Canadian in Phoenix

Thank you Ann,

I will check out Ross' Dress for Less. I usually shop at Marshall's (I think that's what it's called) and Burlington Coat factory. I need decent clothes I can wear to work. But, I'm shrinking out of clothes after about a month so I don't want to invest too much money - if you know what I mean. Clothes are so much less expensive in the US than in Canada. In the States a sale is REALLY a sale too. lol!

Bullets run over $5.50 plus 13% tax in Ontario (& that's only if you have a membership for GNC - otherwise they're about $6.50 each). Yikes! And they don't have the Blue Raspberry flavour. Thanks for reminding me to put them in my checked  bags. I'd hate to lose them!

Merci beaucoup. Vous etes tres gentil.

Andrea

Wow, that's a very high price.  Can you order from Protica.com?  They have a 50 gram bullet.  I use one a day but only do 1/2 at a time.  I think it was $3.25 each for them but it's less if you buy quantity.  I got some chewable calcium citrate at my local health food store.  It's made by KAL and 2 tabs are 500 grams.  I also use the Upcal D powder but double up on it because they're lying when they say one scoop is 500 grams.  I also ordered this from Allegra on the internet.

Hi Ann,

Quite a few American websites also sell to Canadians. Unfortunately, the shipping costs are quite high. That's why I do what I can to buy as much as I can when I'm in the US. I have family members bringing back protein bullets every time they go to Buffalo or Niagara Falls NY. I have them well trained! lol!

I'm now able to lower my protein supplementation. I used to take a full 42 gr bullet/day. Now I take 1/2. This means the cost/day is more manageable.

In Canada, the only option we have for Calcium Citrate is liquid & it's nasty!!! I can't believe the options you guys have. Such variety!!! I'm so jealous! You guys also have a lot of SF options we don't have. We can't get SF Carnation Instant Breakfast or SF Nesle Quick. We also have limited flavours of Crystal Lite. I buy the White Grape like crazy when I'm down south! We just can't get it here! Why, why, why!!???

Anyway, thanks a lot for your help.

Andrea

Andrea,

I forgot another good store to shop is TJ Max just like a Ross store. They have them all over like Ross stores. Could you bring some Perch with you when you come Sunday. Just Kidding . We have perch on the freezer right now and saving it for my Birthday in January. I bet your friends are going to pass out when they see your big weight loss. Have a great time while you are here.

Dawn

Hi Dawn,

I'm back home now, but thank you all for your great suggestions.

I got a year's supply of Chocolate Calcium Citrate at the hospital spa at Shae & 90th St. I got my Blue Raspberry protein bullets at the Vitamin Shoppe at Shae & Tatum. I even bought some great Nine West purses at Marshall's ($89 Cdn for $16.99 US). At that price I bought 2 - one for me & one for my sister. I also bought a black jacket there. Unfortunately, I didn't get much shopping time. Even my evenings were scheduled.

My US colleagues were soooo shocked to see me! It was priceless. Some people commented on the weight loss right away. Others were too shy to mention it. Others just told me I looked really good (or younger). Some commented that I looked better without glasses. OK. My boss's boss didn't recognize me. I was forever having to introduce myself to people who I already know. So many had a blank look on their faces that I shook their hand & said "It's Andrea from Canada" & then the recognition dawned on them. It was a really great week.

Sorry I didn't get a chance to bring any perch. You know how fussy those US Customs guys are. . .
Anyway, take care,

Andrea

Andrea,

I remember when we use to go to Canada the exchange rate was great.We use to go to Duffy's Tavern on the water. Even gas for the boat was cheap. We are getting perch when my Mom's friend comes back in March. I can't wait. My dad pulled out of the freezer the other day some left over frozen perch. We are going to have that for our Christmas Eve dinner. I sure can't wait. Than my Mom makes homemade cole slaw. I just love it. Christmas Day we we are going to have Lobster Tails. I am so happy my mom does not like fish or any seafood. My dad and I get it all. She will make something for herself.  We will also have Christmas soup aka homemade Hungarian chicken soup. We have that every Christmas Day. Two great meals 2 days in a row. What do you and your family usually eat for the holidays ?I can't believe that a purse that cost $89.00 in Canada is  $16.99 in US dollars. That is so crazy. How much is it for a gallon of gas ? You guys must use Liters. Gas is about $1.57 per gallon today. That's alot cheaper than $2.79 or more a gallon. The gas is even cheaper in Detroit than in Phx. What do you do for living ? It is pretty cool when your jobs sends you to Phx. I use to go to Toronto all the time when I had summer vacation from school. I loved going to China Town. We had lots of fun shopping there. When do you think you will be coming back to PHX ? To bad that we could not meet for lunch while you were here. I am going to bed now it is 2.23 am here. Please send me your address by PMing me. I want to send you something in the mail. Okay ?
Talk to you later.

Dawn

Hi Dawn,

The Canadian dollar has certainly fluctuated over the last 12 months. This time last year, the Canadian dollar was worth about $1.15. Earlier this year it was pretty much at par. At the moment it's just over 0.80. Grrrr! for me anyway. The 3 things that influence the value of the Canadian dollar are: 1) the US dollar 2) the price of oil 2) the price of gold. At the moment oil & gold are both low & this has a softening impact on the Canadian dollar.

Canada is the only industrialized country that produces enough oil to export. What's crazy is the taxes we pay on oil, makes the price to Canadians so high. So, Canadian's pay more for gas than Americans, even though we export our excess gas to the US. Crazy eh? According to www.gasbuddy.com, the average price/gallon in USD is $2.80 for Canadians & $1.65 for Americans.

In terms of Christmas, I'm French-Canadian so we go to midnight mass, & magicaly, Santa Claus (Pere Noel)  passes while we're in church. So, when we get back we open presents. I never understood the movies where kids woke up & opened presents in the morning. Poor kids. We'd already played with ours till they broke by the time those poor kids on TV got to open theirs! Anyway, after we open presents (around 3:00 am) we eat! And I mean eat! We eat tortiere (meatpie) with porkhock gravy (because it's too dry otherwise) and mashed potatoes & salads (potato & macaroni - not the green stuff!) with homemade preserves. A heart attack on a plate. I don't know, perhaps we're supposed to go out & chop down trees or something. We also eat something called Scie Pie (pronounced sea). It has nothing to do with the Sea. In French a Scie is a saw & this was made a lumberjack camps. You take a turkey roaster & line it with pie crust. Then you layer the crust with cubed beef (stew beef) and sliced onion, salt, pepper, garlic powder & dust of flour. Then you add a layer of pie crust & another layer of cubed pork yada yada. Then another layer of pie crust & another layer of cubed veal yada yada. Top the whole thing off with a final pie crust. The juices from the meat mix with the flour to make a bit of gravy. It's like French lasagna. Then cook at low heat for 12 hours. This, we eat with the meatpie & pork hock gravy. This is what we leave for Santa. No respectable French Santa eats cookies! Cookies are for sissy Santas! Our Santa works hard delivering presents & needs real food! To top it all off, we make Sugar Pie, creme brule & butter tarts for desert. To make Sugar Pie, mix 2 eggs, 2 cups of brown sugar, 6 oz Carnation milk & 1/4 cup butter (melted & cooled). I put all the ingredients in the Magic Bullet & mix. Then pour them into 2 pie shells (no tops on this one). Cook at 350 degrees for 1/2 hour. The rule is: You keep one pie & give the other away. Our neighbours love us! I'm going to try this recipe with Splenda this year. We also usually put Whip Cream on top. It's like a giant butter tart. We sleep will 2:00 pm. Heart attack at 4:00! Merry Christmas!

Andrea.

I love the heart attack at 4am. A giant butter tart sounds tasty. We always opened present around 3am when we were kids. The earlier the better. Now if I was Santa I want the cookies. Maybe I will make a sugar pie. It sounds good to me.Merry Christmas to you also.

Andrea!
I sooo enjoyed reading your post!  In fact, I had reread it to my hubby and then again for my son in-law who served a mission in the French Canadian regions (as a young 19 year old)!  He loved hearing about some of the same foods that he'd sampled in his 2 Canadian Christmas's.  He said he had something where there were like french fries cooked and then curd or something on top.  He said it was delicious but doesn't remember the name?

Years ago, I taught an Internatnional Christmas foods class.  I always gave the Country's traditions when I presented and taught a sample menu from said Country.  Our family has adopted many of the foods and traditions over the years from that experience.  People who join us think we have a peculiar hodge podge menu but love hearing about the "why" of each item.  The kid's favorite has always been the Scandinavian pudding with ONE whole almond in it.  Whoever gets it and then holds it secretly in their mouth throughout the entire meal not only gets their wish for the New Year but earns the large chocolate Santa!  We adapted it to hiding the almond in homemade cornbread (to go with our clam chowder) but  still have fun!  The next generation is now talking about who will win the big Chocolate Santa!

Such FUN traditions!  I'll tell you a secret "best" for me though was one year when everyone had a commitment elsewhere on Christmas Eve.  My 2 then high school kids didn't care if I made all of the zillions of foods.  So, we became Holiday Rebels and had Christmas Eve at Dave's BBQ with a big slab of ribs for each of us!!!!  We laugh about it now but still have our traditional spread!  .....  I'm exchausted just thinking about it with just 9 days away but daughter in-laws and daughters will be helping out soooo the traditions will continue!

Enjoy and Happy Holidays'!!!  

P.S.  We have Sissy Santa's at our house but we always throw in some nuts and an orange just to make sure that "he" has some protein and vitamin C!  LOL!  

Hi Erin,

I'm glad you enjoyed reading about our French Canadian Christmas traditions. Your son was enjoying poutine! It's french fries with cheese curds & hot beef gravy on top (to melt the cheese). Yum! There's a fast food restaurant called Harvey's that sells it here. The next time you're in Canada, give it a try. I have to say that I never got addicted to poutine, but I did get addicted to fries & gravy, which is also typically Canadian. To this day, the thing I crave post surgery is fries & gravy with salt & pepper. I would love to just order a plate. . . but I'm a good girl. . .

Most French Canadian meals are simple with very few ingredients. You'll notice that the Sugar Pie had only 4. It was named after the largest quantify ingredient. The same goes for Butter Tarts - only 4 ingredients. Many of the original settlers were lumberjacks or farmers & needed real "stick-to-the-ribs" food. So high in protein & fat. We also tend to eat with a nice glass of red wine. Apparently, this offsets the impact of the fat. Recently, we've adopted more habits from France. For example, we love having Raclette. You buy a Raclette grill & cook at the table. You grill marinated, thinly sliced meat & veggies on the grill & below the grill, you cook cheese till it's brown & bubbly (I use fruilano cheese). Very Nice. It feels like the old fondu parties! Unfortunately red wine is not on my menu for me these days, so I have to watch my fats. You notice french women are never fat! Why is that? Must be the red wine! Why don't I have the french genes?

I spent some time in Mexico one Christmas & they have a tradition similar to your almond one. On Christmas, they serve a bread. In the bread is baked a tiny baby doll (the baby Jesus). Whoever gets the doll in their bread, has to have a party on the 6th of January. Just make sure you don't choke! Most people rip the bread apart with their fingers first. Few actually eat the bread!

I love your eclectic traditions! It must be so fun. I hope you have a wonderful holiday!

Andrea.