Reality Bites

My husband and I were married in our mid 20's after 3 years of dating. We were the first of our friends to get married so it was that much more exciting. While it felt a little strange to be a married couple among so many single friends, we always were conscious that others might be uncomfortable being around a married couple.  We have always been really good at maintaining our independence for that reason.  Over the years we have never felt any pressure from our family and friends to jump into starting a family, which we were so grateful for.  We certainly weren't ready to bring a child into the world in our mid 20's without first getting our ducks in a row. We also wanted time to connect as husband and wife before we jumped into Mommy and Daddy role and risk losing our intimate partnership.  We wanted stable jobs, to own a home, and to have a long term plan.  About 4 years into our marriage we decided that we were as ready as we were ever going to be. Go time! We calculated when we would have to get pregnant to be off for maternity leave at the end of a school year.  I did not want to mess up the school year for my students (God, I'm a good teacher!). My husband and I decided to play it off to everyone that we weren't ready for children so we didn't feel the pressure. We constantly joked that we'd be the worst parents, even though inside we knew we'd be amazing parents. I was absolutely convinced that I became pregnant after that first month trying. WRONG. The following month had the same outcome, and so did the month after that and after that. Months turned into a year, and a year turned into two. The disappointment was nearly unbearable. How could it be taking this long? My whole life I was taught to protect myself from a unwanted pregnancy.  I assumed that as soon as I was ready and we 'pulled the goalie' that things would just come together (that's what she said). Boy oh boy, was I ever wrong. The life changing journey that follows was something neither of us ever expected...

Music + Me = Happy Camper

Is it me, or does music feed the soul? I am by far the least musical person in the entire world -- it's true, ask anyone who has had the pleasure of being around me while I sing 'Happy Birthday'. I once tried to sing 'Love Lift Us Up'.....on my wedding day at my reception! WTF was I thinking?! I blame it on the signature drinks. I can't play instruments, I can't sing what-so-ever, and this girl can't even hum a tune.  But my God, does music ever do wonderful things to me.  It can completely change my mood and lift my spirits.  It can bring back amazing memories, transport me to a new place, and make me a happy camper. I often feel like I have a soundtrack to my days and the genres change depending on what I have going on. 9 times out of 10 if you drop by our house we'll have music playing. Growing up I couldn't study or read without music playing in the background.  Even now I have a difficult time marking papers and tests without have music on. Below are just a few songs that I love. Some old and some new. Hope you enjoy. Happy listening.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ham A La King

I grew up eating Chicken A La King.  Both my Mother and my Nana loved to serve it so it's funny that I have never actually made it myself.  Maybe I needed a 10 year break from it. Anyway, we currently have a ton of leftover ham in the fridge so I decided to shake things up a bit and made Ham A La King. My husband has never heard of it in his life so this was a first for him and he really liked it.  It was super easy -- took 10 minutes to prep and simmers for the remaining 10 while the puff pastries bake in the oven.

Yield: 4-6 servings

Ingredients
3 tablespoons butter                                                  

2 tablespoons grated onion                                                  

1 stock of finely chopped celery                                                  

1/4 cup flour                                                  

2 cups milk                                                  

1 cup diced cooked ham                                                  

1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce                                                

1 1/2  teaspoons plain mustard                                                  

1 cup frozen peas                                                                                                     

salt and pepper  

4-6 puff pastry shells

 

Method

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Bake puff pastry shells for about 18 minutes

. Meanwhile, melt butter in a fry pan and sauté onion and celery over medium heat for 5 minutes. Add flour and stir until incorporated. Add milk slowly, stirring constantly until smooth and thickened. Add remaining ingredients and cook over low heat for 10 minutes.

Eyes Peeled, Always

Life is precious, beautiful, and a little fu#ked up sometimes. I told you a while back that when I find a blog I tend to become very invested in the lives of the writers.  I check my blog list religiously and think about these strangers all of the time.  I love the raw honesty that most people pour into their blogs. The good, the bad, and the ugly. Today I found out that the world lost one of the most honest and talented blog writers I've ever stumbled across. I have been following Karin Diamond's 'Eyes Peeled, Always' blog for 3 years and although I never had the pleasure of meeting her in real life her and I did exchange a few Facebook messages with her here and there. She was in the fight of her life and shared every nitty gritty detail along the way.  I followed her story because I admired her.  I admired her ability to say it how it was, and to savour every beautiful minute of life.  Even in the shittiest of times she was able to see beauty.  I strive to be like her.  She was my age -- far too young to go. While I don't have cancer, I do have my own difficulties I am dealing with (as we all do), and found her posts to be uplifting, despite the difficult situation Karin found herself in. She had a way of finding that silver lining no matter how thin it might have been. I highly suggest you start at the beginning of Karin's story and savour each word.  She was a true talent.

My heart goes out to her family, husband, and friends during the difficult time.  Karin will be missed by many but her spirit will live on through her beautiful writing she has left behind. 

Find her blog here

Happy Leaves

This year more then another other year, I am so excited for Fall.  I am a cold blooded creature so I adore the sunshine, heat and everything else that goes along with summer (minus bikini's...). As I get older I seem to appreciate all of the beautiful seasons Ontario has to offer. Mind you I'd love it if Winter and Spring could each be a maximum of a month long.  Those seasons get a little old after the four week mark.  Fall however is a season that I don't think I could get sick of.  Apple picking, Winter Wheat candles, pumpkin carving, the stunning colours, turkey eating, hikes through the woods with leaves crunching under my feet, sweat shirts, and scarves.  I love me a good scarf. So, while I'm sad to see summer go, I am excited for Fall to arrive.  Hello, Fall.  I've missed you.

Happy leaves borrowed from here

Oh and since we are on the topic of scarves (not really, I know).  I thought I'd share a cool Pinterest idea I'm using to house my 26 scarves -- yes, I realize I have a problem. All you need is a hanger (or two in my case) and shower rings from the dollar store. Blam-O!

Simple Apple Crisp

I'm pretty sure I've posted at least one recipe for Apple Crisp on here but I couldn't find it.  Since the switch from 'Cooking with Modesty' to 'This is Jill' the search engine is completely messed up making it is more difficult to find older posts. Sorry guys. Technology can be a prick like that. If you are looking for older recipes I have included an achieve list to the right that is user friendly.  I decided to post this recipe since 99% of people will end up making apple crisp during the Fall season. It's a must. Last weekend I went apple picking and the Macintosh apples has been staring at me from the fruit bowl every day since --- today was the day I finally go my ass in gear and threw together a crisp. Toss vanilla ice cream on that bad boy and you're good to go.

Ingredients
4 medium cooking apples, sliced (macs are perfect for this!)                     
3/4 cup packed brown sugar                       
1/2 cup flour (regular or whole wheat)                             
1/2 cup oats                  
1/3 cup butter, softened                        
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon                        
3/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Method
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Spray a square baking dish with non-stick spray and toss in apple slices.  In a bowl combine all other ingredients. Pour crumble over top of apples. Bake for 30-35 minutes. Serve warm with ice cream. Bam!

perspective...

 

Laundry Detergent Experiment: The Verdict

I've always hated spending money on products and really dislike the clutter that comes with multiple bottles of expensive crap that doesn't do what it says it will.  I didn't even own a bottle of stain remover until two weeks ago. Oops, my bad. Anyways, during the summer I tried out two homemade laundry detergents to compare them to brand name detergents. The verdict is in. Here are the deets.

Liquid Detergent Pros:

• Super easy to make  (took about 2 minutes)
• Ridiculously cheap
• Smells great
• Easy to use
• Only a few ingredients
• Easy to use for spot cleaning

Liquid Detergent Cons:

• Only 16 loads per bottle so you need to make a big old batch
• didn't get QUITE as clean as a brand name

Powder Detergent Pros:

• Smells great
• makes a ton! (enough for 150+ loads)

Powder Detergent Cons:

• Much more expensive to make
• not as easy to use
• Takes a while to make
• A lot of ingredients
• Not easy to use for spot cleaning
• hardens after about two months
• doesn't have a lasting scent
• didn't get QUITE as clean as the liquid detergent

The verdict; if I were to make homemade detergent again I'd go for the liquid recipe. I think the key to using homemade detergents is that you have to pre-treat stains because they don't have as much super power as the brand name ones.

I've heard wonderful things about Nellie's All- Natural detergents and think I'll try out that line once the homemade stuff runs out. My Mother gave me soap nuts (here).  I've used them about 15 times and am indifferent about their cleaning power compared to my two homemade detergents.  They are pretty darn expensive to purchase and I don't like the fact that there is zero suds and scent. Alright, enough with this. I've got a blueberry pie to eat. Bye.

Great Lake Farms

Today was filled with clear blue skies, warm weather and apple picking!  A group of very dear friends and I hit up Great Lake Farms, a local apple orchard that just opened for their apple season. We visited with each other, picked apples, played, and celebrated the life of a very special woman. Even though the weather was about 10 degrees too hot to be officially Fall, it definitely felt like a Fall day with all the fall traditions.  I have a counter full of ripe, delicious apples that I look forward to devouring (...and baking with if I get around to it).  If you visit the Port Stanley area make sure you stop by for a few hours.  There is a ton to do - a park, wagons, tractor rides, animals, pumpkins, pears, apples, and a cute little bake shop. You don't even need a family to go - I showed up solo (my husband was out of town) and I had a blast.

Happy Fall everyone (well, sort of -- 14 more days).  Now I should probably go grab a Pumpkin Spiced Latte and then light my Winter Wheat candle to go with the whole Fall feeling I have going on...

Cleaner Update

Remember back in the day when I made my own floor cleaner? I was really happy with it at first, however I noticed that the longer it sat, the more chunky it became, sort of like my ass. My all-purpose cleaner seems to have the same problem. Even after re-boiling it the baking soda dissolves for a few days but eventually becomes clumpy again.  This bothers me, admittedly more then it should so I decided to give up the homemade floor cleaner cold turkey.  I'm bad ass like that. Today I hit up Target and purchased a few new products. I'm determined to keep my cleaning stash to a minimum so I only purchased Mrs. Meyer's Counter Spray ($4.99) and all-purpose cleaner ($8.99) because I think they'll be able to do bathrooms, kitchen, and floors.  I will let you know how they compare. I'm still very happy with my homemade end dust recipe and will continue to use that.

Booya!



 

Found this yesterday.

Got this today. HAPPY ME!

Let the games begin

Tonight is the last night of summer. WTF?! How did that happen? I had an exciting summer to say the least.  We traveled, visited with far away friends, spent time with family, ate a ton of yummy food, I rested, regrouped, and am ready sort of ready to head back to work tomorrow. Ok, maybe I could use one more week since I was battling some health crap for the last bit but I'll stop complaining before a non teacher reader writes a nasty comment on here. 

Today was spent getting organized; laundry, dishes, mopping, and tidying.  Tonight we took the pooch to the beach for a swim and ended the day with pizza. A productive yet relaxing day. To all of my teacher, EA and ECE friends heading back to work tomorrow  GOOD LUCK!  This year is going to be awesome! Thank you summer '13, you've been good to me.