Monday Listicles...

Thanks to Stasha for hosting.  This week's topic is...

10 THINGS I WILL REMEMBER THIS SUMMER BY- (being fair, we split it 5 a piece)

W - Being on stage for graduation kicked it off - a bittersweet day.  I am so happy to see them move on but miss seeing so many of them.  My students really are some wonderful people. 

W. - Spending some quality time in China...yep, Shenzhen was one interesting place.      Looking forward to go back again next year.  

W. - Travel to Canada...it is always nice to my my home and native land.  I may even have some true patriot love for it.

W. - Sunset pool fun always works for me...

W. - Just hanging around Charleston...come on.  I live in one of the most beautiful cities on the planet.  It definitely works for me.  This is what my trip onto campus looks like.  Pretty sweet no?

H- Trips to the beach... especially when we only live half an hour from the ocean

H- Canada Day in Canada... our US friends missed our Canada Day BBQ, but getting to spend Canada Day at home with family is priceless...

H- US 4th of July Fireworks!  Two celebrations in one week :-)

Sanity breaks at Monkey Joes... 

Getting to see the Barenaked Ladies - from my hometown - perform in my adopted city:

Monday Listicles - 10 Favourite Meals

If you sense that this listicles has a different vibe it is because Heather and I (Wayne from Touristic) has decided to share blog space. As such, you getting both of our views on the world. Now, we may not always split up every post but this week seems to be right down Heather's alley. Thanks as always to Stasha for hosting Listicles. So onto talking about food...

10. W - Any meal that doesn't involve children constantly fidgeting, complaining and ending up screaming down the place has to go in my top ten list.

9. H - Any meal that involves me not cooking, preferably with Robyn babysitting the boys and Wayne and I at a table for two...

8. W - Anything with whipped cream. Yeah, dessert is part of a meal right? I excel at dessert. It is even better when whipped cream is served late night after the children have gone to sleep...hint. hint.

7. H. - I'm not as big a dessert person... I usually prefer fruit or ice cream to heavy desserts... and I'm definitely not a big fan of Whip Cream...

6. W. - I do very much like most food Mexican in origin. The problem is - that Mexican food tends to not like me back. Heather and I do not share a room on those evenings. P.S. I have a special place in my heart for enchiladas - my colon, not so much.

5. H. - I prefer Indian food - curry, tandoori - mild, hot ... yum!  These are a few of favorite make at home recipes - Curried Chicken and Mango Salad, Butternut Squash Curry, Curried Rice with Apricots, Curried Shortbread.

4. W. - I can make a mean North Americanized Shepherd's Pie (I tend to use moo instead of baa). On a cold day it is a great mixture of food that warms the belly as well as the soul.

3. H. - My favorite comfort food is homemade Mac & Cheese - a simple white sauce, lots of cheese and elbow noodles... and I just realized that I've never put up my recipe... I'll take pics the next time I make it...

2. W.- Anything that answers the 'What do you want for dinner question?' each night. Seriously, this must be a question asked about five times a week and the answer is 'I dunno' until one of us gets frustrated enough to just blurt something else. I am tempted to just do a weekly calendar of dinner but I am just not that organized.

1. H. - Anything new - I love to try exotic foods and different combinations ... other than the chocolate and coffee that I'm allergic to, I'll try anything once...

PS - I am also posting a great round-up of yummy pizza recipes today that you should check out if Pizza made your top 10 and if you just want to browse the recipes on my site, click here

Monday Listicles

Today's topic is Back to School... so the top ten things I think about Back to School are (in no particular order, other than typed...)

10. Labour Day - when I was growing up, Labour Day meant a cook out at the cottage and the long trek home to get ready for school the next day!

9. New clothes!  There's something magical about picking out your back to school first day outfit... 

8. Seeing friends... even now, with summer vacations staggered all over the place, now that the school year has started, I'm seeing friends that I haven't connected with in forever!

7. A clean slate!  This year both of my kids are at new schools, which means that they get to start over again... making some new friends, seeing a few fellow travellers, but overall, starting fresh!

6. A routine!  As much as I love summer, the constraints of the academic calendar make keeping to a schedule both necessary and simple!

5. Simple except for the school bus system... Robyn's bus has had no major issues, save breaking down once, but Liam's bus has been early, late and even non-existent... it's frustrating

4. More me time.. as long as Erik cooperates and takes an afternoon nap, I can get in a nap of my own, catch up on blogging or ... clean my house...

3. Stupid fundraisers - okay, I understand that you need to raise money, but come on $12 for one roll of wrapping paper and $15 for a small box (not even a tin) of peanut brittle... I'll write you a donation check - at least you'll be able to keep it all rather than spend it on overpriced junk.

2. Autumn... the start of school always reminds me that the days are getting shorter and cooler (hopefully someone will tell the weather gods of SC that soon)

1. Fresh paper - there's something about a crisp notebook or a piece of unused lined paper that gives me goosebumps... I love school supply shopping for my kids because of it!