Been awhile since I last posted again - I kept starting posts, but not getting around to finishing them... so I apologize for the delay. This past week was a busy one that included a couple of notable events. One was Valentine's day which every year is a source of frustration for me. Why? It's not that I don't have a significant other that I wish to bestow upon my love and devotion to ... it's that I hate that there's a specific day for it! It feels entirely too forced for me -- one of these events that the general public (read: corporations) have decided is the time for all who are involved in a relationship must partake in. To me, that's not how you should show your love! Showing your love and affection for your significant other is by all means great -- but there's no reason that it has to happen on a particular day! What's wrong with ... today, tomorrow, or ... next Tuesday?!

So while Diane and I did spent the evening together, there wasn't a lot of extra fanfare outside of spending a fairly ordinary evening together. I did cook dinner though ... something I want to start doing a little more often. This time was cod fillets battered with flour and pan fried with oil and butter. It turned out pretty well! So Diane and I had a rather lovely evening, thank you very much corporate greed.

On a related note, a couple of my friends lent me some copies of Good Eats to watch. I have since gotten addicted to watching it. For those who haven't heard of it, it is hosted by Alton Brown.. He's kinda like the Bill Nye the Science Guy of cooking. Besides being really fun to watch, the show is also very informative. The food recipes are explained really well ... but not only that, the reasons for the various steps are explained which means that the show builds understanding of cooking.

A couple days ago, Diane and I tried out the pan seared steak technique he shows in the first show. It turned out really well! The juices from the meat stayed on the inside which made the meat juicy and tender and oh so very tasty. I'll definitely be trying out some more of Alton Brown's recipes in the time to come! Mmmm ... tasty meat.

This Saturday was my 24th Birthday, so I held a party to celebrate. The party was quite a success -- many people attended, and I was really impressed with the food everyone brought. Very very tasty! After a poker tournament in the afternoon, we had our potluck, and then continued to play some video and board games. I think everyone had a good time. I certainly did -- though I was unhappy that the oilers lost.

Hope everyone is having/had a good weekend (those outside of Alberta probably go back to work tomorrow -- but most Albertans have Family day off tomorrow). I'm going to spend tomorrow playing some poker and doing some work.

Heraldk