Goal 100. Do a Samaritan's Purse Shoebox

I love Christmas! For some reason I have always loved everything about christmas and winter. Maybe it's because I grew up in an area that rarely had snow, so I always loved the idea of snowy days inside drinking hot chocolate by the fire. Or the decorations. Or the music. Or the gifts. I love it all!

I have been planning for Christmas for a little while already, including writing wish lists for Prince Charming and I, developing my gifts-to-give plan, and planning my decorations. I have been looking at Pinterest a lot!

But one of my favourite activities that usually marks the beginning of christmas is filling a shoebox with gifts for an anonymous underprivileged child. I support Samaritan's Purse Operation Christmas Child, by filling a shoebox that will be given out as a christmas present to one of these children. Usually charity just means writing a cheque or sending in some used food or clothes. But this charity event is actually really fun!

Goal 46. 10 minutes to drop-dead gorgeous

The title of this post makes me laugh. I am currently wearing exercise pants and a ripped old t-shirt, my hair is twisted up into whatever makes it stay and I have no make-up on. And now I am going to start talking about being "drop-dead gorgeous"?! But there in lies the trick of this goal.

Recently I got a job and had to define what being "drop-dead gorgeous" meant to me and have been experimenting with trying to actually look good, while sleeping in.

Goal 30: Get permanent full-time work

So this is a great week for me! I can finally announce that I do in fact have a job, and it's a position! I have a schedule and benefits. Since I am a nurse it is evening and day shifts, but its a great unit and all the staff are really smart and personable. So I am really excited about this goal being completed! Now I am going to go get ready for work, so its a short post this week!

Menu Plan Monday: Quick & Easy Edition

Source.

This week I will be doing evening shifts and having house guests, so my menu has to be something that can prepared early in the day and very easy to prepare. Here is what I have come up with:

Sunday: Turkey Salad (from last week, we didn't get around to it)
Monday: Fish Tacos
Tuesday: Chopped Salad
Wednesday: Thai Curry Chicken on Quinoa wi. Side Salad (from the freezer)
Thursday: Two Bean Chili

I only planned this far as I also bought some treats for Adam to make.... Kraft Dinner! And I figure by then I will be exhausted, so it will be leftovers, random fend nights and eating out. Some weeks are like that, so I think its better not to buy too much food and let it go to waste, but to accept the reality of the situation.

Source. 

I really loved this recipe for Turkey Salad which I adapted from Canadian Living: Make Ahead Meals. It's a light recipe to use up that turkey and a great change from heavy holiday meals.

Turkey and Mixed Greens wi. Honey Vinaigrette ~ Serves 2
Salad: 
4 cups mixed baby greens
1 cup cooked turkey, cubed or shredded
1 pear, diced
1/8 cup dried cranberries
1/8 cup pecan halves
pinch each salt & paper

Dressing:
1/8 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 tbsp. honey
1/2 tsp. dijon mustard
1/2 tsp. lemon juice
1/4 cup canola oil
1 clove garlic, minced
sprinkle each salt & pepper

In medium bowl, combine salad ingredients; set aside. In small bowl, whisk together dressing ingredients. Use as dressing to taste.

Goal 21. Host a fancy dinner party

I have wanted to plan and put on a fancy dinner party for a long, long time. However, I have never actually had a reason to do this until this past weekend. Prince Charming and I hosted Thanksgiving: Prairie Edition for Belle, Cogsworth and Jafar. It was a really really fun evening, during which I was fully able to relax and enjoy myself. In fact, I was a little nervous because it didn't seem that hard, even though I had planned a fairly intense menu. So here is how I was able to do that.