virtual book club - the year of the flood

Do you remember way back in November when I first told you about my virtual book club? Thanks to the ever helpful Sam at MS&L and the kind folks at Indigo Books I was given a selection of three current novels to read. I just recently managed to finish one of them.

After going back and forth on which book to start first I finally settled on The Year of the Flood, by Margaret Atwood. I'm not even going to lie to you, I picked that one first because Grandma Sandi had taken Half Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls home with her to read. I wasn't sure what I was getting into with the Margaret Atwood book. I knew it was set in the future and that's not really my thing, although I have to admit I did enjoy the excerpt I had read in a magazine (Canadian Living maybe).

The Year of Flood, as I mentioned is set in the future and the story centers around a religious group, God's Gardeners. They talk about the waterless flood that will come and change the world as it is known. The book follows Toby and Ren, two members of the Gardeners, and their stories before and after this disaster has occurred.

The book did not grab me right away. I mean clearly I was interested enough to keep reading, but it didn't grab me in that - Oh my gosh, I HAVE to know what will happen next - kind of way. I think that may in part be my fault. You see The Year of the Flood is a companion book (I don't know if it should be called a sequel) to Atwood's previous work, Oryx and Crake. It was suggested to me by Lynn that I may want to read that first and she may have been right. I felt as I was reading it like there was much of the story untold. I'm not sure if that was the style in which it was written or would I have a better understanding of the setting had I first read Oryx and Crake. Perhaps Lynn can shed some light on that for me.

With the book being set in the future there is much about the world that has changed and yet Atwood writes as if I already know what this new world is like. She uses the names of animals, like Mohairs and rakunks without explaining what they are or how they came to be. The city is divided into sections, but I only think I know how that works.

Beyond my problems with true story comprehension I have to say this was a real thought provoking book. The state of the planet in the future of this book is horrifying. Not just the animals that are extinct or the new ones that have been created to take their place, but the state of humanity as well. It's a truly sad commentary. It makes you stop and think... what does it take to get the world to that stage? Is that the path we're on now? I don't want to make it seem like this is a dark heavy book. I mean, sure it's a dark topic, but I think it reads pretty hopeful. Definitely an interesting read especially in today's climate of infectious diseases, global warming, big corporation and such.

Overall I did enjoy this book. By the end I was invested in the characters and was interested to see how the story turned out for them. I enjoyed it enough to want to read Oryx and Crake now (hint hint birthday shoppers). Which, from what I can tell via reviews I've read about both books, is reading O&C should only up my appreciation for The Year of the Flood.

Has anybody read either book? What are your thoughts?

Next on my night stand.... Half Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls.

she's a lover, not a fighter.... really

Mike has switched to doing Saturday morning chores instead of Sunday morning chores at the farm. He leaves the house at the ungodly hour of 4:45ish and he's back home by 10ish. This morning 10 am came and went. Then 10:30. Then 11:00. I admit I was wondering where he was, but not overly so. Lots can come up when you're dealing with the needs of a herd of dairy cows. They give birth, they get sick, the babies escape their pens and so on. So the girls and I were puttering around here in our jammies. We're finally getting back on track after a week of high fevers, headaches, vomiting and sleepless nights. If you haven't heard yet, officially diagnosis was strep throat, which is much better than the meningitis I was starting to fear it was. Nothing like an insanely high fever and a kid complaining about neck pain to scare the living crap outta ya.

So on top of all that it seems our furnace is having some issues. I mean that's what I hear. From Papa, who noticed it wasn't working properly. I have no idea about that kind of stuff, so I just assumed that was the way it was supposed to work. Turns out, no. Really big no. Like, major reconstructive surgery on the duct work kinda no. So when Papa called Saturday morning to say that he and family friend Mr. HVAC were on their way over soon to plan out what to do to fix it. I figured I better get myself looking presentable. I mean Papa's seen me in my jammies a kagillion times, but Mr. HVAC...... well I gotta draw the line somewhere right?

Mike still wasn't home yet, so I said to Abby who was making herself some toast...

Me: I'm just going to have a quick shower, so you're in charge.
Abby: Sweet. What should I do if Maya's bad?
Me: Oh just give her a spanking.

I must jump in here to say, clearly I was joking. Spanking is not something we do.

Abby: Okay.
Me: Wait. What? Would you really spank your sister?
Abby: If she was bad enough.

Even though I'm 99% sure she was putting one over on me, I will admit I took the world's fastest shower. You know, just in case.

friday high five - family pictures

For the last few years we've been exchanging homemade Christmas gifts with Uncle Dave and Auntie Mel. This year Auntie Mel felted a couple of super cute purses for the girls. For Mike and myself, I had asked if Dave would please take some family pictures for us. You know since he's the uber talented artistic guy who just so happens to co-own a design firm that has crazy camera gear. So he loaded it all up and made the two hour trek to our backyard and shot some really fantastic pictures. So for this week's Friday High Five I give you 5 pictures from our photo shoot. I can't even tell you it's my 5 favourite shots, because they are all awesome.



Dave started shooting Maya first. Big mistake. She was not down with it at all. While I agonized over trying to get her to smile even a little bit, Uncle Dave told me not to worry he was getting good stuff anyway. He says this one is his favourite and that she looks like a wizard.



Abby was a much more willing participant, but she definitely had her own idea about how she wanted the session to go. This is her with the two things she was loving the most that day - her bmx bike and half her halloween costume. Helmet on for safety. Anybody else think she looks like a super hero?



Uncle Dave asked if the girls could jump up and down for him. I think this is a pretty fair representation of their personalities. Abby is all - sure let's have fun. Maya is all - you have got to be kidding me. I will not. Do you think I'm some sort of a trained monkey? Not happening my friend!



Well it took an hour or two, with a break for playing on the swing set, but Maya's finally starting to enjoy herself.



I cannot even tell you how much I love this picture. I don't think I could have imagined a better family portrait. Truly the best Christmas present ever. I've already made him promise to do this again in the fall.

thursday throwdown - photo back up

Well she's done it again. The Mommy Project as issued another Throwdown. This one is all about the photo back up. I have to admit I am not stellar with this. I do get to it at least once per year. I burn each year's pictures onto a DVD. I keep them stored in a cd/dvd holder I picked up from the dollar store. I also upload my favourites to flickr and facebook.

I usually keep a copy of the past years pictures on my computer to use in a blog post or in the dvds I make. Each year the grandparents get a dvd of a year's worth of pictures set to music. It's a nice gift and they all seem to enjoy getting it. So while I don't back up every single picture I take to multiple sources I do have a pretty sizable collection of copies out there.

For this year I plan on being more organized. I'd like to work on the dvds month by month instead of the mad scramble I usually do in the days leading up to Christmas. I'm also going to try and burn my pictures to dvd month by month. In all the time I've had a digital camera I'm lucky to have never lost a picture. Very very lucky. So for now I am on top of my backing up, for the most part. I must renew my flickr pro account because while I have a few years worth of pictures uploaded there, I can currently only access the last 200. Time to pony up that $24.95.

How do you manage your digital photos?

what's cooking wednesday - chocolate ganache tarts

Not really sure what to get Papa for his birthday this past September I ended up promising him dessert, once per month for an entire year. I thought I could make his treats a mix of old standbys and maybe try a new recipe or two. This month was a new recipe month.

Chocolate Ganache Tarts

1/2 cup butter
3 oz cream cheese, softened
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup milk chocolate chips
2/3 cups heavy cream
whipped cream, fresh raspberries and icing sugar - optional

In a small bowl, beat butter and cream cheese until blended; beat in flour. Drop by scant teaspoonfuls into a greased miniature muffin pan; press onto bottoms and up the sides.

Bake at 325 degrees F for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from the pan to wire racks to cool completely.

In a small saucepan, melt chocolate chips with cream over low heat; stir until blended. Transfer to a small bowl and refrigerate until firm.

Beat chocolate mixture until soft peaks form. Pipe or spoon into tart shells. Garnish with whipped cream, raspberries and icing sugar if desired.

Recipe Notes: Okay I was all set to tell you guys how underwhelmed I was with this recipe. I had never made ganache before and was excited to give it a go. Well as I sit here typing this recipe out I realize that I never did get around to adding the milk chocolate chips, only the semi sweet. Which totally explains why my first attempt at ganache was so incredibly sucky. I am totally kicking myself now and despite it being 11:19pm I really want to get in the kitchen and make them all over again. Which I will do, not tonight, but very soon. Overall though, it was a quick and easy little recipe to put together and I'm hoping the next time around produces the wow factor I was looking for.




What is What's Cooking Wednesday and how can I play?

What's cooking Wednesday was born out of a desire to get out of that what's for dinner rut. Playing is easy, on Wednesday post a recipe that has been tried and tested by you and then pop over here and add your name to the Mr. Linky. When entering your name also add the name of the recipe in brackets and make sure you link to your What's Cooking Wednesday post and not just your blog's front page. *All front page links will be deleted!* Don't make me be a jerk. And don't forget to link back here, the home of What's Cooking Wednesday.

So for example I would write Shan (Speedy Chicken Stir Fry) in the name section. For the URL section I would post this: http://shanrev.blogspot.com/2007/10/whats-cooking-wednesday-speedy-chicken.html

I'll let you in on a little secret, my WCW recipes are almost never made on a Wednesday. So feel free to cook and photograph whenever you have time and join us posting on Wednesday

she's trying to give her dad a heart attack

So the girls are in the living room and I'm in the kitchen. It's time for dinner so I give a holler.

Hey girls you want to come in here for dinner?

Only to hear The Abster holler back.....

I'm not a girl. I'm a woman.

so what's new with you?

Well if you are one of the lucky people who has friended me or Michael on facebook then this is hardly news, but last week Mike started going to weight watchers. In his first week on the program he lost 10.8 pounds and I think he's had perma grin ever since. And really, why shouldn't he? That is just tremendous.

Weight Watchers is something that Mike has been thinking about and we have been talking about since last September. We had also been discussing the gastric bypass surgery and in doing further research on that particular process Mike has concluded that's not the route he'd like to go right now. There is a small group of folks Mike knows that attend this particular meeting and they had encouraged him to join them and here we are.

I think going in we were both nervous about what this first week would entail, not just with his weigh in, but to adjusting our lifestyle. For the past week we've talked about nothing but food - what's good, what's bad, what surprised as as being better or worse than we thought, what we're going to eat for the next day or two and points. Literally it's just food talk all the time around here. Case in point, yesterday Maya was playing with a balloon in the living room, batting it up to the ceiling over and over again.... I call this weight watchers. she told me. Yeah... it's a lot.

Even one week in I can see this was such a great move, not just for Mike, but for the both of us. Mike now has an active interest in what we're going to be eating for dinner and helps me to prepare it. He's been making us great salads to eat with our dinners this past week. I like salads, but hate all the chopping and putting them together. We've been working together to weigh out portions and break down recipes to figure out how many points he's using.

So people have asked why I didn't sign up with him and usually after a beat they add... not that's I'm suggesting you need to. Ha! Funny stuff. Because, let's be honest I do need to. I should have joined too, but really it was a question of logistics. Mike felt strongly that if he was going to give Weight Watchers a go then he was going to need the support and encouragement of attending the meeting. Even though I'm not officially attending I still get many benefits of membership and we don't have to worry about childcare so we can both be away from the girls one night a week. So I'm eating better, there's no junk food in the house, I've been working out with my Wii and I'm seeing a loss in the neighbourhood of 8 pounds since the beginning of January.

So this is all good news. Great news even. I promise not to drive you all crazy with a lot of "diet" talk, but I'll update our progress periodically.

And finally I'd like to finish out this post with a little bit of linky love.

Uncle Dave and the rest of us, got good news recently when he finally got a clean bill of health after a painfully long time of waiting for test results. In between Uncle Dave dropped a few lbs himself. I was surprised to hear his loss totaled 50 pounds and even more surprised when I saw the before and after pictures he posted over at his Awesome Internet Site.

And there's my online BFF, Rick who blogs over at Dad Shrinks. He had some super nice and encouraging words for Mike this week. Rick's on his way to healthier living too and he's been an inspiration to me and really he's just an all around nice guy (as are his wife and kids).

Oh and don't forget my gal HPH, who blogs at Tales from a Doggy Project and has been rocking meatless meals and healthier living too.

it's a throwdown - laundry

So last week The Mommy Project offered up a laundry throwdown. Which was timely because I had been dealing with a broken washing machine that required babysitting so it wouldn't flood the first floor of my house and I had lost my mojo. We were quite literally drowning in dirty clothes. So once the washer was fixed I started throwing things in and ended up with this......



Yes that is a mountain of clean laundry on my coffee table and another mountain on my couch. Luckily Michael Clayton (great movie btw) and I managed to get it looking like this.....




I feel I must tell you that the stack of towels actually starts on the floor! And yes I did put every single bit of it away. Okay, not all of it. The girls can put away their own stuff. Of course with Maya it's a little bit of hide and seek when she's done. Which drawer did she put her shirts in this time? But really that seems a small price to pay not to have to put every single item that gets washed in this house away by myself.

And now I get to do it all again this weekend. Man, do I love laundry.... not!

And hey why not join us for this week's showdown..... backing up all those precious photos you're storing on your computer! You have until next Thursday friends!

maya's party the good and the bad

The Good: While I focused on decorating Maya's cake and cupcakes my Mom cleaned my house. And I mean really cleaned my house. She vacuumed under the couch cushions and I don't even want to tell you about the collection of Polly Pockets, Little Pets, markers, sippy cups half full of a fermenting milk/cheese product, dust bunnies and various other kid stuff that she found under our couch and two love seats. Oh and she did my laundry.Well I put it into the appropriate machines, but she folded it all.

The Bad: Maya woke up with a fever. I should have realized it when she kept bursting into tears whenever some one so much as looked at her.

The Good: Motrin 8 hour fever reducer.

The Bad: It wore off exactly as we were having dinner and I had forgotten the bottle at home. Thankfully it was a short trip back home, but until it kicked in I had to eat my dinner with her on my lap. Just like the newborn days.

The Good: She did want to eat Doritos, so she'd get down off my lap, walk over to the buffet table and bring herself back one chip, climb into my lap and eat it, then get down and repeat the process.

The Bad: TLP "helpfully" brought Maya a little cup full chips so she wouldn't have to walk over and get them one at a time. TLP didn't realize I was using that little break to actually eat my own dinner. The look on her face was pretty funny though when she did figure it out, which was right after I told her the benefits of having Maya walk to the buffet table one chip at a time. I still love ya though, TLP.

The Good: Uncle Dave and Auntie Mel took care of all the food set up while I set up with craft table and dealt with......

The Bad: No water. As soon as we got to to the hall we realized there was no water coming out of any of the taps and we had 20 people coming for dinner in half an hour.

The Good: Papa!! He worked like crazy trying to figure out what happened to the water. When he realized the problem was likely four feet underground somewhere between the church and the manse he filled up buckets of water so we could flush toilets and wash dishes and rejoined the party.

The Bad: We were missing some of our favourite people - ML & her crew, The Mommy Project & her crew.



The Good: Auntie Yoli (and Jena!)!!! Oh my gosh how I miss that girl! Luckily she was off work and the weather co-operated so she could be with her god daughter for her birthday. I am so thankful she made the drive. And Uncle Dave and Auntie Mel, too. Not exactly a short trip for either party.

The Bad: No water made washing dishes a chore.

The Good: Papa & Grandma Linda!! They boiled water folks, to so they could wash the dishes. Seriously! Are they rockstars or what?! And they washed the dishes!! All of them. And then when I thanked them, they both looked at me and said - for what? we didn't do anything. Aww love this family of mine.

The Bad: The first look Maya got at her cake she growled at me - Is that my cake? I don't like Little People on my cake.



The Good: She got over it.

The Good: As Maya opened her gifts she took a break in between each one so she could hug each person individually and say thank you. After she asked if she could share the toy/game/book with her sister. Oh my gosh... heart melting everywhere.



The Good: Perler Beads. Need to occupy kids? Buy a bucket. I promise you will not be disappointed. We had kids from almost 4 to almost 60 quiet and occupied for for the entire evening.

The Good: All the extra hands helping tidy up after dinner!

The Good: Uncle Dave and Auntie Mel spent the night and Auntie Yoli and Jena came back to the house after the party wrapped up. We ended up playing spoons and yes at one point I had dragged Auntie Mel halfway across the kitchen table, both of us hanging on to one end of the same spoon for dear life. Oh and btw, I ended up victorious on that one.

The Bad: Overall I suck at spoons.

The Good: My brother is super funny. His comedic timing knows no bounds.

The Bad: Sometimes he's funny at inopportune times. Like when I'm drinking a bottle of water and then I shoot it out my nose. True story. It's more uncomfortable than you'd think.

The Best: We were with our amazing family celebrating one of our two amazing girls. Does it get any better than that? I mean, really.... who needs water when you have all of that?



Check out all the pictures at flickr

what's cooking wednesday - maya's cake

Well I promise to get back in the habit of posting What's Cooking Wednesday on Tuesday nights again, but yesterday being MyPie's birthday... well it kinda took precedence. Anyway here's this week's recipe, but it really isn't a recipe, more of a tutorial. Actually just a really great idea and it's just going to have to do. There's a whole lot of lifestyle changing going on around here that I hope to share with you soon, so I haven't got a new recipe for ya. This is will just have to do.



This is Maya's birthday cake. I have to admit I was stumped this year on what her cake should be. Maya made it very easy though, she only wanted a chocolate white cake with no icing, but chocolate icing and with Mickey, Minnie, Daisy, Donald, Pluto, Goofy, Kai Lan and the Little Mermaid. Now the characters I could do, in theory, but then how big would the cake have to be to have them all on there? Huge and I was really trying to cut back on the amount of cake leftovers I was going to end up with.

In the end I made my award winning chocolate cake with buttercream frosting and added a side of white cake cupcakes with the same buttercream. As of Friday night , her party was Saturday, I was totally undecided on what was going on her cake and then Granny showed up.

I don't know about your kids, but mine love the Little People. Both of my girls will play for hours with them. We have the garage, house, castle, barn, plane, camper and tons of people and accessories. I love listening to them play with the Little People. Hearing the little conversations they make them have. So cute. Anyway, did you know they have a set of Little People all ready for a birthday party? They do! And Granny managed to find a set, not that I had asked her to look because I didn't know they even existed. So I iced the cake and did a simple little trim and used some toys that my girls will get lots of use out of to make it one adorable cake. I actually did the same thing for Abby's cake, only I topped hers with Little Pets - another big deal around this house.

So there you have it, an inexpensive alternate to grocery store cakes. I mean a cake mix is next to nothing and you could even use store bought icing.




What is What's Cooking Wednesday and how can I play?

What's cooking Wednesday was born out of a desire to get out of that what's for dinner rut. Playing is easy, on Wednesday post a recipe that has been tried and tested by you and then pop over here and add your name to the Mr. Linky. When entering your name also add the name of the recipe in brackets and make sure you link to your What's Cooking Wednesday post and not just your blog's front page. *All front page links will be deleted!* Don't make me be a jerk. And don't forget to link back here, the home of What's Cooking Wednesday.

So for example I would write Shan (Speedy Chicken Stir Fry) in the name section. For the URL section I would post this: http://shanrev.blogspot.com/2007/10/whats-cooking-wednesday-speedy-chicken.html

I'll let you in on a little secret, my WCW recipes are almost never made on a Wednesday. So feel free to cook and photograph whenever you have time and join us posting on Wednesday

dear maya

Well today is the big day... you turned four today. Something you are incredibly excited about. I think you know that four means big things. That four means school and a whole new world that will be separate from me. I'm hoping we both manage to adjust to that without too many hiccups. You see, we had a shaky start, you and I. Well, you and everybody, to be fair. I am not the only one who was and continues to be affected by your early days in NICU when you just couldn't figure out that you needed to do that breathing thing all the time. And nobody could figure out why you couldn't/wouldn't do it. I'd just like to say - thanks for finally mastering that little life skill.

But while you were figuring it all out, you were scaring the crap out of me (all of us actually) and when the smoke cleared I was a different kind of Mom then I was before you were born. We've spent the past four years in each other's pocket. "Only Mommy Will Do" - that has been your personal motto. With school looming on the horizon I've been pushing you to be a little bit more independent which is working out pretty great. You love to get yourself dressed and pick out your own clothes. I mean maybe capris in January isn't the best idea, but we'll work on it. We hear lots of... no Mommy, I can do it... these days. I have to remember to leave you some extra time to tackle tasks like zippers and mittens yourself.

You continue to be enamoured with your big sister. More than one evening has been spent with you chasing Abby around the house trying to get just one more hug. You want to have a sleepover every night, but you hog the bed and the covers and you take forever to fall alseep, so Abby just rolls her eyes and asks if she can just sleep by herself and you always agree with the biggest smile for her because whatever Abby wants is just fine with you. Unless of course we're talking about the Wii or Barbies or Polly Pockets or Little Pets or blocks. It can be a struggle when it comes to taking turns or sharing, but it's nothing too out of control. You really are such a sweet and considerate girl. You make my heart melt a million times over.

You're really coming out of your shell around people. Sometimes if there's a lot of new people you take a while to warm up, but once you get going you can hold your own. You love giving hugs and hand them out pretty freely. That's a long way from the girl who refused to even make eye contact anyone who wasn't Daddy, Abby or I. This is all good news, I'm sure, to the bride who's asked you to be a flower girl in her wedding next fall. We have a letter from her that outlines what you'll have to do that day and you are so excited every time I read it to you.

I am so looking forward to exploring four with you. It almost seems like a the newborn stage all over again. So much to discover. I can't wait to see what four will bring us.

Love you, Baby Girl.
Mama
xo

great, it's a date

Oh my gosh, you guys.... this was the best weekend and I can't wait to tell you all about the super adorable birthday cake, the party that had no water and yet I still somehow managed to shoot water out my nose. (It's kinda like the time I got drunk at a dry wedding... don't ask, it wasn't one of my prouder moments.) Oh and how I dragged my sister-in-law across the kitchen table... she was being stubborn and I wasn't having any of it. And how opening gifts took forever because my super adorable almost four year old is the sweetest thing evah. And how every single member in my family is an ultimate rock star... I kinda want to cry whenever I think about how awesome they all were this weekend.

But dudes I am beyond tired and a post of that magnitude will require uploading of pictures and I'll have to be all witty and clever and everything (HA!! I am sooooo funny!!). So lets plan all of this for tomorrow... kay? Does that work for you? Perfect, I'll hook up with you then.

PS I know I am totally late responding to The Mommy Project's laundry showdown -- but I want you to know I totally kicked it's ass and I have the terrifying laundry pics to prove it.... you'll just have to wait for those too.

today is the day

Yes, I realize that delurking day was actually on the 14th, but what the heck.... I think we can extend it through the weekend at least here at the Blogmother's. In my bloggy life I have amassed a few friendly followers, lovely folks that can be counted on to comment here and on facebook. Holla! to my ladies and a few gents. Thanks so much to all y'all for taking an interest in what I have to say here. I have been continually surprised at the response and feedback I've gotten from my little patch of the interwebs. You guys are truly rockstars.

Here's the deal though, for the comments that I do get, there are many more folks that just pass through with out a peep. Most are popping by for my taco salad recipe and recipes in general, but the taco salad...... that my top search nearly every month. Weird, huh?

So why not speak up today, all my silent visitors? What have you got to lose? I'll even give you a topic... since I'm heading off to decorate MyPie's birthday cake when I'm finished here.....

Which do you prefer - cake or cupcakes?

And this isn't limited to the newbies, the old guard can feel free to weigh in on this too. Thanks guys, for making blogging so awesome!!

for the record it was wade

Yesterday Abby brought home a little project she has to complete for school. It's all about her name, why her Dad and I picked her name, what her nickname is and so on. She needed a parent to help her with this, so this morning she and I started talking about it....

Abby: I don't even know why my name is special.
Me: Well it's special because when you were just a tiny little thing in my tummy Daddy and I decided that Abby is what we wanted to call you for your entire life. That's why it's special.
Abby: Did you know I was a girl.
Me: Nope.
Abby: Well what if I was a boy?
Me: Well we had a boy name picked out too.
Abby: What was it?
Me: Well if you had been a boy what would you want to be called?

She ponders this for a moment and then.....

Kevin!

So guess who just got a new nickname.

what's cooking wednesday - sweet chili thai sauce

This week's recipe is great for a few reasons that really have nothing to do with the recipe itself. I have said it before, but it bears repeating... blogging is the greatest gift I have ever given myself. One of the things I enjoy most is the friendships I've developed with people that I've never actually met in person. One of my longtime blogging buddies is Karen from Virtually There and if it wasn't for her I'm not sure I would have deemed this recipe a success. When I realized I had mucked this one up I sat right now at my trusty hp desktop and dashed off an email and basically begged her for help. She got back to me right away with an "if I were you I'd try this" sort of email and I was off to the races. That's the power of blogging right there at work folks. I couldn't even tell you at this point how I found her or how she found me or who found the other first, but I am mighty thankful that we hooked up. Next on the agenda.... meeting her in real life. It'll happen sooner than later Karen, promise!

This is a canning recipe so you'll need the appropriate canning supplies, like jars, lids, canning pot for processing the finished project and such.

Sweet Chili Thai Dipping Sauce

1/2 cup finely chopped garlic
1 tbsp salt
6 cups cider vinegar
6 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup hot pepper flakes

Prepare canner, jars and lids.

In a small bowl, combine garlic and salt, set aside.

In a large stainless tell saucepan, bring vinegar to a boil. Add suagr and still until fully dissolved. Reduce heat and boil gently for 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Add garlic mixture and hot pepper flakes, stir well.

Ladle hot sauce into hot jars, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Remove air bubbles and adjust headpsace, if necessary, by adding hot sauce. Wipe rim. Center lid on jar. Screw band down until resistance is met, then increase to fingertip-tight.

Place jars in canner, ensuring they are completely covered with water. Bring to a boil and process for 15 minutes. Remove canner lid. Wait 5 minutes, then remove jars, cool and store.

Recipe Notes: Well I followed the recipe exactly and when I was finished the end product was more of a syrup than a dipping sauce. Cue Karen (the canning Queen) and her helpful advice. I ended up dumping in all back in the pot and boiling it down for another hour or so with an extra 3/4 cup of sugar. Karen suggested the extra sugar when I complained that the vinegar taste was pretty strong. After the reboiling and the reprocessing I ended up with a nice sweet, tangy and spicy sauce that was suitably thick enough and that Mike and I have been enjoying on chicken strip night. And one more small word of advice..... boiling vinegar is even worse than it sounds. I would recommend waiting to make this until a time of year you can comfortably have the windows open because boy oh boy it's nasty.

And one more reason this recipe was/is great.... Mike really enjoys helping out with the canning. Usually the cooking/baking is my deal, but this he really takes an active part in. And for those of you who have enjoyed our strawberry jam..... he actually did most of the work. It's been great working on these canning projects together.




What is What's Cooking Wednesday and how can I play?

What's cooking Wednesday was born out of a desire to get out of that what's for dinner rut. Playing is easy, on Wednesday post a recipe that has been tried and tested by you and then pop over here and add your name to the Mr. Linky. When entering your name also add the name of the recipe in brackets and make sure you link to your What's Cooking Wednesday post and not just your blog's front page. *All front page links will be deleted!* Don't make me be a jerk. And don't forget to link back here, the home of What's Cooking Wednesday.

So for example I would write Shan (Speedy Chicken Stir Fry) in the name section. For the URL section I would post this: http://shanrev.blogspot.com/2007/10/whats-cooking-wednesday-speedy-chicken.html

I'll let you in on a little secret, my WCW recipes are almost never made on a Wednesday. So feel free to cook and photograph whenever you have time and join us posting on Wednesday

the year ahead

In a little over a week my little baby girl is turning four. How that is possible I have no idea. It seems like she only just got here and yet she's been here forever. I keep thinking about this coming year and I wonder what it will be like. Whenever I think I've got my Little MyPie figured out she goes and changes the rules on me.

This coming September she'll be starting school, something that used to worry me. Then I wasn't so worried, but yeah I'm pretty sure I'm worried about it again. I see her continue to struggle through new experiences and it worries me. On the other hand most of these struggles occur when I'm with her, she could very likely do just fine on her own without Mommy there to paste herself to. I have said this many times, but I am so thankful for the kindergarten teacher at our school. She is beyond fabulous and I know she'll manage with my quirky little girl just fine. Intellectually I think she's more than ready to go. She's a smart little cookie who's picked up lots from her big sister. If nothing else it will be an interesting ride.

knowing me, knowing you - january

Time once again for the monthly interview project I started.... I have to admit I was going to leave this until tomorrow, but I got a gentle reminder tweet from The Widney Woman and I am nothing if not a people pleaser.

1. Showers or baths?

Well once upon a time I was a serious bath girl. And now I'm all about the showers, baths just seem like a waste of time. I get in there and think about all the other stuff I could be doing and I would just get out, but then I feel bad about wasting the water, so I stay in, but I'm really annoyed.

2. What's your favourite thing for breakfast?

I love love love egg creations. Flavoured egg whites in a carton. I have a small omelet on a high fibre wrap just about every morning for breakfast. On the weekend it's usually a bagel or toast.

3. What is your favourite George Clooney movie?

Well I am in the midst of watching Michael Clayton right now as I fold Mount Laundry and it's good. I am enjoying it. We're headed towards the end and I'm interested to see how they tie the story up. Hands down though, my favourite Clooney movie is the Ocean's series. Probably eleven is my favourite, but they are all great. He is just as his most suave in those I think and I love the way he plays off of Brad Pitt and Matt Damon (and Julia) in those. Fantastic.

4. American Idol starts on Tuesday folks, how do you feel about Ellen joinng the judge's table?

Well I love Ellen. I think she's hysterical and very relatable. I like that she's not a music person, but rather a fan of music and I cannot wait to see her head to head with Simon.

5. Lets say you've got a gift card to Michaels... what would you spend it on?

I won't be surprised to find a ball of wool or four in my buggy. There is so much pretty wool out there and I want to knit with all of it. Very likely some new baking goodies. Tools to make the job more fun, maybe some packaging. I'd go drool over the scrapbooking stuff and then buy none of it because I just can't. Can't. Maybe look into some card making supplies. That sounds like fun.




So now the rules, they're pretty simple. Post your answers to these questions on your own blog in the next few days. Remember to link back here in your post and sign the Mr. Linky too, so we can all see what you have to say. Please make sure you link to your actual KMKY post and not your blog's front page. Any front page links will be deleted. And most importantly, have fun! Have suggestions for next months questions? Leave me a comment or send me an email and let me know.

trying to get back to me

Well at the risk of sounding like an alarmist I'm afraid I have lost my mojo. I think it started before Christmas. Well before Christmas now that I think about it. I am usually pretty organized in regards to Christmas shopping and have it done well before the day arrives. I shop early and smart, getting the best bang for my buck. This year I had zero interest in shopping and no real ideas of what to get people. I finally finished my shopping the week before Christmas.

I had no real Christmas spirit this year, but I think I hid it well. I still put up and decorated 4 Christmas trees, but now that the time has come to undecorate I can't tell you how much I hate that I put up four trees. And the undecorating, well that appears to be a never ending project in itself. I just can't seem to get it together to just clean up and put it all away already. So we're stuck in this horrible stage of limbo in which the house is in a state of minor disaster.

And today is January 7th - Christmas to those who observe the Gregorian calendar. My Mom comes from a Polish/Ukranian background, so our tree always stayed up until after seventh as a hat tip to her heritage. This year I was ready to take it down after New Years. Ready, but in no way motivated to - you know - actually do it.

And then there has been the laundry. Always a struggle for us Moms, but even better, my washing machine has been on the fritz. It was still "usable", but to use it I literally had to sit over top of it and babysit it through it's hour long cycle or it would flood my kitchen/bathroom/laundry room. So the laundry has been piling up like crazy because you can imagine all the free time I have to babysit my washer. Now that it's fixed (thank you Papa OldBeard) I'm getting caught up on all the laundry, but while the "dirty pile" is getting smaller the "to fold" pile is getting equally higher. See how that works and a girl who doesn't have it in her to put away her Christmas cheer certainly doesn't have it in her to fold 756 loads of laundry. Hello mountains of clean laundry piled everywhere.

I really just feel kinda blah about everything. Sorta beige. And no idea why. Oddly enough, even though the house is a semi-disaster - which would be the biggest indicator I just don't have my shit together right now - I'm still working on making positive changes for me and my family. I'm kinda like Eeyore right now, plodding along with this black cloud over my head.

I started working out with the Wii again. Abby got Outdoor Challenge for Christmas and, oh my sweat, do I love it. I've put in my time with it every night this week. I'd really been backsliding on the dinner thing. With Mike being out so often dinner time at the table has been non-existent and I've been making separate meals for everyone. I put an end to that this week too. Did you hear the groans of protest? And the gagging when I made Abby try a perogie? I'm trying to be more focused during our bedtime routine and making sure the kids get some one on one time with me and we read a story. I'm trying to eat healthier. Going back to the no meat for breakfast or dinner thing. Making sure I'm getting all my water in. That's not going so hot just yet, but I'm working on it.

So the point to all of this, and yes I do have one, is please forgive me if posting is spotty for the next little bit. I've been finding the allure of crawling into bed and disappearing into a book for a few hours a little too hard to deny. Thank goodness for a bookcase full of books begging to be read.

what's cooking wednesday - chocolate ritz

So I had fully intended on posting this last night and then fell asleep reading a book about three hours earlier than I usually do. I made a bunch of these over Christmas and regret I didn't get a single picture because they didn't last long at all. And the best part they are super easy to make.

Chocolate Ritz Crackers

Ritz crackers
Milk Chocolate (or dark if you prefer... I do not)
Sprinkles (optional)

So go ahead and melt yourself some chocolate. You can do this in any number of ways - double boiler, microwave... I personally prefer melting it in a 200 degree F oven, in an oven proof bowl of course. Toss the crackers in the melted chocolate and gently stir until coated. I usually toss two or three into the bowl at the same time. Then I flip them to coat and scoop them out on a fork. Tap the fork against the edge of the bowl a few times to get rid of the excess and place them on a piece of waxed paper to dry. While they are still wet decorate with sprinkles if you are so inclined and you're done. Easy peasy lemon squeezy.

So chocolate covered ritz crackers may sound a bit weird, but trust me they are so delicious. I mean a nice buttery and salty cracekr is just crying out for a chocolate coating. If you are going to make these I do recommend you get yourself some melting chocolate rather than using chocolate chips. You can pick up melting chocolate or candy melts at the Bulk Barn or Michaels.




What is What's Cooking Wednesday and how can I play?

What's cooking Wednesday was born out of a desire to get out of that what's for dinner rut. Playing is easy, on Wednesday post a recipe that has been tried and tested by you and then pop over here and add your name to the Mr. Linky. When entering your name also add the name of the recipe in brackets and make sure you link to your What's Cooking Wednesday post and not just your blog's front page. *All front page links will be deleted!* Don't make me be a jerk. And don't forget to link back here, the home of What's Cooking Wednesday.

So for example I would write Shan (Speedy Chicken Stir Fry) in the name section. For the URL section I would post this: http://shanrev.blogspot.com/2007/10/whats-cooking-wednesday-speedy-chicken.html

I'll let you in on a little secret, my WCW recipes are almost never made on a Wednesday. So feel free to cook and photograph whenever you have time and join us posting on Wednesday

remember to remind me

Somebody please remind me of the following for next Christmas:

We need new lights. Our tree looked ridiculous this year because all the lights that worked when we carefully packed them in the box last year only half of them worked when we pulled them out this year. What in the heck goes on in the top of the closet over the course of 11 months?

A nine foot tree is too tall. Sure it looks small out in the middle of a tree farm, but having to decorate it with a step ladder is a bit of a pain in the arse. And lets not even start talking about getting a nine foot tree back out the front door without the wrapping it came in with.

Also a short needle tree.... let's try long next year. I have 30 tons of short pine needles all over my living room. I think the long needle trees hold their needles better or am I completely off the wall.

Oh and while having four trees up and decorated in your house seems like a good idea at the end of November..... by the beginning of January it will rank up there with the worst ideas you've ever had. Trust me.

Do you have all your holiday cheer packed away and if so would you like to come and help me put away mine?

the holidays in pictures

Here's some of my favourite pictures from this holiday season...



Maya was pretty much a bear the entire time I was off what with the chicken pox and the cold. Here's one of the few moments she was happy.



The girls got some pretty rocking hats this Christmas. Here I crammed my head into Maya's.



The Abster and her Uncle Dave jamming with their ukes. Uncle Dave got one for his birthday this year. He tried to get her in on the little musical performance he and Aunt Mel had planned for later, but she was suffering from some stage fright.



Said musical performance. They performed that Hawaiian Christmas song,that I can't spell, but you all know what it is.



It's Abby and the tarty supremes!!

Just some of my faves...

happy new year

It's been a long time since Mike and I have spent a New Year's Eve out of the house. And to be truthful we had no real plans to do anything this year either until ML told us we'd be spending it at her place. Bring the kids, she insisted, they'll amuse each other until they pass out. So we did.

I thought we were in for a quiet evening with ML, T, my online BFF and his lovely wife and our collective kids. ML and T live in a large old farm house (shocking I know, what with them owning a dairy farm and all) so there was plenty of room for the gaggle of us (Jersey Girl, JJ, came with her crew too) that ended up there. That would be 8 adults and 10 kids. To quote the Grinch... the noise! All the noise, noise, noise, noise. Yep, ten kids, most up past their bedtimes can get plenty loud. Although I am happy to report there were very few disputes and the only tears shed came from one of mine..... I'll let you guess which one. Here I'll give you a hint - it rhymes with papaya. More shocking revelations!



Maya actually did not too bad once things got going. She was not pleased when we got there. All the strange kids and the noise was too much. Before too long she was trying to keep up with the big kids which wasn't too easy as she was the youngest by far. She did okay though, she had T playing a board game with her at one point and she befriended JJ's Mister while playing the Wii. Somehow she even managed to stay up until midnight with the rest of the kids. She wandered around "clinking" her paper cup of water and offering up hugs to ring in the new year.

As for Abby I hardly saw her all night as she moved from hide and seek to the Wii to board games to movies with the rest of the bigger kids. She did appear by my side again at midnight, ready to ring in the New Year with her plastic top hat.



So what were the grown ups doing while the kids tore around the house? Well I stuffed myself silly on pumpernickel bread and spinach dip. It's my fave! And various other goodies that were out, like JJ's bacon wrapped water chestnuts. So good! And we played spoons. Have you ever played spoons before? No?! Well either had I before, but it is seriously one of my most favourite games now. Jersey Girls be prepared for a spoons night in your future. So much fun!! And odds are you have to supplies you need to play at home right now.

You need......

1. a deck of cards.
2. spoons.

And what do you do with this stuff once you have it? Well you gather some fun card playing friends around the table, as many as you want. We had 8 playing at one point, that means there's 7 spoons laid out on the table. Get that? One less spoon that you have people playing. Kinda like musical chairs, but with cards. So the dealer deals out four cards to each player. The idea is to get 4 of a kind in your hand. The dealer will have what's left of the deck in front of them, as quickly as they care to they will draw the top card and look at it. They either keep it or discard to the person on their left. The person to the left looks at that card and decides whether they will keep it or discard to the person on their left and so on. You can't ever have more than 4 cards in your hand, so if you do keep a card you must discard one from your hand. As soon as you get four of a kind grab a spoon. And the rest of the players, if you notice someone grabbing for a spoon, you grab for one too. The person who ends up without one gets an s, then a p, then an o and so on until they spell spoons. Then they're out of the game. Once someone is out of the game you take one more spoon away so there is always one spoon less. It's a great game for a group of people. Play it, you won't be sorry.