Celebrate: Happy Holidays

Warning: This post is embarrassingly emotional. Read at your own risk, as it entirely lacks self deprecation, irony or smart ass commentary (and YES, I did write it myself).

I spent the better part of last Friday in transit from Fort Worth to Montreal. When I arrived at the airport, Marc was there to greet me. He carried my bags to the car and drove me home, which was heaven sent after a weary and long day of travel. When we arrived home, I was surprised by the sight of a beautiful eight foot Christmas tree in our living room (my first real tree!) and a fridge full of ingredients for my return home breakfast & dinner for the following day. If I wasn't spoiled enough already, he also made me a yummy egg in the hole at 11:30pm because I was peckish after missing out on dinner. We had a drink together on the couch and caught up before I passed out, exhausted but thoroughly happy to be home and in the presence of my favourite person in the world.

See that? That whole last paragraph? That's completely new for me. Not just being treated so well but also being 'that' girl who is silly in love and annoyingly gushy about it. I'm probably embarrassing the shit out of him by posting this, but I can't help it. Heading into the holiday season, I have to acknowledge that after a couple years of relationship woes, I am exactly, completely, where I want to be. Everything (work, family, health, etc.) just seems easier because my disposition is so transformed, and I know that it's due to being in a healthy and happy relationship with someone I love. Add to this, the fact that I am only a few days away from being on vacation/holidays until Jan 3rd and I can barely contain myself. So forgive me if I blather on much too much about my nesting habits and holiday preparations. Perhaps I am going into this season a little too 'Clark Griswold' in my expectations, but I already have at least four (fake) squirrels in my tree and so far, so good!

Eat: Texas Style

I'm off to Fort Worth, Texas for a business trip. Like I always do before a trip, I am researching the hell out of my destination so I know what restaurants, shops and sites to visit while I'm there. I use to be pretty anal retentive about travel, always needing to have a plan of action or  schedule but I think I've mellowed out in my old age. Despite the fact I am pretty detailed in my research, I'm pretty laissez-faire once I get where I'm going. I like to know my options, but my itinerary isn't set in stone.

Since I'm only there from Monday to Friday, I'm out of luck with regards to entertainment or events. I checked out the Dallas Mavericks and Dallas Cowboys schedules to no avail, and I didn't come across any concerts of interest. Bright side: a lot of money saved. It also leaves me with more leisure time to walk around and enjoy the restaurant/bar scene. In any case, I tend to think of dinner out as a destination in and of itself. Some people dislike eating out alone but I don't do it often enough for the novelty to have worn off.

It's been quite the learning experience researching restaurants in Forth Worth. I think I gained weight just looking at the menus. It's a short visit so I wanted to focus on local specialties, namely BBQ, Steakhouse, Southwestern and Tex-Mex. How fortuitous that I am not a vegetarian at this stage in my life since Fort Worth seems like a carnivore's dream. I'm not a huge steak fan but considering the location, I will definitely partake. Truth be told, I am far more interested in BBQ fare like pulled pork or ribs. I am especially psyched to get my hands on some of the delicious BBQ side dishes like roasted ears of corn, pinto beans, black eyed peas, BBQ baked beans, and chili cheese fries. Heh, so much for eating light before the holiday season starts; I guess everything IS bigger in Texas, even Heather!

Laugh: Hey Girl & Grumpy Cat

While waiting around at the car dealer the other day, I spent the better part of an hour googling the Feminist Ryan Gosling meme. Too funny, especially when I saw this one:

Many of the 'Hey Girl' messages seemed tailor made for me; looks like I'm the target audience. I wonder if that is better or worse than finding out you are the target for 'Sh*t Girls Say'? In any case, between 'Hey Girl' and the Grumpy Cat meme, I'm sure I made a spectacle of myself sitting alone in the waiting area, all giggles and smiles.

What are your favourite memes? And can someone explain to me why Rage Guy is funny? I'm clueless on that one! Personally, I want to frame this one in a guilded, gold frame:

Eat: French Toast with Raspberry Apple Compote

I love breakfast. So much so that I get cranky if I don't get my breakfast carbohydrates. Really cranky. So, don't mess with me when it comes to breakfast because I will f*#k you up. Some people in my presence have been all willy nilly about breakfast and lived to tell about it; but I'm sure they wouldn't recommend it. You probably think I'm joking. Not really. My energy level gets really low if I don't eat something within an hour or so of getting up. I get snippy, absentminded and anxious. It's not even conscious, and I don't often realize it until it's too late. But it's more than just that...I am also quite particular about what I eat. My first meal of the day has to be 'breakfast' food. It doesn't matter if I wake up at the late hour of 1pm, I still need my first meal to be breakfast-y. Don't try to skip right over to lunch; it will not go well. Deep in the recesses of my brain I have a carefully classified list of breakfast stuffs which meet my criteria and nothing else will do.

I realize that the energy drop is physiological in nature, whereas my insistence on breakfast food is, well, neurotic. Can't be helped, I'm afraid. This idiosyncrasy can make for awkward moments while globetrotting, since many countries don't 'do' breakfast like in North America. More than once I have led my traveling companion on a wild goose chase in search of pastries, egg or some other muffin-type food to satiate my need. I have been called unbearable when in that state, and I can't really say it's an unfair assessment. What is the morale of this story? I guess there isn't one, but here are some words of wisdom just to be on the safe side: if its before noon and I'm pissy, offer me your doughnut or other breakfast food.

* * *

On that note, I present last weekend's Buttermilk French Toast from Epicurious.com. I followed the recipe as written except that I used a lovely multi-grain bread instead of challah. I garnished it with a Raspberry and Apple Compote that I improvised by simmering a handful of raspberries with two apples in two tablespoons of maple syrup. The apples were peeled, cored & sliced before being tossed in one tablespoon of lemon juice, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, and then simmered until soft and warm. Observe the size difference between the portion on my plate and that of Marc's. He pointed out that I had seconds whereas he did not, but that's not how I remember it going down. Or perhaps the breakfast carbs hadn't kicked in yet, or whatever...

My Plate

Marc's plate (Okay, okay, not Marc's plate)

Marc's Plate

Read: Let's Pretend This Never Happened: (A Mostly True Memoir)

I understand the saying "don't judge a book by it's cover" but I must admit that if the cover has a cute animal on it, I am all about prejudgement. The minute I saw this book by Jenny Lawson, I wanted it. A mouse magician? Eeeek, toooo cute!! I am willfully ignoring the fact that he is a product of taxidermy; in my mind he is just a regular mouse that prefers dapper attire over walking around naked and who doesn't mind posing for a photo or two. Right?? That's my story and I'm sticking with it. At first I tried to show some willpower and resist buying this based book purely on it's 'cuteness' but after someone with similar reading taste mentioned how funny it was, I was intrigued enough to download it. I started reading it last night and although it's very preliminary, I think I will enjoy it. Perhaps it is because I find that I have a similar writing style to hers (i.e. lots of rambling and side notes!).

I will be travelling for work next week and I predict more than a few hours stranded in one airport or another (and that's best case scenario...boy, do I love layovers). In an attempt to make this time more palatable, I filled up my Kobo with some extra reading material. In addition to "Let's Pretend This Never Happened", I chose two other books that I have wanted to read for a little while now; "The Sense of an Ending" by Julian Barnes and "Cloud Atlas" by David Mitchell. This will be a great opportunity for me to catch up on my reading. With work travel I have a tendency to split what free time I have between being a proper tourist, using the hotel gym/pool and reading. I think I will be well equipped with some great reading material if any of the reviews are accurate. Thankfully the Kobo has a great battery life!

Read: The Sisters Brothers by Patrick Dewitt

It's been a while since I read a book so engaging that I didn't want it to end. I was pleasantly surprised to find that I felt this way about The Sisters Brothers; so much so that I checked the 'percentage complete' every time I turned off my Kobo to assess how much was left. Which in my opinion, is not nearly as satisfying as turning a hard cover book on it's side and assessing how many unread pages remain, but you get my point. It was such a contrary experience to that of The Casual Vacancy, where the 'percentage complete' loomed over me like an insurmountable deadline. Okay, maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration, but let's just say I was discouraged.  Which was why I was so glad to dig into The Sisters Brothers and discover it wasn't my reading 'juju' that was lacking (like writer's block, I believe that there is such a thing as reader's block).

So, what was so good about The Sisters Brothers, without ruining any of the storyline? The writing was sharp, witty. The dialogue was engaging and at times, laugh out loud funny. The narrator Eli, one the the Sisters brothers, is gritty and tough but utterly endearing at the same time. His observations about human behaviour and society, interspersed with sudden scenes of gruesome violence really take the reader from one extreme to another. I'm not sure if I loved the ending, but if you look at the book as a whole and consider the genre, I have to admit that it was an appropriate ending.

Western literature and film has really grown on me. Perhaps the seed was planted from young age; I have fond memories of watching Clint Eastwood westerns with my grandfather. Maybe it was HBO's Deadwood; the dialogue (once you develop an ear for it) is some of the smartest, and dare I say, poetic vulgarity I have ever heard. All I know is that I get excited when I see a preview for a new western movie. I absolutely adore Unforgiven, Tombstone and True Grit. I am eager to see Django in the coming weeks, even though I have a love/hate appreciation for Tarantino. Needless to say I was excited to learn that the film rights for The Sister Brothers has been purchased by John C. Reilly's production company; I believe that the style in which the book was written will lend well to film. I'm saying right now that I'd love to see someone like Javier Bardem or Josh Brolin play Eli, but I'm guessing John C. Reilly may have an edge over them! Anyone else out there read The Sisters Brothers yet? Any thoughts? Also, and good western film suggestions?

Play: Left 4 Dead on XBOX

It's been a rock and roll week at work. It always seems to go this way when you have vacation time planned. It's a bit of office irony when you consider how much extra work you do in the weeks preceding vacation in order to be able to take time off. It feels like an oxymoron, expending energy in the hopes of recouping energy, but that's the way it goes. Also, I'm not the brightest person taking time off at the end of the year when projects/contract/you-name-it have deadlines and renewals that typically coincide with year end. This is why my post frequency has dropped this week. No, no, not because I write at work (although sometimes I do draft ideas over lunch time...) but because I am something akin to a zombie when I get home. Way too tired to post or do anything other than spend time on the couch. I would have probably ordered out for dinner every night this week due to sheer laziness but I'm a lucky gal; I have a guy who knows his way around a kitchen. I've had dinner waiting for me three nights in a row. Yep, it's nice to be spoiled.

In honour of my zombie-like persona these days, I would like to mention that Marc and I have been spending hours at a time on the couch, in the dark, massacring zombies. We recently decided that rather than watching TV we would try playing some cooperative games on the XBOX instead. Since I'm a zombie fan, Marc suggested Left 4 Dead. Despite my initial reluctance, I am now officially hooked. We finished the first game pretty quickly and immediately moved on to Left 4 Dead 2. We are already near the end of the 2nd game and I am already wondering what game we will take on next to fill the void. Suggestions?

On a side note, Marc has the patience of a saint. I had a really hard time getting use to navigation using the XBOX controller. In the past, I stubbornly insisted on staying with the easier-to-use directional pad, but with most games these days you navigate using two stick controls. Let me just say that at one point my character was stuck standing in a bathtub, in the dark, pointing a flashlight at the ceiling and wondering why I couldn't find my way out. Thankfully once he stopped laughing at me, Marc was kind enough to save me from the dreaded bathtub of despair.