This weeks menu

Thursday, February 28, 2008 @ noon
ham, scallop potatoes, sweet potatoe fries and coleslaw

Friday, February 29, 2008 @ 5pm
homemade pizza, carrot and celery sticks

Saturday, March 1, 2008 @ 5pm
tuna melt, salad and green beans

Sunday, March 2, 2008 @ 5pm
lentil burgers, mashed potatoes with white sauce, baked spagetti squash

Monday, March 3, 2008 @ 5pm
taco salad

Tuesday, March 4, 2008 @ 4:30pm
soup (still looking for a recipe) and fresh bread

Wednesday March 5, 2008 @ 5pm
turkey lasgna and tossed salad

we'll see how we fair, it is always better to have a plan.

Home Days

Today is a home day. I love home days. There is something about staying in and getting to all the work that I have been putting off. I seem to have a lot of trouble getting back on task after going out to run an errand, that is probably why I make all my appointments in the after noon, and you thought it was so the boys wouldn’t be asked why they weren’t in school every where we went. (That too, but that is a different subject.) Today we spent the morning doing school, which amazingly we finished before 1 p.m. and had already had our lunch break. I can’t tell you what a good feeling that was, Wallace was so excited he had the whole afternoon to do with as he pleased. Right now he and John are out side playing in the melting snow, I am sure when they come in they will be a mess.

Today on my “To do” list is:
1. Wash Bailie’s bedding, I walk into the laundry room this morning an something was really stinky, so I thought I better wash it. (This is done and it does smell better. I am going to have to add this to my list of weekly chores.)
2. Ironing, yes it is still on my list. (I am happy to report that it is done, at least for now, I just seem to get it done and there is more to do.)
3. Wash the kitchen and laundry room floor. (Done)
4. Clean kitchen counter and microwave.(Done and what a job that was. Not sure exactly why...oh yes I am, it hasn't been done in a while, and I am very picky about exactly what clean is, can you see a vicious cycle here?)
5. Clean stove top (in desperate need of a good cleaning)(Done)
6. Clean out refrigerator and freezer.
7. Shopping list/ menu planning (tomorrow is shopping day) (Done)

I’ll have to report back later to see how good I’ve been. I have lots of other things I’d like to be doing but I also love a well kept home, even if housework isn’t my thing.

Monday

Today has been filled to the brim with things to do and will continue as far as I can see. It is wonderful to have Michael home, it somehow add normalcy to our lives. He is pretty tired, was travelling for 18 hours yesterday and crossed 3 times zones. I was busy yesterday trying to prepare the house for his return, I had kinda let things slid while he was away so yesterday I made up for it. I got everything done except the ironing and washing the kitchen and laundry room floor, can you guess what is on my list for today. I also need to make bread, John's bedding and plan for school, that too should have been done yesterday too.

For supper tonight we are having Taco Salad, one of Michael and Wallace's favourites, I even have avocado and grape tomatoes to go in it. Wallace will pick out the avocadoes though. I was going to make it vegan but since I want Michael to really enjoy his first home cooked meal in a week I'd give him a treat. Now I just need to menu plan for the rest of the week, guess I should add that to my list of things to do.

Michael brought us all back treats, earrings for me, and t-shirt for the boys. Wallace got a Steve Nash Phoenix Suns t-shirt, proud to be Canadian. John got a Phoenix Coyotes, Wayne Gretzky hockey team, t-shirt. Cool that they both have a Canadian connection. It also goes with my taste in souvenirs something that I don't have to dust.

Cooking 101

I love to cook and I especially like to bake but I have to admit I have never been very good at teaching my boys to cook. John loves to pull up a chair and watch and is a little more insistent on helping than Wallace ever was or is. I was feeling bad, I think I have too much of my grandma in me, she loved to be in the kitchen and she always wanted to do it for you, not real condusive to learning. So I thought I would take a step back and try be a little less like my nature. Last night Wallace was reading the cookbook Loney Spoons and decide that he wanted to try a recipe for sweet potato fries, so today at lunch he took his first cooking class. He used a sharp knife, cracked an egg and put things in an out of a hot oven. The result was quite delious if I do say so, and we learned a lot. Wallace learn new techiques and I learn how much he has yet to learn and how much of cooking is second nature after all theese years.

Well we are off to grocery shop and go to swimming lessons.

This week.....

This is a tough week for me. Michael is away on training. He is spending the week in Phoenix, Arizona doing his DRE certification. DRE is a drug recognization expert, that basically means that he will be able to do a battery of test on a driver if he suspects that they are driving under the influence of something other than alcohol. It is a tough course and he has to do 6 practical assessments too, but it is hard to feel sorry for him, after all he’s swimming and longing around in shorts when he isn’t working. (edit: I just talked to him and he said he hasn’t really been out all day, he’s been studying and is nervous about doing his first practical tonight.)

He works odd hours I will give you that but at least he is usually at home sometime in the night and I know that I can call him at anytime if I had an emergency. This week however he is not, well he is reachable.

They boys and I are doing fine, better than I expected actually but we are only two days into it. Wallace is being extremely helpful which shows he is growing up. John on the other hand is oblivious that anything is going on or at least he doesn’t seem to notice the difference. I have had trouble going to bed at night time, I must check the doors 2 or 3 times before I go up stairs. Wallace is sleeping upstairs on a mattress at the foot of my bed. He was in John’s room but for some reason the other night John was extremely tired and threw a hissy fit (he doesn’t like change and if he’d have been less tired I probably could have talked some sense into him) so I just moved Wallace into my room. Meals are a lot easier when it just the three of us, I don’t feel as though I have to prepare anything big or complicated, John wouldn’t eat it anyways.

We are of course looking forward to Daddy coming home.

Look what I got....

Michael is away on trianing this week. He brought me this beautiful boquet of tulips to cheer me up throughout the week....ain't he sweet.

Top 100 movies

Here is a list of the Top 100 Films of All Time.
So, here's what I've seen . . .

1. Citizen Kane (1941)
2. The Godfather
3. Casablanca (1942) my fovourite all time movie
4. Raging Bull (1980)
5. Singin’ in the Rain (1952)
6. Gone with the Wind (1939)
7. Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
8. Schindler’s List (1993)
9. Vertigo (1958)
10. The Wizard of Oz (1939)
11. City Lights (1931)
12. The Searchers (1956)
13. Star Wars (1977)
14. Psycho (1960)
15. Sunset Blvd. (1950)...oh I like this one too
16. 2001 : A Space Odyssey (1968)...boring!!!
17. The Graduate (1967)
18. The General (1927)
19. On the Waterfront (1954)
20. It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)
21. Chinatown (1974)
22. Some Like It Hot (1959)
23. The Grapes of Wrath (1940)
24. E.T. The Extraterrestrial (1982)
25. To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)...really like this one too!!
26. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
27. High Noon (1952)
28. All About Eve (1950)
29. Double Indemnity (1944)
30. Apocalypse Now (1979)
31. The Maltese Falcon (1941)
32. The Godfather Part II (1974)
33. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975)
34. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)
35. Annie Hall (1977)
36. The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
37. The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)
38. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)
39. Dr. Strangelove (1964)
40. The Sound of Music (1965)
41. King Kong (1933)
42. Bonnie and Clyde (1967)
43. Midnight Cowboy (1969)
44. The Philadelphia Story (1940)
45. Shane (1953)
46. It Happened One Night (1934)
47.A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)
48. Rear Window (1954)
49. Intolerance (1916)
50. Lord of the Rings : The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
51. West Side Story (1961)
52. Taxi Driver (1976)
53. Deer Hunter, The (1978)
54. M*A*S*H (1970)
55. North by Northwest (1959)
56. Jaws (1975)
57. Rocky (1976)
58. The Gold Rush (1925)
59. Nashville (1975)
60. Duck Soup (1933)
61. Sullivan’s Travels (1941)
62. American Graffiti (1973)
63. Cabaret (1972)
64. Network (1976)
65. The African Queen (1951)
66. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
67. Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966)
68. Unforgiven (1992)
69. Tootsie (1982)
70. A Clockwork Orange (1971)
71. Saving Private Ryan (1998)
72. The Shawshank Redemption (1994)....really like this one too!!!
73. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
74. The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
75. In the Heat of the Night (1967)
76. Forrest Gump (1994)
77. All the President’s Men (1976)
78. Modern Times (1936)
79. The Wild Bunch (1969)
80. The Apartment (1960)
81. Spartacus (1960)
82. Sunrise (1927)
83. Titanic (1997)
84. Easy Rider (1969)
85. A Night at the Opera (1935)
86. Platoon (1986)87.
12 Angry Men (1957)
88. Bringing Up Baby (1938)
89. The Sixth Sense (1999)
90. Swing Time (1936)
91. Sophie’s Choice (1982)
92. Goodfellas (1990)
93. The French Connection (1971)
94. Pulp Fiction (1994)
95. The Last Picture Show (1971)
96. Do the Right Thing (1989)
97. Blade Runner (1982)
98. Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942)
99. Toy Story (1995)
100. Ben-Hur (1959)

Ok, now that I've read through the list and I'm not sure of its source I can't seem to figure out if its top 100 money makers/ or critically aclaimed or some one just made up the list...any way the ones in bold I have seen...only 33. How did you do?

my gifts- post 2

6. the gigles of boys when something stricks them funny

7. the way John says Age of Mythology

8. eating hubbys homemade pizza with my family

9. for that matter any family meal at our kitchen table

10. the coming of spring....it a little light a little longer

What's next?

I just finished John's latest pair of mittens.

My boys tend to lose their mittens, either that or there is just not enough pairs in the mitten box by the door. Thats often because they are in the car, we take a pair where ever we go, they take them off in the warm car and then because we get out of the car in the garage we don't think to bring them back into the house. I guess I could have saved myself and couple of evenings work just by emptying the car.

All that to say what's next? I asked Michael what he thought my next project should be and do you know what he said? He said I ought to finish some of the needle points (x stitch) kits that he bought me a few years ago.

Shortly after we moved down here we were back home visiting and he took me to one of my favourite yarn/craft/fabric stores. I have to say store because it is more like a warehouse than a shop....its a size thing. I was looking at x stitch kits and couldn't decide on just one or two, so Michael generously bought me five or six. Can you guess how many I've got done? That's right zero! In my defense I do have one almost complete, it is John's baby sampler, yes I know he is 4, but it is alomst done.

I got out the kits today and took a look at them. I will finish the one for John first, and then I'm not sure. Michael likes this one or an English cottage, it looks rather hard. I also have a Christmas tree skirt that would look nice if I got it done by Christmas. Then there is also a special one I have for my mom, not going into detail because Mom read this, Hi Mom!!. I'm not sure.....maybe I'll sleep on it.

Valentine's day

It is a good thing that I don't need a romantic guy. I was teasing Michael this morning that prior to meeting him I used to dream about the chance to have a man to share all the 'important' occasions with, and that my expectations well lets just say there weren't fulfilled. I don't think in the 13 Valentines that we've be together that we've done anything typical of the day more than once, maybe twice. I know for sure that we had a nice dinner out in an upscale restaurant the year we were dating but then we were in 'love'. Most of the time he's been working. The same could be said for our anniversary, my birthday and of course Christmas. This Valentines is no different, he working and I'm at home alone. Though he did take me grocery shopping this morning, the roads were bad after the freezing rain last night. See I'm easy to please.

One Thousand gifts - post 1

This is an idea from Ann over at Holy Experience she had made a list of almost 1000 gifts, not ones that she will recieve or give but ones that she already has. Gifts given by our heavenly Father. I think it will be an enriching experience to look around my life, look at the seemingly ordinary and see His hand.
1. snuggling with blondie
2. watching the long division light bulb go on
3. looking out at a smooth new layer of snow
4. knitting with a soft wool yarn
5. boys playing, using their wild imaginations.

Kids creativity and some knitting

My boys aren't very creative by nature so when they drew paper Walrus and a scene for them to play on I thought I should snap a shot of it. I can't really blame them, niether their father or I are very artistic in a free hand sence.

This is what I think of as creativity. I follow a pattern, or adjust it to fit my desires, and they I get something nice, and usually servicable. These are a pair of 'work socks' I made for my dad for Christmas. These are very comfortable and warm, I've made a pair for Michael too. Now a maybe I'll make a pair for me.
This is a sweater for my neice for this past Christmas. I made it out of cotton that I reclaimed form an aweful sweater I found in the thrift store. It was a beautiful yarn. I brought it home washed it, unwound it, rewashed the yarn and then knit it into this sweater. Absolutely gorgeous yarn that I could never have afforded brand new.
This is a simpe pair of mitts I knit for my nephew for this Chirstmas. Warm and simple. I just finished a pair for Wallace and have a pair on the needles for John. I started out intending to knit a pair for John but miss read the size and made the bigger size so Wallace got the first pair. I also have just finished a sweater for John, it was my first time using a neck down pattern. It was fun, I'll definitely be doing it again. I will post a picture soon, I just have to get some buttons sewn on.

this moment in time

Good evening all
Michael just left for work, he will be gone until Sunday morning. This new unit that he is on is a roving unit so they are doing a lot of traveling, although this is the first that he will be gone over night. The change in Michael is amazing, quite a few different people have commented on how much happier he seems to be. Its funny, the income is lower, due to no overtime but that stress doesn't seem to compare to the other stress that he was under before the unit change.

The boys are watching TV, PBS, one of 3 stations we get, right now and in a little while I will put in the movie for movie night, Tarzan II. We were going to watch The Fantastic Four, but Michael wanted to watch it too so we will wait for him.

Life has been busy, although I hadn't left the house since Sunday due to weather mostly. Our Tuesday night programme at church was canceled which I don't mind because I hate driving in the bad weather. Yesterday was errand day and Walter told me that there was no snow in the forecast until Sunday, wrong!! we came out of swimming lessons to falling snow and very slick roads, I was not impressed to say the least.

This morning Wallace had a dentist appointment. He actually had to get a tooth pulled. I was a baby tooth, he has an appliance that is attempting to push an adult tooth into its proper place. It had been hanging out about 1/2 inch behind his bite, we had been trying to gently move it by this baby tooth to no avail thus the pulling of it today. He is doing fine now but was rather pale for a couple of hours afterward.

School is going fairly well although some days are smoother than others. I have added John to the mix as of January. He loves to 'do school' so that he can be just like his brother. I know that this might sound weird but he loves to do work sheets. We are doing the introductory books to the Explode the Code series and he is already into his second book. Math well I just don't think that he is as ready for that as he is to learn to read so we are only doing a little bit.

With the addition of John, I've had to really concentrate on developing a new routine for my housework. It has been tough but I am seeing the fruit of my labour, I love a tidy house and this new routine is working for us.

Take care!

Bubbly Haddock Bake

This is what we had for supper. It is Michael's favourite way to have fish lately. I found it on the internet somewhere but copied it out and now have no idea where it came from. (edit: Allrecipes.com, thanks Dawn, I like to give credit where due.) It is delicious. Having said that I wouldn't feed it to anyone local as with all other seafood recipes I figure a land lubber like myself shouldn't feed the locals their speciality.

Bubbly Haddock Bake
2 lbs haddock fillets
salt and pepper to taste
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 onion, thinly sliced
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly butter a 2 qt casserole dish (I use a 9x13).
Arrange fish fillets in the bottom. Layer onion. Spread soup (undiluted) and top with shredded cheese.
Bake for 40 min, or until bubbly and fish flakes easily with a fork.

Enjoy!.....Any questions?

In Christ Alone

I've been humming this song all day, we sang it yesterday in Church. I love the words.

Menu Plan Monday

Here is our Menu for this week Feb 4-10th, 2008.
Monday Roast Turkey, Baked Squash, mashed potatoes, gravy, and Salad
Tuesday Hot dogs and coleslaw
Wednesday Bubbly Haddock Bake, oven roasted potatoes, carrot sticks
Thursday Turkey enchaladas, cooked veg
Friday Hamburgers and trimmings, grilled vegtables
Saturday Turkey Nooodle soup and homemade rolls
Sunday Homemade Pizza, coleslaw, garlic bread
If you'd like to see what others have on there menu have a look here.