slowwww cookin' parts 2 & 3

I'm in love...the slow cooker i borrowed from my mom has been getting a tonne of use...more use than she ever gave it!!
Since borrowing it ( well since taking it-who are we kidding?) i have been having so much fun and saving a tonne of time cooking in the evenings. It is the easiest kitchen appliance we have to use and it takes no time at all to prep for dinner-either in the evening before bed or in the morning before i head out the door.
My second time using the slow cooker, i just dumped some cut up vegetables (carrots, potatoes and onions) in, then put in frozen chicken breasts, topped with salt, pepper and about a cup of chunky salsa, turned it on low and left for the day, We returned home to a great meal and i had time to veg on the sofa watching TV rather than making dinner...ahhh what a life...
This morning i did something similar but i cooked a whole roast. I was skeptical that it would fit in our slow cooker as it is an older model and seemed smaller than the ones i have seen in stores today BUT i was pleasantly surprised to discover that 6 diced potatoes, a cut up onion and a 4 pound roast all cooked nicely in there. All i did was add a little diet coke (it helps tenderize the meat) some onion soup mix and a tiny bit of water. The meat was so tender i was really pleased, as was hubby since not only did he enjoy a home cooked meat and potatoes dinner on a Monday night but he also gets roast beef sandwiches for the rest of the week at lunch time:) Sure beats caf food!!

Slow Cooking...

after all the hupla over on Chrissy's blog about slow cooking solutions I decided it was time to borrow my mom's slow cooker and see what all the fuss was about. So this morning i woke up a little earlier than normal (was up at 6 instead of 6:35) to prepare our dinner for this evening. Since i didn't have a recipe to follow and i just had a bunch of different vegitables in the fridge along with some cubed veal in the freezer i just chopped up potatoes, yams, green pepper, red pepper and tomatoes. I dumped it all in the crock pot along with some chicken stock, water and tomato paste...put in on low and crossed my fingers.
Hopefully we won't have to order a pizza for dinner tonight as I have no idea what is going to come of this experiment i created...
I think i might buy some of those slow cooker solutions just to have on hand and at least i know they will taste alright. Plus i'm exhausted from getting up early to prepare dinner for this evening!!!

happy happy day...

who can believe how fast 3 years go by?!?!?! it was 3 years ago today that hubby and i got married. It was the most magical day but also the COLDEST day of the year- and i swear it hasn't been as cold as it was that day since! A few people had to leave their cars at the hall because their doors were frozen shut or their cars just wouldn't start after being out in the cold for so many hours.
My cousin (and Junior bridesmaid) turned 13 on our wedding day and now she is a stunning 16 year old beauty. Hard to believe how fast things change and how much kids grow in 3 years!

We have accomplished quite a bit in our short marriage....we have a beautiful son and another on the way!! We are in the process of fixing up our house (a never ending project) and we have managed to live with one car for the past 4 months (just to see what it would be like and if we could manage like that long term-great way to save $$ especially on gas- if we really need the 2nd car it's there for our use but we try to limit usuage for this experiment)

Hubby- happy 3rd anniversary!!!

Tonights the night!!!

Bon Jovi here we come!!! After purchasing tickets for this concert almost 2 months ago I kind of wish it wasn't tonight...feeling kind of crap and haven't left the house in 4 days as i've had a fever, cough and cold AND I can't take anything to relieve my symptoms expect tylenol which doesn't really do a heck of a lot...

anyway i'm going to try and ignore the sniffles and dribbles of sweat pouring down my forehead and enjoy the show!!
Who knew he'd be coming back in March?!?!

2 DAYS WITHOUT...

internet access and i have been way more productive than i have in ages!! Our poor old computer was attacked by another virus and had to go to the computer doctor again this weekend. I was without internet, computer games and photoshop for 2 whole days...usually i would have been bored silly twiddling my thumbs and wondering what to do with myself. This time around I decided enough was enough and I got out my cleaning supplies, finished 3 pages in my scrapbook and even baked 8 dozen cookies. It was amazing! I even caught up on a tonne of sleep as my hubby took baby out and about town so i could do as I pleased...such a sweety pie!

Now what will i do when i get home??? Catch up on all the emails i missed, the blogs i try to read and all the new babycentre posts...hmmm so much for productivity :)

it's cookie time

Last year during the holiday season some friends and I participated in a cookie exchange. We each baked 10 dozen cookies and gave 1 dozen to each person in the exchange. I received some awesome cookies, some average cookies and honestly some just plain awful ones (luckily those who took part in the exchange don't read my blog-and those that might make fantastic cookies:)
This year I was thinking of making a new type of cookie. I tend to always make chocolate chip or some variation of that- last year i did a chocolate, chocolate chip cookie, which were really tasty but could be made by anyone...this year i want something spectacular...any suggestions, ideas or recipes???
Chrissy- i should break out that Cookie Cookbook you gave me the first year we met when you got my name in the gift exchange at WTC!!!

My 200th post...

it better be a good one...
Well i'm not sure about great writing but things certainly are great around here...Elie started to walk one week ago and now he is RUNNING!!! We can barely keep up with him!!
The weather has been so nice, warm and sunny we took him to the pumpkin patch yesterday and he had a ball!! He was even chasing a couple of little girls around!! Watch out moms!!!
My good friend and i have been making an effort to speak to each other rather than just email...she has been really good at calling and hopefully i'll learn from her example and pick up the phone too...
AND The icing on the cake...drum roll please...i'm gonna see Jon Bon Jovi in concert with a great girlfriend Dec 7th!!! I am uber excited as i haven't seen a live concert since the Dixie Chiks with FansyPansy...i think it was a whole year ago!!! Bon Jovi is such a doll too...

If you had...

3 hours on a Saturday afternoon with no kid or hubby around what would you do with yourself???
This afternoon hubby took the baby to his parents house for a visit and to watch a huge rugby game. I had already had my afternoon nap while baby was sleeping so I decided that I'd do some much needed cooking and cleaning...I managed to make: carrot-cauliflower soup, red lentil- zucchini soup, sweet and sour meatballs, pasta with salmon and cheese, apple cake and baked apples...plus i actually washed all the pots and pans, turned on the dishwasher, cleaned up all my mess(normally i'd leave it in the sink for days and continously curse at it as i walked by)...and was just finishing up just as the door opened to the return of my hubs and my beautiful son!! No time to relax but now i've got a tonne of food to cover dinner and lunches for the week to come -phew i'm tired!!! What a productive day!!
i think i'll go to bed...

Had to share...

YOU KNOW YOU ARE LIVING IN 2007 when...

1. You find yourself entering your password on the microwave.

2. You haven't played solitaire with real cards in years.

3. You have a list of 15 phone numbers to reach your family of four.

4. You e-mail the person who works at the desk next to you.

5. Your reason for not staying in touch with friends and family is that they don't have e-mail addresses.

6. You pull up in your own driveway and use your cell phone to see if anyone is home to help you carry in the groceries.

7. Every commercial on television has a web site at the bottom of the screen.

8. Leaving the house without your cell phone, which you didn't have the first 20 or 30 years of your life, is now a cause for panic and you turn around to go and get it.

10. You get up in the morning and go online before getting your coffee.

11. You start tilting your head sideways to smile. :)

12. You're reading this and nodding and laughing.

13. Even worse, you know exactly to whom you are going to forward this message.

14. You are too busy to notice there was no #9 on this list.

15. You actually scrolled back up to check that there wasn't a #9 on this list.AND NOW YOU ARE LAUGHING at yourself.

Go on, forward this to your friends. You know you want to!

Good Times...

The last few weeks have been great ones. The weather has been nicer than normal (although i am missing the lovely cool crisp fall weather we normally have) the sun has been shining and I have had chance run-ins with several old friends.
It is so hard to keep in touch with people you meet along the road of life. Even in this day of email and internet communication it is easy to lose touch. When one changes jobs, moves to a new home or even changes email addresses the chance to lose touch is there. Recently the family and I ran into an old friend/co-worker and her family. Last time I had seen her she was expecting her son. He is now 5 years old and such a big, handsome boy!!! It was amazing to see them and catch up for a few minutes. It might be another 5 years until we run into each other again. They are downtown dwellers and we are suburbanites...
Then a couple of weeks later I was walking around at Word on the Street with the family and there right in my path was another old friend/co-worker from the same old job...it was so awesome to catch up with her. She has a beautiful g-d daughter and she was excited to meet my son as she made him laugh hysterically-so much better to meet in person than to look at photos on Facebook!!!!
Yesterday i ran into another old friend, in the most obscure place. I was waiting in the parking lot of my office building for hubby to come and collect me after work. He was running late and i was getting a little worried, when out of nowhere there appeared another friend. He told me he walks that way almost daily, had hubby not been late i would have never met him there. It was really wonderful to have a few minutes to catch up. I learned that he is now living in his own condo downtown rather than renting. He left our old company about a year ago and just seems so happy himself!
Then to add to the positivity, i met up with an old friend for coffee last night and it felt like no time had passed since last we saw other...imagine 10 years had gone by!!!
AND this week a great friend will be in town and I cannot wait to spend some time with her in person catching up and just having plain old fun :))))

CUTE...AND TRUE

COLOR IS GOOD :)



Yesterday I went to the doctor for my yearly physical.
My blood pressure was high, my cholesterol was high,
I'd gained some weight, and I didn't feel so hot.
My doctor said eating right doesn't have to be complicated and it would solve my physical problems. He said just think in colors...Fill your plate with bright colors... greens, yellows, reds, etc....


I went right home and ate an entire bowl of :



And sure enough, I felt better immediately.
I never knew eating right
could be so easy.

Dissappointed

with the new TV season.
I had been waiting with anticipation for the arrival of Private Practice, the spin off of Grey's Anatomy, unfortunately the first 2 episodes just haven't held their own IMO...we'll have to see what the next couple of shows have in store or else i'll be scratching it off my must see list for the week...
The first episode of Grey's Anatomy...was REALLY REALLY looking forward to that one but I unfortunately slept through it...went to take a short nap at 7 and didn't wake up until midnight...argh...the 2nd episode though was alright but i'm not convinced I'm going to love this season as much as I have loved the past 3...
I missed all the shows i wanted to catch that night...survivor, ER and Greys... well i'll catch them in reruns eventually!
Was really looking forward to the new Kelsey Grammer show Back to You. Unfortunately i wasn't laughing hysterically with this one either. I just couldn't help thinking of Fraser rather than this new character...again i'll have to give it one more chance before I give up on it completely.
A nice surprise though has been Ugly Betty. It is actually quite funny and if I manage to stay awake during the 8 o'clock showtime I think i'll make this part of my weekly viewing. I caught quite a few reruns of this show over the summer and found it really funny, quirky and just enjoyable overall...who knew!!

The Power of Positive Thinking

A few years ago I decided that I was going to be a positive person. I totally changed my attitude and my outlook, things really did feel better. Life was good, customers at the store where i worked were happier, I was happier!!! I was able to do things I had avoided in the past, I lost weight, gained a boyfriend and just seemed to have more fun in general...then something happened and the cynic in me reared it's ugly head again...not sure what happened but over the course of a few years i was back to my old ways!!
I have decided that I'm going to return to that positive person I had worked hard to become. I have started this new attitude at work and already i notice that irrate clients and unhappy seniors in general aren't getting to me(as much). I have been able to push aside their nastiness and come out on top!! I have stopped muttering obscenities under my breath when i get off the line and just move on to the next client!
It is amazing what a change in attitude can do for ones life!! I feel like I can enjoy every day things a lot more- just taking a walk or the fall colors on the trees seem like amazing miracles that we are meant to observe and be thankfull for!
Let's hope I can learn a lesson from Chrissy who is ALWAYS super positive- as long as I can remember she has been such an inspiration for positive thinking/attitude. and keep this up!!
UPDATE: So weird that i wrote this post today and then this article appeared on MSN...

What do you hear???

I get called a variety of names...Clients just don't listen, don't hear or really don't care when I introduce myself to them on the phone. My name is Dina yet I get called Tina, Pina, Gina, (all which i can understand people mistaking as they sound similar) but recently I have been called Georgina, Regina, Julia and even Michelle...if someone continously gets your name wrong do you bother to correct them or just let it go??? I tend to let it go and laugh about it afterwards :)

Do you "brown bag" it?

I recently came across this article and it got me thinking....
Brown-bagging it is better
Students who eat lunches made at home and eschew school cafeteria food are less likely to suffer from obesity, says a University of Alberta researcher. Paul Veugelers, co-author of the study published September 13 in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, found that children who eat regularly and eat home-cooked food with their families are on the road toward developing healthy habits. Research found that students who buy lunch at school are 47 per cent more likely to have weight problems than students who bring lunch from home, and students who regularly eat their meals in front of the TV run the risk of becoming overweight. The study surveyed 4,000 Nova Scotia students.



I wonder how true this is for adults too. I almost always bring my lunch from home. I take care to make lunch for both hubby and I each night before bed in order to have it ready to go in the am. Neither of us are obese (although I could stand to lose about 15 pounds) I have noticed many over weight people in my office, they are often eating lunch from the food court. Are they just not inclined, uninspired or don't want to pack a lunch? Is it too hard or time consuming to make something to take with? I guess if it were up to hubby he would be buying lunch daily but I do know he would probably try to get the healthiest alternative... Why would some people choose to buy an unhealthy lunch rather than make something at home and bring it to work with them? Just the time it takes to go to the food court or local restaurant, order lunch and eat it, plus the added costs of eating out everyday is a major deterrent for me! I guess if you look at it from another stand point- i could be called the "lazy" one- i don't want to get off my butt and run downstairs, out the door and over to the mall to buy my meal during my 30 minute lunch break- i prefer to relax at my desk or outside on a bench on a nice day and enjoy my "picnic" :)

Missing the Mark

In today's environmentally aware society it absolutely baffles me how many people still don't understand the importance of reducing our consumption. I constantly notice people ordering coffee to go in toss away, non-recyclable cups(which i am guilty of too but have reduced doing considerably since getting my reusable, thermal coffee cup), taking numerous bags from various shops while shopping (when each bag might only contain a single item each) or using paper plates on a regular basis because it is "easier"

Today while browsing my local Joe section of the Super Centre I tried on and went to purchase one item. At the cash the clerk rung in my item, and was about to put in a plastic bag when I said "Oh, I don't need a bag, I have my own" Her reply was "let me put in the plastic bag, then you can put it in your bag" I looked at her and said "what would be the point then, I'm trying to reduce plastic bag consumption" I was not surprised by the clerks' response to my own bag as I have had quite a few retail clerks ask me if I'm sure I don't want a bag. WTF??? If i have said I don't like extra bags then I mean it!! What would be the point of carrying my own bag in order to fill it with a plastic bag...argh!!

The Super Centre has been running a line of commercials recently stating that they are trying to reduce the number of plastic bags that end up in land fills by a billion this year. This clerk should probably be made aware of this ad compaign. She should also be made aware of the need to use less plastic bags and to preserve our beautiful earth a little longer. Considering this store sells their own line of reusable grocery bags I was a little dumbfounded by her ignorance. Perhaps I should write a letter to the head office notifying them of the incident!

On a serious note...

On the anniversary of 9/11 my thoughts are of course on that day in history which changed everyones lives forever but they are also on events a little closer to home. Today my husband called me as I was leaving work to let me know his school was in lockdown. As a student had been stabbed. Later we would find out he had been stabbed to death. He would be late picking me up.
My worst fears were coming true as hubby left a very good school in an afluent neighborhood to teach at a school run by the school board. A school in a much less "prestigious" neighborhood where the students had more to worry about than whether or not their parents were going to buy them a sedan or an SUV for their graduation. Many students at this Scarborough school seem to come from poor families, a majority of which appear to come from single parent homes. These kids worry about whether or not they are going to live to see the next day, if the gangs will bother them or if they will get knocked off in a drive by shooting. What has happened to childhood? Kids today just don't seem to get it. They think life is only the here and now , they don't think about their futures. Small insignificant details are mistake for life altering, life shattering events and taken so seriously. What could this young 16 year old boy habe done to his old school mate to warrant being stabbed, left to bleed to death in the parking lot of his high school? I can't imagine that this grudge held against him was worth his life.
His poor mother!
What has happened to Toronto the good? Our once safe, beautiful city has been run down by violence, poverty and in my opinion severe over-population. A city where I once felt safe sitting on my porch or taking an evening walk alone is no longer a place I want to live or raise my children. With each passing violent act reported on the news, i'm sure there are several that have not been reported, this leaves me with a sense of fear. I feel like packing it up and just moving to the country side! The multi-culturalism that once made this city feel world class seems to have divided it in so many ways. So many rivals fighting to occupy the same space. Why can't we all just get along.

adventures in hair dressing...

Who ever said suburban life was boring never took a trip to my local mall for a haircut! Over the weekend I decided that a new do and some retail therapy was in order. I hit the mall first thing Saturday morning, sans baby or hubby!
The hair cut is pretty good, the color a lot darker than I had expected and is still taking some getting used to but I do like it a lot. Got some cute tops too.
The surprise was the little mouse running around the salon. Next door to the hair dresser is PJ's pet store...apparently they have a big problem with rodents getting free and taking shelter in the salon. The little white mouse was quite cute and didn't look dirty or disgusting- i didn't have a problem with it being there but the elderly ladies who come in weekly weren't fond of the little mouse. Appently the back room is filled with runaway grasshoppers and crickets too!!!
Lucky they are moving

Help my hair!!!!

I am desperate for a new hairstyle. My current style is just so blah!!! I am bored and in need of something new, fun, stylish yet manageable as I have very little time to fiddle with it in the morning.



I have been admiring the "Victoria Beckham" but think it may require frequent touch ups as it is quite short in the back. My other idea is a layered bob, shorter in the back and longer in the front, coming down in angular sweeps around my face...Trying to find pics to post of what I am trying to describe....
This was my last hair cut, which was nice for about a day or two but is now scraggly and unkempt (the nice styles lasted about a day or two ARGH!!!)



Any suggestions ladies???? I like these...but am open to ideas :)

Grammar drama...

I was never concerned much with proper use of grammar until I began teaching it after university. The difference in correct format and usage of words was never something I ever really thought about. Now I am a really grammar nut. I can't stand when I see incorrect usage or when I hear people speaking and using fowl uses of the English language.
A few of the written offences that really blow my fuse are:

using their/there incorrectly....come on that is such an easy one to get right!!!
our/are
to/too/two
were/where (these aren't even pronounced that same)
Some of the spoken errors I hate hearing:
Yous (as in yous people)
ain't (there ain't such a word...the word is there isn't)
I didn't hear nothing yet...should be I haven't heard ANYTHING yet (ARGH!!!)
we's (as in we-more than two)

And the thing that really nags at me is typos...i don't always correct them all but I usually at least try to do a quick edit and read over before submitting.Some of my colleagues have no problem sending email enquiries ridden with errors and it just grates on my nerves.Don't even get me started on spelling mistakes!!!! ..that's just me :)