Last Hurrah...

I just returned home from YC (Youth Conference) 2007 in Edmonton... 16,000 attendees, 12 Christian Higher Education Canada members (the organization that I work for)... reservations for 20 at Moxies for all of us social butterflies... good times!



It was a bitter sweet weekend for me. One of my favourite parts of my job is conferences and connecting with the reps and partner organizations. This was my last event :( I realized that the next time I see most of these reps will be in the fall when they come through Calgary on the CCUFairs (my main job responsibility is coordinating the fairs), and I will be pushing a baby carriage and showing off Baby Chu! I am jealous to be missing the fairs, but ready to be a mom too... For everything there is a season and a time for every purpose under heaven (Eccl. 3:1).

So you thought a guitar is hard to play...

I was ripping a CD of classical Chinese music. One thing led to another, and as a result of that, I found this video on YouTube. The instrument played there is called "pipa". The composition played, as introduced in the video, is called "Ambushed from Ten Sides", which portrays an epic battle in year 202 BC that led to the establishment of the Han dynasty. Here is another short description of the piece. Hope you enjoy it.

May Flowers?

So, it turns out that it's a good thing I didn't give my flower boxes too much attention last week. A lot can happen in Calgary weather in a week! I am very jealous of the Forsyth's trip to Disney World... but hey, I get to go to Edmonton tomorrow. WooHoo! ;)

Automated Dog Wash

posted by Karl:
I watched a short story on the Weather Network about an automated dog wash. I thought it was pretty cool and proceeded to search for a video so I could blog about it. Apparently, it works much better for dogs than for cats. :P

Just Peachy...

Mom & Trent enjoying the peach crepes and each other's company :)My Amma with her peach crepe... and her first ever Latte! She'll be a Starbucks-a-holic before we know it!
Thank you to my hubby! The crepes and peach sauce were incredible.

Now that it's raining... I need to figure out a "Plan B" for the barbecue we were supposed to have tonight... hmmm...

Cooked Peach Sauce

I volunteered to make crepes for Dayna's amma, her mom, and Trent tomorrow morning. So I adapted the Cooked Strawberry Sauce recipe I made for Dayna and prepared my own version of "Cooked Peach Sauce". It is too simple of a recipe to not share with anyone, so here it is:

Ingredients:

• One 14-oz can of peaches in juice/syrup
• One tablespoon cornstarch

Directions:

1. Dump the whole can of peaches, juice and all, into a saucepan. Do not apply heat yet.
   
2. Use a potato masher and mash up the peaches
3. Add the cornstarch and mix it well
4. Put the saucepan on medium heat and cook until mixture is boiling
5. Continue to boil for one minute or until sauce begins to thicken. Stir constantly while cooking.

Easy, piece of crepe!

Mother's Day & Groovy Grandma...

My step dad and his brothers got their mom (my Grandma Jacquie) a helicopter ride for her 79th birthday... here she is!


And we went to an "edutainment" Mother's Day brunch buffet at the Calgary Zoo... could become a annual tradition! I missed pics of the chocolate fountain though :(

Mom and me

Trent & Jacquie

Trent enjoying his
favourite food group: bacon

Under those patio lanterns...

Well, no lanterns, but we got a sweet patio set last week! Just in time for the sun... (the umbrella looks white here, it's actually quite tan/sand).

As you can see, the flower beds need attention next!

Some Things to CHU on...

Does anybody do that "cook for a day, eat for a month" menu planning? Well, we did it quite regularly for a while, then hit a bit of rut, then I started working a second job and we got pretty frustrated with the daily meal decision with both of us working so much.

So, we went back to the cook-for-a-day plan... and combined it with a pre-purchase meal plan from make-or-take meals.

One of the projects of the day was mass onion chopping. Karl had a strategy (of course!):

We're set until the end of July now! We made enough meals for lunches and suppers for over 2 months... most of which will be supplemented with salads, veggies, pasta, rice, etc on the night of preparation (the rest will be alternated with the make-or-take meals). AAhhh, it feels so awesome to have a plan... half the battle is figuring out what to have each day, not necessarily how to make it or getting the groceries.

I did so much grocery shopping yesterday, I literally had to make 2 trips through the grocery store, through the line, and out to the car. Luckily my arrival home coincided with Karl getting home from work, so he got to haul everything in!

One of the treats I picked up yesterday was strawberries... yum! Karl made the best crepes in the universe for supper tonight, and a gorgeous strawberry syrup.

We added whipped cream too, but then ate it too fast to get a photo ;)

And I made some Strawberry Bread... think banana bread... but ditch the bananas and use strawberries. I can't wait to taste it; it's cooling now.

We had a busy weekend last weekend, but hadn't posted photos yet, here are a few.
We went to Rosebud Dinner Theatre on Friday, out to Bragg Creek and Okotoks with Mom & Trent on Saturday for lunch (no pics :( ) and for supper with K's fam. We had some pretty strange food at supper, but I am past the point of it being appropriate to take photos at supper
(I guess it wouldn't be too rude, but since we've been married for over three years, I'm trying to 'blend' more... or something? The blondeness keeps me from blending too well I suppose!). Maybe cow's tongue and some intestine-like things were the strangest this time.

Well, I'm blogged out for now, as you likely are reading this long post. Maybe tomorrow I will get some pictures of the strawberry loaf, if there's any left! One last sentiment:

Go Ottawa Programmers! Our last Canadian hope!

I'm blogging and facebooking on a Friday night. Is that a sad statement on my social life? In my own defense, we had plans that canceled on us... and an invitation to Spiderman 3 that we declined because we're going with friends next weekend. Oh, and we went out to other friends' last night. Yah. so there.

• Facebook Tagline of the week: "Time flies like the wind, but fruit flies like bananas."
• Job Profile of the week: Anybody looking for a little change and want to work in Christian Higher Education (with a bit of travel and bit of PR and a bit of marketing... working from home)? They're hiring for my position right now... details here.
• Resource Request of the week: What's your favourite pre-made pizza? We make some ourselves, get some fresh from Sobeys (and they're great) but I want to have a stash in the freezer for 'emergencies.'
• Magazine of the week: Blueprint ..."design your life" Martha Stewart
• Baby news of the week: Baby Chu is just over 23 weeks, almost 1 pound, and 11.4 inches