just percolating...
This will be our third summer in our new home, and each year we (er, correction: the "royal we") put in a small veggie and herb garden into a bed that's on the side of the house. The kids love the entire process -- planting, watering, watching the growth, and then picking their own food from their own garden. Here's how ours is looking so far. We've got red peppers, cabbage, tomatoes, green onions, beans and all sorts of herbs … [Read more...]
Last Saturday, Stella and I ran in the 2K Family Run at Ottawa Race Weekend. It's an inclusive race where strollers, wheelchairs, walkers, and toddlers are all welcome. Have you heard of "chickenpox parties"? It's when a group of parents hold a party and intentionally invite a child with chickenpox to hang out with their children in the hope that their kids will catch it. Well, this is sort of how I imagine I might be able to catch … [Read more...]
There's a whole lot of talk lately about kids and their low fitness levels in Canada. This week, as example, Healthy Active Kids Canada just released their annual report and gave Canadian kids a grade of "D minus" (yikes!) for overall fitness activity levels. I've been working with a client who focuses on this, so I've had the opportunity to read into some of the research investigating the roots of this issue and, needless to say, it's a complex, … [Read more...]
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I’m going to tell you right of the bat that I’m not exactly the best cook. Don’t get me wrong, I love to make food. So awhile ago I tried to make cheesy chick biscuits. I started by mixing all the ingredients in the bowl and the likes, but after that it all went down hill. I rolled the batter out and it stuck to the wax paper I was using. Then I realized that we didn't have any cookie cutters, so I just said “cookie cutters are like SO … [Read more...]
When I told you about my New Year's Resolution, I also said I'd tell you how I planned to achieve it. I have three steps in my success plan. #1: The FitBit My goal is to hit 8,000 to 10,000 steps a day. So, naturally, I needed a way to track how many steps I'm doing. For this task, I chose a handy dandy gadget called a FitBit (I bought the "Ultra" now replaced by the "The One"). I had been eyeing this fancy version of pedometer for a while … [Read more...]
What is it about the turning of the clock that makes us want to change ourselves? Well, perhaps not "change," but improve or enhance. I think it must be the feeling of "starting fresh." Like all dieters tend to do by starting their diet on a Monday rather than, say, a Wednesday. I am a failure at resolutions. I'm not being self-deprecating. This is a fact. I know this because I recorded my 2011 New Year's Resolutions here on the blog. These … [Read more...]
I don't want to shock you or anything, but I've expanded my cooking repertoire beyond Bananaberry Bomb muffins to now include a quinoa salad. That keen-noa, people. Don't make the same mistake as me and go around called it key-no-ah for at least a year before figuring out that you're pronouncing it all wrong! For a while, I've been trying to sway the household into eating quinoa instead of pasta and rice, but with only limited success. … [Read more...]
Okay, friends, to cap off this "50 Shades" theme, I'm bringing out the big guns today. Like any good finale, I've saved the best for last. I've called upon one of my favourite bloggers to write a guest post just for us! Amanda is The Maven of Mayhem and it did not go unnoticed by me that she recently penned an erotic tale about bacon. (Yes, yes she did!) But since I don't actually like bacon, I have put in a special request for .... POUTINE! … [Read more...]
So, you might recall that I have a habit of buying expensive, lovely-packaged cereals when I hit the grocery store. Well, a gorgeous box of Dorset Cereals is definitely something I've been known to come home with, while managing to forget to buy other staples. I can't be blamed really ... how does one resist such an attractively designed package? I just love a yummy muesli! Why? I don't know ... there is just something so comforting about … [Read more...]
Last week, I got all inspired by my copy of The Looneyspoons Collection (TLC) and made muffins. For the first time. Ever. Please don't ask how I got this far in life without having made muffins because then I'd have to admit to you all the other things that I've never cooked or baked. It's a long list. I was actually going to make a cookie recipe because it had fewer ingredients (and therefore seemed less intimidating), but Stella, my … [Read more...]
A little while back, I wrote about David Chilton, author of The Wealthy Barber and The Wealthy Barber Returns. (And did you hear the news that he's going to be one of the "dragons" in the next season of the Dragons' Den? I think he'll be fantastic!) In the most recent book, he details how he came to publish massively popular Looneyspoons cookbook with sisters Janet and Greta Podleski. Published in 1996, Looneyspoons broke publishing … [Read more...]
I have a colleague in my office who spoils us with special treats throughout the year. Yesterday, she brought in the cutest cupcakes for St. Patrick's Day. It's the small things that really make a difference sometimes, isn't it? Cupcake by Andrea Larose. Photo by Leslie Bayford. … [Read more...]
When I turned 40, I had a celebration with my girlfriends. There were no gifts allowed, but a girlfriend gave me a gift in what she wrote in a birthday card. She wrote: "Remember when you were 30 and looked back on the photos of yourself when you were 20, and thought - wow, I looked great. You will be thinking the same thing when you're 50 looking back at yourself now." At first at thought ... "Gee, thanks for the reminder of how much I am … [Read more...]
Growing up, I loved to dance. Most days after school, I grabbed a bus and headed to the studio for a class. Some evenings, I had two classes. I simply couldn’t get enough of them! When I was about 17 years old, I stopped taking classes and then moved away for university, where there were no classes offered. I didn’t realize then how big a loss that was … losing my true love. Since then, I’ve tried rugby (played winger when they let me off the … [Read more...]
In the post "Impractical Purchasing, NYC edition, part 1," I had intimated that Hubby did not like it (at all!) when I went grocery shopping. However, the other day we were in need of some milk and bread and he asked if I could pick that up on my way home from the office . Naturally, I said "Oh course, sweetheart," because I am a perfect and lovely wife. Then I rubbed my hands together in glee because who knew what slickly-packaged, over-priced … [Read more...]
Our family didn't downhill when I was growing up, nor did Hubby's. We'd like to introduce the kids to downhill while they're still young. You know ... before that fear factor sets in. Fear stops a lot of people from doing a lot of things. But when you start young, or at least have a little introduction to something when you're young, it always seems to make a difference. Like learning to swim as a kid versus an adult, or a new language, or sport … [Read more...]
I definitely need to lose a few pounds. But I'm not crazy enough to think that's going to happen over the Christmas holidays. The sheer amount of food and temptation at this time of the year is enough to put even the most disciplined any person over the edge! So, in the meantime, I'm going to take solace in these vintage advertisements. Won't you join me? More ads can be viewed (and deeply enjoyed!) over at Babble. … [Read more...]
If you've gone into hibernation early, there's the possibility that you've missed the fact that all around us, the men in our country are sporting moustaches. Or what their particular genetics happens to allow them to grow as a moustache. No, you're not having a bad flashback to the 70s, it's Movember. Movember has two goals: to raise funds to battle prostate cancer and to raise awareness of men's health issues in general. It's a great … [Read more...]
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. This is not something that I have to remember -- the pink products everywhere tell me that it is. Cancer is a terrible disease, and I've always thought pink was a terrible colour, so I guess the two things go together. Like most women my age, I have friends, family, colleagues, and acquaintances who've had to face this diagnosis and live through it the best way they can. Some have been more fortunate … [Read more...]
I know some moms who literally rejoice at the start of summer vacation solely because it releases them from the morning grind of the school lunch. And who can blame them? The school lunch really is a tedious task. And it’s fraught with pitfalls -- pitfalls that are just waiting for me to fall into! So, with school just around the corner, I thought I'd gather some tips for myself. And hey, I might as well share while I'm at it! Pitfall #1: … [Read more...]
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