I can’t believe it’s already Wednesday!
I’ve literally been doing nothing all week (well, nothing strenuous or time consuming, anyways) and it’s halfway through the week. Why is it that vacation always goes by so quickly?
But, it’s time for the weekly party that is WIAW.
Thanks to Jenn for doing such a lovely job with her hosting duties, as usual!
As I’ve said before, New Years Eve was definitely a low-key one around here. But, I look for any excuse for a special meal, so I made sure to put together a fun dinner for the boy and I. The rest of the day:
Old picture, but the same thing. Oats topped with no-sugar-added strawberry jam, nut butter and 1 egg + about 1/4 cup egg whites. Delicious every time.
Lunch was leftovers of Tina’s tortellini soup that I made for dinner Sunday night. I’m usually not a huge leftover fan, but I make an exception for soup, chili or lasagna. It always tastes better after a night in the fridge.
A clementine for dessert. Still working away at the 5 lb box I bought a few weeks ago.
Random handfuls of baby carrots munched on throughout the day. There is nothing better than carrots when I feel like crunching.
NYE Lobster Dinner
When I was at the grocery store over the weekend, I noticed they were having a massive sale on small, 2-3 ounce lobster tails. I love lobster, but I’ve never even attempted to prepare it – no time like the present, right?
I know people complain about the texture and appearance of raw meat, but really – raw seafood is worse. So gross looking!
Better!
To prepare the lobster, I pulled out the bottom shell (unpleasant task) and brushed them with a marinade of melted butter, minced garlic, lemon juice, salt and pepper. I cooked them at 425 for about 15 minutes – next time, I would reduce it to about 12 minutes, they came out a tad overcooked. Nonetheless, they were delicious and a fun last meal of 2012!
For the rice, I cooked up brown rice with salt, saffron and a touch of butter. Steamed broccoli on the side.
M & Ms for dessert – this handful x 4…or 5. Yea, I like M&Ms.
For the majority of the night, we cuddled on the couch and watched TV shows and movies. Over the holiday, we had been watching the first season of American Horror Story.
This show was seriously intense. I think I preferred the beginning of the season to the end (I thought the general wrap-up of the series was a tad weak) but overall, it was a good show. I’m definitely thinking that I’m going to have to catch up on season 2 when I get a chance!
Before we got to midnight, Eric and I broke out one of his Christmas presents:
Shots and Ladders! I’m sure you can figure out the premise – when you down the snake, you take a shot. It took us a surprisingly long time to get through our second game – I’d love to get more people together to play. And yes, Black Cherry Zevia as my chaser – I was drinking this, so the flavour combo worked oddly well.
The Countdown
Around 11:30, we walked downtown to watch the countdown. Brantford had a little party/concert going on in Harmony Square.
They have this rink open all winter – it kind of makes me wish I could ice skate to some degree. Fun fact about me: I did figure skating when I was about 5-6 years old. I did not hold on to those skills whatsoever. You cannot get me in ice skates nowadays; I would give it approximately 30 seconds before I was on my ass.
Brantford town crier to do the official countdown; I had no idea Brantford had a town crier. He actually looks a lot like the one from London: is it a requirement that all town criers are old guys with a beard?
Of course, what’s a NYE countdown without fireworks?
Beautiful.
We walked home quickly after that – I realized that the band they had playing was a Tragically Hip cover band. I don’t care if it’s unpatriotic of me, I absolutely cannot stand The Tragically Hip.
I had an unpictured snack when I got home – crackers and cream cheese. My secret for avoiding any sort of hangover or sick feelings after drinking: chug water and eat something carb-y before bed. Foolproof.
I was in bed around 1:30 pm – surprisingly early, because last year I’m pretty sure I was crawling into bed around 4:00 am. But that’s a quiet night for yea! I don’t really have anything big planned today, just thinking that I’m going to head out for a walk and go to the bookstore to buy my books for next semester. I might pull out the yoga or a workout video today too. Should be a nice day – I hope you have one too!
<— Can you ice-skate?
<— What’s a band that you absolutely cannot stand? I’m not a big fan of U2, either…sorry Bono, you do nothing for me.