Thursday, August 19, 2010

The Never-Ending Search

So here is an update on the whole house hunt…we have attempted to buy 3 different houses:

House #1 – A cute little house.  Needed some work, and a good scrub.  Put in an offer. It was countered, and we accepted the counter.  Then, it fell through at the bank.

House #2 – A semi-detached foreclosure, but very clean and nothing to do.  Put in an offer, and waited for a while.  They countered higher than we wanted to pay, so we walked away.

House #3 – A nice little split level house, very clean, but needed some things replaced.  We put in an offer, but so did two others.  We were the lowest offer.

So, it feels as though this house hunt will never end!  We’re looking in Chateauguay, Mercier, Lery, Beauharnois, St. Martine, and anywhere else that is nearby. 

Map picture

Oh, and another update!  I had a job interview this morning at a preschool.  One reason for blogging right now is because I’m just waiting for a phone call!! They said I’d know this afternoon because the job starts Monday!  So prayers and fingers crossed!!  I’ll keep you posted!

Another thing!  Brian and I both got Blackberries!  So if you have a Blackberry, shoot me an email with your PIN, and we can chat!  :)

Also, now that I have this awesome new computer, I can upload that video of Bow that I tried to do a couple weeks ago!  So here’s Bow, truly being himself!  (Please ignore me!  I sound so weird! lol)

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Mmmmm…. :)

So we haven't’ been up to a whole lot lately.  Brian’s been working a lot (he had to work all weekend!  Boo!), and we’ve still been looking for a place to live and a job for me.  I’ll keep you updated on both! 

However, I have been doing a little cooking here and there….

Strawberry Chocolate Chip Cookies!!

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These are the easiest cookies to make ever!  All you need is a box of strawberry cake mix, half a cup of vegetable oil, two eggs, and half a bag of mini chocolate chips.

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Mix, and roll into balls. Bake at 350 for about 8 minutes and then….

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Ian was such a great helper, and we had fun!   Not to mention the cookies were super cute and yummy!  Shout out and thank you to (Twin) Kasey Forste for the recipe!!

 

Homemade Corn Chowder

I have to thank Brian’s Aunt Carol in Glen’s Falls for this one!  I helped her make it when she was here a few weeks ago, but I was nervous to do it on my own!  All you need is some leftover corn on the cob, water, cream, an onion, bacon, and salt, pepper, and herbs to taste.

Cut all of the corn off of the cobs.  IMG_4994

Then, boil the cobs as you would a bone to make a stock.  Cook some bacon well done so that it crumbles.  Save the grease to cook your diced onion in it.

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  Take out the cobs and add the corn and sautéed onions and simmer.  Remove about half the corn and run it through a food processor.  Put it back in the soup and add the cream.   Last, crumble the bacon into the soup!

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It had great flavor…was a little thinner than I would have liked, but it’s kind of a guessing game until you get it right!

I have decided that once I get my own kitchen, I want to blog a little more about my cooking adventures…bc it really is an adventure most of the time! lol  If you try one of my recipes, I’d love to hear about it!!

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

The Nation's Capital

Okay! So we're having a pop quiz!!

What city is the capital of Canada???

Umm.....mmmmm....???

Well, here's a hint, it's in....


Still don't know? Well that's okay because I didn't know either! lol It's OTTAWA!

Brian and I went to Ottawa on Saturday afternoon to meet up with a friend of his from New York, Ryan. Well, Ryan's girlfriend is from there, and they were in town for the weekend. So we trecked the two hour drive over there and took in a few sights and had dinner with them. Here are a few of the things we saw:


This is the hotel the Queen stays in when she visits...and yes, I mean the Queen of England! Little known fact outside of Canada: It is still actually owned by the British! The Queen is on all of the money and everything! It's wild!


The Peace Flame - each of the crests stand for the different provinces


This is the Parliament building. Fun side note - The Parliament Library is behind this, and during the war of 1812, the Americans actually burned it to the ground (right before then came back and burned our white house)!!


I can't remember which, but another government building.