mama. baby. drama: Not Delicious

mama. baby. drama: Not Delicious: I often make our own almond butter. It is ridiculously easy and a fraction of the cost of the stuff at the grocery store. Every once in awhi...

Not Delicious

I often make our own almond butter. It is ridiculously easy and a fraction of the cost of the stuff at the grocery store. Every once in awhile I like to think I am a masterer baker and get a little creative in the kitchen. A master baker is something I can occasionally pull but not often. I should really just leave it to the professionals (read: my sister and sister in law who really and truly are master bakers).

Here are my instructions for a not delicious made up almond and hazelnut butter.

First make sure you underbake your almonds and hazelnuts so they won't release oils properly in the food processor

At this point I should have just taken it out and had a gluten free flour but alas I kept on.

Insert cute baby in a ridiculous outfit because she wants to help. At this point you still think you are doing a good job because the baby calls is "chocolate peanut butters"

Still processing but it's not getting very creamy so you should definitely get creative. Add some coconut oil and honey to cream it up a bit. When that doesn't work go crazy and add in some hemp seeds and chia seeds because hey! they are good for you and if you are already breaking the mold why not go overboard. Finally add some coconut milk for a dash of extra recipe crazy. 

In the morning serve it on toast to your five year old.

When she makes this face you shouldn't be surprised because there is a whole container of some ridiculous made up almond butter stuff that your children and husband will hate...except for the 2 year who is currently asking for more "chocolate toast butters"

mama. baby. drama: Tune My Heart

mama. baby. drama: Tune My Heart: Tune My Heart is a little business I have started with my childhood friend Becky. We named it for our favorite hymn, funny how we shared t...

Tune My Heart

Tune My Heart is a little business I have started with my childhood friend Becky. We named it for our favorite hymn, funny how we shared the same favorite. Becky and I refinish furniture, make wooden signs and recreate old pieces into new and lovely home decor. We are amazed and shocked and unbelievably excited at how well our little business is doing. We have big dreams for the future! For now, I wanted to show off some of my recent pieces...

By far my most popular piece to date. I listed this sign on a few facebook groups and promptly sold 11! It has been ordered in all sorts of color combos and even been turned horizontal. The customers will all receive their pieces next week. My house will be a disaster zone while I finish them all up so don't expect cleanliness or fresh baked goodies if you come to visit. lol

Made for my sister in law from an old thrift store frame this piece was done in my favorite color combo this Christmas. An apple green, black and a deep red. Finished off with a saying from her favorite Christmas movie 'Home Alone'.

Such a lovely sentiment about love. This piece has been reodered in so many colors! I am excited to deliver to all the customers who ordered it. 

This lovely piece started as an old cedar jewelry box. It was lovingly refinished for a Mother in Law to give to her son's girlfriend. The color requested was turquoise but this piece has so many layers of color peeking through. It was refinished with a local bees wax and feels smooth as silk to the touch. I am so in love with the copper hardware! And inside the box is still it's original cedar so it smell delicious.

Made for my Dad. He has been a Nazarene Pastor for 17 years and every sermon is finished with this saying. I am surprised no one thought to give him a sign with these words sooner but I am grateful that I got to be the one to do it. If I am correct he has this piece hanging in the church.

This piece has a bit of a funny story. As I placed the vinyl it peeled and pulled and looked terrible. It was my worst vinyl nightmare come true (that and when the vinyl folds back into itself...ahhhhh!). I thought this piece would be trashed and I was not impressed, I was so in love with the colors of it. After much pouting I decided to do a tan and copper wash over the letters, let it dry and peeled the letters off. It is amazing how mistakes can still be so beautiful. I love this piece now more than I did in it's original state.

This old cupboard door would have been long in the trash but instead it now serves as a lovely little serving tray. 

Isn't the hardware on this old farmhouse window amazeballs! I did nothing to this hardware except for clean it. 

Off and Running

Yesterday marked my first day of training for my first FULL marathon! I am both terrified and excited! I am not sure I can run a whopping 42km's but a year ago I said the same thing about training for my first half marathon and now three of them later I feel like I can and should probably do this.

It is amazing to me the range of emotions I can feel over the course of training for a race. Or even the range of emotions I can feel over a long run. The next six months are going to be quite a journey for me both emotionally and physically. 

The photo below is Evelyn and I just before I ran the Calgary half marathon (my second half marathon). Evelyn ran the kids race that day. I was so very proud of her for working so hard. The kids race is a full marathon that runs over the course of a month. Each day the participant runs so they complete 41km by race day. Then on race day they run the last 1.2km.  This year the Calgary marathon will mark my first full marathon and technically Evelyn's second. 

mama. baby. drama: Trying new things

mama. baby. drama: Trying new things: I love my coffee...or as Mike calls them my "pish posh a lattes". I order my drink with 18 different specifications depending on m...

Trying new things

I love my coffee...or as Mike calls them my "pish posh a lattes". I order my drink with 18 different specifications depending on my mood. I even have been known to make up my own latte at the Starbucks drive thru. I like to order off menu...

In interest of fueling my body better and continuing to lose weight I have decided no more pish posh a lattes for me. I have drastically reduced my sugar intake (amongst other things like dairy and wheat). But I can NOT (read: will not am totally incapable of) giving up my coffee. I love espresso. Despite my best efforts I can not drink it black so I needed to come up with an alternative. I put on my big girl pants, got brave and tried something new. I ordered an Americano Misto. It was delicious! The perfect amount of espresso to milk (or almond milk if the coffee shop has it) to water. It is not terribly strong so I can enjoy it and I get my caffeine which I love so much.

Plus, the little local place by our house makes it look all pretty and if it looks pretty then surely it is delicious.

Cibo...made to share

Last night we went out to celebrate my brother in law's birthday at Cibo, an amazingly decorated restaurant on 17th avenue. Their food is made fresh, served when it is ready and made to share! We have been several times in the past and always enjoyed ourselves, truth be told, it is one of my favorite places to eat in Calgary. The decor always draws me in. The entire restaurant is decorated with upcycled materials full of stories from days gone by.

When we arrived for our 6pm reservation they had a highchair ready at our table and menus were out. The kids menus are laminated and contain a simple menu that is perfect for children. There are a few pizza choices and some pasta dishes ranging in price from $5 - $7 My girls generally like the ham and pineapple pizza and since it is SO big we only need to order one. Yes, that means our kids eat for a teensy tiney bill of $3.50/each! Harper (our youngest) has a severe allergy to milk protein but Cibo has always happily accommodated her by only putting cheese on half the pizza or removing the cheese/milk parts from their pasta dishes. Last night was no different. The girls pizza came quickly and efficiently to our table bubbly and warm with half of the pizza cheese free.

I had salmon with risotto and fennel and Mike had a pizza. My salmon was moist and full of flavour, the risotto was tangy and creamy and I ate every last bite. Everyones dishes were well sized, fresh tasting and delicious. We followed our meal with the Panna Cotta for desert which was absolutely amazing and the girls shared a lemon sorbetto (yay! for dairy free deserts!). The lemon was quite tart but it didn't bother Harper. Evelyn however shared in our Panna Cotta.

While Cibo is largely family friendly they don't have kid cups, crayons etc... that you find in other traditional family friendly restaurants. Make sure to bring a sippy with you if you have young ones and a few activities to keep those littles from getting bored. I always carry a journal with crayons and a few activities for the kids in my bag so it was more or less unnoticed that they didn't have busy hands activities for the kids for our family and friends.

With their fresh, delicious menu, gorgeous decor and casual atmosphere I would recommend any family to eat at Cibo. It is a highly enjoyable experience. Just remember to bring a sippy for your little ones and a few activities to keep their little hands busy so you can enjoy your meal without having to entertain too much.

http://cibocalgary.com/

(photo taken from Cibo Calgary website)

Welcome 2014

Another year has come and gone and of course with that comes a whole new set of goals. I am incredibly proud of what last year was for me and of course my family.

Mike made a job switch and enjoys the new environment, the new pay and the new opportunities. He has some very interesting clients to do IT work for. It is fun to hear some of his stories. Some crazy, some cute, some boring (shhhh don't tell him. I find most of his work to be mostly boring).

Harper turned 2! epps. My baby is BIG. She has been running and climbing and using what seems like millions of words. Harper still struggles with her milk allergy. She has what the doctors have diagnosed as 'Anaphalctic Allergic Collitis'. Essentially this means she can't have any type of milk proteins. They are bad for her! They can kill her or at least cause some serious damage. This has led us to live what I call a "semi crunchy" life. We have become much more organic and natural in our home. If I make it then we know what is in it. This started for Harper's benefit but then we began to realize we all feel better without all the processed food and chemicals in our bodies. Harper love her snuggles so baby wearing became an essential in our home and I am both happy and proud to say my little girl is still rear facing in her carseat at just over 2 years old.

Evelyn is a big whopping 5 years old. She is in kindergarten at the Catholic French Immersion school near our home. They have a lovely sense of community with a very missional attitude. It is very much in line with our way of living and we appreciate that she can go to a school so much in line with our values. Evelyn is bright and lovely and smart. She loves to draw, so much so that we recently registered her for an art class. She continues to dance, this year it is jazz and just as stinking adorable as it was the last two years!

Finally me! I think I had the biggest year of all. Which is odd to say as I am in the thirties but it truly was. I took up running! Between March and October I ran 2 5km races, 2 10km races and 3 half marathons. I never thought I could run a whopping 21km, let along several times in a year. It has been fantastic for my mental and physical health. I have to say my highlight race was definitely San Francisco where I ran the Nike Womens Marathon. What a thrill to run the Embarcadero, the Golden Gate Bridge, pass through the California Redwoods and finish on the beach. While running I also managed to turn it into fundraising. I raised $7000 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Canada in memory of my Father in Law who passed from cancer. I already have BIG goals for this year that include Seattle and my first full marathon in my home city. I also just accepted a volunteer opportunity with Made by Momma (a local charity I love) to mentor and "coach" their charity race team. Participants will be running anything from 5km to a full marathon all in the name of charity and I get to lead the charge. Also very exciting for me was the opportunity to start a little online business with my childhood friend. We are refinishing old furniture and lovely crafting and upcycling items to be used as home decor. It is so wonderful to be creative, use my hands and continue to recycle in order to support my semi crunchy life.

Aside from running my goals this year include making a quilt, growing some garden vegetables with the girls, trying out some different yoga classes and blog. I love to write, I love to share our stories so I am focused on pursuing this endeavor. Watch out for pictures, stories and many many more adventures this year.

Now, if you will excuse me I need to unplug and watch some Duck Dynasty with my hubby. I promised him we could watch an episode tonight. He puts up with all my girly goofy shows so I guess I better put up with boyish goofy show as well...lol