It's All About The Chocolate

I don't know why I have this song in my head. The first (and only) time I had ever heard it was when I was teaching in Japan. I was in a karaoke bar with some friends and co-workers, when one of the Japanese managers at the school I taught at sang this song.

As we (Hubby, The Student and I) sat around the dining room table sampling chocolate this evening, this song was in my head.

Anyway, since this week is The Student's last week with us before he goes back to university, I took him to the Chocolate Works. See how excited Little One was to be going to the Chocolate Works? Okay, she gets super excited every time we go for car rides.Is it just me, or does she look like she's grown a lot in the past week!?!

The Student dropped $50 on chocolate, which is not too difficult to do. He's very thoughtful. He bought lots of chocolate for his parents. Wonder if Little One will be as thoughtful when she gets older? Just kidding.His loot consisted of everything from Tiramisu hot chocolate (I didn't see that! I would have bought some if I had!) to Tickle Berries. In case you're wondering, Tickle Berries are chocolate covered cherries, raspberries, blueberries and cranberries! They are YUMMY!!!

Since it is my personal quest to try every single type of chocolate that the Chocolate Works makes, this week I present to you...
Almond Cranberry Bark (white chocolate), Almond Cranberry Bark (milk chocolate) and S'more Bark.First up is the white chocolate Almond Cranberry Bark. If you know me well, you'll know that I am a white chocolate lover. There's just something about that milky, sweet taste that reminds me of the white chocolate Easter bunnies I used to get as a kid at Easter. I guess I just love everything that reminds me of my childhood! White chocolate brings me back to those days of running around the backyard with my brothers and cousins, looking for Easter eggs on a nice, cool, crisp, sunny Spring day.

I just love this almond cranberry bark. The cranberry is really noticeable with the white chocolate. The almonds add a really nice crunch.I was kind of torn between which I liked better. It was a tough decision, because the milk chocolate almond cranberry bark was equally delicious. Subtle, smooth, silky, melt-in-your-mouth chocolate with the sweet yet tart cranberry and the crunchy almonds...who could resist that? I may like this bark better than the white chocolate bark, but for contrasting flavours, you can really notice the cranberries with the white chocolate bark. Last up is the S'more Bark. I got this one with Hubby in mind. When we had ESL students the summer before Little One was born, Hubby had a camp fire and made S'mores for the students from South Korea. S'mores remind me of being a kid and camping in my friend's backyard. S'mores are the quintessential childhood treats! My students were glad that they were introduced to S'mores.

The S'mores bark made me think of my husband, I brought some home for him.Yup! Just as delicious as the original S'mores treat! Silky milk chocolate covering mini marshmallows and graham cracker crumbles were absolutely divine! Two thumbs up for this one!

This evening was all about chocolate. If you happen to live near me, you'll be seeing me walking up and down our highway with Little One or doing some sort of manual labour in hopes of working off tonight's chocolate! ;)


It's all about the dum dum duh dee dum dum...

Sugar Rush

There's a new kid in town, and this new kid is Boo-Bah-Lou Candy Cabin. I used to get my fix of candy from my childhood from my enabler/promoter of bad habits, Jeanna. Just kidding, Jeanna! ;)

Boo-Bah-Lou has all the candy from my childhood, as well as novelty items. Since this week is The Student's last week with us, we went for a drive and hit up Boo-Bah-Lou for a sugar fix.

Now I know where the phrase "Like a kid in a candy shop" came from! Adults, teens, and kids of all ages were going gaga for candy. It's amazing how much candy The Student and I purchased even though we don't normally eat much candy! I guess it's a novelty thing.

The Student purchased items he had never tried before. He said that as a kid, he LOVED Nerds. This particular combination of Nerds was new to him. He was also curious about Razzles. I think the part about it being the candy that turns into gum was particularly interesting to him. Oh, and isn't that the biggest Tootsie Roll you've ever seen?
I purchased Whoppers for Hubby, Cow Tales for my friend's Mom, and a few other confectionery delights to share and sample with everyone in the household.

The Student and I are both big Chronicles of Narnia fans. In the book, there is mention of Turkish Delight. Of course, being in a candy store one would probably find Turkish Delight. There it was, so we had to get some.

The Student and I gave it two thumbs down. I don't get it! The candy wrapper says that it's "Full of Eastern Promise"! It's full of awful jelly ickiness! Perhaps jelly candies are an acquired taste. I'll tell ya, it's a taste I haven't acquired. Not a fan. It wasn't just the jelly texture that threw me off. It was the actual taste. I couldn't make out if it tasted more like roses or cherry to me. This is weird, because I have a very acute sense of smell and taste.

Two thumbs down!!!

Hubby had never seen Popeye Candy Cigarettes before. What?!?! As a kid, we used to get those all the time! Well, not all the time. Every once in a while, we'd save our allowance and head to the corner store (depanneur, in French...since we grew up in Montreal). We'd pay 50 cents for 50 Swedish berries or 50 gummy bears or gummy worms. We'd also load up on various flavours of licorice (both the flat kind and the shoe string kind). I think my fave was the grape, followed by mint.

I also purchased Bubble Yum bubble gum in Hershey's chocolate flavour at Boo-Bah-Lou's. Chocolate flavoured gum seems just so different to me. I haven't tried it yet.
Of course, I'm a sucker for novelty items and had to get this Tootsie Roll lip balm. I can tell ya that it smells just like Tootsie Roll! You almost want to eat it. Not sure if it's a good idea though, because Little One keeps trying to eat her mama's mouth!
Not a big fan of jelly beans, but I do like Jelly Belly jelly beans. I think it's the whole gourmet flavoured aspect of it. It's not your ordinary jelly bean flavours. Remember I told you about my acute sense of smell and taste? Well, you can blindfold me and let me guess which flavour of Jelly Belly jelly beans I'm sampling and 99% of the time I will get it right. My ESL students find it amusing and amazing to witness that. Yes, it's one of my many hidden talents. LOL! The Fun Dip and the Fuzzy Peaches didn't last long at all. The Nieces were over for a movie night and devoured the candy! A night of Twilight and Fuzzy Peaches...how much more can you ask for?
Little One wanted in on the candy action too. She's a cheeky little monkey! She was inching her way towards the candy! She was originally placed on the play mat with her head in the opposite direction and she was on her back.

The Housekeeper Ran Off With The Pool Boy

...that's what my friend, SuperAmazingMommy always tells me to say if people come to my house and comment on my housekeeping skills as of late. "Just tell them that the housekeeper ran off with the pool boy!"

Incidentally, SuperAmazingMommy and a few other friends were over yesterday and SuperAmazingMommy's first words as she stepped into our house were, "Okay, and where is this mess you speak of?!?" Needless to say, I felt much better! Thank you, SuperAmazingMommy!

Here's one of the reasons I haven't had time to keep my floors so-clean-you-can-eat-off-them. Ummm...Even if they were, would anyone really want to eat off a floor? I don't think so.The girls were out AGAIN! They've just been moved into new pasture, yet seem to want what they're not supposed to have. I guess the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. Hmph. This is what I saw from the kitchen window! Bad girls! If you look closely, you can see some of the calves out there too!
We've also been in the process of building our front deck! FINALLY! It's only been in the works since...before Little One was born?? I have to say, I am in love with power tools!!! If only my city friends could see me now! *sigh* No make-up, baseball cap, and I haven't had a manicure or pedicure since my wedding three years ago! I'm also embarrassed to say that I have become extremely clumsy walking in heels since I don't wear them often anymore. Try walking on gravel roads or in hay fields wearing heels! You'd twist your ankle! Hubby once scolded me for wearing flimsy flip flops while on the tractor. I think he's finding being married to a city girl rather amusing.
Some of you may know that while I was on hospital bed rest for the end of my pregnancy, we were getting renovations done on the house. I guess it was a good time for me to be out of the house! The house was lifted off the ground a few feet so they could redo the foundation! Here's Hubby sussing out what to do with the deck.
Of course, the other thing that has been keeping me busy is...
this little cheeky monkey in the photo above! Look! She's sitting on her own!
No time to make Hubby the lunches he has grown accustomed to. It's a tuna melt with (fresh from the garden) tomatoes for lunch!

I have a confession. There have been some very challenging times this week (the cattle misbehaving, Little One screaming her head off because she's been super cranky, the farm, the house, the chores, the never ending list of responsibilities and things to do...and the "you only have one child, so why can't you handle everything?" and comments similar to that). It's been so exhausting and challenging, that I wonder if going back to work might even be less exhausting?

I'm so thankful I get to spend every day with my precious little one in her first year. If all I had to do was devote my time to taking care of her, maybe it would be a bit easier. But, it's not. We've got a farm, cattle, jobs on the side, a student (and another one lined up). I decided to take a year off teaching ESL students, but sometimes I feel like I need to go back to not being at home with a baby and doing housework and helping Hubby on the farm all day. I know that sounds awful, but it's so exhausting!

Do you ever feel like you need a vacation from your life? :)

Just a video our my sweet, sweet, sweet Little One.

All Played Out

This is what Little One looked like this morning. She had a very busy weekend.

This is the view from our kitchen window. If you look very closely, you'll notice a few stray cows (and their calves!) behind the bales! Those bad girls have been so naughty this Summer! They've just been moved into new pasture, but apparently new pasture isn't good enough! They want even newer pasture! *sigh* Little One and I walked over to my MIL's farm to find Hubby so we could let him know about the cows.

On the weekend, we went to the Providence Bay Fair (in Providence Bay, of course!). Farming is a busy and tough life. It's not easy to get much quality time with the family (at least in our case, it isn't). Hubby and I have decided to try to have one day in the weekend as "Family Day", in which we would devote to spending time together as a family. I want Little One to have memories to look back on and know that both of her parents spent time with her.
We brought The Student with us on our excursion. As we approached the fair grounds, there was that distinct "fair" smell. You know...the smell of popcorn, caramel corn, cotton candy, and carnival food wafting through the air.
Little One, Hubby and The Student were interested in the horse pull competition.


I love seeing daddies carrying babies. It's really nice to see a man with a baby and diaper bag strapped to him! :) I was walking around the fair grounds for hours with the diaper bag and Little One while looking for Hubby. He was admiring all the new tractors, combiners and other farm equipment!

On our way home, we had to check out the barley field. Everything looked fine. The corn field looked good too (knock on wood!).
Little One was exhausted from her busy day and fell asleep in the car.

I picked these up at the fair...
and made Eggplant Parmesan with the eggplants. For the recipe, it's the same one I use for my Chicken Parmesan. Just substitute the chicken for the eggplant. I'm too lazy to search for the recipe, but it's somewhere in my recipe archive if you want it! :)
Hubby, The Student and I really enjoyed the Eggplant Parmesan. I served it with greens and Couscous. I normally serve my Chicken Parmesan with pasta like spaghettini or fettuccine, but I had very little time and Couscous takes five minutes to make!

The fun didn't end after the fair though! We ended up going to South Baymouth for The Meeting of the Two Drums Festival. There was a street party and Little One enjoyed dancing to the beat of Caribbean steel drums. My aunt and uncle from Toronto came up for the weekend just for the steel band music. My Dad's side of the family is Trinidadian, so Calypso music, steel drums, and jerk chicken are part of our culture! Little One was mesmerized by all the sights and sounds! We were among the last to leave the party. We danced until the very end. What a busy, but fun weekend it was.

Oh, Summer! Where Art Thou?

I cannot believe it's August and we've only had a few really hot "Summer" days! How truly odd that it just feels like one very long Spring! We have had a few great beach days, but as a whole, this Summer hasn't been that hot. I don't really mind though. I prefer being comfortable and I hate it when I can't sleep at night because it's too hot.

Yesterday just so happened to be a very hot, muggy, humid, icky, sticky day. Hubby gave me an Orange Creamsicle because I was craving one. I don't know why, but I just had to have one! I was dreaming about Orange Creamsicles! When Hubby gave me my frozen treat, I enveloped the cold, sweet, orange-cream Popsicle with my lips...and ended up getting my lips stuck frozen FUSED to the Popsicle!!! Panic struck and I yelped for Hubby to assist me. I couldn't open my mouth. My lips were seriously fused to the Popsicle. Of course, we all know that when something hot meets something cold, it sticks. We learn at a very young age that we do not lick or stick our tongues on a metal post in the dead of Winter. This same rule should apply to how to properly eat a Popsicle!

I waited a few seconds to see if my lips would come loose from the frozen hunk of sugar on a stick. Nope. Then I tried opening my mouth, but the pain was unbearable! The skin on my lips was still stuck! There was no way I was getting that Popsicle off my lips!!! I screamed (okay, it was more of a muffled groan) for Hubby. He tried to contain his laughter because I surely did not think it was funny at all.

"Don't pull your mouth off! Just wait a bit!"
*whimper-whimper*
"The heat from your mouth will melt the Popsicle and you will be able to pull free."
*sniff-sniff*
"Wait!" Don't rip your mouth off the Popsicle!"
*wah-wah*

Hubby looked at me and started laughing. I looked up at him, with tears streaming down my face because my lips hurt (I was still "attached" to the Creamsicle). I guess it must have looked a little funny that a grown woman of thirty-something years would manage to get her mouth fused to a Popsicle. Let me tell you, it was p-a-i-n-f-u-l. When I was finally able to free myself, my lips were burning. I seriously think some of the skin on my lips is still attached to that Popsicle.

Thank goodness it hasn't been an overly hot Summer. I don't think I can take any more Popsicle excitement.

**This post was originally meant to be posted on 8/10/09, but things have been kind of busy around here! :) **

Said the husband to the wife...

1. "Must we really have NINE pillows on our bed?"I have no idea how we acquired nine pillows on our bed. I love large, fluffy, soft pillows. I need three of them in order for me to sleep well. Weird, eh? Hubby, on the other hand, doesn't really use pillows. He'd be happy with his ratty, old, flat, pancake-like pillow.

Don't worry. Little One wasn't sleeping on our bed and I didn't leave her there like that. We were playing on the bed. She was listening to Raffi when this photo was taken. *sigh* I think I had "Baby Beluga", "Down by the Bay" and "The Wheels on the Bus" in my head for four days!

2. "I'm exhausted. I really cannot sleep with the baby in our room anymore."Yes, we still have her in our room at night. Don't judge. She sleeps in the mini nursery we've set up for her. Our room is in the loft and her room is on the main floor, down the hall. It's just easier to have her in our room at night. I know she sleeps through the night and I don't have to nurse her several times during the night anymore, but it gives me peace of mind.

If she's down the hall, I can't hear her. I still do breathing checks periodically when she sleeps or naps. I know it sounds paranoid, but when she was in the NICU, she had the tendency to stop breathing every now and then. She'd forget to breathe and the nurses, doctors or I would have to stimulate her to remind her to breathe. I know it's a preemie thing and she's probably old enough now, but it still worries me. I remember seeing the numbers on her monitors just drop, the lights at her bed space would flash, and the alarms would go off like crazy. It's a really, really scary thing. If you've ever experienced seeing your baby stop breathing, then you'd know how I feel.

We have a large master bedroom, and the mini nursery is at the other end of our room, so I don't know why Hubby can't sleep with Little One in the room. He says she makes a lot of noise when she sleeps. She breathes heavily, moans, and grumbles in her sleep. She's a baby! Babies make sleepy noises when they sleep!

Anyway, I decided that last night I would move Little One into her own bedroom. After all, she's got a beautiful room and should probably start sleeping in it. I told Hubby that I know he needs his sleep, so Little One and I were moving into her room. There's a bed in her room too. That's right! I was moving into her room too!

Hubby was in his chair, watching the news on TV with Little One passed out on his chest. What do you think happened when it was time for bed? Hubby started to head upstairs...with the baby!!!

Me: Where are you going?
Hubby: To bed.
Me: (shocked) Why are you taking the baby upstairs? I thought the baby was sleeping in her room tonight.
Hubby: (no answer)
Me: HA! After all your complaining? You're not ready to let her go, are you? (laughing)
Hubby: (laughing) I guess not.
I know what you're thinking. I've had everyone and their cousin's aunt's monkey tell me that I need to "train her" to sleep in her own room. It's not her. It's us! It's not like she can't sleep anywhere but our room. The girl can sleep anywhere! She'll sleep in the living room, in her room, in the car...anywhere! I don't think we'll keep her in our room much longer. Maybe just a few more nights!

Call me cheap, but...

I can cook a meal for my family for less than $5!
How? Well, you've got to remember that I'm a city girl who now lives in the country and is married to a farmer. I've learned to be sparing with money. Okay, I've learned how to make a buck stretch. Stretch reeeeeeally thinly, that is! We grow much of our fruits and veggies and our meat comes from our farm since Hubby has a beef operation. Also, when the grocery store has sales, I get three or four of whatever items are on sale. One of my best friends says that I'm like her grandmother. She said it's as though I'm waiting for a war or a natural disaster with the way I have a whole bunch of things like rice, pasta, toilet paper, etc. Hey! In some countries, toilet paper is considered a novelty!

Okay, before I go on an even bigger tangent, whole wheat pasta was on sale for $0.99 not too long ago. When I see sales like that, I tend to stockpile on certain items. Our local grocery store sometimes has $1, $2, and $3 sales. It's amazing how much you can get for $50 when you get the sales.

Anyway, the Rotini was $0.99 and I made homemade pesto with the basil from my Dad's garden. Basil = free. The green beans were also from my Dad's garden. Green beans = free.

The chicken was also on special. I got six boneless/skinless chicken breasts for $5.42. Here is where some may think I am cheap. Hubby calls it being "frugal". Since the chicken breasts are HUGE, and way more than the 3 or 4 oz of meat that Canada's Food Guide to Healthy Eating allots as a serving, I butterfly the breasts. When I make my Chicken Parmesan or any other chicken dish, I split the chicken in half. I can do a whole meal for Hubby, myself, and a student or friend (we usually have dinner guests, because I love cooking and I love socializing) using very little meat. Because the chicken breasts are so big, no one ever realizes that they're not getting a whole breast. The meat also cooks faster this way.

For this dish, I only used ONE chicken breast for Hubby, The Student and myself. I know. Hard to believe. $5.42 /6 chicken breasts = $0.90/breast. Sounds crazy, doesn't it? This is what we had for supper:
Whole Wheat Rotini with Homemade Pesto, Chicken and Green Beans
Ingredients
1 package whole wheat Rotini
a few bunches of fresh basil
Parmesan cheese
pine nuts (I didn't have any, so I used almonds)
extra virgin olive oil
salt & black pepper
1 chicken breast
bread crumbs (ran out, so I used crushed unsalted soda crackers. I seem to always have crackers in the house)
a little oil for cooking
green beans

*Sorry for not adding measurements. I usually cook without real measurements. I cook by taste and judge with my eyes. Add as much or as little of everything as you wish. Like Michael Smith says, "the best recipe is cooking with no recipe".

Instructions
Pasta: bring water to a boil, salt your water, add pasta, cook until al dente (or however you like it).
Pesto: In blender, puree a few bunches of fresh basil, pine nuts (almonds, in this case), Parmesan cheese, salt and black pepper (if you wish, you don't have to add salt since the Parmesan is already salty), and extra virgin olive oil. I got this recipe from Michael Smith. Gotta love a man who can cook!
Chicken: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Split chicken breast in half (as you would if you were to butterfly it), wash chicken, roll chicken in bread crumbs (in this case, crushed crackers). In a hot pan, add a little oil and brown chicken on both sides. Put chicken in a baking dish and bake in oven for 25 min (a bit less or a bit longer, depending on your oven). Once cooked, slice chicken into strips.
Green beans: wash and clean beans. Steam beans. Drain.

In a large serving bowl, add a generous amount of pesto. Once pasta has been cooked and drained, add it to the bowl and coat the pasta with pesto. You can add a few cherry or grape tomatoes for colour if you wish.

To assemble: For each plate, give a healthy serving of pasta and pesto. Add strips of chicken on top. Arrange green beans next to chicken.

Dessert: Vanilla ice cream with fresh raspberries. Chapman's Ice Cream was on sale for $1 and the raspberries were free (from our farm).

Now for a few random pics of Little One...

Beach bum! Having a blast at Providence Bay.

She loved the water, but wasn't so sure about the sand. The girl does not like getting dirty!
Little One and her Mama!
Little One, just back from church. Little One is usually a very quiet baby and either just observes everyone and everything in church or falls asleep. Today she decided that she would like to sing. She's been "singing" for the past few weeks and loves to hear her own voice. During the hymns today, she joined in...and continued to "sing" even when it was no longer time to sing. I apologized for my noisy baby and everyone laughed. They said, "She is NOT a noisy baby! Her singing is music to our ears! She is always so well behaved and never cries!". Thanks, but you haven't heard her at home when she's fighting sleep or when her gums are bothering her!