first tuesday of the month. grocery day

Every month I look forward to the first Tuesday of the month. Why you may ask? Grocery day! Sounds silly to be excited about something as simple as getting groceries but Jade and I make an event out of it. Since we try to only go once a month, we start off by listing out what we'll need over the month. I found this awesome list online that you can modify and check off the items you're wanting to get. I print mine off and then highlight the items I'm wanting to get.

We go grocery shopping only once a month because it'll save money in the end. Save On Foods has a promotion that on the first Tuesday of the month you'll get 15% off. When you're buying in mass quantities it makes a difference.

Last month I wanted to walk up and down each isle and I read through every label while Jade waited about patiently for me to be done. We were there for over two hours! This month to cut back on our shopping time I promised to do the following things:

• No walking up and down each isle.
• No impulse buying! Unless it's something I meant to add to the list and forgot.
• No reading the labels for five minutes each time while trying to decide between to products.
• Go to produce first because they're the items that sell out the fastest.
• Eat before we go to avoid wanting to buy everything.

I ended up being successful at everything on that list except eating before we went. BIG mistake. It wasn't that I bought too much but being around all the food that I couldn't eat was making me grumpy. Luckily because of how effective we've gotten over the last couple of months we were out of there in an hour! 50% time decrease!

This time Jade and I went our separate ways to try to save some time. Another big mistake. It was definitely not as fun as it usually is. Next month I'm making sure we stick together so that we can joke around and talk while we're there. Plus I love seeing what she ends up getting because it gives me ideas for what I may want to buy. Now I get to enjoy looking at full fridge with so many eating choices!

steak, potatoes, beer, and furry things

This weekend I went to my friends' house to watch rocket speedboat. Rocket speedboat is code name for Battlestar Galactica. That what we've been calling it ever since I texted them one day asking if they wanted to watch it. I thought it would be funny to use emoticons to ask. The only ones my phone had that I thought were similar was a rocket (cause I thought it looked like a bomb from battle) and a speedboat (cause I thought it could possibly be a ship).

As soon as I walked in the door there was an amazing dinner waiting for me. Carrots, mashed potatoes, and a perfectly cooked t-bone steak. All with a side of garlic bread and an ice cold Keith's.

The steak was so juicy and flavorful. The seasoning was perfect and the middle was a nice pink color. It was probably one of the best steaks I've ever had. He said it was the first time he's ever cooked a steak on the BBQ but you definitely couldn't tell. I've tried cooking steak on the BBQ a couple times and each time has ended in disaster. It's not as easy as it sounds like it would be to cook it perfectly.

For dessert we had my favorite pie. Pecan pie.

The rest of the night was watching TV with two furry little animals by our sides. Both of them were adopted within the last year from the Edmonton Humane Society. They got their puppy, Haley, last summer. She's two this year.

They got their cat, Imoen, in last December. She's a snowshoe with beautiful blue eyes. She just turned one.

quick and easy. guacamole

Each month I make sure to buy avocados just so I can make this guacamole. Not only is it super delicious but it's good for you too. I end up so full after eating the whole bowl to myself!

Ingredients:

• 2 large ripe avocados
• 1/4 large red onion
• 1/2 large tomato
• 1 or 2 squirts of lime juice (can be substituted with fresh limes)
• Salt & pepper to taste (I use a garlic salt & pepper grinder)

First I halved the avocados, pit them, and scooped the insides into a bowl.

Once in the bowl I mushed them up with my hands (don't worry, if I'm making it for other people I use a fork). I just like how the avocado makes my skin nice and smooth afterward.

Next I cut up the onion into small pieces and added them to the bowl.

Then it's was time to cut up the tomato and add it to the bowl.

I mixed it all together and added the lime juice and fresh ground garlic salt & pepper.

I carefully mixed it all together and voila! Easy guacamole! Mmm. Now it's time to eat it up with the help of some nacho chips. My personal favorite is Tostitos Rounds because their bite size and delicious.

weekend breakfasts. egg wrap

One thing I love about the weekend is having time in the morning to make myself a nice hot breakfast. Today I felt like making something relatively easy but that I wouldn't bother making on a weekday. An egg wrap! Mmm!

Ingredients:

• 1 large sundried tomato wrap
• 1/4 of a green pepper
• 2 thin slices of original style ham
• Small handful of Tex Mex shredded cheese
• Bull' s Eye Barbecue Sauce - Guinness flavored
• 1 large egg

I started by cutting up some green peppers while the fry pan warmed up a bit.

I laid my wrap on a plate. Ready and waiting.

Then I fried some thin slices of ham.

I placed the ham on the wrap and I sprinkled on some shredded cheese. Next I added a little BBQ sauce.

I put the green peppers in the frying pan and stirred them around for a couple minutes to heat up.Then I added my egg and scrambled it until it was cooked. I quickly placed it on top of the cheese so it could melt nicely while it was still hot. And voila! My wrap was complete. It was almost as fun making it as it was eating it!

Sushi, corsets, and tea. Oh my!

Once again had an amazing sleep last night. It's funny because nothing has changed to make my nights more restful. I'm not going to complain since it's so nice to finally sleep well. And waking up feeling rested actually makes my day at work go by incredibly quick.

After work I met up with one of my best friends that I haven't seen in a while. I took her out for sushi and beer. I got the mexican maki and it was absolutely to die for. It's probably one of my favorite items on the menu. It wasn't until about a year ago that this friend had taken me out for sushi for the first time. Ever since then I can't seem to get enough!

Come to think of it my friend has introduced me to many things over the years. She made me want to learn how to play a guitar when she showed me how to play a few chords. She was the one who got me to try my first loose tea and sushi for the first time. I even remember the first time we met. We were both fourteen and we snuck in liquor filled chocolates into the movie theatre in hopes of getting a slight buzz.

She is very important in my life. This is why, when she asked me today, I was honored to be a bridesmaid in her wedding. I'm really looking forward to it. Not only because I love weddings but also because she is going to have hers in Mexico. One week of drinking and relaxing with close friends. Plus I get along well with everyone else that is in the wedding party which means it'll have to be a good time.

Afterwards we went to one of my favorite stores, Nightshade Corsets (Nightshade Corsets). Rows and rows of corsets and other amazing items! Whenever I come to this store it is guaranteed that I'm going to buy something even though I own so many corsets already.

Today was no different. I saw a mannequin wearing a gorgeous white and black corset with a matching skirt and I had to try it on. When I asked if they had any additional colors it turns out I already owned a corset in a similar shade of green. So to see how it would look together I found the corset I already own and tried it on with this amazing skirt. I couldn't resist purchasing it especially since I already owned the corsest.

Now I own this whole outfit minus the shrug. I haven't yet decided how I feel about the shrug with this outfit. I think I may want to find something a little more fitted. But I do love the detail of it along with the flowers around the neck. It also matches the frills of the skirt quite well. Now all I have to do is figure out a place where I can wear this outfit without having men gawking because I'd be wearing a corset.

I went out to a bar for my friend's birthday a few years back and decided to wear one of my corsets with a pair of jeans. I was sitting on a bar stool with my back facing the crowd when a larger older man walks up and runs his fingers down the lacing of my corset. My friends told me that he had a creepy look on his face as he was doing it. Ever since that night I've been worried to wear them out for fear of unwanted touching. But no time like the present to get back on the horse. And this time I'll make sure I sit with my back facing a wall.

This morning I was looking through my teas at work and I realized that I have so many teas at home that I don't drink often enough because they have caffeine in it. I try to avoid caffeine later in the day in case it affects my ability to fall asleep. This is when I came up with the idea to inventory all my teas. I started compiling a spreadsheet depicting the type of tea, if it's caffeine free, if I enjoy it, and if I'd buy it again once it's completed. This way I will know exactly which teas I have and which ones I like.

So once I got home I pulled out all my tea, lit some candles, and completed the spreadsheet. Unfortunately there are so many teas that I don't even remember what they taste like because it's been so long since I've had them. Now I am going to have to go through all the ones that I don't remember (and there are many) to fill in the rest of the spreadsheet. In the long run it will help me keep organized with which ones I like and want more of and which ones not to bother with.

I think Dash got a little bored of my shenanigans and decided to show how upset he was by the lack of attention by laying on his face. I have never seen him lay like this before and it was so cute. Definitely got my attention! Currently he's happy that I'm done so we can cuddle and watch a movie together.

I've made myself some tea. One that was on the list of teas I can't remember how they taste. Tonight I picked Bear Trap as my tea of choice. It's a herbal tea with black currants, blackberries, strawberries, and raspberries. The tea is actually pretty good but I think I'm enjoying it better chilled than hot. One tea down yet so many more to go!