How To Thursday: How Survive Traffic II

Ok so I realized yesterday that there is a flaw in my first post on traffic.


I was caught in the most ridiculous traffic of my life yesterday and it was absolutely pouring rain. I was texting Kyla...yes illegal I know but the highway was a parking lot, so I wouldn't call it texting and driving...and she suggested I play a few of my traffic games. I was heartbroken when I realized that it was raining so hard I could not see any people in the other cars to entertain myself with. I did play the license plate game for a minute, but it gets really lame when the cars are not moving at all so you are staring at the same car for a million years.


So moral of the story, I made up two new traffic games for the rain.


Now I realize these are dangerous but are to be implemented in parking lot traffic.


1) Connect the Raindrops.
If you have a good imagination, you can do it in your mind but my car is well equipped and I used window writers to draw stuff on my window:) I don't have any pictures because my car fogged up and the drawings bled really fast. But here is an example.

A unicorn with laminitis!

2) Catch the Beat
This involves turning your windshield wipers on and off to match up to the beat of whatever song you are listening too. It usually only matches up for a few seconds but it gives you the sense of accomplishment.


Viola!

Memory Monday : Water Skiing

This is going to somewhat be a how-to, because you are going to learn some valuable lessons from this story.

When I was six, one lovely, sun filled summer, I was staying at my family’s cabin. We had some sweet connections to some people with a boat, tubes and water skis. Now, by age six I had mastered the art of sitting in a tube and gliding across the water. I had not yet tried skiing. It couldn’t be that hard though really, you just stand and the boat pulls you.

So I mustered up the courage to go for it. Everyone around me were practically water skiing geniuses, so I took their advice to heart and prepared myself for greatness. Some of their tips were : “bend your knees a little”, “HOLD ON TIGHT”, “lean back when the boat starts going” and also, “HOLD ON TIGHT”. My tiny brain really held onto the whole hold on tight thing.

And so there I was, standing in the water. With gigantic slabs stuck to my feet. Holding onto a bar that connected me to a death machine. I was not excited anymore. But before I knew it, the boat roared to a start, and I was off the the races. I began like an all star, for about 8 seconds. Then I fell. And I held on tight. And I kept holding on tight. Because I was good at following directions. No one had told me to let go if I fell, so I didn’t. (Now is a good time to mention that you shouldn’t allow anyone to film your first experience with something like water skiing.) I assure you, it wasn’t painful, it was kind of fun, and I don’t remember if I let go by choice, or if the handle thing was yanked from my hands by some mystical water force. When I returned ashore, everyone commended me for my valiant attempt to master the lake, but it wasn’t enough to convince me to get back on those god-forsaken skis.

I never tried water skiing again.

How to Thursday : Banana Bread?

A year ago, I was making banana bread on a weekly basis. I baked all through the summer. Good times. School has been crazy so the last time I made something was Christmas (maybe even longer). So with a sunny day today, I feel like I can pull out a recipe for HTT.

I feel like my HTT's haven't been very valuable. Like they can't be applied to all practical days in life. But I feel that banana bread is a very practical thing to learn. 

(okay. okay. Its a recipe, its not an ACTUAL how-to. I get that. But who doesn't want an awesome banana bread recipe? Thats what I thought)


So. You will need:


3 1/2 cups Flour
1 1/2 cups Sugar
2 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Cinnamon


2/3 cup Melted Margarine
1 cup Mashed Bananas
1 1/2 cup Milk
2 tbsp Lemon Juice
2 tsp Vanilla


Preheat oven to 350 
[I've only done this in a convection oven. If you are gonna just do Bake then....have fun? same thing? Just watch it a bit more than I tell you]


1) Sift/mix/combine the dry ingredients into a large bowl.


2) Mix/blend/combine the wet ingredients into a second bowl.


3) Pour the wet ingredients into dry in one go. Mix until all is blended together, but try not to over mix. Also, do this all by hand. Its a work out, and I think it tastes better. 


4) Grease bread pans (makes 2) or put the papers cups in muffin pans (makes 24 cupcake sized). Pour in batter. 


5) Put in oven. 
    For loafs, its pretty much 50 minutes exactly, and muffins, I'd say 15-20. 


6) Take them out, let them cool and enjoy.


Happy Thursday

Scrounging

Ok so I know you heard from me yesterday, but today has just been so crazy I thought I would share.


So first, I was too lazy to make myself lunch this morning so I was all "Oooh I still have money on my Subway gift card" Problem solved.


NOPE


I'm a moron and left my purse at Brittny's last night...my bad. So Im feeling all badass driving to work without a license and everything but now I have no lunch and no money. 


I get to work and everything is all good. While the kids are at recess I go back to my car to scrounge around for food. For those of you who know me, my car is always a mess and the chance of something edible being in there is super high. But of course I cleaned my car last weekend and took out the unopened bag of tortilla chips that had been in the back seat "in case of emergencies" all semester long. I did, however find a twoonie!!!! So I walked to the 711 down the street and got instant noodles...crisis averted.


So then I'm helping supervise the grade ones while they eat their lunch and this kid, Louis- (not his real name but its close) is being a little punk and every time I tell him to sit down he says "NO". So his teacher comes over and gives him the whole "respect your teachers" lecture and makes him apologize. Louis is kinda a trouble maker and he is often getting talked to but I had never seen her jump on him this quickly, so this was a new tactic. Once he said sorry and sat down she smiled and said to me that she is not putting up with his crap anymore and that it is "hammer-time" for Louis. I started to laugh when lil Louis piped up "Can't touch this". Yup. Amazing.


THEEEEEEEEEEEENNNNNN some little jerk in grade three stole one of my favourite teacher's iphone when they were in gym class. Draaaamaaa.
Luckily she had some app that lets her go online, lock down her phone and then is able to see its location. Turns out whoever took it tossed it under the dumpster. Good times.


So ya, exciting day so far...and its only 2:15!!! 


Oh and by the way, the reason I wanted to share is cause me scrounging around my car reminded me of the good ole days where my middle sis, Jessa, skated and me and my youngest sister had to sit at the arena. They had a concession stand and my mother would always claim that she "had no money" so we would go and scrounge for coins and would sometimes be able to afford a pretzel or 5 cent candies....am I alone in this activity?


Good day.

Memory Monday: Sticky Witchy

I can't remember exactly how I remembered this, but it came up in discussion a few weeks ago. I am sure it is becoming more evident just how weird I am, and this is another example of just how odd I was *cough* am.

So my younger sisters and I were addicted to playing outside like any good kid was. None of this Xboxnintendostayindoorsalldayandsuckatlife shiznat. We played weeeird games like holding snail races, follow the ant, golf cart tag- we had rich neighbours.... But the most fun was Sticky Witchy.

We have a very useful front yard with a round-about-driveway with trees and bushes around it.

See.

So two of us would do around and around the drive way as fast as we could. The trick was to get past Sticky Witchy.

Sticky Witchy was a clever one, usually played by my youngest sister, Sophie. She would hold a large stick and hide in one of the bushes and would randomly jump out and try to make us fall off our bikes.

Sticky Witchy wasn't allowed to touch us with her hands, just the stick...clever name eh?  The most popular way off accomplishing this was to jam the stick into the spokes of our bikes. I truly do not remember any bikes being harmed in this process, although we certainly were.

Its amazing that neither of us never broke any bones or such over this adventure. I have a few scars that I reminisce over but really that was the worst of it.

Cheers to weirdness! Hip hip!