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me and my turkey

Our Thanksgiving party ended up being a big success! Lots of fun!

Do you like my homemade sushi apron??

lotsa food

I overcooked the turkey a bit (was so worried about it being safe!) but everyone said it was still good. We put bacon on the top! All 12 of us ate through most of the 13 lbs, except for one tupperware of bits of meat that I pulled off later for sandwiches and a bunch of lunch packs that I sent home with some people. My stuffing got devoured, mmm it was so good. It was a savoury fruit stuffing with apples and cranberries, and vegetarian so Scott could eat it too. We also had two kinds of mashed potatoes (one with mascarpone and crab!),  roasted vegetables and squashes, bread, cheese, beans, salads, 50 million desserts and lots of wine. Probably more that I am forgetting!

I’m pretty impressed that we had such a big dinner with the supplies we had. We had to share knives and Stew had to eat out of a tupperware container though, haha. And Scott had to perch on the back of the couch. I loved how it all went though, with everyone just digging into the food and lots of laughter.

post-turkey pre-dessert coma

haha why does Rosemarie look so disgusted?

After dinner we played a few games of Wits and Wagers and drank more wine. Then the night ended with the boys playing Street Fighter and girls playing Carcassonne, and then one final late night Carcassonne game with Scott since Lauren would be leaving in the morning.

Took me ages to fall asleep. Too much adrenaline after all the hosting and all the fun!

A+ Thanksgiving 2011. Hope yours was amazing as well!!

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Since I last updated:

  • Scott updated his blog (link over there on the right –>)
  • I took public transit to Ikea, something I hope never to have to do again (ow my arms)
  • Painted two of three paintings (sneak peek there –>)
  • Had some friends over to warm our house
  • Baked cookies (new recipe, delicious), made guacamole (yum as usual), bloomin cheese bread (ok), and whipped black beans (not so great)
  • Killed Rosemarie’s computer (oops)
  • Watched lots of movies and TV
  • Played Dominion (I won, as usual) and Agricola (I lost, as usual)
  • I won the Jorna family footy tips competition

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Saturday morning headed out to Michael’s early because they were having an extra 25% off sale in the morning. We got big canvases for super cheap. I thought they were $9.99 for each pack of two, so we got two packs, but then they rang up as only $4.99, and then 25% off of that, so I made the cashier wait while I grabbed another pack! Immediately after we left the store I realized I should have gotten the bigger size, since they were so cheap. I really wish there was such thing as rewind of life.

Anyway, 6 canvases for $11 is pretty good. Now we can do tons of masterpieces. Scott has another video game-y one in mind, and I have a geometric series idea and also a melted crayon thing I saw on Pinterest that looks super cool. It needs a hair dryer though and I don’t have one. Rosemarie???

After Michael’s we went by the old house to pick up our mail and then to the farmers market. We spent too much money a coffee, a korean short rib taco, homemade ginger ale, strawberries, tiny peppers, potatoes, and tomatoes. I wanted to get some plants too, but we need to do a bit of research about what can grow indoors, in the dark.

We came home, and started the squares project. Then I decided we REALLY needed a level to do it so we hoofed it over to Metrotown to pick one up. We also got some Coldstone ice cream with a 50% off coupon. I had a cup with cookie dough, choc chips, caramel and fudge, and Scott had a mint one with brownie, choc chips and fudge. They were both very good, but too large, and neither of us really liked the chocolate chips. If we go back we will definitely share. On the way home we stopped by a girl’s apartment to pick up a desk chair I saw on Craigslist. It’s green and funky. She lived right around the corner so it was super convenient!

Scott made a pizza for dinner with sweet potato and lentils and some other things. He’s gotten quite good at making the crust, but the toppings were too carbolicious.

I just realized I never actually took any pictures of the other paintings I did, at the old apartment. I will, I promise! I only have one more week left of work (WOOHOOOOOOO) and then I will have lots of free time.

Sunday was mostly spent bumming around. We watched some Masterchef, the movie Paul, played Agricola, talked with Rosemarie, and now Scott is out at The Keg with some of his friends. I don’t know what he will get to eat there!

I also did some online shopping. We ordered this antenna thing to pick up free HD channels (bet you didn’t know about that!). Apparently there are 6 free HD channels floating around in Vancouver and all you need is an antenna to pick them up. You can get CBC, Global, CTV and three others that I forget right now. That’s all we need! We also ordered some new jeans for Scott and more of my favourite t-shirts for me. Yay!

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Sorry for not posting in so long. As you may know, we had some issues with our internet company and it ended up taking a really long time for us to get connected. But, it’s finally done now so I’m back.

We are nicely settled in to our new apartment. It is definitely a lot bigger than our old place, and we have a lot more storage thanks to a big walk in closet with big shelves and a large shelf unit that we got off Craigslist for $50. We also went to Ikea with our moving truck and got a big desk for me and some chests of drawers for the bedroom (those cheap Rast ones….. I sense some DIY in the near future….) and a few other things. Thank you aunties and uncles for that!

The new apartment is very very quiet and the building is kept very clean. You can hear the Skytrain a bit with the windows open but it’s a gentle sort of whooshing sound and doesn’t disturb me. It is awesome being so close to the station, and the trains come every 1-3 minutes.

Since we didn’t have internet or TV it was a little dull at some points, so we tried to get out of the house as much as possible. We went to see the fireworks competition twice (more about this later), went to the movies, went to the library, shopped around Metrotown, uhhhh and more stuff that I can’t remember right now. We also played a lot of games (Carcasonne, Agricola and Dominion are favourites at the moment), and watched a lot of Mad Men. The weekend was a bit like being at the cottage really, with our lack of technology.

Anyway, that’s all for now, I don’t have time to edit any pictures right now so I should keep this entry short.

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THURSDAY did errands and packed up and sorted a lot of stuff from my old room. Scott and I made banh mi for dinner and then we rushed off for games night at the Haberl’s house.

Tons o’ games. Tons o’ friends. Homemade salsa (thanks Natasha!) and beer and cider and champagne.

At one point we had THREE simultaneous games of Settlers going on. Awesome.

There was also birthday cheesecake for David and I. :D

quality picture taking Katrina :/

Finished the night off drinking games and beer pong and then crawled up to (the ultra comfy) bed.

It was a really fun day. I especially like that all my friends are becoming friends with each other too! Thank you Monica for planning it.

Next morning I didn’t feel that great but we had to come home fairly early to catch dad and Kate to say goodbye before they left for the cottage. We did a little more box sorting and C-Day planning and then Rosemarie, Scott and I bused downtown for Canada Day. Stay tuned for the next entry!