iTunes U

Wow,

I just went onto the iTunes site and found iTunes U. What a cool thing, it looks like you can get access to several courses from major universities around the US. When I say several I really mean hundreds. All for free!!

That's right FREE!

This information age is the coolest thing ever!

Roasted Butternut Squash Puree with Goat Cheese

Roasted Butternut Squash Puree with Goat Cheese

serves 2

2 pound butternut squash1/4 cup torn sage leavesOlive oilSalt and pepper1 ounce soft mild goat cheese

Heat the oven to 375ºF. Cut the squash in half and scoop out the seeds. Rub lightly with olive oil and put the sage leaves in each squash cavity. Rub in a bit of salt and pepper. Turn upside down in a pie pan and roast for about an hour or until very tender. Let cool for five minutes, then scoop out the flesh and puree with the goat cheese.

Revenge of the Rash....

Oh my god! Emily has had a million rashes over the last 3 weeks and everytime she gets a new one it's off to the Dr again and no Daycare. I can't get anything done and it's driving me crazy!

The Princess Cake

Okay so the cake took me 5 hours start to finish (some of that was time cooling the cake) but two hours to decorate end to end. I think it was worth in the end and Emily loved it but boy it took a long time.

Yummy i want to try this

from http://scrumdillydo.blogspot.com/2007/05/one-last-berry-hurrah.html

Let's make some tarts! Making jam tarts is fun and super easy especially if you use premade pie crust. It can be homemade or store bought. Just know that the store bought stuff can be salty and full of all that extra stuff but if it is a once in a long while thing then go for it and don't worry!

What you need:

*jam*pie crust*cookie cutters*spoon for jam*plastic knives for cutting doough (a pizza wheel will work also!)*tiny bowl of milk, soy milk or an egg*colored sugar, sugar or powdered sugar for decorating (I used black pepper!)*cookie sheet*parchment paper to work and bake on

Roll or unfold the dough so that your kidlets can go to town on it. Have your wee ones use cookie cutters to cut out their tart shapes. You can also use the knives or pizza wheel to cut out rectangular pieces that can be folded in half. After all the shapes are cut out, space them onto the parchment paper and place onto the cookie sheet. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Using the smallest spoon ya got, a baby spoon would be great, have your kidlets drop a spoonful of jam onto the center of half the cutouts.

Next up, gently place a cutout on top of each jam dotted shape. Push down a wee bit onto the edges to seal. The jam will bubble up and seep out when baking which is why you want to use as little as possible. It's totally okay to use more and have it seep, no worries! You don't have to add a top to every shape either but the tops give your wee ones an opportunity to decorate!

Have your kidlet(s) "paint" each covered tart with a little bit of milk. This will help the sugar stick to the dough. Then let them go to town with their colored sugar and/or sprinkles. Once done, pop into the oven for 10 minutes or until bubbly and lightly browned.

Cool and serve with pink milk or some caffeine free tea! Yay!

Tori Spelling's Red Velvet Cupcake Recipe

RED VELVET CUPCAKE RECIPE

ENJOY!

CUPCAKES:
2 1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup unsalted butter softened
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
2 1/2 tablespoons cocoa powder
2 ounces red food coloring
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon white vinegar

CREAM CHEESE FROSTING:
1 (8oz) package cream cheese
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

MAKE CUPCAKES:
-pre-heat oven to 350-
-grease 12 cupcake cups or line with paper liners-
-cream softened butter and sugar together till fluffy-
-add eggs and blend well-
-in separate small bowl combine cocoa and food coloring and stir-
-once you have thick paste then add to mixture-
-sift salt and flour together into mixture-
-add vanilla, buttermilk, and water to mixture-
-in separate small bowl combine vinegar and baking soda-
-fold into cake mixture-
-pour mixture into cupcake cups-
-bake 15 to 20 minutes or until a wood toothpick inserted into middle of cupcake comes out clean-
-let cool for 10 minutes-
-turn out onto rack and let finish cooling-

MAKE FROSTING:
-blend together cream cheese softened and butter softened-
-add powder sugar and vanilla extract-
-blend till smooth-

FROST CUPCAKES!

Mommy Makeup

I got this neat email from the dailystroll this morning, with a company that makes Make-up for Mommies. And they ship to Canada which is even cooler! Oddly enough it's called Mommy Make-up.

Here's the set I like! $87 bucks plus another $6 for shipping, not totally outrageous for a whole set of makeup, but still not drugstore cheap either. The editor of the Daily Stroll said she tried it and loved it so I think it's probably worth the cash.

Birthday Parties....

Okay,


It's time to start really planning Emily's Birthday Party. We've got the location booked and I need to talk to them to figure out what stuff I need to bring. Goodie bags for sure. Emily wants a princess cake too. I went to Michaels and found a Cinderella plan so I'm going to have to figure out how to actually make the cake look like Cinderella. I'm sure I can get it done. Looking forward to it!! Now I just need to get the princess icing colours.




















I think I might make these surprise balls I found over on the HGTV site. Here's the instructions I found for them.


Materials:
yards and yards of colorful crepe papergifts to wrap such as rubber stamps, stickers, framed photos, bracelets, charms, jewelry, wrapped candies, etc.

Note: The ball of gifts can be as small as an orange or as large as a beach ball, depending upon how many items you want to include.


Steps:
Starting at one end of the crepe paper, roll the paper around one gift item at a time, enclosing each item inside the paper until you've formed ball with gifts enclosed inside. Tape or glue the end of the crepe paper to the ball to secure.

Decorate the completed ball--be creative! Use buttons, flower petals, ribbons, or try a smiley face.

Tooth # 5

Well Owen seems to be cutting tooth number 5 right now. This one has been the most painful for him, he has been crying and has had a little fever with it. I feel so badly for him, it also looks like it's coming in behind the front tooth, but the further it seems to move down the better position it's looking like its going to be in.

Right now his two front teeth remind me of Mater from the movie Cars. I feel like a bad mom for thinking that but one day he will laugh too I hope. I think I'm going to pick him up a Mater toy from the toystore sometime soon, I think it's kind of funny in a really mean way.

He seems to be sleeping a little bit better after this last weekend. He was up at 10 something, just past midnight and then not again until 5:30 which was pretty good!

Here's the thing....

Well I don't know why I'm so pissed off but truly I'm angry!! It's Easter morning and the kids and I have been up for 3 hours now and Adam is just getting out of the shower, he's not dressed and ready or anything and we have to be out the door in 20 minutes. This means that so far this morning, I have done the Easter Egg hunt, breakfast for both kids, getting both kids dressed, brushing teeth for both kids, hair for both kids and packing the bag for both kids!

Adam has gotten up and got some tylenol for Owen as he's running a little fever and made me feel like I was asking him to move the world when I asked him to do it!! Sucks!!

I'm trying to be the nice supportive wife while he is supposed to be helping Owen learn how to sleep. So far in the three days this has been going on I think I'm short more sleep than him and all he does is complain! I'm so sick of it I want to scream!! Last night Owen was up for 10 minutes around midnight and then about 10 minutes around 3. When he woke back up at 3:30 instead of ferberizing him like he's supposed to he goes and gets me to nurse him back to sleep. Okay so now I'm up for 30 minutes. If you're counting that's now more minutes than Adam. Then Owen gets up at 6:30 for the day and Adam sleeps in until after 9:00. If you're still counting I'm out almost 3 hours over him!

I'm pissed!!

Now this is exactly what we need...

The Lullabub Cot Rocker!! Wow, Adam and I need this so badly. Don't know if we can get it in Canada, but we could get it shipped to a friend in the US and then get it sent North from there.

Too Cool!!!

$199 US, I'd pay that much for a good night's sleep!

Crew Cuts

I wish we had J.Crew in Canada. I love their crewcuts line for kids and although you can have it shipped here when you order online it is so expensive when you've paid all of the duty and taxes and shipping it's just not worth it. I'll have to do a run south of the line sometime soon and see if they carry it it any of their outlet stores. I just got an email today with the cutesest summer dress ever. I can just see Emily in it and she is obsessed with dresses. Check out the J.Crew site for ordering info.

So it made me look around...

My favourite band of all time is Barenaked Ladies... I try to see them everytime they are in town. I have such a good time at all of their concerts and they make me laugh. So I guess I just need to figure out who my favourite male singer is and I'll have it all figured out. Anyways so I was just poking around YouTube after finding the Alanis video and I found this whole series of Bathroom Recordings by the BNL so for your listening pleasure!!



There are a tonne more on the YouTube site just look for Barenaked Ladies - (The Bathroom Sessions).

Alanis singing "My Humps"

Man this is hi-lar-i-ous!! I only think I've heard the Black Eyed Peas version once, but Adam sings this song all the time. He is going to die! Alanis has to be my favourite female singer of them all. Love that she doesn't take herself to seriously!!

VJ's Lamb Popsicles

I have always wanted to try these and so many people rave about them. I finally found the recepie online! Yipee! Now I need to figure out where I can get fenugreek leaves in this city.

From the website..... http://www.globalgourmet.com/food/cookbook/2007/vijs/lamb-popsicles.html

Marinated Lamb Popsicles in Fenugreek Curry
Serves 6

This is our signature dish at Vij's—probably our most famous and most popular. The size of the lamb popsicles will depend on the rack of lamb you buy. If the popsicles are bigger, then four per serving is usually enough; if they are slightly smaller, then go with five per serving. Serve these popsicles over turmeric new potatoes (page 166 of the book).

Lamb
1/4 cup sweet white wine
3/4 cup grainy yellow mustard
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
4 Ibs French-cut racks of lamb, in chops

Curry Sauce
4 cups whipping cream
1 Tbsp salt
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp ground cayenne pepper
1 Tbsp dried green fenugreek leaves
1/4 cup lemon juice
3 to 4 Tbsp canola oil
3 Tbsp finely chopped garlic
1 tsp turmeric

Lamb

Combine wine, mustard, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Add lamb and coat well with the marinade. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 to 4 hours.

Curry Sauce

In a large bowl, combine cream, salt, paprika, cayenne, fenugreek leaves and lemon juice. Heat 3 to 4 Tbsp of the oil in a medium pot on medium heat and saute garlic until golden. Stir in turmeric and cook for 1 minute. Stir in the cream mixture and cook on low to medium heat for about 5 minutes, or until it is gently boiling.

Finish Lamb

Preheat a stove-top cast iron grill or barbeque to high heat. Place lamb on the grill and cook for 2 to 3 minutes per side.

To Serve

Serve popsicles piping hot off the grill. Depending on their size, place 4 to 5 lamb popsicles on each plate. Pour the cream curry over the meat or ladle it into a small bowl and use it as a dipping sauce for the popsicles.

WineWe love the Schloss Gobelsburg Grüner Veltliner, which we always keep on our wine list.

Vij'sElegant and Inspired Indian Cuisineby Vikram Vij and Meeru DhalwalaDouglas & McIntyre$29.95/trade paperback with flapsFull-color photographs throughoutISBN: 1-55365-184-7Recipe reprinted by permission.

Now these are actually pretty cool...

Check this out...

Plant-me-pets. When you're done playing, plant them and they grow. Emily would love these, now the problem is finding out if we can get them in Canada!

Check this out!!

Oh my goodness can you imagine.....

A play house with running water and electricty. Seriously weird! For people with way tooo much money.

I'm done, done, done!

I'm mailing off my approved finished thesis today!! Yipee skippee, I'm done, I'm out of purgatory. I'ts over, over, over. Now I just need to figure out what I'm going to do with the rest of my life. Ask for a raise, look for a new job, don't know at this point!

Grad is June 15th!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What would you pay for sleep....

Adam and I are so sleep deprived right now we are considering paying $295 for a baby/child sleep consultant. She looks good, check her out at helensands.com . Not sure if we should spend the $$ though. Are we really going to learn something we don't already know? Is there a guarantee. It just took me almost an hour to get Owen down for his morning nap and now I'll be so happy if he sleeps for 45 minutes. Man I need my life back!!

Sick Kids

Oh my god... both my kids are sick and we aren't sleeping. Emily is coughing so badly. I hate when she gets a cough, it goes so deep into her chest. It keeps me up at night. Owen just has a runny nose, but it's been runny for the last 3 weeks. He's supposed to get his shots next week and I'm not sure if he should with his runny nose.

Also I have only 3 more days to get my paper done. Adam stayed home today so I could work but I'm getting stuck in my grounded theory. I'm thinking that maybe I should skip ahead so that I don't get hung up. But it still all has to get done. I'm hating, hating, hating this! F$@K I'm wishing I never signed up to take on this 20,000 dollar hell. And Adam won't let me forget it, I wasn't even sure I wanted to start doing this. It was him that made me put in my application. He should have done his school first and then all would be in a much better place. Instead I'm banging my head against the stupid table!

Procrastination

Okay here it goes....

I have one week and one day to finish the rewrites on my thesis. I have help looking after Owen and I'm sitting here looking at my blog thinking I haven't posted in ages....

I hate this rewrite thing!! I don't want to do this anymore. Is it possible to hate the topic that you started out loving and thinking that you need to write a thesis on? I can't stand my topic anymore, I'm so bored of living with this everyday. Thing is if I get this done then I won't have to live with it everyday which would be awesome, if I don't get this rewrite done then I will have to continue living with this as there is no way that Adam will let me get away with not finishing my thesis! Sucks, sucks, sucks. I want to go hind my head in a hole.

Instead I guess I'll go work on my paper.
Ciao

New Tooth

Owen cut his first tooth on Saturday. Now he bites a little bit but oh well, could be worse. Although a breastfeeding mom with a biter is not the best combination.

Had lunch with the work group today and just found out that Kari is pregnant, so exciting. I love it when people are pregnant, it makes me so happy! She is due at the end of July so just about a year after Owen.

Sleep - Or lack thereof

Well Owen did a little bit better last night, he actually slept until 11:00pm then I managed to get him to sleep again in his Crib until almost 2:00am. Adam got him then and brought him in to me. I'm a little bit happier now, I was so tired the last couple of days with Owen's sleeping habits. Coming up on 5 months, I really hope he figures out how to sleep a little bit longer soon. I don't know what else to do other than letting him cry it out which I really don't want to do. Although we are starting to think we don't have much of a choice.

Everybody back at work today, we are having a lazy day and will do some grocery shopping. Not much else going on.