Saturday, August 29, 2009

Pineapple Fried Rice...

... my specialty. Whenever I make fried rice, I always add pineapples. It just adds a zing to it! Unfortunately, I forgot to defrost the chicken and shrimp, or else it would have made the rice even better! I made this big wok of fried rice for myself and my parents. They came last night to visit and staying over for the weekend. Last time I made fried rice, it lasted me for a week. Last night, the three of us consumed 90% of it. Oh well. It was good!


Thursday, August 27, 2009

Naughty Me...

I really need to have some self control. Well, after moving to Edmonton, I started having this urge to get a netbook. They are so small and nice. However, I've been saying, "Casie, you have an iMac for the main computer, and an ipod touch for a portable internet device, you don't need a netbook." But stupid B, got me a 37" tv. Now I really want to watch my awesome TVB shows on that instead of the 24" iMac. Sigh.
So, I've been eying on this one netbook, ASUS-Eee-PC-1005HA-PU1X for the last week. I stood strong for a while, and today I caved. However, I think it was meant to be. I was sitting on the fence until 6:30. Memory Express closes at 7. Since I live downtown, almost everywhere is a minimum 20 minute drive. So with traffic and all, I got to Memory Express at 6:55, five minutes to spare. Was it meant to be or what?! Oh well. I guess the main drive was to celebrate my upcoming first paycheck! I personally think it's bad luck not to blow the first one! Haha. I think after rent and all, I am pretty sure it will be gone. I'm 27, gotta have some fun.


My iMac's new friend

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Mmm... wings!!!

Today at work, we celebrated the people with birthdays in August. We went out for a company lunch. I didn't want to eat too full so I only had a cobb salad. I was comfortable until they also served chocolate cheesecake after we headed back to the office. I couldn't say no to that!!! So after ingesting 1000 calories around 3 o'clock in the afternoon, I was still somewhat full and bloated when I got home. I planned to make chicken wings with carrots and potatoes the night before, but I debated if I still should with my full stomach. At the end, I did. Good for possible lazy upcoming nights! However, the more cooked the food got, the yummier the smell. I got hungry! Yay. So I ate a bit of my wings. It's a bit salty (less salt next time), and I burnt one, but overall, it was good. Mmm, wings. Now that dinner's done (and so is tomorrow or Thursday's night dinner), hopefully I can do some cardmaking tonight. I really need to finish the cards for the card swap, so that I can work on my scrapbook. It's way too far behind.


Monday, August 24, 2009

Surprise in the Attic

My job comprises of 30-40% field work and the rest, office work. For the field work, I go out (with my supervisor for now) and do structural damage investigations. Lately, there's a lot of wind damages due to the windstorm that blew through Alberta. For a lot of residential places, there are a lot of roof damages due to the heavy wind or a tree falling onto the roof. For such damages, we often have to climb into the attic to see if the roof trusses are intact. After the site exam, we write a report back to the insurance company. While I was writing one report and doing some research on roof/attic construction, I saw this picture on the Internet. I had to laugh. I hope that I will NEVER have to run into something like this during my attic investigations. I would seriously freak out.


Dim Sum Dinner

I'm a little lazy tonight, and didn't want to cook. Therefore, I decided to depend on some... premade foods. Haha.

I had some salad from a bag (only 80 cents from Safeway) - need to eat veggies everyday, mom's orders! For the main course: frozen dim sum from TNT. Mmm, dim sum. I really wanted some this weekend, but I didn't know where to go in Edmonton. So this satisfied my craving. I also had my favorite Chunky soup: chicken corn chowder! Chunky Chicken Corn Chowder - it does Casie's body good! Dessert (later at night): fruits. I have a lot of it! Haha.

Top: Two plain buns (one shriveled), one bbq pork bun
Left to right: Two micro sticky rice in lotus leaves, four shrimp shaomai, three chicken corn dumplings

One word: YUM!

So after the meal, I took a look at my freezer. One can only eat so much frozen foods per serving, especially the bagged dim sum. So not every opened package can fit a twist tie, and therefore, I have to store them in plastic bags. So now my small fridge freezer looks like my mom's deep freeze - a storage of plastic bags! Sigh...

Sunday, August 23, 2009

Feasting

Ulgh. I ate too much today. Well, not really. I woke up somewhat late and got lazy and decided to go out for brunch. So we crossed the river and headed to Culina Mill Creek, recommended on Urbanspoon. I ordered a Fried Egg Panini and B ordered an Ukrainian Breakfast. The service was friendly, but the food was way too slow. I was freezing because we were sitting outside on the patio and I didn't bring a jacket (of course). Eventually, we moved back inside, and our food came. It was ok. Would I go back? Maybe.


Fried egg panini with a side of fruits

Ukranian Breakfast

For tonight's dinner, I made the classic burger, sided with a small garden salad and fries. Check out the arrangement! Haha, it looks quite restaurant like. My cheap Ikea plates were perfect for this use.

Saturday, August 22, 2009

Saturday Market

This weekend in Edmonton, I went to the market on 104th St in Edmonton. All the vegetables and fruits looked very fresh. They were expensive too - $4.00 for a cauliflower!!! I got mine last week at Safeway for $0.98! Mine looked pretty fresh too! Anyways, some stuff did look fresher and bigger. I couldn't resist and bought some cherries, plums and beans. I ate a plum when I got home and it was tremendously sweet and juicy. I think if my parents came to visit on the weekends, they would like this market.

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Mmm, Protein

Today's my 8th day at work. I already have 6 files! Just this week, I got 3 new files. I am now working on my second report. It is different than the first one because this one involves more detail. Hence, it's also taking longer than the first one. Hopefully, after a few more, I can find my groove and speed things up at work. I hope the big boss understands! I really want to keep this job. It's pretty interesting.
  
I went to Safeway to do some grocery shopping. I totally stocked up on Chunky can soup! 2 for $4, and they're the big cans too! I'm good for a while. Chicken wings were on sale, too! Not only were they on sale, I found a package with an additional 30% off. SCORE! Now, I just have to remember to get some 'lo-shui' sauce or black bean sauce the next time I'm at Superstore or TNT. The best part, I found a big tub of my favorite yogurt! Peach and mango by Yoplait! Now I just have to finish the small packaged ones before I can dig into this tub!

So after a hard day of work and venturing Safeway, I deserve a yummy dinner (well I always deserve a yummy dinner). For tonight's dinner, I made myself some steak. Mmm, steak. I only ate half the steak. The whole steak is a bit too much, and therefore, I'm saving the other half for lunch tomorrow. Mmm. On the side, broccoli with cream of mushroom sauce and healthy sauteed mushrooms (not in butter, but vegetable oil). Since I'm still quite new to this apartment, I didn't realize I am missing black pepper. DOH. Other than that, the food is pretty good! Mmm... I think I will go have my yogurt now. I do have 10 cups to go before I can start on that peach and mango yogurt tub! 


Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Mini Banana Split

So living by myself has some ups and downs. Downs, I have to cook myself. Ups, I can make whatever I feel like that day. So tonight, I just had a big chicken salad, and because I am so healthy, I deserve a banana split. However, I cannot finish a Dairy Queen size b-split. Therefore, I made me a mini b-split. Mmm. Now it's all in my tummy.

Monday, August 17, 2009

Edmonton Move

So it's official. I am now in Edmonton, and have been living here for a week now. I live in the downtown area, on the edge of skyscrapers and warehouses. Work is a 3-5 min walk from my apartment - I can see it from my balcony. So pretty much my daily life is work-home, work-home. Depressing? Nah. I thought it would be, but now that I think about my last year at Fluor, it was the same. The only difference is I come home and I need to take care of myself. Then, I went home and had my mommy to feed me and clean up after me. However, living in 600 sq. feet of space doesn't involve a lot of cleaning. Also, I don't know why I can whip up dinner in 1/2 hour while my mom takes 2 hours.


To me, Edmonton's a pretty scary place. It's like a giant Forest Lawn. Everywhere you go, there's always some creepy sketchy looking building. I am not kidding.  Therefore, I really just stay home most of the time. My area isn't too too bad. I guess there's a police station about 10 blocks away. :P The roads are so bad. Potholes are EVERYWHERE. My poor Luigi. I hope his shocks aren't too damaged. 

No matter how boonyish Edmonton is, I will still explore. I found a crepery that is like 3 blocks away. I will have to check it out. Oh yeah... Edmonton has Red Robin. OMG. When I saw it, I got Bailey to go with me last weekend and I satisfy my 4 yr craving for their Banzai burger. It's my ALL TIME favorite burger. Just because of this restaurant, Edmonton got major bonus points!  

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Breathe

So I got confirmation at Square 104. I'm moving up there on Aug 9. Yes, that is in a few days and I just confirmation just yesterday. It's pretty crazy. But no matter how crazy it is, God is with me. He has everything planned out. Even though in human time things are going boom boom boom and quite stressful, things are still working out quite smoothly:


Aug 1 - Dropped parents and aunt off at bus stop for their bus tour trip to Yellowstone Park. Picked up my baby and headed up to Edmonton to take a look at my unit before submitting the application and deposit. Come back to Calgary.

Aug 2 - Picked up my MOH dress. Furniture and miscellaneous household item shopping. Passed out at 11 pm. So tired.

Aug 3 - Packed a bit. Did some moving research (i.e. electricity set up, Shaw, van rental, etc.). Got a great deal on some bar stools on Kijiji (thanks babe). 

Aug 4 - Got confirmation on apartment. Had lunch with friends (more like farewell lunch). Set up electricity for move in date. Pick up parents and aunt from their bus trip. Packed some more.

Aug 5 - Drove aunt to airport. Researched about Ikea bed. Bought some Ikea stuff. Set up Shaw installation appointment. Rented cargo van. Wedding rehearsal. Blog. :)

Aug 6 - Pack. Maybe take a breather and go for a swim.

Aug 7 - Pack. Change my current 403 number to a 780 number! Pick up rental van. Buy bed and mattress. Put the big stuff into the van. 

Aug 8 - Wedding.

Aug 9 - Move to Edmonton.

Aug 10 - Work starts!

See, everything is boom boom boom, but things still flow. I just have to thank God for His wonderfulness. Most of all, making me a decently organized person so that I got all these things done on time!