Back from the 'Peg

 It's been a week of radio silence -- I must apologize. I didn't bring a computer for my trip, and typing blogs on my phone would have been impossible.

So I'm back from Winnipeg -- and I'll say that the conference ate up so much of my time (understandably) that I didn't really have a chance to see much else, though I did get to see the Canadian Human Rights Museum.

Pretty impressive building, with meaning in every piece of it (specifically designed that way) Ex: The walls inside are unfinished because human rights work will never be complete.

The people who lived in Winnipeg spoke highly of the community engagement and general care for each other, and it was nice to know that they do try to help those around them who live in shelters or the street and rely on donations of clothing and funds to get by. It definitely seemed more closely knit than other places I've seen. I can't say it's somewhere I would desire to go back to -- but it did encourage me to explore Canada a bit more. Whenever I travel I immediately think of other countries, but I've not seen much of what my own country has to offer. So something to consider for sure.

Landing in the prairies was definitely different than landing anywhere else I've been!
 

Last week, or prior to today's post is probably more accurate, I took the plunge and made squash soup for the first time. I'm not a fan of making soups that need to be blended, but I had an intense craving for some squash soup so I went for it. A fellow blogger had posted her recipe for squash soup and had also given me a suggestion to avoid the hassle of peeling and dicing the squash. Am I the only one who gets sliced up fingers when I do this? It literally seems that the squash peel rips the skin off of my fingers. Disgusting and painful. I googled this and I'm not alone -- just an FYI ;)
Anyways, her suggestion was to first roast the squash and then the skin would easily be removed. So I had husband slice it lengthwise down the middle, I scooped out the seeds, drizzled a bit of evoo and sprinkled some salt and pepper. Then I roasted it for about 45 minutes at 425. Not only did the skin literally fall off, but it was already so delicious. I'm pretty sure I ate way too much of it in the moving it to the pot process.
I followed the rest of the recipe process, editing it only to add in my own spices. I wasn't quite sure what would taste best. Squash is quite savoury, so I knew that things like allspice, cinnamon and nutmeg would taste good, but I wanted kick. So I added little bits of those to complement, but also added in a hefty dose of black pepper and red pepper flakes. To say it was divine is an understatement. We ate practically half of the pot that first night, and I froze the rest, which I defrosted it when I got back on Friday and we enjoyed it again. There is one little serving left with my name on it. I'll likely make it again this weekend. I just love squash soup. My MIL also makes a mean squash soup - every time she sends some over, I pretty much claim all of it. It's an obsession.
As an added note: Definitely use a real blender rather than an immersion blender to make the soup smooth once everything is added and ready to blend. I tried an immersion blender first and it was pretty useless. I think if I'd be ready to devote a good half hour to the process, maybe it would have eventually smoothed it out, but I wasn't willing to wait. I had to blend mine in three batches to fit it all and I added a bit of water each time because it was quite thick. Maybe a quarter cup each time. A more high tech blender like the vitamix or ninja probably wouldn't need added water.

Mmm, could go for some right now.

Well, that was a really long discussion of soup. Anyways, in lieu of my last weeks Friday Favourites, I did want to include some fun little things that happened.

I got free sweet potato fries at my favourite lunch spot (three cheers for having a delayed lunch and being there during a lull!)

Not a great photo (afternoon sun-fail), but the serving was so big I took the rest home and had it with breakfast Saturday morning

I finally got to my parents house to open my ipsy bag with my mom (ever since someone started stealing my mail, I send smaller packages to my parents house). This bag was one of the cutest (red with a black lace-look overlay), but I wasn't terribly impressed with the contents. I love getting eye cream, so that was nice, and the nail polish is a beautiful colour, but I generally get shellac manicures and pedicures, so I don't use much polish (despite my burgeoning collection). I don't have large pores, but I'll try the powder -- maybe it will de-shine as well, and I wouldn't mind using the eye shadow primer if I'm going out. I already used the hand cream. It has such a beautiful peach smell. So 2/5 things I love, and really for that price, you can't beat it. I have bought many full sized items following items I've received from Ipsy which is one of the things I love most about the bag. I'm relatively new to the world of makeup, so trying new things is really fun (plus I haven't had to buy mascara in AGES!) 

Pretty pretty bag

Last, I went for a 10k run on Sunday with one of my running friends and although we went a slower pace than last week, I was really pleased that I was able to make it through the whole run much better than last week. I was still fairly breathless throughout, but I know it's a process of getting back into it. I also managed to make it to the gym in Winnipeg. Mind you, they were definitely stretching the truth in their "world class gym" statement on the hotel website. So I have completed week 1/6 of husbands goal-setting for me to get my Christmas decoration that I posted a few posts back. I'm definitely a girl that needs goals!
That's it for today!

Happy Monday!  Here's a picture of Snicker for your enjoyment.

Can't you tell that he thinks we're just peasants there to serve him?