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Top 10 Tuesday - Reasons I’m Kinda Glad Fall is Coming

Tuesday, August 31st, 2010

Okay, okay....I admit that I *might* complain that Calgary's summer has sucked this year and whine because it's almost over....

BUT

I must admit that Fall is my favorite time of year. I love it! Here are my top 10 reasons why:

1. New TV shows - I watch too much TV. I admit it. By this time every summer, the PVR is empty and I am not so patiently waiting for the new Fall lineup to start. Grey's Anatomy....I miss you!

2. College Football - You can take the girl out of Alabama but you can't take the Alabama out of the girl. ROLL TIDE!

3. I look great in a sweater. - Face it....fall/winter clothes hide a multitude of sins.

4. Thanksgiving - I love food & I love holidays. Holidays that focus on food....even better. Oh, and did I mention that some years I get to celebrate twice? Yep....once in Canada & once in the US.

5. Cooking soups & stews - These are some of my favorite meals!

6. Fall Fairs & Corn Mazes - Evan and I love visiting these!

7. Going to Austin - We've decided to head to our old hometown this fall. I'm VERY excited!

8. Evan is starting preschool - My little guy is growing up.

9. Halloween! - I love decorating for Halloween. Not sure what Evan is going to be this year.....better get on that!

10. Next thing you know....it'll be Christmas - Ok....that's starting to freak even me out!

So is it still full on summer where you live? Here in Calgary....not so much!

This post is linked up over at Oh Amanda for Top 10 Tuesday! Head over there to see lots more great Top 10 Tuesday posts!

Posted in Top Ten Tuesday, fall | No Comments »

Recipe Linky Love

Tuesday, August 31st, 2010

So I'm not going to lie & say that I'm going to meal plan this week. My dad is arriving on Wednesday night and then there is the long weekend so things will most likely be a bit up in the air. Instead, I thought I would show you some of the recipes that have me saying

"YUM! I want make that SOON!"

Layered Salad from Pioneer Woman Cooks - This looks so yummy and would make a great addition to any cookout.
Maple Pecan Sticky Bars from Notes From the Cookie Jar - They're like pecan pie but in bar form. Yum!
Rainbow Cake from Sweetnicks - This is the coolest cake ever. It soars to dramatic heights and oh the colors! I have to figure out an event to make this for soon!
Strawberry Layer Cake with Strawberry Cream Filling & Cream Cheese Icing from la bella vita - Strawberrylicious!
Zucchini, Proscuitto & basil pesto flatbread from Chocolate & Ginger - New blog I'm following. I love the pictures & the dinners she puts together. Double yum!

Since it's decided to turn into autumn all of a sudden here in Calgary, I made Crockpot Roast Beef and Yorkshire Puddings (kind of like popovers) this weekend. This is a great cold weather recipe that makes a great dinner with very little work.

What did you make this week? Found any great recipes on the net lately? Please share!!!!

Posted in Linky Love, recipes | No Comments »

Lunch Revolution

Saturday, August 28th, 2010

It's a PARTY......a blog party that is! The Lunch Revolution Blog Party is a roundup of wonderful blog posts focusing on how to take back our children's lunch!

In the last few years I'm sure you've heard LOADS about improving what we feed our kids for lunch. I watched episode after episode of Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution shaking my head. Yes, the food the adults were eating was bad but the food being fed to the kids at school was even WORSE! Thankfully, we live in Canada where kids pretty much have to bring their lunches b/c most schools don't have cafeterias.

Now it's up to me to figure out how to pack a lunch that is:

Nutritious
Delicious
and most importantly FUN!

Evan starts preschool in September two days a week. I need to send him a nut free, chocolate free snack from at least 2 food groups whenever he attends. He is not a big eater so it needs to be small, appetizing to his palate & easy to eat.

Here are a few snacks ideas I threw together.

Mini cranberry zucchini muffins, 1/2 a string cheese, mini tomatoes & a baby bell pepper

Pita chips, a string cheese octopus & baby tomatoes

Cinnamon raisin mini bagel & string cheese

Some other ideas that could easily be sent with preschoolers for snack are:

Mini blueberry pancakes
Waffle sandwiches (filled with fruity cream cheese or apple butter)
Mini blueberry muffins
Cheese Puffs
Cranberry banana bread
Mini Morning Glory Muffins
Homemade Pretzels
English Muffin Pizzas
Pinwheel sandwiches (tortilla, ham, cream cheese)
Whole Wheat Noodles

I've stuck to preschool snacks because it's what I know (having a 3 yr old & all). I also think that preschool years are when we build the foundation of their food habits for years to come.

Jump over to Notes from the Cookie Jar to see all the Lunch Revolution blog posts. Definitely check them out for lots of great ideas, recipes & pictures of ways to take back our kids' lunch! Want to participate? Write your own post & link up at the Mr. Linky on Notes from the Cookie Jar.....did I mention that there are prizes???? Yep!

Do you pack your kid's lunch? If so what are your kids' favorite foods?

Posted in Food Revolution Fridays, Lunch Revolution blog party | No Comments »

Scary Dogs…..

Friday, August 27th, 2010

I like dogs....I really do BUT they totally scare the hell out of me. I would really prefer if Evan was never in the same room with a dog. This is a bit of a conundrum for me because I actually want to get a dog but I digress. Anyhoo....the main reason I'm so freaked out is because you never really know if a dog is nice or not. Their owner's almost always say

"They're friendly! Oh and they just LOVE kids!"

Well today I found out that that is NOT always the case.

I was sitting at Starbucks reading my book killing time until dinner with my girlfriends. A man walked up and tied his german shepherd to the garbage can on the patio where I was sitting. He said "Hi" and then walked into the bank next to the Starbucks. While he was inside, the dog looked pretty tame. Then a woman and a young boy walked by. The boy reached out to pet the dog & it went balistic. It didn't bite but it barked really loud and angrily. The mom rushed the boy away.

A few minutes later the man returned & was followed by a family of 4. He was telling them about his "nice" dog. He got down on his knees beside the dog. The little 4 year old girl was so excited to see the pretty dog. The man said "He's really friendly & he loves kids." The little girl came over to pet the dog but the man said "Ask your mom first". The mom said okay so the little girl stuck her hand out and

the

dog

came

unglued.

He barked like his fur was on fire. The little girl jerked back and started screaming. She did not get bit...thank god...but she is scared for life. She screamed all the way out to their car and after she was in the car. I would say a good 5 minutes.

The man was horrified & said he was a police officer and that the dog was a police dog that had been to kid camp to learn to be around kids. I have no idea if he was telling the truth or not.

Not sure if I will be letting Evan pet ANY dogs any time soon!

So....how do you feel about your children petting other people's dogs?

Posted in dogs, safety, scary | No Comments »

Wordless Wednesday - Sick & Tired

Wednesday, August 25th, 2010

Evan seems to catch more colds than the average bear. He deals with them pretty well except that he tires out faster than usual. We visited Nana & Papa Don this past weekend and were getting ready to head back to Calgary. We didn't quite make it to the car because Evan fell asleep. Poor guy!

Linked up at 5 Minutes for Mom and A Lot of Loves!

Posted in Evan, Wordless Wednesday, photography | No Comments »

Top 10 Tuesday - 10 “Must Have” Pantry Items to Bake from Scratch

Tuesday, August 24th, 2010

Over at AnnOnandOn, she asked "When was the last time you baked without using a box?" I commented that I tend to bake from scratch more often than not these days. It's all about having a well stocked pantry! Here are 10 of my favorite ingredients to keep on hand so that I can bake at a moments notice!

Unbleached White Flour - I know that we should all decrease our consumption white flour but it is really needed for baking. All whole wheat flour really changes the final product you get from baking.
Whole Wheat Flour - Even though it can change things, I really like to add as much whole wheat flour to recipes as I can. If you are trying to change a recipe, start with substituting half of the flour called for with whole wheat flour.
Baking soda & baking powder - almost all recipes call for one or the other.
Chocolate Chips - What recipe is not improved by adding chocolate chips? I buy Chipits by the gigantic bag at Costco and keep them in a big resealable canister in my pantry.
Sea Salt - I use the kind in a canister which has a small grain. It is much less processed than regular table salt.
Craisins - LOVE THEM and add them to just about anything!
Butter - Okay this doesn't really go in the pantry but it is essential for baking. It makes things so much better. Don't bake with margarine....really....just don't.
Pecans - Hey I'm Southern....is there any other kind of nut? Nope!
Coconut - both sweetened & unsweetened.
Agave Nectar - a less processed sugar substitute. I haven't had great success baking with it instead of sugar but you can use it any time honey, corn syrup or other liquid sugars are called for. One perk in Calgary is that agave nectar doesn't crystallize and harden like honey.
I almost forgot....Oatmeal - Definitely a must have for making cookies & granola!

Head over to Oh Amanda to check out some other Top 10 Tuesday posts!

So what are your top pantry "must haves"....what am I missing????

Posted in Top Ten Tuesday, baking | No Comments »

Knowing Me, Knowing You - August Edition

Monday, August 23rd, 2010

It's time for another instalment of the interview meme hosted by The Fairy Blogmother where you get to learn a bit more about moi.

1. What is your favorite kind of pie?

I would have to say peach though really I don't turn away much when it comes to pie. I also love blueberry, apple, pecan, pumpkin, banana cream....(are you seeing a pattern...anything pie is YUMMY!) I must admit, though, that I am not a fan of meringue. Yuck.

2. What kind of wedding did you have?

I had a lovely destination wedding on Anna Maria Island in Florida. We took over an entire hotel on the beach and hosted 70 of our closest family and friends. There was a ceremony on the beach, sand between our toes, dancing, eating, cupcakes, dolphins, etc. It was the best wedding EVER (not that I'm biased or anything). We celebrated our 5 year anniversary this year so I posted some wedding pictures here & wrote about my dress here. If I were to do it all again I wouldn't change a thing!

3. Ever been to a 3D movie?

Yep. A few on various Disney trips, one on a Disney cruise (Bolt) and most recently Toy Story 3. I liked Toy Story 3 in 3D though I think I would have liked it without too. I don't really like wearing the glasses. We bought a new TV for our basement and it has 3D functionality but you have to buy glasses to utilize it. Oh...and they're not the cheapy glasses from the movie theatre. Nope these have batteries and cost a big chunk of change. I'll stick to 2D thanks!

4. What is the worst movie ever made?

There are so many that I don't even know where to start! I always have a hard time with best/worst ever because so many are just really bad. I really hated The Aviator. I didn't like Wayne's World or any of the Beavis & Butthead movies. See....there's really too many to list!

5. Are you ready for back to school?

Evan is starting preschool this year so for us it's more like "to school" instead of "back to school" because he's never been! We get to meet the teacher in a couple of weeks. He will be going to preschool for 2 1/2 hours twice a week in the afternoons. My three big worries are the whole potty situation (he's pretty good unless he's really having fun & then he forgets....oh and he doesn't know how to wipe his butt or pull up his pants), wiping his own nose (he refuses) and snack time (there are all kinds of rules that I lost the sheet about....eeep!). I'm sure I will figure it out and I won't single handedly get him kicked out of preschool for sending him to school with a contraband snack!

Want to participate? Head over to the Fairy Blogmother's blog to sign up on Mr. Linky.

Posted in About Me, Knowing Me Knowing You | No Comments »

Friday Faces

Saturday, August 21st, 2010

Since I posted Banff pictures yesterday, I thought I would post some cute people pictures from our trip. Hope you enjoy! I'll be back to writing soon...I promise!

Posted in camping, family, photography | No Comments »

Banff Beauty

Friday, August 20th, 2010

We went camping last week. I haven't posted pictures because really, I've posted tons of camping pictures. So instead I thought I would post some of the beautiful pictures I took of the amazing scenery around Banff (where we camped). I may complain about the weather here but the country really is beautiful!