Oh my word.There's been so many things going on and more to come.My DH and I have just come back from a lovely wedding in Philly. I was in the wedding party and having not been in that position in a long while, I had forgotten just how tiring it could be. Thankfully the wedding went off without a hitch and now we are safely home, each sequestered in their own space having some much needed introverted time. I wasn't sure if it was just me but at the wedding there were certain things that I just couldn't help but ask myself. Thankfully another recent bride and co-bridesmaid said that she thought is was just natural seeing as she had just planned her wedding as well. I'm talking about the constant nagging of numbers. Appreciating the beautiful flower arrangements all the while wondering just how much those six foot centerpieces cost or the mind blowing cost of the venue etc.
All the while feeling terrible about this constant running commentary knowing that I would never change anything I had done in my own wedding. My DH pointed out to me that is it most likely the awe of how much people can spend in one day for something, that now a days, doesn't last a lifetime. I'm still not sure but I know one thing. I had an absolutely lovely time and the bride and groom looked happy as could be.
In a little over a week I'll be starting on a new adventure. My DH and I will be leaving for our honeymoon: an awesome two weeks in Austria. Our boy is going to be watched by the grandmas in turn so he will keep his routine and we won't have to board the pets as well. Added bonus. Pictures and things to follow. For now I have to do laundry and all the usual things that need to be done between trips to keep the house in order!
Sep 30, 2012
Aug 8, 2012
Falling Apart / Safety 1st Press N Pivot Latches Review
It's odd. I don't know if it's the season but relationships of people around me keep falling apart. Not me and them but them and their significant others or spouses. Some are amicable falling outs and others are supremely messy. It's like an epidemic. It makes me sad. For them certainly and also for my self. Thankfully most are mature and "picking sides" isn't an issue. Unfortunately my firm stance on not picking sides has resulted in some folks picking for me. *Sigh* Anyhow I certainly wish them the best.
I figured it's about time for another review. Something I've meant to review for a while now are the drawer latches that we have been using to baby-proof the kitchen. After so much research my husband and I decided to go with the less expensive, traditional plastic latches over the newer magnet types. We ended up purchasing the Safety 1st Press and Pivot Latches. These two part screw in latches had everything we wanted. Easily operable by us and any guests, the ability to be left but "turned off" when unneeded, and simple installation. We've had them installed on the three drawers that have sharps on them for about eight months now and I have to say I'm a little disappointed. After about four months the "spring" (of which there is none, just plastic) started to fail to the point where we and out son could open the drawers without pressing down on the latch like you're supposed to do. At eight months they are pretty useless. While our son doesn't go into the drawers anymore we will be trading them in for something else when baby number two comes along. Since there are several small children among our friends and family we will be needing something that can be in for the long haul. Next time I think we may try those more expensive magnets...
I figured it's about time for another review. Something I've meant to review for a while now are the drawer latches that we have been using to baby-proof the kitchen. After so much research my husband and I decided to go with the less expensive, traditional plastic latches over the newer magnet types. We ended up purchasing the Safety 1st Press and Pivot Latches. These two part screw in latches had everything we wanted. Easily operable by us and any guests, the ability to be left but "turned off" when unneeded, and simple installation. We've had them installed on the three drawers that have sharps on them for about eight months now and I have to say I'm a little disappointed. After about four months the "spring" (of which there is none, just plastic) started to fail to the point where we and out son could open the drawers without pressing down on the latch like you're supposed to do. At eight months they are pretty useless. While our son doesn't go into the drawers anymore we will be trading them in for something else when baby number two comes along. Since there are several small children among our friends and family we will be needing something that can be in for the long haul. Next time I think we may try those more expensive magnets...
Aug 7, 2012
Post Surgery
Well I had my surgery today. I'm not sure of the technical term but the long and the short of it is that I had my gallbladder removed. It was done via four small incisions including one through my bellybutton. The end result is that I am now home with, what I'm sure is, minimal pain in comparison to the traditional method of removal.
Beyond feeling like the right side of my torso has been used as a punching bag and some gas pains (they inflate your abdomen so that they can see better) in my right shoulder, I'm doing well. I have been prescribed some pain meds and have been assured that by moving about I'll dissipate the gas in my body. I'm still a bit drowsy which they said was to be expected and I'm on orders to drink lots of fluids (to help flush the anesthesia and other meds they pumped into me) and stick to my low fat and high fiber diet and include dried fruit and prunes. The down side to all of this is that I can't shower until Thursday. Other no-no's include baths, swimming, picking up my son, and working.
The baths don't bother me as we don't have one large enough for me. Not that I'm fat but I'm tall so either my top half or bottom half end up sticking out. Not comfortable for baths in my opinion. Swimming...we don't have a pool and it's easy enough for me to stay away from the lake. If we had a hot tub or a pool it might be more of a problem. Thankfully my DS is with grandma and grandpa now and will be til the end of the week. It seems I have perfect timing! Work has been put off until the doctor's say so.
I just want to say thank you for all the well wishes and prayers I received. I'm looking forward to being back to my old self soon!
Beyond feeling like the right side of my torso has been used as a punching bag and some gas pains (they inflate your abdomen so that they can see better) in my right shoulder, I'm doing well. I have been prescribed some pain meds and have been assured that by moving about I'll dissipate the gas in my body. I'm still a bit drowsy which they said was to be expected and I'm on orders to drink lots of fluids (to help flush the anesthesia and other meds they pumped into me) and stick to my low fat and high fiber diet and include dried fruit and prunes. The down side to all of this is that I can't shower until Thursday. Other no-no's include baths, swimming, picking up my son, and working.
The baths don't bother me as we don't have one large enough for me. Not that I'm fat but I'm tall so either my top half or bottom half end up sticking out. Not comfortable for baths in my opinion. Swimming...we don't have a pool and it's easy enough for me to stay away from the lake. If we had a hot tub or a pool it might be more of a problem. Thankfully my DS is with grandma and grandpa now and will be til the end of the week. It seems I have perfect timing! Work has been put off until the doctor's say so.
I just want to say thank you for all the well wishes and prayers I received. I'm looking forward to being back to my old self soon!
Aug 5, 2012
Perfect Turkey Burgers
On the quest to becoming healthier eaters my DH and I often have bought ground turkey to replace the ground beef in our recipes. Unfortunately the simplest of these has been the hardest to achieve. The elusive perfect turkey burger has been a tough thing to figure out. I was about to resign myself to a life of dull, flavourless, dry turkey burgers until I found this! It should make about 6 burgers...4-5 if you like them a little heftier.
Tools:
Mixing bowl
Grill
Spatula
Meat Thermometer
Hands...they are the best mixing tool for this job!
Tools:
Mixing bowl
Grill
Spatula
Meat Thermometer
Hands...they are the best mixing tool for this job!
Ingredients:
Directions:
1. In a large bowl, mix the turkey with the onion soup mix, pepper, garlic powder, soy sauce, and egg. It's going to be very squishy and you will be tempted to add bread crumbs. Don't! Refrigerate the mixture about 10 minutes, then form patties. Aug 4, 2012
Three Bean Salad
This three bean salad is something from my mom as well. It's fast, filling, and full of fiber. Good for you and tasty, who knew! I always keep cans of these beans in the pantry since it's a great last minute pot luck/party dish. In fact I'm making it today for my brother-in-law's birthday party. It's also a very recipe to double up on for large gatherings. Just double everything! I hope you enjoy it!
Ingredients:
2 - 14.5oz cans of Cut Green beans
1 - 19oz can Red Kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 - 19oz can Garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 - medium diced Onion
1/2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1/4 cup White Vinegar
Salt
Pepper
Instructions:
1. Place all the beans into a large mixing bowl.
2. Add the diced onion.
3. Add olive oil and vinegar. (My measurements are approximations. Definately go according to your own taste. It should be slightly sour like any good vinaigrette.)
4. Salt and pepper to taste.
Ingredients:
2 - 14.5oz cans of Cut Green beans
1 - 19oz can Red Kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 - 19oz can Garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 - medium diced Onion
1/2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1/4 cup White Vinegar
Salt
Pepper
Instructions:
1. Place all the beans into a large mixing bowl.
2. Add the diced onion.
3. Add olive oil and vinegar. (My measurements are approximations. Definately go according to your own taste. It should be slightly sour like any good vinaigrette.)
4. Salt and pepper to taste.
Aug 1, 2012
Quick and Dirty Chili
When I married my husband I married into his family and he into mine. For the most part this works well but I have my stepfather that loves southwestern food and my DH's stepfather who is from the south. I lived in Florida for a while however my culinary skills and knowledge usually don't venture far out of New England as far as that goes. My husband likes spicy and I like northern corn bread. I set out to find a good chili recipe that was idiot proof for myself that would appeal to both stepdads and our own palates. I'm not a fan of super spicy foods. It was going to be tricky. What I did find was a recipe that over time I've modified and moved into a crock-pot. I hope you like it! I'll post the corn bread recipe soon! This is very filling especially when served with cornbread or chips. We usually get about eight servings from a pot like this!
Tools:
- Measuring spoons
- Chopping knife/garlic press
- Large oval crock-pot (don't know the exact size!)
Ingredients:
Tools:
- Measuring spoons
- Chopping knife/garlic press
- Large oval crock-pot (don't know the exact size!)
Ingredients:
- 2 lb ground beef chuck (not lean)
- 1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic
- 1 (1-lb) bag frozen onions and peppers such as Birds Eye Pepper Stir-Fry mix (or 4 cups of fresh chopped)
- 2 (16-oz) jars roasted tomato salsa (Good quality salsa is a must: Newman's Own or Stonewall Kitchen. See Tip at bottom!)
- 1 (15-oz) can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- Accompaniments: shredded Cheddar, sour cream, corn chips
Instructions:
1. Mix your seasonings with your meat and place it into the crock-pot.
2. Top with the salsa, beans and veggies.
3. Turn on low for 6 hours and done!
Super easy and something that I can throw together before going to work in the morning. Change the seasoning to suit your taste and the salsa base as well. My one tip about the salsa: Chunky is good. The salsa is going to add a lot of flavor. It can also make it completely different. Try mango or pineapple salsa if that's your taste! There's lots of room to make it unique!
Jul 31, 2012
My Mom's Crepes
I'm French-Canadian. I only had pancakes on the rare occasions when my dad took my best friend and I to McDonald's for breakfast. Now that I have my own family it hasn't changed. Crepes are the weekend breakfast (and since I make a big batch) sometimes lunch and snack too. I've put the large recipe in parentheses but the small batch will make about a dozen if done right. The large recipe will make about twenty. Keep in mind that the numbers may vary depending on the size pan that you use.
Tools:
- mixing bowl
- whisk/immersable blender/hand mixer
- measuring cups
- measuring spoons
- saute pan
- ladle
- flexible spatula (to flip them of course!)
Ingredients:
- 3 Eggs (6 eggs)
- 1 cup Milk (2 cups Milk)
- 1 Tbsp. melted Butter (2 Tbsp. melted Butter)
- 1 Cup Flour (2 Cups Flour)
- 1/4 Cup Sugar (1/2 Cup Sugar)
- 1/2 Tsp. Vanilla (1Tbsp Vanilla) *optional*
Instructions:
1. Mix your first three ingredients and whisk/beat. By making this light and fluffy the crepe with light and fluffy! I use my immersible blender (it goes faster and when the guys are hungry I don't have time to procrastinate!)
2. Add sugar while still whisking.
3. Slowly add flour. Add it too fast and you'll get lumps which, while it won't really affect the taste, it makes them look wonky.
4. Add vanilla if you choose.
5. Preheat your pan. test it by dropping a drop of batter into the pan. Pan will be ready if it takes about half a minute to cook. On my stove it's a medium-low setting. Cooking with gas or an older stove may change this for you.
6. Take your ladle and scoop up batter. Now you can use a ladle or a measuring cup or anything else. It's just how I happen to measure the batter. The goal is to put enough batter into your pan to swirl it around so it covers the bottom of the pan.
7. Cook until the bottom is light tan and flip. The second side will not get as dark as the first. That's okay! It will take much less time too since the crepe at this point is mostly cooked through.
8. Repeat steps 6-7 until batter is gone!
Serve:
In our house almost anything goes. Maple syrup, maple butter, peanut butter, applesauce, jellies or jams and, when for lunch, ham and cheese is good too!
Tools:
- mixing bowl
- whisk/immersable blender/hand mixer
- measuring cups
- measuring spoons
- saute pan
- ladle
- flexible spatula (to flip them of course!)
Ingredients:
- 3 Eggs (6 eggs)
- 1 cup Milk (2 cups Milk)
- 1 Tbsp. melted Butter (2 Tbsp. melted Butter)
- 1 Cup Flour (2 Cups Flour)
- 1/4 Cup Sugar (1/2 Cup Sugar)
- 1/2 Tsp. Vanilla (1Tbsp Vanilla) *optional*
Instructions:
1. Mix your first three ingredients and whisk/beat. By making this light and fluffy the crepe with light and fluffy! I use my immersible blender (it goes faster and when the guys are hungry I don't have time to procrastinate!)
2. Add sugar while still whisking.
3. Slowly add flour. Add it too fast and you'll get lumps which, while it won't really affect the taste, it makes them look wonky.
4. Add vanilla if you choose.
5. Preheat your pan. test it by dropping a drop of batter into the pan. Pan will be ready if it takes about half a minute to cook. On my stove it's a medium-low setting. Cooking with gas or an older stove may change this for you.
6. Take your ladle and scoop up batter. Now you can use a ladle or a measuring cup or anything else. It's just how I happen to measure the batter. The goal is to put enough batter into your pan to swirl it around so it covers the bottom of the pan.
7. Cook until the bottom is light tan and flip. The second side will not get as dark as the first. That's okay! It will take much less time too since the crepe at this point is mostly cooked through.
8. Repeat steps 6-7 until batter is gone!
Serve:
In our house almost anything goes. Maple syrup, maple butter, peanut butter, applesauce, jellies or jams and, when for lunch, ham and cheese is good too!
Jul 30, 2012
My Best Friend...the ER
Unfortunately yesterday I had to go back to the ER for the unknown abdominal pain that I was experiencing a couple weeks back. Another round of I.V., tests, and ultrasound and the doc comes up with the news that I have "sludge" in my gallbladder.
Is that a technical term? Yup.
It's what happens when you have a gallstone and it brakes up in your gallbladder. Sound painful? Sure is. Two Vicodin on Saturday night weren't enough to keep me from doubling up in pain. Prior to this incident I thought fiber was restricted to whole grains and fiber supplements. Sure I knew that fiber was in a lot of things subconsciously but I wasn't aware how much some had. For instance did you know that fruits and veggies eaten with skins (cherries, cucumber, tomato, apples, etc.) have lots of fiber? Loads! Unfortunately peanut butter (one of my favorite breakfast foods) has too much fat for me to eat at the moment even if balanced out with apples or something similar. So why the whole low/no fat?
If I remember things correctly: the gallbladder puts bile into the stomach to help digestion. Gallstones can occur when cholesterol mixes with the bile in the gallbladder. Fat requires more bile to help digest it and so if you have a gallstone or "sludge", bile trying to get from the GB to the stomach causes pain. Lots of it. Eat less fat...no pain. This is what I'm following and like I said, it's rough.
More news to follow soon...
Is that a technical term? Yup.
It's what happens when you have a gallstone and it brakes up in your gallbladder. Sound painful? Sure is. Two Vicodin on Saturday night weren't enough to keep me from doubling up in pain. Prior to this incident I thought fiber was restricted to whole grains and fiber supplements. Sure I knew that fiber was in a lot of things subconsciously but I wasn't aware how much some had. For instance did you know that fruits and veggies eaten with skins (cherries, cucumber, tomato, apples, etc.) have lots of fiber? Loads! Unfortunately peanut butter (one of my favorite breakfast foods) has too much fat for me to eat at the moment even if balanced out with apples or something similar. So why the whole low/no fat?
If I remember things correctly: the gallbladder puts bile into the stomach to help digestion. Gallstones can occur when cholesterol mixes with the bile in the gallbladder. Fat requires more bile to help digest it and so if you have a gallstone or "sludge", bile trying to get from the GB to the stomach causes pain. Lots of it. Eat less fat...no pain. This is what I'm following and like I said, it's rough.
More news to follow soon...
Jul 28, 2012
It's The Small Things That Matter
It figures that as I come to write this post one of my cats decides it's time to be cuddly. Isn't that always the way? Any spelling mistakes or other weird keystrokes I blame on my feline typist.
So much has happened since my last post. We've moved into our new house and are trying to get the condo sold. It's been repainted an patched up like new so hopefully that will go soon. The new house was crazy. Wesigned on December 16th moved on the 19th or 20th...can't remember exactly...and hosted 20 people on the 25th. I'm still sane...somewhat. the basement is still unfinished and mostly a storage area though most of the boxes are gone. Pictures still need to be hung but we are slowly getting it all put together. My step-father has built us a roof over our east-facing deck so we can get more use out of it and has also added a wonderful outdoor shower to the back.
The lawn of our house and the general landscaping is leaving much to be desired. We have 4 Leech fields (on spetic system) in our back yard. It's a great level place to play for our son but the whole of it needs to be re-graded as we have standing water on one side and a sink hole over another of the leech fields. LESSON LEARNED: always do a hold back for radon sysem and landscaping when buying a new house.
Other than that I've found a part time/seasonal job at a local place and was doing well before a bout of God-Only-Knows-What has laied me low for the past 3 weeks. I've found out that I have a cyst on my ovary and slight inflammation of the small bowel. After nearly 10 days on my antibiotic I start developing localized rashes and swelling, so much so that I can't close my right hand to make a fist. Back to the doctors I go only to be told that I'm allergic...well *duh*. Now on a particularly nasty steroid that makes me warmer than usual, grumpy, and super tired. Stellar stuff.
On the up hand....and this is where the small stuff comes into play...I found out that someone who had visited my blog for my website (not this one) had sited it on a discussion board in Germany! I looked at it and I was thrilled! It made me super excited that someone had found the information that I had researched so helpful that they posted the link to my post elsewhere! *Happy Dance!*
On to nap time.....Zzzzz
So much has happened since my last post. We've moved into our new house and are trying to get the condo sold. It's been repainted an patched up like new so hopefully that will go soon. The new house was crazy. Wesigned on December 16th moved on the 19th or 20th...can't remember exactly...and hosted 20 people on the 25th. I'm still sane...somewhat. the basement is still unfinished and mostly a storage area though most of the boxes are gone. Pictures still need to be hung but we are slowly getting it all put together. My step-father has built us a roof over our east-facing deck so we can get more use out of it and has also added a wonderful outdoor shower to the back.
The lawn of our house and the general landscaping is leaving much to be desired. We have 4 Leech fields (on spetic system) in our back yard. It's a great level place to play for our son but the whole of it needs to be re-graded as we have standing water on one side and a sink hole over another of the leech fields. LESSON LEARNED: always do a hold back for radon sysem and landscaping when buying a new house.
Other than that I've found a part time/seasonal job at a local place and was doing well before a bout of God-Only-Knows-What has laied me low for the past 3 weeks. I've found out that I have a cyst on my ovary and slight inflammation of the small bowel. After nearly 10 days on my antibiotic I start developing localized rashes and swelling, so much so that I can't close my right hand to make a fist. Back to the doctors I go only to be told that I'm allergic...well *duh*. Now on a particularly nasty steroid that makes me warmer than usual, grumpy, and super tired. Stellar stuff.
On the up hand....and this is where the small stuff comes into play...I found out that someone who had visited my blog for my website (not this one) had sited it on a discussion board in Germany! I looked at it and I was thrilled! It made me super excited that someone had found the information that I had researched so helpful that they posted the link to my post elsewhere! *Happy Dance!*
On to nap time.....Zzzzz
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