overheard...

at York while in a washroom line up. Two grad students discussing their grad studies, study plans, seminars, and so on... then...

Grad Student 1: "You're a teacher hog..."
Grad Student 2: "What?"
Grad Student 1: "You're a teacher hog."

silent pause........

Grad Student 2: "What does hog mean?"
Grad Student 1: "Means you don't share."
Grad Student 2: "You're calling me that?"

end of entertainment.... my turn to pee...

World's Best Cat Litter...

didn't work out so well. It's made out of corn, smells like it a bit... The cat didn't mind the change... the dogs loved it. At first I thought Jay was overfeeding them, until I caught the little one, licking the kitty litter off the floor in front of the box. It's never good when she's quiet and not near me... I should have spied on her earlier. I tried to discourage both of them, but I'm not much of a disciplinarian. I'd just say "Get out of there. Stop eating that crap. No.", and shake my finger at them, which they didn't take very seriously at all.

Well we've been taught a lesson Saturday night when we both woke up to the sound of the little one heaving, and then blowing kitty litter chunks all over Jason's sheet. Thank god he sleeps under a sheet, easy clean up... but oh... the smell of kitty litter and puke is not welcome in the middle of the night. She had a repeat performance about an hour later, I just managed to wake up and plop her ass on the floor or it would have been all over my pillow and hair, then I had the pleasure of getting up and cleaning the carpet. Glad we have a steam cleaner... or our place would be super disgusting.

No more world's best cat litter for us, we went back to our old brand... the cat doesn't seem to mind the change... and the dogs no longer clean the floor in front of the box...

too soon

On 4 of my fingernails I started to notice horizontal ridges. I've had vertical ones for a while, and I found out it's due to an iron deficiency (it can also be due to vitamin deficiency, poor nutrition, or kidney trouble). But for me it was anemia. Now I usually don't get horizontal ridges until mid November, because they are a indication of physical and/or mental stress. And well mid November is when finals season begins for me... but now it's only the third week of school... my nails are going to be a mess by the end of the year :)

I won't be posting regularly for a little bit... any leisure time is study time (with a couple of exceptions)... so expect very sporadic updates.

oooops...

taken by Jay, sometime in August... being in a rush doesn't pay

I had a craving...

we went to France with our wine choice... because of a tv show :)mmmm garlic bread... I was one piece short to fill my garlic bread void...
the perfect simple spaghetti with tomato sauce and fresh basil...

a little date...

School has officially started. My schedule is pretty nutty. Jay and I only see each other sleeping Monday to Thursday. So since there are no tutorials first week of school, that meant I had the evening off on Friday... we decided to go for dinner to Earth... I loved the decor, spacious, and comfortable...
some water to quench our thirst...then a Belvedere vodka martini for me with three olvies... yum... it's been so long since I enjoyed a perfect vodka tini... it was delicious...
for Jay something fun... Tom Collins... very citrusy...
a couple of buttermilk biscuits... Jason enjoyed them both :)
Appetizers:
for me organic greens; wild blueberry vinegar, pumpkin seeds
simple and delicious... the pickled onions were just the right amount of tartness
for Jay john’s elk tartare; quail’s egg, capers, toast, garlic chips
looks so pretty... and someone needs a manicure :)
we ordered a bottle of red, we're both sort of obsessed with Ontario vintages and chose from Fielding Estate Winery 2008 Pinot Noir... it was a very good choice
Mains:
for Jay crispy walnut hill sweetbreads; fennel frisée salad, nova scotia scallop, pancetta
I believe the kitchen was quite amused by us, because at a table of two, one is a vegan, and the other orders the most unvegan items on the menu... :)
for me a vegan plate created by the kitchen... it was delicious... gorgeous greens, the last of sweet Ontario peas, Ontario white beans, and a grilled tomato and eggplant tower topped with a candied Serrano pepper... the pepper was very interesting... sweet at first and then the lingering heat... I commented how much I enjoyed it... next thing I know the kitchen sends out a little side plate with three more... I couldn't disappoint and ate them all... yum and ouch at the same :)... and the whole delicious medley was only $18.00...
for dessert I continued to enjoy our red... while Jay had Ontario peaches and cream; upside down cake, corn sorbet, house bacon brittle... as a vegan that is the only thing I feel cheated out of in restaurants... my dessert options are (unless in a vegan friendly place) sorbet or liqueur... neither appealed to me that night...

bed hog

she was on her side, but when she saw me coming she flipped on her back so I would rub her belly...

will sleep anywhere...

napping on a pile of clothes covered by a blanket, that we stashed on our couch when we were painting the bedroom... that must have been a super soft and comfy pile...

frustrated...

she hated it when we painted... made a total nuisance of herself... but is still so lovable... I changed the litter brand I've been using for the cat. It's so good the dogs have been eating it. Just look at her... total chunky monkey...

yesterday...

Second day of my last year... and I get lost on campus.. seriously! I have two classes back to back. Just enough time to make it on time from one to the other. I thought I knew where I was going, but when I got there the room was a tiny office with a chick behind the desk. Obviously not it... I panic a tad, call Karolina, but she's no help because she didn't have access to a computer at that time... and for a campus that has maps at regular intervals... I could not for the life of me find one. But after much running around, I finally stumbled on one... and realized that I was standing right next to the building I was looking for when I called K... but instead of looking up and taking a moment to read the name... I just ran off in the opposite direction.

It's a good thing that it was the first day for this class, I didn't miss much...

And in my defense I was looking for CFA (Centre For Fine Arts) as listed on my schedule, but the sign next to the building read The Joan & Martin Goldfarb Centre for Fine Arts, with the "for Fine Arts" in small print.... they should update their abbreviations...

my goal: to work my way through the whole menu

of Fresh restaurant... love this place... and I think Jay does too...

when you are seated, the staff automatically puts down a bottle of watter and glasses... it doesn't have to be asked for... a couple of veggies juices...
and then burgers...
for Jay: bbq burger
tangy bbq sauce, quinoa-battered onion rings, garlic mayo, napa cabbage, hot banana chillies, tomato & lettuce
for me: deluxe burger
tomato, lettuce, red onion, alfalfa sprouts, dill pickle & vegan mayo
both with a side of fries and some dipping sauces... so good

wrapping up my career as a student...

boy i'm nervous...

Polish Coconut.... a first for me

she loves boxes

for breakfast...

one morning we enjoyed bounty form Mama's garden... yum

sandwiches...

an evening of movies and lazy dinner grabbed from Reggie's Old Fashioned Sandwiches in August...

for me Marinated Roast Vegetable - Zucchini, pepper, eggplant, provolone and sun dried tomato pesto (no cheese for me)for Jay Home Made Corned Beef with Swiss cheese, pickles and mustard mayo
went great with a nice cold one...

fruit and veggie stand in Niagara wine country....

pictures taken Aug. 15.... everything looked so tasty...of course we picked some for home..

classy wedding dress :)

DONE!

Painting that is. Finished a tiny bit of trim last night. I took some pictures of our process as a future deterrent. If I ever get the itch to paint our condo again, I'll look at the pictures of the disaster zone it has been for the past week. It'll be great motivation to put the paint brush away. My lord it was a lot of work.

Friday night after work, we prepped our bedroom until 4 am. Then Saturday after a quick breakfast we began, and wrapped up at around 4:30 am Sunday. Extremely sleep depraved and achy (but not as achy as were were last weekend), we rolled out of bed on Sunday at 9 am for some pampering. A mani pedi combo for me and a pedi and steam for Jay. I found myself nodding off a bit. Then delicious lunch at Fresh, then some light school shopping, then back home for major tiding up, de-cluttering, and steam cleaning. We didn't finish last night. This will be a slow process, hopefully wrapped up by Wednesday.

I really like our color scheme.

My study is a light bright green. I really like it. I put four coats of paint on just to make sure it is all nice and even. This is a bit nutty because 80% of wall space (if not more) is covered up by bookshelves.

Kitchen and washroom, are a shade lighter then they were before. A nice light, creamy white. It just feels welcoming and clean.

Hallway, living room and our accent walls, are all from the same color swatch tab. The darkest is of course on the accent walls, it is a very, very, deep green-black. Hallway is the second lightest from the swatch, a light gray, I believe the color was called Simply Stone or something. And the living room is a shade darker than the hallway, a kind of gray-green, or green-gray. We love it. We both feel very grown up with our color scheme. It is very tame, especially if you compare our current choices to our past color combinations.

Growing up stops at our bedroom. I wanted the lightest of pinks. I found it. Jay suggested that it will dry lighter and it will look white, and so we should go just a tad darker. So I did. It turned out a bit pinker than I wanted. But it's soooo gorgeous. Especially at night, with our lamps on, the pink is transformed into a super warm, and cozy peachy-pink. It looks like a room of a 5-year old princess. Supper girly. Ahhh the child in me loves it, the adult is comforted by the fact that it is a bedroom, and not a main room. No need for anybody, but the two of us to see it.

I'm not posting any pictures of the colors, because I don't think they'll really translate. But trust me, our place looks good, and if you don't agree please keep it to yourself when you come over... or you'll hurt our feelings :)