ode to vinegar

o vinegar, dear vinegar,
how i love you.
how perfect you are with
salt.
how delightfully you clean my
windows - dishes - laundry -
and countertops.
you absorb odours and repel mildew
you combat germs with all the force of bleach
and none of the nasal discomfort.
today alone you have helped me to
scour pots and freshen apartmenty washing machines
and sanitize the bathroom and clean a raw-chicken-y plate
and flavour the chicken as well,
o vinegar!
they say you are made from fermented grain or coal tar
and whether they've got their stories wrong or not
you are made
for making my life
clean
and
delicious.
hold your ugly gallon self proud, and doff your little cappy lid in joy
for today, o vinegar, 
the shiny, tangy universe celebrates you!

a merry little christmas

i was feeling festive last week, and wanted to make something.  i had already taken my daily trek through the freezing winds and ice pellets, so had to settle with using the craft supplies i have.   i didn't think i had anything christmassy, so it was a nice challenge, raiding the closet with as much imagination as i could muster.

i found:
1 glue gun, lots of refill sticks
1 empty boot box
1/2 a bag of cranberry scented potpourri
1 exacto knife

so i unfolded the boot box and had a reasonable amount of cardboard.  i cut out a circle, free-hand - nothing like a little whimsy to add personality to a craft.  (okay, i just didn't bother finding something round to trace.)
then i hot-glued the potpourri onto the cardboard ring, and ta-dah, i had an envy-of-etsy cranberry scented christmas wreath!

(okay, etsy wouldn't touch it.  but the cardboard doesn't show and it smells good.)  for extra festive oomph, i added it to the gorgeous star hanging in my kitchen (a goodbye gift from katie).
also, it wouldn't be a day in my life if i didn't injure myself in some way ...
the glue gun somehow found its way to my arm, now i am sporting what looks suspiciously like a cigarette burn - just in time for the holidays.
merry christmas!

nogcakes

it's a cozy snowy wintry sort of day, and we skipped breakfast, so i wanted to make something quick and comforting for lunch.  we had a little eggnog left in the fridge, and the other day patrick had asked what eggnog pancakes would taste like.  we both drooled a little at the thought, so today we tried it out.  it was so simple - i just added a few dashes of spice and replaced half the milk with eggnog in my favorite pancake recipe.   it was so yummy and christmassy i wanted to share.



okay, this isn't a very appetizing example.  there's a reason it was left behind when all the others were eaten.  but it's all i have left to show you, because we ate the entire batch.  (we had help.)

*eggnog pancake recipe:
1 cup milk
1 cup eggnog
2 eggs
3/4 cup sugar (or a little less.  measurements aren't exact)
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (or a little more.  yum)
a dash of cinnamon
a dash of ginger
2 cups flour
1 and a half tablespoons of baking powder.

stir it all together until it's all mixed in (none of this slightly lumpy business, i use a whisk and make it as smooth as i can).  then cook them like you always do!  (i do a minute on each side, at medium temperature, when i'm not surfing on facebook and letting them burn ... like the one in the photo.)

*i think it's the beastly amount of baking powder - these are yummy and fluffy even without the eggnog.  it's a quick & simple go-to recipe when you want something with little hassle and lots of deliciousness.

why i quit my job

i quit my job.
no, i'm not crazy.
this is me explaining why.

first off, i had turned down the promotion and was convinced to take it against my better judgment.  i knew i didn't want more hours and responsibility.  full time supervisor was enough for me - and then some.  i'm not a work-driven person; i like a job that makes me feel successful and positive relatively quickly (like my first teaching placement ... i loved jr. high.  i could definitely handle the workload and saw changes in my students' learning as i taught).  i guess i need that kind of affirmation, or i don't see a point in going on.  if it's taking me an unusual amount of time to achieve results, i might as well step aside and let someone with more skills take the reins - we'll all be happier in the end.

secondly, i was working way too many hours.  i was pulling 14 hour days (on salary, so no correlation in my paycheque) and i saw patrick for weepy half-hours in the evenings and mornings.  at first, i liked the challenge of seeing if i could get through the grand opening.  but as time went by and i was still learning - slowly, slowly - while the amount of work i was required to do increased, my desire to get up in the morning decreased.  all i could do was come home at night and collapse into bed.

next, i was stressed out.  i was working 14 hour days, missing my husband, rarely getting days off, and getting one break per day.  i lost ten pounds in a month.  (the weight loss is nice ... but stressing it off was not the best way to lose it.)  EVERYTHING was a BIG DEAL!  and i was getting boring.  on the two occasions when i did see my friends, i just talked about work.  ugh.

fourth: weekends.  when i took the job, my biggest hesitation was that i wouldn't be able to get to church every sunday.  i was assured that every second sunday i would be free.  ... but in actuality, after a month, i got to one service.  not my thing.  i don't want a job that rules my life, even if this busy time is supposed to end in 3 months - i don't want to be a stranger to my christian family.

finally, the support i was assured i would have was just not in place.  when i asked for help, i constantly heard "you'll understand everything in time, don't worry."  which wasn't the best answer when home office was emailing and calling me constantly, asking me to correct mistakes and to get things done yesterday.

so, after considering it carefully, and after finding myself crying more days than not ... i said goodbye.  life is short and i want it to be sweet.

i'll be home for christmas ...

if only in my dreams.

i admit it.  i miss my family.  i wish i was snuggled up with my nieces, drinking hot chocolate, listening to their stories about school and friends and what they want for christmas.  i wish my nephew was telling me, in his adorable breathless way, about his dirt bike and what he wants to do with it in the summer.  i wish my sisters were making chai tea and planning sledding dates with my mom and dad.  i wish we were putting up twinkly lights and complaining about the shopping traffic in bayers lake.  i wish we were listening to kenny and dolly and boney m and patrick complaining about it. 

i wish i was at home with my wonderful, beautiful family.

i miss you.

grand opening weekend and things i'm thankful for

we opened for business on thursday, and people were bursting down the doors.  it was like a tickle-me-elmo-christmas-crush ... for furniture.
for four days, the population of thunder bay streamed into our store in droves. 
it was insanity. 
we were working 15 hour days, with not even time for breaks.  customers were amazingly patient with us, because we're all in training - but even so, the stress was intense.  i've never managed before.  agh.
by saturday, the lack of sleep and immensity of the workload made my neck ache.  it was still hurting yesterday, and today at work, the girls were telling me i didn't look too great. 
so they told my boss i was going to the clinic, another manager drove me there, and i walked in.
within 5 minutes, i was standing at the pharmacy counter with my prescription in hand.
i've never had a shorter visit in a clinic.  i'm so glad to have such amazing coworkers who take care of me even when i'm too blind to take care of myself.
then patrick tucked me into bed and did the laundry while i slept ... and is making me supper while i type.
so blessed.

winnipeg: over

i'm home!  i'm home!  yesterday afternoon, caitlin met me at avis, and brought me back to my beautiful, amazing, dear husband.  i was so tired i could hardly think straight.  i slept for ten hours, and yet this morning i still have bags under AND over my eyes.  ick.

it is so nice to be back in my life again.  i love my place.  i love my sweet cozy bed.  i love my thoughtful husband.  who knew: i even love thunder bay. 
weirder still: i'm excited to eat vegetables. 
(eating out for a week was not as awesome as i thought it would be.  ugh.)

thanks for all the comments and love on my blog, friends.  i love you.

winnipeg: day six

last day of training!  brain is mush.  but i've learned a lot and hopefully will take most of it back to a gorgeous new store :D.

after work, we went shopping - to two malls and a maze of outlet stores.  2 kind of cool things happened ...

i was sitting outside starbucks, and could see a kid further up the mall who looked so much like ashlin.  and i was missing her so much, and all of a sudden she texted me!  it made my day. i love my nieces and nephew.  they're fun people.

another cool thing that happened was at the end of the night.  a girl walked up to me, and she was like 'you seem so familiar!  do i know you from somewhere?' and i was like 'i don't think so - i'm not from in town.  i'm janelle.' and she was like 'i'm janelle!"  and then she introduced her friend, and they said that they (young people from their church) walk through the mall on friday nights and pray for people who stand out to them ... and then she asked if they could pray for me, and about anything in particular.

and then, right there in the mall, she did.  and i thought it would've been awkward and weird, but it was really awesome and i am so glad she did.

it made God feel so close.  even in the food court of the mall.
so thanks, winnipeg.  it's been a weird and difficult and good week.

tomorrow: patrick. <3

winnipeg: day five

Today we worked from 1230 til 915. It was so nice to sleep in! Afterwards, we went out for supper and laughed our butts off.

Until I put my foot in my mouth ... . A girl we were with was swearing earlier in the evening, saying Jesus Christ! for emphasis. Later, when I made a joking reference to some popes' less-than-holy treatment of kids, she freaked out and almost cried.  oops.  but I don't understand a view of God that makes it okay to curse His name but worships his (so-called) representative. Anyway, that made for an awkward night, with me apologizing for hurting her feelings, and her telling me that I was being worse than anti-Semitic for suggesting that popes aren't perfect ... but i'm a “nice person” and she doesn't want to hate me, so she's trying to remember to “be happy.” ugh! Catholics freak me out. Especially the ones who think they're good Catholics.

Jesus is God and I worship Him. Anybody else who tries to be worshipped is stealing His glory.

I'll be in Patrick's arms in less than 48 hours ... Lord Jesus willing, regardless of what the pope thinks of it!

Hurray!

winnipeg: day four

i have the strongest urge to jump on my bed.  it's huge, and i have the biggest pillows to land on.  i know when i get home, i'm going to find our bed small and our pillows flat ... but the best part will be snuggling with patrick, no matter how small or crowded it might seem!

today, a guy walked into leon's wearing a stripey brown shirt and black-rimmed glasses.  for a second, my heart leaped into my throat.  i thought it was patrick, coming to visit ...

anyway.  tonight we went to mcdonalds for supper - got take out - and watched movies.  then i talked to patrick and cried for the first time this week.  it just hit me hard how much i missed him.

we're working a later shift tomorrow, so get to sleep in.  yay! 
goodnight, friends.

ps thanks for all the comments :D

winnipeg: day three

another day.  today i learned how to do some more reports, some scheduling, and some finalizing of orders.

i also learned how to take a little bit of a stand, and not let one of my girls - who is awesome, but strongly opinionated - push me around.  which is cool.  i wasn't mean or anything, but i didn't reward pushiness with compliance.

after work, we went out to sushi cushi, which was cute & fun, and then to the movies to see social network.  it was good to just totally relax and enjoy the movie without thinking about work or stress about inter-office-cliques or anything like that.  also, it was free popcorn & pop night ... sweet!

thanks for praying for us.  i need more wisdom and patience than i possess! 

sweet dreams, all!

winnipeg: day two

today we went to the winnipeg store.  they were amazing.  so nice, so helpful.  we learned a lot.

i am sooooo tired.

good night world.