Quebec- Part Deux

Yesterday I said my goodbyes (still not good at that) and hopped on a plane eastwards to the land of winding cobblestone roads and sun soaked boardwalks.

  I was the first of the group to arrive, was able to check in early, catch up with one of our instructors from last year and unpack everything before my roomie arrived.   Luckily we pulled some strings and Francesca and I were able to book our room together.  We had thought that it was a 3 person room and had wanted Sarah with us, but instead Fran and I are together and Sarah is next door - not too bad :)  After a few more people arrived we headed out for dinner - it was so nice to see everyone again.  Most of them I haven't seen since last year!

Luckily when 10 o'clock rolled around the bizzarr-o movie from last summer was not up and running, so we watched The Young Victoria before bed - just like last year :)

This morning was breakfast and a walk through the old town before we laced up and headed out for our regular run - along the boardwalk, past the cruise ships, along the river, up the muderous stairs, through the plains of abraham, down through the old towne and back (see the pics below).  It was so so so beautiful - I can't believe I am lucky enough to get to stay here.

Gettin' Antsy

Yep, I feel like it's just about that time again - time to travel.  Although I have a trip in a few days, it isn't really the trip that I need.... I'm feeling the need to explore internationally and I'm not sure I can do that for another year (boo!)   I have this fantastic map of Europe that I bought way back in France.... it is full of little pink highlights of all the places I have visited thus far, but there are some very serious gaps - The Iberic peninsula for example - despite having a degree in one of the languages spoken there, it only has a tiny highlight on Barcelona, not acceptable!  Also, the northern bit, I've been to Copenhagen, and Edinburgh but thats as far as I've ventured north of Amsterdam.  I seem to have an addiction to Europe and should really consider going elsewhere.

Pete and I toyed with the possibility of going down to Peru with the Eye Exam Mission people in August - sadly his course isn't finished in time and I don't have a guaranteed contract for that time = uncertain leave. Oh well, maybe I'll fell better this weekend once I get to QC.  The old city feels very France-like and perhaps that will be enough to tide me over until next April.

Ok, I've procrastinated enough - back to that essay.

Jamie's Food Revolution

I'm holed up in my room for a few days writing my last essay (hooray!), thus I've been preparing myself for the self -imposed isolation by reading through my daily blog tour.... I happened across this post, and to answer to the question, have you seen it?... YES!

I try to catch each episode of Jamie's Food Revolution.  I've watched almost all of Jamie's shows, from the his cook shows on the Food Network to his School Lunches... awesome stuff!

In other news, I had my last round of French exams yesterday.  This time it was the Oral Exam... I'm ashamed to admit that I didn't study very much.  Besides the few hours leading up to the exam (I watched French Food at Home) I didn't speak to anyone in French, I didn't watch any French TV, I didn't review my verb tenses, I basically winged it.... and I think it showed :( Despite understanding everything (thank goodness I haven't lost my comprehension) my vocabulary was pretty trash.  I passed, that much I know, but by home much?  Originally I was hoping for an exempt status, but that was before I wrote the other 2 parts... after that I was going for the next level down "C".  I can thankfully take the test again in 30 days, and after my time in Quebec City I am sure I will do much better.

Ok, time to get going on the essay - Au revoir!

What a week...

Late last night we got news that Pete's sister and her BF of almost 8 years were engaged!  How exciting!  I've said it before and I'll say it again, I love my in laws, I love my new sister in law and I love her now husband to be.  They are such a sweet couple and after just finishing their first home renovation, I think this  is a perfect way to celebrate everything!

No word yet when the wedding will be, but I wonder if the family will have 2 weddings in 2011 (ours is scheduled for April next year) - in any case, she will make a lovely bride and he a handsome groom - I can't wait :)

Luckily, I might have a chance to spend some more time with her if I get another contract back in Borden after my course.  Seeing how whenever we are posted we will be in Pet, Gagetown or Shilo,  it will be so nice to spend more time in this area and hang with my new family.

So there caps off the week, taxes done, an eye exam, an exempt status on the expres test, a final day at work, a dinner with the command team, a date night to the movies, a family announcement and now I'm stuck indoors all day wrapping up my homework - thank goodness for tiny coffee makers and a lovely picture window - at least it stopped snowing, Pete is on the range today.

Happy Weekend

Expres Friday

Just got back to my room after my expres test (read: fitness test, military style).... Halelujah, it is over and I passed, I even reached the incentive level and am now exempt from doing it again until 2012.. Hooray!

Last night we had our Graduation Dinner with the Command Team.  Our current CO and his Cox'n as well as the new CO were there and the whole command hallway from the unit, plus all the junior officers.  We had reservations at a cute italian restaurant in Barrie, turned out to be quite yummy, although my Beef Carpaccio was VERY oily and not as pleasant as I had hoped for.  My Penne a la Vodka was delicious and I thought a carb loading meal would be a good thing to eat before my test this morning.  Pete had nice roasted red pepper salad and yummy salmon dish, and both skipped out on Tiramisu (it's a sugar free month). Unlike all the fantastic food blogs that I scroll through daily, I did not photograph the meals (didn't want to try that out in front of the bosses).  We have another graduation next week, I'm technically on leave tuesday onwards and m not sure if I want to go out with all the same people to another long dinner - we'll see where we decide to go and if I want to subject myself to more schmoozing,  I know Pete doesn't.

In an hour I have an appointment at the Base Clothing Stores to return all my green army gear... I fly out to QC in one week and will not be donning any green kit between now and the end of the year.  Now, all that is left is to pack up my room and move for 2 months...  I think I will be back to Borden for another 6 month contract after QC so it's a bit annoying to pack up everything only to come back to it.  Oh well, at least I won't have to drive 4 days across country again :)

Happy Friday to all!

Passions

I wrote this a few days ago after Ange over at OSG asked her readers what their passions were, I guess I should post this.

What are YOUR passions in life? If you could nail them down to 5-10 
what would they be? Most importantly are you ACTING on them?  

 * Running - although I am no where near as good or as dedicated as I think I should be. As K says, the head games are not fun and I need a better strategy for getting past them. My next half marathon in Quebec City is less than a month away, and my 10km was suppose to be 2 months away - that one has been postponed due to military stuff but I'll try to do an unofficial one in it's place and see how that goes.

* Nutrition- this is a toughie lately, I've said this a few times but eating at a military mess can be a challenge and when the desert is so close all the time it is difficult to ignore. I at least have a little blender in my room that I can use to make green monsters (ala Jamie), but I am counting down the time to when I have my very own kitchen - yay!

* Travelling - lately I've been back and forth across the country visiting Pete and taking contracts, Victoria, Calgary, Borden, Toronto, New Brunswick, Quebec City. All fun in their own right but I crave international travel. I had to write a bio this morning and it just reminded me how much I used to use my passport and how neglected it has

* Learning - After university I've managed to study continuously. First it was Land Admin at SAIT with KQ, then the military which has kicked it into overdrive. I've even started up the Officer Professional Military Education Courses... 2 almost finished, 4 left to go - and they can be used for university credit later on, and will only help with promotions. I've also been thinking of doing an accounting diploma to round out my Logistics career and these extra courses could help it to become a degree... 

I could only think of 4 big ones but I think they'll do.