Looking At the Positive

So last week we noticed a horrible electrical burning smell coming from our fridge.  For safety sake we had to shut it off and called a repairman who of course was not able to come until after the weekend.  I unloaded the contents of the fridge into our camping coolers and put them in the garage.

Yesterday the fix-it guy came.  At first he thought the compressor had broken, which would have meant it would not have been worth fixing and we would have been faced with purchasing a new fridge - not an expense we need at the moment.  It turned out it was a less expensive problem, worth fixing.  Yippee!!  Of course, it was still close to $300.00, but much more manageable.

As luck would have it we are having this ridiculously warm weather for January.  Most of the food in the coolers did okay, but I did have to throw away a few things that just got too warm.

I am trying to look at the positive though.  One good thing to come out of this inconvenience was it forced me to clean out the fridge.  A much needed and overdue project.  I must say it looks and smells beautiful.  It really doesn't take much to make me happy!!

I will not "read" the "Book of Mormon"

After finishing teaching tonight I came out of my music room to see this ...

I LOOOOOVE THIS!!

Ashton reading "Green Eggs 'n Ham" to Bowen.  Ashton had changed the words to read instead of "I will not eat Green Eggs 'n Ham" to "I will not read the Book of Mormon" - so that by the end of the book the Cat in the Hat loves to read the Book of Mormon.  A couple of years ago our ward had a missionary who had redone his Green Eggs 'n Ham book this way and Ashton still remembers.

Love these boys!  I hope they always love each other and The Book of Mormon!



Can You Not Find My Child?

After an overwhelming week - which I talked about earlier today - the rest of the day has been adding to my stress level.  Around 9:00 a.m. this morning I started to notice an electrical smell coming from somewhere.  I unplugged everything I could think of.  The computer, Wii, kitchen aid, etc.  Then I opened up windows to try and air out the room so I could diagnose where the smell was coming from.  With some detective work, equal to Sherlock Homes, I concluded the smell was coming from the fridge!

Aaarrrgg!  Not quite sure what the problem is, but as soon as Jason gets home we'll need to get a repair man in here (who will charge us a small fortune, I'm sure) to try and repair the fridge.  So now to add to all the other messes in the house at the moment I need to clean out the fridge.  The smell is also starting to get to me - I feel a bit nauseous and am getting a headache.  Jason promises me it is not toxic.  I hope he is right!

Then at about 1:00 p.m. I get a call from the boys' school.

School Office - "Hi, Mrs. Atwood - I'm calling about Bowen ..."

Me - "Yes"

School Office - "So Bowen is home from school today?"

Me - "No - he's at school."

School Office - "Oh, was he late?"

Me - "No - I sent him on the bus!

School Office - silence

Me - "Can you not find my child!!"

School Office - "Oh, I'm sure it is just a mistake, I'll go down to the kindergarten room and check."

She puts me on hold for what seemed like FOREVER, while I prayed like a crazy woman that my child wasn't missing.  I imagined myself as one of those parents on TV crying "I swear I put him on the bus!"  She finally comes back to the phone.

School Office - "I'm sorry to bother you.  Bowen is in class.  They sent down the wrong card, another little boy is not in class today."

Me - "That was scary - I'm glad he's in class." (What I was thinking - BOTHER ME!  YOU ABOUT GAVE ME A HEART ATTACK).

I know I have mountains of things to do but I think I may just lay down for a bit and chant - Serenity now, Serenity now, Serenity now!!

Surprises from Claire

When we first moved to Douglas Glen I had a visiting teacher named Claire.  She was a fabulous visiting teacher.  She has offered assistance whenever we needed it.  She is very loving and kind.  She would bring me little gifts for every holiday.  I've received mugs, note pads, socks, pencils, erasers, candy etc. for every holiday imaginable.  She would also bring over recycling that she thought the boys could make crafts with.  Inside the bag of recycling she'd hide little gifts for the boys as well.

About two years ago they changed my visiting teachers, I love my new visiting teachers as well, but I miss Claire.  However, that hasn't stopped her from bringing over her recycling for the boys with their little surprises inside. 

It had been a few months since we had received such a drop off, until the other morning when Jason was leaving for work he noticed two huge bags of recycling on our front step.  Ashton quickly got to work and has already made skis out of two long pieces of styrofoam.  After searching through the bags they also discovered their little presents.  They each got a chocolate santa, and a Mix and Match Sticker book.

After school yesterday the boys spent a couple of hours playing with their sticker books.

Thanks Claire for loving our family, and for being the best example of what visiting teaching is all about! 

We love you!!

Friday Weigh In - Week 3

I've had a week that has felt like I'm barely keeping my head above water.  I can't seem to catch up.  I do things all day and at the end of the day I look around and wonder what I've done.  My goal this weekend is to try and catch up abit and then I have plans to organize and have a schedule.  I've started the boys on their reward charts again.  They are old enough to be keeping their rooms and playroom clean, and to have simple chores each day (taking out the recycling etc.)  I also found a cleaning schedule online that I want to implement.  It breaks the week down into doable tasks each day.  I'm hoping this will help me feel like I don't need to try to get it all done in one day.

You may be wondering what all this preamble has to do with my Friday Weigh-In.  Not much!  Other than it speaks to my state of mind and why when I weighed in this morning I've only lost ...

.5 lbs



I am happy that at least it is going in the right direction.  I've concluded that I also need to start cooking again.  I've been just throwing supper together and they haven't always been calorie wise.  So last night I made the chili recipe from the "Eat Shrink and Be Merry" cookbook.  I've made this recipe alot and it is one of my favorite chili recipes.  It has so much flavor and it makes alot so there are always leftovers for the next day.

CHILI

1 1/2 lbs lean ground beef                                                  1 cup beef broth

2 tsp minced garlic                                                             1/4 cup chopped celery leaves

1 cup each diced celery,                                                    1 tbsp barbecue sauce

  diced green bell pepper,                                                   1 can (19 oz) red kidney beans,

  and diced red onions                                                             drained and rinsed

1 1/2 tbsp chili powder                                                       1 can (14 oz) beans in tomato sauce

1 1/2 tsp each ground cumin                                                   (I use Heinz Original)

  and dried oregano                                                             3 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro

1 tsp ground coriander                                                            (I omit - I think it tastes like soap!)

1/4 tsp ground black pepper                                               1 tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice

1 can (19 oz) diced tomatoes,                                             2 tsp liquid honey

  undrained

1 can (14 oz) tomato sauce

Cook beef and garlic in a large, deep, non-stick pot over medium-high heat until beef is no longer pink.  Stir in celery, green pepper, and red onions.  Cook and stir for 3 minutes, or until vegetables begin to soften.

Stir in chili powder, cumin, oregano, coriander, and black pepper.  Cook for 1 more minute.  Add undrained tomatoes, tomato sauce, beef broth, celery leaves, and barbecue sauce.  Bring mixture to a boil.  Reduce heat to low.  Cover and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add beans and simmer, covered, for 10 more minutes.  Remove from heat.  Stir in cilantro, lime juice, and honey.  Serve hot.

It's really yummy - enjoy!!

ps.  This recipe once won first prize at a chili cook off at our Ward Corn Bust.  The prize was a whoopie cushion!

Friday Weigh In - Week 2 & Random Ramblings

So good news!  Most of the chocolate that was in my house last week is now gone.  The bad news!  When I weighed this morning I gained ...

1 lb

Whoops!  I really need to get my act together.  I need to start writing things down again.  I do so much better when I do that.  I don't have any excuses.  I just didn't do what I need to.  I'm going to forget about it and move on.  It is a new weightloss week and this week I will do better.  I'll be back next week with better news!

So I had a moment in Walmart this week.  Wednesday was Jason's birthday so I was standing in Walmart in the card aisle picking out a card for the boys to give their Dad.  As I was looking at all the cards meant for children to give to their fathers it suddenly occured to me that I would never be able to pick out a card for my Dad ever again - and I started to cry - in the middle of WALMART!  I felt like such an idiot.  I quickly got my act together and I don't think anybody saw me.  Grief is a funny thing.  Somethings that you are sure will trigger an emotional response won't and other little things can bring up feelings you thought were under control.  I still have lots of times that I'll have tears over my loved ones that I've lost.  I think crying is cathartic though.  I always feel better after a good cry.

The other day Bowen was talking to his Dad about his lego and I overheard him say:

"The connectors deconnected one time, but I reconnected them."  Not exactly proper English, but pretty clever all the same. 

Wow, I really did ramble today.  I'm off to make myself something healthy for breakfast - and to write it down!  Til next Friday - you will see less of me!

Look Who Had a Birthday!

My handsome, wonderful, loving husband had a birthday yesterday.  He turned 38!  We had a low key birthday celebration for him.  With Jason's birthday being so close to Christmas he always seems to have a low key celebration.  One of these years I need to plan something big for him - he deserves it.  Maybe for his 40th!!  (sshhh, don't tell him we'll keep it a secret).

Unfortunately Jason has a horrible cold and was feeling miserable.  He made it through half a day of work and when I got home from taking Bowen to the bus stop he was sleeping on the couch.  He decided he felt well enough to go for lunch.  We ran to what is becoming our regular - ABC Restaurant - and enjoyed a nice lunch together.

After lunch and a couple of errands, we picked up the kids and headed home.  I taught piano from 4:00 - 6:30 p.m.  It was a short night for me as my last two students had cancelled.  We had decided before though that we would have a late supper just the two of us after we put the kids to bed.  So after feeding the boys Jason opened presents.  It was meager - but Jason is easy to please and really didn't expect much. 

I apologize in advance for the overload of pictures - I am LOVING my new camera.

Bowen being his regular annoying little self!

I'm not even sure how it started, but after wrestling it was time for cake!  We usually buy Jason an ice cream cake from DQ every year - but I asked the kids if we should make Dad a regular cake this year that they could help me decorate.  Nope!  They wanted to stay with tradition and get a DQ cake - I felt ridiculous picking up a cake in -34 weather.  The freezer downstairs is a bit full (I need to clean it out), so we've just been keeping it in the garage - sad!

After we put the kids to bed I prepared dinner for Jason and I.  Jason had requested steak and was willing to brave the cold to barbecue them.

We had a delicious dinner of a citrus and crab appetizer, steak, baked potatoes, carrots, beans, and roasted garlic bread.

YUM!!

I sure hope even though Jason was feeling miserable that he had a great birthday.  The boys and I love you so much and are grateful for all you do for our family!

Sarah Richardson and Sticky Toffee Pudding

The Home Expo was at the BMO Centre at the Saddledome today so we decided to check it out.  We told the boys this morning our plans - Bowen cried and ran to his room!  Oh, brother!  I have so many plans for our home.  Someday plans - when we can afford it plans.  But it is fun to dream.  It was a good expo.  We checked out roofing ideas, hardwood flooring, tiles, hot tubs, etc.  Ty and Dane decided to meet us there and we had a fun afternoon together.

The kids kept rubbing their balloons on their hair to make their hair stand on end.  Bowen kept saying it was making his hair "ecstatic"!

One of my design idols is Sarah Richardson.  I watch all her shows - Design Inc., Sarah 101, Sarah's House, etc.  So I was excited that she was going to be at the expo today.  Her show was at 1:30 p.m.  About 1:00 p.m. we were all getting tired of walking around so we went to her stage and the seats were already filling up so we got ourselves a seat.

TV really does add 10 pounds - she's skinny!  But just as personable, knowledgeable and fun in person as she is on TV.  I enjoyed her presentation.  She answered some questions before her presentation - Jason kept bugging me to ask her what colour of hardwood we should put down with our cherry trim and banister.  I didn't want to ask because I know she'd tell me to paint my trim white and I don't want too!  I always love her design.  She is brillant at putting fabrics together and her designs always have a fresh, clean look.

After the Home show we were all hungry so we decided to have an early supper and headed to  ABC Restaurant.  Jason had a pulled pork sandwich, I had chicken fingers and fries, Bowen had a grilled cheese sandwich and Ashton had a waffle.  We spoiled ourselves and had dessert.  We had a Sticky Toffee Pudding.  It was soooooo good!  It was so good it almost deserved its own blog post.  It definitely needed to be memorialized.



Bowen was being a "pill" today.



I really enjoy outings with my family.  I know it wasn't exactly what the boys wanted to do - but they were good about letting mom enjoy it and weren't too much of a pain (actually they weren't a pain at all!)  Now to figure out how to layer some fabrics and textures in my living room, it is feeling a bit blah!

Friday Weigh In - 2012 Week 1

This week was kind of a tough one.  It was my first full week back teaching, and that is always a bit of an adjustment.  I love teaching piano - but I also really enjoyed my couple of weeks off!  Meals were kind of hit and miss.  I really need to make a monthly meal plan - just need to find the time to do it.  Maybe I should just photocopy somebody elses.  Anyone have one they want to give me?   I didn't exercise at all!!  My sister in law Char has been talking about Just Dance 3 they bought for their Wii.  She says it is really fun and a good workout.  I'm thinking maybe I should pick that up.  The boys and I could have fun together.

So even though I don't think I did very well I'm committed to weighing in each week.  I didn't want to but I stepped on the scale this morning.  I lost ...

.5 lbs

Oh well, it's a start again.  What I really need help with is this ...

HELP!!

What do I do about all this chocolate in the house!! 

This doesn't include the little bit of homemade chocolates I have leftover as well!

Any suggestions welcome!  Til next Friday, I hope you'll see less of me!

Gotta Love Gift Cards

On Saturday we decided to head to the mall as a family to spend our gift cards we got for Christmas from Grandma Bach.  First stop was the Lego store.  One of the boys favorite places on earth.  They had alot of fun picking out what they wanted to buy.  Next we were off to Old Navy for Jason to buy a new pair of pants and lastly I bought a couple of things at the Bath and Body shop.

Thanks Grandma for all our great stuff!

Later that afternoon we took the boys to "Puss in Boots" at the cheap theatre.  The boys love going to movies.  It was a cute show and we had a good time together.  Then we headed home for supper.

I bought a big ham the other day and was looking for a recipe to use up some of the leftovers.  I came across this dish in my Better Homes and Gardens cookbook.  It was fast, easy to make and very yummy!

SCALLOPED MACARONI AND HAM



1 cup dried elbow macaroni

1/4 cup chopped onion

2 tbsps butter

2 tbsps all-purpose flour

1 tsp fresh basil, or 1/4 tsp dried basil, crushed

1/8 tsp pepper

1 1/2 cups milk

1 cup diced fully cooked ham

1/2 cup frozen peas

1/2 cup soft bread crumbs

1 tbsp butter, melted

1.  Cook macaroni about 10 minutes or till tender but still firm.  Drain well.

2.  Meanwhile, for sauce, in a medium saucepan cook onion in the 2 tbsps butter till tender but not brown.  Stir in flour, basil and pepper.  Add milk all at once.  Cook and stir till thickened and bubbly.  Remove from heat.

3.  Stir in the cooked macaroni, ham, and frozen peas.  Transfer to a 1-quart casserole dish.  Toss together the bread crumbs and the 1 tbsp melted butter.  Sprinkle crumbs atop the macaroni mixture.

4.   Bake in a 350 degree oven about 30 minutes or till bubbly. 

It was a great day before the boys head back to school on Monday.  I am looking forward to getting back to a routine, but it has been so nice to have less responsibilities and to have time to enjoy my family.

Friday Weigh In - 2012

I'm baaaaack!  It is time to get back to reality and face these weight issues.  I took a bit of a break during Christmas but I'm ready to start again.  As it is a new year I think I'll start fresh with week 1.  But I will count my weight from when I started this blog weightloss journey.  I weighed in this morning and I have gained a pound over the holidays (not bad!).  So since I started I have lost 11.5 pounds.

My goals for this week are to eat healthy and count all my points, increase my intake of fruits and vegetables, and to exercise 3 times.  I'm ready to get back into a routine.  I have lots of things I'd like to accomplish this year.  Paint my house, organize closets and the basement, continue to get healthy, learn to budget and save money, entertain more, become a better photographer.  Be sure to stay tuned to see how I do.  Til next Friday - Happy Weight Loss!!

The Good Ole Days

One of my goals for 2012 is to get my photo albums up to date.  Since I got married I've been really good about developing our photos and putting them in albums.  About 4 years ago we bought a digital camera, shortly after moving into our house.  I have pictures in my album from our first Christmas here when Ashton was almost 4 and Bowen was almost 2.  Since that time I have not printed off one picture. 



Last pictures in my photo album - look how tiny the boys are!

 It bothers me alot.  I have all our pictures on the computer, but there is just something about flipping through a photo album.  A few days before Christmas I noticed I still had some free pictures available through Walmart so I ordered a bunch of pictures to be printed.  I'm excited I've finally started and within a few months I should be caught up and will have many albums filled.

There is one thing I missed however.  Do you remember when you took pictures with film, and you dropped it off to be developed, how exciting it was to get your pictures back?  You were never quite sure what you were going to get.  It was a great surprise everytime.  As I went to pick up my pictures last week there was a complete lack of excitement.  I knew what every picture was going to look like before I got them. 

The new technology is great in so many ways - but I miss "the good ole days"!