Ten Thought Tuesday ~ Christmas Present ~

Yes, I am well aware it is late late Wednesday.  Give me a break.  I've been busy fa-la-la-ing and eggnogging and rumming it up.

Hubby and I have had a very exciting 2012!  In April, we took the trip of our lifetime [so far] to New York City.  We were there for 10 incredible days over Easter.  Our hotel was in Queens, we rode the subway every day and saw the sights from bus tours, river cruises and a helicopter ride!  There are too many highlights to list but as you can see from the above picture seeing the Statue of Liberty was amazing.  We also made it to Rockefeller Plaza, The Guggenheim, The Museum of Natural History, Central Park and Yankee Stadium.  The food was incredible.  There is nothing like a New York pizza and we will never forget the Italian pastries.  Mmmm….Cannoli!

Brandy~puppy celebrated her 13^th birthday in November.  She’s had an interesting year.  Last Christmas she underwent throat surgery for laryngeal paralysis.  It was very scary for us all.  But she recovered very well although her voice has changed.  Now her bark sounds a little more like a gangster!  I know that we are on bonus time but   Brandy continues to bring happiness into our lives with her spunky personality.  

Hubby continues to work at the Fedorated Co-Op.  I’ve got another full teaching schedule at the Saskatoon Academy of Music.  On weekends you can find us cheering on the Riders, going for car rides and running errands.  

What will be in store for us for 2013?  We’re hoping to go on another epic vacation and spend more time camping and fishing.  Saskatchewan is a beautiful place in the summer and we are so fortunate to work and play here.

We hope our newsletter finds you happy, healthy and full of holiday spirit!  We wish the very best to you and yours for the next year and always!

Garden Kermie, Hubby, our fleurs, Rider Legend George Reed & Kory Sheets with myself.

10 Thought Tuesday ~ Christmas Past ~

Dad with his Stocking - Xmas 2010

1.  One of my most favourite Christmas memories is from when I was a little girl.  I would go stay at Grandma & Grandpa Dean's house while Mom and Dad "kicked up their heals."  One time I sat with Grandpa and we looked at the Sears Wish Book and the Consumers Distributing book and he had me write a letter to Santa Claus and I had to list the page numbers and item numbers of the things I wanted.  That Christmas they gave me a Sandy doll and all the furniture for a house.  It was pretty awesome.

2.  My Dad's work, the Prince Albert Daily Herald, held an annual Christmas party.  It was on a Sunday afternoon and we'd gather in the Bridge Room of the newspaper.  Santa would come!!!  Dad would say "I think I hear something."  Then Santa would come down the hallway all Ho-ho-ho-ing and all us kids would get exciting.  He'd sit in a big chair and hand out gifts and treat bags and sometimes he'd come around and talk to everyone.  After we'd have cheese burgers, pop and ice cream in those little dixie cups with the wooden spoons which to this day remind me of the reed on my clarinet.

3.  I was pretty lucky.  All Christmases at my parents house were warm and special and full of magic.  One year it was full of an upset stomach too.  My sister in law makes these peanut butter corn flake bar things....they are delish.  She made me my own personal bag of them and brought them over Christmas morning.  I ate the whole bag.  *hugs stomach in remembrance*

4.  I'd always know when Dad was done his Christmas shopping.  When he'd arrive home from work he'd come into the house and directly into the basement where he'd stash his presents.  I don't know where the hiding place was but he'd stash them well.  If they were for my mom he'd usually ask me to wrap them.

5.  One year when I was older my Dad wanted to get my Mom a "Luda" coat.  They were a fashionable item....very light weight and extremely warm and came with a hefty price tag.  So to find out if she really wanted one he had the store phone and pretend that Dad wanted one.  Well come Christmas morning there were two identical boxes under the tree.  They had given each other new coats! It was funny because I was the only one who knew what each other was getting and that all this speculation and secret shopping was going on!

6.  Christmas morning was the only time Santa would put candy canes on the Christmas tree.  Mom and Dad would usually be up early to "stuff the bird" and get the turkey in the oven.  Santa always filled my stocking and many times it was over flowing.  One time Santa forgot to put something in it.....and Dad found it later and gave it to me.  It was a CD....back when CD's were really expensive.

7.  My first Christmas as a married woman was exactly one week after our wedding.  We went to my In Laws for what I'd call an old fashioned Christmas.  We gathered at Uncle Rod's house for Christmas Eve which was wonderful in itself.  But during the time we were there a massive amount of snow fell blocking the roads.  Grandpa Johnson road the tractor down the road while the cars created a caravan back to the house we were staying in for the holidays.  I remember Hubby's aunt being very excited and recalling how it reminded her of being a little girl and riding in the sleigh with the horses ringing their bells leaping through the snow.

8.  In the fall of 1999 Uncle Rod had a stroke.  He was very very lucky to have survived.  He made what I'd call a miraculous recovery but wasn't expected for Christmas Eve dinner.  This was a year that the whole entire family was home.  The table had 22 place settings that year.  Then a car pulled up and down the walk in the snow flurries came Auntie Wendy and Uncle Rod.  It was such a blessing to have them come that year.  It still brings tears to my eyes.

9.  A Christmas Eve ritual at my parents was to go visit my Grandma Mathers.....my Dad's mom, early in the evening.  Grandma 'Mokey, as us kids called her because of her dog Smokey, but none of us could say it, was a fun place to visit.  There seemed to be an unlimited supply of bottled pop in the basement.  There'd be an unfinished puzzle on the table along with a half read romance novel.  Going to Grandma's house was something my Dad and I always did together.

10.  Two Christmasas ago, I surprised my parents, or rather, Mr. Claus surprised them.  He left two stockings addressed to Henry and Darlene.  When I met my Dad in the kitchen that morning he had tears in his eyes as he said, "You shouldn't have done that."  To which I replied, "I didn't do anything, Santa did."  Then he said, "No one has ever done that for us before."  It was such a happy Christmas and it was so much fun to watch them go through their stockings.

A Man & His Dog - Christmas in Norquay 2011

Cake Mix Cookies

 My new coworker and friend brought these cookies to work one day.  They were very yummy.  I did some quick googling and found out there are unlimited variations.  I decided to make chocolate cookies with white chocolate chips.

I bought Co-Op Gold Moist & Delicious Devel's Food Cake mix.  When I googled [yes, google is my bff] the nutritional values I found out it is the same as Duncan Hines.  Betty Crocker was a smaller mix and had different values.  I don't know if the brand of cake mix has anything to do with quality....but when it's an ingredient having a generic or store brand doesn't bother me.

Ingredients:
1 box cake mix
2 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil [I used Canola]
1 cup chocolate chips [I used Hershey's Pure White Chocolate Chips]

Basically you mix the whole thing up.  It makes a very stiff dough.  You take teaspoon scoops of the dough and and roll it in your hands to form a walnut sized lump and place on greased cookie sheet.  I failed to grease my non-stick cookie sheets and should have.  They didn't really stick badly, but enough to make me go "why? oh why? didn't you follow directions?"

Then you bake them at 350*F for 8 to 10 minutes.  My oven is hot so it was more like 325 for 10 minutes and I probably could have baked them for less time because they didn't turn out as fluffy as the ones from work.  Doesn't matter though, they are yummers!

My recipe ended up making 37 cookies.  I don't know why the odd number but I was pretty happy considering the original recipe said it made 24.  After I entered all the info into the recipe do-hicky on MyFitnessPal they ended up being 105 calories each.

Hubby taste tested.....
.....several times.

I think the possibilities of this recipe are endless.  I'd like to make Christmas cookies using crushed candy canes instead of chocolate chips.  I'd like to try carrot cake with raisins.  I'd like to try cherry chip cake with chocolate chips.  I have a feeling this recipe is going to get a massive workout.

What's For Supper Tonight?!

I cannot take credit for this recipe.  I can only take credit for the slicing and dicing and the operation of my crock pot and rice maker.  The rest of it is from kraftcanada.com.  The recipe.  Slow-Cooker Tex-Mex Chicken.

I doubled the recipe because I wanted leftovers for the next couple of days.

Ingredients:
1 lb skinless boneless chicken breasts cut into strips or chunks
2 Tbsp taco seasoning [like Old El Paso]
2 Tbsp flour
1 green pepper cut into chunks
1 red pepper cut into chunks [I only used red peppers because my tummy is sensitive to green]
1-1/2 cups salsa [I used a Pico de Gayo from Costco]
1 cup frozen corn
1 cup Kraft Tex Mex Shredded Cheese

Directions:

1.  Toss chicken with seasoning and flour in slow cookier.
2.  Stir in all ingredients except cheese.
3.  Cook Low 6-8 hours or High 3-4 hours.
4.  Stir before serving.

Serve over hot cooked rice.  I cooked jasmine rice because it's what I had on hand.  I also used my rice cooker.  Yeah.....so basically I didn't cook any of it!  Top everything with Tex Mex Cheese.

It was really really yummy.  Hubby and I agreed that some black beans would be great in this as well.  There is cilantro in the salsa from Costco so I didn't add any, but you most certainly could.  By doubling the recipe, Hubby and I both had healthy portions plus there is enough left over for 3 more meals!

According to Kraft this recipe is 310 calories but when I put it into MyFitnessPal it came out much less so I've got some tweaking in the app to do!

Anyhow, this was delish and you should try it the next time you have to eat.  *grin*

Dream Intervention

I think two people came together in my dream last night to hold an intervention.  Dieting and weight loss was on my mind because I had received my letter to see a dietitian although I thought it was a nutritionist and it turned out to be a workshop and not a one on one consultation so.....I was upset by it.

In my dream, my school director [Boss really] who has recently lost about 35 pounds and my coworker, Andrea, who has never had to diet in her life I am sure, confronted me about my weight.  Well, actually they were making fun of me.  They'd never actually do that.  They are both good people.  I was really upset with them and stormed off to the bathroom where sitting on the counter was a bowl of cereal.  Go figure.  Oh and the whole thing happened at my parents house.

Dreams are weird.

Today I realized that the Andrea in my dream was only a namesake.  I know another Andrea.  A very creative, loving, pet mama who shares many of my same concerns.  THIS is the Andrea in my dream telling me to get in shape.  Stop being a lazy bones.  Get ready for New York!

Shortly after I got my iPod I downloaded the app, MyFitnessPal.  It is also a website.  I never used it.  I downloaded it because I had noticed my Bosses Mom had also lost a significant amount of weight.  She mentioned the app to me and it just happens to be the same one Andrea mentioned to me about a year ago.  Ugh.  What can I say?  I downloaded it and never opened it.  Funny thing.....it's not going to work until you actually use it.

Well, I finally opened it.  OHMYGOD it's cool.  It keeps track of everything.  You can scan store bought foot via bar code.  You can store your own recipes.  It keeps track of exercise and makes suggestions and yes, it even said, smilingriderfan needs inspiration she hasn't logged in for 3 weeks.

ACK!

I don't know yet if I'm going to attend the dietitian workshop.  It coincides with my work schedule.  I've got to figure that part out.  In the meantime, I'm going to log my food and get a good idea of what I'm eating and then next week I'll add some exercise.  

I've got to do something so people stop showing up in my dreams.

Java & The Human Bean

We usually buy Kirkland Brand coffee from Costco.  It always tastes good.  The last while I've gotten hooked on adding creamers for flavouring.  I know they are calorie rich and full of sugar and fat, but man, they make a cup of coffee taste good.  This morning I had the thought, "If I had my own coffee company I'd make coffee sweet already.....so no one has to add anything."  Why hasn't anyone thought of that?

My coffee shop would be called The Human Bean.  It would be created with real people in mind.....you know, the human kind who don't care about fancy names.  There wouldn't be any tall, grande or vente in my shop.  Nope, just good old small, medium, large and the give-me-all -the-coffee-you have jumbo size.

The cups would be real insulated cups too with non-spill lids.  There's be no need for fancy cuffs or double cupping.  Everyone would enjoy the lids because it wouldn't mess that white blouse you worked so hard ironing for the job interview only to stop and drip coffee down the front.  Ugh.  Right?!

I'd have blends like Wide Awake,  Intravenous,  The Morning After, I've Got Company, Heading to Bed [decaf of course], Working Late, First Date, Save Me from My Kids [which may or may not have a shot of Vodka added] and PMS.  Although PMS might just be hot chocolate with a coffee bean floating on top.

There would be cold drinks as well.  They'd have titles like Lordy I'm Hot, Chillaxin' and Sitting in the Shade.

This wouldn't be the type of coffee shop to sell frou-frou types of baking.  Good old fashioned cookies and squares is what I'd sell.  Nanaimo Bars, Matrimonial Squares, Rice Crispy Treats and real cookies that were made for dipping like Ginger Snaps.

Yup.  There'd be no messing around at the Human Bean.

The staff would be friendly and helpful.  We'd encourage you to sit and visit but if you'd rather sit and do homework.....you might just want to continue on your way.  It would be comfortable but not that comfortable.  We'd play real music on the sound system, but we wouldn't try to peddle you the latest cd.  We'd have it tuned in softly so you could carry on a decent conversation without yelling and straining your voice.

Alas, it is not meant to be.  When I googled the name, someone else has already taken it made it organic and fair trade.  Meh. I guess I'll settle for my International Chocolate Mint creamer after all.

My Mommy's Punkin Muffin Recipe

For as long as I can remember my Mom has been baking this recipe.  I enjoy them all year long and it's my favourite way to consume pumpkin.....not being a pumpkin pie connoisseur.  They are great any time of the day and it makes a huge batch.

Ingredients

4 Eggs
2 Cups White Sugar
1-1/2 Cups Canola Oil\
1-14oz can of Pumpkin [like Pumpkin Pie filling]
3 Cups Flour
2 tsp Cinnamon
1/4 tsp Nutmeg
2 tsp Baking Powder
2 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Salt
2 cups of Raisins

* I did not have Cinnamon on hand this go around and I used Pumpkin Pie spice instead and it works just as well. *

Procedure

1.  Beat eggs with an electric mixer.
2.  Add sugar, oil and pumpkin.
3.  Mix.
4.  Add the dry ingredients and raisins.
5.  Mix.

Scoop into lined muffin tins.

Bake at 400*F for 15 minutes.

This recipe makes 2 dozen large muffins.