July 27, 2009

He's four!

It seems as if only yesterday you were born, but here it is already fours later and all I can say is WOW!

Happy Birthday Keegan!

July 22, 2009

new header

Well it appears that I am on the right track for making my own header (as seen above). Now I just need to figure out how to incorporate some custom desgin link images and the whole CSS coding! /sigh

Small steps, very small steps and I will get there!

June 29, 2009

Canadian Please

This was done by my friends friend and it is great!
Canadian please...

I have been remiss...

Well life in the last month has been a roller coaster of non-stop, barely time to breath-go,go,go! I have finally managed to catch a moment all to myself and wanted to drop note to say that I am still here and as busy as ever.

With the wind-down of June, we have been on a couple of adventures, Keegan has successfully completed his first year of Nursery School, only to repeat it next year as he will be just turning four this July...OMG...4!

Over the last month or so I have been cleaning, cleaning and more cleaning, by going through our mass collection of sh*t, I mean our painstaking cared for and love filled collection of memories. I have finally amassed a rather large quanity of things to sell and if they don't, one rather large donation to be given.

Sadly to say, while I feel I have purged a rather large assortement of things, there is still so much that we have that I am postive that we really don't need! I am proud of my babysteps...once a rat pack always a rat pack, although a slightly slimer one.

Hopefully, I 'll be back in the next few days with some pics of our adventures.

May 29, 2009

off for a girls weekend and possibly some scrapbooking!

Well, I have just finished packing...well at least my scrapbooking supplies. I still have to pack some clothes, run a few errands, go to an appointment and then I am off for a girls weekend and some scrapbooking!

So hopefully, in a few short days I will return with some new pages and a feeling of replenismnet and not return to a destroyed house, stressed out Daddy or crying gnomelit!

Keeping my fingers crossed....

May 20, 2009

Fireman for a day...



 
Staff photo by Rob SwystunFrom left to right Keegan Port, Kahlie Buechler, Emma Wiebe, Damien Wolf, Cathy Bray (taking photos), Conor Rae, Madison Fehr and Calli Owens watch as Spencer Reimer sprays a fire hose with the help of Portage Emergency Services firefighter Don Robertson at the Trinity Nursery School in Portage la Prairie Tuesday. Robertson let all the kids take turns spraying the hose as he demonstrated the firefighting equipment for the children.
 
 photo by Sam Wiebe
This month is Emergency month at Keegan's Nursery School. Last week the RCMP showed up and did a little talk and the kids got to go in the cruiser, which Keegan wanted nothing to do with! This week was the local fire service, which from the picture's above Keegan was more receptive to participate in.
 

May 4, 2009

Hop & Bop

Well, Keegan's first year of dance has come to end and the all the sweat, tears and blood (and there was blood) has resulted in this little number!




Keegan
Originally uploaded by chasingkeegan



Keegan
Originally uploaded by chasingkeegan





April 3, 2009

This was dinner tonight...

Slow-Cooker Pulled-Pork Tacos













Ingredients
  • 2 cups store-bought salsa, plus more for serving
  • 2 tablespoons chili powder
  • 2 tablespoons dried oregano
  • 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
  • kosher salt
  • 1 2 1/2-pound boneless pork butt or shoulder, trimmed of excess fat
  • 18 corn tortillas
  • 1/2 cup fresh cilantro sprigs
  • 3/4 cup sour cream
  • 1 lime, cut into wedges
Directions
  • In a 4- to 6-quart slow cooker, combine the salsa, chili powder, oregano, cocoa, and 1 teaspoon salt. Add the pork and turn to coat.
  • Cook, covered, until the meat is tender and pulls apart easily, on high for 4 to 5 hours or on low for 7 to 8 hours.
  • Twenty minutes before serving, heat oven to 350° F.
  • Stack the tortillas, wrap them in foil, and bake until warm, about 15 minutes.
  • Meanwhile, using 2 forks, shred the pork and stir into the cooking liquid. Serve with the tortillas, cilantro, sour cream, lime, and extra salsa.
This one was great! Will make this again for sure!

Made this for dinner last night...

 I really like Real Simple Magazine and buy it every once and awhile. It has some great tips and the recipes that I have tried have been "simple" and good.
I tried this one last night, it wasn't bad. Mind you, I omitted the apricots and hehe oops forgot the spinach at the last minute...I blame that on my 3 year old.
Spiced Braised Beef with Sweet Potatoes
Ingredients
  • 1 1/2 pounds beef chuck, cut into chunks
  • 2 sweet potatoes (about 1 pound), cut into 1/2-inch-thick half-moons
  • 1 28-ounce can whole peeled tomatoes
  • 1 large red onion, cut into wedges
  • 1/2 cup dried apricots
  • 2 teaspoons ground cumin
  • 2 teaspoons ground ginger
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon cayenne
  • kosher salt
  • 1 10-ounce box couscous (1 1/2 cups)
  • 1 15-ounce can chickpeas, rinsed
  • 2 cups baby spinach (1 1/2 ounces)
  • 1/4 cup roasted almonds, chopped
Directions
  • In a 4- to 6-quart slow cooker, combine the beef, potatoes, tomatoes (and their juices), onion, apricots, cumin, ginger, cinnamon, cayenne, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 cup water.
  • Cook, covered, until the meat is tender, on high for 4 to 5 hours, or on low for 7 to 8 hours.
  • Ten minutes before serving, prepare the couscous according to the package directions.
  • Add the chickpeas to the slow cooker and cook until heated through, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the spinach. Serve with the couscous and sprinkle with the almonds.

March 24, 2009

the mini

The "mini" as I like to call it has been a love hate relationship for me ever since my husband brought it home. The "mini" while I wish it was the car is an Acer Aspire one laptop. It about the size of a mass paperback book and 2 inches thick. In a sense the perfect travel companion. It's rather slick design and brightly lite lcd screen is pleasant to look at and it comes in a variety of colors and secrets be told...I wouldn't mind owning the pink one! GASP...have no idea where this femine complusion comes from...but alas there it is. As for the hate part the shift key of the keyboard drives me nuts as I am rather large fan of using the left shift key for caps. I am forever finding my rather large and cumbersome fingers pressing the \ key rather then the shift key as to accomadate for a smaller laptop would you believe that they made the keyboard smaller. Oh well, aside from that one little thing, which with time like all new keyboards I will learn to adjust...I am unsure if I will ever adjust to the ever maddening scroll/touchpad mouse design. I am forever causing the screen to zoom and don't really know where exactly that invisible line is between it being an easy to use touch pad and the touch pad from hell. Know some my find this all in one touch pad the ideal solution...I would rather have teeth pulled!

But alas, atm I am feeling more and more love for the "mini" as it allows me to go places with much more ease then the 17 inch Sony. Ya for blogging in bed and not taking up more room then my discarded Breaking Dawn.

March 18, 2009

macaroons...

Ok, so I didn't get to them on the weekend like I planned, an unexpected sick gnomelit put a damper on all baking plans. However, as of this minute I am about to place my attempt at macaroons into the oven...results to follow shortly.

March 13, 2009

I am going to try making these this weekend...yum

Macaroons

Ingredients

Makes 20
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 2 1/2 cups (about 3 ounces) unsweetened shredded coconut
  • 2 large egg whites
  • 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chunks (I personally used Dark Chocolate Chips, plan on trying mini chips as well)
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • Pinch of salt

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a large bowl, combine sugar, coconut, egg whites, chocolate chunks, vanilla, and salt. Use your hands to mix well, completely combining ingredients.
  2. Dampen hands with cold water. Form 1 1/2 tablespoons of mixture into a loose haystack shape, and place on prepared baking sheet. Repeat with remaining mixture, placing macaroons about 1 inch apart.
  3. Bake until golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove baking sheet from oven to a wire rack, and let macaroons cool slightly on baking sheet. These are best served warm from the oven, but can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days; leave in a warm place for 1 hour before serving to allow chocolate to soften.

March 6, 2009

Taking the day off...well maybe...

This has been a week of non-stop go go. Which resulted in about 4 hours of feeling like I was about to die this morning. Needless to say I have dragged my weary and worn body from bed. I feel that I am going to take the day off and yet as I say this, there is no conviction in my thought as my mind tumbles through all that still needs to be done! Argh...oh well! I guess I'll take a day off when I am dead...lol.

Keegan grabbed the camera off my desk the other night and proceeded to have a photo shoot and he was so proud that I wanted to share some of his work. Side note: I have not altered these photos in anyway..not bad for a 3 year old.

March 2, 2009

Crop Weekend...

So I was at a crop event this past weekend and needless to say I had a great time. I meet a whole bunch of terrific ladies and even managed to get a few pages done.

So without further ado here are a few, I might have to work on the whole page picture taking process...
 
Ok, so there they are. It seems like I will have to practice some different methods for producing a slightly better picture of my pages.

February 27, 2009

it is a conspiracy...

I swear it is a conspiracy! I am heading for a crop weekend and 24 hours before hubby is due home from his trip he complains of a cold that he is coming down with. As soon as he arrives home, Keegan runs up, "Hi Daddy, I missed you"...hug and kiss ensue...then "sniff, sniff...which follows a wake-up at 5:30 am and a runny nose.

It is a conspiracy to keep me from leaving...however, I refuse to give into their attemps at keeping me home. They will just have to, as my sister so poetically puts it "suck it" till I get home.

So I will be leaving in a few short hours to their moans and runny noses...with a well stocked house of juice, soup and aloe tissues.

February 25, 2009

A week ago...

Last week was the last art class that Auntie Erin was able to attend with Keegan. Needless to say teaching class to day without her there was a little sad, but other wise went really well. The Play Clay was a success! (recipe to follow later)

So here are some pics from last week...

February 24, 2009

These sound yummy...

Found this recipe and it sure sounds yummy and simple. Mind you the simple part might become complicated in my search for chickpea flour. Hmm, my search begins...
Chickpea Crepes

2 cups warm water
2 tbsp olive oil
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup chickpea flour (check the international section of the supermarket)
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley (optional)

Put everything in the blender. Turn it on. Scrape down the sides once or twice, and let the batter rest about twenty minutes.

Pick the smallest non-stick frying pan you've got, and put it on medium heat. Tip a dab of olive oil onto a paper towel, and wipe inside the pan. Once the pan's hot, measure out a quarter cup of batter. Take the frying pan in your right hand, and take the cup of batter in your left. Pour the batter onto the pan, turning it as you do so the batter covers as much of the pan as possible. It's all kinds of fun to make those first silly-looking lopsided crepes. They'll taste just as good as the perfect ones, I promise. Cook until golden-brown on the bottom, then flip, and cook another minute or so. Repeat with the rest of the batter; this recipe makes about 12-15 crepes.

February 23, 2009

Children's Museum Visit

Today we headed off to Winnipeg for a few errands and a visit to the Children's Museum. The boys had a blast and most likely could have spent all day there as it was we were hard pressed to make them leave after 2 hours of go-go-go!

Having bought a membership, I plan on taking Keegan there more often, it is a great little place for him to explore and play. Mind you I wouldn't want to go on a busy day!




















Keegan and Kian climbing the Beaver Dam!




















Just being boys...




















the best shot of the day...he loved the train.

PITA

Well, it seems in order to make blogger accept my google acct I was forced to delete my other one and the blog, which means I have lost my title and few other things. Humph! So much for being able to just switch from "old" blogger to "new" blogger. Oh well. At least I didn't lose my whole 60 posts...hehe.

With some more work, I'll get it back on track. I guess the one good thing that has come out of this change is that all my fun little widgets will now work as they are supposed to!

January 13, 2009

Another year has come and gone...ugh...

Well, I didn'y make any New Years resolutions...I mean come on, it is all fine and dandy to sit down and say this is what I am going to do this year, this what I am going to try harder to do and so on and so forth. But when it really come's down to, there are a few out there that will make these lists and no doubt succeed and there will be others that last few months and there will finally be the group that make it about a month and revert back to old ways. I fall into the latter category. So this year I have decided to throw caution to the wind and just be me.

On that note, this me has just turned another year older...ugh...there is officially no denying that I am now in my 30's.

Oh well, we shall see that this year brings...persoanlly as of this minute I am asking for warmer weather.

Frozen in Manitoba

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