Trippy

So this past weekend, you'll recall that we went up to Quebec City with Erin K. and Co. We had an amazing weekend! It rained on Saturday and Sunday and was pretty cold, but we stayed warm and relatively dry and all was well. Our kids got along just swimmingly - they slept well, played well, ate well....as did we, the adults. We enjoyed trying on hats, visiting some crazy medieval shops, riding the funicular (okay, I enjoyed this slightly less than everybody else, darn leeriness of heights!), exploring a museum, and cramming as much tasty food down our gullets as is possible in four days. Oh boy! So many choices of places to eat and we didn't choose badly even once! Tasty Moroccan food on Friday night, a ridiculously good burger and microbrew on Saturday, a chocolate museum and store on Sunday and some delightful crepes on Monday. In the quest to fill the afternoon pain au chocolate (chocolate wrapped in pastry, basically) fix on Sunday, we stumbled across this bakery which we almost left because we didn't see any of the pastries in the case....well then we spotted then and ate THE BEST chocolate/almond pastry Erin and I have ever tasted in our collective existences! Oh my goodness! That served (quite nicely) as my birthday cake. Oh yes! And they all sung Happy Birthday to me en Francais!

All the while, Erin and I discussed our dream of opening a bakery together - not so much bread (although I did just pull some out of the oven...mmm....), just fancy, tasty pastries and desserts. Wouldn't that be amazing? We just have to work out how to move back to Canada and find a job for Mr. J. and then we can get started! Hopefully this dream will not fall as quickly to the wayside as our last goal which Erin plans to blog about someday. (Ahem...)

It was also nice to be able to explore a city with friends who are working with the same challenge we are - namely, trying to get in and around with a stroller and an occasionally fidgety youngun in tow. Public bathrooms with changing tables are surprisingly few and far between in QC. Without further adieu, here's our weekend in pictures - Part One - because, my goodness Mr. J. took a lot of pictures!

We stopped for a picnic on the way.

Crossing the bridge into Quebec City.

Exploring on Friday night.

The Funicular.

We were just in time to see the Bride & Groom walk out of this church
(the name of which escapes me just now). Aren't they adorable?

Quebec City, home of the largest woodpecker we've ever seen....

...and the scariest Hen in a Kettle we've ever seen.

Random building.

The Little Goat getting ready to go out.

Our kidlets, fast asleep in their almost-matching strollers.

Statue outside the Chateau Frontenac.
I think she's proclaiming to the world how much she loves breast-feeding. har!

Strange French wantons are available for purchase here.

We're Outta Here!

Well, it's Friday and Mr. J. has today and Monday off and we're on our way to meet Erin K. and her Music Man and Monkey in Quebec City for the weekend! We haven't seen them since Christmas and we are SO EXCITED! Hopefully I'll have lots of pictures to post when we get back.

Oh boy! And guess what else is happening this weekend! Nope, we're not investing in a yacht (no flooding right in our town, thank God!) and nope, we're not getting camels. Sunday is my birthday! I know, I know, things end up heavily in my favour for three weeks starting in April: an anniversary on the 27th, my birthday a week later and Mother's Day the week after that. Har! Someday when we're rich, maybe we'll just take a whole month off and go somewhere. But for now: Happy Birthday to me! AND to Brenda, my cyberttwin over at The Ones with the Baby. Make sure you head over there on Sunday and wish her a Happy Birthday. We're about to embark on our last year of Twentysomethingness. Ack!

And on the birthday note, here's a picture of the annivesary cake I made and a cupcake in the same style. I'm not entirely happy with the pictures because they're blurry, but you can get the general idea. The cake was plain white with a touch of rum and fresh strawberries, lime curd filling and lime-infused icing. Go ahead, drool, it was FABULOUS and yes, it looks like a hat!

Have a great weekend!

Yummy cake.

Best cupcake EVER!

Obviously, Mr. Rogers Rocks.

Good grief! 175 entries! Imagine that! Have you people nothing better to do with your time than enter contests? Kidding, kidding...it was a busy Bloggy Giveaway week last week and the moment you've all been waiting for is here: EG from Stuff Growing is the winner! Go check out her blog; in addition to claiming she never wins anything, she's got some very cute pictures of her very own little Lands' End model posted.

Just in case you're wondering, and I know you are, Mr. J. helped me tally the results of the contest question. The question asked who you would rather serve your star cupcakes to and the choices were the Pope, Mr. Rogers, or Queen Elizabeth II. Give or take a couple people who didn't answer the question properly (ahem....), this is how the 'poll' breaks down:

The Pope: 13 votes
The Queen: 37 votes
Mr. Rogers: 115 votes

I have to say, my personal choice would've been the Queen. Hands down. It would possibly mean a trip to England, and of course a new dress. Plus, I'd actually have an excuse to buy a fancy hat. I don't know how it happened, but I look good in hats. When do I ever have a reason to wear a hat though, much less buy one? In addition, if I met the Queen and she saw how cute the Little Goat is, maybe we could broker some sort of arranged-marriage deal between the LG and a future royal grandchild thus ensuring our wealth for generations to come. Or not.

The Pope? Well, I'm not Catholic either and while it would be interesting to meet him (he would be Mr. J.'s first choice) I don't think I'd have a clue what to say to him and even though he speaks English, I have a hard time understanding him.

Lastly, but not leastly, there's Mr. Rogers. I don't know....I grew up in Canada and I don't remember seeing him on TV that much. Mr. Dressup sure, but not Mr. Rogers, and I like cardigans and trolleys and all, but I don't fancy having to bring along snazzy indoor shoes.

ON THE OTHER HAND, if the cupcake serving meant having to host one of those people in my one home.....my choice just might be Mr. Rogers after all. He might even pet our fat furry cats!

Anyway, thanks to everyone that entered my first Bloggy Giveaway. I had fun and I've got some ideas to improve things next time (July). If you're a new, post-giveaway reader, welcome here! It's always fun getting to know new friends in Bloggityville. I'm looking forward to spending some time over the next month visiting all the blogs of those who entered the giveaway.

In other news, this past weekend the lovely and handsome Mr. J. and I celebrated our sixth anniversary. We dropped the LG off to spend the afternoon with friends and we checked out a new restaurant in town where I enjoyed THE BEST grilled ham and cheese (with red onions and mango chutney) panini I've ever eaten (ever!), mixed greens with vinaigrette, cranberries and gorgonzola, and some tasty chickpea salad. Then we wandered around downtown and checked out a few shops we've been wanting to visit for a while. Then we went to the local dairy bar that just opened for the season and enjoyed - what else - lemonade! I had a hankering for lemonade and had already made a fancy anniversary cake so no ice cream for us. It wasn't an elaborate celebration but it was sweet and nice and we enjoyed being 'childless' for an afternoon (although we felt slightly naked).

We picked the Little Goat up three hours later - she hardly seemed to miss us - harumph! She had gone for a walk, had a trip to Walmart and a few other stores, AND got a new toy so she was doing just fine.

Oh, I took a couple pictures of the cake but haven't got them uploaded yet but as soon as I do I'll post them. I better skeedaddle though...it's naptime!

Look, Mom! I Did It!

My Mom makes THE BEST strawberry jam ON EARTH. (And don't anybody dispute my cause we may just have to meet Out Back if you know what I mean.) Every time we visit my parents, at the top of my To-Do List is: "Raid Shelves for Fresh S-berry Jam." (My brother, he asks for perogies...I ask for strawberry jam...um...among other things.) Similarly, when my parents come here to visit, Mom always brings along several jars of tasty tasty jam.

Alas, about three weeks ago, we ran out. The last jar in our stash finally ran dry. No more jam. I thought I could hang on until the next time we saw each other but when it actually sunk in that that wouldn't be until sometime this fall, Mr. J. and I swallowed our pride and *gasp* bought strawberry jam. Of course, since we're doing this (retarded) refined sugar fast for April (which ends tomorrow - THANK. GOODNESS.), we thought we should be 'good' and buy the 1/3 less sugar jam.

What were we thinking?! Ugh. It reminds me of jello with fruit in it and neither of us like jello with fruit in it.

Then it finally occurred to both of us that hey, we keep buying all these strawberries to eat fresh, why not try making our own jam? Duh. So, Mom, I did it. I made strawberry jam. And true to the culinary genes I've inherited, my jam is, I think, nearly perfect. Look!

Now, Mom, don't go getting any ideas. This doesn't mean that you can stop bringing me jam. It was probably just beginners luck or a fluke or something. Really. And yes, I will save you a jar. Hopefully. You better get here quick!

I also made some lime curd (hooray for long naps!) using a lemon curd recipe from Martha Stewart. I added a couple drops of green food colouring to make it look a little more limey and it is FANTASTIC. I could sit and eat it by the spoonful, but I'm saving it to use as the filling for our anniversary cake which I will create tonight and tomorrow for our 6th anniversary on Sunday.

Oh, and for good measure, I'm throwing in a picture of the Little Goat (because goodness knows it's probably been, like, two whole posts since you saw her last) who is now a pro at eating Cheerios on her own. Indeed, she is perfect and cute and Cheerios might just be her new favourite food. She's also waking up. See you all later!(Ignore the Home Clothes - we don't actually take her out looking quite so mismatched.)

There's a First Time for Everything

Contest is now closed.

Thanks for stopping by!

Okay, well last time I spent altogether too much time entering giveaways and not hosting one of my own so this time, I'm in.

I'll post a picture tomorrow of The Prize but I will tell you now that it is a Wilton silicone 6-star pan. Which basically (oh why am I too lazy to get a picture up tonight?) means it's a pan that has six star-shaped receptacles for cake batter. Also, I'm throwing in a couple of decorating items as you will see in said forthcoming picture. Edit: The end of laziness! Here are the pictures! (Sorry the second one is blurry...I'm sure you get the idea.)



But wait! You know I have to make you work for it so in your comment (only one per person, please), tell me who you'd rather serve your star cupcakes to and why. Would it be:
a) The Pope?
b) Mr. Rogers?
or
c) Queen Elizabeth II?*

Contest will be closing at midnight (EST) on...let's see....Saturday. The winner will be chosen at random by our 10 month-old Little Goat and hopefully we will see who the winner is before she eats the paper with the name written on it. Good luck and thanks for stopping by!

Oh, and if you have say....three or four hours to kill entering giveaways/contests, click here for The List.

The Fine Print: This contest is open to anybody in Canada or the US. If you aren't a blogger, please leave a way to contact you if you're the winner. Oh, and if you don't answer the question, no entry for you - sorry!


*And yes, I know that Mr. Rogers isn't alive anymore...this is hypothetical, my friends....

Go Buy This Book, Okay?

Okay, I don't push too many 'products' (okay, none that I can recall) on this blog, but a friend of mine from college just published her first children's book and you all should head out and buy it. Particularly those of you of the Canadian persuasion....because her book takes place in the most important Province in the universe!! (Sorry, Beck...but if you're as far north as I think you are, you can loop yourself in with us. :) )

Check out her book blog here: Mary's Atlas by Gwen Smid

1-0

So today marks the Little Goat's 10-month birthday. "And how are you celebrating?" you might ask.

Well, the LG is sleeping the sleep of the medicated, she being in the process of cutting her other top middle tooth over these last few days. Mr. J. and I are exhausted having been fully immersed in the process (hellish chore?) of moving a friend of ours. Don't get me wrong, she's a sweet girl, it's just...well...it's kind of how I imagine it might be if we were moving an 80-year-old woman who had lived in the same house for 60 years and never thrown ANYTHING away.

I'm not so sure you'd call any of that celebrating...but we're too tired and in pain anyway.

Oh! Oh! I am almost ecstatic to report that our driveway is 95% snow-free! Our lawn? Not so much...but it has been above zero (Celsius, people, Celsius) and sunny for four days in a row now and we are LOVING IT. I've even been outside without a jacket on TWICE in the last couple days. To add to my amazement, on Saturday morning I woke up to that sweet sweet sound of Spring. Yes, mine eyes hath seen, mine ears hath heard...

ROBINS!!

Hooray!

Week Two

Well, the Little Goat had her first misadventure yesterday. I was in the kitchen making biscuits and she was sitting on the couch with Mr. J. Well I guess she got a little excited about her fake credit card she was playing with and started rocking back and forth with a little too much vigour and "flew off" the couch into the coffee table. Argh. There's just a mark on her forehead now - no bruise and no big bump. Phew!

I contemplated staying home from my La Leche League meeting, or at least leaving the LG at home because I felt like such a bad parent, but guess what? There were four kids there including the LG. Johnny, the youngest isn't sitting on his own yet. That leaves the other two girls, BOTH of whom made significant contact with...THE COFFEE TABLE! Hah! I mean, okay, it wasn't funny really at the time, but it was a little coincidental, don't you think? At least I felt better.

Anyway, it's been just over a week since I last posted and in that post I told you about our plans for a refined-sugar 'fast' for the month of April. Okay, not all of April, just until the 27th (I'm not giving up sugar on our Anniversary thank you very much.)

Things have been going okay so far. I thought I would take a minute to clarify what's still on the menu versus what's been taken off. I already mentioned pretty much what's been taken off: cookies, pies, cakes - desserts in general; pop (which we don't drink much of anyway), and candy. Still on the list: certain cereals that aren't blatantly full of sugar like say, Fruit Loops, muffins (the recipe I usually make has about 1/3 cup of sugar in the whole batch), and a reasonable amount of sweetener in coffee or tea. Honey, in small quantities, is also allowed since it's unrefined. Mr. J. is also allowing himself the occasional graham cracker.

As with any adjustment in eating, one must take the good with the bad. As in, my cravings for sweets are BAD, but overall (the GOOD), I'm feeling a lot...healthier already. NoMo asked in the comments if I could document my weightloss, but we very intentionally, do not own a scale. Wait. No, we do, but it can only weigh up to one pound and it's the scale Mr. J. uses to weigh out coffee beans before roasting. (Yes, he roasts his own coffee, my Renaissance Man.) I can tell you though, that last time we did this, the results must have been noticeable because after just one month, people started to comment. And of course, I'll let you know if my jeans feel any looser. (I also found out at my doctors appointment last week that I've lost five pounds since I was there last. I kept asking if it was a mistake and finally stopped when the nurse looked like she might slap me if I asked again. That in itself is a little bittersweet - could I have lost more if I'd actually been trying?)

Jenn asked what I find hardest to stay away from. There's not one specific food item that I find hard to stay away from....we do still have candy in the house, but as mentioned in the last post, it's 'hidden' away in the back of the freezer. Generally for me, if it's out of sight, it's out of mind. And if I know I can't have it and other people are going to be checking on me, I find it pretty easy to avoid. It becomes almost like a game. I am definitely most tempted in the afternoon though. I hate not having something sweet to finish off my lunch so when I made muffins the other day, I made some mini ones that are about two-bites-big so it's just enough sweet to make me feel satisfied.

So far, my most exciting accomplishment on this fast is an apple tart I made last week with apples, walnuts and honey...and it was wonderful!

It is now nearly naptime. The LG and I are off to visit Mr. J. at work today. He, or a 'volunteer' from his department is going to watch the LG while I go and get bloodwork done, have some x-rays and an ultrasound (which is not in ANY WAY PREGNANCY-RELATED). Yippee!! See you later!

P.S. How's everybody's Spring coming along? It has been sunny here for three days in a row and *GASP* the snow has begun to melt!

Goal(s)!

Well it's April 1st, April Fool's Day....the most useless non-holiday on the calendar. Probably I only feel that way because I can't stand having practical jokes played on me. Playing them on somebody else? Maybe. But on me? Grrr....So you will have no April Fools prank from me. Har.

In the spirit of it being a new month though, Mr. J.* and I have decided to go on a refined-sugar fast until the end of the month. Or more accurately, until the 27th, whereon we will celebrate six years of mostly wedded bliss with a grand cake of my own invention (details to come). So this means no sweet treats of any kind. Now before you write us off as crazy, we have done this before. For a month in 2006 and I must say, we felt really good by the end of the month. It was, well, not quite amazing, but close.

This comes on the heals of my March goal which was to get some form of cardiovascular exercise on every weekday, which is snow small feat when one is living on the frozen tundra. Thankfully, if one can be truly thankful for such things as SNOW, I was able to get in a few days of shoveling as part of that exercise.

My Mom is joining us on this venture (She's been on a health kick as of late, going to the gym and everything. I'm proud of you, Mom!), which made me think that I should blog about this goal because if I do then a) I have something to blog about and b) I have all of YOU to help keep me accountable. Not that Mr. J and my Mom can't help with that, but Mom is a few thousand miles away and Mr. J. and I together can come up with all kinds of justifications. Hm. Perhaps some of you would like to join in our little sugar fast? Let me know in the comments and I'll make it a point to come and harass you regularly.

We're actually kind of excited about this fast. After the glut of Christmas, Valentine's and most recently, Easter candy, we are getting almost - dare I say - sick of chocolate and candy. A sign that we are almost sick of the candy is that last night - our last night of sugary freedom - we hardly ate any. The only candy I ate yesterday was a caramel Cadbury egg, which, granted, is gargantuan, but oh so tasty. Mr. J. and I have decided that the Cadbury caramel egg contains the best mass-produced (so this excludes some of the really good creamy caramels you find in fancy chocolate shops, or shoppes if you prefer) caramel available; the perfect mix of sweet and salty. Then, right before bed, it was a mad rush to stow the candy (in a zippy bag...in the bottom of the freezer....in the back......be right back.........just kidding) and have one last swig of Sprite before dumping the rest down the sink.

Okay, so....farewell my sweet sugary friends. Farewell cookies and chocolate eggs and brownies and cinnamon buns. Farewell homemade puddings and anything resembling cake. I'll see you in 27 days. Well, 26 after today.

**********************************************

And can I just throw in how annoyed I am with telemarketers?!?!? We added our phone number to the National Do-Not-Call Registry. So you would think that we do not get called, right? Wrong. In actual fact, just yesterday, we got a call at 9:35 PM. Yes, at NIGHT.

Me: Hello? *pause* Helllllloooo?

Evil Telemarketer: Can I speak with Mrs. J. please?

Me: This is Mrs. J.

ET: Oh hello, Mrs. J. canItalktoyouforafewminutesandhowareyoutoday?

Me: Not that great actually; it's 9:35 pm here and it's a little late to be calling.

ET: (In the snottiest tone you can manage, please) So can I talk to you or not?

Me: No! You MAY not!

And then she hung up on me. Harumph! So rude!

Well it turns out the Little Goat is now awake and I haven't even showered yet and I have an appointment at 4 so....see ya!

*Yes, after more than a year of blogging and almost six years of marriage, the best I can come up with is "Mr. J." But I can't think of any clever nickname that doesn't automatically give away EXACTLY what his profession is blah blah blah.

Perfectly Blue

For Wordless Wednesday:

Easter on the Frozen Tundra

Good Friday was indeed somber as it is meant to be. Saturday was a sick day at our house but Sunday dawned bright, clear, and blindingly sunny (thank you, Snow) - just as it should be...although I highly doubt there was eight feet of snow on the ground the morning Jesus rose from and exited His tomb. (And not that He would've needed the help, but I can just picture those two angels guarding the tomb holding shovels! Hah!)

Anyway, Sunday we celebrated. It started with this:

Easter bag with an Easter ball!

The One Thing The Husband really wanted in his Easter basket.

Ready for church.

On the way to Holly and Chris's after church, we came upon Holly's car which was stuck on the side of the road after the plow went by and in an effort to avoid it, Holly hit a patch of black ice and slid into the 15-foot-high (that is not an exaggeration) snowbank. It took several shovelers digging and finally their landlord's plow truck with chain and hook to pull them out. I would've documented that particular scene with pictures, but since a mighty wind was blowing and it was C.O.L.D. outside, I mostly stayed in the car.

We finally got there, nearly ruined our dinner eating tasty assortments of jelly beans, decorated a bunny cake as is traditional in Holly's family, baked a ham and some scalloped potatoes, wolfed down some delicious deviled eggs and some salad and that was lunch. We had cake and tea for dessert and created dyed-egg masterpieces. Then off to the living room for a rousing session of Rock Band - Chris on guitar, Luke on bass, me on drums, and Holly on riff-raff (read: Baby) management. We finally left at 8 when it was becoming overly apparent that proper crowd control was no longer possible. So overall, even though we were miles and miles from our nearest family, we had a wonderful Easter celebration with our 'adopted' family out here in the frozen tundra.

We're here now, get this off me!

Bunny cake!

Easter eggs - dyed.

Getting up to Holly & Chris's - this path is way steeper than it looks!

So what did YOU do to celebrate Easter?

Oh Spring, We Welcome Thee...

...on this thy Thoughtless Thursday!

We all knew this was the inevitable but maybe we were secretly hoping, deep down inside, that today of all days we might see a reprieve from the attack of the Hopeless White Fluff. I'm getting this feeling that whomever penned the song "Let it Snow" was some wiseacre living in Florida during a freak snowfall. On the plus side, this relentless weather makes us all the more joyful about the prospect of moving later this year. Yippee!

Presenting: "Pictures I Took Five Minutes Ago Before it Started to Snow Twice as Heavily" OR "Ode to Spring" or "Behold! The Fury of Old Man (are we sure it's Old MAN Winter??) Winter!"

What's that? What do you mean you can't see our neighbour's truck!?
It's right there! Behind that tree! That pointy mound of snow! It's a TRUCK!

Happy Spring, Everybody!

Feed Your Inner Leprechaun

Well Happy Saint Patrick's Day to you! I was going to say something more like "Happy St. Paddy's Day to ye" but thought to even attempt an Irish lilt in writing might garner the disdain of some Irish folk and this is supposed to be a day of celebration and drunkenness and who wants to fight a drunken Irishman (or woman)?

Instead, I propose a toast, in a way, a celebration of all that is good in the culinary world. Really, I can't remember if I've posted this recipe before. If I have, bear with me...or make it again.

Drunken Irish Brownies (or "Guinness at its Finest") Oh, be ye warned: this recipe should only be attempted if you a) really like dark chocolate (and you should because it's good) and b) really like Guinness or stouty beer (and you should because it's good). Your children will probably NOT like these brownies, but you can always bring the leftovers to work tomorrow and make everybody jealous that they weren't part of the festivities at your house tonight! Har!

Ingredients:
4 eggs
¾ cup sugar
1-12 ounce package of dark chocolate chips*
6 Tablespoons butter
¾ cup flour
¾ cup cocoa
1 ¼ cups Guinness Extra Stout or whatever is the closest equivalent you can find (take one moderate swig of the beer; the rest of the bottle should be exactly the right amount - you should ENJOY making the brownies, should you not?)
2 Tablespoons icing (powdered) sugar (for sprinkling on top in case they really are just too darn chocolately for you)

Directions:
1) Grease an 8-inch square pan.
2) Combine the eggs and sugar, beat until light and fluffy.
3) In a large glass bowl**, melt all the chocolate and butter in the microwave in one minute increments until you can stir it and it is smooth.
4) Beat chocolate into egg/sugar mixture.
5) Stir the flour and cocoa together and beat into chocolate mixture.
6) Carefully whisk in Guinness, half at a time.
7) Pour into prepared pan and bake at 350 F for 25 minutes or until a wooden pick comes out clean-ish. The brownies will be DENSE. Possibly the most dense you've ever eaten. Prepare thyself!

* Or semisweet - the original recipe actually calls for bittersweet.
** Make sure the bowl is completely dry - water will make the chocolate seize and you don’t want that!

Behold: The Brownie(s)

Everything I Can't Tell You

Well the Little Goat learned a new trick. Nope, she's not crawling, still not even rolling over, but if you say "Gimme five!" or "High-Five!", well, that's exactly what you'll get. And lots of smiles to boot.

Recently, Jess over at Du Wax Loolu participated in a blog exchange where you write a post about whatever you want and that post is guest-posted on somebody else's blog. You can tell your regular readers where your post is or you can make them read through 30 posts until they find it themselves. You don't have to use your guest post as a confessional, but it seems that's what a lot of people choose to do. For various reasons, we can't always say exactly the things we want to say on our blogs. Maybe a relative or spouse would read a particular comment and be justly offended. Maybe we're having a bad day and writing a post that includes a swear-word might affect our blogs perfect "G" rating. Suffice to say, some things we can't even tell perfect strangers!

Well no more. Today, I will tell you everything I've ever wanted to tell you and maybe more. Here goes! Harumph!

1) My ..... Oh. My. Goodness......... I can't ..... because ..... But .... after .... happened. I think .... how .... Good grief! I've ...! I'm ...having to .....

2) .... I'm really quite ..... But then how ....? We'd really like .....because ...... It's also .... from here .... On the other hand, ....seems ...., but that's ..... Either way, it's ....

3) Those friends of ours that are having babies? Well this is them: ....... Oh...and maybe ......but not till ......

4) My .... is ..... this ..... So is ..... I'd ... be at ..... because I love .... and I ..... Alas.

5) These .... have been ....our ...has ....being '.....' Some .... just about ..... But I think .... now.

6) When we ......., we are ..... No way, Jose! And ....I'm letting ....by those '.....' ....! ....from ...... with your .............., you ...............

7) And how much do I weigh? Well, I'm 5'5" and I weigh ...... You're kidding, right? You didn't really expect me to tell you that, did you?

8) My ....? Yeah, well, .....subpar. Just ....all. My ....nearly ................. And it's .............


Well! It feels good to get that all off my chest (I'm sure there's more but I only have so long to sit here typing). So there you are, now you're in the know. :)

Welcome to the North Pole*

Digging out Little RubySu. (Yes, she's kind of a homely car.) This is what we spent our Sunday doing. Even church was canceled on Sunday. CHURCH! CANCELED!! (This isn't all 'New' snow - just the top 12-ish inches.)

This snow pile would've been higher, but we first had to get up on top of it (using a LADDER) to shovel it down to make room for the new snow. At one point, one of my legs sunk in up to my waist while the other was stuck in an awkward position on top of the snow. Good thing The Husband was there or my pleas of 'Help! I'm stuck in the snow!' would have gone unheeded.

This is the pathway we keep shoveled in back of our house for when the oilman comes with a delivery. Part of the pile on the right that you can't see is approximately level with our neighbour's garage roof, which, if we knew it was more stable and she'd never find out, would be a grand roof to slide off of.

The clothesline. I can just barely reach is in summer. This snow pile is roughly five feet deep.

If you look closely, you might see a polar bear hiding in our neighbour's snow pile.

* Or, Yet Another Reason Why You're Glad it's Not YOU Living in Maine.
* Or, The Post in Which I Show You a Picture of Me Standing With the Clothesline at Waist-Height When in Summer, I Can Just Barely Reach it.
* Or, The Post in Which I Let David Suzuki Know That if I Had Money I'd Ship Every Last Cubic Inch of This Snow to BC and Dump it On His Front Lawn. *Or, Global-Warming, My Sassafrass!
* Or, "The Mrs. Told Me I Had to Put it SOMEWHERE." Love, Old Man Winter.

Go. Eat. Enjoy.

Poking around on the interwebs this morning, I came across this contest. I don't really need the excuse of a contest to share this recipe with you, but who doesn't love a good contest? And this is some truly fantastic pie. The recipe for Butterscotch Meringue Pie is my Grama's recipe. She grew up as the only daughter in a house full of boys (eight of them, actually) and my Grama could COOK. I don't know that this recipe is any family secret so I won't toy with you by not including all the ingredients or some evil cooking-show-type trick like that. Grama loved to bake and cook and have people in for meals (she once fed two runaway rapscallions...but that's a story for another day), so I'm sure she would be pleased to share this recipe with you if she could.*

Butterscotch Meringue Pie (Most of the time, I just make the filling and we serve it as pudding, but special occasions call for Real Pie; suit yourself):

Ingredients:

1/3 c. butter
1 c. brown sugar (use dark if you have it)
1 c. boiling water
1/4 c. cornstarch
1/2 tsp. salt
1 2/3 c. cold milk (we use fat free which works just fine, but use whatever you like)
3 eggs, separated
1 tsp. vanilla
1 9-inch baked pie shell (regular or graham crust - whatever)
6 Tbsp. sugar

Directions:

For the filling:
1) Separate the eggs into two bowls and set aside.

2) Combine the cornstarch and salt and 1/3 c. of the milk. Once that's combined, add the rest of the milk and stir, making sure the cornstarch is dissolved.

3) Then, in a large saucepan, brown the butter. Really, brown it.

4) Add the brown sugar and, stirring constantly, 'boil' it until it's almost burnt (this will give you the best flavour).

5) Add the boiling water to the sugar/butter mix and stir until all the sugar is dissolved.

6) Stir in the milk/cornstarch mixture and bring to a boil over medium heat for 2 minutes.

7) Temper the egg yolks by adding a couple scoops of the hot milk mixture and stirring, then add them to the filling. Cook 2-3 minutes longer or until the filling starts to thicken.

8) Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Cool slightly and pour into pie shell.


For the meringue:
1) Beat the egg whites in a mixer until soft peaks form.

2) Add the sugar and beat until stiff peaks form.

3) Spread the meringue over the pie filling and bake at 350 degrees until the meringue is golden brown.

This is homemade pie at its homemade-iest and it is fabulous. Go. Eat. Enjoy.


*Also, it is snowing LIKE. CRAZY. today and this pie is the perfect thing to top off a soup and breadsticks dinner on a cold, snowy night.

4...Nope....5 Things

I got this meme from Jenn at Loving Every Minute, except instead of four things, I'm arbitrarily changing it to five.

I'm not tagging anybody for this meme because so many of you seem awfully busy these days, but if you feel like playing along, let me know and I'll link up to you!

5 Jobs I Have Had:
Farmer's Market Clerk
Security Guard
Camp Director
Church Secretary
Domestic Engineer (I'm copying you here, Jenn....sadly, The Husband wouldn't let me list this as my occupation on our tax return this year....)

5 Jobs I'd Like to Have:
Pharmacy Technician (seriously, I ponder this one about once every two months)
Law Clerk
Church Secretary (but only if my boss(es) are as cool as last time)
Wedding Planner
Coffee or Tea House Owner

5 Movies Watched Over and Over:
Pride & Prejudice (BBC) - I think I've now watched it about 15 times.
Bend it Like Beckham
U2 Vertigo Tour
Ever After
Does my Pilates DVD count??

5 Shows I Watch:
Mercer Report
Little Mosque on the Prairie
Coronation Street (sorry, Uncle Robert)
Martha Stewart
The National

5 Places I Have Been:
Northern Ireland
Germany
France
Mexico
Northern California (and if I can help it, I'm never going back!)

5 People Who E-mail Me:
Chandra
Erin K.
My Mom
Zach
Kara

5 Favorite Things To Eat:
Almost anything chocolate - I draw the line at choc. covered bugs
Pizza
Perogies
Guinness Brownies
Soup, something good and mushroomy

5 Places I Would Rather Be:
Manitoba
Manitoba
Manitoba
Ireland....and....
Manitoba

5 Things I Look Forward To This Year:
Getting the painting finished in our house
Maybe moving
Meeting some new babies
Mom & Dad coming to visit
Spending my birthday in Quebec City with Erin K. and family. Woohoo! 66 more sleeps!

History Lessons

Last week, I got a special Valentine's phone call from my Aunt. Well, she's actually my Great-Aunt but whatever. It was great! After all the requisite updates about jobs, home, and baby development our conversation turned to the sentimental. My Grama passed away in 1997, my Grampa (my Aunt's brother) passed away in 2006. I did have a chance to ask my Grampa lots of questions about how he and my Grama met, but reminiscing from somebody else's perspective is an adventure in itself.

So my Aunt reminded me about how my Grandparents met and told me a funny story about a deer and I'll have to skip out some details because I'm condensing and hour's worth of conversation here....

My Grama's family escaped to Canada from Russia during the Bolshevik Revolution. They owned land and were quite wealthy until they were forced to vacate their home so it could be used as some sort of army headquarters. My Grampa's family had also immigrated to Canada from Russia, only they came much earlier. Grama and Grampa met at church when they were teenagers. I don't know if it was love at first sight or not, but at some point, things got serious. Grama's family did not approve of Grama dating Grampa. Since they were wealthy when they lived in Russia and still had money when they came to Canada, they considered Grampa's family socially inferior.

One of the standards of wealth then was if you could afford to buy animals and/or the latest farming equipment. Great-Grampa - my Grampa's Dad - once bartered for a horse only to have it drop dead at the watering hole as soon as he got it home. Grampa saved up and bought his own equipment after he and Grama were married. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

Apparently, my Grama was quite the gutsy lady. One day she packed up her suitcase and walked downstairs to the door. She told her parents that either she was going to marry Grampa on her own terms or she was leaving and would never come back. So Grama's parents had no choice but to give her their blessing. The scandal of an only-daughter (there were 9 children, eight were boys) walking out would have been more than their social graces could bear. Shortly after that event, Grama and Grampa were married.

My Aunt and I speculated that one of the reasons Grama was so determined to marry Grampa was because she knew he would be her Knight in Shining Armour (and he certainly was handsome - even at 80-something he could still turn heads....he always had just the perfect twinkle in his eyes). When she was 14, Grama was raped by a cousin. The only person she ever told was Grampa and she made him promise to keep it a secret, which he did, until after she died. I know that Grama and Grampa had arguments sometimes but I would never doubt for a second how much they loved each other; I know Grampa would've fought for her again and again if he had to.

********************
Another story my Aunt told me was about Bambi. Great-Grampa was driving the family home from something one afternoon. At some point along the road, he saw a doe run off into a field. At the same time, he heard a thump. He stopped the car, got out and realized he had hit a fawn. He thought, 'Well, it's meat for the dogs,' so he threw it in the trunk and brought it home. They had a breezeway attached to their home (a Summer Kitchen for those of you familiar with the term). When they got home, he realized that the fawn wasn't dead, just unconscious, so he decided to leave the fawn in the breezeway overnight and deal with it the next day.

The next morning, Great-Grama came out to fire up the stove and there stood the fawn, looking straight at her. It was alive and just fine! Great-Grampa decided they would keep the deer and it became their pet - Bambi. Bambi went everywhere with them. He went in the house and would hide under the kitchen table - that is until the day Great-Grampa found him on their bed trying to eat the Christmas cactus that had been put, supposedly, out of Bambi's reach. Bambi would even go with the family when they went berry-picking. He would pile into the back seat of the car with the kids and ride along to the berry patch. When it was time to go, all the berries would be safely 'hidden' in the trunk before the kids called Bambi and he would come running over ready to go home.

At some point, word got around that the family had a tame deer at their place so parents would bring their children over on weekends to see the deer. Apparently there were several times when Bambi would jump in the cars of strangers ready to go for a ride!

***************************
My Aunt and I talked about a lot of other stories - good times, hard times, painful times, and times full of much joy. Mostly, we talked about God's faithfulness, at which point both of us got a little emotional. I am so blessed to have a Husband who loves me and is my Knight in Shining Armour. Even though we may be struggling with some things right now, God is in control of our future. He's already in Minnesota or Michigan or Wisconsin - or wherever it is we'll be moving next. He's always working in our marriage and in our little family, conforming us to His image; and He couldn't have reminded me of that in a sweeter way - thank you, Aunt G.!

I Look Like WHO?!

Kellan over at On the Upside had rather unfortunate luck when she used this face recognition thing the other day, but the resulting post was fuuuun-ny! (And maybe the software was broken that day Kellan, because you are beautiful.)

And I'm not meaning to toot my own horn, but this is the most complimentary outcome I've ever had with one of these things; I was more than a little shocked. We did one for The Husband and among his matches were Halle Berry, Dolf Lundgren and *shudder* Tom Cruise (really, whatever. He SO does NOT look like icky Tom Cruise). We also did one for the Little Goat, but when one of her best matches turned up as Jay Leno...well THAT I just refuse to post. But here's mine so you all can be amazed.*





Oh, we also did one where you upload a picture of a child and one of each parent and it tells you who the child looks more like. Well, just to let you all know the debate is settled and the outcome was: "Child looks equally like both parents." So there you go, an exact 50-50 split and we'll never have to discuss it again. Okay? Okay.

* The face you can't see is a young Sally Field.

Three Weddings and a......Baby??

Actually.....there are four babies.

Oh don't get your ovaries in a knot, none of them will be coming out of me - thank the Lord! (I had you going there though...didn't I?? Hah!)

It turns out this summer is going to be just as busy as any with weddings and new babies. We have three weddings to attend between May and August and four friends with babies due between now and August (and no, I will not be divulging the names of our pregnant friends since not all of their pregnancies are public knowledge yet).

So I'm writing to warn you all: if you get married, don't choose the 16th of August. It's already double-booked and we won't be able to make it (unless you know of some sort of teletransportation device we can use that's already perfected....I don't want to end up with all but, say, my feet, at my cousin's wedding). Also, if you have a baby this year and you aren't already on our List of Recognized Impending Births 2008, you won't be getting a baby gift until 2009 when we can replenish the Baby-Gift Slush Fund. It's not that we don't love you, it's just that, well, you missed the deadline.

Today started off sunny (of all things!) and by the time The Husband was heading home from work, we'd already had more melting, more rain, and a little snow squall. Hear ye, weather! Make up your mind!

Also, I've been slacking in posting the last couple weeks; I've been enmeshed in several games of Scrabulous on Facebook, most of which I have now lost so I consider that my penance for neglecting my friends in Bloggityville. I have a fun post I'm working on for tomorrow to placate you all, so come back, okay? See you then!

Happy Valentine's Day!

I will be spending the afternoon shoveling and the evening alone with the Little Goat (but I know you're jealous because just look at that face!!) since The Husband volunteers on Thursday nights. Don't worry - we have an Actual Date planned for Saturday. What are your Valentine's plans?

Captain's Log : Day Three

It's day three and the snow continues to fall. Have shoveled four times since Saturday; shoulders...sore, fingers...cold, head....achy. Ice dams rapidly forming on roof, snow rake not available. Total snow fall (SO FAR)....at least 10 inches......................................

Truly, I am beginning to feel a little like Noah on his ark, except I'm Bren J. in my house, and our cats, who make enough trouble for ten cats, are the only pair of animals on board. Also, it's snowing, not raining and sending a dove out in this weather would probably result in a visit from some animal rights group. Alas, I don't really feel like writing about my *love* of snow today because I'm just that sick of it.

Instead, I will tell you that on Saturday afternoon, we attended a Pampered Chef party. We really only went for the food and the socializing because PC stuff is generally more expensive than oh, say, the Walmarts. The party started at one so the poor Little Goat only got about a 40-minute nap. The consequences of this turned out to be all win-win though. She was nice and quiet and cuddly at the party which is handy when she gets passed around a lot; she didn't need to eat while we were there either which is always nice. But the best part? She was in bed, fast asleep after her second feeding at 8pm, and DID NOT WAKE UP UNTIL FIVE AM. Yes, quick, count that up - you'll need TWO HANDS this time!

NINE WHOLE HOURS!!

Who cares if it's cliched - can't YOU hear the Hallelujah Chorus? If it weren't for The Husband being on call and having to go in twice, it would've been The Perfect Night.

I have more to say, but I can hear the Siren Song of the Shovel lulling me out to a cold snowy sea, so I better go to it. See ya later!

Gung Hay Fat Choy!

Thursday, February 9th, marks the beginning of the Chinese New Year. This is the Year of the Rat*. If you are born in this year, you are, among other things industrious, hard-working, and ambitious. Lest you think that 'Rat people' have all the luck, they also "may become difficult to work with" and "may sometimes be viewed as opportunists." Not so great.

In honour of Chinese new year, I thought I would profile our family's character traits as defined by the Chinese Zodiac. I wish you all actually knew us personally because that would make the blatant fallacies in said Zodiac all the more funny. Alas, you'll just have to take my (very biased) word for it. You'll find my commentary in red. Oh, and Happy New Year!

Bren J.: Born, The Year of the Sheep
Sheep personality traits

The most creative sign in the Chinese zodiac, those born in the Year of the Sheep (also known as the Year of the Ram or Goat) are often artistic, sensitive, sweet and charming. (And they forgot to mention stubborn...and not really very artistic at all....or sensitive or sweet. Charming, maybe.)

Shy by nature (hah!), Sheep are not the most practical of people (are you kidding? I'm one of the most practical people I know!) and, although well-mannered (true, true), they occasionally may suffer from "foot-in-mouth disease" by saying the wrong thing at the wrong time (I'm shocked!). Still, with their considerable charm and innocence Sheep never lack for protective friends and admirers. (Admirers, hey? How 'bout that?)

Outwardly dreamy and starry-eyed, Sheep are inwardly anxious, insecure, and usually find day-to-day living difficult and puzzling. As such, they often take refuge in religion, astrology or the occult. (There's just not much hope for me, is there?)

Sheep are not overly ambitious, but once they find work that makes use of their considerable talents, they are passionate about what they do (true, to a point). Typically surrounded by beautiful things (define 'beautiful'), Sheep have an ardent love of creature comforts (mmm....chocolate chip cookies....) and are almost always elegantly dressed (HAH! If by 'elegant' you mean pajamas, then yes.), but can become overly reliant on appearances.

Conversely, Sheep people have an innate love of nature and are never happier than when messing about in the garden. (Erm.....gardening....I really only like the harvesting part.)

In business Sheep tend to be highly disorganized (this is the part where I decide I can't possibly be a sheep!), but they usually enjoy great success as artists, actors, designers, and in many other creative endeavors. (Hah! Double Hah! and ugh, respectively.)

The Husband: Born, The Year of the Monkey (This is already bad because The Husband HATES monkeys. Really, he loathes them.)
Monkey personality traits

Charming (true), charismatic (not so true) and extremely inventive (often frighteningly true), Monkey people are most noted for their intelligence and clever genius in working out difficult problems for themselves and others (good thing there's no time frame for said problem-solving).

Cheerful and energetic by nature (oh boy...), they attract many friends with their magnetic personality and innate tact and diplomacy which may dissolve into condescension at times. They are impatient when it comes to getting their way, but their anger cools quickly.

Extremely curious and thirsty for knowledge, Monkeys are never happier than when absorbing facts and information (good grief! do they KNOW him?? ), and possessed of a near photographic memory usually retain all they have learned (he claims there's no photographic memory). For this reason, their inventiveness in tackling thorny problems with the greatest of ease (maybe not exactly the 'greatest' of 'ease')usually earns them well-deserved admiration and appreciation from business associates, friends and loved ones.

Loyal and devoted to friends, Monkeys are ardent and passionate in romance, but they may quickly lose interest in the object of their affection and seek out another (hey!). This general fickleness is also seen in their abandonment of projects if not allowed to immerse themselves in them immediately, and in their eating habits they usually prefer a quick snack during the day rather than sitting down to a full meal. (The accuracy of this last sentence is truly scary.)

With their considerable talent and extraordinary originality, Monkeys may enjoy luck and in whatever career they choose, but usually excel as troubleshooters, scientists, researchers or inventors. (If The Husband could spend all day out in the shed inventing, I think he'd be in seventh heaven. Me? Not so much.)

The Little Goat: Born, Year of the Pig
Pig personality traits

Intellectually curious, honest and tolerant, those born in the Year of the Pig can be relied upon for their loyalty and often make true friends for life. (At eight months, can we really evaluate this?)

Like the knights of old, Pigs are often highly regarded for their chivalry and pureness of heart (read that again, I love that part of the sentence except I keep reading it as 'Like the pigs of old....'), and will often sacrifice their own well-being for the greater good.

The Pig can be very naive, however, and may easily fall victim to the unscrupulous who take advantage of their idealistic nature - as Pigs see everyone as loyal and caring as they are. Although forced to play the fool many times, they will just as likely hold fast to the notion that everyone is at heart decent and admirable. (Oh, I hope not!)

Stubbornly optimistic, the Pig will not tolerate those with well-meaning advice on how to be a Pig (Don't worry, we won't tell her how to be a pig. Oink!), but since they dislike quarreling and discord their anger usually cools quickly. Sometimes looked upon as a snob (hmph!), the Pig just finds it right and natural to exhibit good manners whenever possible (that's my girl!). Their main goal in life is in serving others, and no matter how difficult circumstances become the Pig will never waiver or retreat, forging ahead in the sure knowledge that all will be well.

Pig people love to read, are generally thirsty for knowledge, and not readily talkative (like Father, like Daughter), but if presented with an opportunity to discuss topics of interest with like-minded individuals Pigs may find themselves talking non-stop for hours (Ack! When will I do my daily sudoku?)!

People born in the Year of the Pig are trusted associates in whatever career they happen to choose and often shine as entertainers, social activists or politicians. (Heh, a smooth-talker, our Little Goat. At least there's hope for one of us!)

* All Zodiac descriptions come from this website.