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Showing posts from 2013

Civic Holiday

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IThe oldest monkey asks "Mommy what is today's holiday all about?"  Hmmm... I'm not really sure.  It's a holiday just for a break."  My less-than-knowledgable answer works for him and we declare it a lazy day! We searched for close-to-home and inexpensive activities, but nothing really struck a chord.  We lazed in our pj's until early afternoon and then headed into town. I absolutely love "downtown" Port Perry.  The shops are quaint, the people are friendly, and it's easy to find Kawartha Dairy!  The kids don't mind walking around as long as our loop finishes at Palmer Park.  They take advantage of the playground, we check out the lake, and when the weather cooperates, they can romp in the splashpad. Today, as we reached our wandering limit, we opted to eat out in celebration of Kev's birthday.  1 vote pizza, 1 vote Thai food, 1 vote Mexican and one indifferent - mom's vote won today because we managed to convince the pizza vo

Farm Fresh Produce: Community Supproted Agriculture

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Last week, I impulsively decided that a CSA Farm Share program was a great idea for our family.  I say "impulsively" because I stumbled upon the concept through one of the local farms while looking up U-pick berry info.  I then posted a question in regards to CSA programs on Facebook, and one of my friends replied that her parent's farm (also local) was just starting up a program.  It's a $400 investment with a weekly full-share - enough veggies for a family of four - over a harvest season of 20 weeks.  At $20/week for fresh colourful veggies and fruit, I thought it would be worth it and just sub for what we need at the local farmer's market and grocery store... and in minutes decided we should give it a go. Thus our jump in feet first adventure in CSA Farm Shares.  We're buying our produce from F&M Farm  in Columbus (N. Oshawa) and Kevin picked up our first "basket" today. Is it not a beautiful bounty of goodness?!?  We've got beets, zucc

Another Side Project

Because I don't have enough to do... I've decided to write a secondary blog.  On books.  Just books.  All things books.  It will probably actually be updated a million times more often than this one. Check it out:   http://novelteasereview.blogspot.ca/p/welcome.html I promise I'll add an update to this blog this week.  Maybe... after we sign the boys up for the summer reading program at the library, after I get 3 orders completed, after I clean the house, after I hit the Peterborough Zoo with my mother-in-law, and after all that regular stuff that fills up a week. P.S.  Anyone here eat beets?  What's the best way to serve them?  Let me know!

Reality

Eavesdropping on my boys this morning... (After another petty argument) Justin:  Well, you're not real! Kaleb:  If I'm not real, then no one would tell Mommy that you fell off the deck.  You'd still be lying there and couldn't get up. You'd just be lying there crying.  No one would know where you are. (It's funny and mean all at the same time...not to mention it happened more than a year ago....boys! )

Orange Almond Strips

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Just a quick post.  Busy weekend ahead! Today started way too early with a kid having nightmares, snowplough lights flashing on the highway, and all the fun electrical sounds related to the power flashing on and off multiple times through the night.  Kevin had fun manually emptying our close-to-overflowing sump hole beneath the stairs - it doesn't work so well when the power goes out and the power tends to go out when it's stormy.  We got hit with a (pretty) ice storm that wasn't nearly as bad as they claimed it would be!  The boys got a snow day (in April?) out of it and among the regular Friday house cleaning blitz and endless laundry, we tackled the dungeon (aka the basement.)   Do you know how annoying it is to do laundry when the power keeps flickering?  We cleaned and tidied and even found a long electric slot car race track thingy - that took waaaay too long to put together - but resulted in lots of giggling.    We ran off to church to set up for a gardening

Winner, winner...

Chicken dinner. When Kevin & I went to Atlantic City for our anniversary a few years ago (hello cheap ocean front time share!), you couldn't walk through any of the hotels, restaurants, or lounges without hearing that cry from the casinos.  I can always hear the dealers' exclamations in my head, their sing-song chant, everytime I think about chicken.  I know it's strange, but that's just a free little peek into the wonder known as my mind as I present yet another recipe related post.   A few weeks ago WalMart had whole chicken 2 packs on sale.  I had no real use for them in my meal plan at the time but the price was right so I tossed them in the freezer. I will often use the crock pot to skow cook boneless, skinless chicken into a fall apart mess of yumminess - just toss it in frozen with some herbs, spices, and water, and have juicy shredded chicken to toss into soups, salads, wraps, and more without any fuss. I am hoping that the process will work similarly w

Avoiding Turkey Deja Vu

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Every holiday seems to be be an excuse to feast.   With the various family celebrations, a bird is likely to turn up at least once... for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter.  So here I would like to set the record straight and state unequivocally... birds get boring, and eating the same meal as leftovers is just uninspired!  Don't get me wrong, I've had some fabulous turkey... my brother-in-law-in-law (sister-in-law's husband) brought one amazing bird to a family celebration last year and it had a delicious pimento gravy.  So good!  I throw turkey into our meal rotation regularly but all-in-all, a big carved turkey can be just kind of blah - but the left-overs, ah, the left-overs - that's where things get fun! Thinking of all the yummy things you can whip up, I'm a little disappointed I didn't raid my mom's fridge before we left last night.   There's the usual but comforting hot turkey sandwich.  We've baked up some tasty turkey enchiladas.  We'

Midnight Ramblings

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I am sitting in a VERY uncomfortable chair bedside in the ER with Justin.  The croup monster struck again... We've been treated and x-rayed and now we're patiently waiting under observation to make sure everything is good.  The doctors have warned it will be a very long night.  These chairs should have more cushion - it's not like anyone using them would want to plant themselves here long term. I've been browsing Pinterest, surfing old bookmarks, and seriously wondering why I left my Kobo at home. (I was lucky to make it out of the house in real clothes.) This fun link (ok probably not fun... but it's late/early and my entertainment threshold is very low....)  anyhow it's about making smart choices with ice caps.  http://www.livestrong.com/article/355579-tim-horton-ice-cap-nutrition-information/ Ice caps?  Healthy?  Probably not... but she breaks it down so you know exactly what you're getting and what it means.  I'm switching to chocolate milk base..

Chicken!

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Chicken is by far the largest percentage of meat we consume.  It doesn't seem to matter how I cook it, it's a meal the boys enjoy.  Happy dinner = happy mom!   Unfortunately, I get bored of chicken when it's the same old, same old. Some days, I'll throw a little bit of broth and some (4) boneless skinless chicken breasts in the crockpot, frozen or thawed, high or low, cook until I think it's done (3-6 hours depending on the other variants.)  I then have precooked meat for other meals. On weekends by the time dinner time rolls around, the last thing I feel like doing is cooking.  So yesterday I did some crockpot breasts - we threw two into a creamy cheesy pasta and tonight I subbed the other two in this BHG Mango Chicken Salad with Coconut Recipe . I used a whole can of coconut milk.  I was missing a mango.  I added a bit of honey to sweeten.  I served it on tortillas (wraps) instead of lettuce.  The sauce was a little runny... ...but overall, it was a tremendous

Snow day

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We're a "north of 7" school.  Snow days when the rest of the board has bus service.  Lazy days of PJs, video games, movies, and an enforced "Go outside!" - just to keep mommy sane.  At the moment, it looks like someone cut open a down pillow and is shaking it overhead.  Huge snowflakes - at least twoonie sized - are falling very, very quickly.  It's peaceful and intriguing.  My camera doesn't capture the beauty. It's days like today that I'm thrilled with our decision to live in the country... at least until I have to try leave the driveway.

Only I...

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Would buy a pair of jeans online, to find they didn't fit, and forget to return them.  (If any of you have ever heard my tale of the lost favourite mitten story, this will not surprise you!) In August, I ordered a cute pair of skinnies from Bootlegger.  On clearance.  With an extra discount. And no shipping. Sweet!   Alas, when they arrived, my thighs and waist did not agree with them.  Sadly, I tucked them in a bag to return in store next time I happened to head to the mall.  At some point I placed the bag in the car... so I wouldn't forget to return the jeans.  But the bag decided to hide out in the passenger seat storage compartment... which apparently, O rarely open. Today, I was running into the grocery store with my mim and asked if she needed bags.  (I keep a couple extra tucked into above-mentioned compartment for the times I forget my stash.)  Well!  Imagine my surprise when I find a bag with the skinnies (that I don't even remember buying!) They've been u

Lucky, Lucky

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This week, I've had some crappy days.  Not over-the-top horrible, nothing life threatening or catastrophic.  Just a run of little things to drive me batty or leave me frustrated.  And even though it's been a productive week because of the amount of work I've accomplished, it's been a non-productive week because I've been setting things aside to finish when I'm not ready to just tear it all apart!  So half-accomplished projects, but many on the go... Earlier in the week, I entered a contest on Facebook.  I have NEVER, EVER won on FB, but figure if I want people to support my small business page, I should do the same.  And in the world of social media, activity is activity is activity, no? Well.... I WON!!!!  Sarita Baby picked me (randomly) as the winner of their Sock Monkey clutch .  Which is absolutely perfect because I have two little monkeys who will think it's adorable (although they're not so little any more!) I don't think I'

Integrity

This verse caught my eye, or perhaps my heart.  It was my verse of the day today from the handy Bible Android app I use (www.YouVersion.com).  (Side note:  my not-so-handy Android Blogger app keeps crashing so I've rewritten this 5 times!) Proverbs 28:6 NKJV Better is the poor who walks in his integrity Than one perverse in his ways, though he be rich. In a society awash in mediocrity, ready to sugar-coat scandal, slingers of spin, where a little white lie doesn't matter unless your caught, in a society devoted to success at any cost, where status is based on wealth and appearance rather than accomplishments or character, this statement kinda makes you go, "Huh..." Some days it's hard to remember that your actions speak louder than words.  Integrity & character go hand-in-hand along with honesty, truthfulness, principles, and being incorruptible (this sounds like a great group of superheroes... can you tell I have boys?) I like the blurb from Wikipedia

Etsy Ecstasy

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I love Etsy.  I could  waste soooo much time just browsing and dreaming and bookmarking.  Never mind the time I could invest in curating treasuries, looking for specific products, or making my own Etsy store.   It's fabulousness at it's best!  You can't imagine the shriek - yes, I shrieked - when Kevin said, "You know they have an Android app for that site you're always on?"  Eeeeek! I know friends, acquaintances, friends of acquaintances, and random strangers I've bumped into at craft fairs who operate as Etsy vendors.  (...aaand when I can find the time to finish the craft-room overhaul, Wisdom & Whimsy will be venturing onto Etsy as well!)  Here is my round-up of ecstatically exciting local favourites - Etsy style - from those friends, and friends of friends, etc.   Sarita Baby .   I was first introduced to Sarita Baby at one of the local consignment shops when Kaleb (or maybe Justin) was first born.  I fell in love with their designer fabr

Brainstorming: Holidays 2013

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The holidays are all wrapped up... and I'm on a mission!  I have to admit I was horrible at sticking to my budget for Christmas 2012... I didn't use lists, I didn't track my receipts, and I'm paying for it (well Kevin is, much to his chagrin) now.   I resolve (yes, that's right - a resolution from one who procrastinates and never, ever keeps a resolution.  Maybe I'm just not so resolute in my resolving as I should be.)  But, yes, I resolve to stick to a plan... think beyond commercial... and stay in a budget for 2013 gift-giving. So where does a girl begin?  I begin with plenty of time!  No last minute hmm-hawing a week before family gatherings.  Thus a brainstorm one night in January. We buy gifts for the nephews and nieces.  On my side of the fam, I like to include a book in every gift because everyone should love books as much as Auntie Lindsey.  Everyone.  Unfortunately, I'm realising as the kid's are getting older, they don't want books - th

Menu Monday: 2013

The craziness of the holidays are over.  Our family vacation is complete.  We've battled the flu (and various other ailments).  Last week my kids even made it through a whole week of school (a miracle, it seems this winter.)  With the craziness of life, we've been reaching for convenience - shopping without a list and thinking what's easy?  Our budget (and mealplan) have gone way off track. Now that things seem to be settling into routine again, I took the time to write a grocery list and plan our meals for the next 10 or so days.  I always feel so much better when I have a full fridge, full cupboard and know we won't be eating pizza!  My latest grocery shop won't get me through completely - I'll have to run out for a top-up at some point - but the bulk of it is done and there is no pesky wondering about "what's for dinner?" Here is our menu (in no particular order) to bring us through until next pay period: Spicy Cashew Chicken  with Cucum