More property?

We have had really good luck with property in the past. We bought our first house in Saskatoon for a ridiculously low price and managed to make $200,000 when we sold it. Then, we bought a condo in Regina for my hubby to live in, while I finished school, which we sold for an extra $140,000. Somewhere in there we bought a lakefront property for what was really reasonable at the time (although some people thought we overpaid, there was nothing cheaper that was usuable). And, we bought our house in White City that we now live in. So, right now we own 2 properties - our house and our cabin.

Our cabin, however, is a real piece of shit. No, really. The property itself is lovely and very usable, and so we use it a lot. But the house was built in the 1950s, and not very well. After 60 years, it is finally and totally falling apart. The biggest problem is that the roof has been leaking for years (we finally reshingled it) before we even got it. Now the roof is rotten, and probably the walls too. It is really gross actually. Not to mention the fact that it is too small to even house a regular sized bed.

We got a phone call from our neighbours at the lake today. They are selling their place. So, that gives us a new option. We could keep our house and build something on it eventually (which is our original plan, but my hubby has put off for 5 years already), or we could just buy their place, and then just landscape our lot. It would give us double the property size, and more privacy because of that.

They have put a lot of work into their house, and it looks great. It has lots of room, a big kitchen, and is winterized. Just what we want. We think we could put a big deck on the side of the house (big enough for a hot tub for sure!), a proper boat house on the other side of the house, and like I said landscape ours.

So, where is the problem? Well, we are so close to having EVERYTHING paid off (our big house, our newly landscaped yard, and our cabin at the lake), that my hubby really doesn't want to incur anymore debt. I can't say as I really blame him, but it would solve our dilemma of the cabin. We would have a winterized cabin, that wasn't rotting, that shouldn't need any work for a long time, that we could use for a long time (at least 15-20 years). I am also torn for another reason. If we just wait, and build our own place, we can build what we want. Not to mention, that having more property means more work. More grass to mow. More trees to water. Sure, we could put a huge deck on (that would help), and zeroscape some of it, but still. We are just not sure. Maybe we should go look at it? Maybe, they would give us a deal because we know them.

HHHHhhmmmmmmmm....... What to do?

I love you more than soup

"I love you." My husband says to me. "More than soup?" I reply. He snickers, "That depends. What kind of soup?"

This is a silly banter between my husband and myself that we often repeat. It doesn't mean anything to anyone, but us. I guess it stems from the fact that soup is comforting. It warms you up from the inside out, and fills you up. That, I guess, is what we mean by that. We love each other like that.

Nonetheless, as I said in my last post, sometimes a good bowl of soup is all you need (seems weird that my last couple of posts have been about soup). So, instead of just blogging about it, I thought I would actually give you the recipe.

Now, remember, I am all about quick. I love to cook, but I don't like labour intensive meals. Usually I have a lot of stuff going on, so at home I don't like to make meals that take any longer than 45 minutes or so. So, below is a very quick recipe for Mexican Black Bean Soup.

1 can Black Beans (do not drain)

1 cup salsa

2 cups (or more if you think it needs it) Chicken Stock

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp mustard

tabasco (a couple of drops is all you need)

Salt to taste

Put all this in a pot, bring to a boil. Then, just before serving, puree a little of the soup so it is creamy but still has some whole beans in it (this can be done right in the pot with a hand-held mixer). Top with grated cheese, if desired, and serve with toast.

MMMMmmmmm.... Spicy, warm, and hearty. He just might love this soup more.

Lentil Soup for the Soul

Sometimes something so simple can be so comforting. Soup is often like a warm hug, especially on a cold day. And, when you make a home-made healthy version that is even better. That was what I needed today after the news I got.

Back in November (see my previous posts), we wrote the Advanced Perioperative Transesophageal Echocardiography Exam. It is a North American Exam that Cardiologists, Ultrasonographers, and some Anesthesiologists write. It is a requirement to become certified in Perioperative TEE in the US. And, it is a requirement for our department to be able to continue to do Cardiac Anesthesia.

Well, I failed the exam.

Admittedly, I am NOT a Cardiologist, nor Ultrasonographer. I am not even an anesthesiologist who has done a cardiac fellowship. So, what the heck was I doing writing this exam? Well, as I said, it is a requirement by our department. No other department requires this, and it is useless anywhere else, but most departments require a fellowship to do Cardiac. As well, prior to this it was a different exam. There used to be just a Perioperative TEE exam. Now, there is a basic and advanced, and for some reason in their infinite wisdom, our department decided we needed the Advanced exam.

I have been preparing myself for this result. I studied and studied, but when I got to the exam, it all but blew me away. I was pretty sure at that point I had failed the exam. My hubby and a couple of others wrote it with me, and we all felt the same way - like we had just been sucker-punched in the belly.

Am I bothered by the outcome? Well, seeing as my hubby passed (which is no surprise, as he is brilliant), and I did not, a little bothered. I can write it again, but I am not sure I want to. I would miss some of the people who work in that room. I would miss the expertise of putting in all the lines. But, honestly, I would not miss the stress. The biggest stress comes not from the anesthetic (I can give a cardiac anesthetic, and get the patient off the table), but it is the TEE. I really have never felt that I had the skills, and was just playing at TEE.

So, what do I do. I made some home-made lentil soup, and congratulated my hubby. He did great. He really wanted this, and I am happy for him.

Do I continue on with cardiac and try again? I am not really sure. I don't know if I care that much to put all that effort in again (such a nice feeling that nothing was truly riding on this). I think I have enough different things on my plate (especially now with being the new Undergraduate Teaching Coordinator for Anesthesia).

For now, I will eat my steamy hearty bowl of lentil soup, and ponder. So warm, so comforting, and right now just what I need.

The man I love

My husband continues to surprise me. He sometimes comes off as rough and gruff, with an undertone of sarcasm. He loves to poke fun at people and make jokes. I love that he is so funny (he can always make me laugh, even in the middle of an argument), but he has other qualities that I love as well. One of these was exemplified the other night.

My hubby was outside snow-blowing the driveway, and noticed our neighbor working hard to clear her driveway with a shovel. He asked her if she wanted him to come and give her a hand and blow off her driveway as well (which is a lot where we live, as you could park 6 cars on our drive). She happily accepted. However, Jurgen noticed that she was still unhappy and there was other stuff going on. The details of what don't really matter.

Seeing how unhappy and defeated she was he came inside, and asked me if it was OK if we invited her for supper. Knowing that he never does this kind of thing, I immediately agreed (although we were only having meatloaf and was worried about that), without asking. I knew there had to be a good reason. He went out, and she graciously accepted.

In the end, he made someone's day. She had been having a horrible day with one thing going wrong after another. The snow on the driveway was just the ICE-ing on a ruined cake. So, by this simple neighborly gesture, he made her day. She was able to relax a bit knowing supper had been taken care of. Not to mention, that we got to know her a bit better than before.

That is him - my loving, caring, and of course, hilarious husband.

snow

Snow

Beautiful

sparkling white.

Icy cold

fluffy white.

Our noses red

we feel alive.

It falls down

all white and fluffy.

While inside we stay

nice and cozy.

Outside

your breath we see.

Playing in it

we feel so free.

How could anyone

not love something

so beautiful?

Jane Fonda

I was watching Oprah today and Jane Fonda was on. They were taking a look back at her life, as she has just published her memoirs. What an amazing life she has had! And, to look the way she does at 72! Wow.

She said something that resonated with me. She said for so much of her life she was worried that "Today was the day they might find out" she was a fraud. I think we ALL feel that way. We all have accomplishments that we are proud of, and I don't think it has anything to do with that. It has to do with self doubt, and we all have it. That nagging feeling that maybe we don't belong, that we haven't really accomplished what we did on our own two feet. That there has been some mistake, and somehow, sometime we will be found out. I worry that someone will find out that I shouldn't do medicine, that I am not qualified, and I don't belong. Clearly, this is not the case, as I have all the paper documents to prove it, but the worry remains. I guess when something is so important to you, you really don't want anyone to take it away, and worry about it.

For so many years she felt like this, but doesn't anymore. Amazing that with age, she could over come this. Is it wisdom? Is it age? What gave her this revelation? It gives one hope that despite being a different person at different ages, we can learn from our past. We can forgive, and let go, and grow into a stronger more beautiful person.

Stupid Microsoft

Sometimes I wish I wasn't such an idiot.

Oh sure, that might sound funny coming from someone with 14 years of post-secondary education and two degrees, but there are definitely different types of intelligence. I may be able to memorize something and think through a problem in my work place, but when it comes to other things I am just a total idiot.

I asked for a new computer for my birthday. There is some debate about whether or not I specified that I wanted a Mac or not. Regardless, I find it is hard to use. It is definitely not intuitive. For example, opening up multiple web browser pages takes multiple steps with the Mac. Downloading software from the internet takes a special web browser. Things like that. Why can't it just be simple?

Then, I made the error of actually calling the "help line" listed on the website where I downloaded (or attempted to) some software. No one was helpful at all. Stupid Microsoft and their stupid help line that was not helpful at all. In short, I spent two and a half hours calling different hotlines. I spoke to over a dozen people on three different continents, and no one seemed to be able to fix the problem (nor help with) I was having. To me the problem seemed simple: I can't download the software I purchased. That shouldn't be that hard to fix, right?

It seems that the biggest problem was actually finding someone who was willing to take ownership in this. I was bounced back and forth between different agencies: "No, you need the Canadian Microsoft". "No, you need the Microsoft Store." "No, we don't deal with downloads, you need technical support." "Oh, we don't deal with Macs here, you have to call another line." And my personal favourite, "We can't fix a download from Microsoft, you need to call this other company who deals with the downloads."

Ultimately, it boiled down to me getting so frustrated and angry that not only did I want to chuck this stupid computer in the snow, but I vowed to never buy anything from Microsoft ever again! Sigh, as Microsoft and Apple are the two big computer giants, I have to deal with one of them.

I managed (with tears) to convince my husband to see what he could do. I didn't ask him earlier, because he is always saying how I never do anything for myself (except earn a living, cook, clean, laundry, and plan every fun thing we have ever done). Then, he couldn't finish the download because he needed a password to get into my computer. He wondered why I put one on in the first place. Simple: it asked for one during set up, and I am tired of him being in my business. Well, that was a big mistake in saying that! He refused to help at all after that. Luckily, I managed to figure the password out.

So, if I wasn't such an idiot I would...

Remember my passwords, know how to use a Mac computer, know just how to download stuff, know not to download stuff from a website, and maybe never have gotten a Mac all together.

Sigh, too bad about the idiocy. All I can do now is live with it.