Wednesdays Are For Gratitude: August 21, 2013

It's been quite some time since I've posted a Wendesdays Are For Gratitude post, and a lot has happened lately. Lots of good, some not so good, but I'm here to talk about the former. Nobody likes a bum out blog post, am I right?
Here is what I am grateful for lately:
My brother (whose 20th birthday was yesterday!)  /  My yarn stash  /  New hair (more on this in a minute!)  /  Poutines  /  Old friends  /  New friends  /  Transit Windsor  /  The annual town festival this weekend  /  Finishing up three balls of yarn recently.

More about new hair! Yesterday, I went to see my friend Christine, where she worked her magic on my hairs, and I came out looking brand spanking new. I'm not as blonde as I'd like, I prefer it to be closer to a white blonde than a golden colour, but we're getting there! I got awesome feedback from the people I saw afterwards. I love being blonde!
In addition to all this fun hair stuff, I went all over Windsor yesterday, hence the thankfulness to Transit Windsor. I had an amazing breakfast poutine at The Twisted Apron, and a regular dinner poutine at Phog. Not the healthiest, especially when you add in all the beer I consumed. I think I deserved a fun day after all the junk I've been through lately. I ran into a few people I knew, and overall had an awesome day.
I have finished three balls of yarn lately. All on the same secret projects I've been on a bender for. I just have to sew the rest of them up, and I'll be done with them. Then, it's time to figure out a new project. I have a bunch of ideas of stuff to make, just a matter of figuring out which yarns to use. These three balls bring me to +54. I'm starting to get a little more realistic with my goal, and I don't know if I'll actually make it. But I will still keep track of everything.
What is going on in your lives lately? Are you trying to get as much summer fun in as possible, too?

My Week In Instagrams: February 8, 2013

I'm kind of a big grumpy pants today, but I'll try to not let that ruin this post. Work today was a bunch of crap. The car was frozen shut, so I had to take a cab to work, where it turns out they didn't even need me, so I could have stayed home. I wish they would have told me that, because I would have just gone back to bed. Okay, that's enough complaining!
-Rick and I made noodle bowls last Friday night for dinner. He did 90% of the prep work before hand. Chopping all the vegetables, cooking the shrimp and meat etc. I cooked the vermicelli in a strainer in the pot for easy removal. I then rinsed it to stop the cooking, and assembled the bowls. Clockwise from the top there was pickled cabbage (that Rick made), marinated beef strips, cucumber, pickled daikon and carrot (also by Rick), marinated shrimp, lettuce, and pickled red onion (another by Rick) with a fried egg in the centre. I always add some hoisin sauce over top, and then I'm set to go. Just describing it right now has made my mouth water. I want more!! Each family member got their own bowl, and it seemed like everyone enjoyed it.
-The order of my pictures is a bit off; the Laughing Cow cheese and the next photo are supposed to be after the craft show. Anyway, Laughing Cow is one of my favourite snacks. I've been eating this stuff since I was a little kid. I usually just spread it on a cracker and gobble it down. No exception this time around. We still have 3/4 of a package left. I'll probably go eat a couple once I'm done this post.
-Rick made more Asian inspired food the other day. We had udon, with stir fried bok choy and onion. Before Rick and I met, I only ate this kind of stuff when I went out to eat, which was very very rare. Now, we make it at home most of the time, and it's just as good, and sometimes better than going out to eat. Plus, there isn't a ridiculous amount of salt/MSG, and we save money! And, we can put exactly what we want in it, so I'm not stuck with a bunch of stir fried bell peppers, which I think are pretty icky. Definitely a win all around.
-Saturday was my craft show at Colasanti's. I didn't do too badly. I met my goal for total money made. I'm not the happiest with how I did, though. I only sold one knitted item, and the rest of my sales were earrings. I'm not complaining about having sold anything, I just wish I'd sold more knitwear. Knitting is what I am passionate about. The earrings are just something fun to do on the side. I didn't expect to sell a ton of knitted stuff, but I thought I'd sell at least 3 things. Oh well. My next two shows, I don't expect to sell much winter knitwear, if any. The shows are at the beginning and end of March, and by that time, most people are over the coldness, and ready for spring/summer to come in full force. For those, I'll definitely be bringing more earrings.
-Winston has been pretty cute lately. I have a photo of him like this that I took at our old apartment where he looks so much younger. Not that he looks old or anything, but he was definitely more of a puppy then. He's going to be three in just over a month. I can't believe we've had him almost three years! We got him in May of 2010.
-Wednesday night was the fundraiser show at Phog. Tracy and I split a Phonion not long after I got there. A Phonion is a Phog specialty. It's a poutine made with onion rings instead of fries. Now, in case you're unaware, poutine is one of my most favourite foods ever. It's usually piping hot french fries, with a bunch of white cheese curds over top, and some steaming hot gravy to slightly melt the curds. Wonderful! Phog's gravy is vegan, but you wouldn't know it unless someone told you. Later on in the night, I had some of my brother's friends poutine as well. I love that stuff. Every time I go to Phog I have to get one.
-Billy Raffoul played a couple sets, and did an absolutely amazing job. He is immensely talented. I would definitely go see him play again. I'll be keeping him in mind for future shows.
-A bunch of yarn was donated at the fund raiser, and I kept a small amount for myself. I added four skeins of cotton (likely for dish cloths) and four skeins of acrylic to my stash. The acrylic will probably turn into some manly accessories. I've used this yarn in the past, and it looks really nice knit up. It's a creamy white colour with flecks of grey, brown and black. This adds four skeins to my stash down count, which means I am at +11 for the year. I am going to have to crank out some stuff to get my number back down. I haven't had much knitting mojo lately, which has been a problem. I'll dig through my stash and get some more little balls and skeins of yarn used up. Even the tiniest of balls count! Once I start seeing the number go down, I will be more motivated to keep knitting.

Don't forget, the giveaway is still going on. There are over 415 entries the last I checked, and that number is climbing steadily. Get your entires in!
Rick is making some macaroni and cheese casserole for dinner tonight, and I'm looking forward to that.
How are all of you folks doing?

My Life Lately

1) I spent this past weekend at my parents house, so I could work in the beer tent at the local festival with them. We've been doing it for years, and I look forward to it at the start of every summer. We did really well, and on Saturday night, sold out of one of the three types of beer we have.

2) Friday was spent in Windsor for an appointment, lunch and dinner with friends. I had a few summery drinks that day, and just had an excellent time.

  a) The first drink was a Somersby hard cider. I don't know about elsewhere, but all the trendy hipster kids around here are drinking it. It's popular to the point that nearly all the liquor stores sell out within the first 24 hours of receiving it. I will say it's not bad, but I felt like I was drinking ever so slightly fizzy apple juice. It was served with ice, and I don't care for ice in my drinks, especially when the flavours aren't very strong to begin with.
  b) My second drink was a Mill St Lemon Tea beer. If you're in Ontario, this is a must try. It's not citrusy to the point where it's overwhelming. Plus, the lemon and tea actually taste like the real thing. It's not a fake tasting flavour like some of the lemon/lime/tea beers available now.
  c) Third drink of the day was a Magners hard cider. This is leaps and bounds better than the Somersby. It was refreshing, nicely carbonated, and actually tasted like cider, not juice. There is no doubt in my mind that I will be getting this again. I might go pick some up this week from the LCBO. (The LCBO is the only place in Ontario when one can buy spirits. The Beer Store is precisely that, a store to buy just beer)
3) Dinner was divine. The last two drinks I had were at Phog, which is my most favourite bar in the whole entire world. Phog has Phood, the most important ones being Phries and Poutine. I got a Phonion, which is a poutine made with onion rings instead of Phries. The gravy is vegetarian or vegan, I can't remember which, the cheese curds are phantastic (I had to) and the cook knows how much I like mushrooms, so he puts a bunch on there for me. If It wasn't for the health concerns associated with it, and the fact that I live a 40 minute drive away, I would eat this every day.

4) Saturday morning, the festival parade went right past my parents house. Growing up, it took a different route, so we had to walk a couple blocks to see it. I definitely appreciate the proximity now, more than I would have when I was little. The parade was about an hour long, which is what it usually is, but there were large gaps between some of the floats, which isn't how it usually is. I was busy catching candy with the granddaughters of my Mom's friend to take photos of the parade itself. I only managed to get this one shot of some of the fire trucks at the very end.

5) Sunday, I packed up all my stuff, and went to a surprise party for my aunt. My Mom and I stopped at The Beer Store to pick up some Twisted Tea. This stuff is super good. It's a malt-based cooler, and you truly don't notice the alcohol until you've had a few and try to stand up!
6) I've made some progress on all my knitting projects. I have three on the go currently, and they're coming along nicely. I have lots of plans for what to knit, as well as possibly re-opening my Etsy shop by September.
Overall, this weekend was great. It was a very nice little break from work, even though I worked just as hard at the beer tent.
How was your weekend?