Of a Surprise Superhero that Saves my Saturday

Spent ALL Saturday afternoon at a cafe, working like a horse. Or an ox. Basically, like all the farmyard animals combined. By the end, my brain was so fried, I was just taking notes on automatic, writing stuff down but not really retaining anything. Ah well, at least the notes are there for me to review later.

So overall, it was a meh sort of day. But then, superhero Jill swooped in to save the day.With her wine.

Apparently, it's been awhile since I've last had alcohol because that little bit of wine (interspersed with cups of tea) somehow managed to give me quite a headache. Gone are the days when I used to brag about being a heavyweight drinker ... My transformation to grandma is complete.

But seriously, friendtime is SO necessary. It's so easy to get caught up with work and running around like crazy. So I'm glad Jill and I met up to bitch about life and rant (quite coherently, actually) and get things off our chests. And of course quite a bit of fun was had ...

Of The Return of the Fitness

It was actually as epic as it sounds. After a day that went something like: lab-seminar-study-presentation-sprint up 5 flights of stairs to class-class-lab meeting, I actually managed dragged my ass to the gym. This whole going-once-a-week thing is totally working for me and my lazy side. It's probably not working so well for my marathon-training though ... But I don't have to pay for it until May (although I will most likely regret it come mile 15 ... and 20 ... and 21 through 26.2).

They have this dumb new system now where it's just first-come, first-serve on all the cardio machines. And please respect the 30 minute rule! Uhuh. Right. At least before, you could sign up and then kick someone off if they were past their time. But now, they could just be like, Oh, sorry, I JUST got on.

Now, I shouldn't be complaining, because I totally took advantage of the new system and did a 60 minute treadmill sweat-session. No shame.

• 10k in 56:30, at a comfy 9:06 pace

And yet, despite the fact that the pace felt easy, and my breathing rate and heart rate never went up, I still ended up being a sweaty monster, looking like I just ran a world-record 10k in +30C weather.

It was the perfect end to the week. Of course, once I was done, I realized that I didn't want to be all sweaty and gross in my normal clothes, so I just trekked home in what I was wearing at the gym.

I am one classy lady.

Oh, and then I collapsed in bed. At 9:30pm. Because I'm cool like that.

Of Brunchtimes and Packhorses

Can I just say one thing about the weather?

I don't get it. Yesterday, it was all:

And today, it's all gross and rainy and slippery and puddl-y and slushy. Believe me, wearing your winter coat in the rain is NOT ideal. The smell of wet dog becomes pervasive and people would look at you weird, except that they all smell that way too. It's just lovely.

But back to beautiful sunny memories.

As per my usual Tuesday/Thursday schedule, I always plan to get work done during my break, but am inevitably derailed. This time, my lovely friend Jill had some very persuasive ideas of the brunch-variety.

Like I said, she's very persuasive, so I HAD to give in.

Actually, I'm pretty much up for anything when I'm supposed to be working. So brunch it was, at our fave diner. Yum yum, scrambled eggs :) I also snuck in some of my katlety and hid them in a napkin when our waitress was around. I'm sneaky like that.

On another note, can I complain about the current state of my back? (Why yes, I can, cause it's my blog).

I live somewhat far away from my university, so I usually have to bring everything with me to campus. Which means carrying all of my books, plus any homework I plan to do, plus about 5 tupperware containers full of my various snacks, plus (God forbid) if I want to go to the gym, there's also my gym bag, and if it's raining, I also bring an umbrella, and usually I also carry a mug in my hands ... Well, you can see how it gets complicated super fast.

Just some of my food. 

Doing dishes at my house is a nightmare. 

Or rather, 'doing Tupperware' ...

Anyways, it gets unpleasant. And the result of it is this:

Let's just say walking upright is a bit difficult, since my backpack weighs me down so much that I'm always in fear of falling on my butt. It's real attractive, I tell you. For now, I guess I just have to wait until the world realizes I'm super important and I get to have a special limo to transport me+all my stuff to school.

Culture Shock: Street Art Edition

So ... it's been a while. I'm not being very cultured. Somehow, I've lost any desire to dress up and go gallery hopping while it's blizzarding outside. But there are some free concerts coming up that I'm going to try to attend, and in the meanwhile, I realized that you don't have to venture very far to enjoy some interesting art.

I snapped these pictures as I was walking home the other day. This is a street mural done on one of the buildings on this cute cobble-stony street where all the restaurants are. And I don't think I've paid much attention to it before, but it's really quite something.

I mean, the colours are harmonious and really soothing and the flow of the whole piece really brings it together. That and the female figures indulging in all sorts of kinky things. I think the one on the bottom right could definitely teach some Kama Sutra classes. Or at least make a career as a really bendy stripper.

Of My Updated New Food Obsessions

I was going to title this post "Of My New Food Obsessions" but then I realized I'd already had a post like that last week. So needless to say, I go through obsessions pretty quickly. But while eggs are and have been a permanent fixture on my food plan for years now, these two things are new additions.

Kalamata Olives

I was never 'obsessed' with olives before, but I think this new love is on par with my Great Radish Obsession of 2009, during which I ate a bushel of radishes every. single. day. I think what adds to this big love is that I get these olives from a super-sketch grocery store, wherein they're stored in something resembling a garbage bin. I think the danger adds to the excitement. That, or some strange disease from the bins is addling my mind.

And back for a return appearance - Peanut Butter.

I never had PB as a kid, and actually, the first time I tried it I thought it was kinda gross. I mean, it was like eating butter out of a jar. Who eats plain butter? But then my freshman year in university ... boy oh boy. Let's just say, peanut butter definitely became a trigger food. It was exciting, it was foreign (to me at least) ...

 

Nuhuh, peanut butter, I will own YOU, for a wonderful price of 3.99$ for 1kg. A spoonful of PB in my oatmeal every morning is exactly what I need. The foreign-ness and forbidden nature of PB has passed, and now, it's what makes me look forward to breakfast. A LOT. 

I wonder if it's the motivation for me going to bed at 9:30pm for the past couple of night (Grandma Alert! Grandma Alert!). I mean, if I go to bed sooner, I can wake up earlier ... so I can have breakfast earlier (and be productive, all that other unimportant life stuff) ...

Of My Culinary Triumph

I fear this may be turning into a food blog. Because peeps, I've been cooking ... and I've been liking it! Well, not the cooking process, but I've been actually liking the food I'm cooking. Until yesterday. Since then - I've been LOVING it.

You know why? Because I made katlety (Russian meatballs). Now as we all know, a good Russian girl must know how to cook Borscht (but ew, I don't like that kind of soup), plof (which is rice pilaf and all sorts of delicious and bad for you) and ... katlety. She must also listen to her parents and take care of husband and all other sorts of crap, so I'm not calling it my go-to guide to living, but let's focus on the katlety.

Before I fall over myself praising these meatballs (and myself, for making them), here's the recipe that I used:

(Oh and side note - if I can make these and they turn out DELISH, absolutely ANYONE can make these. So go and make these. DOOOOO IT.)

Ingredients:
2lbs ground beef (extra lean - but of course, you can go as fatty as you like!)
1/2 cup chopped onion
3/4 clove of garlic (you can use a whole clove for extra flavour)
1 egg
2 slices of bread
1/2 cup milk
1 tbsp of flour

Directions:
1. Take the 2 slices of bread and shred them into crumbs (don't worry, they don't have to be extra small, that's what the next step is for!).

2. Put the crumbs in a big bowl and pour the milk over them. Let them sit for ~10 minutes, and then use your fingers to really make it a smooth mixture (i.e. shred the bigger chunks of bread into smaller bits. It should be easier now that they are soaked in milk).

3. Pick up the glob of bread crumbs you have now and pour out the remaining milk from the bowl. Also, squeeze a bit of the milk out of the glob of bread crumbs too, so the meatballs aren't too soggy.

4. Put the glob of bread crumbs back in the bowl. Add the egg, the onions, and the meat on top. Grind the garlic clove on top of that

5. Now get down and dirty and really mix it up with your hands. Ooooh yea.

5. Dust a cutting board with a bit of flour. As you make the katlety shapes (it's really a shape between a flat hamburger patty and a meatball), roll them a bit in the flour.

6. Cook on low heat in a frying pan with a bit of oil (you don't need too much, because the meatballs will release their own juices).

7. Cook until the insides aren't pink anymore.

8. EAT ALL THE MEAT!

Of my Monotony and Other Small Musings

So I've been a bit MIA ... Mostly due to the lack of excitement in my life right now. It's all - wake up, head to class, eat, more class, eat, work, sometimes an extracurricular or some friend time, and then a chapter of my book and then sleep.

Of course all this monotony on my part is completely balanced out by mother nature's craziness. I swear, next thing she'll do is shave her head and have a mental breakdown.

Anyways - 2 days ago, I was wearing double layers. As in, my thermal skiing underwear (for -30 winter weather) made an appearance (or rather, hopefully not, as it was supposed to be discretely UNDER all of my regular clothes). That is NOT ok. Mainly because my jeans were not bought with the purpose of putting leggings under them.

And today? Holy sweet breath of baby Jesus, it was WARM! Like +2C. I wanted to frolick in the breezes in my summer dresses. Man, it was nice.

 

Isn't my school beautiful? Yep, gonna be said to be leaving it all behind this May. Onto bigger and better things, I guess. Also, the reason you're stuck with my unemotional grimace is because I refuse to look like an idiot grinning at her iPod while walking down the street.

Also, my hair is looking fabulous, if I may say so myself. Now, all I have to do is permanently wear a hat, so no one can see that my roots have grown out to my ears. I think Montreal (aka Freezing-Cold-Land) is the perfect place for this mission.