Well as of only moments ago the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics were declared officially closed. And with that I have just one question. What the hell am I going to do now that I won't be glued to my TV set every possible moment? We watched just about everything the Olympics had to offer be it on sleds, skis, skates or snowboards. We even watched curling, although don't ask me to explain how the game is played or scored... I have no idea. My favourites - snowboard cross, moguls, hockey, ice dance and biathlon. What were your favourites?
I love love love the Olympics, winter or summer doesn't matter much to me. I do admit, though that enjoyed these games the most of all. I mean sure they were held here in Canada and our Canadian athletes owned the gold podium, but I think it's even more than that. Every time I watched one of our athletes compete I couldn't help, but think of their parents and how overwhelmed with pride they must be. I thought about what it would be like if Abby and/or Maya were competing on the world's stage like that with the best of the best and I was overwhelmed with pride.
It was pure fabulousness from start to finish and I am so sad it's over. Although I'm not going to lie to you I am looking forward to a new episode of The Office this week. And as beautiful as that Believe song is I'm ready to be done hearing the opening bars played eleventy billion times a day.
Did you watch much of the Olympics? Are you sad or glad to see it go?
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
what's cooking wednesday
Well it 's been a lot of grilled chicken breasts and salad around here these days. I think we're just trying to find out weight watchers footing. Mike and I are getting pretty good and being able to dissect a recipe and figure out what the points per serving are. We've mostly been focusing on some of our old favourite recipes, so it's been a while since I've tried a new recipe. I'm going to make that a priority going forward though. Until I come up with something new, pop on over and visit our What's Cooking Wednesday friends and check out what they're cooking up.
Monday, February 22, 2010
the answer is nine
To continue with theme "I'm the Mom of an almost tween" for a moment ~ We're all friends here, so I feel fine telling you all I'm having my "lady days", as I like to call them. Abby noticed some of my "supplies" on the counter waiting to be moved into my purse. She picked one up.....
Abby: What is this?
Me: Well I think we can talk about that when you're a bit older.
Abby: But I want to know now.
I looked at her and thought for a moment while her father died a slow death on the other side of the kitchen. I looked at her and remembered that she's dang near being labeled an official tween (Gawd I hate that word). And her very own lady days are (potentially) not that far in the future. - Oh my Gawd! I think I may be hyperventilating. Ack! - So I explained to her, in an age appropriate manner what the lady days were because I wanted her to know that it wasn't a big deal for her and I to discuss this kind of stuff. I explained to her that she was to keep the conversation between her and I because it was up to other Moms and Dads to have those talks with their kids. Emphasis on the - it's not your job to spread the word on this one - part.
So we talked for a little while and when we were done I asked if she had any questions.
Abby: I do have one question.
In my head I'm fah-reaking out because, surely this must be it. She is totally going to ask me how the baby gets into the Mommy's tummy in the first place and now I'm in way over my head and why can't I just hit the rewind button and make her 5 again for the love of Pete.
But outwardly I'm calm and I smile a little smile, not unlike the one Carole Brady smiled at her kids and said.... Sure you can. What is it?
Abby: What's seven plus two?
Abby: What is this?
Me: Well I think we can talk about that when you're a bit older.
Abby: But I want to know now.
I looked at her and thought for a moment while her father died a slow death on the other side of the kitchen. I looked at her and remembered that she's dang near being labeled an official tween (Gawd I hate that word). And her very own lady days are (potentially) not that far in the future. - Oh my Gawd! I think I may be hyperventilating. Ack! - So I explained to her, in an age appropriate manner what the lady days were because I wanted her to know that it wasn't a big deal for her and I to discuss this kind of stuff. I explained to her that she was to keep the conversation between her and I because it was up to other Moms and Dads to have those talks with their kids. Emphasis on the - it's not your job to spread the word on this one - part.
So we talked for a little while and when we were done I asked if she had any questions.
Abby: I do have one question.
In my head I'm fah-reaking out because, surely this must be it. She is totally going to ask me how the baby gets into the Mommy's tummy in the first place and now I'm in way over my head and why can't I just hit the rewind button and make her 5 again for the love of Pete.
But outwardly I'm calm and I smile a little smile, not unlike the one Carole Brady smiled at her kids and said.... Sure you can. What is it?
Abby: What's seven plus two?
Sunday, February 21, 2010
and so it begins
So my Abby girl is dangerously close to being declared an actual tween. Shite...... I need to catch my breath for a second. How on earth is that even possible? I'm not going to lie to you, I feel woefully unprepared for this next chapter of motherhood, especially when we have conversations like this....
Convo #1
Me: Okay Abs, get into your snowpants and stuff we gotta head out for the bus.
Abby: You know, I wish you were me and I were you.
Me: Oh yeah. Why is that?
Abby: Because then you'd know what it's like to be me and see how hard it is.
Convo #2
Abby: I wish I was a boy and not a girl.
Me: How come?
Abby: Because then I could just go see the baby in the hospital and I wouldn't have to have it.
Me: ~stunned silence~
Abby: Does it hurt when you have a baby.
Me: Yeah, it does.
Abby: Then I am never having kids.
I would like to point out that these conversation were apropos of nothing.
Convo #1
Me: Okay Abs, get into your snowpants and stuff we gotta head out for the bus.
Abby: You know, I wish you were me and I were you.
Me: Oh yeah. Why is that?
Abby: Because then you'd know what it's like to be me and see how hard it is.
Convo #2
Abby: I wish I was a boy and not a girl.
Me: How come?
Abby: Because then I could just go see the baby in the hospital and I wouldn't have to have it.
Me: ~stunned silence~
Abby: Does it hurt when you have a baby.
Me: Yeah, it does.
Abby: Then I am never having kids.
I would like to point out that these conversation were apropos of nothing.
Saturday, February 20, 2010
what a night
Who: ML, her sister, Mike & I and about 30 more members of our local agricultural society. And many more members from many more ag societies.
What: The Ontario Association of Agricultural Societies Convention
Where: The beautiful Royal York Hotel in Toronto
When: The past two days.
Why: Well why not?
Well this was a convention so there were trades people to meet and greet with on the trades floor. My personal favourite, the wrestler guy who was wearing a kilt and rock hard nipples and not much else. I have to admit it was hard to know where to look. Those nipples were kind of mesmerizing.
I had no real plan to attend any seminars. My plan was to disappear back up to the room and read while Mike attended a seminar or two. Then our secretary pointed out that a social media seminar, focusing on twitter and facebook, was starting in 15 minutes. And I got really excited. To quote "The Oprah" it was an "aha" moment for me. I mean I knew I big red puffy hearted the hell out of social media, but I was dang near giddy about attending a seminar on it. Apparently I uber love social media... who knew?
And the seminar....... meh.... and I say that with all due respect to the guy conducting it. He had a great solid presentation, but it was more for the newcomer to the fantastic world of social media. I'm still glad that I went, because it let me know that I've got my head in the game and a pretty good handle on how to navigate facebook/twitter. Good news, since I started tweeting on behalf of our ag society just this past week.
I have to admit I was surprised to see a lot of older folks in this seminar. I mean ones that looked like they may just have mastered emailing. Based on the questions they were asking, they really didn't "get" social media, especially Twitter, but at least they were there to learn about it. They asked some great getting started questions too.
With our information gathering duties completed it was time to cut loose and have some fun. And that's what we did in true Hangover fashion.
ML threw a pen at our Presidents wife and then attempted to spill her drink in his lap. Luckily he has cat like reflexes and avoided a wet crotch before he headed out to his swanky dinner hosted by a big name amusement company. I'm pretty sure ML wanted to die of embarrassment, but I did what any great friend would do and laughed about it till I dang near peed my pants. And even after all that he still bought the round.
ML & I absconded with Michael's cell phone and proceeded to send about eleventy kabillion texts to the President while he was at his swanky dinner. I'd like to tell you they were all in good taste, but you know... they weren't. Luckily he found us amusing and not giant pains in the ass.
The Royal York is a big old hotel. Very labyrinth like inside. Michael got lost many many many times.
There were lots of ag societies, all with hospitality rooms. Every where we went in the hotel someone was inviting us in and offering us a drink. Loud drunk people were roaming the halls till the wee hours of the morning.
Mike does not appreciate it when you knock on a random hotel room door then take off running down the hall, leaving him the only person in the vicinity of said door. ML, her sister and I found it hysterical.
11 pm found ML, her sister and I riding an elevator with three drunk ladies and the biggest balloon bouquet we had ever seen and that we had asked one of the ladies to steal for us from whatever floor we had picked them upon. We wedged half of them inside our hotel room and closed the door so the rest were in the hall. Then we laughed till we couldn't breathe
You may wonder why we did that.... well it was just for Mike. He's gone down to the street to have a cigar with a buddy. Since he kept getting lost we wanted to make the door easy to find. He did not find it as amusing as we did.
Mike had a celebrity sighting while down having his stogie.... John Malkovich was staying at the hotel and passed Mike in the lobby.
Today we got a late check out time, Mike headed for the hockey hall of fame and us ladies swam, hot tubbed, steam roomed and saunaed. Then we headed for the mecca of sales, Honest Ed's, where Mike got a dress shirt for $1.99 and a long sleeved t for $1.49 and then it was finally time to head for home.
My batteries were low (and are recharging now) so I didn't get many pictures, but oh boy I'll remember this weekend for a very long time. I can't wait to go again next year.
What: The Ontario Association of Agricultural Societies Convention
Where: The beautiful Royal York Hotel in Toronto
When: The past two days.
Why: Well why not?
Well this was a convention so there were trades people to meet and greet with on the trades floor. My personal favourite, the wrestler guy who was wearing a kilt and rock hard nipples and not much else. I have to admit it was hard to know where to look. Those nipples were kind of mesmerizing.
I had no real plan to attend any seminars. My plan was to disappear back up to the room and read while Mike attended a seminar or two. Then our secretary pointed out that a social media seminar, focusing on twitter and facebook, was starting in 15 minutes. And I got really excited. To quote "The Oprah" it was an "aha" moment for me. I mean I knew I big red puffy hearted the hell out of social media, but I was dang near giddy about attending a seminar on it. Apparently I uber love social media... who knew?
And the seminar....... meh.... and I say that with all due respect to the guy conducting it. He had a great solid presentation, but it was more for the newcomer to the fantastic world of social media. I'm still glad that I went, because it let me know that I've got my head in the game and a pretty good handle on how to navigate facebook/twitter. Good news, since I started tweeting on behalf of our ag society just this past week.
I have to admit I was surprised to see a lot of older folks in this seminar. I mean ones that looked like they may just have mastered emailing. Based on the questions they were asking, they really didn't "get" social media, especially Twitter, but at least they were there to learn about it. They asked some great getting started questions too.
With our information gathering duties completed it was time to cut loose and have some fun. And that's what we did in true Hangover fashion.
ML threw a pen at our Presidents wife and then attempted to spill her drink in his lap. Luckily he has cat like reflexes and avoided a wet crotch before he headed out to his swanky dinner hosted by a big name amusement company. I'm pretty sure ML wanted to die of embarrassment, but I did what any great friend would do and laughed about it till I dang near peed my pants. And even after all that he still bought the round.
ML & I absconded with Michael's cell phone and proceeded to send about eleventy kabillion texts to the President while he was at his swanky dinner. I'd like to tell you they were all in good taste, but you know... they weren't. Luckily he found us amusing and not giant pains in the ass.
The Royal York is a big old hotel. Very labyrinth like inside. Michael got lost many many many times.
There were lots of ag societies, all with hospitality rooms. Every where we went in the hotel someone was inviting us in and offering us a drink. Loud drunk people were roaming the halls till the wee hours of the morning.
Mike does not appreciate it when you knock on a random hotel room door then take off running down the hall, leaving him the only person in the vicinity of said door. ML, her sister and I found it hysterical.
11 pm found ML, her sister and I riding an elevator with three drunk ladies and the biggest balloon bouquet we had ever seen and that we had asked one of the ladies to steal for us from whatever floor we had picked them upon. We wedged half of them inside our hotel room and closed the door so the rest were in the hall. Then we laughed till we couldn't breathe
You may wonder why we did that.... well it was just for Mike. He's gone down to the street to have a cigar with a buddy. Since he kept getting lost we wanted to make the door easy to find. He did not find it as amusing as we did.
Mike had a celebrity sighting while down having his stogie.... John Malkovich was staying at the hotel and passed Mike in the lobby.
Today we got a late check out time, Mike headed for the hockey hall of fame and us ladies swam, hot tubbed, steam roomed and saunaed. Then we headed for the mecca of sales, Honest Ed's, where Mike got a dress shirt for $1.99 and a long sleeved t for $1.49 and then it was finally time to head for home.
My batteries were low (and are recharging now) so I didn't get many pictures, but oh boy I'll remember this weekend for a very long time. I can't wait to go again next year.
Friday, February 19, 2010
friday high five - shouldn't I be doing something else
Okay so Mike is off to a fair related convention overnight and I get to tag along. My Mom is staying here with the girls, Mike is out grocery shopping so they don't starve while we're gone, Granny and Maya are still sleeping and Abby is watching TV in my bedroom. And me... well here is the 5 things I should be doing instead facebooking, tweeting and blogging.
1. Pack. I realize we're just going overnight, but I still need to put jammies and a change of clothes in a bag. Oh and a book and maybe my knitting. And my bathing suit. Where is that thing?
2. Making Abby's lunch. She has to be out the door in an hour to catch the bus.
3. Making breakfast. Luckily they just like toast or cereal in the morning (dry for Abbers, with milk for MyPie).
4. Getting dressed. Going to the T-Dot in jammies, while it sounds awesome, is probably not the best plan.
5. Doing a last minute tidy, unloading the dishwasher and such.
I guess I better get to it.
1. Pack. I realize we're just going overnight, but I still need to put jammies and a change of clothes in a bag. Oh and a book and maybe my knitting. And my bathing suit. Where is that thing?
2. Making Abby's lunch. She has to be out the door in an hour to catch the bus.
3. Making breakfast. Luckily they just like toast or cereal in the morning (dry for Abbers, with milk for MyPie).
4. Getting dressed. Going to the T-Dot in jammies, while it sounds awesome, is probably not the best plan.
5. Doing a last minute tidy, unloading the dishwasher and such.
I guess I better get to it.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
nine down, one to go
Over dinner one night a few weeks ago we came to agreement with Abby that if she tried 10 new foods then we could plan a night out to the movies. Maya, not surprisingly, has refused to participate. So the deadline for this project to be completed is the end of the month and she's actually doing quite well. I guess...... well..... you be the judge.
Number of foods Abby has tried so far - 9
Number of foods she's liked - 0
Number of foods that have made her gag - 9
Number of foods that have made her upchuck - 1
I do have to say the one good thing is she is still willing to keep trying. I'm hopeful that the last one is going to be the one she likes.
Are your kids picky eaters?
Number of foods Abby has tried so far - 9
Number of foods she's liked - 0
Number of foods that have made her gag - 9
Number of foods that have made her upchuck - 1
I do have to say the one good thing is she is still willing to keep trying. I'm hopeful that the last one is going to be the one she likes.
Are your kids picky eaters?
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
what's cooking wednesday - pink lemonade cupcakes
So this past weekend was valentines day and I had planned on making the girls some sugar cookies like I did last year and then as I was randomly surfing the internet I saw these cupcakes on my blog. Mmmm Pink lemonade. I love pink lemonade. Perfect fit for valentines day... right?
*picture to come*
PS While you're over at *my blog* take a moment to check out her movie nights. She sets the bar very high. Very high indeed.
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
*picture to come*
PINK LEMONADE CUPCAKES
- 1 pkg white cake mix without pudding in the mix
- 3 egg whites
- 1 cup water
- 1/3 cup thawed frozen pink lemonade concentrate; thawed
- 2 TBSP oil
- pink food coloring (optional)
frosting
- 4 cups icing sugar
- 1/3 cup butter, softened
- 1/4 cup pink lemonade concentrate
1. Beat cake mix, water, egg whites, 1/3 cup lemon concentrate, oil and food coloring. Medium speed for 2 minutes. Spoon batter into lined muffin cups.
2. Bake 18-22 mins. Cool completely before frosting.
3. Beat icing sugar, butter and 1/4 cup lemonade concentrate, until well blended. (Add more concentrate to thin frosting if necessary.) Add pink coloring to desired color.
Recipe: I have to say the actual cupcake was just okay, but the frosting was really great. I ended up using almost 1/2 cup of concentrate to get it to the consistency I wanted, so I wound up with a nice tart icing. It was kind of like a sweet tart now that I think about it. It was a nice change from the everyday buttercream. I may try this using limeade. With a lemon cake. Mmmm. Lemon lime. I'll let you know how that works out.PS While you're over at *my blog* take a moment to check out her movie nights. She sets the bar very high. Very high indeed.
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
Monday, February 15, 2010
family fun night - up
With yesterday being Valentine's Day I kinda made family fun night into family fun day. Mike and I don't really do the valentine thing. Although he did send me a "you are loved" decoration for my Farmville farm. Which truly tickled me to no end and not just cause it got me 25 experience points, it's the thought that counts. I gave him a card that was glued into the lastest US Weekly I had kicking around. It was actually an advertisement for getting away to Vegas, so I just crossed out the parts that didn't apply and it worked just fine.
While the girls slept I cut hearts out of construction paper wrote sappy messages all over them. Then I created a curtain... think beaded curtains from the 70's... and hung them over there doors. It was awesome when Abby woke me up at 3 am to ask me why there were hearts hanging from her "door outline". Damn you 3 am bathroom breaks! I mumbled it was a valentine's gift and she should go back to bed and appreciate it in the morning. The morning found the two of them up bright and early. Mike and I stayed in bed and listened to Abby read, first her messages and then her sisters. Was seriously cute. I'm sorry I didn't get a picture of their doors. I was just too busy enjoying the moment.
Downstairs for breakfast I made pink heart shaped pancakes, which I poured out free-hand. Mike was suitably impressed with my mad pancake skillz. Even if he did skip the pancakes for a more point friendly breakfast of a toasted tomato sandwich.
We did eat our breakfast on the good china and drank our juice out of wine glasses.
Except for Maya, who doesn't eat pancakes. Instead it was fruit loops in a plastic bowl I picked up at Wally for a buck. And her milk in a sippy cup because she fa-reaked when she saw the wine glass at her place. I did catch her later, trying a bite of pancake and she told me she liked them. Of course you never know, with Maya, if that phenomenon will ever occur again.
After an early bath we banished the kids upstairs to change into their new valentine's day jammies (thanks Granny!!) and to watch TV in our room until we called them down. Abby had asked when we could go back to her favourite restaurant (Swiss Chalet) because she loves their mini burgers. Pshaw! I can make mini burgers. So while the kids hung out at the top of the stairs asking every 5 minutes when they could come down for their surprise. Mike and I whipped up some mini burgers on our Not George Foreman Grill. Well Mike whipped up the mini burgers. I spent my time blowing up helium balloons and attaching them to the back of the couch.
Why, you ask? Because we were watching UP of course. I thought it was a perfect fit for family fun night on Valentine's Day. It's such a really great love story. The kids and I had seen it before, but Mike hadn't yet. So we picnicked on our mini burgers, oven fries and pink lemonade cupcakes in the living room and had a really great family fun night.
When the movie was over we flipped the Olympics back on. (We've been watching scads of Olympic coverage this weekend.) And let the girls get caught up in the excitement of the mens freestyle moguls and our first ever Gold medal on Canadian soil. Between the girls chanting Go! Canada! Go! and the shots of Frederic Bilodeau cheering on his younger brother Alex from the crowd.... well I was just one weepy Mommy slash very proud Canadian.
And how was your weekend/Valentine's Day/Family Day/Olympic watching?
While the girls slept I cut hearts out of construction paper wrote sappy messages all over them. Then I created a curtain... think beaded curtains from the 70's... and hung them over there doors. It was awesome when Abby woke me up at 3 am to ask me why there were hearts hanging from her "door outline". Damn you 3 am bathroom breaks! I mumbled it was a valentine's gift and she should go back to bed and appreciate it in the morning. The morning found the two of them up bright and early. Mike and I stayed in bed and listened to Abby read, first her messages and then her sisters. Was seriously cute. I'm sorry I didn't get a picture of their doors. I was just too busy enjoying the moment.
Downstairs for breakfast I made pink heart shaped pancakes, which I poured out free-hand. Mike was suitably impressed with my mad pancake skillz. Even if he did skip the pancakes for a more point friendly breakfast of a toasted tomato sandwich.
We did eat our breakfast on the good china and drank our juice out of wine glasses.
Except for Maya, who doesn't eat pancakes. Instead it was fruit loops in a plastic bowl I picked up at Wally for a buck. And her milk in a sippy cup because she fa-reaked when she saw the wine glass at her place. I did catch her later, trying a bite of pancake and she told me she liked them. Of course you never know, with Maya, if that phenomenon will ever occur again.
After an early bath we banished the kids upstairs to change into their new valentine's day jammies (thanks Granny!!) and to watch TV in our room until we called them down. Abby had asked when we could go back to her favourite restaurant (Swiss Chalet) because she loves their mini burgers. Pshaw! I can make mini burgers. So while the kids hung out at the top of the stairs asking every 5 minutes when they could come down for their surprise. Mike and I whipped up some mini burgers on our Not George Foreman Grill. Well Mike whipped up the mini burgers. I spent my time blowing up helium balloons and attaching them to the back of the couch.
Why, you ask? Because we were watching UP of course. I thought it was a perfect fit for family fun night on Valentine's Day. It's such a really great love story. The kids and I had seen it before, but Mike hadn't yet. So we picnicked on our mini burgers, oven fries and pink lemonade cupcakes in the living room and had a really great family fun night.
When the movie was over we flipped the Olympics back on. (We've been watching scads of Olympic coverage this weekend.) And let the girls get caught up in the excitement of the mens freestyle moguls and our first ever Gold medal on Canadian soil. Between the girls chanting Go! Canada! Go! and the shots of Frederic Bilodeau cheering on his younger brother Alex from the crowd.... well I was just one weepy Mommy slash very proud Canadian.
And how was your weekend/Valentine's Day/Family Day/Olympic watching?
Sunday, February 14, 2010
and the winner is......
So Canada just won Gold in the men's freestyle moguls. Abby and Maya were up watching and cheering like crazy for Canada to win. It was looking promising for a little while there that we'd have two Canadian boys up on the podium, but hey we won't complain that we only got one. Unless you live under a rock or you don't watch the Olympics... which I'm sorry I just don't understand at all and I'm not sure we can be friends anymore...... then you know that this is the first Gold won by a Canadian while the Olympics have been played out on Canadian soil. So woo hoo Alex Bilodeau! Good for you. And if you know me at all then you have to know I was all weepy at the shots of his family in the crowd and the story about his desire to have his older brother Frederic, who has cerebal palsy up on the podium with him... well shoot... that just about did me in.
But this post is about bigger and better things... cookies. Yes it's time to announce the winner of the cookies. Want to see what you're playing for....
Look at that deliciously gooey rolo center. Mmmmm. I think I'm going to bake a batch right now. Except that it's 10:45 pm and I already made pink lemonade cupcakes. So, tomorrow maybe.
Congratulations to my long time bloggy bff (and it was all because of a jar of mayo) Merry from Merry & Dewey in Canada!!
Couldn't have happened to a nicer girl! I hope you enjoy them my friend.
Now if you didn't win these cookies, please don't despair. There's a very good likelihood that I'll do this again, next month. And if you can't wait that long... well hop on over to Etsy and order some up. I've got chocolate chip and rolo cookies listed, but watch for more items to be added in the near future.
But this post is about bigger and better things... cookies. Yes it's time to announce the winner of the cookies. Want to see what you're playing for....
Look at that deliciously gooey rolo center. Mmmmm. I think I'm going to bake a batch right now. Except that it's 10:45 pm and I already made pink lemonade cupcakes. So, tomorrow maybe.
Congratulations to my long time bloggy bff (and it was all because of a jar of mayo) Merry from Merry & Dewey in Canada!!
Couldn't have happened to a nicer girl! I hope you enjoy them my friend.
Now if you didn't win these cookies, please don't despair. There's a very good likelihood that I'll do this again, next month. And if you can't wait that long... well hop on over to Etsy and order some up. I've got chocolate chip and rolo cookies listed, but watch for more items to be added in the near future.
Friday, February 12, 2010
I fully admit that I enjoy TV. I do have a lot of "must see" shows, but I balance the guilt I feel about that fact by knitting scarves for a local shelter while I'm watching. Everybody wins that way. Know what else I love? Owning my favourite TV shows on dvd. It's not even so much about the extras, although they are nice and can be a lot of fun to see the behind the scenes stuff. For the record, the Seinfeld discs have the best extras. Future TV shows should be taking a page from that book. No, what I truly love about watching a series on dvd is you get a much better appreciation for a great show when you can watch it all at once, rather than waiting a week at a time. I tend to notice all the little things I missed the first time around, specifically little story threads that can arc over several episodes I tend not to notice.
So for this week's Friday High Five - The shows I most want to own on dvd. These are shows I think will only get better with concentrated viewing.
1. The Office. Sure I have seasons 1 and 2, but they all the way up to season 6 now. Having watched the first two seasons at once I have to say I've found lots I didn't catch the first time around with secondary characters like Creed, Meredith and Toby.
2. Modern Family. Okay so I know this show hasn't even completed it's first season yet, but boy I can't wait for it to be out on dvd. This show is in the same vein as The Office, meaning it's wickedly funny. The family in the show is deliciously dysfunctional, but still they manage to be likeable. I say Cam is my favourite character and then I remember Phil. And Mitch. And Manny, who could be the funniest kid in sitcom history.
3. Sex and the City. I show I like, but have watched only sporadically, so there's lots of episodes I haven't seen. I have the first three seasons, but am waiting until I acquire the rest before diving in. Once I start watching, I want to be able to watch the whole series.
4. Grey's Anantomy. Another show I got in late on. I'd like to go back to the beginning and see how the story got to where it is now. I have season 1 so far.
5. Glee. And yet another show I wish I'd watched from the beginning. I'm not sure why I didn't. I do love a good musical. Can't wait for new episodes to be on.
What are some of your favourite shows?
Oh and don't forget there's still time to enter my cookie giveaway.
So for this week's Friday High Five - The shows I most want to own on dvd. These are shows I think will only get better with concentrated viewing.
1. The Office. Sure I have seasons 1 and 2, but they all the way up to season 6 now. Having watched the first two seasons at once I have to say I've found lots I didn't catch the first time around with secondary characters like Creed, Meredith and Toby.
2. Modern Family. Okay so I know this show hasn't even completed it's first season yet, but boy I can't wait for it to be out on dvd. This show is in the same vein as The Office, meaning it's wickedly funny. The family in the show is deliciously dysfunctional, but still they manage to be likeable. I say Cam is my favourite character and then I remember Phil. And Mitch. And Manny, who could be the funniest kid in sitcom history.
3. Sex and the City. I show I like, but have watched only sporadically, so there's lots of episodes I haven't seen. I have the first three seasons, but am waiting until I acquire the rest before diving in. Once I start watching, I want to be able to watch the whole series.
4. Grey's Anantomy. Another show I got in late on. I'd like to go back to the beginning and see how the story got to where it is now. I have season 1 so far.
5. Glee. And yet another show I wish I'd watched from the beginning. I'm not sure why I didn't. I do love a good musical. Can't wait for new episodes to be on.
What are some of your favourite shows?
Oh and don't forget there's still time to enter my cookie giveaway.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
thursday throwdown - bliss
So The Mommy Project posted a new throwdown for last week - to find your bliss. I can't say I'm surprised at the topic because I know she's well on her way to finding her own bliss. Which is awesome and I am so excited for her even though it does mean she has no time to twitter or blog or facebook.
And what about me? What about my bliss? Well it's funny you should ask. A few weeks ago I had a dream. Let me just pause here and say I realize that nobody ever wants to hear about somebody else's dreams. Such a yawnfest, right? But it's important to the story so I'll try to keep it as brief as possible. In my dream, for some strange reason, my Mom had bought herself an orchard. On the property was a little bakery and she asked me if I would like to run it for her. I was elated. Truly, so excited about the idea and then I woke up. I figured it must be a sign right?
Mike and I talk about opening a diner and it's usually just for jokes, but who knows what the future holds. In the meantime I think I'm going to try dipping my toe into what keeps me up late which, besides blogging, is baking. My plan is to have cookie listings up on my Etsy site by the weekend. And who knows where it might go from there. Grandma Linda and I used to make some incredible chocolate spoons back in the day.
To get the ball rolling on this mad little adventure of mine I'm offering up a little giveaway. Leave me a comment either here or on facebook letting me know what your favourite kind of cookie is and on Sunday I'll draw a winner for 2 dozen Rolo cookies. Ever had a Rolo cookie before? Picture perfectly delicious chocolate cookie dough wrapped around a Rolo, rolled in sugar and then baked. It is chocolate and caramel nirvana.
Good luck!
And what about me? What about my bliss? Well it's funny you should ask. A few weeks ago I had a dream. Let me just pause here and say I realize that nobody ever wants to hear about somebody else's dreams. Such a yawnfest, right? But it's important to the story so I'll try to keep it as brief as possible. In my dream, for some strange reason, my Mom had bought herself an orchard. On the property was a little bakery and she asked me if I would like to run it for her. I was elated. Truly, so excited about the idea and then I woke up. I figured it must be a sign right?
Mike and I talk about opening a diner and it's usually just for jokes, but who knows what the future holds. In the meantime I think I'm going to try dipping my toe into what keeps me up late which, besides blogging, is baking. My plan is to have cookie listings up on my Etsy site by the weekend. And who knows where it might go from there. Grandma Linda and I used to make some incredible chocolate spoons back in the day.
To get the ball rolling on this mad little adventure of mine I'm offering up a little giveaway. Leave me a comment either here or on facebook letting me know what your favourite kind of cookie is and on Sunday I'll draw a winner for 2 dozen Rolo cookies. Ever had a Rolo cookie before? Picture perfectly delicious chocolate cookie dough wrapped around a Rolo, rolled in sugar and then baked. It is chocolate and caramel nirvana.
Good luck!
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Tuesday, February 09, 2010
what's cooking wednesday - garden vegetable soup
So as it turns out you talk a lot about food when you're on Weight Watcher's. Not just food, but how many points it's worth and whether or not you're willing to spend the points on it. My fridge has never been so full of veggies in my life. Why? Well because in most cases they have a zero point value. Zero point food equals awesome when you're on Weight Watchers. And given our love of soup, you have to know I was going to try their zero point version.
Garden Vegetable Soup
2/3 cup sliced carrot
1/2 cup diced onion
2 minced garlic cloves
750 ml fat free broth (beef, chicken or vegetable)
1 1/2 cups diced green cabbage
1/2 cup green beans
1 tbsp tomato paste
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup diced zucchini
Spray a large saucepan with nonstick cooking spray, heat. Saute the carrot, onion and garlic over low heat until softened, about 5 minutes. Add broth, cabbage, beans, tomato paste, basil, oregano, and salt; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer covered, about 15 minutes or until beans are tender. Stir in zucchini and heat for 3 - 4 minutes. Serve hot.
Recipe Notes: I gotta say, I wasn't so sure about this soup when I was making it. I think that comes from the, often wrong, assumption of - "diet" = tasteless. I think Mike and I were both more than surprised that this soup tasted lovely. I used veggie broth, left out the beans, cause I had none and added some fresh cracked black pepper. Oh and I shook in some Italian seasoning instead of the separate basil and oregano because, again, that was what I had. So this was a big hit with Mike and I and he was already requesting another pot, asap. Tonight we had it with pizza queasdillas (low fat mozzarella, turkey pepperoni and some pizza sauce on a high fibre wrap). Yum!!
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
PS - Tune in Thursday for an exciting announcement and a giveaway!!
Garden Vegetable Soup
2/3 cup sliced carrot
1/2 cup diced onion
2 minced garlic cloves
750 ml fat free broth (beef, chicken or vegetable)
1 1/2 cups diced green cabbage
1/2 cup green beans
1 tbsp tomato paste
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup diced zucchini
Spray a large saucepan with nonstick cooking spray, heat. Saute the carrot, onion and garlic over low heat until softened, about 5 minutes. Add broth, cabbage, beans, tomato paste, basil, oregano, and salt; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer covered, about 15 minutes or until beans are tender. Stir in zucchini and heat for 3 - 4 minutes. Serve hot.
Recipe Notes: I gotta say, I wasn't so sure about this soup when I was making it. I think that comes from the, often wrong, assumption of - "diet" = tasteless. I think Mike and I were both more than surprised that this soup tasted lovely. I used veggie broth, left out the beans, cause I had none and added some fresh cracked black pepper. Oh and I shook in some Italian seasoning instead of the separate basil and oregano because, again, that was what I had. So this was a big hit with Mike and I and he was already requesting another pot, asap. Tonight we had it with pizza queasdillas (low fat mozzarella, turkey pepperoni and some pizza sauce on a high fibre wrap). Yum!!
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
PS - Tune in Thursday for an exciting announcement and a giveaway!!
Sunday, February 07, 2010
a funny thing happened watching the super bowl
Remember back in July when I posted that picture of our buddy Jake helping Kevin Costner line up his putt at a celebrity golf tournament? I said at the time it couldn't of happened to a nicer kid who comes from a really great family. His Dad is my online BFF and his Mom is one of my jammie movie night Jersey Girls. And his sister is a kick ass Pictionary player who helped us destroy the guys at games night. Just fantastic people that we are so glad we got to meet, all thanks to ML, who happens to be Jake's Aunt.
So we're at ML and T's tonight, just hanging out. They had the superbowl on, but I wasn't truly watching it. I had brought my knitting with me... I know, I am such a Grandma, but ML asked me to knit her a scarf and I wanted her opinion on the wool I picked out for it. She loved it, by the way. Anyway we're... or they're watching the game and I think Jake's Mom and I were discussing the scarf, or trying to at least, from opposite ends of the room when ML yells out... Hey that's Jake!! I'm serious I just saw Jake!
And she did see him, in the middle of a promo for the Olympics. It was some footage of the crowd in Jake's hometown when the torch went by and there was Jake waving his Canadian flag. Here's a screen shot.
You can watch the entire promo here. Jake pops up at the 1:01 mark. And once again, it couldn't of happened to a nicer kid.
So we're at ML and T's tonight, just hanging out. They had the superbowl on, but I wasn't truly watching it. I had brought my knitting with me... I know, I am such a Grandma, but ML asked me to knit her a scarf and I wanted her opinion on the wool I picked out for it. She loved it, by the way. Anyway we're... or they're watching the game and I think Jake's Mom and I were discussing the scarf, or trying to at least, from opposite ends of the room when ML yells out... Hey that's Jake!! I'm serious I just saw Jake!
And she did see him, in the middle of a promo for the Olympics. It was some footage of the crowd in Jake's hometown when the torch went by and there was Jake waving his Canadian flag. Here's a screen shot.
You can watch the entire promo here. Jake pops up at the 1:01 mark. And once again, it couldn't of happened to a nicer kid.
Saturday, February 06, 2010
knowing me, knowing you - february
I would just like to point out that I am getting this month's Knowing Me, Knowing You post up before I got a gentle reminder tweet from one of my bloggy BFF's the Widney Woman. I'm feeling pretty good about that one.
And now, the questions.....
1. The Olympics are right around the corner, are you planning on watching?
I actually enjoy the Olympics quite a lot. Winter or summer, it doesn't much matter to me. I will definitely be following the coverage.
2. Which is your favourite Olympic Winter sport?
Well the easy answer is figure skating. I used to follow it fairly closely and at one time could tell you who the top rated players were, but that was way back in the days of Nancy Kerrigan. I only ever really watched the pairs, dance and ladies. I never really followed the men. So I'll certainly be checking out the figure skating. And the hockey - c'mon I'm Canadian, I am obligated. I also really like the speed skating, luge and bobsled events. Oh and the ski jumping (I rock at ski jumping on the Wii and I thought about going out for the Olympic team, just based on my Wii top scores). And the snowboarding and downhill and... well heck I'll pretty much watch anything.
3. Okay you're in the candy store, what's the first thing you grab?
Well if they sell chocolate there, kit kat - no question. Heck that's the first thing I pick up when I go to the dollar store. Candy - I'm grabbing coke bottle gummies. Funny, I hate coke with every fibre of my being, but I can eat my weight in coke bottle gummies.
4. What is your favourite John Hughes movie? Not sure what movies he made? Well, first you should be ashamed of yourself and I'm not sure we can be friends anymore. Secondly, click the link and see his impressive list of films, you'll be surprised...... go ahead I'll wait.
This weekend I caught half of a documentary entitled, Don't You Forget About Me. The tagline explains it all - In 1991, filmmaker John Hughes disappeared from Hollywood. In 2008, four filmmakers went to find him. They interviewed a lot of people, from Joe Anybody to the stars of his movies to directors he had influenced. It was a really interesting documentary, I wish I had seen the entire thing. As for my favourite Hughes film.... well it would be easy to say the Breakfast Club, but then that seems like I'm short changing Christmas Vacation or Planes, Trains and Automobiles or Sixteen Candles. And then there's the original Vacation, which came out in '83, but we didn't see it until after my Dad had passed away a few years later and I remember watching it with my Mom and Uncle Dave with tears of laughter rolling down our faces because that moment..... that moment when Chevy Chase completely loses his shit... my Dad would have moments like that. And oh how we laughed because we remembered and it was a little bit like having him there. So Vacation is up there for me. Truthfully though, I have to go with The Breakfast Club. I'm not going to lie to you, I spend a large portion of my life quoting movies and The Breakfast Club is up there with The Hangover, Grease and Tommy Boy for the one I quote from the most. Plus it's just a great movie. And can you believe Mike had never seen it until a handful of years ago? He's a disgrace to his generation.
5. Okay you're going into the witness relocation program and you get to pick your new name, what will it be?
Princess Consuela Banana Hammock (bonus if you know what that's from).
Hmmm, what is with the tough questions I'm dishing out this week? Seriously! Ummm I don't know. Maybe Jenna. Could I pull off Jenna? Or Allie. Hmmm yeah... I think Allie.
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.
And now, the questions.....
1. The Olympics are right around the corner, are you planning on watching?
I actually enjoy the Olympics quite a lot. Winter or summer, it doesn't much matter to me. I will definitely be following the coverage.
2. Which is your favourite Olympic Winter sport?
Well the easy answer is figure skating. I used to follow it fairly closely and at one time could tell you who the top rated players were, but that was way back in the days of Nancy Kerrigan. I only ever really watched the pairs, dance and ladies. I never really followed the men. So I'll certainly be checking out the figure skating. And the hockey - c'mon I'm Canadian, I am obligated. I also really like the speed skating, luge and bobsled events. Oh and the ski jumping (I rock at ski jumping on the Wii and I thought about going out for the Olympic team, just based on my Wii top scores). And the snowboarding and downhill and... well heck I'll pretty much watch anything.
3. Okay you're in the candy store, what's the first thing you grab?
Well if they sell chocolate there, kit kat - no question. Heck that's the first thing I pick up when I go to the dollar store. Candy - I'm grabbing coke bottle gummies. Funny, I hate coke with every fibre of my being, but I can eat my weight in coke bottle gummies.
4. What is your favourite John Hughes movie? Not sure what movies he made? Well, first you should be ashamed of yourself and I'm not sure we can be friends anymore. Secondly, click the link and see his impressive list of films, you'll be surprised...... go ahead I'll wait.
This weekend I caught half of a documentary entitled, Don't You Forget About Me. The tagline explains it all - In 1991, filmmaker John Hughes disappeared from Hollywood. In 2008, four filmmakers went to find him. They interviewed a lot of people, from Joe Anybody to the stars of his movies to directors he had influenced. It was a really interesting documentary, I wish I had seen the entire thing. As for my favourite Hughes film.... well it would be easy to say the Breakfast Club, but then that seems like I'm short changing Christmas Vacation or Planes, Trains and Automobiles or Sixteen Candles. And then there's the original Vacation, which came out in '83, but we didn't see it until after my Dad had passed away a few years later and I remember watching it with my Mom and Uncle Dave with tears of laughter rolling down our faces because that moment..... that moment when Chevy Chase completely loses his shit... my Dad would have moments like that. And oh how we laughed because we remembered and it was a little bit like having him there. So Vacation is up there for me. Truthfully though, I have to go with The Breakfast Club. I'm not going to lie to you, I spend a large portion of my life quoting movies and The Breakfast Club is up there with The Hangover, Grease and Tommy Boy for the one I quote from the most. Plus it's just a great movie. And can you believe Mike had never seen it until a handful of years ago? He's a disgrace to his generation.
5. Okay you're going into the witness relocation program and you get to pick your new name, what will it be?
Princess Consuela Banana Hammock (bonus if you know what that's from).
Hmmm, what is with the tough questions I'm dishing out this week? Seriously! Ummm I don't know. Maybe Jenna. Could I pull off Jenna? Or Allie. Hmmm yeah... I think Allie.
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.
Friday, February 05, 2010
friday high five - me me me
Time for another Friday High Five, but before we get into that can I just stop for a moment and say Yay! for Friday! I was just ready for the weekend this week. I'm not really sure why. It wasn't the worst week I've had, but either way I'm glad it's here.
And since you don't quite know everything yet, I give you five more things you likely didn't know about me.
1. I love love love pickled cauliflower. It's my favourite thing on the pickle tray. Yum!
2. I boil water multiple times a day. We have the ability to boil water in our water cooler and more often than not that's how I make my tea. Yes, I could use the Tassimo, but compared to a package of Tetley the Tassimo tea is pricey, yo. So I hit the button to boil the water and nine times out of ten I forget about it until the water has cooled back down again. Oh and that one time I do get around actually making my tea, well then I forget to drink it before it gets cold.
3. I do not watch the news or read the newspaper. I cannot handle it anymore. There are so many stories out there that just crush my heart. Mike's a news watcher, so he keeps me in the loop.
4. Every night I promise myself I'll go to bed early and it never ever happens. Ever. I wish I was more of a morning person.
5. I can knit and cross stitch and I've even done some sewing back in the day, but for the life of me I cannot figure out crocheting.
What five things do I not know about you?
And since you don't quite know everything yet, I give you five more things you likely didn't know about me.
1. I love love love pickled cauliflower. It's my favourite thing on the pickle tray. Yum!
2. I boil water multiple times a day. We have the ability to boil water in our water cooler and more often than not that's how I make my tea. Yes, I could use the Tassimo, but compared to a package of Tetley the Tassimo tea is pricey, yo. So I hit the button to boil the water and nine times out of ten I forget about it until the water has cooled back down again. Oh and that one time I do get around actually making my tea, well then I forget to drink it before it gets cold.
3. I do not watch the news or read the newspaper. I cannot handle it anymore. There are so many stories out there that just crush my heart. Mike's a news watcher, so he keeps me in the loop.
4. Every night I promise myself I'll go to bed early and it never ever happens. Ever. I wish I was more of a morning person.
5. I can knit and cross stitch and I've even done some sewing back in the day, but for the life of me I cannot figure out crocheting.
What five things do I not know about you?
Thursday, February 04, 2010
reasons i love my husband - #62
So you may have heard that I love my husband, for many reasons and I've kinda been working on a list of them. You can check it out, the link is over there in my sidebar. Anyway if I'm being honest this is more of a what I love about him kind of thing rather that why I love him, but I'm going to allow it anyway. Why? Because it's my blog, so my rules.
So my Michael... he can't stand football. At all. He loves hockey. And he enjoys a good baseball or basketball game. I've seen him watch lacrosse. And I'm sure we'll watch various Olympic events. But he doesn't do football. Even still he loves football movies. True story.
Varsity Blues - when it was on the dish he watched it whenever the opportunity presented itself. Yep that football movie starring Dawson Creek's Dawson. Loved it. I'm still not sure why.
We Are Marshall - He thinks this is an incredible movie. He loved Matthew McConaughey in it and he is not a big Matthew McConaughey fan.
The Blind Side - Mike really wanted to see this so we checked it out last weekend. Loved it! Definitely deserves all the buzz it's getting. You should see it, sooner than later. Trust me.
And there's Friday Night Lights, Waterboy, Remember the Titans, The Longest Yard, and Jerry Maguire (you should note that this is the only movie I actually enjoyed Renee Zellweger in).
Weird, huh?
What's your favourite football movie?
So my Michael... he can't stand football. At all. He loves hockey. And he enjoys a good baseball or basketball game. I've seen him watch lacrosse. And I'm sure we'll watch various Olympic events. But he doesn't do football. Even still he loves football movies. True story.
Varsity Blues - when it was on the dish he watched it whenever the opportunity presented itself. Yep that football movie starring Dawson Creek's Dawson. Loved it. I'm still not sure why.
We Are Marshall - He thinks this is an incredible movie. He loved Matthew McConaughey in it and he is not a big Matthew McConaughey fan.
The Blind Side - Mike really wanted to see this so we checked it out last weekend. Loved it! Definitely deserves all the buzz it's getting. You should see it, sooner than later. Trust me.
And there's Friday Night Lights, Waterboy, Remember the Titans, The Longest Yard, and Jerry Maguire (you should note that this is the only movie I actually enjoyed Renee Zellweger in).
Weird, huh?
What's your favourite football movie?
Wednesday, February 03, 2010
too damn far, that's how far away it is
Tonight Abby and I were laying in my bed when I asked her....
Me: Hey, when you grow up could you just buy the house next door and live next door to me forever.
Abby: No.
Me: Why not? Don't you want to see me everyday?
Abby: Can't Maya live next door?
Me: Well where are you going to live?
Abby: Toronto.
Me: Why Toronto?
Abby: I don't know.
Me: Well Toronto is only an hour away. I guess that's close enough.
Abby: Wait. How far away is Paris?
Me: Hey, when you grow up could you just buy the house next door and live next door to me forever.
Abby: No.
Me: Why not? Don't you want to see me everyday?
Abby: Can't Maya live next door?
Me: Well where are you going to live?
Abby: Toronto.
Me: Why Toronto?
Abby: I don't know.
Me: Well Toronto is only an hour away. I guess that's close enough.
Abby: Wait. How far away is Paris?
Tuesday, February 02, 2010
what's cooking wednesday - whole wheat pizza dough
So with Mike being on Weight Watchers we've been eating a lot of chicken around here. A lot. However much you think it is, it's probably more. It's just an easy got o as we figure out how to make some of our favourite recipes a bit better for us and how many points will he be spending on it once I cook it. Mike has found that his favourite go-to meal is a grilled chicken wrap with lots of veggies and a drizzle of wing sauce for some zing.
His new found love for the grilled wrap hasn't done much to lessen the affection he feels for pizza. I knew that my homemade pizza would be a better choice that ordering in, so last week we made pizza. And then we sat there with the scale and his points calculator and broke down the recipe. We figured 5 points per slice, for a white pizza crust, regular mozzarella, onion, mushroom, tomato and a few slices of pepperoni. I knew we could do better than that. So I went back to the drawing board and got our new and improved pizza down to 3 points per slice. Oh yes I did. This time around I made a whole wheat crust, used low fat mozzarella and ditched the pepperoni, only because Mike forgot to buy some. We are quite fond of the turkey pepperoni, which didn't use the first time around. I imagine it would be fairly reasonable (pointswise) compared to regular pepperoni. Oh and we loaded on the veggies again. I've never been a fan of tomato on pizza until now. Mmmmm.
Okay so I did not get a picture of the pizza, which is crazy because I made it to go with Meatball Family Fun Night. So just close your eyes and imagine a pizza with a whole wheat crust. We good? Good.
13 ounces water (80 degrees F)
2 tbsp vegetable oil
4 cups whole wheat flour
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
2 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
*OR*
2 tsp bread machine yeast
Layer ingredients in your breadmaker according to manufacturers specifications. Typically it's liquids first, float your dry ingredients on top, and make a shallow well in the flour for the yeast. Turn your breadmaker on to the dough setting and you're all set. Top as you see fit and bake at 425 degrees F for 12 - 15 minutes.
Recipe Notes: This turned out very well. Even the kids enjoyed their whole wheat cheese pizza. One thing I did notice is the dough was way stickier than it's white counterpart. I don't usually bother with the cornmeal when I make pizza, but this could have used it. It stuck a bit to both my pizza stone and my regular nonstick pizza pan. I'm not sure if it was an error on my part or just how it is. The only other small complaint was the dough was pretty plain tasting. Not really surprising considering the recipe. There's not much to it. I think next time around I'll throw some garlic in with the dough. What do you think my WCW friends? Would you go with fresh minced garlic or garlic powder in that situation?
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
Recipe
His new found love for the grilled wrap hasn't done much to lessen the affection he feels for pizza. I knew that my homemade pizza would be a better choice that ordering in, so last week we made pizza. And then we sat there with the scale and his points calculator and broke down the recipe. We figured 5 points per slice, for a white pizza crust, regular mozzarella, onion, mushroom, tomato and a few slices of pepperoni. I knew we could do better than that. So I went back to the drawing board and got our new and improved pizza down to 3 points per slice. Oh yes I did. This time around I made a whole wheat crust, used low fat mozzarella and ditched the pepperoni, only because Mike forgot to buy some. We are quite fond of the turkey pepperoni, which didn't use the first time around. I imagine it would be fairly reasonable (pointswise) compared to regular pepperoni. Oh and we loaded on the veggies again. I've never been a fan of tomato on pizza until now. Mmmmm.
Okay so I did not get a picture of the pizza, which is crazy because I made it to go with Meatball Family Fun Night. So just close your eyes and imagine a pizza with a whole wheat crust. We good? Good.
13 ounces water (80 degrees F)
2 tbsp vegetable oil
4 cups whole wheat flour
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
2 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
*OR*
2 tsp bread machine yeast
Layer ingredients in your breadmaker according to manufacturers specifications. Typically it's liquids first, float your dry ingredients on top, and make a shallow well in the flour for the yeast. Turn your breadmaker on to the dough setting and you're all set. Top as you see fit and bake at 425 degrees F for 12 - 15 minutes.
Recipe Notes: This turned out very well. Even the kids enjoyed their whole wheat cheese pizza. One thing I did notice is the dough was way stickier than it's white counterpart. I don't usually bother with the cornmeal when I make pizza, but this could have used it. It stuck a bit to both my pizza stone and my regular nonstick pizza pan. I'm not sure if it was an error on my part or just how it is. The only other small complaint was the dough was pretty plain tasting. Not really surprising considering the recipe. There's not much to it. I think next time around I'll throw some garlic in with the dough. What do you think my WCW friends? Would you go with fresh minced garlic or garlic powder in that situation?
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
Recipe
Monday, February 01, 2010
family fun night - meatballs.
Since we spent most of the weekend in our jammies, letting the girls recover from strep throat. Thank goodness for antibiotics. I thought movie night would be a good idea. And since it had been such a miserable week, I thought I'd better make it something special.
The girls wanted to watch, Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs. My beautiful BFF Robin had gotten it for them for Christmas and Mike and I had yet to watch it. The girls, of course, had watched it eleventy billion times already. The great part was it was exactly the movie I was thinking about when I suggested movie night.
And here's why....
Spaghetti and meatball cupcakes. I realize these are hardly news, but my girls hadn't seen them before, so it was a huge deal for them. Just a little homemade buttercream, a little homemade strawberry jam and some Aero bites. Now that we're a weight watcher's household, I only decorated half a dozenish and froze the rest.
As for the movie, it was super sweet. Abby tried her hardest to keep from telling us what was coming next. I loved Flint, the main character who does in fact make it rain meatballs amongst other things and has some super cool hair. I love that Bill Hader voiced Flint. I love me some Bill Hader. You should too, he's a super funny guy. And really any movie that puts Neil Patrick Harris (love him!), James Caan and Mr. T together has to be amazing, right?
Have you seen Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs?
The girls wanted to watch, Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs. My beautiful BFF Robin had gotten it for them for Christmas and Mike and I had yet to watch it. The girls, of course, had watched it eleventy billion times already. The great part was it was exactly the movie I was thinking about when I suggested movie night.
And here's why....
Spaghetti and meatball cupcakes. I realize these are hardly news, but my girls hadn't seen them before, so it was a huge deal for them. Just a little homemade buttercream, a little homemade strawberry jam and some Aero bites. Now that we're a weight watcher's household, I only decorated half a dozenish and froze the rest.
As for the movie, it was super sweet. Abby tried her hardest to keep from telling us what was coming next. I loved Flint, the main character who does in fact make it rain meatballs amongst other things and has some super cool hair. I love that Bill Hader voiced Flint. I love me some Bill Hader. You should too, he's a super funny guy. And really any movie that puts Neil Patrick Harris (love him!), James Caan and Mr. T together has to be amazing, right?
Have you seen Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs?
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