Welcome to the first Monday of the new year! It started off well ~ more or less! The coffee maker served, along with my watch, as my alarm clock this morning. Trying to get back into the routine I had before I got sick in December was interesting this morning - but proof, yet again, that advanced planning pays off on Monday morning. Lunch - check; coffee - check; clothes - check; hair - check (really short hair pays off!). Work pass - check; getting into said work this morning - not check!
Let me explain: I went to work this morning. Proud of myself for hauling butt and getting to my office at roughly 6:10. But that's when my success ended! Apparently our passcard system is experiencing some new year difficulties - either that or the Y2K bug hit a decade late! (which is entirely possible) I circled parking lots for close to an hour before signs appeared on several of the buildings access-controlled doors indicating that the door next to the stores was working. Finding a parking spot that enabled me to not kill myself trying to walk to the door wasn't too difficult - at 7, I was pretty much one of a very few that were in! And, given that I plan on leaving early today (getting myself into my new schedule, part 2), I hope that my parking where I did won't be too much of a problem - I do have a new spot, close to an entrance, where I will be parking starting on Wednesday!
Hopefully, this is the worst part of my day and everything runs smoothly from now until I get home!
Cheers,
Tracie
Monday, January 4, 2010
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Happy New Year and More
So, first, let me wish you all a Happy 2010. My plans for NYD were slightly changed when our friends called to let us know - half an hour before we expected them at our house - that they wouldn't be coming! The fact that I got up at 7 a.m. to start cooking for the crew of them - potato-leek soup, a sandwich ring and a peanut-butter cup pie - aside, we were left with oddles of food. On the bright side, once the cooking was done, I didn't have to do more yesterday!
Today, we are expecting some of my husband's family for supper. It is my brother-in-law's birthday tomorrow (45 or there-abouts!) and I made him a birthday cake. From a mix. Not too exciting but it is for me! I have bad luck with cakes from mixes but so far, this chocolate cake is looking good. I do have left over peanut butter cup pie just in case!
Today, we are expecting some of my husband's family for supper. It is my brother-in-law's birthday tomorrow (45 or there-abouts!) and I made him a birthday cake. From a mix. Not too exciting but it is for me! I have bad luck with cakes from mixes but so far, this chocolate cake is looking good. I do have left over peanut butter cup pie just in case!
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Bread making
It has been a tradition, over the past few years, to make bread New Year's eve and this year, head cold or no head cold, wasn't going to be the exception! This is the recipe I used (super simple!):
Arguably Fleischmann’s Yeast’s Best Recipe for a Loaf of Bread .
Makes 2 Loaves
Nutritional Information:
Per Serving
Serving Size: one slice (1/24 of recipe)
Calories: 130; Total Fat: 1.5 g; Saturated Fat: 0.5 g;
Cholesterol: 5 mg; Sodium: 210 mg; Carbohydrates: 25 g; Dietary Fiber: <>
It made two beautiful loaves of bread ~ which, considering that I only have one loaf pan made for an interesting second loaf (a round one that used a pie plate as its pan!). What made this recipe easy was that while the yeast was proofing, I was able to assemble all of the other ingredients, turn the oven to its lowest setting and tidy up the kitchen so that by the time the dough was resting, I only had a bit of light cleaning left! Two hours and a half later (maybe a bit more!), and we had two beautiful loaves of fresh, home-made bread. Fiona asked if I'd learned how to make bread from Nanny ~ I said that I had but that Grampy helped too and that we come from a long line of bread makers (both my grandmothers were bakers, thought my Hamilton Nanny was probably the best!)
Off to feed the small person, make a list of ingredients that I'll be needing for tomorrow's and Saturday's entertaining and doctor my cold!
Here's what I'll take away from 2009 - click this!
Arguably Fleischmann’s Yeast’s Best Recipe for a Loaf of Bread .
Makes 2 Loaves
5-1/2 to 6 cups all-purpose flourDirections
3 tablespoons sugar
2 envelopes FLEISCHMANN'S RapidRise OR Active Dry Yeast (I used Active Dry Yeast)
2 teaspoons salt
1-1/2 cups water
1/2 cup milk
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
Using Active Dry Yeast:
Place 1/4 cup warm water (100° to 110°F) in a large warm bowl. Sprinkle in yeast and 1 teaspoon sugar; stir. Let sit 5 to 10 minutes, until foamy on top. Add remaining water, milk, butter, sugar, salt and 4 cups flour. Mix well using the medium speed of an electric mixer, scraping bowl occasionally. Stir in enough remaining flour to make a soft dough. Knead on lightly floured surface until smooth and elastic, about 8 to 10 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover; let rise in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in size, about 45 to 60 minutes.
Punch dough down. Divide dough in half. Roll each half to 12 x 7-inch rectangle. Beginning at short end of each rectangle, roll up tightly as for jelly roll. Pinch seams and ends to seal. Place, seam sides down, in greased 8-1/2 x 4-1/2 inch loaf pans. Cover; let rise in warm, draft free place until doubled in size, about 45 minutes.
Bake at 400°F for 25 to 30 minutes or until done. Remove from pans; cool on wire rack.
To Make Whole Wheat Bread: Substitute 2 cups whole wheat flour for part of all-purpose flour.
Nutritional Information:
Per Serving
Serving Size: one slice (1/24 of recipe)
Calories: 130; Total Fat: 1.5 g; Saturated Fat: 0.5 g;
Cholesterol: 5 mg; Sodium: 210 mg; Carbohydrates: 25 g; Dietary Fiber: <>
It made two beautiful loaves of bread ~ which, considering that I only have one loaf pan made for an interesting second loaf (a round one that used a pie plate as its pan!). What made this recipe easy was that while the yeast was proofing, I was able to assemble all of the other ingredients, turn the oven to its lowest setting and tidy up the kitchen so that by the time the dough was resting, I only had a bit of light cleaning left! Two hours and a half later (maybe a bit more!), and we had two beautiful loaves of fresh, home-made bread. Fiona asked if I'd learned how to make bread from Nanny ~ I said that I had but that Grampy helped too and that we come from a long line of bread makers (both my grandmothers were bakers, thought my Hamilton Nanny was probably the best!)
Off to feed the small person, make a list of ingredients that I'll be needing for tomorrow's and Saturday's entertaining and doctor my cold!
Here's what I'll take away from 2009 - click this!
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Looking forward - and back...
Hi!
Tonight, I didn't make supper! My husband made the meal that I'd planned to make so, by the time I got home, I was able to enjoy some downtime! It was nice to have a hot bath and to create a small gift for each of my daughter's teachers. As she is in French Immersion, she has an "English" teacher and a "French" teacher who teach her everyday - English before lunch and French afterwards. I made a simple set of note cards - three each - for each of the ladies and included a handmade Christmas card thanking each one for their care and attention to my daughter.
Now that I am driving myself to work and back, I have time to think. Not that I didn't have it when I was taking the commuter bus, but this is different! When I was taking the bus, my commute time was usually spent sleeping - try taking the bus at 6 am every morning when you are tired and see what happens! Now that I'm driving, I'm sure that the other drivers are quite thankful that I'm not asleep at the wheel and singing in the car, especially when you are still coughing your brains out, isn't the best use of my time so yesterday, I did some thinking.
After Christmas, early in the New Year, my husband will start working 3 p.m. until 11 p.m. five days a week. This is one of the reasons that I'm driving myself to work and back - so that I can get used to my new schedule. I will be solely responsible for making sure that my daughter gets home from school safely, does her homework and enjoys being a little kid - with a bubble bath, a bit of tv and then a bedtime story. I want to make sure that she, and by extension, my husband and I enjoy the new challenges brought on by Jamie working outside our home. While Fiona's wellbeing is the most important, I need to be mindful of my own needs and wellbeing so, during my drive this morning, I came up with some goals for myself for 2010: exercise - getting back in top shape and slimming down in advance of my upcoming, not to say looming, high school reunion; making sure that Fiona continues to be happy and healthy; making sure that the little time I'll have with my husband during the week is spent well and that our house trully becomes our showcase.
I also spent some time looking back at 2009 - I'll be sharing my highlights and lowlights of 2009 over the next few days.
Tonight, I've got "easy chicken cordon bleu" planned on the menu but I also have a beautiful roast calling our name in the fridge - the outcome of no family coming for my husband's birthday supper last Saturday.
Tonight, I didn't make supper! My husband made the meal that I'd planned to make so, by the time I got home, I was able to enjoy some downtime! It was nice to have a hot bath and to create a small gift for each of my daughter's teachers. As she is in French Immersion, she has an "English" teacher and a "French" teacher who teach her everyday - English before lunch and French afterwards. I made a simple set of note cards - three each - for each of the ladies and included a handmade Christmas card thanking each one for their care and attention to my daughter.
Now that I am driving myself to work and back, I have time to think. Not that I didn't have it when I was taking the commuter bus, but this is different! When I was taking the bus, my commute time was usually spent sleeping - try taking the bus at 6 am every morning when you are tired and see what happens! Now that I'm driving, I'm sure that the other drivers are quite thankful that I'm not asleep at the wheel and singing in the car, especially when you are still coughing your brains out, isn't the best use of my time so yesterday, I did some thinking.
After Christmas, early in the New Year, my husband will start working 3 p.m. until 11 p.m. five days a week. This is one of the reasons that I'm driving myself to work and back - so that I can get used to my new schedule. I will be solely responsible for making sure that my daughter gets home from school safely, does her homework and enjoys being a little kid - with a bubble bath, a bit of tv and then a bedtime story. I want to make sure that she, and by extension, my husband and I enjoy the new challenges brought on by Jamie working outside our home. While Fiona's wellbeing is the most important, I need to be mindful of my own needs and wellbeing so, during my drive this morning, I came up with some goals for myself for 2010: exercise - getting back in top shape and slimming down in advance of my upcoming, not to say looming, high school reunion; making sure that Fiona continues to be happy and healthy; making sure that the little time I'll have with my husband during the week is spent well and that our house trully becomes our showcase.
I also spent some time looking back at 2009 - I'll be sharing my highlights and lowlights of 2009 over the next few days.
Tonight, I've got "easy chicken cordon bleu" planned on the menu but I also have a beautiful roast calling our name in the fridge - the outcome of no family coming for my husband's birthday supper last Saturday.
Monday, December 14, 2009
Of Driver Licences, bronchitis and all of the rest
Well, today was fun. Apparently, if your driver's licence is up for renewal, given that workers are currently on strike, you are automatically renewed. If you need to switch your licence over from one province to another, then you have to wait for the strike to be over - have I mentioned that the strike has been going on since August?
I had my doctor's appointment today - apparently, I have bronchitis. All that this means, at least for me, is that I need to use a steroid twice a day for two weeks, take some antibiotics for ten days and use my regular rescue inhaler as required and I should be right as rain just in time for Christmas.
For supper tonight, I made a variation on cheesy bbq meatball subs. Something that was fairly quick, easy and that my five year old would like. Not that she ate much - we did have Subway for lunch and she managed to finish a six inch sub after a fashion - which included bribing her with a cookie! The good thing, however, is that she's managed to gain four pounds since March~she now weighs 43 pounds, up from her perennial 39 pounds.
Tomorrow night, I will be serving mini taco bowls - another Kraft Kitchens recipe. As well, tomorrow night will mark five days on our bi-weekly meal plan that will hopefully turn into a habit early in the new year!
I had my doctor's appointment today - apparently, I have bronchitis. All that this means, at least for me, is that I need to use a steroid twice a day for two weeks, take some antibiotics for ten days and use my regular rescue inhaler as required and I should be right as rain just in time for Christmas.
For supper tonight, I made a variation on cheesy bbq meatball subs. Something that was fairly quick, easy and that my five year old would like. Not that she ate much - we did have Subway for lunch and she managed to finish a six inch sub after a fashion - which included bribing her with a cookie! The good thing, however, is that she's managed to gain four pounds since March~she now weighs 43 pounds, up from her perennial 39 pounds.
Tomorrow night, I will be serving mini taco bowls - another Kraft Kitchens recipe. As well, tomorrow night will mark five days on our bi-weekly meal plan that will hopefully turn into a habit early in the new year!
My First Post
Hi!
Thanks for joining me! As some of you may know, close to two years ago now (argh- can it be true?), my husband and I decided to buy a small one acre lot in Lunenburg, Ontario, to build our dream house. We built the house over the course of the summer of 2008 and moved in to a partially finished house on September 21, 2008. We haven't looked back, well not much, since then - mostly, because we haven't had the time! Our daughter is part way through Senior Kindergarten and is thriving! Jamie's training business hasn't taken off - yet - but as of January 2010, he'll be starting a new adventure at a local business. My career is going well - even though it didn't look like it would. Let me explain: in February 2009, as a result of what is called strategic review - the review wasn't very strategic in my humble opinion - I was slated to loose my job. However, snatching victory from the jaws of defeat being what I'm good at, I recently started a new job at a cool institute, just a couple of buildings over from my previous location.
I am planning to make this blog a chronicle of my family's upcoming adventures and of my cooking - not quite the Julie/Julia Project or the Confessions of a Pioneer Woman - but something that will allow me to keep my sanity and sense of humour during what could may well turn out to be the world's worst experiment in the known world.
Stay tuned for my first challenge: renewing my driver's license...
Thanks for joining me! As some of you may know, close to two years ago now (argh- can it be true?), my husband and I decided to buy a small one acre lot in Lunenburg, Ontario, to build our dream house. We built the house over the course of the summer of 2008 and moved in to a partially finished house on September 21, 2008. We haven't looked back, well not much, since then - mostly, because we haven't had the time! Our daughter is part way through Senior Kindergarten and is thriving! Jamie's training business hasn't taken off - yet - but as of January 2010, he'll be starting a new adventure at a local business. My career is going well - even though it didn't look like it would. Let me explain: in February 2009, as a result of what is called strategic review - the review wasn't very strategic in my humble opinion - I was slated to loose my job. However, snatching victory from the jaws of defeat being what I'm good at, I recently started a new job at a cool institute, just a couple of buildings over from my previous location.
I am planning to make this blog a chronicle of my family's upcoming adventures and of my cooking - not quite the Julie/Julia Project or the Confessions of a Pioneer Woman - but something that will allow me to keep my sanity and sense of humour during what could may well turn out to be the world's worst experiment in the known world.
Stay tuned for my first challenge: renewing my driver's license...
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