mmmmmmmmmmm

Iceman and I found a new favorite salad dressing. It is made locally, in Alberta at least, and tastes divine. I tried to recreate it but only had dried basil and that just didn't do it justice. I'm thankful to find another dressing that Iceman enjoys. He loves salad but only ate it with Girard's Champagne dressing , which is not available here.

If anyone has a recipe for a creamy basil & garlic dressing than I'd love it if you could share. Meantime, we will enjoy purchasing this product which is available at 2 of the grocery stores in the neighboring city.

There are other flavors as well and I may have to give them a try. Check out the whole product line at Boccalino Grotto.

I'm going to try one more time to grow some lettuce this year in containers. So far I've had little success but I've noticed some container specific varieties while perusing the seed racks so I will try those.

Top 10 favorite things of 2008

1. Our Keurig coffee maker. Love, love, love this thing. The only complaint is no Starbucks K-cups yet, blasted Tassimo people have them.

2. The Conair Infiniti Hot Air Styler. This has saved me so much pain in doing my hair with my fibro. I can dry and straighten at once and only need to lightly go over my hair with my flat iron. Love this tool!

3. Sahale Snacks Valdosta Pecans. They are delicious and so addicting. We found ours at Costco.

4. The Magic Bullet!!! Get your mind out of the gutter. LOL The Hero was a little confused when I said I was buying a magic bullet because Canadian Tire had them on sale. It's small, powerful and makes the best smoothies.

5. Curvetech tank tops from Mark's They have built in bras, hold up great when you wash and hang to dry. Are awesome for layering and keep the girls where they are supposed to be. The Denver Hayes yoga line is also very comfy.

6. The new socks that are infused with Vitamin E or Aloe. I have some fun stripey ones that are in cotton and not like those fuzzy spa ones you normally see. Mine came from Marks but I've seen the fuzzy spa ones at Avon, Bath and Body Works and other places. My feet get some TLC just by wearing socks.

7. Microfiber plush blankets. We love them. Each of the kids have them on their beds. The littles actually sleep on top of them instead of underneath them because they love the snuggly feeling so much. One of the frustrating symptoms of my torment is getting cold so I have a couple of these hidden away in our ottoman in the living room and we all snuggle up in them. We bought ours at Costco.

8. Sultan Flokenes mattress. We desperately needed a new mattress and with my fibro we wanted to get something that would insure I get the best chance at a good night's rest. We shopped around and tried everything from high end top of the line ones to these ones at IKEA. I found this IKEA mattress to be more comfortable than the doctor recommended one for fibro at a specialty mattress shop. Bonus is that it was a fraction of the cost. The Hero also likes it which is great because we are usually on opposite ends of the spectrum in what we want from a mattress.

9. The Shack. There has only been one other work of fiction that has impacted my life so greatly. I laughed, I wept, my heart broke into a million pieces and then was put back together again. I am so thankful for what happened in me through this book. I know there is a ton of controversy out there over this book and I admit that is partly why I wanted to read it for myself. Rev. Lang endorsed it and that alone gave me the courage to read it. I have the utmost respect for him and his family as I've seen them take a horrific tragedy and turn that pain into ministry. I'm so blessed that I made the choice to read this powerful book. God used it to move me in ways I have yet been able to put to paper.

10. Alternative medicine and a medical doctor who is open to me trying these things. I have found so much relief and healing by taking this path. I'm so thankful that there are alternatives to modern medicine that have helped me and my torment.

Where I disappeared to...

mmmmmm... Fall Stew

I was perusing the aisles of Extra Foods (a mini Superstore) in a neighboring town while La Diva had piano lessons. I rarely get to this store but have enjoyed several products from there in the past. This time I picked up the PC Memories of Burgundy Burgundy Beef Stew Spice & Recipe Kit. I thought I had most of the ingredients for the recipe at home and with the fall weather stew sounded like a great idea. I must admit that when it came time to making it I didn't have all the ingredients listed on the recipe so I made stew like I normall would but with the addition of these spices and the red wine of course. It was delicious.  The family wanted to know what was different about the stew. The smell was heavenly and I was drooling all day as it simmered in the crock pot. I will likely try some of the other spice combos available.

Take that Fred Flinstone!

I have ugly feet, so ugly that the Hero dubbed them Fred Flintstone feet many years ago. Fat, wide, square toes, not loverly at all but I hate socks! So I love summer because it frees me from socks and I can go barefoot most anywhere. Due to the ugliness of my feet they need some help to be acceptable to the general public. After a long, hard winter of neglect they are in sad shape. I've been too scared to get a professional pedi because of my torment. I'm worried it will cause me too much pain and I will suffer through because they aren't cheap. I usually take the plane to my nasty heels but even the thought of that has made me cringe in fear this year. I've heard some good things about the Ped Egg and when I finally spotted one in a store I decided to give it a go. This thing really works and doesn't cause me pain. I'm frankly very shocked because anything with the "as seen on TV" label on it has the alarm bells ringing for a skeptic like me. It is easy to use, easy to clean and doesn't cause me any pain.

Finally some relief

I think I've found something to help me get through this horrible bouts with pain. I pop Aleve Liquid Gels and they take the edge off, anything stronger makes me a stoned Zombie. I'm so thankful for my cross border connections and there is no way I'd be coping without this stuff. However, it helps but there is still that mind numbing pain. Last weekend we were at some friends for dinner and she put some Gardener's Dream Cream on my shoulder, which was killing me after a fall, the relief was nearly instant. Finally... yes I'm slow sometimes... it dawned on me that this could help the rest of my pain. Thankfully they carry it at our local pharmacy so the Hero ran over Friday and picked it up. I've been able to function much better since then.

International Women's Day!

I'll admit that I just read this on my calendar and had to wiki it to find out what it was all about.

So in honor of this day I want to give a 'shout-out' to all the women who have touched my life - past and present. Each of you have added something to my life and I thank you for that gift.

My favorite girl power quote:

“A nation is not conquered until the hearts of its women are on the ground. Then it is done, no matter how brave its warriors or strong its weapons.” ~Cheyenne Proverb

Simple Joys

Inspired by today's post at Marriage Hacks I'm going to stop being grumpy ~cut me some slack AF is here~ and find 5 things that give me joy. I challenge you to do the same. The rules are it can't be kids or spouses. C'mon you can do it..... it's only 5. Please share your list with me.

Today my list would be:

1. a cup of really great coffee
2. my slippers fresh from the microwave ~ warm and filling my nose with the scent of lavendar
3. the flap of a hundred little wings as the birds drunkenly make their way from their feast of red berries to my rooftop. Spring... can it be on it's way??
4. the sigh of a contented dog curling up on her pillow
5. silence... the quiet of the house when my family is all tucked in bed at the end of a long day.

Blog Envy

I recently stumbled onto Mrs Fussy Fussypants and her fabulous blogging friends. I've been reading many of the blogs by these remarkable women and suffering from blog envy. I'm awed by them. Not only are their blogs beautiful and fun to look at they are filled with faith, thought provoking bits, things that make you pee your pants laughing and of course every one of them seems to be more gorgeous than the next. With my blog envy has come a few moments of insecurity about how I must bore you all to tears with my sad attempts at blogging. However I've recovered from that and know that I will never be a professional blogger who is well known in the blogosphere. I will just be "me" boring you with my life, stories about the crew, gushes about the Hero, ramblings about life and faith. Hoping along the ride that I will inspire you, make you giggle or give you something to think about.

I smell gooooooooooooooddd!!

I love my new perfume. It was a gift from Troy's Aunt. She discovered it in a girlfriend's store, sampled some, had so many compliments on it that she had to buy it for herself and me!! It is called Armand Basi in Red. I love the fragrance and I have also received many compliments. In my attempt to be a better blogger I will include a gratuitous picture of it. ;)

Favorite Things

I haven't been very inspired to blog lately as I've been dealing with pain from my wisdom teeth removal. It has been the most tedious of healings ever. I have pain that radiates in my jaw, my sinuses and the other day even my ear ached. I'm on antibiotics for possible infection. Aleve and Percocet make it tolerable and I sleep like a log which is a bonus for the poor Hero who is usually dealing with my tossing and turning.

Here are a few of my favorite things - some make my life easier, some taste great, some are guilty pleasures, some are great gift ideas.

Westham Island Estate Wines. My favorites are blackberry, snogoose and their fabulous pumpkin dessert wine. We found this treasure while on holidays this summer. Cheers!

Method Home Aroma Sticks make my house smell great and they don't aggravate anyone's allergies.

Method Home Wipes in any scent make cleaning my bathrooms an easy daily occurrence.

Nellies Dryer Balls have helped cut down my drying time immensely. My clothes are no longer covered in animal tallow and fragrance, no static, better for the enviroment.

Lash Exact Mascara No clumping!

Wish Upon a Necklace Great gift idea for teachers, teens, friends, sisters, etc.

Coastal Goods I received a few things as a gift last year and I'm hooked. Fantastic quality seasonings for all the foodies you know.

Carrot and Stick Press Gorgeous letter pressed stationary. I love, love these.

Swoon Candles My favorite scent is Violet cocoa. Another thing I received as a gift and fell in love with.

Cell FX This has totally changed my quality of life. I was having horrible bouts of pain to the point of making it difficult to do much but sit or lie down. I went to the doctor and got the run around. My Hero is a die hard Cold FX user so I decided to give this product a try. My bouts of pain are few and far between and when they come it is most likely because I have missed some doses of the Cell FX. I'm so thankful for this product. It has improved my life 10,000 times over.

Ganache for Lips No lips should be without this lip balm. YUM-O!

Honey I washed the Kids Soap

Trichomania Shampoo Bar I bought this for La Diva and was very skeptical about the whole shampoo bar concept. I tried it a few times and it is fabulous. It totally changed the condition of my hair. This is great stuff!!

Flying Fox shower gel The smell is like an aphrodisiac. Nuff said.

Butterball Bath Bomb A necessity of winter.

Jake's World Famous Tartar Sauce To. die. for.

MEC Windstopper N2S Gloves These rock!! My hands are warm, they are thin enough to stuff in my pockets and they look sexy.

Ergodyne Work Gear I haven't tried these yet but the Hero says it is better than Under Armor. He is in love and they have a cool slogan on the clothes as well "Be Tenacious".

MEC Seamless Boxer Briefs Another recommendation from the Hero. He has an almost disturbing case of love for these. I have tried the women's version but sadly my ample behind needs to shrink a bit more to fit into them in a manner that I would find comfortable.

Almay Nearly Naked Touch-Pad Liquid Makeup I ran out of my normal foundation and then Wally World was out of my shade. I was desperate as I was scraping the corners of what I had left. So I decided to give this a try and I love it so much that it will be my new foundation. It covers great and it doesn't feel like you have anything on your face. If I didn't have raccoon eyes from getting my contacts out (don't ask) I probably would forget I had makeup on and not wash my face at night. It is that light!