Tag: christmas Posts

Back to Brazil

Brazil

The last time I was in Brazil, I was there from June until August in 2013, which was basically the tail-end of their winter. The weather was actually quite nice (compared to a Canadian winter), with most days hovering around 20C. But I haven’t experienced summer in South America since my first trip to Argentina in 2011. Given that it’s been snowing and below zero here in Hamilton for the last two weeks, seeing the sun again and 30C days is going to be a great change. I’m flying out of Pearson in the early afternoon on Wednesday, with a brief 4-hour stop over in New York City. I found a flight that was about $200 cheaper because it requires an airport change from Laguardia to JFK in New York City. It’s a bit of a pain, but I have four hours there and it’s just a 20 minute cab […]

Christmas Presents For People Who Like To Travel

 Travel

It’s November 1st, which means that shortly we are going to start seeing Christmas lights, trees, and of course all the great sales leading up to Christmas. It’s only about 7 weeks away now, and I’m sure that time will go by quickly. After travelling the world for almost three years now, I thought I would share some of my best ideas for Christmas presents for people like me. If you have someone in your family that loves to travel, or is thinking about taking a big trip, then hopefully this list will help you. I’ve ordered it by price, lowest to highest, so hopefully there’s something here for all budgets. So without further ado, here are some great presents for people who like to travel. How To Travel The World on $50/day – $8 Written by famous travel blogger Matt Kepnes (known on the internet as Nomadic Matt), this […]

Merry Christmas!

 Journal

Well, given that it’s already Christmas in some parts of the world, I wanted to write a quick post and wish a very Merry Christmas to everyone. I hope the next day or two for everyone are spent in the company of family and friends, surrounding by love and laughter. Yesterday we had Christmas over at my dad’s house, and today I’m heading over to have a mini-Christmas at my sister’s house. Tomorrow I head over to my mom’s house for dinner with that side of the family, and then Christmas is done for me. At that point I’ll finish my packing and start getting ready to head to Argentina. A very Merry Christmas to everyone!

And That’s A Wrap

 Journal

Well, I cooked my first thanksgiving dinner tonight, and for the most part it went off without a hitch. First, based on suggestions people made on this site, I decided to brine the turkey before hand. Brining involves soaking the turkey in a salt/water solution for 12 hours or so before cooking it, and ultimately forces moisture into the turkey, keeping it nice and juicy. My grandma hates dry turkey, and she couldn’t believe how moist the one was that came out of my oven, so definitely mission accomplished. I was a bit worried the meat would taste too salty, but that wasn’t the case at all. On a whim, I decided to make homemade cranberry sauce, and it was a huge hit. Given that I don’t actually like cranberry sauce, I had to solicit some feedback from people shortly after making it, but everyone loved it so that was […]

Merry Christmas

 Journal

It’s not officially Christmas yet where I am, but it’s only about six hours away on the east coast of Canada, so that’s close enough. As most people know, I moved back to my home town back in January to be closer to some of my old friends and of course my family. The last time I lived in Chilliwack in any capacity was when I was 18 years old, right before heading off for the city and university. So, this is my first Christmas as a resident of Chilliwack in about 14 years. Pretty wild now that I think about it. Thankfully we don’t really buy many gifts these days (since I’m pretty crappy at buying gifts), but I had a bit of shopping to do today and I managed to get most of it done. My niece (who is now approaching 12 years old) is now apparently into […]

The Holidays

 Journal

Ah yes, here we are. Given that we’re only four days away from Christmas, I’m starting to think that maybe I should do some of my Christmas shopping. I’m a pretty big shopping procrastinator though, so I imagine it’ll be down to the wire. Strangely enough, I haven’t really gotten into the Christmas mood yet, which is rather unusual given how much I enjoy Christmas. Last Christmas I ended up working through most of the holidays, so this year I’ve decided to take it easy and enjoy a bit of downtime. While I have a few things that I’m going to be working on passively, I’m just going to be laying low and enjoying some time with everyone. I’ve been on the fence about hiring a cleaning person for my apartment for quite some time, but finally decided to bite the bullet and get one. I had a cleaner in […]

What Are Your Favourite Christmas Movies?

 Journal

Everyone has a bunch of movies they like to watch over Christmas. Without a doubt, my favourite Christmas movie is actually Die Hard. I love watching Bruce Willis blow stuff up over the holidays. If there’s a special someone on the couch next to me, Love Actually rates fairly highly as well. How about you guys? What are your favourite movies to watch over the holidays?

Maybe Christmas Doesn't Come From A Store?

 Journal

Back in grade twelve, the graduating class of my high school, Sardis Senior Secondary School, performed a pretty cool version of the Grinch Who Stole Christmas for the entire school. I was kind of in the choir, even though we didn’t really sing. My friend Landy was actually the grinch, and he looked pretty hilarious wearing those green tights. The title of this post is a reference to something the grinch says near the end when he ponders the real significant of Christmas. Without a doubt, Christmas is a hard season for a lot of people. The commercialization of the season puts a lot of pressure on families to buy gifts, often well outside their budgets. Back when I was a kid, people would compare their gifts at school and see who got the better load. Obviously as an adult, you come to realize that Christmas is really about spending […]

Help Make Christmas A Little Brighter For A Few Families

 Journal

With the economy still kind of in the toilet and Christmas just around the corner, many food banks are finding that their coffers just aren’t as full as they used to be. Recently in Chilliwack there was a big food bank drive to try and remedy some of that. While many people have the luxury of being able to afford a nice Christmas dinner at home with their families, not all of them do. To that end, Dale and I have put together a Food Bank Drive where the proceeds will go towards the purchase of many non-perishable items that will hopefully make Christmas a bit brighter for a few families. For every dollar that is donated, Dale and I (aka BraveNewCode) will match the donation (up to $15 per person) for the next 20 days or so. Our goal is to help at least 100 families have a better […]

The Holidays And The Move

 Journal

On Monday I made the trek to Chilliwack out from Vancouver. The timing was actually perfect, since the roads were fairly bare when I left Vancouver, and are now pretty clogged up with snow. It’s been snowing off and on here in Chilliwack, but at least driving around is feasible. The forecast is currently calling for rain for the next few days, followed by more snow probably on Monday. That basically means I’ll be making the journey back into Vancouver sometime this weekend, hopefully before the next wave of God’s winter-fury hit’s British Columbia. So far, it’s been a very relaxing time out at home. I’ve been bouncing between my dad’s house and my sister’s house, and have had a chance to visit most family members so far, which is great. I have to say though, it’s a bit strange being out here knowing that in just a few weeks […]