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Happy Halloween!

holy tired, batman

So I'm not really sleeping well lately.  What tends to happen is I drift off around 12:50 and then I wake up - feeling quite refreshed - look at the time on my phone and see that it is 1am... or just after 1am and then Michael gets up.  He hasn't slept through the night in about a week.  He has a cold and is miserable in the night, but pretty good during the day - last night was just uncomfortable (mostly for me) because we slept on the couch and he pushed me off twice - so I'm tired and sore this morning.  He is still sleeping beside me - just glad that he got some sleep.

My long time readers and friends know that I've been dealing with some personal stuff lately.  I remain uninterested in airing my laundry on my blog - even though I've been airing everything else on here for more than seven years and many years before than when I had the CFTR website and wrote rants and raves which one day became a "blog" because someone decided that was what it was called.  Needless to say things are in upheaval at the moment and I will likely be taking a bit of a break from blogging through this, but that is only due to a limited internet feed in my evenings as I move on with things - literally and physically.  I believe that most of my friends and I are connected on Facebook and if you would like more information or my new coordinates I'll private message them to you.

And on another note... winter is definitely here.  My hands started to feel all scratchy last night - so it won't be long now.  (They are the first things to go as the weather dries out.) What will be different - well I finally found something for my hands that is saving them... picked it up from my hair salon that also offers spa treatments.  I went in for my feet (which are completely cured now - thanks to the fabulous girl working that day) and she suggested a product and presto change-o my feet got better - that was four months ago and they are still great.  Used a little bit on my hands and it totally worked yesterday.  If anyone is interested in product information I can post it - it is just in a box this morning and I'm feeling lazy and not rushing to dig it out for the blog this morning.

Alright - well I need to start making lunches  and maybe even watch some news.
My love to you.   xo

those spots

"Mom, what are these bumps?"

I wasn't really paying attention.... where?

"Here..."

He is pointing at his chest and before I can say a word he says,

"They are nibbles, right."

I try to hold my laugh and cough instead.

No, babe - those are nipples.

"Nipples, ni-pppllles (he says it slowly), nipples - ok."

Good times.
Good times.

Flu and head update

Michael totally rebounded - threw up and then just hung out.  Today he was back to his little old self and just carried on.  I absolutely hate throwing up and it completely wears me out so it is great that he can just come back from a lousy day.

Kyle... well he is ok - no concussion side effects to report, however, he now seems to have an ankle issue - that he bruised the front side of his ankle as it is bugging him to lean forward, he bruised up his shin, he has a good sized bruise on his butt and another bigger one on his back and his head is still swollen - sigh.  He is happy though and feeling good - so I guess we just watch and wait and carry on.

We had an entertaining afternoon with a visit to some friends - kids had a great time.

The weather is pushing towards winter here - we keep getting reports of snow and bad weather, but it doesn't show up - today was very nice for a few hours (managed to squeak in a run this morning - in the fog) and then in the late afternoon a wind storm came through, taking many of the remaining leaves.

I hope we get at least two more weeks of snow free conditions but I'm not holding my breath on it.
Anyways my loves - I'm calling it a night - going to watch a little Good Will Hunting and sleep, how do you like them apples :)

xo xo

sigh

Last night Kyle decided to fall down stairs (6-8) at the after school house - he bumped his head something fierce - think the size of the palm of your hand dinosaur egg (his words) (unless you have giant boy hands and.. well think of a 6 oz steak) - said he tripped and then promptly bit it.

Hospital checked him out and said to just watch and wait.  He ate dinner and didn't have any side effects other than pain in his head (so far) and then this morning I noticed a giant bruise on his back... so he definitely caught himself in the back too.

Anyways - so he is doing fine.

This morning also brought unexpected things as we were driving to after school (because it is a non-instructional day here) Michael decided to throw up in the car - it was fantastic.  So Kyle went to after school care for the day and Michael and I came home... of course I have grants due today.  So I'm trying to work on that and take calls and .... blah blah blah.

More later.. gotta get back to the grants.

away

So I'm heading away on another work trip.  I'm nausea.

sigh

I don't really have anything valuable to offer tonight.

More in a few days.

xo my loves - xo

Could it really be 25 years..

This is from Entertainment Weekly and I had to share it with you this morning.

crunchy rice krispy chicken

Tonight dinner took exceptionally long to make - for our usual routine - but it turned out to be a hit!
And what on earth did we have?  Well I decided to let the fabulous Tyler Florence inspire one dish and then we tried one from Rice Krispies website...

Butternut squash mac & cheese
Now I added a different pasta - he said use shells - I used brown rice pasta that comes in shapes and is organic (ok - as organic as that can be since it travelled from far away to get to my house... but I digress)
It was super easy - Tyler's book for kids recipes is awesome! Ok and how is this for easy... 1/2 of my 4 lb butternut squash - baked in the oven with olive oil, salt and pepper - 50 minutes at 400 - then once it is good and cooked you use one half (about 2 lbs - ish) and put that in the blender (or food processor if you are lucky enough to have one) with 1 cup of milk (supposed to be whole milk, but I had skim milk) - then you blend the crap out of it - I let it run for more than a minute.  Ok so then you mix the butternut squash smoothie with the pasta (use a spatula) and then you can put it in a baking dish and put cheese on top and bake it at 350 until the cheese melts - he suggested putting on a cup of cheese - he suggested monterey jack and again I just used cheddar.  I cheated this part because the kids had been waiting too long for dinner - so I just put it in a bowl and grated cheese on top - the heat of everything melted the cheese.. shocking...

Kyle said it was wicked awesome - Michael... well the grated cheese wasn't enough to convince him to eat it - he did try it though and that was good.

Ok - so then there was the chicken - that - according to Kyle - was the best chicken fingers he has ever had...  and they were super simple.

For this recipe - I cut up two chicken breasts (hey mom, do you know how tall I am?  no, sweetheart, how tall are you - I'm as tall as grandma's breast - wicked... frickin' wicked).  I cut it in the middle of the breast (whatever that's called - so you end up with four pieces) and then into smaller pieces.  Then you dip them in an egg wash - 2 egg whites and 1 tbsp of water, then you dredge them in 2 1/2 cups of rice krispies, 1 1/2 tsp paprika, 1 tsp garlic powder, pepper, 1 tsp seasoning salt (mix up the dredging stuff and yes, break up the rice krispies a little, but you want some of them to keep shape - so it is not meant to be a powder that you dredge them in) - tonight I had the rice krispy stuff on a piece of wax paper than I just rolled the chicken on it.  Then this goes in the oven - I cooked them at 400 for 10 minutes a side - the online recipe says 450... me thinks that is too high... but maybe they are in a different climate... or something...

Our happy BC squash

The other part of dinner - zucchini and portobello mushrooms 

The chicken and squash cooking together - having fun

One side of the squash carved out

Milk and squash making out

There is no cheese at this point - this is just happy squash and milk

While this kind of looks like a painful face - this is him telling me it is the best chicken EVER

Ye olde thumbs up for yummy chicken :)

Good night friends - xo

Oh and tomorrow Kyle turns nine! I know... madness and also fantastic! Hooray for turning nine!

damn tuesday

This morning started out wicked awesome.  I made it to school early with the guys and then get flagged by a parent that said - gees your tire is sure flat.  (enter the f-word - quietly) And so I drop everybody off and deal with it like everything else... and 16 minutes later I was back on the road.  (Yes, that is a new record and I could have probably shaved time off if I hadn't been trying to be careful and not cover my tan pants in tire dirt and brake crap.)

Long day.

But we did manage to make cookies tonight.

1 cup of margarine, 3/4 cup white sugar, 3/4 cup brown sugar - mix together - or use the wooden spoon like it is a knife and stab the crap out of it like Michael tried to do.

And then he got into mixing... hooray.

Add 1 tsp of baking soda - mix some more.

Add one egg and 1 teaspoon of vanilla (or a little more if you are like me and like vanilla)

Then add in 1 1/2 cup (ish) of chocolate chips - we used semi sweet and white ones tonight.

Then add 2 1/2 cups of flour until everything is all happy and blended together. 

And then - you too - can have yummy cookies like us.

Oven temp 375, bake for 10-12 minutes

And where is Kyle in all these photos... well tonight he decided he didn't want to eat what was for dinner and was pissy about everything at dinner - so he sat out for a while and missed making cookies... he did, however, get a few cookies later after he got over the dinner issue.

Kyle also learned a valuable less about bike helmets today.  A girl in her class has just about lost her face and most of her teeth because she went biking without a helmet and hit a bump.  I was shocked at how much damage she had, how many stitches and teeth gone - it was like something out of a Stephen King novel.  This should also be a lesson for all the grown ups too - she will heal - us old people don't heal as well... wear a helmet. Do it!  This has been a public service announcement brought to you by the letters G, F and Y. 

Night friends - xo 

turkey monday

Today is for thanks.

I want to thank my grandmother for driving with me to Nazko and sharing with me the following story... I will add the thanksgiving dinner that my mom made was good - the pumpkin pie was great (totally treated after my run) and that my run was fantastic.  The first 5 km went so smoothly - I was shocked.  I made it 5.4 km in 36 minutes, but at the turn my joints began to take offence to the gravel road and were outraged that we had to return on the same path.  In the end I completed 10.8km in 80 minutes... so you can see that there was a delay in the return, but it was good - it was better than good.  (Oh and it was plus 2 and cold... but my body warmed up after about 4 km... phew)

My grandmother shared with me how she met my grandfather today and while I think I've read about it before (as she has a journal about her life) she didn't go into the kind of detail that she went into today.  Her brother Freddie was badly injured in the war and, in her words, he was kicked so hard in the back that he got cancer from it, cancer that would kill him.  Freddie was returned home to England and she went to see him everyday in the hospital as his parents didn't - so every day she would spend a minimum of 25 minutes talking to him and the other soldiers who had been paralyzed by fighting in the war.  One of the orderlies working on the floor was my grandfather - Steve - (I actually asked her - could she tell me the story of how she and my grandfather met and she gave me this look and then I said - tell me how you and Steve met and then she started).  She eventually took a job in the same hospital - different ward and so she could visit more often and also see Steve in passing.  And then one day, as they did every day, she arrived to say the 'our father's' prayer.  Steve walked in and told her it was no good.  He was already gone.  Freddie had died.   (I know - how awful - her war stories are shocking and I'm so glad we live in a country that is so peaceful and that I've never had to even think about a bomb going off or hitting my home or my country... but I digress)

So my grandmother went home and told her family that her brother had died.  She returned to the hospital and my fantastic grandfather says to her... gees, you look awful.  She told me this with a laugh - she said she will never forget him saying that to her.  He followed this up with an invitation to a dance.  What I didn't know is that my grandfather was an amazing dancer - amazing - she said that the two of them use to lead the dances.  She loved him so much.  And friends - this story is going to get a hell of a lot sadder... so hold on to your seats - I'm not sure how I held it together in the car.

She talked about his "awful" comment and that the dancing sealed the deal - it was love at first sight, in her mind, and she talks about her loss and how life has never been the same - it made my heart ache for her.  I can see her sadness and he has been gone for over 20 years, close to 30.

So how does this story end.  She told me about a trip they'd planned across Canada.  That he'd always wanted to do it and even though he'd been sick he wanted to go.  He told her to plan the trip - all the stops - and so she picked out funky places to stop and rest and sights to see and she spoke of the fantastic places in Canada that they just picked there way through.  A giant Ukrainian easter egg outside of Edmonton, Winnipeg (probably saw the dirty hoe... ok - that's for my 'Corner Gas' fans), Lake Superior, Ottawa, Quebec City, Sydney and onto Nova Scotia.  She had wanted to see a fort that was opening - and in the car, they'd had a fight because Steve was adamant that they get to Hawkesbury Nova Scotia - that that was where he wanted to stop.  Now since she was planning the trip she was a bit miffed at the entire situation... but at the end of the discussion she agreed to carry on and forgo the fort.  As they drove closer to Hawkesbury my grandfather said to her that he couldn't drive any further - his last words - and he drove the truck (double clutch) into the ditch.  He died.  And she tried to save him.  She took him out of the truck and tried to do CPR on the side of the road.  She said that she thinks he was gone before he left the truck - looking back. A vehicle stopped and asked if they could help and she told him to get an ambulance to come.  Another vehicle stopped - it was a nurse - who promptly told  my grandmother that she was doing CPR incorrectly and took over - telling my grandmother to count.  And so she counted.  The next car that stopped was actually the town coroner who waited for the ambulance to arrive - but the paramedics didn't know CPR and so the nurse stayed with them.  My grandma said they did this because they don't like people dying on the sides of the road in Nova Scotia.

And so she went to the hospital and they did an autopsy and the police officer that spoke with her asked where she was staying that night.  She said she'd stay at the hotel and then she found out why it was important to be in Hawkesbury - you see, my grandfather, Steve, had booked a room - there was one already waiting for her - they had arrived on their wedding anniversary and he'd arranged for a special room with champagne.

My heart broke in the car.

The pain is on her face.  She laughs about the trials and tribulations of it all and she says that all she can do now is laugh about the harsh parts of life, because crying isn't worth anything.  She is 86 years and I feel so much closer to her today.  She spoke for three hours about life and harsh realities.

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take but the moments that take our breaths away. I have a new appreciation for this quote - I am thankful for every minute my grandmother spoke and brought me closer to her life.  Thankful.

xo my loves - xo and sweet dreams
let us be thankful every day

hello sushi

Today was good
Today was fun
Tomorrow is gonna suck

Alright - so it isn't poetry... so I'm not excited about driving out tomorrow and I don't really care about turkey dinner this year - first time I haven't cooked it in 15 years - so I'm pretty much anti-turkey day right now... blah...

Ok - so let's move on - onward and upward

First some photos from today.. and then my Sunday night of Thanksgiving weekend...

Thanksgiving weekend - let's all be thankful for everything we do have in life. Even with the difficult times and the stresses of life we all have many things to be thankful for.  I know I'm thankful! xo

And to be as untraditional as possible - we went with sushi tonight - had a late start so it is sushi leftovers for the drive to nazko (boooo) and post run celebration food (yeah!)

Egg

Cucumber

Avocado

Prepping imitation crab for california rolls

Prepped crab

Something new.. lettuce and zucchini...

BBQ salmon

Rice prepping

And onto the first roll...

Avocado, zucchini, lettuce, shrimp

(something different)

About 2 heaping tablespoons of prepared sushi rice

Pressed out with wet hands 

California roll

Michael's roll - no nori - this is rice, BBQ salmon, and egg

Rolls - ready for cutting

Time to cut up and test

Boxed and ready for tomorrow

Mmmm - sushi

wow - that totally kicked me in the junk

Today we went and watched the last of the salmon in the creek.  (Photos later) We also went for a run and I am quite surprised at the change in my endurance and speed.  Michael wasn't into it at all today, but even when he was I was keeping up and feeling good - a far cry from where I was in July.

We had lunch at the house and played outside and had fun.  Then at 2pm I decided to have some new tea that I bought - green tea with lemon grass and peppermint - now it said soothing.... I didn't realize that meant kick you in the junk you're gonna lie down and be knocked out by this tea.  I was on Skype with my brother drinking the tea and then as soon as I got off the phone we put in a movie and I outright crashed.  I woke up after two hours and felt like a train had hit me.

So I'm getting over the effects of being knocked out for a few hours - we ended up going outside and playing football for a few minutes - taught Michael to do a dance when he caught the ball... yes, I know it is only for touchdown's but I think it is an important skill - you should see some of the moves that kid has - he 'moves like jagger'...

Ok - photos tonight - hugs to you! Hope your turkey sunday is going well - we head to Nazko for the day tomorrow - yawn - I mean, woohoo... nope I mean yawn.. ah but I'm treating myself to a 13km run tomorrow... yeah baby - that's right - I'm getting my parents to drop me off at the school and I'm running back to the house... a bit of a test for me... my barkerville rush relay leg (up and down mountains) was 12.2 and I did it in 2 hours - it was an embarrassing finish for time but I was pleased to finish because the hills were brutal.  I don't really know how long it will take me, but I'm going to go and have fun.

xo

some photos

Just a sampling of photos from the past two weeks - some of my favourites from the road.

Went to PG today to get some more tricks for the office.  Long day.
Tired. Emotional. And I'll leave it there.  

xo

my disneyland

I had a case of the blog, blog, blog, blog stop... but I'm back.

I was pretty busy out east and just never seemed to find the time to blog... but I did take a lot of photos and they are below.  Highlights - well I got my certification, we won an award (a medal) and I went to Ottawa (yeah, I did - and it was AWESOME!)

So here I am getting my certificate.  It was pretty great.  I'm working on additional training and have more work to do, but I'm pretty happy to have gotten this far and having finished something.

Here I am picking up our medal for best interactive media campaign in Canada ... yeah baby!

Yep - I was very very excited for our team and organization! Still am!

Here is the beauty they tried to confiscate from me at the airport - apparently it could be used as a weapon.  They were right - had they tried to take it away I would have tried to stuff it down their throat.

And then there was Ottawa...

Speaker of the Senate entrance (right hand side of the main parliament building)

Yep - at the Public Entrance sign... under the bell tower

Of course I'm sharing a beaver shot with you :)

The walkway between the centennial flame and the bell tower

I'm milling about - waiting on the bell... waiting to hear it one more time before I leave a place I've wanted to see my entire life... waiting, waiting...

'miss' says the police officer

he's been watching me from the car - I probably look suspicious - people don't tend to hang out as long as I have ... must be a terrorist... damn it... sooo caught... 

um yes

'where are you from'

gawd, what did i do, is there a no loitering sign... damn it... 

British Columbia

'well, that's about as far away from here as you can get in Canada'

yes, mr.officer, sir, it is

Yes

'so, would you like your picture taken with me'

seriously... seriously...

Um, yes, of course!

I love that I help pay for parliament and police officers that like their photos taken with crazy tourists like me... yeah tax dollars - hooray!

Me and the Centennial Flame - being here was the most ethnically diverse place I've been - there were so many different people - wandering the site or taking photos... only one person that I noticed spending the kind of time I spent there... and he kept getting me to take pictures of him and his family.. it was fun.

Fantastic Parliament!

I was sooo excited when I finally got here and then cried as I drove by to try and find parking, cried some more when I walked onto the site and then cried as I walked back to my car after two hours of wandering and being so struck by it all - it was very tough to leave a place that I'd always wanted to be at.. but I left... and I'll return.. one day.

The sunset on my way back to Peterborough... this was before I got lost... but I found my way again.. life is never boring with me... 

I'm off to PG in the morning get some computer gear - home in the afternoon and hoping that we will get a good fall day and some outside time.

Love to you - kisses and hugs xo