Well if they didn't laugh at us before...

This is from CTV's website... I actually didn't watch the closing ceremonies... but got texted about the floating beaver and had to look online and see it with my own eyes... freakin' floating beavers - holy crow... I can't believe it!

Saturday

Well I'm a bit boring lately - sorry about the posts... no recipes, no photos - well not since the Olympics... I'll remedy that shortly.
Today Kyle went rock climbing for the first time - so that was exciting for him - he also played ping pong - it was a birthday party. So we took Michael out shopping and basically just wasted a couple of hours. Michael, as I think I've mentioned, has some speech issues - for example - slurpee is shlurpee and little is yiddle - nothing is nufing, and what is yud... it is actually pretty funny and since we love it so much we've started adopting the language - in fact, I've adopted it soo much that I'm now using it at work and some of my staff use some of the words. Nothing like starting a trend. (Ok - I know - I know - this is not good for the long term and we do correct him and work at strengthening all letter sounds...)

yesterday

was fun....

Today was....

GOOD

and today

Laughing, giggling, running girls... a bunch of them... they have decided to play inside of an turned over soccer net.

"Mom, that is a bad idea. Look at them."

I look. "Yes, bad..."

"Mom...." then as if there was a tractor beam he is drawn in to what they are doing and puts his face up to the soccer net and then puts his hand inside the net.

"Mom, they tried to bite my finger."

freakin' awesome...

"Mom, they are bad."

And then he gets really excited...

"Mom, mom, mom, looooook.... eeeeeewwwwwwww.... barbies...."

Good times at soccer tonight - good times... amen for blackberries and tsn posting updates on the game.

sheessh

I know - where did I go... well I have a good excuse - I went to the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver and I didn't want to post without photos... of course - I forgot my camera cord and am only downloading photos tonight.. so below are a bunch of photos from the last few days. It was amazing being at the games, but I'm glad to be home. Yes, the feeling is electric and it was pretty amazing... but there is no place like home.

And now... for photos...


Luongo and Brodeur


Sidney Crosby


A good old fashion pat down....


Robson Square at night... from the 4th floor of the Art Gallery


Selanne and Koivu - team Finland and Belarus


Beautiful English Bay at night


Pat Quinn and John McKeachie


The Skyy Ice Lounge at Monk McQueen's - definitely worth the visit!

Ah.... a lesson in parenting

For seven years I've been playing the spelling game. When something doesn't need to be heard by sensitive ears I spell it... and today it all came back to me.

Today we are shopping and Kyle says to me -
"Mom, that is C-R-A-P...." (he is right... but wait one second... did you just pull an April... WHAT?)

I hold back my hearty laugh and ask him...

"What does that spell?" And the kid doesn't miss a beat.

"Mom, that spells crap."

Freakin' awesome. So if you are a speller of words learn your lesson from me - one day they will know how to put letters together into words and your spelling days will be over.

I did talk to him about why it wasn't a good thing to do; for the record. I also laughed later about him using the word correctly.

Now off to do laundry - trying to put together outfits for a week of being away. Off to 2010 games! Showcasing the Gold Rush area of BC!

where'd I go...

Hello my dear friends and family! My apologies for the departure from the blog... I am back and have lots to share...

Into the recipes tonight... tonight is orange ginger chicken, broccoli stir fry... I'm actually just cooking because the chicken was out and needed to be cooked - I'm planning to have sushi in a few hours... hooray! I would love to be having one of these though...


Dinner looks like this...



Ok - and then a few more pictures.. this is when I got home from my last road trip and brought a couple of treats... hooray for quatchi! I love him!


And this is me - right now - watching the opening ceremonies for the 2010 games! And I'm sure I'll have plenty of comments after I finish watching...


.... as we watch the games...

"Mom - we live there right... Columbia..."
"Sorry, we live in British Columbia"
"Oh, that's confusing."

Immediately followed by...

"Quesnel - look Mom - Quesnel has a team...."
"Um, sorry - that's actually Cypress..."

And then...

"Mom, if God made everything, who made God...."
"That is an excellent question...." *silence*

And then...

"Mom, how long is this going to take, where is the torch?"

Good times :)

______

Post game notes....
1. Wow - I can't believe that the hydraulics didn't work - a shame....
2. I loved that Wayne Gretsky was sweating as he carried the torch up the stairs and out of BC Place
3. I think the torch resembles the inukshuk and for that reason was a little bit 'meh' about the whole thing... I'm sure it will look great in person though...
4. I loved KD Lang's performance - that was freakin' great!
5. I'm so GLAD-HAPPY-HOORAY that Rick Hansen was part of the final torch bearer stuff... that was the best!

One complaint... well...ok... so what was up with the tourism BC advertising - BOOOOOO - wow - I wonder who the creative genius was behind that... way to take the EXACT same commercial from California and re-use that idea in BC... what it did was confuse me and make me think about California - it was sooo much alike that if I only caught a second or two of it I would have assumed it was California... so boooo for lack of creativity and copycat-itis...

dinner

Tonight was chili night... no recipe.. just cooking...
I don't really like hot chili so this is very mild - wanna mix it - be my guest :)

1 onion
1 stalk of celery
1 tbsp oregano
1 tbsp basil
salt and pepper
1 tbsp olive oil

Heat olive oil in large skillet (frying pan) once heated added chopped/diced celery and onion. Let veggies get transparent.
Add herbs/spices.
Then add thawed hamburger (lean beef or extra lean). Brown meat and mix with veggies.
Then pour in the following:
1 big can of diced tomatoes
1 can of corn
1 can of kidney beans
1 can beans in tomato sauce
1 can of tomato paste

Then just let that all get nice and cozy together - let all these ingredients love each other.. let there be a big gigantic love fest in your kitchen... after about 20-30 minutes of the love fest - enjoy - tonight we served it with bread and some cheddar cheese... well.. that's how the guys ate it. Kyle really likes chili right now - so he ate a pile. Michael - not a chance - he picked out the kidney beans and corn... and then still complained.

Love to you my friends, my family - hugs and kisses too!

too early

Well good morning, Monday. Michael decided to get up extra early and on a day that we could have slept in as it is a Pro D day here. Yesterday was a day of baking and the start of our third week with planned meals... which I gotta say is pretty helpful... make all the decisions on Sunday rather than trying to make decisions all week after working all day. On the baking front we made those yummy apple muffins again because they were sooo great, plus we made monster cookies - so there are a million of those again.

The weekend included some snow - so that is great news - finally - got some snow. Of course I won't get to benefit from it as I'll be away this weekend. I'm hoping to get some more skiing in... with any luck we will get piles more of the white stuff. I've stopped looking at the forecast though because it hasn't been right in more than a month.

On the camera front I took, just shy of, 500 photos at the torch relay and took some snowflake pictures this weekend. My new lens should be here today or tomorrow - and then look out... so long as it works... I'm keeping my fingers crossed and trying to not get too excited about it, just in case it doesn't work.

Well on that fine note, I guess I will go and get dressed. I've done everything else I can possibly do to get ready for the day... or I could go back to bed... ha... alright... have a great day, everyone! A big hug and smooch to start your day!

hee hee, ha ha

Me - "I might go to a wine and cheese tonight."

Kyle - "Hawaiian cheese?"

Me - "Yes, hawaiian cheese..." (sarcasm given but not noted)

Kyle - "What's in Hawaiian cheese?"

Me - "Pineapple." (not that I had a clue...)

Kyle "Oh..."

And because I had to find out, there is a recipe for a hawaiian cheese ball - made with cream cheese, seasoned salt, onion, bell pepper, pecans (for coating) and you guessed it - pineapple....

a laugh

Tonight I'm giving Michael a bath and he starts gabbing about his swimming lessons.

"Mom, we played in the little pool and then we went in the cold water pool. It is cold. I had to put my face down in it."
Then he shows me what he did, but he's got a little smerk on his face. So I ask...
"What... did you pee in the pool?" I chuckle.
"Mom, I didn't pee in the cold pool.... but I did pee in the warm one."
And then he busts a gut laughing - and instead of saying - you shouldn't do that I laugh so hard that I snort.

Oh man, he is so funny. And yes, we will review not peeing in the pool - 'cause yes I know that that is nasty... but as if he is the only one...

groceries, blood and rock & roll

Ah, things that can happen in 30 seconds...

Everyone is in the car, buckled up and I go to return the cart after grocery shopping...
I get back to the car and slide in - literally because my hip is killing me... and I hear Kyle melting down. I look at him and he is covered in blood. His hand is to his face and his hand is cupped and full of blood. There is blood all over his face, hands, jacket -it is terrible. Now all I did was take 20 steps to return the cart, turn around, and come back 20 steps. Now my first thought is that he is having another bleeding nose because he had one yesterday at swimming. Sadly the guilt is dripping off Michael.

What happened?

"Mom, Michael took my pokemon book from me and then he punched me in the face."
First thought - no way did Michael punch you in the face - no way - he doesn't have that much power in his wrist to do that kind of damage.

Luckily I happen to have kleenex today - so we start to mop up - he is still bleeding a lot so I give him the tissue and get going home.

15 minutes later...

Kyle is washed up, cleaned, nose bulging.
"What happened?"
"Mom, I told you. Michael took my book away and then he punched me in the face."
"Ok, I'm going to ask Michael what happened and see if he tells me the same thing."

Facial drop noted...

"Okay (drawn out). Michael had the pokemon book and I stoled it from him and then he punch me in the face."

Ah.....

Enter the - why do you need to lie to me speech....

Then.... it is time to talk to Michael

"Michael, what happened?"
"Mom, I was looking at the pokemon book and Kyle grabbed it from me. So I punched him in the nose."
(Followed by him showing me how he punched him.)

I actually can't believe that a punch from Michael caused so much blood to pour out of Kyle. I mean it was ALOT of blood. I'm a bleeder - always have been - so I've seen piles of it from all the nose bleeds I've had in 33 years.... but this - in such a short period of time was shocking.

So good times... what will the afternoon bring... maybe I should just go back to bed...

return

I made it back from beautiful Lillooet. I was in the mood for a run and did a great loop that takes you through their downtown, over an old footbridge, along the highway and then back up Station Hill and to the hotel... I had it in my head that it wasn't that far.. turns out it was 9km... it was good though... here's where I realized I was going on a run that was longer than I'd thought.... I'd already been at it for 40 minutes when I got to this sign...



Friday was hectic, and I took a day off from running and then Saturday my knee kind of gave out... after some advil though I just wanted to get going again... so I did a 4km up to the rec centre to meet the guys after swimming. It was minus seven and I still went - I think there is something wrong with me... I've never really enjoyed running/walking - I mean I enjoyed it but I wasn't like - holy - I need to go... or *gulp* I want to go... pardon? This morning my knee is sore and now my hip is whining... but I still want to go for a run - it is sick... getting to run outside in Lillooet was great - it was so beautiful and quiet.

Anyhow - me and the guys are going to pick our menu for the week and get going with our day. I need to go and get soy so I can have some coffee....

away

So I'm in Lillooet again - regional meeting in the morning/afternoon - and at 2:45 I woke up... I'm freezing, this is because I can't sleep with the heater on because it is sooo loud, but then I couldn't sleep because some work stuff is bugging me... really really bugging me because I couldn't get back to sleep... I've managed to nearly finish what was bugging me, but all the same I'm not sleepy now... arg!

And since I'm up and can't sleep I thought I better write about it on here. Not a very exciting post... I'm surprised by the whole thing because something from work hasn't never bugged me so much to wake me up and then keep me up... alright - well I'm going to try again to make my eyes close for a few more hours... meetings start in just 3.5 hours and it would be nice to get 2 more hours at least...

arg... no luck with the sleeping... now it is nearly 4... blah... blah, blah, blah

more food posting

So here is tonight's dinner... tomorrow night won't be as exciting - likely subway... as I'm back on the road for a few days.


So first the guys helped me pick recipes for the week.. this is Michael helping out :)
We borrowed a Nigella cookbook from the library and tried a couple of recipes.... so for tonight we tried out "Goujons of Sole with Dill Mayonnaise" or fancy fish sticks with yummy sauce... we were going to make potato wedges with chili too but I ran out of time tonight for both... so instead we made something from Kyle's Disney cookbook - simple recipe was some cheese fish crackers, a table spoon of spaghetti sauce and some mozza cheese - toss lightly - then put in microwave for 20-30 seconds and then eat... easy... and they like it :)


Ok - so to make the fish all we did was follow the easy instructions in Nigella's book - that included about 1/2 cup of cornmeal, 2 eggs and 1/2 cup of breadcrumbs.. so as you can see you have three stations - you take the fish through each station to coat it....


Then coated pieces go into a hot frying pan and cook for about 2 minutes (ish) per side... I ended up going a little longer 'cause I'm a freak about cooked fish for the guys...


And here they are all finished and ready for eating and.... if you can believe it - both of the guys liked it - Kyle even ate the dill mayo - which I gotta say is not very nutritious - but it was flavourful (1/2 cup mayo, chopped fresh dill (2 tbsp ish), salt and pepper and a tsp of lime...)

and because we did other stuff today...

Kyle with a pretty new to the world sheep (lamb).... very cute... (and check out mr.cool with his sunglasses on...)


Michael and 'flower' the sheep... yes, this is a male sheep and I also hope that my sister had a good laugh at this - see other people name their animals 'flower' too...


And here is that cute little lamb, Nathaniel is his 4-H name

We had a great time visiting the farm. The guys got to feed the sheep, pick up eggs and feed horses. It was awesome!

thai food

Tonight was my first attempt at Thai Food. I'm not about super spicy food, but I do enjoy it sometimes. I made lettuce chicken wraps and Coconut Curry Thai Chicken.


The recipe for the Coconut Curry Thai Chicken came from Food Network - here... We made some significant adjustments though.... as I pre-read the recipe and then read the feedback... thankfully :) So what did we do...

First we put on some rice...

1 (13.5-ounce) can light coconut milk
1/2 tablespoon Thai curry paste
1 tablespoons curry powder
2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger
2 cloves garlic, minced
(Mix all of this together and then let it sit and wait the next part is ready for use....)

Olive oil (tbsp)
1 shallot, chopped
1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast, fat removed, cut into small pieces
2 tablespoons curry powder
2 tablespoons peanut butter
1 cup thinly sliced red peppers
1 cup scallions, white and green parts, thinly sliced
Chopped fresh cilantro leaves, for garnish

Cook the shallot first in the olive oil. Medium heat, for about 5-10 minutes so it becomes transparent and yummy.
Then add the red pepper, then go and cut up your chicken and add it in.
Once the chicken is browned and cooked add the peanut butter
Then once the peanut butter has cooked everything add the sauce you made earlier
This simmers and all the yummy flavours join forces.

Now your rice should be ready to go - put some rice on a plate
Then add the yummy Coconut Curry Thai Chicken on top
Then add the scallions and/or cilantro to the top of everything - if you like it..

Now for me this had heat, but wasn't super hot... had we followed the recipe on food network - no one would have eaten it - as it was both of the kids found it too hot - but they aren't use to spicy food...



So then I made the lettuce chicken wraps.
This is pretty simple and is super yummy.

You need a head of lettuce. Run the lettuce under cold water and then let the lettuce soak in cold water while you prepare everything else... this will make the lettuce crisp when you are ready to eat.

For the filling...
1 tbsp oil (vegetable or olive)
1 package of ground chicken breast
1 tbsp of ginger
1 carrot grated
1 cup of shredded cabbage (fine)
1/2 cup of peas
1 cup of baby shrimp
2 tbsp of soy sauce
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1/2 cup peanuts

Cook the chicken
Then add everything else to the pan and cook...

Once it is all cooked then - woo hoo - it is time to eat!
So a couple of tablespoons goes in the lettuce - wrap it up and eat.. yum yum yum!

I also made apple muffins and they turned out wicked awesome too!

hello

good morning!
I am so glad to have coffee back in my life!
I bought some coffee I'm not in love with right now but I'm going to finish it before moving onto something better.
Any suggestions for a coffee that is mild/medium and available at a grocery store... or is that one of my mistakes... buying it from the grocery store.

today is also a day to celebrate Paula - it is her special day today! Happy Birthday, lover!

Alright we have a jam-packed day ahead... so I'm sure I'll be back on here tonight to share about our day... it might even include some lambs....

saturday

Today Michael went skating for the first time. It was a skating birthday party. We didn't stay the whole time, but the guys both got to skate and have cake. Busy day with skating, swimming, library time, shopping and some cleaning...

Alright, so am I the only person that liked Wall-E... I mean it isn't the best Disney movie, but I think it is a pretty good story and idea - or is this like how I like Fantasia and most of the rest of the planet thinks it is - meh...