Two posts in one day. Freak out!
Conor and I went on a really funny date. We both wanted to eat out however we wanted to eat at different places. So, I ordered a sandwich from Boston Pizza and we picked up buffalo chicken strips from DQ for Conor and had a makeshift picnic in Fish Creek. Delicious. And hilarious.
And I wanted to share some jeans that I’m loving. I decided that I need to dress my size and since I’m smaller than I was a couple years ago, none of my pants are fitting properly. Flattering, but way annoying. I bought a the Gap Essential Jeans and am loving the fit. They fit through the waist, hip and behind and then skim the rest of my legs. In love. I especially like how I have to unbutton them to take them off. Hah!
I sound like a narcissist.
Last night, the first real snow of the season began to fall and Calgary woke up to a light and beautiful blanket of slushy snow. I love cold weather. I love fall and winter. I love feeling chilled. I love the snow. Yes, I am supremely satisfied with this weather and my only wish is to have a little tyke to build a snow man and make snow angels with!
I’ve done a lot of baking and cooking over the past few days which I am LOVING! I love being all homemakerish. It’s the best ever.
I want to share these two recipes:
Chocolate Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars
And here’s what I plan on making for Dinner tonight:
Sweet Orange Chicken
from Company’s Coming: 30 minute weekday meals
1 tbsp. water
2 tsp. cornstarch
1 tsp. cooking oil
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken thighs, quartered
3/4 cup thinly sliced carrot
3/4 cup orange juice
1 tbsp. brown sugar, packed
2 tsp. balsamic vinegar
2 tsp. hoisin sauce
1/8 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
Stir water into cornstarch in small cup until smooth. Set aside.
Heat cooking oil in large frying pan on medium-high. Add chicken. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until browned.
Combine remaining 7 ingredients in small bowl. Add to chicken. Stir bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cover. Simmer for about 6 minutes until chicken is no longer pink inside and carrot is tender-crisp. Stir cornstarch mixture. Add to chicken mixture. Heat and stir for about 1 minute until sauce is boiling and thickened. Serves 4.
I’ve been looking through a mass amount of photos recently and have found that my heart is slowly breaking at the thought of moving back to Denver and missing so much. Ugh. My family… my mom. And my nieces and nephews; they’ll grow so much! Help me deal with my separation anxieties and allow me to share some memories….
Do you remember this basketball game? Conor was quite the cheerleader and Dyl’s pretty much grown an additional foot since.
Cora – always my girl! And Finn. I love it when that little boy laughs.
Can’t we play horsie one more time?
Baking with the Babes
And my family… I’ll have to upload some videos sometime soon because pictures and words just cannot fully explain the McNeills. We’re way too deep.
With Denver only a month away, I can’t help but feel somewhat torn. It’s going to be just as hard as last time no matter how excited I am to go back to Denver. And you know, I think Christmas will be just as hard too.
With only 24 days left until the big interview in Montreal, life is becoming a bit of a nail biter. Today I had my immigration medical to which I was instructed to bring $260 cash. I felt concerned about how legite this was going to be, however considering the location (Signal Hill, Calgary) and the posh-ness of the office, I think it was okay. Anyways, I don’t have any choice really since this guy is the only Doc in Alberta that is “qualified” to do this exam, which by the way reminded me a lot of my last physical. Oh except for the part when I was told I had to get the HPV vaccination or else my petition would surely be denied. And may I say that after forking out $189 for that first of 3 vaccinations, I’m all for girls getting it for free in school. It sure hurts like a (fill in the blank). Following that I went and had some blood drawn to be tested for HIV and syphilis. After the kind lady at the lab wrote “TIT” in a red marker on my requisition form I felt a little like I shouldn’t be sitting in the waiting room near any living, breathing body because I was quite possibly the whore of all the earth. No worries people, these are standard issues tests which I’m sure will be returned to me negative as I am a blood donor amongst other reasons. Following the blood test, it was time for a good ol’ chest x-ray. If you’ve ever had one and your female, I’m sure you can relate to my awkwardness and inability to place my finger on whether I felt like the paper bag princess or some sort of armoured super hero in that crazy blue paper wrap top they put me in. I love the question, “is there any possibility you might be pregnant?”
Let’s do a quick visual re-cap of why I’m doing this….
Got it! I’m doing all of this in the name of love and for the sake of being able to touch and hold all of my belongings again! Oh and because I really like Denver, Co.
