Don't want to forget this!

“I am Me. In all the world, there is no one else exactly like me. Everything that comes out of me is authentically mine, because I alone chose it — I own everything about me: my body, my feelings, my mouth, my voice, all my actions, whether they be to others or myself. I own my fantasies, my dreams, my hopes, my fears. I own my triumphs and successes, all my failures and mistakes.

Because I own all of me, I can become intimately acquainted with me. By so doing, I can love me and be friendly with all my parts. I know there are aspects about myself that puzzle me, and other aspects that I do not know — but as long as I am friendly and loving to myself, I can courageously and hopefully look for solutions to the puzzles and ways to find out more about me.

However I look and sound, whatever I say and do, and whatever I think and feel at a given moment in time is authentically me. If later some parts of how I looked, sounded, thought, and felt turn out to be unfitting, I can discard that which is unfitting, keep the rest, and invent something new for that which I discarded. I can see, hear, feel, think, say, and do. I have the tools to survive, to be close to others, to be productive, and to make sense and order out of the world of people and things outside of me.

I own me, and therefore, I can engineer me. I am me, and I am Okay.”

Virginia Satir (American Psychologist and Educator, 1916-1988)

Camping 2011

CAMPING!!!!!

We are off camping this week!
Just the children and I. Poor hubby has to work.(I think he is relieved actually) We keep it simple. Tent sleeping bag, bathing suit, hat, sarong, ,jeans and a hoodie in case it is cool at night. A campfire for cooking and my camping pots. We will eat amazing because that is what it is about for me - Good food! Most of the prep is done at home and much of it will be reheated. Here is our menu for the week.

Supper
M:Hot dog/s'more night
T:Veg Chili with cornbread and/or nacho chips and cheese,
W:Hamburgers and Poutine, bean salad, colslaw
T:Souvlaki and Tzatziki Sauce. Greek Rice
F:Steak and baked taters, corn on the cob, Cesare salad

Lunch: sandwiches (PB&J, Tuna, deli meat) Left over salads, Veggies and dip, granola

Breakfast: Baked Oatmeal, Yogurt, Muffins, Sugary boxed cereal that we only get when we go camping and fresh Fruit.

treats: Chips, Chocolate bars, ice cream, soda (It is a vacay after-all!)

Thinking 'bout....Me!

Did a little exercise (the results I will post below) where you take a minute or two and just write single words to describe who you are. It was rather uplifting and cause me to do some soul searching this week. I have been in a "State" lately due to some things that happen recently. I dare say I was depressed. I think I needed to be. I think my mind was telling me that this soul searching has been a long time coming and that I was going to to it know because I had time. I wallowed in it, explored it exposed, it dealt with it ...for now, owned it. am OK with it- fantastic with it!
So, who am I in single words:

mother
wife
sister
lover
friend
daughter
survivor
strong
smart
kind
resourceful
skilled
friendly
stubborn
tenacious
powerful
intuitive
messy
earthy
curious
artistic
sensitive
creative
determined
able
honest
Feminist
feminine
appreciative
empathetic
faithful
fun
natural
beautiful
playful
dynamic
spiritual
complicated
lovely
<3

Kid Free During the Day

The boys have gone on holiday with their grandparents and the girl is enrolled in sports camp for the week, so I am free to do what I want during the day. Today I just chilled; played online, took a nap and read some of my new book. Now I am bored! lol I plan to use the next few days to get some decluttering done so that likely wont be the case for the rest of the week. I must say though, it was interesting to be bored. I did cook a turkey today- a 10 pounder. We will have roast turkey with veggies tonight for dinner and then I will slice up the rest of the meat for quick easy meals. We had a wicked storm here last night and that cooled things off a bit which made it possible to do this. It's supposed to heat up again for the rest of the week so I will be glad to have "easy fixin's" for the rest of the week. I think I will go work on the water bottle cover I am crocheting before I go get the girl. If I finish it tonight I will post a picture :)

Stay Cool!

Today I am supposed to do something nice for me.

So today I will polish up my feet! Gonna soak in a foot bath and read the first chapter of my latest book Game of Thrones: A Song of Ice and Fire :Book One. Then gently scrub them with a pumice stone and lather them with peppermint foot lotion then spruce up the polish. I think I shall also make sure I have a tall glass of lemonade to sip too!


Seize the day and enjoy!!!

not posting about the proceedure today

because it went terrible and I don't need the reminder.

Stuck in the house!

so I am getting some things done that otherwise would be neglected. Things like the pile of bedding that is too warm for the next few months I washed weeks ago when we did the change over but it has remained on the folding table not touched since. So time to take care of that today.

I Have Joined Yet Another Commitee!

But I am only a Member At Large. I joined this committee to get information. It is my community's association. I don't need to take a positions and I can volunteer to help with the odd event. I won't get too involved I will limit my activity. This will be good practise for me to not over extend myself....Right?

Seven Things!

1. It has been a lazy Sunday so far.


2. We are going to go to the pool this afternoon.


3. I am drinking White Tea with lemon-balm and lemon grass this morning


4. I have a ton of laundry to do.


5. Thinking hamburgers for dinner


6. Kids want to watch Rango tonight


7. Hubby is making lunch!

Summer Time!!!!

To my fellow Canucks! Hope you are having a fantastic Canada Day Weekend!

We are getting ready for some summer fun around here! I am so looking forward to that! First thing on the agenda is a house purge. I will start at the top of the house and work my way down. New summer time routines will be implemented. and the focus will be how to pack as much summer fun into the precious 8 weeks we have!
On the agenda for week one:

• Swimming at the pool
  
• Picnic with friends
  
• Trip to the movies

These will be the first three items checked off the bucket list for summer. Also on the bucket list:

• Art Gallery
  
• IMAX
  
• Museum of Nature
  
• Museum of civilization
  
• Canada's Wonderland
  
• Mini Putting
  
• Laser tag
  
• bowling
  
• movie
  
• crafts
  
• picnics
  
• paddle boating at Dow's Lake
  
• swimming (Local pool, wading pool, wave pool)
  
• Camping
  
• Golf
  
• Lunch with Daddy

It seems so fitting that I reboot my blog (yet again) on the new moon.

Muffin Monday : Basic Banana

had to use up some bananas so I made a basic banana recipe using flour that I bought on recent trip to Watson's Mill

Banana Muffins

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 large bananas, mashed
3/4 cup white sugar (other sugars will work too)
1 egg
1/3 cup butter, melted


Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Coat muffin pans with non-stick spray, or use paper liners. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

2. Combine bananas, sugar, egg, and melted butter in a large bowl. Fold in flour mixture, and mix until smooth. Scoop into muffin pans.

3. Bake in preheated oven. Bake mini muffins for 10 to 15 minutes, and large muffins for 25 to 30 minutes. Muffins will spring back when lightly tapped.

Music to Clean by!

Nothing like scrubbing to the oldies! It actually makes the task seem ...fun. No, really! It is no secrete that I hate housework. I mean I love cooking and mending and crafting and decorating and menu planning and hosting dinner parties - that stuff brings me joy. But scrubbing toilets? ICK! but it has to be done. I like to put on some energetic music to get it through it. Today it is Abba, The Bee Gees and Elton John and just to add some modern, some Scissor Sisters.

Muffin Monday: Sweet treats - Buttermilk Cinnamon

Ingredients:

1/2 c. unsalted butter, at room temperature

2/3 c. sugar
1 egg

1 1/2 c. WW all-purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. ground clove

1/2 c. buttermilk

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

toping: Cinnamon sugar made from 1 Tbs cinnamon and 8 Tbs sugar and melted butter to brush muffins


350°F. Oven prepare muffin pan (I make 12 mini muffins with this recipe)

combine the butter and sugar and beat on medium speed until light and fluffy.

Add the egg and beat well

In another bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cloves.

Add wet to dry and stir until moistened batter will be lumpy

Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups, filling each 3/4. Bake until golden and a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean,15 to 20 minutes.

Muffin Monday : Savoury Breakfast- Sausage and Cheddar

Sausage and Cheddar

Ingredients

2 cups WW all-purpose flour
2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
4 sausage links, cooked and cubed
1 small red pepper diced
2 tablespoons sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon cayenne Powder (optional)
1 egg
1 cup milk
1/4 cup coconut oil

In a large bowl, combine the first eight ingredients. In a another bowl, beat the egg, milk and oil. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fill greased muffin cups two-thirds full. Bake at 400 degrees F for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack. Serve warm. Refrigerate leftovers.

Granola

Ingredients
(This recipe can easily be halved for smaller batches)

6 cups of old fashioned rolled oats

1/4 cup whey

3/4 cup honey

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon sea salt

2 cups of "additions such as coconut, raisins, cranberries, banana chips, dried pineapple, any dried fruit really, nuts, seeds...use you imagination!

Directions

1. Mix together all of the above ingredients - except for the additions.

2. Cover the bowl of the sticky mixture, and let it sit out on your counter overnight. (Let it sit for 7 to 30 hours.)

3. Mix the oat mixture, and spread it out on a large baking pan.

4. Bake at 300 degrees for 15 minutes, then stir the mixture, then bake it for another 15 minutes.

5. If the mixture has turned light brown or golden, then it's done. If not, then mix it and put it back into the over for 15 more minutes.

6. Pour the mixture into a bowl, and mix in the additions. Let it cool.

This is so good and good for you! I like to make yogurt parfaits by layering yogurt, granola, and fruit. It is also good eaten like boxed cereal

Sanity Sunday!

Sunday is Preparation Day around here! I often joke that I would love a Sunday for every day of the week but Alas! I have to make due with the one that I have.

During the school year I have noticed that a routine has evolved while I was unaware. It happened out of necessity. There are a few things I need to take care of on Sundays or I am guaranteed a stressful week. In order to avoid this, I need to make sure I have:

• A week's worth of outfits for everyone


• Healthy School snacks for the week (often requires baking something)


• A menu plan for the week including breakfast, lunch after-school snacks and dinners


• Healthy School snacks for the weeks

Having these things in place maintains the harmony of the house. This week I am making an Apple Spice Cookies (see recipe below) and cutting up veggie sticks for school snacks. For after school I have cheese and crackers, bagels and yogurt cheese, fresh fruit slices and yogurt dip for the children to choose from.

My Menu plan for the week is:

• Roast Pork with rutabagas, sweet potatoes, green beans and coleslaw


• Pork Fried Rice


• Sweet and sour Chicken Thighs with buttery egg noodles and spinach salad


• Potato Leek Soup and multi-grain buns


• spaghetti with marinara sauce

Of course during the course of this day we also plan some good quality family fun! On this day we plan to go for a toboggan on the hill in our neighbourhood. On that note I better get to it! I have a busy day!

Happy Sanity Sunday everyone!

Apple Spice Cookies

Ingredients:

1/2 cup coconut oil
3/4 cup honey
2 eggs
2 cups flour (can be spelt, or whole wheat)
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cloves and nutmeg
2/3 cup apple juice
1 cup chopped walnuts (I will omit these for use as school snacks)
1 cup shredded apple
1 cup raisins (soaked for 20 minutes in water to soften, drain well)

Method:

Preheat your oven to 375F. Grease Cookie sheet or line with parchment paper. Smooth the coconut oil and sugar. Add the eggs and combine fully. Slowly add the flour, baking soda and spices, combine until smooth. Add apple juice and stir again. Stir in nuts, apples and raisins until well combined. Drop cookies onto sheet with a big spoon.
Bake for 12 minutes.