Resolutions

I cannot believe it's the year 2010, 2009 really went by fast.  This new year calls for new changes, positive changes.
Firstly I won't dwell on the past or worry about the future.  I'm going to "Let the chips fall where they may" or, "Fear not the future, weep not for the past", or how about, "Learn the past, watch the present, and create the future". Yeah I like that one.
Secondly, changing myself for the better, learning from my mistakes basically.  I will not make rash decisions, I will take my time thinking through each and everything, even if it takes days.  I will be more social.  I will love and care for my mom more.  I will love my aunt and uncle in NY more as well, because I really really love them and because I know they love me dearly as well.  I will try and not excessively waste my time and money on worldly matters/things (that's a hard one, shopping is a weakness).   But I'll try nonetheless.

2009 was rough, I don't really have good memories from it, which is why I want to forget.  And also, I'm 22 now, my birthday only three days into the new year.  Another reason for me to get a fresh start.  I'm getting there, to that stage in life which I always thought happy thoughts about, the 25 after years.  Should be exciting inshaAllah.  Oh and my braces come off in March of 2010 inshaAllah.  That is something I am so excited about, a new smile for my new self.  I can't wait until my dentist hands me the mirror.  I think I may tear up, tears of joy of course. 

All in all, "Out with the old, and in with the new".  I practically felt like a new person when I watched the year change on TV.  I felt the weight of the previous years just melting away, and I felt a glimmer of hope, and so then I mentally said "adios" to everything that hurt me before. 

I wish everyone a happy new year. 

Image via- Google

2 Weeks in 1 Post

So we came back to Canada late last night.  We brought along my sister and her baby, so she'll be with us for two weeks.
After we left Quebec city we went to upstate New York to spend some time with family.  I had so much fun there.  We went ice skating, and I tried snowboarding for the first time.  I didn't turn out to be any good but ended up hurting my tailbone badly right at the end.  I still don't know what's wrong with it and it's been five days since.  Unfortunately I don't have any pictures, the stress from both my feet being strapped onto a board was too much for me.
I also celebrated New Years there and watched the ball drop on TV, watched "Paranormal Activity", got freaked out and so everyone slept together.  Oh I love those times, the fun memories that you just never want to let go of.

Ice skating with the cousins

Then we headed to Virginia and spend two days there.  Hasan has really grown since we saw him last in August.

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Let it Snow...

Lots of snow fell all day yesterday and last night so everything is covered, it looks beautiful.
The day before we had dinner at a Moroccan restaurant.  I had Moroccan food once before and I didn't like it then, I thought perhaps this time I'll enjoy it, but no.  So it's confirmed that Moroccan food is not for me.  Although, the restaurant was tucked away on a narrow street just on the side of rue Saint-Jean, where we were walking.  My favourite part is the walking around, everything is narrow and beautiful.
Today we will be going to the Aquarium du Quebec.  There's just too much snow to walk around outside.  I'm excited because I haven't been around animals in such a long while.
We also found a Masjid a bit outside of the main city so InshAllah we'll pray Jumaah there.

Cool building

 

Chocolate factory on rue Saint-Jean

 

Bonjour From Quebec

Bonjour from Quebec.  We got here Saturday night at eight and spent the whole day out yesterday in vieux Quebec city (old Quebec).  Although, it is really, really cold, I came prepared with my gloves and coat, however, I think another layer of socks will make it perfect.

These are a couple pictures from yesterday.  We started our day off at Chateau Frontenac, had lunch nearby, walked down the beautiful street of Petit Champlain (my favourite part), had Beaver Tails, and ended our night on a ferry.

It starts getting dark here around 4:30, so it was pretty amazing walking down rue du Petit Champlain at that time.  I absolutely loved it!

Overlooking the St. Lawrence river

In front of Chateau Frontenac, overlooking the St. Lawrence river

I love little models

 On the left, the restaurant we had lunch at 

Beaver Tail- Chocolate & Banana, my favourite

Rue du Petit-Champlain

I had an amazing first day.  Today we will be exploring the Parliament Hill and surrounding area.  On Wednesday, we are going Tubing at night!  Cannot wait, for sure it'll be cold.

An American Breaskfast

I can't really believe it, I'm done with all my assignments for school!  I still have to attend class but only for exam review.  The actual exams will take place at the end of next week.  That was fast now wasn't it?  It's because of placement, took a major seven week chunk out.  This means I will now have to begin packing my suitcase; have to make sure I'm taking everything for the two weeks away.  Pretty exciting.
My nephew Hasan and his mom will be coming back with us as well in our trip back from Virginia (they'll stay for just a little while). So it'll be Quebec city for a week, then New York, then Virginia for about a day or two.  I've already planned that I'm going to have "Antonio's Pizza" there again, InshaAllah.

This morning I made Pancakes for breakfast using a Nigella Lawson recipe.  They were so much better than the box pancakes; fluffly, soft and chewy.  They were also very easy to make, which is always a plus, especially for mornings. I topped it with some raspberries and maple syrup ofcourse. Get the recipe here.

Now It's Here

It snowed.

But I can't seem to enjoy that part of it without my mind constantly thinking about having to shovel outside in the cold.  I think it's atleast ankle deep, but since we have a corner home, we almost always get more than what has been forecasted.
I slept pretty early last night for some reason, so this morning my eyes don't feel like they're stuck to the back of my head.  I'll be going to school today as well because there's assignments and PowerPoint presentations to work on. 
The only thing for today is that I hope sidewalks and roads are clear, because I really don't want my feet getting wet.  My suede boots aren't made for wet, winter weather.

Time for cereal.

I love winter images 

Image via- weheartit

Update: The usual thirty-five minute drive to my station took more than an hour because of the snow.  It's really wet out there today.

Rise & Shine

So, no snow...yet.

Eh! Sometimes waking up early in the morning makes my eyes feel like they're stuck to the back of my head.  I feel like steaming my face to loosen everything up. That sounds slightly gross.

I'm going to go have some "Honey Nut Cheerios"(yum) then get ready.

Image via- weheartit

Winter is Here

So I guess winter might be here because my desktop weather network is telling me it'll snow overnight.  However, I'm not ready because I don't have winter boots.  So if I wake up in the morning and everything is covered, I'll be slightly upset.  Some flurries fell today in the afternoon but I don't like flurries, I like the real thing.  The big, fat chunks that tickle your face.  I caught my bus just in time though, so instead, I witnessed the casual snow fall from the warmth of the GO bus seats, daydreaming.
Also, I bought sweatpants for the first time in my life.  I'm even embarrassed of typing it.  I actually walked myself inside an athletic store and bought sweatpants.  I'm loosing my sense of style so sweatpants seemed like the right choice, for now atleast.  They're nice though, black 'Nike' ones, very comfortable. I was supposed to buy some sweatshirts as well but was running late.  Next time perhaps.
Winter break will begin in two weeks.  I bought warm gloves and insulated leggings for my trip to Quebec.  We will be tobogganing among enjoying other winter sports, so have to keep warm.  Should be fun.
Alright, these next two weeks are pretty deadly so I better get back to work/studying.  Happy Winter everyone!

Picture perfect

Image via- weheartit

Lunch Time!

I made "Spaghetti Bolognese" from my "pasta" book for lunch.  I seriously love cooking now because it's such a relaxant for me.  It was yummy.  My mom made a delicious salad as a side so the two went really well together.  This bolognese was very easy to make and took a bit over an hour in total.  This is a very good dish to serve to your kids for lunch or dinner. 

Last week, I also made "Sheljum gosht" which I believe translates to turnip pickle in English.  This is how it looks.  I simply cut it into eight pieces and threw it in after the meat had cooked thoroughly.  Unfortunately I didn't take a picture of that dish, but basically the end result looked like Aloo Gosht.

Image via- Google

Eid Day

I had lots of fun yesterday among family and good food.  We started our day off by going to the masjid for Eid prayers.  Once we got home, we already had everything prepared so we just ate, and ate, and ate.  Well atleast I felt like I did.  Here's a preview of some of the delicious foods we had:

 

The "Chocolate Temptations' I made

I had a great time.  I think today we're invited to a couple parties so that should be fun as well.

You Drive me Crazy

Yumm, I'm having 'Hershey's Kisses' at the moment and they taste so good.  I also went a little click-crazy over at Ninewest.com a little earlier.  Everything seemed to be going into My Closet or Shopping Bag.  They're having a good sale Okay!  Then I was brought back to reality because of my mother, but she still didn't bring me down enough.  She said I could only pick one of the shoes, but that hardly works for me.  See the thing is, I have been looking for lace-up boots for some time now (I'm always looking for something aren't I?).  And NineWest has them, and I love NineWest so I mean why not?! I love shoes in general, but I also understand my limits and blah blah blah.  I feel like if I don't act now, everything will be gone overnight and I'll go back online tomorrow morning and they won't have the same specials anymore, then I'll be all sad.  I've told myself why I should get them however,  I'm not so sure my mom fell for it.  You have to think about it for the long run.  My other NineWest shoes are still with me, I take good care of them.  So why not these ones right?  Ahh I don't have much time left.  I need a plan.

Image via- Ninewest.com

Also, in school news, I'm very happy to announce that I have sealed the deal (lol I was going to type 'dealed' by accident) on my near future.  YorkU it is and wait for it.... European Studies is going to be my major!  That is majorly exciting.  Just have to keep everything under control for this remaining year, and whatever paper work needed to be done for later and then yeah. So excited!  I feel smart already.

Ok now I have to go pick my clothes for tomorrow.  This is the first time I realized I don't know what I'm wearing for a special event. Shocking!

What's For Dinner?

I have taken a two day break from school since Eid is tomorrow and everything needs to be prepared.  My dadi (dad's mom) is also over so that's also something nice.  Last night when my mom and dad went to go pick her and my uncle up, I was left to make dinner.  And so for the first time I made Dal (Lentil).  I'm not the biggest Dal fan but surprisingly it turned out well.  I had no idea how to make it, so I Googled it and clicked the first site which came up.  It was very easy to make, and since my grandmother approved it, then that means it was good.  I couldn't take a picture of it because everything was done quickly and once everyone came we ate straight away.  Perhaps next time.  But basically it looked like this:

Image via- Google

Chocolate Temptations

I, for the first time made something out of my "Cakes and Bakes" book I bought a little while back.  They are called "Chocolate Temptations".  They're kind of like truffles except for the round part.  It was a fairly easy recipe to make.  They're baking right now so once they've been cooled and decorated, I'll post pictures.

Image via- Google

What Are You Going To Do... After?

My last year is half way over in about three weeks.  That's pretty crazy.  That also leaves me with little time to decide my future.  I know I definitely want to continue studying.  I've looked at York University as an option and going through some programs just now, it doesn't seem that bad.  I just have to decide if I want to continue with ECE or go into something else.  My mind is saying go into something else (Arts).  My older sister attended YorkU as well, and as far as I know, it's a good school.  I have to get down to business now in terms of researching/applying .  I keep thinking time is running out.  Is it?  I'm not quite sure yet.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge Sundae

I haven't had dessert in a very long time.  I came across this mouth watering dessert on Nigella Lawson's website.  It only takes 5 minutes to prepare. 

Image via- Nigella.com

And speaking of desserts, my mom had a wedding cake order for today, and the cake she made is so breathtakingly beautiful.  It's simple and elegant.

 

So proud of you mama!

Update: I made the dessert tonight and I loved it.  The chocolate sauce is really really good, with that tiny hint of peanut putter. I used chocolate and maple walnut ice cream for the sundae part.
I also made the Karahi again, except this time I used chicken.  I preferred the chicken karahi more.

 

What's For Dinner?

So I'm really proud of myself.  Two days ago and tonight, I made two completely new dishes.  Both for dinner, both very different.  The first day I made Pilau, which is rice with lamb pieces.  I got the recipe off of my friend, and although I originally wanted Bhriyani, we ended up with Pilau.  It took around an hour to make.  I always have trouble getting the rice perfect but luckily these turned out okay.  It wasn't majorly spicy or anything.  Just a simple meat and rice dish.  Enjoyed by my family none the less.

The second dish I made was tonight, and had already been planned while making my first dish.  So this is what happened.  I was making my first dish, while waiting for something to boil I starting going through my mom's boxed spices and I came across "Karahi/Fry Gosht Curry Mix" and I was like "Wow, I really have to make this".  The funny thing is that I always used to see the 'Shan' boxes lying around but never really thought about using them (my mom doesn't use them).  So for the past two days, all I kept thinking about was the picture on the box and how absolutely delicious it looked. 

Image via- Google

So finally today, I bought green chili's and began cooking as soon as I got home from school.  Major adrenaline rush.  And wow, I am truly impressed by not only the turn out of the dish, but how easy it was using the 'Shan' mix.  I only needed to add garlic and ginger, water, oil and tomatoes.  It got made in about fifty minutes.  It was so flavourful and the smell of the green chili was amazing!  Now that I've learned how to make it, I can make the changes for next time accordingly.  Because of the success of this dish, I really am planning on trying more of the mixes to see what can be created. Soo happy!

Outfit Dilemma

I presented my public statement yesterday about my cooking adventures.  It went well, however, the instructor kept using me as an example later on saying , "I'd be so happy if Anum invited us to her house" (the class was about 'Invitational Education").  I was supposed to make my statement on the week of the 23rd, but switched with another student because I may not be in Toronto for that week.  Either way, it's over and I'm happy.

My very good friend might also be getting engaged any time soon.  Hopefully.  She's fairly traditional in some cases, so getting married early is something which is on top of her 'list'.  The sense that she's not so traditional in is her choice in a wedding outfit.  She wants to wear a normal dress!  By all means, to each their own, but come on, you're going to get married in something resembling other than this?:

I might have to do some convincing in the coming weeks/months.  Perhaps maybe show her a few pictures to change her mind.  And she's such a beautiful girl as well, I wouldn't want to see her on her wedding day wearing just a dress.  It's also because her potential fiance doesn't know any languages other than English, not even his mother tongue, which is Persian.  So I'm guessing he'll be wearing a suit as well, rather than this:

Images via- bargello.com

It's one day in your whole life, it wouldn't hurt to wear something this beautiful.  If I could, I'd wear pretty, beaded traditional clothing all the time.

Well either way, I hope she has this wedding soon, because then atleast I can dress up.

'2012' is Two Years Away

So I felt kind of bad, but I ditched my friends for some family time.  My dad's birthday is coming up in two days, so we decided to do dinner and a movie, or in our case, movie then dinner.  We watched '2012' and I have to say the movie was interesting, in a good way.  I have to admit, I got teary eyed in some parts cause it was just sad and it makes you think about life and loved ones.  But basically you just had to sit there and watch.  The special effects were coolio and the photography was awesome as well.  A couple super cars got destroyed which made me teary eyed.  Nah I'm kidding, but I was thinking "Noooo" in my head. 
Then the movie ended and it was too late to eat dinner at a restaurant so instead we quickly ordered Chinese and ate it at home.
I had fun, I still consider that some form of P-A-R-T-Y so it's all good.  Now I must rest because school is awaiting.
Cheerio.

Image via- Google

Back to Blogging

I had to take a little break since I had a couple research papers due for college.  They have all been submitted so I can breathe now, or atleast for another little while.  You can say I was practically living at school this past week.
Oh, remember my public statement I was talking about?  Well in my time off I decided what I would do for that as well.  I'm going to present a PowerPoint about my cooking.  I've titled it, "My Cooking Adventures".  This way it's completely personal.  That's coming up in a couple weeks, but it feels good to have it covered. 
I'm also off on an adventure of my own with a couple friends tomorrow .  P-A-R-T-Y!  Haven't done that in a while. 
Hmm, life is going well Alhumdullilah.  I'm happy!

Image via- vi.sualize.us

Bachelor #2?

I think I've just discovered my biggest fear. 
Let me give a little background.  Ever since I was young, I always looked at marriage with the gleam-iest of eyes.  Two people sharing, caring, connecting.  It was never anything negative, scary or, out of the ordinary for me.  I assumed it would just happen one day and I'd be so happy.  And that is exactly what happened.  The big day came and I was the happiest person in the world.
Well, my marriage unfortunately ended a little while back.  It was a love marriage. Meaning we both met, fell in love, and decided to take the big step.  But then it ended.  I had to deal with that, actually I still am dealing with that. 
Now, what may be my biggest fear you ask.

Image via- weheartit

The Autumn Leaves

I woke up early this morning to run errands with my mom.  When we got back home she asked me to rake our yard because there were leaves everywhere.  I gathered piles around the yard and an hour later, I was completely tired.  And I thought that was hard enough. However, raking was the least of my worries.  Transferring the leaves to the bags was even harder work, and took much longer.  And the little bit of wind didn't help either.  A while later, I was done, but completely famished.  This was definitely a two(or more) person job.  The hard work paid off though, our yard looks pretty.
Well I've finished eating now and will work on my assignment(s) for school until 9:00 pm.  Then I'll watch a movie.

Image via- weheartit

What's For Lunch?

My mom had to run errands today so she left me the wonderful task of preparing something for lunch.  Since we already had frozen meatballs in the freezer, I decided to make "Kofta Salan".  It was basically like my "Chicken Salan" recipe, except with meatballs.  It turned out well, both my mom and sister enjoyed it.

I'm going to go through the "Cakes and Bakes" book to see what I can make for dessert later.

What's Your Favourite Meal?

Last night after school, I stopped at 'Chapters' and found two cooking books which I had to buy.  One was "Cakes and Bakes", and the other was simply called, "pasta".  I decided to buy these two books because I look for simplicity and these books were simple enough.  Recipes were clearly typed on one side, with the method on the other.  They also had large, clear pictures so the reader has a better understanding of what they're actually making.  I glanced through and every dish seemed easy to make.  I also bought them because they consist of dishes from my two favourite meals, lunch and dessert.

I definitely want to give atleast the dessert book a try tonight, since we just had shrimp pasta not two days ago. I will also recommend these books for the novice cook.  After having a chance to sit down and go through, the recipes really are clear and concise, which I personally prefer.

Image via- Murdoch Books

Side Note

I'm in class and I look up to see a girl having a bottle of Coke. Coke, at nine in the morning!!! Watching people is fun.
Today I wore my winter coat because last night, while waiting for the bus, I couldn't stop shaking.
Hmm, I could go with a French Vanilla at this moment, and a chocolate danish.  Ah, I'm no better than the 'coke girl'.

Image via- Flickr

School Business

I'm on break between classes.  My next class starts soon.  I wore my super cute, black booties today with my slim pants.  They're very architectural.  This is only my second time wearing them since I bought them.  The weather today is funny though, the sun's out but it rains every now and then.  I also like how it gets dark earlier now, so by the time I get out of class, it'll be dark. 
I realized that although I love my three day weekday, I get extremely depressed.  For example, yesterday I had a whole day off and I did not know what to do with myself.  I just was not able to distract myself, and if I did, it was only for a couple minutes.  So I'm glad I'm at school, being busy.  I was thinking that if I can't do my placement at the Royal Ontario Museum, then I'll just work there during the summer, even volunteer.
However, I have to slow down.  Sometimes I let myself think too far ahead.  I should just take each day as it is and engage myself in things that matter, rather than going after or involving myself in something or someone that will not benefit me.

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