Wednesday, April 29, 2009

wordless wednesday


La Diva playing for her first music festival at the UofA


Good Friday... off to Love according to John play

Friday, April 24, 2009

Forgot to mention...

Kodiak had his cast removed Wednesday night. He's quite excited as his first soccer game is next Tuesday. He was shocked at how much muscle tone he lost in that month. He's been packing around a stress ball to try and strengthen his hand a bit. He adapted so well to doing things with one hand that the first day it was hilarious to see him almost walk out the house with only 1 arm in his coat, trying to do things with his left hand instead of both. I'm glad it healed so quickly. He would have been so upset if he had to miss any of his soccer season.

Pining for spring

I've been having issues with my hands lately which is why I haven't posted much on either blog. Typing hurts and some days so does using the touch pad. I'm desperate for better weather and while we had a tease of it on Monday/Tuesday, today I woke to a skiff of snow on the lawn. I started some seedlings and have a few sprouts of lettuce and basil so far. My morning glory seeds have exceeded the height of the dome on the seed tray and will need to be transferred to a larger pot soon. We are going to build a raised garden bed this spring so I'm looking forward to that. I've been spending some time surfing the net and thought I'd share some of the latest sites I'm enjoying.

I've been enjoying the following gardening blogs:

My Square Foot Garden

Life on the Balcony

Alberta Home Gardening

Also some interesting reading for my conservative friends (my liberal friends may not be appreciative of them):

Mother of All Conservatives

Human Life Matters and Mark Pickup ( interesting aside~ I went to the jr. high school named after his father and his mom was my music teacher for a time. She was also a dear friend of my parents and I have a piece of Mark's artwork hanging in my living room that was our wedding gift from her)

I've also been enjoying my friend Crafty's new cooking blog "Crafty's Cafe" from which I also discovered Mennonite Girls Can Cook.

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Thankful Thursday!!

So extremely grateful for a medical doctor that listens to their patients, is not rushed by a waiting room of people and is willing to do what she can to get a proper assessment of Iceman's learning challenges. She was very puzzled by the arrogant school board jackers test recommendations. She is not one to slap a label on a child and agrees that medication is not the solution to everything. I feel so extremely blessed to have her as my own doctor and for my children. This is such a HUGE relief to me. I have been falling deeper and deeper into that pit of feeling like I've failed my child somehow because of some egghead's jackery. I feel, for the first time in a long while, that we will get to the bottom of Iceman's difficulties and will finally be able to help him reach his full potential.

Monday, April 13, 2009

The Naked Egg

We started this cool experiment on Friday. Iceman loves science experiments and he is quite thrilled with the whole thing. Next step will be to try and shrink the egg. It is very fascinating and easy to do so I thought I'd share it with you.

UPDATE: The shrinking egg is disgusting. It's not finished but it is not a pretty picture in the meantime.

Sunday, April 12, 2009

12 on the 12th

I had hoped to do a 12 in pictures this time but I haven't taken the time to learn our new camera so I'm afraid to take out the memory card. I know I'm a technotard ;). Maybe the Hero can help me out when he returns.

1. Watched Turtle and Iceman follow the clues to the Easter surprise.

2. Spent some time in reflection about Easter. We had our time with my family on Friday when we went for dinner and then attended Love According to John at the Jubilee.

3. Breakfast which included our traditional stootzing with the colored eggs.

4. Watched the kids play soccer with their new rebounder net.

5. Visited with my neighbor and came home with some tomato plants.

6. Discussed garden plans with the Hero.

7. Cooked Easter dinner- ham, asparagus, roasted baby potatoes and cheesecake.

8. Cleaned up from dinner, folded laundry.

9. Got the boys showered and into bed.

10. Hung out with La Diva.

11. Looked at square foot garden plans online.

12. Waiting for the Hero to return from a fire.

He is Risen

Friday, April 10, 2009

Thursday, April 09, 2009

Kodiak is turning into a bear

We've had temps from 9 - 15 Celsius this week which means that Kodiak has been in shorts all week. His legs will rarely see pants until about October. It would appear that over the winter his hormones have kicked in big time covering his legs with manly man hair instead of the boyish fuzz that used to be there. About a month ago he had to shave his upper lip for the first time too. It looks due for another pass of the razor. A month between shaves is probably not too serious but it's all too much for this Momma. My first born is seriously morphing from boy to man. I'm SO not ready for this.

Wednesday, April 08, 2009

Salsa Chicken Bake

I've been trying to use up the things I have in my pantry. The prices of fresh produce are through the roof right now so I've been using more frozen or canned things than I usually do in my cooking. Last night's creation was as follows:

Ingredients: (measurements are all approximates I just threw it together)

9 Boneless, skinless chicken thighs
2 cups basmati rice (we bought one of those huge bags on sale so I'm using this alot these days)
1 can of black beans
2 cups frozen corn
1/2 jar of salsa (1 + cup)
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup sour cream

Cook basmati in rice cooker. Brown chix thighs in olive oil, season to your taste. Add salsa and roughly 1/2 cup water (chix broth would be tastier but I didn't have any on hand) and simmer. In a 9x13 glass pan layer cooked rice, beans, corn and then top with chix thighs, pouring any sauce over. Top with shredded cheddar that has been mixed with sour cream. Bake til cheese is bubbly and dish is heated through (roughly 20 minutes in 350 F oven).

It was a hit with the whole crew which is no small feat. Iceman gave it 10 stars and even Turtle gave it a thumbs up which is nothing short of a miracle with him lately (Mr. Picky all of a sudden). Kodiak and the Hero added some Franks Lime Hot Sauce to pump up the heat. They all said they'd like me to make it again.

Tuesday, April 07, 2009

Laryngitis??

Do you ever feel like you've lost your voice? Not in the my throat is sore kind of way but in the I can't make myself heard, no one cares what I have to say kind of way?

Struggling through this thing called fibromyalgia has not been an easy road for me. With it comes feelings of failure, guilt and often hopelessness. I can't seem to resign myself to this new path of being nearly crippled, often of less than sound mind with a head full of muddled thoughts, lapses in memory, fighting through a cloud of nonsense, frustration with wanting to do things but knowing that the cost is often to high to push through and get it done. I'm a doer, a servant by heart and when I'm unable to do for others I feel utterly useless. I feel like most people just think I'm lazy or a hypochondriac or someone who is not worth the effort of knowing. I've let relationships fall aside because I feel like I have nothing to offer, that these people are better off without this version of me or I simply can no longer handle the drama or stress that can come from trying to maintain certain relationships. Drama gives me stress, stress makes me physically sick which makes me useless to my family which then fills me with despair about my inability to overcome this thing.

Being incapable of doing all that I used to do for people makes me less relevant in their lives. I don't know how to define myself without being able to be the encourager, the helper, the intercessor, the one who holds others up. I've never been one who is good at putting themselves first. I'm a great martyr and have spent my life sacrificing many of my dreams, wants and needs for the good of others. Now if I don't focus on what my body needs first than I have even less to give to my family. If I don't take "me" into consideration than I have nothing for them. There is no amount of pushing myself that can get it done.

I really don't know where to find my voice again. How to be me without the doing?

Ker - works = no value

I am sure of a few things - my salvation, the love of my husband and most of the time the love of my children. That should be enough but it isn't. I miss being heard, I miss being valued and needed, I miss feeling like I was making a difference in my world. I wish I knew how to find my new voice.

No need to comment. I can't figure out how to close the comments on this post or I would do that.

Monday, April 06, 2009

Meatballs

I just finished rolling about 50 meatballs. I made them rather large or I'd still be rolling. I have some pain in my right forearm, elbow shoulder today- fibro related but I have good energy today so I wanted to take advantage of that despite the discomfort. The crew were at my parents for half of spring break and when they returned yesterday they came with meat from my Uncle's farm. The packages of ground beef were huge and someone left 2 out for me to cook dinner with today. (We usually need 2 pkgs. of store bought ground beef for a meal so it was an honest mistake). Now I will be able to freeze several batches of meatballs for future meals.... yeah!

I've never followed a recipe when making meatloaf or ground beef and just kind of throw together what suits my fancy that day or what I have on hand. Today's batch consisted of onion soup mix, worcestershire, dijon, chopped garlic, a dollop of good horseradish, some seasoning, a couple of eggs and leftover basmati rice for binding.

Do you follow a recipe or throw it all together? Care to share your favorite combination? What kind of sauce do you like your meatballs in?

Friday, April 03, 2009

For my fellow 'The Office' loving peeps...

You have to check out this contest over at Office Tally. It is hysterical. I think my favorite is Beach Games by Simon . Which one is your favorite?