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.

Eau de Scam

This is by far the weirdest junk mail I've ever gotten. Seriously. Weird. It's sort of 'free,' which is part of what I don't get. I think the idea is that when you get your new house (with pool and two-car garage, thank you), your new Maserati (steel grey, please), or a mystery box of gold bars delivered to your doorstep (yesssss!), you're supposed to send the "Ministry" a cut of your 'winnings' as a thank-you. O. K.

Here's the plan (and you can click on the pictures to read some of those things close-up): you open this envelope, you hold the 'prayer rug' (hereafter referred to as the "St. Matthew 18:19 Bible Faith, Anointed, Church, Biblical Faith Church, Holy Ghost Bible Prayer Rug of Faith," which is a combination of all the different names used for it in the letter) to your knees (or kneel on it) and pray for ABSOLUTELY WHATEVER YOUR LITTLE HEART DESIRETH. Then you put the St. Matthew 18:19 Bible Faith, Anointed, Church, Biblical Faith Church, Holy Ghost Bible Prayer Rug of Faith under your pillow for one night only. Then you mail it back to the ministry, wait a few days, and in the words of our friend Pedro, "Your wildest dreams will come true." Prayers, dreams, whatever.




















As you can also see from the date on the pictures, we have been horribly remiss and the opportunity to claim our prize is long since passed. We didn't use the St. Matthew 18:19 Bible Faith, Anointed, Church, Biblical Faith Church, Holy Ghost Bible Prayer Rug of Faith (come on, really, you didn't actually think we would, did you?) and failed to mail it back so now our dreams will never come true and nobody else will get to use our St. Matthew 18:19 Bible Faith, Anointed, Church, Biblical Faith Church, Holy Ghost Bible Prayer Rug of Faith (except for maybe somebody at the recycling depot). There goes our dream of $546,822.91! Dang!

Oh! Oh! We haven't even opened the prophecy yet. Let's do that together, shall we? Let's see what it says (and I am too lazy to grab the camera, so take my word for it, okay?). Oh, first I should tell you what it says on the outside of the paper:

Important - only break open this sealed prophecy after you have put this Church Prayer Rug and your prayer requests back in the mail to this 57-year-old church ministry.
If for any reason you are not going to return this Church Prayer Rug, then this sacred prophecy must be destroyed, unopened and unread, because this is a sacred, spiritual prophecy, sealed word, concerning you and your future....

Okay, here we go. Get ready!

Okay, well, sorry to disappoint, but it was a WHOLE PAGE LONG and I'm really not prepared to re-type it all. Suffice to say, it was wordy, vague, and not particularly 'enlightening.' After having used the St. Matthew 18:19 Bible Faith, Anointed, Church, Biblical Faith Church, Holy Ghost Bible Prayer Rug of Faith, we're supposed to feel empowered and emboldened, discovering new gifts and blessings; we should have an increased awareness of "which steps to take and which steps [you] should not take." It closes with a thank you to the "57-year-old church" who sent us the St. Matthew 18:19 Bible Faith, Anointed, Church, Biblical Faith Church, Holy Ghost Bible Prayer Rug of Faith in the first place and a reminder to send it back so they can pass it along to the next person. How anticlimactic.


Anyway, that's the jumbled post about our weirdo mail. Whew - our lives can resume! So tell me, what's the weirdest mail you've ever received?

Last of the Gummy Smiles

For two people who have been to the dentist only twice, nope wait, make that once, in the last 5 1/2 years*, we talk about teeth a lot around here. We try to take good care of our teeth, we brush twice a day, floss once a day, we even brush our tongues with these fancy tongue brushes we got from my cousin, The Dental Hygienist, a couple Christmases ago.

We also wonder a lot about the Little Goat's teeth, periodically quizzing her about the appearance of her first tooth/teeth. We tease her about taking after her Uncle, my brother, who was just over a year old when he got his first tooth (according to my Dad).

Well wonder no more! It would appear, as of this afternoon, that we now have one more soon-to-be-SET of teeth to look after. Yup, the wee Goat has a tooth! Bottom middle on the left (her left) to be exact. I suppose it's possible that it's been there for a day or two, but she was going down for a nap this afternoon and I was just wondering out loud when she would get a tooth when a lovely shiny glint caught my eye and there it was.

I don't know about you, but I'm all about the gummy smiles - I love 'em - but here's to a new era, my Little Goat. To grins that are shiny with teeth (not drool) and many visits from the Tooth Fairy!

*We'd maybe go more often if we had a good dental plan, but alas, we don't. Also, the last time we went and I had x-rays, the tech only gave me one bib! I'm referring to the lead vests/bibs they use to cover you with to help lessen your exposure to the x-rays. If you're a woman, they should, in particular, be covering up any areas related to reproduction as those organs are especially sensitive to radiation. They should also, be ye man or woman, cover up your thyroid!! I'm not sure why I didn't say anything at the time. Next time you have a dental x-ray, make sure they cover you up!

As Seen On Saturday, 26 January 2008

Catching a morning cat-nap.


Ooohhhhh.......freaky.

Tagged!

Jenn over at Loving Every Minute tagged me with this linkamadoo deal (or whatever it's technically called). As it turns out, Jenn and I spent some time GROWING UP ON THE SAME STREET. Seriously people, how random is THAT? Anyway, she writes about life with her family in some part of...Canada - check it out!

The link details are as follows:


“This link loving in 2008 came from Not Much More Than This.
I have randomly selected 5 of you below to be tagged and I hope that you will similarly publish this post in your blog. You will have to tag 5 other bloggers and just keep adding on to the list. (Do not replace, just keep on adding! Yes we hope it will be a long list!)

Now, add/tag 5 of your friends blogs…

The Strategist Notebook Link Addiction Ardour of the Heart When Life Becomes a Book The Malaysian Life Yogatta.com What goes under the sun Roshidan’s Cyber Station Sasha says Arts of Physics And the legend lives My View, My Life A Simple Life What Women REALLY Think Not Much More Than This Jayedee Jenn Beth Christie Marla Cailin Simone FlipFlopMom Katrina Gill’s Jottings Work of a Poet WakelaModern Day GoddessLivin With Me A Simple Life Verb Random Thoughts I’m Running to Win Two Regina’s Family Seasons Lifesong The Laughs Will Go On Military MomTheVasquez3Brik-See-UsAnd Then There Were Four Common Mom Kentucky Woman Sit With Me Awhile The World: Through The Eyes Of Me, The Tales of Mama D, Stranger in a Stranger Land, Forgetfulone, Life With All Boys, Superpaige's Pad, News from Whitekirk, The Ones With the Baby, No Mother Earth, On the Upside, Du Wax Loolu you're next...

The last five in italics are the ones I have tagged, and if you don't have five other bloggers to tag, or don't feel like it, I won't be offended....just enjoy the opportunity to check out some new blogs!

*********************
You may have noticed that I've done some editing of the list of Places I Visit (it's over there, on the right). I've removed some of the blogs that I don't really read anymore (for one reason or another) or ones that haven't been updated in MONTHS; I've added a few new gems I've found. The newbies on my list are:

• Loving Every Minute, which I just told you about up top.
• Beck's Recipes, which is an online collection of recipes courtesy of Beck from Frog & Toad Are Still Friends. (My personal favourites are this salad and this french toast. Oh yum!)
• Confessions of a Pioneer Woman - Pioneer Woman regales you with tales of life on a ranch with her husband, Marlboro Man and their four kids. Oh yeah, and she's an amazing photographer! Also, she cooks; step-by-step photo instructions for some dang tasty looking food.
• Du Wax Loolu = Funny stories from Jess, a soon-to-be-Bride living in D.C.
• New England Mamas - Pretty much what the title implies.
• No Mother Earth - Broadway-loving Mom of a two-year-old and a brand-new-year-old, living in Toronto.
• On the Upside - Hah! Not that other blogs don't, but this one really makes me laugh. Kellan lives in Texas with her husband and four kids. Hilarity ensues.
• Tasty Palettes - If you like Indian food (or if you're feeling experimental) check out this site. Beautiful pictures of some splendid dishes!

So there you have it. Go! Go (leave a comment first, sheesh!) and check them out!

The Hours

Today is Tuesday. The Husband is working an almost-double today so won't be home until after eight o'clock. Luckily, one of his coworkers volunteered to come in and take the last three hours so he only has to do 13 instead of 16 hours. Of course, today is also the day the Little Goat has decided to be rather on the cranky side. Of late, she's taken to pulling off her socks and sucking on them. (Does this mean she's low on cotton?) I can't keep a pair of socks on her for more then 10 minutes before I look over to discover at least one saliva-saturated sock already on the floor, soon to be joined by its partner. I tried tying a pair of booties on her feet but of course, they come with shiny ribbony laces and what baby could resist such a thing? Then I put on a new pair of shoes. She got a pair of Robeez from two of her Aunties. One pair is blue and sandal-like so we're saving those for when the weather turns warmer, the other pair has giraffes on them. I take it from the struggle she had getting them off (to get to the socks, presumably) that this daughter of mine has no greater interest in wearing shoes than I do.

On Saturday, the Husband and I busily set about making marmalade. He's a marmalade fanatic and when the grocery store advertised a huge bag of oranges for five bucks, I knew it was time to knuckle down and try making our own. It was going quite well (we actually really enjoy doing those types of projects together) and we were all ready to start cooking up our fruits when I read the recipe again: "Boil for five minutes. Remove from heat and let rest in cool spot for 12-18 hours." Yes, that's HOURS. Shoot! Sunday ended up being too busy to finish it so I canned it yesterday afternoon. But of course, I didn't cook it long enough, so now it looks like really pretty orange SAUCE. As in, it's pert near juice. Boo! So the Husband has graciously agreed to re-can it tomorrow night and when it's re-canned, I'll post pictures so you can all be in awe of the beauty that is homemade marmalade.

Saturday night was also bittersweet. (No more reading for you men - go find something else to do....you've been warned!) Some strange notion must've overtaken the LG because she slept for seven hours straight! SEVEN HOURS! Except earlier in the evening I had discovered that I was getting a nicely plugged duct and any of you who've breastfed will know exactly how excruciating that is, so while it was great that she slept seven hours, I REALLY needed her to eat. Sunday morning, I was in so much pain that the LG and I stayed home from church. It was also the morning I discovered that my plugged duct was accompanied by a very lovely blister! GACK! A couple of phone calls to friends later, I decided to pop the blister. Ordinarily, I wouldn't do this. Okay, I would....but I would try to convince myself not to because it's a bad idea. This time, though, it worked! The Husband sterilized a pin for me and I made one tiny tiny poke (after numbing it with an ice cube...sheesh! I'm not completely daft!) and a feeling overtook me which I can only properly compare to the instantaneous feeling of well-being one experiences the minute after that baby leaves your womb - oh, the relief!

Today, I made some more Russian Black Bread. I usually don't take the bread out after the second proof while the oven is preheating but I did today and that was unwise. It still tastes fine, but it's a little on the flat side. Also, our post-holiday pictures arrived in the mail from snapfish this afternoon so I've got to get busy sending out the LG's Christmas thank you notes which I've been putting off now for almost three weeks. Why are we such sticklers for kids sending thank you notes? I don't send out thank you notes for MY Christmas presents, but if I don't for the Little Goat's, I know I will surely offend somebody. Do you make, er, encourage your kids to write thank you notes for gifts they receive? Do you write thank you notes for your gifts? When was the last time you wrote a thank you note and do you remember what it was for?

In Which I am *GASP* Well-Rested!

Okay, who did it? Who slipped something into the cereal at suppertime? Last night was a complete 180 from the night before. The Little Goat had her bath and was in bed at around 8:30. She woke up at 1, ate, then went back to sleep until 5:30. At 5:30, she ate and then went back to sleep AGAIN until almost 9:30. Oh the bliss, oh the wonder! I actually woke up with 'Oh What a Beautiful Morning' playing in my head.

As for today, we're right on schedule. I have so much energy I'm considering making Russian Black Bread this afternoon...we need something to fend off the chill outside. It is blizzarding - if that's a real word, or perhaps more accurately, Nor'Eastering today, snowing like mad, windy and cold. Expected accumulation by 4pm? Six to eight inches, which basically provides a summary of what we will be doing with our Saturday. Shoveling. (Oh, and hopefully writing a post about that silly junk mail.)

Worst. Night. Ever.

Oh it was AWFUL. For some strange reason, the Little Goat woke up halfway through her afternoon nap yesterday. I nursed her and put her back down and woke her up at around 4 - I try to wake her up when it's still reasonably light outside so she doesn't get the idea that waking up when it's dark out (i.e. NIGHTTIME) is cool.

At 7:30 we brought her upstairs to get ready for her bath. She seemed pretty wide awake, so we sat her on the floor in her room and played for a little while. Then she had her bath, got her jammies on, had a last feed and laid down in her crib. She was awake when I put her down which I try to do so that she's 'putting herself to sleep' or whatever term the 'experts' use. Everything was fine until we decided to head upstairs to bed. We got caught up watching the news and then an episode of the Simpsons online so we didn't get up there until 10:30. She woke up hungry. So far, this is all pretty normal. Until she wouldn't stop crying.

She WOULDN'T. STOP. CRYING.

Pretty much she cried from 11pm until 2am. We gave her a bit of medicine for gas relief, some gripe water for her belly and finally almost a full dose of that grapey yuckiness that is Children's Tylenol, but no dice. I nursed her some more, held her 'skin-to-skin,' rocked her in her chair and she just kept crying. By 1am I had totally had it. She was wailing, I was wailing, and the Husband was desperately trying to calm both of us down in his zombie-like state. He finally called the ER and talked to a nurse he knows who suggested maybe the LG had an ear infection and we should bring her in.

What? An ear infection? My child? SICK?

We checked. No temperature. We got dressed anyway and as soon as I stood up and rocked her, she calmed down a bit. Argh! Fine! But we were already dressed anyway. So we went downstairs and I decided to feed her some cereal because that was the one thing we hadn't tried yet. (She usually eats some when we're finished our dinner, but she was completely disinterested last night so we scrapped that.) Yeah, so as near as we can figure out, she was just damn hungry. After all that. Also, she probably was crying so much and breathing in so much air that she was making her little self a bit hysterical. Anyway, we took her upstairs and got her comfy in her car seat. I dangled my foot off the side of the bed and rocked her to sleep while I fell asleep too. It was 2am, so much for the ER. She woke up shortly after 5 and I fed her. Then fed her again at 6:30 and she slept till 9. Phew!

Now, she's down for her afternoon nap. I'm exhausted. The Husband called home, he also is exhausted. I've got things ready to go for dinner, moaned to all of you about my sleepless woes....now off for a shower and a much-needed nap! Here's to a better night tonight!

Yesterday, the Little Goat had her six month check-up. As you can probably see by the ticker up top there, she'll be seven months old tomorrow. We didn't wait intentionally, there were some scheduling mix-ups and such. So she's in the 45th percentile for her weight and in the 90th percentile for her height. Super! Maybe she got that sneaky tall gene....there's one on both sides...lucky girl!

She still doesn't have any teeth though if we'd been collecting drool we could fill at least one kiddie pool by now. She's putting EVERYTHING in her mouth (socks seem to be a favourite), AND she's sitting up on her own. In fact, it was rather random. It happened when we were visiting Erin K. and Co. at Whitekirk over our Christmas holiday. I had set the LG on a coffee table where I'd just changed her and she was all sitting on her own, and ever since then, she's all about sitting. She still won't roll over either direction, but she's got some crazy core muscles going on. Maybe it's all that pilates I did while I was pregnant.

A funny thing happened at the Husband's work the other day. He was having a particularly crappy day at work and his boss was concerned to see him looking down. So, having a fatherly moment we can only assume, he took the Husband down to the cafeteria....and bought him an ice cream! Hah! The Husband said is was weird but good and the perfect opportunity to remind his boss that he's supposed to be training in a different modality already...since he got hired for it, oh, in October.

As you can tell, not too much is going on around Casa J. these days. I've been spending my time changing MANY a poopy diaper, inventing recipes for biscotti, and experiencing a January funk. We had another dump of snow last night so it's possible that during the LG's nap this afternoon, I'll go and do some shoveling. That is of course, depending on whether the carpal-tunnel-like pain in my wrist lessens by then. Ahh, the perfect shoveling excuse.

Also, you'll notice I've been posting lots of links lately (all for your enjoyment really) and one of these days, I've got a doozy of absurdity for you. It's not a link but a junk letter we got in the mail the other day. I've never seen junk mail quite this stupid.

I Want to Ride My Bicycle

Well, okay, no, I don't really want to ride my bicycle. I don't actually own a bike anymore. I used to. But actually, it's okay, don't feel bad for me. I don't even like riding a bike anymore. When I finally find one with a seat that's comfortable enough, I might consider it again. This FROG on the other hand, likes his bike. Only it's a motorcycle. Check out these pics of a frog on his hog...in case you haven't seen them already.

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Last night I made these as a Get Well present for one of the Husband's coworkers and they are fabulous. We bought a darker cocoa than usual and the flavour was spot-on without being too sweet (I used about a 1/4 cup less sugar than it called for and no icing drizzled on top). Plus, you know, it's chocolate with all those flavanols and whatnot.

NOT Sawing Zzzzzs

Can I start today by saying, first thing, that one of the worst parts of breastfeeding a baby is baby farts. There's just NO ESCAPE! And they're AWFUL!

Moving on.

The other day when we were grocery shopping, I was on the hunt for my beloved Red Rose tea. One thing I love about visiting Manitoba is the tradition of tea. My parents take tea nearly every evening after supper and we were treated to the best of teas at our friends' place, complete with an antique, pink, two-tiered serving plate full of Christmas goodies (and full permission to sample at least one of each....or maybe two). So I decided that since I love tea and since we have a perfect traditional Brown Betty teapot begging for use, I would start my mornings with a pot of tea.

I figured if I'm going to make 'taking tea' a daily ritual, I should maybe go for some decaf. Alas, you pay almost double for half as much Red Rose decaf. So we bought regular....and I think I will be returning it.

When I was in college, I had a friend who lived in the city a half hour away from the school. Every Tuesday or Thursday we would meet for coffee at Perkins. We wouldn't meet until around 7 or 8pm, but I could drink an entire POT of coffee BY MYSELF and suffer no ill effects. My stomach was fine (this was obviously before the IBS developed full-on), I slept like death, and the need to pee was a good thing when I was driving home so late at night. But now, NOW....what was I thinking?!?! In my 'old' age, I'm discovering that I can't handle caffeine AT ALL. Just two cups of tea makes my stomach start to feel ill at ease and I laid awake half the night thinking about....laying awake half the night.

Now I suppose I will go back and buy the box of RR decaf and pay twice the price, possibly still keep the box we already bought (hey, that's TWO petshop figurines I'll get then, right?), and get...absolutely NO bargain.

In other news, I was chatting with a fellow blogger yesterday and we determined that the real reason women age faster than men is babies. Yup. It's getting up 4-5 times/night that's giving us early wrinkles, saggy skin, and those horrible trunks under our eyes. I guess that makes the Oil of Olays pretty useless unless they can invent some sort of sleeping lotion for babies.

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I don't know how many of you watch The Simpsons. I used to be quite the dedicated watcher in college. We had a TV lounge not far from the cafeteria and CBC aired two episodes back-to-back. So you would get your supper and either you were part of the Five O'Clock Simpsons Group or the 5:30 Simpsons Group. My participation varied from group to group and depending on what was for supper (on 'Heart Attack Nights' [read: "Appetizer Meal"], Tim, Shawna, and I would head to Steinbach for a Subway run), but I didn't miss many episodes. Then I graduated and got married and now we don't get Fox so I haven't watched in a while. Until about a week ago when we discovered we could watch new episodes online! ANYWAY, all this to say, that if you have a small child/baby at home and about 24 free minutes, you should watch this episode. It's ridiculous to admit this, but I actually almost shed a little tear at the end. It was mothering hormones or something......

The Perfect Christmas

Okay, so the traveling parts of our Christmas trip maybe didn't go so well, but I don't want you to get the impression that our whole Christmas holiday was the same. In fact, this Christmas holiday was so close to perfect I haven't got a clue how we'll ever top it! (Okay, well, our next Christmas holiday in Manitoba could be longer...that would maybe top it). As evidence, I offer the following pictorial diary of Christmas 2007: The Little Goat's First Christmas and a Christmas at Home...Ahhh....*

The LG with her newest (2nd) cousin, Tyson (she's 3 months older). This is the only picture we got of them where Tyson isn't trying to punch her in the eye. Not to worry, though, she was kicking him later. Ahh...such good cousins already!

With my cousins Shelley & Randy (Randy's new to the family too as of July 28th)!

Relaxing with Mrs. Kara.

Bedtime! But first a picture with Mrs. Erin.
(Blog friends, you'll know her as Erin K. from Whitekirk.)

Out for breakfast with "Auntie" Lindsay!

The Girls: Aletta, me, a very grumpy LG, "Auntie" Chandra, and Heather.**

Playing with her new shiny box.

Happy New Year!

*I don't want to brag too much, but yes, she met A LOT of people and no, she didn't 'make strange' with a single one of them! Our Little Goat, the social butterfly.
**We managed to get a picture of the Little Goat all her "Aunties" except Auntie Tamra who lives in Korea - but we love her just the same!

Um....

Just in case you haven't already seen anything completely ridiculous on the interwebs today....

My favourite line is "Silver makes your kitty feel sexy and smart, like a cougar on the prowl."