31 Days: Days 28 - 31 - FINALLY IT'S OVER!

Well, this experiment of recapping every day for a full month has proven about as interesting as Sunday morning television. So to everyone who used to think this blog has inklings of coolness - I apologize! I will now get back to my regular programming: interesting articles on natural health and eco-friendly living, mixed with yummy recipes and fun DIY tutorials. I am hoping with being on mat-leave that I can really make something of this blog (during Oliver's naps of course) so I thank you in advance for your support!

Jessica!

On Day 28 I had the privilege of celebrating my friend Jessica's 23rd birthday. Her Youtube channel, featuring weight loss tips, fashion advice and every day rants and raves, has been getting extremely popular and I'd suggest you check it out. She's one hilarious girl so it was a blast to have her drive to town for her birthday, and get together with other great people. We began by eating at Moxie's Classic Grill downtown. I do have friends who work there, so I will watch my words, but I will say that it's certainly more of a hotspot for men, or women who like women... The dresses are short and the average hair-and-makeup time for the servers was hovering around 3 hours I would say. In their defense the food is awesome and I ordered (hilariously) a lobster & brie panini with a roasted red pepper soup. Then we went bowling at Palasad and, while I started out with 2 or 3 strikes in a row much to everyone's amazement, I ended up losing horribly. My only redeeming moment was a sweet reverse granny shot to take down one remaining pin.

The Real Kat Von D

On the 29th we celebrated Halloween at Chris and Bethany's house. I cannot believe I don't have a photo to show for it, but I was Kat Von D of LA Ink fame and Calvin was a lifeguard - in other words, he wore his old work uniform and blew a whistle every once in a while. I have to say Bethany pulled out a sweet costume by dressing up as a cavewoman. She also lit her house with only candles, played scary music on satellite radio and had Chris scare everyone upon arriving by sitting on the porch in a creepy get up and face paint. I brought some Bloody Eyeball Juice to share with everyone - recipe below.

Yesterday was the 30th and the day was pretty standard as far as Sundays go. We attended church and heard an incredible message on serving God our best, not our leftovers. Then had lunch at Calvin's parents' house (tuna on crackers, a quick one), picked up some apples and cider at Appleland, went back to the church so Calvin could play with his floor hockey team, then had a turkey dinner complete with apple crisp. We finished the night by watching home movies and the hockey game (a sad loss for the Leafs).

Today is a total write off, so I finish my 31 day challenge by saying today I am moping around the house because... I am sick! After all the oil of oregano, vitamin D and probiotics the cold-bug got me. I will say, I can tell I'm fighting it off like a champ, and I wouldn't say I'm down and out the way some people get when they're sick, so if you still trust me - tune in soon for a blog about natural ways to fight cold and flu.

I will finish with my Bloody Eyeball Juice recipe. If you're attending a halloween party I suggest making a batch:

Ingredients:
- a basket of concord grapes, or, 1 L grape juice
- mulling spices, your choice (I suggest cinnamon, allspice, cardamom and nutmeg - whole is best but use ground if you need to)
- vodka

Directions:
1. Wash and de-stem the grapes and place them in a large pot.
2. Add mulling spices. If using whole, I recommend 1 cinnamon stick, 5 allspice berries, 10 cardamom pods and 2 nutmeg nuts. If ground, try about 1 tsp of each. You can add more to taste. Keep at a low boil for half an hour, the whole time using the back of a fork to crush and mash the grapes. Try to extract as much juice as possible.
3. Turn off the heat and place a strainer, or a funnel with a coffee filter over it, on top of your pitcher of choice. Strain the mixture into the pitcher being careful to catch the spices and grape skins/seeds. Use the fork to really force it through and get as much juice as possible. Leave straining for as long as you're willing - more time equals more juice. (Add storebought grape juice, apple juice, or water to equal out 1 L if you're short)
4. Add 500ml of vodka. I used absolut acai-berry flavour.
5. Serve over ice. For extra spookiness, leave out a few grapes from the boiling process, then skin them to look like slimey eyeballs, and float them in the final brew.