LOVE LOVE LOVE this!

Just something to make you smile....

Another day in paradise..

I only had to work a half day today so Allen and I took full advantage of the gorgeous sun.... We went to a beach near our home and attempted to let the fur baby have a run. Our lovely pooch has been going through her terrible 2's... she has all of a sudden decided that she does not need to come when she is called. We were proud of her "come" up until this point.. We got down to the beach and as soon as she was off her leash...poof she was gone...down the beach after another dog. Needless to say we were not impressed so we put her on her leash. A little while later we thought we would give her another try... we stood calling her for 5 minutes while she happily ran around us, taunting us. Strike 2...strike 3.. anyways she has been banished to her leash again....give a dog an inch...they take a mile :)

Besides our giant fur baby being a turkey...the beach was unreal...freezing FREEZING but unreal. I cannot believe how lucky we are for the place in which we live. It was cool to be walking along the beach under the blue sky and sun...and seeing ice hanging from trees and snow covering the sand....

Here are some photos from our adventures in sand, snow and sun today...

Book Blog...

So a quick update on some books that I'm reading or planning to read...

Currently I am reading The Friday Night Knitting Club. Its a pretty light read. Makes me feel like I need to get back into my knitting. My knitting back is sitting beside the couch...hasn't moved or opened since I put it there a week ago...

I just finished Left Neglected. It was about a woman who has an accident, survives but ends up suffering from something called left neglect. Her brain doesnt recognize the left side of her body. I really enjoyed reading about this womans struggles to function in her old life while forging a new one.

My next two reads are going to be The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time and The Help. Both books I have been dying to read.

Happy reading...
B

Another fill-in-the-blanks...

Happy Friday

Here is another batch of fill-in-the-blanks...

1. I am everchanging...(or at least growing and developing)

2. The bravest thing I have ever done was going backpacking in Australia by myself. I still think back to landing in Sydney and being amazed with what the country looks like...and feeling like "what the hell am I doing?!?!" It was such an amazing trip and there are so many things that I miss about Australia.

3. I feel prettiest when I'm super tanned, no makeup and my hair is cooperating with me!

4. Something that keeps me awake at night is mhmm where do I begin?!! Sometimes it is stressing about money and my career... what to do with my life... sometimes I lay awake at night nervously anticipating my TOC job for the next morning.. but then there are nights where I fall asleep and have a blissful, wonderful rest.. :)

5. My favourite meal in the world is would have to say pad thai. I ABSOLUTELY love pad thai...Ive tried making it..it didn't turn out. I love love love this meal and get so excited when I get to eat some yummy pad thai.

6. The way to my heart is humor and affection...

7. I would like to sit on a beach with my favourite people, read a good book while sipping on a bellini, wriggling my toes in the sand..

Hope you have a good weekend. Happy blogging!

B

Wear your pink today!!!

Have you noticed alot of people wearing pink today? People are joining forces to take a stand against bullying. People of all ages, sexes, ethnicity are donning pink clothing to show that bullying needs to stop.

This video has been circulating promoting the annual event.

Either wear a pink shirt from your closet or stop by London Drugs to pick up a sponsored pink tshirt. All proceeds go to the Boys and Girls Clubs.

Together we can stop bullying; at school and at the work place!

B

Fill in the blanks Thursday



I found this Fill-in-the blanks idea off the blog, http://veryloveleigh.blogspot.com/. Thought I would try something different today!

The TV show/website that I watch/read that I would be embarrassed to tell anyone about are some of those tv shows on MTV or MuchMusic....My Super Sweet 16 Birthday, Real World (insert location), Real World Road Challenges... Pretty Little Liars...Keeping up with the Kardasians.. pretty much crap tv..guilty pleasures.

An item of clothing that is worn and torn but that I love far to much to throw away is my stinky, worn, "spicy" moccasin shoes. I love them so much and I can't part with them even though they apparently make my feet smell "spicy" (Thanks, C!).

My grocery store impulse buy is People or US Weekly magazines. I can't help it sometimes...I sometimes need my gossip, fashion fill!

Something I do at work to pass time that I wouldn't want my co-workers to know about is reading a book or texting....oops! PS..this goes for my "after school job"...

One thing in my life that I could give up, but never will is 5 cent candy. I love 5 cent candy from 7-11 or wherever. I don't let myself buy the stuff much anymore, but every once in a while I have an extreme craving for 5 cent candy and a slurpie!!!

A little indulgence that I have is books. I love to buy and read books. A hobby of mine is to go to used book stores, thrift stores... to search out good books. I get so excited when I find a book I've been looking for...for 75cents!

The junk drawer/area in my house is a drawer in the kitchen, sometimes our office...I unload crap that I don't know what to do with in there!

Hope you enjoyed Fill-in-the-blanks Thursday!
B
PS. If you get a chance check out some of my new fave blog finds!

South of the border

Mexican Tomato Rice and Bean

I am trying hard to integrate meatless main dishes into our dinners...or at least my dinners. I found this recipe on a blog (For the Love of Cooking) and I have been wanting to try it for some time. I made salsa chicken to go with it tonight (I know its not completely meatless), but tomorrow night I am going to use the rice in a MEATLESS quesadillas!

1 cup white rice
2 cups of water
1 15 oz. can of diced tomatoes
1-2 tsp olive oil
5-6 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 15 oz. can of black beans, drained and rinsed
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp oregano
Salt and cracked pepper to taste

Bring water to a boil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat, add the rice, cover with lid and simmer on low for 20 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand covered for another 5 minutes.
While the rice steams, set a fine sieve in a large measuring cup and drain the tomatoes. Add enough water to the tomato juice to equal 1 cup. Chop the tomatoes finely.
Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic to the skillet and saute for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add the black beans, cumin, chili powder, oregano, and salt and pepper to taste. Stir in the tomato juice mixture and bring to a boil. Adjust the heat to maintain a gentle boil and cook, stirring occasionally, until the beans absorb much of the liquid, 5-7 minutes. Add the tomatoes and cooked rice then cook, stirring occassionally, until the rice is warm, 1-2 minutes.

To further this recipe you can make it into a quesadilla.

Heat a skillet over medium heat. Sprinkle some cheddar cheese on top of one tortilla then spoon some of the rice and bean mixture on top; add a bit more cheese then top with the other tortilla.

Place in the skillet and cook for 3-4 minutes on each side until golden brown. Let the quesadilla sit for a few minutes before slicing. Add sour cream, salsa or whatever other condiments you would like!

Enjoy!

B

SNOW DAY!!!



So to celebrate my friends birthday we went up to Mtn Washington to the Ozone tubing area. Tons of fun! I hadn't been tubing in ages. 2 hours cost about $15 and it was fairly worth while. We probably had about 5 or 6 runs down the track. It was nice because we could go down in different combos (pairs..everyone)..and they spun us, etc. The conditions were decent. It was cold and blowing pretty good, but still enjoyable.
Going to the mountain has definately lit a fire under my butt to learn how to snowboard. I'm not a huge fan of strapping something onto my feet that can take me flying down a hill uncontrolled (ie. rollerblades, skates, skis, snowboards); however I would really like to give the whole snowboarding thing a try.

Anyways if you have a chance give tubing a try up at Mtn Washington. They have night tubing which is pretty awesome; less lines, less kiddies.

PS. Had some laughs on the tubes for two ladies that were there in spirit!!!!
B

Pineapple Express

So it was my friends birthday the other day so I had the chance to test out a recipe that I had been dying to make, Pineapple Cheese Pie. Basically all you need to know is that it was delicious. I doubled the recipe to fit into a 9 inch pan instead of the recipes 7 inch pan.



Anyways here is the yummy recipe.

Pineapple cheese pie

2/3 cup graham cracker crumbs

4-1/2 teaspoon sugar

3 tablespoon butter, melted

Filling:

4 ounces cream cheese, softened

2 tablespoons sugar

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream, whipped

1 can (8 ounces) unsweetened crushed pineapple, well drained

Combine the graham cracker crumbs, sugar and butter; press onto the bottom and up the sides of an ungreased 7 inch pie pan. *I would recommend greasing the pan as it was a little hard to get out in one nice piece.* Refridgerate while preparing the filling.

In a smal bowl, beat the cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Fold in whipped cream and pineapple. Spoon into the crust. Refridgerate for at least 3 hours or until firm.

Hope you enjoy!!!

Lemon delight



I have never baked cupcakes before, so when I had a get together to go to last night, I thought cupcakes were in order. They were super, super easy to make, pretty basic ingredients...fairly yummy! I found the icing to be a little sweet, but then the actual cupcakes themselves aren't overly flavourful, so it all kind of balances out?? I used this recipe..
http://www.kraftcanada.com/en/recipes/lemon-cream-cheese-cupcakes-109592.aspx

I would definately give these a try if you need something sweet to make... I want to play around with the flavors a bit as well. My thinking was to try using raspberry or strawberry flavored instant pudding instead of the lemon flavoured kind, but then keep the lemon icing. I enjoy raspberry/ lemon pairings.

The cupcakes were a great addition to a great night with friends. There was lots of yummy treats to munch on. The munchies added to our hilarious game of MadGab!!!
Have a good SuperBowl Sunday!
B

New music for your weekend!!!!



So I've been looking and searching for some new music to add to my ipod, or to make some cd's. Recently I have gotten into a few great bands, singers, or songs...so I'd thought I'd pass them along to anyone interested :)

Black Keys' album Brother- so good- very hippy, funky. Howling for you has got to be one of my favourite songs from the album. Everlasting Light is good as well.

Britney Spears- Hold It Against Me - very dance club...girls night song. A must for stagettes or girls nights' ;)

Amos Lee's album Mission Bell -great chill out, sitting by the beach cd. This cd makes we want to hit the road to Tofino!!!

Natalia Kills- Mirrors - if you are a Lady Gaga fan, you may enjoy this rip off singer... ;)

Chris Willis -Louder (Put Your Hands Up)- very fun dance or workout song! A must download (or purchase)

Eliza Doolite- Pack Up- retro, dance around in your bath robe kind of tune!

FLORENCE AND THE MACHINE - Her whole album, Between Two Lungs, is amazing!!!

Happy listening!
B

A Healthy Choice...

So I found this recipe awhile back and have now made it a couple of times.



Zucchini Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

2 ripe bananas, mashed

1 egg

2 tbsp honey

1 1/2 cups grated zucchini

1/4 cup canola oil

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

pinch of salt

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour (or regular..I've tried both)

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 cup pecans

1/4 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Grate zucchini (either by hand or using a food processor), then squeeze grated zucchini to remove some of the water. Measure 1 1/2 cups zucchini and mix with mashed bananas.

In a medium sized bowl, beat egg and honey. Stir in the grated zucchini mixture, then the oil. Sprinkle baking soda, baking powder and salt over the top of this and mix in.

Add whole wheat flour and cinnamon to the zucchini mixture and mix until just combined. Fold in chopped pecans and chocolate chips.

Spray muffin pan or individual muffin cups with nonstick spray then divide batter evenly among cups to make 12 muffins. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes.

Happy Friday! Enjoy!
B