The Great Christmas Tree Hunt

Dad and I took decided to take advantage of the lack of snow around the lake (while Prince George got a dump of it, Burns Lake was the dry spot..with only skiffs of snow in places) and get our Christmas tree.  We took the quad out back and behind our place and wandered around, looking for the perfect tree - which I thought I had some cool pictures of, but turns out that forgetting the memory card for a camera is a terrible idea. Before we cut down the tree, we had a little picnic lunch and fire.

 Luckily, I still had my phone, so we were able to get a few pictures from that.

I was left with the duty of cutting down the tree, which resulted in sappy and tangled hair...

...but happy faces nonetheless!

Fire in the Sky

"School's, out, for, the winter!"

"School's, out, for, ever!" (just kidding...I wish, though)

On the drive back home, we were greeted with a wall of fire lighting up the night sky from the slash burning being done on cut blocks above Tchesinkut Lake. 

The perfect welcome home night.

Friday the 13th!!!

You know it's Friday the 13th when you have two exams scheduled on the same day. After watching multiple vehicles get stuck, as well as seeing a bus getting towed along the road yesterday, I was starting to question if I would even be getting up to the university to write my exams. Luckily, the snow has stopped (for now) and it's giving crews a chance to clear the roads so it's not so gross to drive.

Today also happens to be National Hot Cocoa Day (in the States, at least), so I made myself some hot chocolate while I settled in to study for my second to last final. It was a much needed breather in the day!

When It Snows, It Dumps

When it rains, it pours...when it snows, it dumps?

Good enough.

Prince George has been under a snowfall warning until Thursday morning due to close to 30 cm expected to fall.  My exam wasn't until the evening, so I luckily got to spend most of the day curled up in bed.  

It was really hard to take pictures because blustery winds kept blowing wet snow onto my camera, so I was stuck trying to strategically take them from inside.

When I finally was forced to leave I threw on my trusty, oversized (and super flattering...naaat) men's Costco jacket and trudged through about 20 cm's of wet, sticky snow.

The buses were late, cars were spinning out, people were stumbling through the blanket that descended the city...and there is still some falling as I get ready to hit the hay. 

Hopefully the plow trucks don't keep me up too long.

Heavenly Cookies

Procrastination + a mid study sugar craving=THE BEST chocolate chip cookies around. It made almost three dozen cookies, so if y'all want to get hooked up with some Christmas baking, let me know.

You'll need:

2 and 1/4 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup butter/margarine

1/2 cup white sugar

1 cup brown sugar, packed

2 cap - fuls rum (or vanilla, your choice, I personally love rum)

2 eggs

3 cups chocolate chips (I used three different kinds in these cookies)

   

Oven needs to be preheated to 350°F.

Mix the flour and baking soda together in a small bowl and put aside.

Next, you'll want to throw the sugars and butter into a large mixing and beat until fluffy (ish).  

Next, you'll want to add your eggs, and the rum.  A little side note on the rum though: I realized that I didn't have any vanilla extract, so I googled substitutes for it.  Lo and behold, rum was one of the first things that came up. And I'm not sure about you, but we always have rum kicking around our apartment.  I'm sure vanilla would taste just as fine :)

After you've mixed all that together, you'll need to add the flour and once again, mix.  I like to add the flour slowly just so it all doesn't explode into a giant white cloud when the mixmaster first starts up.

Don't forget to lick the beaters once you're done!!!

Finally, stir in your chocolate chips of choice. I'm not the world's biggest fan of milk chocolate, so I used 1 cup white chocolate, 1 cup Reese chips, and 1 cup milk chocolate to avoid a chocolate overload.  It's all up to personal preference!

Spoon out on a cookie tray lined with parchment paper and cook for about 10 minutes.

And indulge in some serious soft, chewy goodness.  

Happy exam studying procrastination!!!

Exam De-Stressing

Today is my last day at home before I have to go back to PG for school. Boo. Even though my parents have been working everyday I've been here, it's nice to be surrounded by the people you love in a place as gorgeous as this.

The view from our front yard.

This little monster has been up and down the curtains, knocking over shelves, and generally wreaking havoc all over the house. Apparently I'm a bad influence, because according to mom and dad, it started up again as soon as I came home. 

You know how whenever you take your camera with you somewhere, it seems like you see normal, everyday stuff? But then the moment you're stuck with the camera on your phone, animals are suddenly swarming about like flies? For the first time in a long time I actually had my 'camera camera' so I was able snap some pics of the deer and swans on my drive home from town.

 

There's something incredibly peaceful about being at the lake. Exactly ten more days till I get to be back here again...it's going to be a constant countdown!!!