Tornadoes

As I was writing the past 2 blog posts I was watching YouTube videos of the most recent tornadoes in US. In the past month hundreds of tornadoes have struck down in areas like Alabama, Tennessee, Mississippi, Missouri and many more. When I watch the videos that people have captured I just can't believe how much damage a tornado can do. Essentially, it's just really, really strong wind... It's just crazy though. It's devastating but also, in a way, it's fascinating to see how quickly Mother Nature can turn around and become an enemy.

I came across this one video which is basically the audio of a group of people who are stuck in a gas station when the tornado hit in Joplin. It's so disturbing and chilling to listen to... I get goosebumps every time I watch it.

The man who filmed the video went back and filmed what the gas station looked like after.

Anyways, I just thought I'd post these videos because being from Canada we don't hear the extent of how damaging some of the tornadoes can be and to see it from a first person view is just shocking. My heart goes out to everyone who has been affected by the recent tornadoes.

Lindsay

Snickerdoodles Are Yummy

If you've never had Snickerdoodles I swear you are missing out. And they happen to be my specialty. Awhile back I made them for a communion for Dave's cousins and took pictures of the process, so I will share.

Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup stick margarine or butter, softened
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 tbsp corn syrup
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 1 cup flour
- 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp salt

Coating
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 2 tsp cinnamon (I don't use this when I add the chocolate on top)

First of all, preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Below is a picture of all the ingredients you'll need.

And of course the secret (and best) ingredient...

Yep, that's right. Rolo's!

So first step is to beat margarine and brown sugar until it's combined. Then add egg, corn syrup, and vanilla until smooth.

Combine flour, whole wheat flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in another bowl and mix lightly.

Add this flour mixture to the sugar mixture.

And mix until all combined.

Now you're supposed to combine sugar and cinnamon in a small dish to drop the rolled dough balls in but when I decide to add a chocolate on top of the cookie I usually stick to just dropping it in sugar.

Place on a greased cookie sheet around 2 inches apart and stick em in the oven for 12-15 minutes.

Okay... Now I bet you wanna see the finished product. It makes sense to have a picture of the finished cookies, right? Well... I'm an idiot and didn't take one. Stupid! I know! But here's a random picture of Snickerdoodles in their most basic form. Just imagine a Rolo chocolate sitting in the middle.

Whenever I do make them again (which I will) I will definitely post a picture of the finished product. And I promise they are delicious. Try them!

We Celebrated in Burlington

For our 7th Anniversary David and I wanted to do a small trip away. We originally (last year) wanted to do something crazy, maybe like an all-inclusive, but because of my work and limited days off we came up with a smaller scale solution. We ended up going away Friday, camping 2 nights, spending 1 night in a beautiful hotel, and leaving on Monday. We had so, so, so much fun and I'm happy our trip turned out as well as it did. Looking back though, I am a bit sad that we didn't take more pictures... Sometimes I just get so caught up in doing things that I forget to stop and take a picture. Vow to self: Start taking more pictures!! Nevertheless, here's some pictures I (or David) did manage to stop and take.

The skies were so dark on our way there!

Breakfast in the park

They were called "Energy Chunks"

For the record, that pizza up there is from American Flatbread and it was absolutely delicious. I would go back in a second just to have it again!

So yeah, those are the few pictures I have... I'm a little sad I don't have more but that's my own fault. Next time!

xox,
Lindsay

It's Been 7 Years!

He's one of a kind, and he's mine :)

Happy 7th Anniversary David!

You Had My Back

When all feels like it has gone wrong and you've said hurtful things and you've been hurt and you're confused and you've pushed and shoved and you've been told to "stifle it" and you feel sick and fed up with everything... I don't know. To be honest, it basically just makes for one LONG ASS day.

I'm going to bed now at 1:20am but I want to remember how you had my back today. Took me out of the house, filled me with soup and coffee, made me laugh when you demonstrated how not to stick your fingers in your own coffee, watched a movie with me, listened to me complain about my damn wet pants from all the stupid damn rain, hugged me, made supper for my friends and I, took part in some crazy conversations and kissed me goodnight. From today, I'm remembering how you made me smile when you had my back. :)

For the record (since I've been curious for the past 13 hours):
stifle [verb]:
1) make (someone) unable to breathe properly; suffocate
2) restrain (a reaction) or stop oneself acting on (an emotion)
3) prevent or constrain (an activity or an idea)

Hmmm, good to know for next time.

I'm going to get out of your face now and go get some zzz's,
Lindsay

I Realized For The Millionth Time How Much I Love You

It'll be 7 years on May 18th.
I couldn't have asked to spend those 7 years with anyone better than him.

I've been working on a small little somethin' somethin' for my boyfriend, Dave, and it's made me realize, for the millionth time, how much I love the guy. There are just so many things about him that I just can't get enough of! If I've come across anything good in my life, I know for a fact that I've hit the jackpot in the "Love/Soulmate/Whatever you want to call it" category.

Oh, and we had a great week/weekend... Here's some things I lurved:

- Seeing the movie Fast Five (so good!)
- Being lazy and watching ER
- Shopping in the rundown Zellers (haha)
- Making quesadillas and eating them outside, etc.
- Having goodbye drinks with Dave's friend Rob who is leaving for Yellowknife

xoxo,
Lindsay

I Realized I'm Not The Only One

This is going to be somewhat of a rant... About work. Not just my work and my job but the whole idea of working in general. Five days a week. Why do we do this? Well, I'm hoping it's because the job that you have is something you've aspired to do, or something that makes you happy or something that at least makes up for the fact that working five days a week denies you all but two days of freedom. For me, it's none of those (currently). I graduated from University last year in a pretty basic program that teaches pretty basic human skills and although I've learnt a lot from it, it never lit any flames of passion within me. That's what I crave... Something to just light me up and give me motivation, passion, drive... Something I'm good at. Something I could kick your ass at, to put it simply.


The biggest problem remains. I don't know what that something is. I'm starting to think that I have been headed down the wrong path. The path that makes you believe that once you leave school you must find a full time job so that you can establish some sense of security and support yourself. Well, I'm come to accept that this path is just not going to work for me. But how do I go back, start fresh and figure out which exact path is best for me? Google it? Yeah, I shamelessly googled "I don't know what I want to do." I thought that was the most stupid thing to ever google BUT... I realized I'm not the only one. I couldn't be, right? We're not all privy to our own step-by-step instructions on how to succeed in life. 


First of all, let me address some of the things I read that I completely agree with.


"Getting a job is like enrolling in a human domestication program. " (Steve Pavlina, 10 Reasons You Should Never Get a Job)


It's true... depending on what type of job you're getting in to. Like I said earlier, if it's something you love then why the hell not get paid for it? Otherwise, don't work just for the money, don't work simply because you feel working is what you're supposed to do. I need to find something I love. And on that note, the following idea explains why you should avoid a boring job and why you shouldn't feel bad about leaving a boring job. 


"Do you know why you shouldn't feel bad about leaving it? A boring job is not like a boring pair of jeans - with boring jeans, you can throw on a red sequinned bolero, tease your hair to the heavens & wear a pair of shoes so magnificent that your jeans will suddenly seem invisible. But a boring job is not as versatile. Those bastards have you chained to a desk, eight hours a day. It's such a huge chunk of your life gone, & if your boss suddenly turns into a monster (amongst other possible worst case scenarios), it can really cast an ugly pallor on everything else. Simply put, it is impossible to be happy when your job makes you want to throw yourself out of the window." (Gala, I Don't Know What To Do With My Life)


Tell me that this quote alone doesn't already have you convinced of why you should quit your boring ass job. Money? Yeah... me too :( Sadly enough, I need the money. On the bright side, I think I'm ready to begin thinking outside of the box. I'm moving past the idea of having a job that looks right. I want a job that feels right. I will take a few steps back (well, a lot of steps if we're gonna continue with that "going down the wrong path" metaphor) and really try to figure out what I want to do. I will not be frustrated with the fact that I do not have an immediate answer to the question: What do I want to do? 


Let's do this!
Putting on my thinking cap...
Lindsay