Words Unspoken|Today is where your book begins, the rest is still unwritten.

I’m a fan of trying new things. I like adventure and the thrill of finding something new that I enjoy. New movies, new television shows, new games… But most of all, new foods and recipes. I love to cook, which is no surprise, but when I discover a new recipe to make that passes not only my taste-testing, but Matt’s as well, I love it even more.

The past two nights have been a huge hit. Tonight and two nights ago (yes, leftover ingredients so we had it twice this week!) we had penne pasta with marinara sauce, Mediterranean salad, a grilled chicken thigh with the marinara on top and some cheese and baked crusty bread with homemade (Matt-made!) garlic butter. What a fantastic meal it was! Filling (especially with all the salad), not too unhealthy (yes, it could be better, but it’s better than a pizza or a burger!) and delicious. Last night was what I keep referring to as Lazy Fajitas. I sautéed some peppers and onions in a bit of extra virgin olive oil and some Tex-Mex seasoning, grilled a couple chicken thighs with cumin and chili powder on top and we put them on top of warmed tortillas with a bit of sour cream, some cheese and some mild salsa. One fajita kept me full for hours!

For me, individual food finds are just as good as a whole meal. I went to Matt’s sister Jane’s house a few weeks ago to watch UFC (yes, you can stop laughing now) and just hang out, and she decided to put a little tray of snacks out - fresh crusty bread, honey garlic pepperoni, pickles, and two things that I hadn’t ever tried before: Havarti and Pâté. I didn’t mind the pâté at all, but I knew Matt wouldn’t go for it. However, I decided to try the Havarti thing here and it stuck! I’ve stuffed chicken with it, or when I feel like snacking I toss it on a plate with some pickles, pepperoni, Kalamata olives and fresh bread and snack away.

Not all of my food adventures turn out well. I tried replacing the pasta in my mock pierogi (recipe to come sometime later, probably) with wheat pasta and it was the most foul tasting cardboard I’d ever had! I tried sundried tomatoes about a week ago for the first time, and I have to admit I wasn’t a fan of those, either. But I guess if you never try something, you’ll never find new things to love, right?

What are your favourite foods? Especially the strange ones that not everyone would have in their home or usual routine!

We’ve got an ant problem. After over a year of living here with no problem whatsoever, we suddenly have armies of little black ants running back and forth along our walls. I’ll be buying some Raid and ant traps tonight when I go to the gym, but in the meantime I keep thinking about how it must signify my failings as a housewife. I mean, if I kept my house clean, I wouldn’t have ants, right? I must just not be good enough.

In the meantime, I’m having a hard time functioning. I know they’re harmless but they CRAWL. CRAWL! Can you imagine? They’re on the floor… what if they crawl up on my foot? Now, when I say armies of ants, I mean probably 10 at the most visible at any time. It’s not like we have hundreds upon hundreds everywhere - and typing that sentence made me look around the room for the sign of creepy crawlies. Ick.

Sigh. Someone tell me I’m not a failed housewife?

I spent my day at the library today. I know this sounds like a boring thing for most people, but for me, it’s like my own little slice of Heaven. I don’t care if the kids are loud - mind you, they were very loud today, and running on tables. I don’t care of people look at me funny. I don’t care about any of these things, as long as I get to be around things I care about - books! I know this might come as a surprise as I don’t mention it often, but I love books. I’ve been an avid reader since I was two. Yes, two. I was reading books and even parts of the newspaper as a toddler. Funny story, actually. My grandparents are always glad to tell it. I used to walk around with I Can Fly in my hand, reading it to anyone that would listen. They were so convinced I had memorized the words, but I kept telling them I was reading it. They finally believed me when they took the book and gave me a newspaper instead!

Anyway, back to the library. I spent all day there, looking at books. I took two out at one point in the morning, probably around noon if I had to guess. I went back and found about five more I wanted, so I decided to take those out as well! Went up to the self-scanner thing, put my library card under it, and what does it say? “Please visit the circulation desk to check out your books.” I’m thinking this must be some sort of fraud thing, since I’d already checked out books during that day, so I walk on up to the desk and explain that to the woman behind the counter. The next words out of her mouth crushed me, though: “Your card only allows you to check two out at a time.” Wait, WHAT? Two at a time? I have seven delicious books in my hand just waiting to be read, and I can only have two?

Thankfully, I was able to skim through a few of them before Matt came to pick me up and make a list of the ones I wanted for next time, so I know what to get out. I’m going to try to get my card up to “regular” status instead of this weird limited one. I think if I bring my temporary resident paper they’ll see my address and hey, it’s from the government! If not, I’ll have to get Matt to go back to get a new one, as he seems to have lost his, unfortunately. On the bright side, while hunting for his card (with no luck, of course) I came across a few letters and cards that we can add to our immigration pile for “proof” of our relationship. It still terrifies me that I’m putting my marriage in the hands of someone that I have never met, but I guess it’s a risk I have to take, since I’ve fallen in love with a Canadian man!

I’ve done more research on hypothyroidism over the past few days, and the more I read the more I realize that this has to be my problem. Once I have health care I think I’m going to go in to get it checked out, because it’ll be much better to know and have it treated. How amazing would it be if after struggling with anxiety, depression and weight gain (amongst other things, though those three are the most visible symptoms for me) that I would find out that none of it is my “fault” and that it can be treated? I’d be super relieved, not to mention the fact that perhaps for once my hard work when it comes to healthy eating and working out might actually finally pay off. I’m so over being fat and depressed.

I’m installing the Sims 2 right now. I uninstalled it because my previous installation was a mess - all random folders and tainted with custom content that didn’t work, and extra files in the game. It’ll be nice to have a clean slate to play on! I just hope I can have self-control and, oh, I don’t know, organization when it comes to custom content this time. No sense in messing up the game again. Especially not with this many installations, as they’d take forever to wade through and reinstall, like they are now!

Anyway, I believe I’m going to finish these installations and head to bed to watch some Spongebob (Hey, what can I say? I love the little yellow guy!) and read French Women Don’t Get Fat. I hope everyone has a wonderful night!

Teresa is giving away a cupcake scented gift set by Embrace Bath & Body, over at her personal blog. The contest is for USA and Canada only.

I so love that she does these little giveaways at her site. They’re always such fantastic prizes, too!

you type
like this,
thinking it makes
you look profound…
or something.

really, it makes you
look like you
never went,
to school…

if you add in
a bunch of punctuation;
you think it makes:
your point more valid

but really
the line breaks–
do not help,
your case.

Use the shift key. Form complete sentences. Paragraphs are your friend. It won’t break your computer if you type more than four words on a line, really. I promise you, it’ll just make you look like less of an idiot. Try it!