Weekend Review: Tahini, Boyhood, & the Parks and Rec Finale

This week sure flew by! It's been a good one, with productive ER shifts and (probably a little too much) relaxing on my days off (case in point: Last night I slept from 6:30 pm to 8 am. Whoops. No one needs that much sleep!!) I have the weekend off and plan to do some studying, reading, exercising, meal prepping, and tidying -- all the usual stuff. Here are a few things that I've enjoyed in the past seven days:

1. midweek shopping -- I had Tuesday off and took advantage of the quiet weekday mall and grocery stores to wander around a bit. I didn't buy anything at the mall but had a nice time browsing -- and getting some walking in at 20 °C rather than -20 °C.

   

   wandering with the very old, very young, and unemployed at Southgate Mall

   

   spotted at Superstore: the cutest, softest giant Easter sheep

2. tahini -- I bought tahini for the first time and am looking forward to trying this Minimalist Baker hummus recipe this weekend. I've decided that I should be making hummus more regularly (now that I have tahini, (too much) garlic, and dried chickpeas) as it's a healthy, easy, and delicious snack/lunch to pack along for work!
   
3. chocolate chips -- I picked up this huge bag of Hershey Chipits on sale this week and couldn't believe how much better they are than the "100% pure" dark chocolate chips I usually get from the Superstore bulk bin. These 2 kg better last a while! I'll be using them for baking, sprinkling into my oatmeal (ten or so chocolate chips is all it takes to transform breakfast into dessert), adding to trail mix, and (let's not kid ourselves) eating straight every now and then :)
   
4. Boyhood -- I got around to watching Boyhood this week and really enjoyed it. Richard Linklater's concept of filming over the course of twelve years to allow the characters to age naturally brought an element of "realness" to the film. I felt invested in the characters, watching them evolve, and cared to know how their stories unfolded. It was neat to see bits of culture reflecting the year in which each part was filmed -- from the songs playing in the background to the kids dressing up for the release of the latest Harry Potter book. I've also enjoyed watching Ethan Hawke since his Dead Poet Society days (possibly my favourite movie) -- he and the rest of the cast are fantastic in general. Of the four Oscar best picture-nominated films I've watched, I enjoyed Boyhood and The Theory of Everything more than The Grand Budapest Hotel and Birdman.

   

   (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1065073/)

5. Parks and Rec finale -- Also on my TV docket this week was the Park and Recreation finale. Possibly one of the most under-appreciated TV sitcoms, Parks has always been my favourite, with its cast of unique and lovable characters, Pawnee-isms (Li'l Sebastian!), and genius writing in general (Garry/Jerry/Larry/Barry/Terry's fart attack). If you haven't seen this show, start now (binge-watching may result) :)

   

   (http://www.idigitaltimes.com/)

6. Franglais -- Yesterday one of the patients I saw in the ER spoke only French and I was relieved that my high-school French allowed me to understand get the gist of what she was saying. On the other hand, the Franglais that I was using was plain embarrassing...but I think maybe she understood (or else was being kind)? Yikes, how did I take French every year from Kindergarten to Grade 12 and still not learn how to properly speak it? I was floundering, not unlike Joey:

   

   (http://weheartit.com/entry/group/884917)

What was great in your week?