Inspire Me 2014: The side of me nobody knows

It's that time again, time to link up with Showered With Design and Happiness is a Mood Not a Destination, for their Inspire Me Blog Challenge! 

Today's prompt is: The side of me nobody knows.
This question can be a loaded one depending on how you spin it, but I am definitely going to gear it towards the blogosphere, and since there isn't much about me on this blog yet this is a perfect way to start! So let's get to it!

1. I am hearing impaired and wear a hearing aid in each ear. 
   
   I was born with poor hearing and it has gotten progressively worse over time. I got my first hearing aid in grade 9 and my second in December 2012. I've had multiple ear surgeries to reconstruct my ear but they have all been unsuccessful. If I don't have them in, I barely hear anything at all.
   
2. By day, I am an HR Specialist in Training & Development.
   
   However, I am also an aspiring Wedding and Event Planner (my dream job!). I am currently taking the Wedding & Event Planning course through the New York Institute of Art and Design.
   
3. I am an introvert (mostly, lol).
   
   I am often shy and awkward when meeting new people and I am terrible at small talk. I plan to work on these two things in 2014.
   
4. I absolutely love country music.
   
   Dallas Smith, Luke Bryan, and Taylor Swift are some of my faves. Though, I like to throw in Lorde, Ed Sheeren and several other pop artists into the mix.
   
5. Family is the most important thing to me.
   
   Need I say more for this one?

I hope you enjoyed these little tidbits into my life. I would love to learn more about you, so please join in on the challenge or comment below.

Happy Friday!

Leftover Turkey Soup

This winter has been the first 'real' winter we've had in several years. We've been spoiled with higher than normal temps in the past so I think Mother Nature came back with a vengeance! We have more snow this year than I can ever remember. Lucky for us though, it has led me to try my hand at making homemade soups, which I have been doing a lot of lately. I'm a true believer that one of the best things about the cold weather is having a nice hot bowl of something (chili, soup, etc.). Don't you agree?

So, since we hosted Christmas dinner this year I had a boat load of turkey left and decided to come up with my own leftover turkey soup recipe. I'm happy to say that it turned out delicious so I thought I'd share.

Prep time: 20 mins I Cook Time: 1.5 hours I Servings: 10 - 12 

2          tbsp. of butter
1          onion, diced
1          cup of chopped carrots
1          cup of chopped celery
1          tsp. of garlic powder
2          cans (398 mL) of diced tomatoes
2          cartons (900 mL) of chicken broth
4          tbsp. of dried parsley
2          tsp. of salt
4 – 5   cups of chopped leftover turkey
1          cup of elbow macaroni

Directions:

1. Melt butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion, celery, carrots, and garlic powder; saute for a few minutes.

2. Add diced tomatoes, chicken broth, parsley, salt, and turkey to the pot. Bring to a boil, cover, and reduce heat. Simmer for approximately 1 hour until vegetables are barely tender.

3. Add the elbow macaroni and simmer for 30 minutes more. Serve or freeze for later consumption.

This soup pairs nicely with warm bread and butter. Enjoy!

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I'm combining this post with the Inspire Me Blog Challenge 2014 hosted by Showered With Design and Happiness is a Mood Not a Destination. Today's prompt is: When is your birthday?

My birthday is July 1st. I celebrate my birthday with Canada, and as a proud Canadian, I think that is really awesome. Not to mention that it's also a long weekend :)

Ringing in the New Year!

Today I decided to take the 2014 Inspire Me Blog Challenge hosted by (Showered With Design) and (Happiness Blog). Each day I will try to post their suggested topics in an effort to provide my readers with more content and so they can get to know me a bit more.

Today's prompt is: What did you do for New Years?

We actually kept it pretty simple for New Year's. We had about 10 friends over for food, poker and movies. I made some chili and we had everyone bring a snack; there was absolutely no shortage of food. The guys then played poker and the remaining three ladies watched Pitch Perfect (which is one of my favourite movies). Seriously, if you haven't seen it yet I would highly recommend it.

The one thing we all did though was watch the ball drop in New York City during the live broadcast. Everyone then gave kisses and hugs before going back to playing poker or watching the movie. However, I did attempt to get a 'selfie' of my husband and I right after midnight and as you may have seen in my 2013 recap post, we were hilariously photobombed by our friend Chris.

On New Year's day, our family went over to my parents house for some Chinese Food. My sister and her family were there, as well as my grandparents. We had a really nice time and the kids had a great time playing with each other. There is really nothing like ringing in the New Year with your friends and family.

How did you celebrate?