Wordless - Octopus anyone? An afternoon at Lonsdale Quay

Link Love

I thought I'd share some of the blogs that have inspired me along the way.

Food blogs that I read:

Aimee from Under the highchair is also the food editor at Simplebites.net
(I also read simple kids and simple mom)

Craft blogs I read:

Where have you found inspiration?

2011 - year of the health nut

I've gone and done it... I hired a personal trainer.

I finally made the plunge when our tap costumes arrived to the studio and we had to try them on... yes, the costumes are gorgeous but i just wasn't happy with the way it looked on me. So, I bit the bullet and called up a friend who also happens to be a trainer and a weight-loss success story herself.

I started two weeks ago. In my first week of changes to my food and exercise levels, I lost 10 pounds! It feels pretty good too! And to be honest, I haven't changed much about my diet...besides swapping my lunch for a hefty salad, the only major change I've made is to stop eating after 8pm and to eat smaller meals more frequently.

I've also increased my physical activity, but not even by a big stretch. I train with my GF Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings for an hour, and then I try to get out and walk Lilly everyday or do some kind of physical activity everyday (even if it's just racing around the dinning room table with Ethan).

Hopefully I can keep up the success. I've been derailed by a nasty cold this week so haven't had much energy to be active. Time for another cup of tea.

The problem with baking cookies...

Is that someone HAS to eat them!

Check out Simplebites.net for the recipe.

Millions of peaches, peaches for me.

We are arrived safely from a weeks worth of camping over the labour day long weekend. In Salmon Arm we had nice enough weather to enjoy an outdoor hot tub, a mini trek to Margaret Falls, and even snuck in some geocaching (or treasure hunting as Ethan and I like to call it). It wasn't until we made our way to Sheridan Lake for the Annual 'Friends and Family Fishing Derby' that the weather really turned for the worse. It was cold and blustery during the day and wet and rainy overnight which ends up sounding like a torrential downpour when you're sleeping in a trailer with a tarp only 1 foot overhead.



Ethan and Rueben had so much fun riding quads and pushing strollers (yes, respectively). And I enjoyed a little time to relax and read without worrying about the boys 24/7. I actually managed to finish reading Emma, which has been my major stumbling block in the great book challenge of 2010. Huzzah, I can move on to Persuasion...



But even more exciting is the bushel of peaches I picked up on our way out of Salmon Arm. I now have several jars of sliced peaches cooling on the counter and the slow cooker is working its magic to make some peach butter which I will jar and process tomorrow afternoon. Looking forward to hearing all those lids popping.

Take Me To The River

Last time Andrew was down, we took the boys to the beach... sort of. We drove up to Fort Langley and found a camp ground with a stretch of sandy beach. So we got out to play. It was funny to watch Rueben crawl backwards downhill to the edge of the water and stop when he realised it was wet. Then he crawled along the rivers edge and every once in a while put his hand out in the water to see if it was still there. So funny!

Ethan had fun playing with his digger in the sand and Lilly played with her frisbee and a stick. We capped off the afternoon with fish and chips for dinner. Delish.

The Pleasures of Summers and Grandpas

Three birds with one stone.

As we speak, I have garlic scape pesto freezing in the freezer, ready for a quick pasta at a moments notice, I have chicken and garlic scapes stir frying away on the stove, and a chicken carcass boiling in a stock pot reducing itself into chicken stock for soup. I love multi-tasking, especially when I can get three meals cooked in two hours. It means that tomorrow, dinnertime won't be as chaotic as it usually is. And I love it when Ethan learns new things. With regards to the meals I'm cooking today, it means that Ethan learns that chickens don't really come pre-cut and wrapped in cellophane from the grocery store, but rather it has skin and bones, and hey, we can use that part of the chicken to make soup. He even learns that we can make a tasty pasta sauce from something that looks kinda silly. As Ethan would say "huh, interesting!"

Sushi Adventures

Don't these rolls look amazing?? I gotta say I'm really impressed with myself because they tasted just as good as they look. After gobbling them all up, Ethan said to me. Now can we make tempura? Ha ha... yeah... Need to do some research for that one to happen. Check youtube for some great how-to-roll and how-to-prepare-rice videos.

Smooth

I used to make smoothies all the time, at all hours of the day and night. When I was pregnant with Ethan, I would pour them into martini glasses to give them an extra special touch, and to make me feel like I was not missing out on any girly drink action. Well, yesterday I broke out the blender and whipped up a batch for me and the boys and boy were they good. Ethan and Rueben gobbled it up. And why shouldn't they? They're so healthy, delicious, chock full of goodness and so easy to make. I litterally throw stuff into the blender and push the button and it always comes out great. Here's my go-to recipe.

BANANA BERRY BLAST SMOOTHIE

1 banana
2 large dollops of plain balkan style yogurt (or whatever you have)
1 handfull of quick oats (or whatever you have)
1 tsp ground flax seed (or flax oil)
1 tsp psyllium seed husks
1/4 cup soy protein powder

about 2 cups frozen berries (I use blueberries and strawberries)

splash of milk

throw it all in a blender and blend until smooth.

Hey SPUD! van: TGIF!

Friday is a busy day at our house what with garbage collection, recycling collection, and our SPUD delivery day is Friday as well. Ethan runs to the front windows when he hears the city trucks coming to collect our trash, but he especially LOVES to run to the front window to wave to our friendly spud! delivery driver. He is such a great little helper, helping to carry in our spud bins, opening them up with excitement to see what groceries we got this week. It's such a great way for him to learn about fruits and vegetables and be able to name them. (How many 3 year olds do you know who know what sun chokes, rhubarb and beetroots look like?!)

We have our spud settings arranged to deliver only locally grown produce which means only within 600 km. As much as I love how great it is that we are supporting our local farmers and reducing our carbon footprint, I gotta say, it has been really boring opening our bin to see the same old familiar winter crop of veggies. Really, how long can one go on eating potatoes, leeks, beets, onions, mushrooms, and sprouts week after week?

6 weeks ago, we started seeing rhubarb in the bin, which was a welcome addition. I LOVE rhubarb, and contentedly busied myself making rhubarb ginger jam, stewed rhubarb, a rhubarb berry crumble and even rhubarb rosemary daiquiris. But lo! What did I find this morning when I opened up the spud bin but two bright red, plump, delicious looking tomatoes staring right back at me. Could it be? Yes, spring is really here which means summer is right around the corner.