Sweet Paul's Watermelon and Strawberry Salad with Ginger Syrup .
Smitten Kitchen's Thai-style Chicken Legs.
Epicurious' Mango Pomegranate Guacamole. Yummy, pretty fiber!
The Kitchen's instructions on grilling pork loin. We love grilled pork loin in our family; it takes lots of different flavours so try some rubs or salsas to go along with this method.
Sunset's Crispy Avocado Fries, originally found via The Kitchen. More yummy fiber!
My favourite Thin Crispy Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies from Sunset. And because there is no egg in it, I don't mind - as much - when the kids want to eat it raw. And, sometimes you want to make cookies and you don't have eggs...ta da!
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Kids' stuff
Got kids that like to build? Like to recycle? That's our house - and I just found what might be the next best addition to our toy box: makedo. Makedo is a set of connectors that lets you join together cardboard, paper, plastic, fabric, what have you, to make larger, movable structures. Kids get to imagine something and build it - limited only by their imaginations and the packing material, egg cartons, cereal boxes and fraying pillow cases on hand!
The system includes connectors and hinges, as well as a construction tool that lets them safely punch holes and make cuts in boxes and other paper materials. The great thing about makedo is, rather than knocking together playhouses, puppet theatres, and robots with cardboard boxes, tape and glue, now we can take them apart and reuse the components to make space ships, pirate lairs and laser blasters. REDUCE REUSE RECYCLE!
It's designed for use by children 5 and up and isn't safe for the under-3 set due to the small parts.
The sets come as kits for one (69 pieces) for $25, and kits for three (170) for $50. You also get reduced prices for ordering multiple kits. Right now, shipping is free but makedo is distributed from Australia, so there may be shipping delays and additional customs or tax charges upon delivery.
Take a look at the inspirational makedo creations of others here.
The system includes connectors and hinges, as well as a construction tool that lets them safely punch holes and make cuts in boxes and other paper materials. The great thing about makedo is, rather than knocking together playhouses, puppet theatres, and robots with cardboard boxes, tape and glue, now we can take them apart and reuse the components to make space ships, pirate lairs and laser blasters. REDUCE REUSE RECYCLE!
It's designed for use by children 5 and up and isn't safe for the under-3 set due to the small parts.
The sets come as kits for one (69 pieces) for $25, and kits for three (170) for $50. You also get reduced prices for ordering multiple kits. Right now, shipping is free but makedo is distributed from Australia, so there may be shipping delays and additional customs or tax charges upon delivery.
Take a look at the inspirational makedo creations of others here.
Monday, July 12, 2010
New hat
My weird post-chemo hair continues to grow in and I have not yet cut it. Since I don't want to look like a complete freak while on summer holiday, and since I also want to protect my face and head from the sun, I decided it was time for a new hat. So I called on my helpful and enthusiastic sister-in-law Diana to see if she'd go hat shopping with me. When you are buying a hat, it is very important to have someone with you that will give you an honest opinion. Diana's very good at doing that. Plus, she also likes to rock a sweet lid! :-)
Off we went Edie Hats at Granville Island in Vancouver. Love hats? Visiting Vancouver, BC? This is where you want to go. They have an endless selection and superb service. Then cruise around the public market, grab some yummy food and flowers, and pick up some lovely gifts for yourself or someone you love. OK - end of ad.
With the help of keen-eyed and knowledgeable Nicole, we settled on a great Panama for me and a lovely green straw cowboy hat for Diana. I got to pick out two feathers for my brim, too. Thanks, Nicole. We wore our new hats around Grouse Mountain yesterday with our friends (Jennifer, b-day girl Karen, and Laura) and our heads stayed cool and comfortable. And I got to feel a little less self-conscious about my hair.
Cut to this morning and me doing a quick blog scan while drinking my coffee. First site I head to is The Sartorialist and today's style post. Look at that hat. That is my hat! And I can easily say that the hat is the star of that outfit. :-) Now that's a good omen.
So after a sad day on Saturday, I'm heading into my holiday with a new boob, a new hat and a more positive outlook. Don't nobody mess with that. I'll finish with a shout out to my girls - thanks for a great day! And thanks for the positive feedback on my squiggly hair. Y'all are the best. :-)
Off we went Edie Hats at Granville Island in Vancouver. Love hats? Visiting Vancouver, BC? This is where you want to go. They have an endless selection and superb service. Then cruise around the public market, grab some yummy food and flowers, and pick up some lovely gifts for yourself or someone you love. OK - end of ad.
With the help of keen-eyed and knowledgeable Nicole, we settled on a great Panama for me and a lovely green straw cowboy hat for Diana. I got to pick out two feathers for my brim, too. Thanks, Nicole. We wore our new hats around Grouse Mountain yesterday with our friends (Jennifer, b-day girl Karen, and Laura) and our heads stayed cool and comfortable. And I got to feel a little less self-conscious about my hair.
Cut to this morning and me doing a quick blog scan while drinking my coffee. First site I head to is The Sartorialist and today's style post. Look at that hat. That is my hat! And I can easily say that the hat is the star of that outfit. :-) Now that's a good omen.
So after a sad day on Saturday, I'm heading into my holiday with a new boob, a new hat and a more positive outlook. Don't nobody mess with that. I'll finish with a shout out to my girls - thanks for a great day! And thanks for the positive feedback on my squiggly hair. Y'all are the best. :-)
Sunday, July 11, 2010
New boob
Yesterday I went shopping for my new breast. Since my mastectomy, I've just been going around lopsided, in camisoles with shelf bras. Now it's time to get a bra and start looking a little more, um, symmetrical. So that means a prosthetic breast and a mastectomy bra.
I received excellent service at Bare Basics in Steveston, British Columbia. Arlene was kind, supportive, and full of good, pragmatic, advice. I have friends that buy all their bras there and I know why. A good bra fitter is the secret to finding a good bra, and a good bra can be a wonderful thing. (Ok - I'll say goodbye now to any guys that may have been reading.) After trying a few different variations, Arlene found me a very close match amongst their breast forms and helped me pick the bra that would give me the best shape and support. She gave me advice about care and a reminder that I needed to file my insurance claim soon in order to be within the six-month window we have in Canada.
So, I'm home now with my good bra. Good right? Problem is, I don't much love this breast. I had been hoping a pretty bra would help me feel, well, normal. But the bra ain't so pretty and the breast ain't my breast. I must have been pinning a lot of hope on this new purchase, because the let down I felt was immense.Wiith clothes on over this new breast, I look much like I used to. But the process of getting it all on, lining it up, shifting everything around, feeling the dense, heavyness of it, and then taking if off again...the sadness of it hit me so suddenly that my response was physical. This isn't my breast. My breast is gone. Gone. And in its place, under this fleshy, heavy, plastic coated chicken cutlet, I have a long puckered scar, a bump, and some other odd little, well, bulges. And as I'm looking at this altered terrain, this same terrain that I have been washing, moisturizing, and massaging - but visually avoiding - for the past 6 months, I must finally come to terms with it. I am different now, and always will be.
The tears flowed out of me in a way they haven't in months. My husband was great. He said all the right things. He put it all in perspective and said all the things I already knew. I am alive. Different, but alive. And that is worth it. But I suddenly feel so sad, something I haven't allowed myself to feel for a long time. I realized that for the last eleven months I have been trying to get back to something to which there is no getting back. And realistically, I always knew this. But there is nothing like wrestling with a concrete thing to make you realize you are actually wrestling with something intangible, internal.
So instead of trying to fight my way back to what used to be normal, I guess I am going to have to face what my my new normal is. And that may just be the secret behind coping.
I received excellent service at Bare Basics in Steveston, British Columbia. Arlene was kind, supportive, and full of good, pragmatic, advice. I have friends that buy all their bras there and I know why. A good bra fitter is the secret to finding a good bra, and a good bra can be a wonderful thing. (Ok - I'll say goodbye now to any guys that may have been reading.) After trying a few different variations, Arlene found me a very close match amongst their breast forms and helped me pick the bra that would give me the best shape and support. She gave me advice about care and a reminder that I needed to file my insurance claim soon in order to be within the six-month window we have in Canada.
So, I'm home now with my good bra. Good right? Problem is, I don't much love this breast. I had been hoping a pretty bra would help me feel, well, normal. But the bra ain't so pretty and the breast ain't my breast. I must have been pinning a lot of hope on this new purchase, because the let down I felt was immense.Wiith clothes on over this new breast, I look much like I used to. But the process of getting it all on, lining it up, shifting everything around, feeling the dense, heavyness of it, and then taking if off again...the sadness of it hit me so suddenly that my response was physical. This isn't my breast. My breast is gone. Gone. And in its place, under this fleshy, heavy, plastic coated chicken cutlet, I have a long puckered scar, a bump, and some other odd little, well, bulges. And as I'm looking at this altered terrain, this same terrain that I have been washing, moisturizing, and massaging - but visually avoiding - for the past 6 months, I must finally come to terms with it. I am different now, and always will be.
The tears flowed out of me in a way they haven't in months. My husband was great. He said all the right things. He put it all in perspective and said all the things I already knew. I am alive. Different, but alive. And that is worth it. But I suddenly feel so sad, something I haven't allowed myself to feel for a long time. I realized that for the last eleven months I have been trying to get back to something to which there is no getting back. And realistically, I always knew this. But there is nothing like wrestling with a concrete thing to make you realize you are actually wrestling with something intangible, internal.
So instead of trying to fight my way back to what used to be normal, I guess I am going to have to face what my my new normal is. And that may just be the secret behind coping.
Friday, July 9, 2010
Let's make summer food and share it with people we love
Cobb Salad Dip Chow
Mango Slaw with Cashews and Mint smitten kitchen...but I'm going to substitute pumpkin seeds or peanuts (tree nut allergy)
Mushroom Salad with Bacon Raspberry Vinaigrette The Bacon Show
Grilled Corn with Cilantro Salt Martha Stewart
Vinegar and Spice Ribs Chow
Scallops with Cream and Basil Mark Bittman
Spaghetti with Baked Tomato Sauce (for when all those cherry tomatoes start to ripen) The Wednesday Chef
Sour Cherry Recipes (Sour Cherry Pie...yum) NPR
California Caipirinha Food and Wine
Basil Gimlet Sunset
Mango Slaw with Cashews and Mint smitten kitchen...but I'm going to substitute pumpkin seeds or peanuts (tree nut allergy)
Mushroom Salad with Bacon Raspberry Vinaigrette The Bacon Show
Grilled Corn with Cilantro Salt Martha Stewart
Vinegar and Spice Ribs Chow
Scallops with Cream and Basil Mark Bittman
Spaghetti with Baked Tomato Sauce (for when all those cherry tomatoes start to ripen) The Wednesday Chef
Sour Cherry Recipes (Sour Cherry Pie...yum) NPR
California Caipirinha Food and Wine
Basil Gimlet Sunset
Thursday, July 8, 2010
You've Got to Be Freaking Kidding Me
or How I Learned to Put Down the Malbec and Pick Up the Green Tea
In a few days, I will post about some of the risk factors for breast cancer. One of them is moderate alcohol consumption. Not heavy consumption, moderate. Really?! Really. And, for most women, moderate consumption is considered to be one alcoholic beverage a day. If you are someone that enjoys a glass of wine with dinner (and if you are a red wine drinker you have probably been patting yourself on the back for all those lovely heart health benefits you've been swigging back) now you need to enjoy it less often.
So when you do get to enjoy it, make sure you really enjoy it. :-) That means, do your research. In addition to talking to family and friends to get advice (Hi Mom, Christi, Jim, Judy, and Shaun!), I've also started looking at an on-line resource - Snooth.
From their website:
Snooth doesn't sell wine. Instead, we offer users an engaging and unique shopping experience that lets them interact with wineries, merchants, fellow wine lovers, and wine professionals from all over the globe. When users are ready to make a purchase, they can compare prices and shop from over 10,000 wine merchants worldwide as well as review the wine and their buying experience to help others in the future.
Since its launch in June 2007 Snooth has quickly become the world's largest and most comprehensive online wine destination, featuring millions of reviews and hundreds of thousands of wines.
I don't buy wine via Snooth, but I have been reading the articles and reviews. I have researched past wines I have loved, and not loved, and learned about new ones to look for the next time I'm out for dinner or at the liquor store. It's a fun diversion and, if you like wine, you will find lots of great, current information from experts and amateurs.
So, I highly recommend doing your research and making sure you are getting good value for your dollar. And, now that you have freed up all that time you normally spend selecting, opening and decanting your wine, could I suggest you pop the kettle on for tea?
Cheers!
In a few days, I will post about some of the risk factors for breast cancer. One of them is moderate alcohol consumption. Not heavy consumption, moderate. Really?! Really. And, for most women, moderate consumption is considered to be one alcoholic beverage a day. If you are someone that enjoys a glass of wine with dinner (and if you are a red wine drinker you have probably been patting yourself on the back for all those lovely heart health benefits you've been swigging back) now you need to enjoy it less often.
So when you do get to enjoy it, make sure you really enjoy it. :-) That means, do your research. In addition to talking to family and friends to get advice (Hi Mom, Christi, Jim, Judy, and Shaun!), I've also started looking at an on-line resource - Snooth.
From their website:
Snooth doesn't sell wine. Instead, we offer users an engaging and unique shopping experience that lets them interact with wineries, merchants, fellow wine lovers, and wine professionals from all over the globe. When users are ready to make a purchase, they can compare prices and shop from over 10,000 wine merchants worldwide as well as review the wine and their buying experience to help others in the future.
Since its launch in June 2007 Snooth has quickly become the world's largest and most comprehensive online wine destination, featuring millions of reviews and hundreds of thousands of wines.
I don't buy wine via Snooth, but I have been reading the articles and reviews. I have researched past wines I have loved, and not loved, and learned about new ones to look for the next time I'm out for dinner or at the liquor store. It's a fun diversion and, if you like wine, you will find lots of great, current information from experts and amateurs.
So, I highly recommend doing your research and making sure you are getting good value for your dollar. And, now that you have freed up all that time you normally spend selecting, opening and decanting your wine, could I suggest you pop the kettle on for tea?
Cheers!
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