"Its a small world after all"

I can't believe it, I've been confirming bookings and organizing dinner reservations for the last week and a half and I still don't believe it.... In August we are jumping on a plane in Halifax and heading off to....ORLANDO, FL. If you don't know what is in Orlando I will break it down for you in one word...okay two words.

WALT DISNEY WORLD....dang that was three words.

It took longer than I anticipated to decide on the Resort - there are so many to choose from, and of course since it is Disney it all comes down to the amount of $$$ you want to spend and how close you want to be to the Magic Kingdom.

After crunching the numbers and all the perks associated with each resort Hughie and I decided on Walt Disney's Polynesian Resort. We are on the Monorail course with direct access to all 4-theme parks and the best thing is that we can lay out on our beach (yep we have a beach..it is a Polynesian Resort - you just can't swim in the lake as there is no lifeguards on duty) and watch the Magic Kingdom fireworks at 10pm nightly and they pipe the music from the Magic Kingdom into the speakers outside, so you can enjoy the fireworks without the crowds! Although I think in order to have the full effect you have to be in front of the Castle at least once throughout the trip.

I am definitely looking forward to Space & Thunder Mountain, The Haunted Mansion and of course the Tower of Terror!...Well, in all honesty I'm looking forward to being there in general...I could hardly contain my excitement when we booked the initial tickets. I honestly don't know what was more nerve wracking booking the tickets or keeping everything hush hush until it was all booked!

I've been reading everything I can get my hands on with respect to Walt Disney. From tips on Rainy Weather to tips on how to get the most of out of your Dining Plan. [Dining Plan is one breakfast, snack, lunch, dinner per person per night of your stay - it was an added perk that the Disney Resorts have this year as long as you book after August 16th to December 31st]. I look forward to figuring out how much we save.

A few good tips:

*Place camera and/or any electric items in a ziploc bag to keep out rain
*If sneakers get wet place papertowel in them to soak up the wetness
*Scotchguarding Backpack will help make them rainproof
*Beer Day @ Epcot (Try a beer at each of the countries ) - Just make sure you drink water in between. Great way to see all the countries and enjoy an "Adult" day.
*Don't turn on the television to check weather in am - it eats up valuable time (check it after you get back in the evening for the next day)
*Download Disney tunes to listen to while you fly to Disney
*Bring single Crystal Lite to add to water to give it a bit of a zing, as the water isn't the tastiest.

The countdown has officially started. Watch Eeyore as the countdown progresses!

Passing the time

Since moving to Kugaaruk I had to come to the realization that heading down to Manitoba Avenue to my local Bakery had become null and void. So I had to start baking. Don't get me wrong, I love to bake. I find it therapeutic to mix and mingle all my ingredients. Personally,half the time I don't even like to eat my creations. I think baking a cake, cookies or biscuits take all the mystery out of the food... and who doesn't like a little mystery.

I wanted to pass on one of the easiest recipes that I have been baking on a bi-weekly basis. I'm an avid watcher of "Chef at Home" with Chef Michael Smith - he cooks out of his house on PEI. He made these biscuit to have with Clam Chowder. I like them with everything from blueberry shortcake to pasta salad and of course with lasagna and chili.

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do.
====================================
Chef At Home

Ease of Preparation: Easy
Makes 8-10 large biscuits

These are my gold-standard biscuits. My secret? Frozen butter! It’s an old pastry chef’s trick that has served me well. Butter tastes great and when it’s frozen it becomes very easy to shred into the dough. After you try these a few times you’ll be able to bake them in under twenty minutes – and clean up the mess too!

Frozen Butter Biscuits

Four cups of all-purpose flour
Two large spoonfuls of baking powder
Two small spoonfuls of salt
Two sticks of frozen butter, eight ounces
A cup and a half of milk
A sprinkle or two of salt and pepper

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt together until they’re evenly mixed. Grate the frozen butter into the dry ingredients. Shred it through the large holes of a box grater or potato grater directly into the flour. Toss gently with your fingers until the butter shards are spread evenly throughout the flour.

Pour the milk into the flour mixture and stir with an upside down wooden spoon to form a dough mass. The handle of the spoon is gentler on the dough. Fold the dough over a few times with your hands until all the ingredients come together. If necessary add a few spoonfuls more milk to help gather up any stray flour. This kneading will strengthen the dough a bit but not enough to toughen the biscuits. It will also help them form a crisp crust when they bake.
Pat the dough out on a lightly floured cutting board forming a loose round shape. Cut into wedges – like a pie - or any other shape you’re in the mood for. Position on a baking sheet; sprinkle on a bit of coarse salt and coarsely ground pepper. Bake for fifteen minutes or so. You’ll know they’re done when they turn golden brown. Enjoy at once with lots of brown butter!

It is Official

The weather network http://www.theweathernetwork.com [Kugaaruk, Nunavut] no longer posts a time for Sunrise and Sunset. However, this is not from lack of sunlight but from the over abundance of sunlight. Kugaaruk is now under direct sunlight for 24 hours a day.

Remind me when I'm complaining about the 24 hour darkness that I once was complaining about the 24 hour sun.

50th

I wanted to do some big celebratory post considering this is a landmark.. my 50th post since moving to the North. I have ranted on about weather, food, polar bears, Easter, Christmas and the up and coming Spring season. I've even thrown in a few quizzes to pass my time. I always wonder if I didn't write a blog would I put my thoughts to paper or sit down and actually take the time to sketch a landscape scene so that one day I would look back on that piece of paper and try to remember the direct thoughts that I was harboring the second I placed my lead to carbon.
In all honesty, I've been so wrapped up in technology the last couple of years that I haven't drawn a picture or sketched a landscape in just as long. The digital camera has taken over that avenue just as blogging has taken over the hidden diary or the locked journal under the mattress. Does that mean in the next 50 years our children's children will be doing automatic voice journals like we see on Sci-Fi shows and photographs turned into holograms? Even in my 31 years I have seen progressions that I once thought was impossible.. ...

See what happens when I want to do a celebratory post.... Here I am ranting my way into the future.

Tattoo

Oh the decisions....to place permanent ink in your body is a serious thought. One that I have made before almost 11 years ago. Now the time has come again to make that decision again.
I am an avid reader and lover of all things Celtic. I am seriously leaning greatly towards a Trinity on my lower back or a intricate Celtic Knot. The decisions are endless and the possibilities infinite. This is what makes the final decision so hard - you must make a decision to place permanent ink on a part of your body - this ink can't be removed, yet it can be altered for corrections and made to dissipate through the fine work of Lasers...however even with those options it isn't a decision that you walk into lightly.

Some people think that tattoos are self mutilation or an idea someone had to inflict personal pain on yourself.. I on the other hand think they are beautiful and can enhance the beauty if done correctly.

I think my decision has been made, I just have to take the plunge and book the appointment. That is the hardest step of all.

1:45am

Is it Saturday?

I'm hiding, not looking, locking myself away for at least the next couple of days. There has never been a birthday that I've been dreading more. I just want to put my head in the sand and just hide. 31 a number that I'm learning to dread. I turned the big 3-0 last year without a thought! I enjoyed the day as I do every other day. So how come 31 is such a big scary number. I have never let age affect me before and somehow this week has caused me such grief. Grief that I haven't been sharing but for some reason the closer I get to Friday the more my anxiety is shifting into overdrive.
Maybe it is because I always viewed 30 as old when I was a kid so subconsciously I view 31 as ancient. If I'm this way now for 31 I can just imagine what life will be like when I hit the big 4-0! Which is in 9 years. 9-years doesn't seem like a long time, when you put life in perspective.

I'm not even making a cake for myself, I keep asking Hughie if he would like a Joe Louis cake. (Chocolate cake,icing with whipcream in the center). I think he thinks it is because I really don't want to feel compelled to eat my birthday cake but really it is because I don't want my own birthday cake. I wanted a PUMPKIN PIE! But noooo...that won't happen because foodmail from M&M meats only sends up good healthy products...someone should tell them that PUMPKIN is a FRUIT!

I really don't know. I just wish I could put my head in the sand and just hide...or maybe I'm just finally joining the ranks of millions and millions of women who just hate their birthdays...or maybe I'm just being silly.