spent the weekend doing family things and getting ready for my big "working interview" this week. I'm super stoked about it (to the point I already have my outfits picked out for the week). hopefully this will go well, and I'll get the job! I'll be back to update soon!

A Dog's Day at Dumas Bay

yes, the title of this post is corny.

I'll admit...I like corny and ya know, it fits. 

Today was a beautiful, very busy, day packed full of sunshine and things to do. A definite highlight was taking my freshly bathed, old dog (he turned 15 yesterday) to Dumas Bay for a picnic with my sister. The weather today was odd, to say the least... a true call for t-shirts and sunglasses.

 We walked the crazy mutt around for a little while before sitting down to have a late lunch. I was walking Mac by a flower bed that had this weird goose pot in it...he was insistent on investigating and upon close examination, actually ended up scaring himself a little. It was pretty funny! Not gonna lie though, if I were a nearly blind dog that stumbled upon a life-size ceramic goose, I'd be a little startled

OH! And on the walk back to the car I noticed a bunch of decomposing leaves that were super rad! so of course I stopped, admired, and snapped a few shots. :)

I think I'm gonna make it a habit to take Mac out once a week... at least on the day's its not raining. I feel bad that we haven't taken him out more. I guess I'll just have to do something to fix that!

You can bury a lot of troubles digging in the dirt...

This...

was my garden.

Pretty huh?

I thought so... but it was also a first attempt, started late, over crowded, with highly acidic soil and ample amounts of neglect and fumbling about. Poor plants! It was my summertime project and proved to be an experiment full of trial and error... lots of error...I did get to a few tomatoes, some peas and there were strawberries (that got stolen by squirrels! I told my mom feeding them only gives them a sense of entitlement!)

Anyway, this year I'll give it another go and with a long list of what not to do's, it should produce better results. So why a garden post today?

well a couple weeks ago (I did mention I neglect this garden, don't judge!) my best friend and I were in my yard... I'm not sure what we were doing but she noticed my strawberries and some oregano were clinging to life and suggested bringing them inside until it wasn't so cold.

So yesterday, after the little bit of snow had melted and the sun made the idea of working outside tolerable, I decided to attempt to salvage the few, frail plants from their deathbed, uhh I mean inadequate garden...it was a great little escape that really reminded me why I love spring and working in the yard. It's a great retreat and there's nothing like soaking up a few rays of sun while getting a little dirt under your nails. :)

 Poor little guys must have been shocked though... I went ahead and filled the pots with the dirt they were used to... figured it'd be less shocking? (I know so little about gardening!) : )  I quickly snapped a picture and crossed my fingers, hoping that when I woke up today that they wouldn't be wilted and unhappy... sure enough, the little guys seem to be doing okay.

I really need to figure out how to squirrel proof these babies if they decide to pull through and make a full recovery. I've always been able to get strawberries growing but the pesky critter population always seems to pick 'em before they're ready!  hmph!

Well, here's to hoping this year's growing goes a bit better!

Monday Mini

"There are only four questions of value in life. What is sacred? Of what is the spirit made? What is worth living for, and what is worth dying for? The answer to each is the same: only love."

I dont have much to say about today...

I think I'm gonna do this 5K on may 12th. It will help support the internship program I worked with in high school.. seems like a good cause for my first run. it'd be special to me at least :P

Oh and the other good thing from today, I'll be doing a working interview sometime in the next couple weeks :) woohoo! office job, here I come!

I'm melting!!

Ok. I'm not melting but anything that dare come between me and my heat ray... BEWARE! (really, it gets hot!)

So... 6 or so months ago I saw THIS crayon project.

I went ahead and made one for myself.
(Excuse the diaper cakes, I threw a baby shower for a friend of mine and the crayon art ended up being a gift for the baby's room)

Anyway... I really enjoyed melting the wax and watching it blend together and decided to see if I could use it as my background medium instead of acrylic paint... To say that I liked the way it looked would be an understatement. I have probably 20 canvases in this series so far... and I haven't gotten bored yet.

So that's what I did tonight... armed with my trusty heat ray and box of crayola crayons (who'd have thought?) I worked on a few of the half done pieces I've had lying around for months.

Woohoo!

Care Kits!!!

See! I told you today would be the day! Costco was a complete success... and I didn't even have to wait in line for 12 hours...(Everyone who's ever been to Costco on a Saturday raise your hand....you all understand where I'm coming from) So that was amazing! I also stopped by the dollar store to see if they had the few things Costco couldn't provide me (toothbrushes, tiny toothpaste and cheap washcloths)

Only spent about $100 to make 12 kits and I had left overs :)

 So what went into these babies?

1 toothbrush with a cover
toothpaste
a bar of soap
a washcloth
6 band aids

chapstick

6 throat lozenges

a pair of socks

2 fruit leathers

peanut butter crackers

a trail mix bar

a pudding cup

apple juice

mentos
plastic silverware and a napkin

I'm also writing up a resource card that I'll be able to add to them...that way they'll have a list of shelters, hygiene centers, and work sources. Some other things I considered were things like a permanent marker, a little note pad, Tylenol, deodorant...once you get going it feels like you cant put enough in there...I suppose that's the sad reality of it though.

Another random tidbit.. I was a little hesitant buying bars of soap, I know there are wash centers but supplies are limited and most of them are in dire need of donations. I found it pretty practical to think if provided a washcloth, bar of soap and a bag to store it in, that it would be more...versatile...So I went ahead with it because I decided that the life of the full bar of soap is so outrageously longer than that of a moist towelette... plus it just feels better being able to shower with your own things. My only advise on this is to put the washcloth and soap into a sandwich bag so that once the soap is open and has been used there will be something to store it in. 

Overall... I LOVED this project.

Food Friday - Tuna with Pear Salsa

Hello friends :)

First off I'm going to apologize for the horrible quality of the photos in this post.

I'm SORRY!

I was hungry... so hungry I couldn't pull myself away from the kitchen long enough to hunt down new batteries and my other not so great camera... so I used my cell phone..  lets just say, lesson learned...

Today's fancy meal (and by fancy I mean quick and tasty) was tuna steaks with a pear salsa on top of some greens... baby spinach and kale to be more accurate.

I winged the pear salsa... I had made a mango salsa for salmon one time, but it lacked the sweetness that the restaurant version, which I was attempting to recreate, had originally won me over with... but it gave me a good base for fruit salsa.... while sitting here this morning, I decided I was gonna give it another  try with my favorite fruit... PEARS! And I must say... it'd be hard not to eat this on all of the fish that I make... Something about fruit and fish that really makes my taste buds happy. :)

One of my favorite things about making your own salsa is how well it can be tailored to fit your taste. I used 2 tomatoes, a ripe pear, a yellow hot pepper, 1/3 of a red onion, Some green onions, lemon juice and zest, and some fresh cilantro....SO GOOD!

My favorite thing about this was how quickly it was done. The tuna steaks just take a few minutes on each side, so once my salsa was made things were ready to be eaten in a matter of 10 minutes! As I mentioned I had this on a bed of greens which was a decision made on my laziness...my other option was asparagus (which was on sale today for 0.99/lb, just sayin'), but I had this spinach and kale sitting around. And for those of you who are like "kale wtf? isn't that basically inedible"... yes, I cant imagine just sitting down and chomping on leaves like that... steam it a little... then its really quite delicious and frankly, it's hard to find a vegetable that is as packed full of nutrition. I mean lowering your cholesterol and risk for cancers kind of good. The list of benefits kale has are amazing!

ANYWAY!

This turned out to be a really satisfying meal. Next time I'm gonna have my asparagus with it... eat the tuna and salsa separate from my greens because it was that good!

And next time there will be better pictures :)

I didn't make it to Costco today :( it's tomorrow for sure! quite the procrastination for my care packages. it will be done! But i did take care of something else I've neglected for a while. I started this project a while ago when I was trying to get organized... I needed a place to put my necklaces and earrings without paying for something.... So armed with an old frame from my grandmothers house, some thumbtacks and twine... TA DA! Now to just get it hung up...

Sneak Peek - Stickers

I was kind of lame today. I planned on going to Costco but that didnt happen and its already Thursday! Snap! but today wasnt a total fail... I got some stuff that I liked drawn up for this sticker project I'm doing. This is another short post... I have court in the morning for a speeding ticket (my first one) so I'm gonna try and get some sleep.

Oh and I stumbled upon a quote I rather liked...

"spend time every day listening to what your muse is trying to tell you"

so so true.

Good night : )