Yes… I know… its been a while. Hopefully everyone has had a wonderful Christmas/holiday season so far! I had my family down for the last couple days and it has been a blast to finally have time off and to spend time with loved ones.

However, the new year is now upon us… a new decade too. So I thought I’d talk about some new year’s resolutions, and to basically look back on the year that has passed.

First off, I definitely have a few resolutions that I plan on conquering… although I know that most likely I will try really hard for the first few weeks and then give up a little while later. Either way… here they are:
1. I resolve to stop comparing myself to others so much. I do it so often… I compare my talents, my appearance, even just simple day-to-day things to others so often and I never truly appreciate the abilities that I have. So by stopping these unnecessary comparisons hopefully I can learn to be proud of my talents and abilities rather than begrudging my faults.
2. Next, I resolve to be more spontaneous. I tend to plan out my life because I like security and knowing hat is going to happen next. But I really want to try and take more risks and just… live life more on the edge. You only live once right? And I don’t want my life to be predictable and repetitive all the time… So hopefully I can be a little more spontaneous in the next year, maybe starting small at first…
3. Lastly, I resolve to stop taking things for granted. This resolution kind of ties into the first two, but basically I want to start appreciating life… not only myself and my abilities but the environment I live in, the people I’m surrounded by, the possessions I own, etc. I have never really thought about how fortunate I truly am. And I do not want to forget that, because I am so lucky to live where I do and to know the people that I do and to be loved and supported by so many people who truly care about me and my well being. So this coming year I plan on truly appreciating all of the people and possessions around me, as well as myself, to never take my life for granted.

This year has been a roller coaster, but I have definitely learned so much for everything that has happened. And I can’t wait for the 2010 to come… and what surprises are waiting for me around the corner.

This post has nothing to do with Christmas but is just something I learned about in biochemistry that BLEW MY MIND!

So, in each and every one of our cells we have DNA.  The exact same amount and the exact same copies of every gene and every chromosome lies in each and every single cell in our body.  It is estimated that humans have somewhere in the ballpark of 10 trillion cells that make up our bodies!  And, with each cell only 10 micrometers in diameter, it is no wonder that cells are invisible to the naked eye.

Now chew on this: DNA is made up of individual molecules called nucleotides.  A long chain of nucleotides linked together makes up a single strand of DNA and, with the help of proteins, eventually our chromosomes.  It is estimated that humans have around 3 billion nucleotides that make up each individual’s genome… in other words, in each and every cell there are approximately 3 billion nucleotides linked together to make up our various chromosomes.  The typical length of a single nucleotide is about 0.34 nanometers (where a nanometer is one billionth of a meter).  So multiply 0.34 nm by 3 billion nucleotides in our cells and we get a total length of DNA in our cells to be about 1.02 meters!

I don’t know if it has hit you yet… but this means that in each and every one of our 10 trillion cells in our bodies, there is over a METER of DNA that must be packed into each and every cell!  At first you think: no… no way this is impossible.  And yet it is true… every cell contains the exact same amount of DNA (all 46 chromosomes) and this DNA codes for specific proteins and traits that make each person who they are.

So how do our cells (remember they are only 10 micrometers in diameter!) pack over a meter of DNA into their nuclei?  It is a complicated process that I just learned this year, but basically we have many different proteins that allow the DNA to wrap and loop itself around to condense it as much as possible.  Obviously this is an extremely complicated process because these proteins have to condense our DNA down from being over a meter in length to less than 10 micrometers to be able to fit into each cell…

It’s amazing what our body can do… and condensing our DNA is only one of the infinite number of amazing, awe-inspiring, and miraculous abilities of our cells.

On a side note, I would like to wish my friend Jasmine a very very happy birthday today!

I think my favourite Christmas movie would have to be… “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation”.  Definitely…

It has everything you want in a Christmas movie: comedy (looootssss of laughs), sorrow, action, love, Christmas joy, family togetherness… overall a classic, hilarious, all around good-time movie.

So if you’re in need of a pick me up movie this Christmas, or just some good times spent with your family and loved ones, then this movie is a definite yes!

Once again life has gotten in the way of writing blogs… oh well I have a little time now to write something before going to my exam this afternoon.

So I was watching Oprah yesterday and the show was called “Million Dollar moments”. Basically it was about people who had won the lottery or huge money prizes from television shows and where they were now. Anyway, there was one lady on the show, Carolyn Gurtz, and she had won the 2008 Pillsbury Bake-Off Contest! She came up with the most delicious cookie recipe and won a million dollars for it! So I have included the recipe here, and let me just say that I have already baked a batch and they are definitely million-dollar cookies!

Double-Delight Peanut Butter Cookies:

Ingredients:Makes 24 cookies

1/4 cup Fisher dry-roasted peanuts , finely chopped
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 cup JIF creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 roll (16.5 ounces) Pillsbury refrigerated peanut butter cookies , well chilled
Crisco original no-stick cooking spray
Heat oven to 375°. In small bowl, mix chopped peanuts, granulated sugar and cinnamon; set aside.

In another small bowl, stir peanut butter and powdered sugar until completely blended. Shape mixture into 24 balls, about 1 inch each.

Cut roll of cookie dough into 12 slices. Cut each slice in half crosswise to make 24 pieces; flatten slightly. Shape 1 cookie dough piece around 1 peanut butter ball, covering completely. Repeat with remaining dough and balls.

Roll each covered ball in peanut mixture; gently pat mixture completely onto balls. On ungreased large cookie sheets, place balls 2 inches apart. Spray bottom of drinking glass with Crisco original no-stick cooking spray; press into remaining peanut mixture. Flatten each ball to 1/2-inch thickness with bottom of glass. Sprinkle any remaining peanut mixture evenly on tops of cookies; gently press into dough.

Bake 7 to 12 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Cool 1 minute; remove from cookie sheets to cooling rack. Store tightly covered.

ENJOY

Once again I am sorry to have missed a day… but life goes on and I will continue to try to write as often as I can.

I think that the Christmas time of year is a wonderful time for forgiveness.  Whether you need to say sorry for something you’ve done or didn’t do, or someone is asking you to forgive them for something they did, this time of year always seems to be a great time to get feelings off your chest.  It is like throughout the month of December there is an air of kindness, welcoming, love, and acceptance because of the nature of this holiday.  Even though asking someone for forgiveness is a tough thing to do, I feel like this time of year makes the job just the tiniest bit easier.

If there is anything you feel that you need to rid your thoughts of, this time of year is definitely a good time to let it out and get stuff off your chest.

So…. I know I missed two days. And for that I am truly sorry… especially to anyone who actually follows my blog.  So today I am coming to you with another holiday recipe favourite, but to make up for two lost days I am adding in extrz twists on an old classic.

Stuffing really makes Christmas dinner… to me anyway.  I think it’s probably my favourite part of the entire dinner… I meant he turkey is great and potatoes or yams and cranberry sauce… those are all lovely.  But my absolute favourite part to any turkey dinner is the stuffing!  So here I’ve added a few recipes to create delicious and savoury turkey stuffings!

1. Roasted Garlic Stuffing:

Ingredients:

6 cloves of garlic
1 tsp (5 mL) extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup (50 mL) butter, softened
1 tbsp (15 mL) grated Parmesan cheese
1 tsp (5 mL) fresh thyme, (or 1/4 tsp/1 mL dried)
1 tsp (5 mL) fresh rosemary, (or 1/4 tsp/1 mL dried)
1 pinch pepper
1 baguette

Preparation:

In small saucepan, cover and roast garlic with oil over medium-low heat, shaking pan occasionally, until very soft, about 15 minutes. Transfer to bowl; let cool.

Mash garlic. Add butter, cheese, thyme, rosemary and pepper; mash to combine.

Slice baguette almost but not all the way through into 1-inch (2.5 cm) thick slices. Spread 1 cut side of each slice with garlic butter. Halve baguette crosswise. Wrap each in foil. (Make-ahead: Refrigerate for up to 6 hours.)

Place wrapped halves on grill over medium heat; close lid and grill, turning once, until butter is melted and crust is slightly crisp, about 10 minutes.

2. Sausage and Walnut Turkey Stuffing:

Ingredients:

3 mild or hot italian sausages (6 oz/175 g total)
2 onions, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup (250 mL) chopped walnuts
1/4 tsp (1 mL) each salt and pepper
2/3 cup (150 mL) chicken stock
1/2 cup (125 mL) chopped fresh parsley
2 tbsp (25 mL) chopped fresh sage (or 3/4 tsp/
4 mL crumbled dried)
8 cups (2 L) cubed day-old egg bread or country-style bread
2 eggs, lightly beaten

Preparation:

Remove sausages from casings. In large skillet, brown sausages over medium-high heat, breaking up with spoon, until no longer pink, about 6 minutes. With slotted spoon, transfer to paper towel-lined plate.

Drain all but 2 tsp (10 mL) fat from pan. Add onions, celery, garlic, walnuts, salt and pepper to pan; cook over medium heat until onions are softened, about 5 minutes. Add stock, parsley and sage; return sausages to pan. Remove from heat; let cool.

In large bowl, toss together bread, sausage mixture and eggs until combined. Scrape into parchment paper-lined 9- x 5-inch (2 L) loaf pan, pressing firmly; cover with foil. (Make-ahead: Refrigerate for up to 24 hours; add 25 minutes to covered baking time.)

Bake in 375°F (190°C) oven for 40 minutes. Uncover and bake until golden and crusty, about 20 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes before slicing.

3. Cranberry and Egg Bread Stuffing:

Ingredients:

1/3 cup (75 mL) butter
1 large onion, chopped
1 cup (250 mL) thinly sliced leeks or onions
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp (5 mL) each dried thyme and sage
1 tsp (5 mL) ground ginger
1/2 tsp (2 mL) each salt and pepper
12 cups (3 L) day-old finely cubed egg breador italian bread
2 apples, cored and chopped
1 cup (250 mL) fresh cranberries, halved
1 cup (250 mL) dried cranberries
1 cup (250 mL) turkey stock or chicken stock
1/2 cup (125 mL) orange juice
1/4 cup (50 mL) minced fresh parsley

Preparation:

In large skillet, melt butter over medium heat; fry onion, leeks, garlic, thyme, sage, ginger, salt and pepper, stirring occasionally, until light golden, about 10 minutes.

In large bowl, toss together onion mixture, bread cubes, apples, fresh and dried cranberries, stock, orange juice and parsley. Transfer to 13- x 9-inch (3 L) glass baking dish; cover with foil. (Make-ahead: Refrigerate for up to 24 hours.)

Bake in 400°F (200°C) oven for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake until crisp and golden, about 10 minutes.

I hope you enjoy these recipes!  I almost wish I could combine all three of them…

I heard a funny quote today which has nothing to do with Christmas but its kind of though provoking and hilarious all in one.

The quote was, “automatic side doors on vans are the epitome of stupidity and laziness and lack of strength in modern culture”

kind of hilarious but also like… why (unless you need them for a specific purpose) would you ever need automatic doors.  like can you really not take one second to pull a door open? really….

Anyway enough said….

So I went to see “A Starbright Christmas Spectacular” show in Stratford today and it totally got me into the Christmas spirit. The music was absolutely fantastic and the band was not too shabby.

I think one of my favourite Christmas Carols is “Grown up Christmas List”. Its talks about how even when you are an adult, you can still believe in the spirit of Christmas and you can still have dreams and wishes that you hope for the world. They may be grander dreams than the ones you had when you were 5 years old, but they can still be wishes to put down on your “Grown up Christmas List”. The writer of the song’s grown up Christmas list includes “No more lives torn apart” and “that wars would never start” and “that time would heal all hearts”. I think my grown up Christmas list would also include “no man woman or child going hungry or without water” and “equality throughout all humanity, whether it be gender, race, sexual orientation, etc.” and “that everyone would love their neighbour as they do themselves”.

I know that these things may never be achievable, but one can always wish.

I think one of my top five favourite feelings in the whole world is when you have just come inside after being out in the cold. Your toes and fingers and nose and cheeks are frigid and your muscles are shivering, but once you get inside, grab a hot chocolate, and sit in front of the fireplace… that feeling of warmth spreading throughout me is one of the best.

I also enjoy sitting with my back to the fireplace, getting it so so so toasty warm, and then turning around and laying on the floor… You can almost hear the sizzling as your back hits the floor. (note: I was inspired to do this from a “Calvin and Hobbes” comic strip where Calvin and Hobbes do this exact thing). Try it sometime!

Is it just me or does Christmas seem to get more and more materialistic every year? I thought Christmas was about being together with your family and friends, giving your love and heart and warmth to each other, and just enjoying each other’s company. But it seems like everywhere I go I see and hear advertisements promoting the opposite. “Get into the Christmas spirit… buy your loved ones what they really want” or “if you really want to make them happy this year, buy them ___”. To me these ads are just saying, “the only way Christmas is going to be worth having this year is if you spend x amount of money on everyone and buy them a gift, or else they might not love you as much as they did the day before”.

Does that make any sense to anyone? It doesn’t to me. I mean I enjoy thinking up thoughtful gifts to show my appreciation for my friends and family, but it isn’t like Christmas would be any different without the gifts. Actually, this year instead of giving gifts to all of our cousins, we’re going to all pool the money we would’ve spent on materialistic things and donate that money to charity. Whether there are gifts for me or not, I am happy to just have a break form school and life for a few short weeks and spend that time with the people I enjoy the most!

Really Christmas is about the gift of time. Spending time with one another really shows how important those people are to you, and that gift is much more precious than anything money could buy. Buying someone a huge elaborate gift does not make up for time not spent with them.

I don’t know if you all feel that same way that I do, but if you do, then try to be conscious this Christmas season of really giving your time to your loved ones and making every moment count!