Thursday, April 21, 2016

A day in the life

I totally meant to link up with Andrea for a day in the life post a couple days ago… so here we go… I like to look back on our lives and see how things have changed in the years gone by. The days are long but the years are short, right?

I wake up between 615 and 630 most days, brush my teeth, wash my face and apply a sunscreen moisturiser (i'm crazy like that) and then head to the kitchen.

When I turn on the kettle, I usually unpack the dishwasher. However, on this fine day, the kitchen sink was clogging the night before so my kitchen was in a state with stuff from the cabinet beneath the sink everywhere so I unpack maybe 1/4 of the dishwasher.

At about 640, I get my tea, my vitamins (a multi for active women, magnesium and a b complex) and check my stuff online. I check to make sure my post has gone live, link up if needed and then read some other blogs and sometimes skimm. 

D comes  in and we chat a bit and then I make lunch for C. The girls usually wake up at this point but today they are sleeping in--- maybe since mom was out the night before and dad let them stay up.

I get dressed for the gym, pack my gym bag and then head to Home Depot at 730 to see if I get something for my clogged sink. I'm back at about 745 and my little one is still sleeping.

I give C some chocolate chip pancakes(leftover from the weekend), get my smoothie stuff together and then go to wake A. She is not happy and she has a cold. I get her dressed, make her toast with avocado and then make my smoothie (coconut water, greek yogurt, spinach, lime juice, banana and mango) . 

I slowly slip it while I get the girls out the door and take it into the car with me. We are a little late at 824 and most of the stuff I usually get done in the morning is left behind like the beds, kitchen cleaning and general tidy up.. It bothers me 'cause I'm weird like that.


We pray and listen to music and chat in the car. I drop A off first to her Montessori where it's a bit of a process, changing shoes, washing hands, shaking hands and then I race off to drop C before 855. I make it just in time at 853! (punctuality is my jam and she's never gotten a late slip with me)


I head to the gym after for a warm up on the treadmill while I watch the first 10 minutes last Kelly and Michael before he made his announcement (can you believe it?!) and then I go to a class. I don't usually do a double class but today I combined my Body Attack (sports inspired training) with 30 minutes of CX works (a class with resistance bands and core training). 

I shower in the gym and this is when I usually do my errands and get my short appointments in. Today, I get some grocery shopping done and then it's already time to pick up A at 11:40.



We get home at noon and A picks at her wrap, eats her veggies and has some juice.

I have a portabello mushroom stuffed with seafood and a side salad. My lunches are not usually this gourmand but I had it in the fridge and didn't want it to go bad- I usually just have leftovers, a salad or some soup. 

We watch one of A's favourite shows for a bit- Family Feud with Mr. Harvey as she calls him. 
D forgot his lunch at home (samosa pie) so he came home to eay/(not a usual thing again). 

I finish unpacking the dishwasher, make my bed finally and tidy up the kitchen a bit more…. it takes twice as long as the sink is still clogged and I have to use the powder room to rinse stuff out. 

A isn't her usual self so I let her watch some TV on my bed in the hope that she falls asleep - spoiler alert, she doesn't.  She is beginning to skip nap. grrrrr……

I make myself some green tea ('cause Dr. Oz told me to) sometime after 1:00 and head downstairs to do some work.


A then decides she wants to play around 2:00 so we pull out some play-doh. she is mixing and matching her colours and crafting a bit and she has a carrot. 

I begin to make this evening's salad while watching her. 

We head over to pick up Cassia right before 3, A is very cranky and get there right before C is out. A hangs out in the playground for a bit. 

And guess who fell asleep at 3:30 right on the way home. 

If we don't have any after school activities, we usually do some reading, writing or math at home. 

I deposited her on my bed for a half an hour while C also has a carrot, realises she does her music homework and then begins some colouring. I finish making our dinner, putting stuff in the oven and then heading downstairs to wash some dishes in the bar sink. 

A is not pleased when we wake her from nap at 4:00 but we change her and trudge on, leaving home at 4:12 to get to her gymnastics lesson for 4:30

C colours and makes cards for people while we are waiting for A. 
I chat with my friend, Jenn whose nape is the only thing pictured as she wasn't pleased with how she looked. #beautifulanyday #shereadsmyblog


We head home after 5:30 and this is when things go a little off track with a couple tantrums. But chug along we do and we have dinner after 6:00. A salmon salad for D and me and salmon and sweet potato fries-- Can you tell who is not a fan? 

D comes home right before 7:00 to take a freshly showered C to violin class and I pack his salad for him to eat in the car.  


At 7, I do a bit more after dinner clean up, put some laundry in, light a candle to relax, shower A and we hang out a bit looking at the awesome view. She doesn't ever stray very far from me. 

We snuggle a bit  around 8:00 while Dad does some more work and I brush my teeth and do my night-time skin-care routine. 

I then make my seven year tidy up her stuff 'cause it's crazy how much she leaves her stuff everywhere.

D puts them to bed then as he usually does and then I watch DWTS while folding a couple loads of laundry. I also make myself some hot water and lemon-- something I haven't done in ages. I also sync my Fitbit and I'm at over 15,000 so I'm good. 

Sometimes I read for a bit and then lights are off at around 10:30. I couldn't sleep very well because of this weird tickle in my throat though. I might be coming down with something. D comes in soon after. 



And there we have it! Rinse and repeat with lots of variations thrown in for good measure. 

Linking up with Andrea and Annie


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Tuesday, April 19, 2016

Samosa Pie Recipe

Who here loves samosas? The crispy pastry with the yummy filling--- mmmmm.  My friend Kathryn forwarded this recipe to me which I changed quite a bit and served on Saturday. It was truly delicious and so easy too! We loved it and it will definitely be on repeat in this house! 


Ingredients:

3/4 to 1 pound of ground turkey
1 lime 
1 minced onion
3 cloves of garlic
1 hot pepper finely chopped (I omitted for my kids' sake)
2 tbsp of oil
2 tbsp of brown sugar
2 tbsp  garam masala (found in the south asian section of your grocery) or curry
1 tsp of tumeric (optional)
1 tbsp of cumin
salt to taste
2 large potatoes, diced
1 cup of water/broth
1 cup of corn 
1 cup of chopped red pepper and mushrooms (optional, I just sneak veggies in when I can)
1 cup of peas
1 cup of chopped cilantro (divided into two)
1 sheet of puff pastry thawed

Method

Using a mini chopper or blender(or if you love hard work, a knife), mince together the onion, garlic, hot pepper and 1/2 cup of cilantro.

+Mix into ground meat together with the juice from the lime. I also threw some zest in for good measure. Set aside while you chop the other stuff.


Set your stove on the highest heat, add your oil to the pot. When the oil is hot, add the sugar. It should begin to caramelize to a dark brown. (blogging fail, no pics)

Add your meat to the caramelised sugar and stir to darken. After 5 minutes of browning the meat, turn your heat down to medium low.



Add your garam masala, cumin and tumeric and stir to mix

Add potatoes and water/broth and cover your pot. Let it simmer for about 25 minutes or until potatoes are tender

When potatoes are tender and the liquid has evaporated a bit, add the peppers, mushrooms, peas cilantro. Turn off your stove. 

Put your meat in a 9 by 9 dish and cut your thawed puff pastry sheet to fit. I squeezed some into the sides as well. Make some slits for the heat to escape.



Bake in a 400 degree oven for 25 minutes.


I served mine with a salad and some store bought (but doctored) chutney on the side…. oh, and a crisp white. The flaky pastry and the sweet. spicy meat paired marvellously together. People had seconds and some had thirds and the pie was done in a few hot minutes. This recipe is also super simple to double and freeze the second pie….also my intention until someone requested it again the next day
 :-)


Linking up with Beth for Tuesday Talk
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Monday, April 18, 2016

April weekending-- hello spring?!

This weekend was amazing. Family time, friends, food and fun… and I got to do a boatload of laundry as well--- how much better could life get?! 


This weekend:

+ we spent some time in the school playground horsing around after we picked C up

+ went out with family/friends to this amazing tapas restaurant with awesome cocktails and food (think butterfish ceviche and smoked bean casoulet). The kids hung out with their kids with a couple babysitters

+ I finally made it back to our farmer's market on Saturday to stock up on my wildflower honey, apple cider salad dressing and yummy cambozola

+ my friend Sonya and her family came over to spend Saturday evening. I met her very sweet son for the first time. #babyboyfix

+ watched Little Big Shots with the fam and Grey's Anatomy by myself #tvawesomeness

+ had a wonderful Sunday morning with my family eating chocolate chip pancakes, doing kid laundry, ironing and getting A's summer stuff from C out of storage.

+ made our second samosa pie for the weekend (recipe coming soon)

+ took the girls for some book shopping with some birthday gift cards we recently got)- mama also picked up a magazine for herself

+ took the kids to the park! 

+ went for a Thai food dinner and a nice walk by the river

+ had our first ice cream of the season. 

Monday has definitely come too soon! 

Linking up with sweet Biana for weekending




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Friday, April 15, 2016

Fabulous Friday Five


Here's what's been happening in these parts! 

1- Girls night 
Girls night out was awesome this past Friday with my friends Jenn and Carla. Thai food, white wine and Mamma Mia, a good time does make!





2- Lime Juice?
I found this amazing smoothie recipe and I've been making a version of it most weekdays. It's all about the lime juice, I tell you! I mix up the fruits and throw in some spinach but the coconut water, yogurt and lime juice are constant. I bought the big bag of Costco limes to make sure I have my stock on hand.

3- Some TLC
My parents came to visit for C's birthday and ended up staying for a couple extra days. We all had a wonderful time. We chatted lots with them, my kids went with them on different outings, they cooked all our favourites and my kids had more ice cream than I'd care to think about. We always are a bit sad when they leave. C suggested that they live with us instead. 

4- Kitchen Aid Mixer Sale
Who here has heard of Woot? I got this Amazon email stating that my Kitchen Aid stand mixer had gone on super sale and directed me to this website. Got my mixer for about 2/3's of the price.
Speaking of sales, I also got this console on major sale to work as a very simple desk for me.


5- Family Night Out..
The day before C's birthday, we went out with my parents, my brother and his family and our four to dinner. Though I neglected to take a picture of the entire table, here are a few shots of the birthday girl.



Little Miss slept for a huge part of the meal?



If ever there is a flourless chocolate cake on the menu, I find it very hard to resist...



I hope there's something sweet planned for your weekend too! 


Linking up with 
AndreaErika and Narci for Favourites on Friday
Amy for Hey Friday
Amanda for Friday Favourites
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