Moose Jaw Treasures

by admin on March 10, 2012 in Adventure and Me, Better Check Out Links, Bits Of My Personality, Little Things with No comments

 I enjoy finding treasures with character, and I found character in Moose Jaw INDEED.  Feel free to check out the link to my post on our girl’s weekend RIGHT HERE!

Yes the phone in the photo above works.  This candle stick corded phone is an original.  Something this special deserves to be used so I have it set up in the kitchen and have put the cordless phones in other locations.

Winter is a fact of life here so why not cozy up with style?!  I was going to buy the pink cup cake mittens but thought these owl ones where way more mature (wink).  I do so like owls!

 So not a huge hall from my last trip, but all very special.  Most of the items where found in a cute little collectible antique place that I will have to visit every time I return to that wonderful little city called Moose Jaw Saskatchewan.

Happy treasure hunting!

TTFN

On A Quiet Day

by admin on March 8, 2012 in Bits Of My Personality, Foodie Like Me, Life Keeps Changing, Little Things, Mama Heart Mushings, People In My Heart with No comments

Rough start to the day, but these chocolate drop cookies, I had whipped up last night, where a slightly sweet invite back into the world of appetite.

The recipe is from my ‘Salem Church’ cookbook… a book that means so much to me personally (used to be my home church). Each recipe holds a name I usually recognition, a woman I know or knew of, this makes me smile and feel like they have shared them just with me… Never do the recipes taste as good, prepared by myself, as they did at the church functions, prepared by THE holder of the recipe…
It is a not much kind of day.  My littlest guy and I are in our pj’s and I am working on feeling better.  

Iron-man is keeping him company.  He is a big superhero fan and although we have cut down on most of the toys around here he sure enjoys the ones we kept.  His iron-man toy used to be his big brothers, but my bigger guy never was as into the whole superhero thing.   

So my boy and his toy have been doing everything together.  Morning cartoons, ‘iron-man armored up’ of course.  Breakfast was together.  They wanted oranges, yogurt and honey toast.  If I ask my little guy to come up stairs he has to fly iron-man the whole way, with sound effects and all.  Iron man has been really busy shooting the bad guys all over my house and I appreciate that, gotta clean out the riff raff.


You can’t find better company then a boy and his superhero.


Such a different time of my life this is.  I choose the do nothing days, slowing things down is up to me.  Used to be with babies and toddlers all around slow and not much was the normal kind of day.  Now the nothing days are the special days.


TTFN

Hit and Miss

by admin on March 6, 2012 in Bits Of My Personality, Feeling It (Thankful), Little Things with No comments
  (When baby boy and I got up today we noticed it was CANADA outside!)

Snow has been hit and miss this year, so we where happy to see such an intense snow fall that it left drifts and stuck to the trees, windows and siding of the house.  No complaints here as we have been waiting for this.  It was beautiful and not actually too cold to be out.  We spent a good part of the day shoveling.

Took a lunch break from pushing snow and noticed a neighbor going out of his way to come over and do the street part of our walks with his snow blower!  Must get to know this neighbor, a thanks is in order as I am thankful!  Feeling very blessed.

Enjoy the photos, it is pretty isn’t it?!  Even if you are not a winter fan I think everyone can see the beauty in it.

TTFN

Spa Weekend

by admin on March 6, 2012 in Adventure and Me, Bits Of My Personality with No comments
 Third annual girls weekend away.  
Second time going to Moose Jaw Saskatchewan 
and their ‘Temple Garden Mineral Spa’.  
First time EVER getting a massage.
 

 It was a weekend of relaxing and eating mostly.  Each evening we took in a movie right in our hotel room.  We soaked in the mineral waters and puttered around the hotel a great deal more then in the past.  Such a slow pace meant we even got naps in.

While we got in some shopping it is so often more about the food with Mirelle and I.  We find such pleasure in not just stopping in anywhere to eat or have a coffee break.  I think after this trip we have pretty much hit each of the special dining locations that Moose Jaw has to offer.  We went to the hotel’s restaurant twice as it was amazing!

(Our favorite dish at the hotel’s restaurant.  A crepe seafood dish.)

(My sister enjoying her breakfast and coffee at one of our favorite coffee shops.)
(One of the nicest places we have ever dined at was an art galleries cafe.)

This time around I really saw the appeal of a ‘spa weekend’.  Wondering around in your robes and slippers, getting massages and floating in the spa waters.  Having a coffee at the pool side starbucks cafe and snoozing through out the day.  Yeah this was actually a break!

 Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan MARCH 2012

TTFN

A Week of Meals In February (Recipe Request)

by admin on March 1, 2012 in Domestic Damsel, Foodie Like Me with 1 Comment
Haven’t done a post like this in a while!  Always enjoy a collection of photos of successful meal. So fun to have a camera again that can take such lovely pictures of my suppers.
I was my husbands hero this night! All natural BACON, hard boiled free range eggs and roasted, olive oil, cilantro, paprika, garlic vegetables.
 

Another winner with my man. Aged cheddar cheese toast (on home made bread), a cranberry/orange dressed salad and cilantro garlic wild salmon. I don’t think we can go back to farmed now that we have tasted wild, so tender!!

Needed a low effort supper as I was wiped. Here we have steamed Jamaican black rice mixed with a sprouted brown rice that is dressed with lime juice and sea salt and pepper. Next is some boiled sweet organic veggies and steamed chicken with cilantro and salt and pepper on top. Of course the kids liked it enough to go back for seconds and thirds… good old chicken and rice…  I napped while everything steamed or boiled so it was a winning meal for me too.

Italian Venison Sausage with cilantro and olive oil carrots and buttered cabbage. My man is nuts about cabbage. Finished off with some veggie infused chips.

WOW, this butternut squash pasta sauce was thick and cheese-y. Stuck to the whole wheat pasta beautifully. It had dill, garlic, sweet onions, an apple, mushrooms and aged cheddar chopped up in it.  This meal resulted from being almost totally out of groceries so we had dried seaweed and carrot sticks on the side.  We all enjoyed seconds!

~~~

To top it all off I found a fabulous recipe for a giant chocolate chip cookie!  You eat it like cake.  It makes a large 14″ cookie or two smaller ones made in 8×8 circular pans.  The smaller ones work great to stack and ice together!  So fun to try to decorate them differently each time!


Here is my altered version of the recipe:



THE Giant Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake

Ingredients

  • 1 cup butter, softened
  • 1 cup organic sugar or coconut sugar
  • 1/2 cup toasted wheat germ
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 cups flour
  • 1/4 cup chickpea flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
  • 1 cup chopped walnuts or shredded coconut (use the coconut when making this for school as our school is a nut free zone)

Directions

  1. Blend butter and sugar together in a big bowl.
  2. Beat in vanilla and eggs till fluffy.
  3. Add flour, salt and baking soda and mix in well.
  4. Fold in chocolate chips and the nuts or coconut.
  5. Spread in greased 14 inch cookie sheet or 2 round 8×8 cake pans.
  6. Bake at 375 degrees for about 15 -25 minutes.
  7. Cool in pan on rack.
  8. Flip out of pan and decorate.

 TTFN

Kathy

by admin on February 28, 2012 in Adventure and Me, Bits Of My Personality, Feeling It (Thankful), Little Things, People In My Heart, The Pet with 1 Comment

Been going to a series of conferences for the last while, on my own.  In general I appreciate getting time alone.  The plus to this time of learning alone has been plenty of head space to take it all in.  The downer has been it is often nice to have someone to bounce off that new and expanded info.

The Lord sends encouragers at the simplest of times.  I sat down to eat at the lunch provided and a lady I had only recently met made sure to come over and sit with me so I wasn’t alone.  We found we had a connection in the church we attend and I was enjoying getting to know her bit by bit.

More people filled up the table and as we chatted I realised I was siting with neighbors!  On my left sat a couple that lives on the same crescent as us.  We had been getting along so well talking about gardening, organic eating and dogs.  We connected over Riddick (this isn’t the first time he has made my family recognisable).  They indeed knew my dog and recognised my eldest children that trailed around after him daily.  They too felt this was a real blessing to connect at such an unforeseen location and numbers where exchanged, plans for tea put in motion.

I now stood at the entrance to the conferences lecture hall, if you will, the sanctuary of a west side church.  Most people had come with someone and had spread out making little room for those of us who where flying solo.  Out of the blue Kathy, whom I would learn was her name, asked if I was looking for a seat.  She lead me to her spot and pointed out the available space next to her.  We chatted and found many a point of connection in why we where at the conference.  Both of us where finding great joy in learning as older women who have done the family thing for years.  A friendship seed was indeed planted as we ended up doing the courses practical application with one another; as we worked on our prayer ministry tools, together, a connection of the Spirit in us was lit.

I smiled to myself because I had just started to feel down about going to all of these lectures on my own when the Lord expanded my social circle so easily.  If I had decided to be uncomfortable and withdrawn, which in the past I was pron to do at such events, I would have missed out on a blessing.  It really drives home the point that there are people all around us to bless and be blessed by in the simplest way possible, sharing a little conversation and kindness.

TTFN

Showing Off My Dad’s Way With Words!

by admin on February 26, 2012 in Feeling It (Thankful), Life Keeps Changing, Little Things, People In My Heart with No comments

A weee POEM it is then… 

Well I am greatly encouraged.. Up is still up and down is still down and last time I checked I had both feet on the ground.. I`m pullin up my collar so I can stay warm and bendin my head as I lean into the storm. Just another day, they say, as I sally forth.. with some trepidation into the Great White North… It`ll not be too long, if I stay on the track.. on the narrow straight road and I`ll soon be back. I`m done with this place and I`m headed for home .. like I said I`m encouraged cause The Lord is STILL ON HIS THRONE.. Blessings to each and all.

~~~

So, when was the last time you went through all your jeans and removed all that grayish/blueish lint that accumulates in the pockets… ever wonder how it all gets there, in the first place. The odd thing is why am thinking about this type of thing, more often than I used to.. am I becoming disengaged from life? .. To some degree I think that may be happening. I seem to spend more time now sitting in a chair at home.. with my jaw hanging, slackly open, with a distant stare , on my face. When someone breaks in I usually answer with  some wise utterance like ” HUH.”  Let me be the first to tell you that ” The advantages of Old Age have been greatly exaggerated.  Oh well.. sometime I think we live in a very weird world ..I mean you should see some of my friends.. Let alone any of my opposer’s.   Fact is most of us could all  give weird  a new definition and that in a myriad of ways..Thank God it’s going to be so much better in the next.  So Do Not Lose Heart.. The Good Book says ‘ He that endures ALL THINGS until the end comes.. the same shall be SAVED.. and am I ever glad about that.. Hey??

Papa Munro

DO NOT Call My Children Tweens

by admin on February 24, 2012 in Bits Of My Personality, Do I Call It Parenting Advice?, Four Little Eggs In My Nest with 3 Comments

tween – A child between middle childhood and adolescence, usually between 8 and 12 years old.

             

NOW my definition – A creation of consumer focused advertisers, seeking to expand their teen girl spending high.  Teen girls consume a lot, so why not treat girls who are younger like teens sooner so they will spend like their elders?!

For definitions resembling mine look at these links:

HERE
and HERE

My beef – These kids are still KIDS!  Why rush them out of an already too short childhood?  Boys and girls alike, their innocence is INDEED threatened by the consumer mind set that is at the core of the tween trend.  Once made a commercial commodity they are under threat from the most successful advertising campaign style to date; and that is SEX.  Most of the STUFF aimed at tweens are indeed focused around sex; to look older, sexier or meant to produce a type of lust in their young little hearts (ex: the lust craze after young pop stars)

This is my rant, agree or not, but I am wearing my heart on my sleeve because I have seen this pinch put on kids (especially girls) as early as in grade one!  By the time they reach grade four, if the parents aren’t letting them embrace this trend then the parents are classed as strict and over the top.

Do I feel the pressure?  Yes, but not in any way to give into this tween crap…. I feel the pressure to educate my children in defence against this stuff, to pray protection over their precious hearts and demand others let them be themselves, let them BE CHILDREN!

I mostly feel disappointed in my own culture, sad for the children swallowed up in this and amazed that it is seen as harmless.  I’m tired of it already.

TTFN

My Fine Hound

by admin on February 23, 2012 in The Pet with 1 Comment

Scratch a dog and you’ll find a permanent job.  ~Franklin P. Jones

IT is as if the author of the above quote has meet Riddick!   I have quickly noticed that non dog lovers find him very tiresome.  This boy will stick to you like glue, rub up against you and paw your lap if you have made even the slightest move to give him a scratch.  

He adores a good rub down and so is very patient with bath time.  He has even fallen over in the tub because he leans into my hand as I am scratching and rubbing him clean. 

It took no time at all for the kids to find his ‘sweet spot’.  Auntie Karla (a long time dog owner) filled us in on the fact that most dogs have a ‘spot’ that brings them great joy when you find and give it a good scratch.  A little to the side, just under his collar, closer to his back and voila you have a happy little man that will turn his head to the side, lean in toward you and thump, yes thump.  He looks just like Thumper from the Bambi film when you find and scratch his ‘spot’ just right.

So if you don’t like dogs much beware, he will wear out his welcome and has little sense of personal space.  He will let you rub and pat and scratch till your arm falls off.  Don’t TOUCH him if you can’t love him:)  AND that leads right into my next quote:

 Properly trained, a man can be dog’s best friend.  ~Corey Ford

(Now there’s a dog’s best friend!)

TTFN

And Down To One Fish

by admin on February 23, 2012 in Adventure and Me, Dem Kids Sayed WHAT?, Do I Call It Parenting Advice?, Life Keeps Changing, The Pet with No comments

 Well you never can tell with fish.  Yellow-whisker just didn’t seems as healthy from the get go.  The day before she died I was starting to warn the kids she seemed ill. 

We are now down to just Nia.  Sure didn’t take long for the first experience with a pets death to happen thanks to our new fish adventure.

The kids handled it well, although all differently.  Youngest two seem very unaware.  My eldest is just hoping we get a new fish; maybe a fancier one like a Beta next time.

My oldest boy, however, was the one who found her…  belly up… He looked so ash colored as he came and told me.  I took one  look at her and confirmed his suspicions.  He then looked really solemn.  I asked if he was okay and he shook his head ‘no’.  I said it was okay to be upset and when he started to cry I grabbed him in a big hug.  I assured him it is always a hard lesson in life to learn… that life ends.

After we hugged for a while he asked if he could go be alone in his room.  He then asked the sweetest question, so honest, “Is it okay if I am not okay for a while?  I still feel sad”.

“Absolutely okay my boy”, I assured him.

For now Nia is very healthy looking so we will stick with her and when she goes we will debate trying ONE Beta or just two new goldfish again.

TTFN

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