My Dark Side

No, seriously, there really is a dark side to me.... somewhere... hidden behind the "Sorry, my foot ran into your shopping cart" and the super-smiley face that won't turn off.  Oh, yes.  I have deep secret, nasty thoughts that come out from time to time.  Today, I will let you into my scary world of pet peeves. 

Laundry.  You seem innocent enough, but you mock me every time I go tackle a load.  The washer and dryer doors are backwards.  Aaagggghhhhhhh!  Can you feel the seething hatred?  I have to unload into a basket, shift over the basket and then load up the dryer.  Oh, the time wastage!  And if I innocently think I can skip the basket, I lose a sock or something on my not so clean floor. Does it have to be washed again?  Do I throw caution to the wind and put it in the backwards dryer anyway?  Way too complicated.  I am not even going to discuss the great drama of unmatchable socks that come out of the dryer.  I swear I put both in!  I need a drink.

People who are too obsessed with cleanliness to enjoy life.  Too annoying to visit someone and have them apologize for the mess (a shoe not in the closet or something) while I have to wear my sunglasses indoors to protect my eyes from the gleam off the counter.  Arrggghhh!   Mess?!  You can't handle the mess, lady!  Even more annoying is when you are trying to have a real conversation and she is mopping the floor you just walked over.  Way too much effort.  If those unmatched socks don't meet up before sundown, I ain't panicking.  I'm just sayin' there are more important ways to spend your time.... like on the internet reading blogs... for ... hours....

Also, people who do not pick up after their dogs (Yuck! Enough said.), that drinking alcohol can make you gain weight (very unfair!), that the morning that you have a good hair day is also the day you get a zit on your nose and when people don't get my strange sense of humour.  I'm sure I could come up with some more pet peeves but my moment of darkness has passed.  Anyone care for some sunshine and lollipops?  (Just kidding!  I hope you are following this sense of humour thing or I'll add you to the p.p. list.)

Phew!  It feels SO much better to get that off my chest.  Like a weight has been lifted.  Stay tuned for the next voyage into darkness where I talk about times I've given people the evil eye.  (I'm still working on that.  Mostly people think I have a twitch or something without much fear entering their hearts.) 

Lessons from my girl's birthday party

She's almost practically eight now.  No longer my wee bundle of pink sweetness and not quite ready to toss me to the wolves.  It's a great age (except when she melts down when I do something wrong like telling her she can't play with paint in her bedroom - but I digress.) It worked out better than I expected and I thought I'd share my rare words of wisdom with y'all.

 

Yesterday I did something my 25 year-old self would never have expected me to do - hosted a very girley pedicure party for my daughter.  So begins the lessons.  You don't have to be tough to be strong.  Go ahead and have colourful nails, wear dresses, allow the guy to open the door for you.  If it makes you happy, you are being true to yourself.  I will not say "Careful you don't chip a nail!", while you hang upside-down in your party dress on the climber after eating your third cupcake.  That's the kind of freedom my 25 year-old self wanted for her daughter.  Laura's the one who loves fixing things with power tools and wearing nail polish while she does it.  That's my girl. 

Girlfriends are gold.  My DH is out of town but I threw the party anyway.  My sister/best friend and Allison/BFF were there for me.  It was like having clones only way better and more fun.  I opened the door in my pre-party panic, grunted something in "stress-ese", and things magically happened.  Tables were set, photos taken and hyper little girls were entertained.  I enjoyed the party as much as Laura.  I am so thankful for wonderful friends and want my children learn the value of friendship early in life.  I hope I lead by example and she finds many BFFs that are more than skin-deep. 

Don't sweat the small stuff.  I usually make or order some kind of awesome cake for birthdays.  I've had fun with this over time but something has to give when the to-do list is running off the page.  So we had cupcakes, from a mix, with sprinkles.  Ta da!  Not spectacular but it doesn't matter - it's sweet cake stuff and there were no complaints (except from prima-donna girl who complains about everything so all I heard was "blah-blah-I don't do sweet things - blah" and I don't think she's BFF material for my girl anyway.)  There was purple and pink and the fruit went just as fast.  Priority was the pedicure part and giggly time with the friends so that's where I put my effort.

Finally, Pedicure parties need to be for grown-ups too.  It was awesome!  I had a local esthetician come over and do the thing with her colleague.  She brought all the gear including the lovely zero-gravity chairs with her.  We set up a spa room and the girls chilled out with peaceful music (I'm going to put that on ALL the time), vanilla candles, warm towels on their faces with cucumbers on their eyes, while their toes got painted a rainbow of colours.  Now I need to book one of these parties for me and my friends.  Any takers? 

Random thoughts about the great Florida escape

Oooo, catchy title!  Goes with my inability to put together anything blog-worthy in the last little while.  However, Disney vacation stuff will have to do for now.

Once you get over the fact that it takes two and a half DAYS to get there by cluttered automobile, it’s damn expensive and commercial extreme, it’s worth it.  We had a great time.  We knew that getting there was going to be a journey (never to be repeated!) but packed for road trip fun.  Taking the auto-train helped, even if you can’t sleep in the shoebox they call a family cabin.  And, hey, it’s Florida – home of the big Mouse, sun, surf, yummy orange juice and golf ‘n gators. What more could you want?

Joy of Car Repairs

It being mid-May, I feel I may be safe in having my winter tires removed from my trusty car.  When I did the other car, it snowed the next day.  So, apologies in advance if I somehow have caused weather mayhem due to my careless summer optimism.  Off to the dealership I head.

Anyway, a trip to the garage is usually a big PIA experience. I usually expect the bill to be $500 with all that they find wrong in addition to my requested service, but not yesterday.  For I have discovered that Nissan has tricked me into thinking I’m a worthy customer with their ploys.

Step 1 – Arrive at spotless service department to friendly technicians who treat me with respect and do exactly what I ask.  How odd!

Step 2 – Head to lounge upstairs.  I’m offered a complementary cup of decent coffee from the cafe.  I could have lunch too, if I wanted.  There’s free Wi-Fi, and a kid’s play area – enclosed and clean.  I’m not sure where I am.

Step 3 – Go to lounge room with massage chairs, relaxed lighting and radio with soothing stuff on it to bliss out to my heart’s content.  Ahhhhh…  Here’s proof:

After I am mush, I don’t really care how much the car service bill is.  The car is finished on time and I am relaxed.  Not too bad a way to spend an hour waiting for my car.

Knowing Me, Knowing You–May 2011

Woo hoo!  Our dearest Fairy Blogmother has dragged us out of blog-block with the latest monthly instalment of Knowing You, Knowing Me.  She asks the questions, we think, write and link.  Do play along if you feel so inclined and link back to her blog to see others. 

1. What was your wedding song?

‘Twas the early 90s and so we went with “Everything I Do” by Bryan Adams.  So romantic and from the “Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves” movie that was on at the time. 

2. If you could guest star on any TV show which one would you pick?

Tricky one. So many to choose but if I had to pick one, I’m going for Grey’s Anatomy here.  Some yummy doctors there.  Just don’t cast me in the mangled up dying chick role.  I need to look my best when the love scenes come up.

3. What is your favourite children's book?

Lots to choose from.  From my kids stories, I’d probably pick some Sandra Boynton classics.  The “Going To Bed Book” was read over and over in the rocking chair and I have many sweet memories of that.   I loved the A.A. Milne stuff when I was a wee tyke, got into “Harriet The Spy” later and have read every book by Madeline L’Engle, wishing I could be a part of them.  Still love to read children’s books, whether my kids want to listen or not.

4. Did you watch the Royal Wedding?

Nope.  I wish them all the best but I’m not big on the big Royal thing. 

5. What is your favourite thing to have off the barbecue?

Yum!  BBQ season!  Almost anything is tastier on the ‘Q’.  Grilled Greek food like souvlaki, a fine steak, grilled veggies…  Now I’m hungry again.

Happy May!

Seven

She’s seven but that rarely seems her age.

Last week she had a hair cut in a new style and suddenly she’s going on ten. The pants are shrinking and her opinions are growing.

Yet she melts down over Mother’s Day breakfast. Bagels are just too messy, you know and only toast will do. She stomps off, reflections of a pre-schooler in her stride.

Today she put on a skirt and she is all legs. She eagerly rushes to the school yard, links arms with friends and I am forgotten. When I pick her up, she will be small again – tired from the day, silly and slipping her hand into mine.

I marvel at my seven year old as we work on riding a bike. One moment she is all eagerness, determined to do it all on her own. “Faster, faster! But don’t let go mom!” Then we must stop. The bike “Jewel” is thirsty and needs a drink of clouds.

Every day is an adventure with this growing daughter. I see many reflections of myself yet she is all her own person. It is bitter-sweet to see her grow. I savour the moments, knowing how quickly they disperse. Even when she’s grown, she will always be my baby girl.

My first real cooking class = Y-U-M!

That’s it! I am officially putting any fake-dieting thing I thought I might do on the shelf.  I just love food too much!  The cooking course I took on Saturday completely sealed the deal.  I am just going to shop for bigger clothes and be done with it.

The course was at Urban Element in Ottawa. It was the “Pasta From Scratch” one which took my favourite straight-to-the-ass starch to new levels of awesomeness.  I was a bit frazzled when I arrived (due to construction delays and church rummage sale parking hell).  That rapidly disappeared when Orion (really – that’s his name and he was heavenly) welcomed me in with Bridgehead coffee and a perfect seat at the counter. 

I went solo but had a great time meeting my class and the atmosphere was like old friends in about 45 seconds.  Bruce, seated next to me, was on his 16th class and was searching for fundraising schemes to do more.  We all liked the “magic sink” that we were to put our finished dishes in and they were whisked away.  I think I’ll look for that feature for the next time I remodel the kitchen. 

 

Over the next few hours, chef Stephen Pollock demonstrated how to create many types of pasta, fillings, and sauces.  We all got our hands dirty, sticky and floury with our stack of recipes.  After all the creations, the staff finished off and served us a wonderful lunch complete with wines. 

 

 

Here are a couple that were favourites:

Cocoa Taglierini

(bottom right in plate photo)

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting

3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

2 eggs

Salt

Directions:

1. Sift together the flour and unsweetened cocoa powder into a mound on a clean work surface and make a well in the centre. Break the eggs into the well and add a pinch of salt.

2. Using one hand or a fork, bring the flour into the egg mixture slowly without spilling. Knead thoroughly, shape into a ball, cover with plastic wrap and let rest for 30 minutes.

3. Roll out dough on a lightly floured counter (with pasta machine, setting 2-3) into fairly thick sheets. Cut into strips about 1 ¼ inches wide.

4. Boil for 2-4 minutes. Makes 4 to 6 servings.

This pasta did not have a very strong cocoa flavour but it did have a gorgeous dark brown colour. It works well with various smooth, creamy sauces.

With the above pasta, we had this sauce.

Mascarpone Chilli Sauce

3 tablespoons butter

1 clove garlic, peeled and left whole

2 fresh bay leaves

1/3 cup mascarpone cheese

½ tsp. dried red chilli, finely chopped

½ cup parmigiano-reggiano cheese

2 Tbsp. fresh tarragon

1 tsp. lemon zest

Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Melt butter in a saucepan over low heat. Add garlic and bay leaves. Stir occasionally until the garlic has browned. Remove the garlic and bay leaves and discard.

2. Add the mascarpone cheese, chilli and parmigiano and stir until melted. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

3. Thin the sauce with water if too thick and toss with your favourite noodle, along with the fresh tarragon and lemon zest to finish. Serves 4.

This was SO awesome – rich texture and full flavour. I refrained from licking my plate but barely.

We also created a few raviolis that were big pillows of Italian happiness.  I loved the ones with a pumpkin and Radicchio filling.  (I’m getting writers cramp so I’ll pass on typing that one out.)  Making stuffed pasta was remarkably easy and so versatile.  I am looking forward to experimenting with more ideas here. 

Anyway, I LOVED taking a cooking course.  Urban Element has many options and if anyone would like to coordinate and join me for one in the future, I am SO in.  Cheers!