I know it’s really silly, but one of my pet peeves is people who don’t use capital letters and use them properly. Like those who don’t write their own name using a capital letter at the beginning. My name is Beatriz Dominguez, because that’s the way the rules are (and I have to learn some of that too). But even more pet peevish is receiving an e-mail from someone who doesn’t know how to fill the “From” field with their proper name using these simply to type capital letters… Ugh! I know, silly. Why can’t everyone have a decent “From” field? Ok, freaky Beatriz, go get ready.
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I love lentils, especially lentil soup, a very traditional recipe from the part of Colombia I come from. So, once in a while I prepare the lentil soup here and fortunately Patrice likes it too But somehow I felt I had to master the darn recipe and make it taste like my mom’s own; I went to looking for it online, found one that seemed just like hers and last night I left the lentils in water and cooked them this morning… The result? Good (I guess), but not as good as it has been when I cook them “a la Beatriz”. From now on, I’ll just follow my instinct and do what my auntie tells me: Don’t follow recipes, just do what your heart and your smell tell you.
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I cannot complain about my weekend. Had a great time last night chez Jacques; we saw the photos from the vacation he and my MIL had in New Jersey and NYC. He’s a teacher, so each picture came with a story written under and after taking a look at the album we had to pass a little test. We scored 100% and received a prize: One really cool watercolor of Brodway st. along with a book of the Quebec slang for me… he he he! After the photos, we played games, eat some chips, had some drinks, and talked Came back home around midnight and slept late today.

It’s been chilly and cloudy outside, so we stayed in, organized the house, washed clothes and cuddled. I also put summer clothes away and the fall/winter clothes in the closet to wear them now. Everything changes with the seasons; each one of them requires certain home rituals that I seem to enjoy since I didn’t have these changes in Colombia. It’s nice… There’s still a lot of cleaning to do, but that’ll wait until tomorrow.

So, how was YOUR weekend? :wave:

It’s gorgeous outside, a little bit chilly but lots of sunshine and blue skies. I love autumn I woke up late and all I’ve done today is talking with Patrice about life, about us. Sometimes that is necessary to make relationships even better… Ours grows everyday. I’m so in love with my hubby, his sensibility, his thoughtfulness, his generosity, his support.

We’re going out this evening to visit a friend, look at the pictures of my MIL’s New Jersey vacation, have a cup of coffee and enjoy. Patrice is taking a shower and I’m next. The rest of the weekend will be dedicated to my hubby; I’ll be back on Monday.

And before I go, little game I found at Simply Stinny is next.
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Long week of work, the meeting with the consul last night (I’ll write more about it later, but it was GREAT!). We finished work today around 3 p.m. and without learning anything from last week’s indigestion episode, we went for take-out at St-Hubert; I just made sure NOT to eat the salad, but the chicken sandwich with Swiss cheese was yunmy!

So, we get home at 4 and something and I get ready for the weekend. A little bit upset with my poor husband for reasons I won’t discuss here (in Spanish we say that you do your own laundry at home) and was getting to start really moody when the telephone rang, I was in the bathroom, Patrice answered and told me: “Weren’t you suppossed to go to Elisa’s tonight?”. I went “Shoot! that’s right… the PartyLite meeting!!”. Let me tell you, she saved the night; the minute I knew I could go out and think about different things I started smiling. Good thing that I hadn’t put my PJs on and I was there 10 minutes after she called.
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Somebody, pass me a tissue, please. :sweat: A work mate just introduced me to the counterpart of Molson’s “I Am Canadian“. WARNING: There are some very vulgar “Quebecois” words, but it’s darn funny! The MP3 can be found here, if you want to laugh.
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I decided that if I created a meme, I should participate in others, so here are my relaxing Friday Five

1. What are your favorite ways to relax and unwind? I open the balcony door in my room, lie down on my bed, put some Enya (type of) music, close my eyes and enjoy the moment. There is a big big tree in the back of the building and the sound of the leaves moved by the wind is pretty nice. Music is my choice for relaxation. A bath with essential oils is always welcome too.

2. What do you do the moment you get home from work/school/errands? You really want to know? I take off my bra! When I’m outside, working or runing errands all my clothes make part of my body and I don’t care, but the minute I cross the door everything itches and I want to feel free Then I head for the PC and turn it on.

3. What are your favorite aromatherapeutic smells? Mmmm! I like linden and lotus flower, tangerine, chamomille, raspberry, vanilla, gardenia, cinnamon, jazmin, lavender. Big fan of “Dans un Jardin“, “The Healing Garden” and “Fruits & Passion”

4. Do you feel more relaxed with a group of friends or hanging out by yourself? It depends on my moods, I guess. Sometimes I want to be alone, most of the time actually. But other days I need to see a friendly face, share some good laughs with a smart and funny person.

5. What is something that you feel is relaxing but most people don’t? Even if I spend the whole day at work in front of the computer, when I get home I want to sit in front of it, read my e-mail, chat with my friends, work on my website. That’s relaxing, but I guess others like it too. Other than that, I guess I’m average

I really like this Pepys Project. The idea of getting to know bloggers from ALL over the world is thrilling, especially people in the Middle East because it is not very common to read a blog from, let’s say, Iran or Kuwait that often. I found this very nice blog called Simply Stinni, written by a woman who speaks Spanish and seems to be related with Colombia too; I will have to read more!

So, are you Pepys-ed? I joined just a couple of weeks ago. They have a database similar to the one at Diarist.net, with the blogs/journals organized by region and country. It’s like taking the plane and visit other places. Really cool!

Also, I’ve noticed that today and tomorrow are the last two days of the Banned Books Project. I have seen the link all over, but just today I went to take a look; it is really interesting to see that some of the books I’ve enjoyed the most have been challenged (i.e. the Harry Potter series), or that some books are banned because “someone actually tries to think for themselves“. Great idea this BBP, to encourage writers and readers to NOT fear and appreciate talent.

Celebrate Your Freedom to Read. Is there a canadian version of this project/week? Yes, the Freedom to Read Week Thanks Google, on its 4th Birthday!