Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Salad of the Week
Sunday, March 29, 2009
100 laughs in a day = 10 minutes of exercise!
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Just dick n' around!
Ultimately we would like something similar to this. We have patio doors in the same spot they do and our kitchen window is in the same spot, behind the bench with the pillow and then on the far left hand side is where our dining room is supposed to be (currently our office/playroom). We'd like to walk out the patio and go down 2, maybe even 3 steps onto a wooden deck (composite?) We'd like to have the barbecue on this deck and have a similar trellis to slightly block the air conditioner from view and our neighbours on that side are also higher up than us, so can see onto our deck. We'd like to have a built in bench at the far end of that deck with shrubs on the ground (can't see that part of the picture though). Then we would have another step or 2 down to the ground where we would have a stone patio (our problem is our lawn is sloped, so likely it is level on one end and then it would have a small stone step down into the rest of the yard? Then we would have another wood deck where they have their second one also, in front of the dining room. Here is where I consider putting a hot tub and eventually another set of patio doors there? Jay, however has decided against a hot tub for right now (dad, does this mean no pirate ship? - we'll have to ask Jasmine for those deck plans?) We will do similar to the picture and have built in benches on that deck too, or so goes the plan it my head! Things I am not sure about...
1) The slope and all that will mean
2) If the built in benches count as deck height and then we would need an additional railing (if it's too tall?
3) If we will indeed ever put in a second set of patio doors (long term plan)
4) Do we want wood or composite decks (I'm still thinking of stone stairs even?) I'm going to get a picture of some from my good friend Sandi, right Sandi? There yard is looking sharp!
5) Will we ever get a hot tub?
6) Will there be enough space for the kids to play?
7) Can this even be built by us on our own with help from our loving parents in one summer?
8) Can we afford it?
I wish, all I was thinking about was my deck, as it needs a lot more time to be thought about, but it will at least have to wait until after tomorrow!
Monday, March 23, 2009
Scrapping Anyone?
Salad of the Week
Friday, March 20, 2009
The apple doesn't fall far from the tree
What I have managed to avoid teaching them (so far): 1) Cinnamon Toast 2) Chocolate Chips by the handful for snacks 3) Shreddies dipped in Cheese Whiz (Thanks for that one Mel!) 4) Nutella 5) Licking the peanut butter off the knife
Things that I meant not to happen: 1) Corn Syrup on Rice Krispies 2) Butter & salt on vegetables 3) Butter on Pancakes 4) Chocolate Chips in Pancakes 5) Eating Peanut Butter by the spoonful 6) Butter & salt on popcorn (lots of butter) 7) Dip for their raw vegetables
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Day #4 - Spring Break - Sugar Bush
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
We've got the luck of the Irish...
Jasmine woke up about 12:30 a.m. on St. Patrick's literally feeling "Green" and proceeded to throw up a few minutes later! So our big plans of green eggs and green pancakes went out the window, but our spirit was still great! After supper we got dressed up and went around to visit all our favorite neighbours on the street - Jay and I were dressed up too, but we forgot to take a picture of that!
My sister apparently has the luck of the Irish, too! Congratulations Deanna on the purchase of your new dream house! Great house, great view (of the mountains), great price - what a sweet deal! It sounds pretty exciting to me and I will allow myself to be "green" with envy for a few more days!
It also seems that my niece and nephew have the Irish luck, as they are both playing in playoffs for hockey and ringette! Go Tyson, Go Allison, Get your Game on!!!!!!!!!! Good luck!
(And yes, I know, really we don't look Irish, we just look like Rider fans - go green!)
Monday, March 16, 2009
Salad of the Week
Spring Break Day #1 - Aviation Museum
Saturday, March 14, 2009
The Tooth Fairy
These pictures were taken earlier in the day, before our most recent tooth incident. Jasmine really likes this Kids Yoga video and has been doing it a few times a week. From left to right, you can see her lunge forward on the lion pose, then they bird pose and last the dragon pose where she is breathing fire!
Sick again!
Monday, March 9, 2009
Salad of the Week
The base of this salad is from a bag of mixed greens I bought at Farmboy. I threw in chopped celery and red onion as well. Then we have chunks of cantaloupe, blueberries and strips of proscuitto. It's topped off with a slice of herbed goat cheese and toasted pecans. For salad dressing I used the Mango Poppyseed dressing from Farmboy. On the side we had fresh multigrain ciabatta bread.
To add motivation for the kids to eat their salads, I made theirs into shapes. Devin's was a cat with celery whiskers and a proscuitto tonuge, while Jasmine had a person with proscuitto eyebrows and pecan ears. Devin still did not touch his lettuce, but always eats his fruit and bread (and he likes celery - go figure?) Jasmine for some reason did not enjoy hers, but I honestly think the time change made her not as hungry. Jasmine had to strike a pose with hers.After careful analysis, we decided we would have cut the proscuitto up smaller, as it was a little long and I would have added more red onion than I did - otherwise a very nice salad! The goat cheese was a great addition and proscuitto was a nice treat!
Sunday, March 8, 2009
A "beautiful" walk!
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Salads
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Healthier Eating
With the change in our diet, my cholesterol has stayed down - mine was due to diet! Jay's however barely budged - his is genetic! A few years ago, Jay went on a very strict cholesterol diet to see if it would help, so he wouldn't have to take meds. Unfortunately, it still barely made a mark on his cholesterol numbers, but a few things stuck with him - he eats All Bran pretty much every morning - Psyllium fiber is one of the best things for cholesterol. He was adding flax seed, but that was a bit of a pain and has been lost over time. We are also still using the healthy oils for cooking and added a lot more salmon to our diet as well.
Yesterday my mom and dad sent me a website: http://www.meschinohealth.com/html/videonewsletter19jan09.html and we both took their test! Very interesting results. The big news for us was that we don't eat enough vegetables and fruits. I know it, but seeing it written and having to choose where you were at and knowing it doesn't even come close was a bit of a hit! You think about fighting off all the cold germs and wonder that if you had more vitamin fuel in you, if you could fight it better? I'm also constantly tired and they completely linked this with mineral deficiency. So here I am blogging and trying to decide what the practical way to eat more fruits and veggies is?
To help track things I typed out a checklist - they never last for a long time, but I do find they help me get on track and really see how well I am doing, so I typed a chart for 2 weeks to track how many servings of fruits and veggies I eat, how many glasses of water I drink, if I remember to take my vitamins and how much exercise I do. I also typed up a menu plan, very basic, but it shows which days I am supposed to get groceries and right after I get groceries I plan to make either a big salad for supper - you know one of the fancy kind with toasted pecans and goat cheese or red onions, mandarin oranges and almonds or a stir fry. Might as well plan it while the veggies are fresh and ensure I get 2 really good veggie helpings in a week. Other nights include: pasta night - spaghetti, stuffed shells, lasagna..., meat night - chicken breast, pork chops, steak..., leftover night - roasts, whole chickens and fun night - sushi, fondue, tacos... with each of these nights, I would like to add an extra veggie serving and lighten the other carb.
My next step is to look up some new recipes. If you have a good salad, stir fry or other veggie dish, please forward it on to me. I'm also wondering how does everyone else fit in there veggies, besides taking an apple to work and a tupperware of baby carrots. Hope to hear from you on this! And my other concern is breakfast, what do you eat for breakfast. We eat cereal and usually healthy cereals, but also a fairly large bowl - lots of carbs here. Any alternates you like and find tasty and easy to do before work?