knowing me, knowing you - november

It's that time again... time for that monthly interview project I started - Knowing Me, Knowing You.

1. What's your strategy for gift giving this Christmas?

I think much like a lot of people this holiday season, we'll be cutting back. More of our gifts will be handmade and there will be more gifts of time this year. I've had fun this past year with the scrabble nights, the dinners and the family fun nights we've had with the Grandparents. And I have some other cool ideas up my sleeve that I can't tell you about here because of all the family lurking about.

2. How do you feel about the holiday newsletter?

Mike and I love receiving newsletters, but we've never sent one before. Now we're toying with the idea of writing one up this year. Thing is we're pretty boring folk. Whatever would I write about?

3. What's your favourite board game?

Well I'm down with just about any kind of board game. Or cards. Cards are good too. It is such a cheap night of entertainment in my opinion. I really love Scrabble, but I think probably my favourite game is Balderdash. Oh the laughs we have had at our kitchen table playing it. I think I need to organize a Balderdash night quick!

4. What's your favourite cold weather comfort dish?

I really love the casseroles and the pasta dishes we seem to eat more of over the winter, but by far my favourite cold weather comfort food is soup. There is just something so intensely satisfying about a hot bowl of soup and some fresh crusty bread on a cold night.

5. What is your favourite new show this season?

I am really loving Modern Family. If you're not watching it.... well you're just missing out. It is perfectly cast and so very funny. Uncle Dave thinks it's a cross between The Office and Arrested Development and I have to agree.




So now the rules, they're pretty simple. Post your answers to these questions on your own blog in the next few days. Remember to link back here in your post and sign the Mr. Linky too, so we can all see what you have to say. Please make sure you link to your actual KMKY post and not your blog's front page. Any front page links will be deleted. And most importantly, have fun! Have suggestions for next months questions? Leave me a comment or send me an email and let me know.

putting me in my place since 2002

Abby and I were walking back home last Saturday night after crashing the Mommy Project's evening of wine and visiting with her family when I stopped, dead in my tracks, just a few feet from her driveway.

Why did you stop? The ever logical Abby asked me.

Well I had stopped because I'd heard loud, very likely drunken voices, coming from the little street that runs behind our house. I just wasn't sure if I was hearing angry drunken voices or just your run of the mill drunken voices. I'm not really sure why it mattered, except it was getting late on Halloween night, the streets were deserted, but pumpkins still glowed from front porches.... at the time it seemed like information I should have while walking home in the dark with a seven year old.

What I told Abby was this..... Oh I was just trying to hear those people talking.

Well that's inappropriate.

Really?! My seven year just told me I was inappropriate? Are you kidding?

It's inappropriate? I asked her.

Yes, it's inappropriate to listen to other people's secrets. We should just walk home and not listen.

And so we did.

wordless wednesday - a girl & her horse

How about a little wordless wednesday?

what's cooking wednesday - pepper steak

This recipe is on my meal plan for this week. It's new to us, so I'm not sure how it will go over. I'm betting that the girls hate it though....

I'll let you know how it works out.

Slow Cooker Pepper Steak

Ingredients

• 2 pounds beef sirloin, cut into 2 inch strips
• garlic powder to taste
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 cube beef bouillon
• 1/4 cup hot water
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 2 large green bell peppers, roughly chopped
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can stewed tomatoes, with liquid
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon white sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. Sprinkle strips of sirloin with garlic powder to taste. In a large skillet over medium heat, heat the vegetable oil and brown the seasoned beef strips. Transfer to a slow cooker.
2. Mix bouillon cube with hot water until dissolved, then mix in cornstarch until dissolved. Pour into the slow cooker with meat. Stir in onion, green peppers, stewed tomatoes, soy sauce, sugar, and salt.
3. Cover, and cook on High for 3 to 4 hours, or on Low for 6 to 8 hours.

What is What's Cooking Wednesday and how can I play?

What's cooking Wednesday was born out of a desire to get out of that what's for dinner rut. Playing is easy, on Wednesday post a recipe that has been tried and tested by you and then pop over here and add your name to the Mr. Linky. When entering your name also add the name of the recipe in brackets and make sure you link to your What's Cooking Wednesday post and not just your blog's front page. *All front page links will be deleted!* Don't make me be a jerk. And don't forget to link back here, the home of What's Cooking Wednesday.

So for example I would write Shan (Speedy Chicken Stir Fry) in the name section. For the URL section I would post this: http://shanrev.blogspot.com/2007/10/whats-cooking-wednesday-speedy-chicken.html

I'll let you in on a little secret, my WCW recipes are almost never made on a Wednesday. So feel free to cook and photograph whenever you have time and join us posting on Wednesday

papa's big night

So this past weekend promised to be very busy and full of all sorts of fun things. Then My-Pie got sick which sort of threw a wrench in the monkey works. Luckily my Mom was nice enough to stay with her Friday night so I didn't have to miss Papa receiving his award at the fair's Appreciation Night.

This year Papa was selected as one of two people to receive their life membership pins. It's a big honour and I was so proud to be amongst our friends and family sharing Papa's special moment with him.



Papa has a gift for saying the right thing at the right time and Friday night was no exception. His acceptance speech was sweet, sincere and brought a not so smallish lump to my throat. Abby was completely thrilled that the lady who gave Papa his award mentioned her (and the giant pumpkins she and Papa grow for the fair) by name.



Mike did very well in his capacity as Second Vice President. He introduced the invited dignitaries and the current board of directors. He must have read and reread his list a thousand times. It must of paid off because there was no stumbles.



Congratulations Papa on receiving your life membership.....



it's well deserved.

winner winner

So it was nice of me to promise you all a giveaway and then never mention it again. I have to admit that end of the post was poorly organized. Never fear, my faithful readers. I promised to give away a gift card and give it away I shall. So I wrote down all your names (The Mommy Project gets 2 entries because she is a Twitter fiend. Seriously, pop onto Twitter at 11ish and you'll find us using it as our own personal IM). So I threw all you lovely Canadian ladies who commented via here or facebook or Twitter into a bowl, had my lovely assistant draw out a name and the winner is.....

The lovely Heather P.

Congrats Heazer. I'll try to remember to give this and your pizza pan I've had for 2 months to you next time we hook up. Hopefully in the next couple of weeks.

So what's up next for me?

How about a little virtual book club?

disclaimer: The kind folks at Indigo Books (via the ever helpful Sam at MS&L) have supplied me with a selection of current novels to read to kick off my own little virtual book club

Now my question to you is what should I read first?

1) The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown.

Okay here's the thing I've seen the DaVinci Code. Which creeped me out a little bit. I don't do well with religious/torture type stuff. That thing he strapped on his leg was enough for me to bail on it. Mike convinced me to watch the rest, but I couldn't get that image out of my head for ages. Overall I enjoyed the movie, though. I have book version sitting on my shelf, with about 67 others that are waiting to be read. I am curious to see how his writing differs from the story telling of the movie.

2) The Year of The Flood by Margaret Atwood.

I have read very little Margaret Atwood, but have enjoyed what I have read. I recently read an interview in a magazine with Ms. Atwood that piqued my interest about this book.

3) Half Broke Horses by Jeanette Walls.

I cannot tell you how much I loved her first book, The Glass Castle. I could not put it down and when I was done I made Michael read it just so I would have someone in the house to discuss it with. In fact I received these books earlier this week and Grandma Sandi already dove into Half Broke Horses on her babysitting day here before the girls woke up. A few dozen pages in and she's already raving about it. And when Granny was here watching a sick Maya for me, she was strongly tempted to pick it up as well, but her patient was too demanding.

So those are my choices.... what do you think? Have you read any of these? Are you currently reading any? Do you want to read along with me?

spooky

Tonight was Halloween and Abby has been over the moon excited about this for weeks. Ever since she decided she was going to be "a bat, but not a baseball bat. Just a regular bat. Like a vampire bat." And Maya, well she decided on a fairy and then she got sick. Horribly sick, poor little thing. Good news was she was so under the weather she didn't even care she was missing out on the trick or treating. Also she's still a bit to young to have any idea what she was missing out on.



So Maya hung out with Grandma Sandi in her jammies while we wandered the village with The Mommy Project and her crew. The girls were a tad excited.



From the right that's the Abster as a vampire (she decided to change the bat thing up and left the wings at home and wore the cape), Maddie as Hannah Montana, Jamie as Gabrielle from HSM and little Colie as Dipsy.



The wind was wicked and a touch bitter tonight. I even went so far as to pull out the scarf and stash a pair of mitts in my pocket. We weren't out very long before Abby declared herself too cold to continue.



I think, hands down, the highlight of her costume was the vampire teeth and the can of black hairspray/pain that Granny picked up for her. She's already lobbying hard for skipping tomorrow night's bath so she can wear her "black" hair to school. Any guesses who's going to win that one?

This year we went with a pirate theme with the pumpkins.



I carved the ship.



Mike carved the skull. Not bad, huh?

Overall it was a pretty quiet night. We didn't have anywhere near the kids we normally do. I'm not sure if it was actual sickness or the threat of sickness that was keeping everyone home. After heading home to warm up for a bit Abby and I ventured back over to The Mommy Project's house where we burst in on her and her house guests and invited ourselves in for the party. Lucky her my date for cards with ML and crew got canceled (but I still kept her company while one of her guys trick or treated, the other was home sick on the couch). Leaving me free to invite myself over. Two pop ins this week, I'm not sure how she puts up with me.