Purse pics

This has been going around the blogs for a few days now, but I have to say outright that I've never used a purse.

That's right. Never as in EVER. Kinda letting the team down, I know, but there you have it. I do own one, quite a lovely one as a matter of fact, but I never use it. I could probably carry a bandaid in it, but it's just so impractical. It was a gift several Christmas's ago from my brother's girlfriend. She bought both my sister and I one - they're handmade - when they visited Africa (she's South African herself), and my mother seemed horrified when I announced that it was my first purse ever. You'd think she'd know this, but apparently someone hasn't been paying attention for, oh, 40 or so years, eh?

Anyway, I can't really bring myself to get rid of it, even though I know someone out there would truly love such a unique bag. This is the bag. See how happy it is to be out of the junk box it's kept in?



I use a messenger bag or, more frequently these days, a backpack. What do I carry in them? Let's see:



Hairbrush, for those unruly hair days.
Notebook, ostensibly to keep track of my spending habits (MEC messenger bag: $20, backpack from sister: free!)
Wallet, with all the usual wallet stuff in it.
Notebook, for thoughts, ideas, etc.
Daytimer, used very irregularly these days.
Burt's Bees lip moisturizer! I love Burt and his bee products :)
Cell phone
Prescription
Account book for my US $ account
Pens (to use with notebook, of course!)
Thumb drive. Not actually sure what this is doing in there, to be honest...
Cheques to bank account on Van Isl I no longer use.

(Cat optional)

Oh, and there's a little packet of Kleenex and my house keys in the front pocket of the backpack. Lunch, a book and my water bottle are daily items that go in there, too, but otherwise, that's it!

Anyone want a lovely, handmade, wooden purse, never used? (No, seriously...)

Mmmm...Food!

I think part of the reason I don't like cooking is that it can be so fussy: chop, chop, chop, cut, cut, cut, timing things, boiling things, pot here, pan there, etc. etc. I don't like details and I don't like fussy (possibly a reason I've never owned a purse. That's EVER), so now that I'm actually starting to cook, I'm doing my best to also look at exactly how much time it takes to make something.

The recipe I made the other day states 20 minutes. I think it took me a bit longer than that, but I'm pretty sure that's just because I don't organize myself that well before I start and also due to the fact that I have about a half foot of prep area - my kitchen is SMALL and barely has any counter space. And possibly because I need to put my dishes away a lot sooner after I clean them, but regardless, it's a small area to work in.

But it proves that I can cook and that good food doesn't have to take long to make.

Lemon-Tarragon Chicken Toss

I substituted oregano for tarragon as I thought I had some, but didn't. Still, it was quite delicious and lasted for three meals: my dinner and two lunches. Last night I polished off my macaroni and cheese and finished the ice-cream (I don't really do small portions...), so have to think of something to make tomorrow. It's awkward to plan meals when you work 1 - 9 on some days. I think something with steak - I think it was going to be a ginger-beef stir fry. Fresh ginger, steak, onions, broccoli...

Works for me!

Feeling better & the first grocery shop this month

I love to food shop. Honestly, it's one of my favourite things to do, although I know plenty of people who find it a huge chore. I imagine it's not so much the shopping as finding the time to do it when you have a family, but I love wandering the aisles and can spend quite a bit of time lost in my own little food world. I'm better now than I used to be, but still love to discover all the foods (and, I suppose, "food") that we North Americans have to choose from.

We are ridiculously, undeniably, utterly spoiled here, even here in the North where we sometimes don't get fresh produce because the trucks can't get through in winter and with some scary prices hovering around simple veggies. I remember a good friend of mine coming to visit me when I lived in Victoria. She was born and grew up in East Germany and I believe that her visit to me was the first time she'd been in a "normal" grocery store. She simply couldn't get over how much choice there was - of everything! Anything and everything you could possibly want and/or need under one roof and we weren't even in that large of a grocery store (relatively speaking, of course). And daily deliveries of produce, meat, flowers, baked goods, deli goods...

It can boggle the mind if you let it. I choose to not let it and am just trying now to live within my means for food, instead of just randomly buying stuff and then tossing it away because it doesn't get eaten. That still happens, unfortunately, but when it does it at least goes into the compost (which, I'm aware, is only marginally better than the garbage). A goal of mine is to cut this waste down even further.

Part of this goal is to start making menues for my meals (Hey! Great idea, Annie! How'd you come up with that one?), so that's what I did today before I went out shopping. I took my jar money ($140 bi-weekly), made a list from several cookbooks and wrote down everything that I needed. I spent $115.61 of my budget and should have enough meals to last me through to next payday.

That's what I bought at the top and this is how it breaks down:

Produce
Carrots: 2 - 0.62 (.260 kg @ $2.40kg)
Gala apples: $5.33 (1.215 kg @ $4.39kg) - not on my list
Lemons: 4 - $3.56 (.89 ea)
Red grapefruit: 4 - $7.16 ($1.79 ea) - not on my list
Red onion: $1.72 (.465 kg @ $3.70 kg)
Green onions: 3 - $2.17 (.79 ea)
Snow peas: $2.59
Broccoli: $2.29
Ginger root: .34 (.130 kg @ $2.62kg)
Yam: $1.50 (.625 kg @ $2.40 kg)

Grocery
Bow tie pasta (x2) - $3.36
Linguine: $1.99
Orzo: $1.99
Eggs: $4.99 (PC large, free-run)
PC Macaroni & Cheese: (x2) $2.38 - not on my list
Feta cheese: $5.49
Macaroni & cheese (side dish): $4.29 - not on my list
Half & half: $1.48
Chicken broth: $1.18
Beef broth: $1.18

Meats
Steak: $5.39
Chicken: (x2) $10.73
Salmon: $15.76 (family size...and why is it Atlantic??!)

Other
PC "Loads of" Peanut butter/chocolate ice cream: $5.99 (actually a very good price, although it's not on my list)
Toilet paper: $16.99 (30 dbl rolls)
Freezer bags: $3.99

Total: $115.61
Items not on list total: $25.15! Ouch...

That's not an inconsiderable "overbuy." I also bought stamps ($15.30), two bars of soap and some more Christmas cards ($14.14) at Shoppers Drug Mart, but that's the last of my Christmas card necessities. Now I just have to get them written up and sent off in the next week or so.

Despite the overspend on my grocery bill, I am pleased with what I bought. I don't buy ice cream every single time (think it's been a couple of months since I last had some), the grapefruit and apples looked very nice - and they're nice to have for snacks at work - and the mac 'n cheese...well, I just happen to REALLYREALLYREALLYREALLY like it. Again, not something I always buy, but easy and quick if you're home and feeling a bit rushed, cold and not wanting to break out all the pots and pans.

My flu seems to have moved on, which I'm eternally grateful for. It doesn't appear to have as been nearly as bad as some, but was certainly miserable enough. The last vestiges are on their way out and I'm back to sleeping through the night, which I'm pleased about. Now that I'm feeling better, I can concentrate on getting organized for Christmas - few presents again this year, but D has requested a camera so he can take and post photos of the mine. He doesn't want it fancy, but can you get anything that isn't even a little fancy these days? I'll set a limit for it and stick to it. It shouldn't be difficult. I asked for an iPod Nano, so I have something to listen to on my way to and from work. I currently have a Walkman MP3 player that I can't unload, so I've been listening to the same 100 songs for 3 1/2 years...

Bored

It's been a heck of a week. I was quite excited to have this time off as I was going to putter around the house, get things done, read, relax...you know, all that good stuff.

Instead? I got the flu. Not swine flu, but a nasty case of 'regular' flu, so I've been stuck here on the sofa all week (apart from daily forays to care for my boss's cats) feeling utterly crappy. I'm finally on the mend, but it will be at least tomorrow when I'm able to venture further afield and into public. I didn't sleep at all the first two nights as my BONES ached and everytime I rolled over I woke myself up because it hurt so much! I've never had such an awful sensation in my life and here's to not having to go through that again. I've finally been able to sleep the past couple of nights and that's helped to shift this immensely. I don't normally get so sick, but I hope this is the last of it. I'm really astounded at the sheer number of people dropping from flu symptoms this year; is it just me or does it seem ridiculously prevalent?

I suppose the silver lining to this is that I've driven only one day and have only spent $23 at the grocery store on orange juice and chicken noodle soup (which was actually kind of gross...).

Here's to health and if anyone out there has the flu, take good care of yourself and get better soon.

Guilty confession

I bought it.