Cooking with Sin...and evening with Carla Johnson

Tonight a friend was having a book signing at a local restaurant and Paul and I went out to support her. It was lovely, Carla was wonderful. I had the opportunity to travel to Europe with Carla as well as a few others last year. We spent many nights together in Greece, Italy and Rome sipping on wine exchanging words of our life experiences and then slowly waking the next day to many hours walking through historically beautiful sites. It was a treasure and mostly a pleasure to have had the chance to meet Carla and her lovely family and to continue a friendship here in Canada.
Her book is unique, it is filled with recipes sent in from people who have incorporated some form of alcohol into the ingrediants. There are recipes with Cherry, wine, beer and many other choices of sinfully delicious beverages. Tonight I purchased my copy, Carla signed it and Paul and I enjoyed tasting one of the recipes.
Its nice being at this stage in life, what I mean is my children being older and Paul and I having more alone time again with one another. We have the opportunity to cook together, try different things in the kitchen and even cook with alcohol and not worry about our kids tasting something that may not suit their palates. Thankfully they are both up to trying anything new, and once told "this hamburger was cooked with beer"...guaranteed my son will want seconds!!
So, each recipe in the book comes with a family story or history of how this recipe has affected the family it came from. Kinda like grandma's secret cookie recipe...we all have a relative that keeps a certain family treasure secret and only passes it on to certain family members...making them swear with their lives that they won't EVER tell anyone!!
Paul and I will get alot of time together having fun in the kitchen with this book. Even late Saturday nights maybe we'll pull this book out and accompany it with a bottle of wine and start cooking up something that stimulates our sense's...god only know's what can happen after that!! ;)
I remember back in the day when the kids were little and we were exhausted after a full week of playdates, working, therapy appts, doctor appts, and quality time as a family...we would late at night plan to cook something tasty. Just the two of us..maybe some garlic shrimp or lobster. Paul has always been great at coming up with some new ideas to cook different "adult" foods on our date nights. I miss those nights...thats the part that sucks about children getting older. They now stay up later than us, the kitchen is no longer a kid free zone after 9pm on a Saturday night. Usually it is the "teenage zone" on a Saturday night. But with this book...I guarantee there will be one Saturday night a month set aside for just us two! Once again...there will be some good cookin going on in the kitchen, and I don't just mean the food!!!
Thank you Carla for the wonderful visit this evening, Paul and I are eager to get cookin"

If any one is interested in purchasing Carla's book, feel free to message me and i'll hook you up!!

The spare room transformed...kinda!

Remember a few posts back when I mentioned us re-doing our upstairs spare room? Well its for the most part finished. I wanted to share just a few pictures of what we have done! So below are a few pictures of what we did in the summer time when Ethan was with us for a few weeks.
This picture was taken pre-Ethan's visit, we actually had him help us clean out the room and he personalized it by choosing where he wanted is little bed placed, he picked out a new lamp for the room and brought some toys from home. He liked it, it was his room.

Here is the finished product, all ready for my 7 year old nephew to move in and make it his!

Here is some of the final product post- Ethan! Yep we have "adultized" it! It is one of my favorite rooms in the house, and I love the fact that when we have company, they will have their own room! Most importantly Ethan still has his own room.


Ok, i will admit it isn't finished..looks kinda boring it still needs some decorations. I need a mirror for over top of that red dresser. In time, it will be completed! Unitl then, lets just admire it!!
As much as I love this room and love that Ethan claimed it as his..it still wasn't suitable for adult company. We decided to get a bigger bed for this room and add a few neat details. I really wanted to add an older look, mixed with decorating style from today. So I kept an old dresser which was used for both of my children when they were babies, it was a dresser given to us from Paul's family. It has some meaning, and a new home in the spare room.
Picking out bedding was tough, I wanted something pretty, elegant and colourful...red seems to be screaming out to me for this room..so I went with it.

I love this comforter set, I do need to buy some throw pillows still...but i'm happy with the bed!

I bought the picture that is hanging above the bed at Homesence, it was a great steal! The colours actually match the comforter on the bed. I also bought this smaller dresser for the bedroom kinda sticking with the red theme? I absolutely love it! It has the older antique look that i'm trying to incorporate a little bit throughout my home. I also added this beautiful picture of my nephew..
consideing this room still remains him, even though I will have to change the bedding when he comes for sleepovers!! I can hear it know "Aunt sissy...this is a girl's bed"!! I keep a "boys comforter" in the closet!
I also picked up this old car, its just cute...reminded me of the beach and of Volkswagons which happen to be my favorite cars!

We have many projects going on in this house. I can't wait to share with you my new master bedroom do over!! So exciting!

Messy Cupboards and New found treasures...

Whats new in your homes my friends? How was your weekend? Last week I have many visits with new babies. It was wonderful. Its amazing how new babies can put life into perspective! I was busy last Thursday organizing my kitchen, what a job that was. It was a messy world in here, but all slowly became organized. I started with the food cupboards and then moved to the "junk drawers". Here are some before and after pictures...
Before..

After..
Now for the junk drawers..
Before..
and after...
Oppps, look who snuck in the picture, isn't he the cutest little guy ever? He hangs out with me and drives me crazy when i'm busy. But I still love him!!


Before..
After..


So, i feel accomplished..kinda feel like i'm ahead in the spring cleaning department. Its great!
Another new fixture that I am working on as a project is this old antique mirror.

My mom and I went antiquing last week one afternoon, I was specifically looking for an old mirror and was pleased to find this old treasure. Once I saw it..i new this was the one! I'm not a big antique person, but with home decorating taking a turn towards including antique pieces I thought maybe i'd find some to incorporate into my home.
What do you think? I always imagine the people who would have owned this old stuff. Honestly I wonder what family owned this mirror first? Who were they? What secrets were they hiding? What hardships did they face? I wonder how many women checked their hair and put on their make up to look beautiful for a man? Pretty cool!!
Anyways, I want to re-paint the frame. Not sure what to do with it just yet? I have it up against the wall it will hang on, but I still don't know what to do? Any suggestions?

Seriously, Best Meatloaf EVER!!!

This recipe is honestly the best meatloaf I have ever had! We are not a big meatloaf family, but both my kids liked this recipe. I also served chedder cheese mashed potatoe casserole. It was an amazing dinner! I wanted to share this one with you my friends, it is a keeper and we will definatley be doing this again. We actually did not have this for dinner tonight, this was served yesterday. Tonight my mommy and daddy came over and cooked dinner complete with chocolate cake! I was spoiled, it was so nice to have them here tonight. It brought back memories from back in the day when I was in school and working. I loved coming home to my family here!! It was a great day. I have to respect the privacy of a friend, but today I was in London visiting a close family friend. She delivered premature twins about 4 months ago and they are still in hospital. With that said however, these babies are fighters. They are tough little irish boys who are going to kick some serious ass and be home in no time. Its been a long, tiring difficult road for this family, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel. This mom is built of strength and ability. She is strong, her fears are validated...they are real. I have no doubt that this couple will overcome their challenges together.
I was honoured today to have the opportunity to be there for her, I had the chance to cuddle the babies and spend some real quality time with mom. We have different stories, trials and tribulations but we have the same feelings about raising our special children. She is going to be fine...I have faith in that!!
Enjoy this recipe friends...its a good one!!
What You Need1 large onion, finely chopped
1/4 cup Kraft Calorie-Wise Zesty Italian Dressing
1-1/2 lb. (675 g) extra lean ground beef
3/4 cup ketchup, divided
1 pkg. (120 g) Stove Top Stuffing Mix for Chicken
3/4 cup water
2 egg whites
1/2 cup shredded Cracker Barrel Old Cheddar Cheese Light



Make ItHEAT oven to 375°F. Cook onions in dressing in large nonstick skillet on medium heat 8 to 10 min. or until golden brown, stirring frequently. Remove from heat; cool slightly.
MIX meat, onions, 1/4 cup ketchup, stuffing mix, water and egg whites. Shape into 10x5-inch oval loaf in 13x9-inch baking dish; cover with remaining ketchup.


BAKE 55 min. to 1 hour or until cooked through (160°F). Sprinkle with cheese; bake 2 min. or until melted.


The picture below is my potatoe casserole, it was amazing!

Mom @ Bedside..to use or not to use?!

Hello my friends...it feels like forever since I have posted something on this blogspot! I haven't forgotten, life just gets busy! I miss this time that I use to have everyday that I could sit down and reflect on life, my day or even just my thoughts. I started going through thousands of reports that I purchaced from MacMaster University Hospital. WOW...there is sooo much stuff. Talk about interesting, the behind the scenes conversations between doctors, specialists, surgeons that we were totally unaware of are literally right in front of me. It is facinating to me! I'm still thinking about calling the book "Mom @ Bedside", exactly the way it reads. I feel that the @ sign kinda symbolizes the way culture has changed our way of communicating through text. Kids these days shorten everything when they talk via facebook, text, bbm and all other sources of communication outlets.
As I read through these thousands of pages, I am re-living so many memories and moments that were so significant in our lives. One time in particular, it reads in the notes that Braden had his pain medications discharged by the doctor. I remember this day clearly, I had spent the day with him and it was about day three post surgery. This surgery was in 1999 and it was one that fastened the left side of his diaphragm down in his lower chest cavity. The reason for this was because his left diaphragm was paralyzed. Unfortunatly everytime Braden had pneumonia (which was alot) his paralyzed diaphragm would raise up and fill the space that was left in the area where the lower lung would collapse. This would only cause more complications for him, so the doctors felt if we tied the diaphragm down, it wouldn't raise up anymore and cause further lung atelecticus.
So, day three they decide to remove his IV pain medications...this caused for a very bad day! I remember Braden was in so much pain that he stopped eating, talking, interacting and even his breathing became painful for him. I spent the day asking questions, speaking to nurses..I was exhausted though and did not have the fight in me to argue with them. I patiently waited for Paul knowing he would pick up the fight and get things finished. In the notes it states that I was upset about Bradens lack of interaction and his pain seemed to be elevated during the day. It then reads, that dad was in this evening demanding to speak with the surgeon and stating that Braden needed his pain meds back. The nurse had charted that the surgeon who Paul was asking to talk with was actually in surgery at the time. Paul pushed them hard and long enough that the nurse phoned the surgeon in surgery and told him that Paul would like to talk to him asap. The surgeon (who we loved) came up immediately following the surgery he was doing. Thankfully the surgeon agreed with Paul, and re-ordered Braden's IV pain meds. IT is also charted that after the meds were administered, Braden ate pudding and settled comfortably to sleep. He had a rested night.
You see, what the doctors and nurses did not know was what we were going through.
When Paul entered Braden's room that evening (we were doing shifts, I was day shift and Paul was night shift) I had been crying, upset and so very angry because they were not listening to me and my baby was taking a step backwards in his recovery. I was over tired, depleted and no longer had a fight in me. I sat there all day trying to comfort a small child who was in pain, crying, uncomfortable and just wanted to sleep. I "yelled" at Paul to get this straighted out...I am too tired! This is terrible, "look at him"! I cried into Paul's chest, "please do something Paul, I want us to go home". He just needs to be comfortable again.
Paul was upset, bottom line...he was angry to have walked into his son's hospital room to be greeted like that! It was unfair of me, I shouldn't have been that angry...but I did spend a day watching Braden suffer and there was nothing I could have done!
I said goodnight to Braden, hugged my husband and once again begged him to fix this situation.
Once I got home, my parents left and Kailey was in bed. I got ready for bed, still crying and thinking about nothing other than what could have been happening at the hospital.
I crawled into bed, hoping the phone would ring. Soon after..it did!
Paul was on the other line with fantastic news, they gave him back the pain medication, the surgeon was up to see him and Braden was resting comfortably.
While reading those nurses notes...I remember that telephone conversation with Paul, but what stands out the most...was how much I loved him!

On a side note, it was never the hospitals intention to Braden suffer that day. They do follow a protocol around the administration of narcotics and the effects of long term use. So, in their defence they were following protocol and were just trying to do what was best for Braden's recovery. Its just sometimes protocol's are meant to be thrown out the window!!!!

Well I thought for sure....

....that i'd stay away longer than 48 hours! I just couldn't do it! I will tell you it certainly feels good to not have any expections placed on myself and just write what I want too write.



Guess where I was most of the day today?? Emergency! Yep, the big B had severe ear pain and a huge amount of drainage running from the ear canal. He was in alot of pain, typically he has a high tolerance for pain so when he said that he wanted to go to the hospital...we figured it was bad! Without exaggeration....it was BAD!!
I felt so aweful for him, he looked terrible and we could tell he was aching from head to toe. He has been fighting something for sometime, sorethroat...etc but yesterday he woke up with a screaming ear ache. He barely slept through the night, we were up ALOT! Nothing would comfort him, I tried everything that I could. The nurse practitioner was wonderful, she gave him a great antibiotic and some pain medication...we continued with the decongestant and hopefully he will be feeling better within a couple days!
While sitting close to the emergency waiting room...as there was NO way I would even consider sitting near those infected people we watched as babies cried, mom's fussed, dad's paced and complained and the elderly sat in silence. It was sad. I can say this was one of the first times that I was thankful that our problems were our's! It was only an earache, and even though poor Braden was suffering in pain...thank god, it was only an earache!
It was one of those moments in life were the saying..."what goes around, comes around" draws into play. You see, today I had Braden check himself in at the hospital, I felt the experience is important as he learns to become independant...I stayed close, but he answered the triage nurse's questions and he went throught he process like an adult. During it all though Braden became frustrated, cranky and tempered...mostly because he hated every minute of being there! So, when I...his mother reached over to tussle his hair...he snapped "Don't touch me"..LOL, he was miserable and taking it out on me and anyone else in his way! Boy, the memories came flooding back pretty quickly! I remember being in his shoes numerously as a young adult/teenager and just being so crusty! I hated everyone, I hated being there and I hated being vulnerable. Thankfully this mom know's when to leave him alone, there was no hard feelings...I kinda chuckled to myself remembering all the outbursts of frustration that I suffered!! My poor boy!
After our hospital visit, I managed to get a massage. My friend/massage therapist texted me and said he had time this evening...I jumped on that! After this holiday season, I needed a massage! It was great, i feel so relaxed!
Well is your christmas tree down? While I was at the hospital with the big guy, Paul took down our christmas decorations! Its kinda bare in here, time to look at HomeSense! We also over the holidays purchased a queen size bed for our upstairs spare room. So, our boxspring and mattress will go into the spare room and we did buy a new set for our bedroom. Tomorrow it is delivered, last night I started cleaning out the room to make space for the new bed. Its going to look great, I just need to get some home decor set up. Maybe some new pictures, some art work?? I do have to leave it a little bit organized and decorated for Ethan as he is the real owner of the room...well, at least when he is here! I will post before and after pictures soon. I'm not going to repaint the room, I like the color its very neutral. I do want new window coverings though...Michelle??? that's where you come in!! We will talk...I need advice on that!
Have any of you made any new year resolutions? Remember last year's?? I was going to kiss my husband everyday!! Well it started out passionately and lasted about 2 months. This year I have decided to use the word NO, more frequently! Yep, that might not sound too nice...but trust me, its something I need to work on. Obviously I'll never say NO to a friend in need or family members who want or need my time or attention. But...with all that said, the word NO is going to become a bit more significant in my life! After these christmas holidays...I came to that conclusion..the the help of a friend!
Well, its been great blogging...but, I am tired!
We sincerly wish you all the best in 2011...stay tuned for more blogs in 2011!!
Good night my friends and god bless~

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!

In the New Year, may your right hand always be stretched out in friendship, never in want.

I am wishing everyone all the love, health and happiness that a new year can bring!