Currently... October 24, 2012

Brennan is currently...

Worrying... about bears, foxes and wolves getting into the house.
Listening... to the satellite radio station on the TV for Children (I'm amazed at how many voices he recognizes).
Wishing... for snow!
Observing... Science! We did a science experiment this week - freezing ice in various containers (at different levels) to observe what happens and work on understanding the three states of matter!
Considering... His dislike of mushrooms! I made a dish at dinner and there were itty bitty mushroom pieces (it was a casserole with mushroom soup), he, of course, got every single little one. He decided they were just kind of squishy and didn't taste like much!

Brennan's Mom is currently...

Worrying... about another back surgery, going back to work (and whether or not I can) and if the coconut cream pie container will wake Brennan when I go up to get a piece of pie!
Listening... to the satellite radio station for Children (because the remote is on the other side table and I'm lazy).
Wishing... for happiness - it's been a blue couple of days.
Observing... my son growing taller by the second and smarter by the millisecond!
Considering... Getting a pop and some pretzels!

Menu Plan Monday - October 22 to 28

Keeping it simple this week as we are sharing more of the cooking tasks. In part because my husband dislikes cooking so much, he's happy to watch from the sidelines and in part because I'm realllllly tired of being an arm chair cook (and also because I'm still not up to my usual best in any way so it has to be simple for me to do it without over doing it)!.

Monday: Chicken Pot Pie
Tuesday: Grilled cheese and soup
Wednesday: Hamburger Casserole
Thursday: Egg wraps and tater tots
Friday: Tacos
Saturday: Pizza (with store bought crusts)
Sunday: Swiss Steak and rice

I am working towards repeating more of the meals we eat; I've always been big on making sure we don't eat the same things 2x in one month so after discussing with my husband, I decided to try repeating a few things... Also, since we haven't actually eaten a few of the meals in the past few weeks, I just keep bumping them to the new menu!

Thanks for stopping by and please check out all the yummy meal planning being shared at the Menu Plan Monday, hosted by Laura from Org Junkie!

I'm also sharing with Laura  from Healthy Branscoms and her new Menu Plan feature!

Currently... October 17, 2012

Participating in "Currently" again this week - just so much fun and such a great way of documenting the things I can't remember! This week, I thought I'd include TroubleMaker (aka Brennan)... :)

Brennan is...

Feeling... Anxious... He is anticipating our "Mom and Brennan" day tomorow!
Drinking... Water and chocolate milk (two different cups but he keeps alternating)
Looking for... Halloween decorations!
Dreaming... I can only guess but I'm thinking Halloween!
Making... Pictures to decorate the house with - for (you guessed it) Halloween!

Brennan's Mom is...
Feeling... Very, very full! Had a very LARGE dinner at the Sicilian Pasta Kitchen with my friend, Jenn.
Drinking... Water!
Looking for... Information on Ancient Civilizations
Dreaming... Of getting feeling back in my thumb!
Making...  I'm starting to think about making some new Christmas decorations but with the absence of snow, I'm not really feeling winter!

Linking up to Harvesting Kale's Currently! Check it out!

Menu Plan Monday - October 14 to 21

After a sort of impromptu visit to my Mom's for the weekend, I have a few meals left over for this week... Oh, and we didn't have the Swiss Steak but opted instead for a Crustless Quiche - with green peppers added and served with tater tots. It was very good, heartily filled our family of three (and our Wonder Schnauzer) and is being added to our regular menu rotation.

This week is the first week in a long time (well, 5 weeks, anyway) that I've not had to be ferried off to a medical appointment - and only one physio appointment again this week! I'm back to work - well, working from home - but I've been doing that for a while now. It's keeping my mental muscles exercised, even if I don't remember half of what I do! I've also learned just how much I can do and how much I shouldn't do. Working a few hours a day plus trying to do stuff at home just increases the pain.

Monday: Something with ground beef and mashed potatoes ?? (ETA: Trying this with a bunch of "from the fridge veggies")
Tuesday: Nuggets and fries
Wednesday: Boys Night (I'm going to dinner with my best friend)
Thursday: Swiss Steak and steamed rice
Friday: Italian Chicken Pasta Skillet
Saturday: Nachos
Sunday: Spaghetti

Thanks for stopping in and please check out all of us sharing our culinary adventures at the Organizing Junkie's Menu Plan Monday!

Currently... October 13, 2012

I'm joining Harvesting Kale for "Currently". I happened across it while blogsurfing early Saturday morning (as TroubleMaker doesn't care if I stay up late visiting with my sister - 6:30 is 'get up time').

Watching Being home on sick leave has left me a lot more time in front of the TV then I've had in years... However, being the discerning view I am (haha), I'm only currently hooked on Doc Martin, Days of Our Lives and Steven and Chris.

Reading Just finished The Lovey Bones and started reading Drawing from the Right Side of your Brain.

Eating At this exact moment, I'm eating a Jolly Rancher sucker - I'd like to add that is is now mid-afternoon.    I'm also re-finding my love for fried zucchini with garlic and garden carrots with a brown sugar butter glaze.

Inspired by nature. With the fall colours everywhere, I can't help but feel like I should be doing more with the vibrant oranges and yellows I see all around me!

Thinking about taking a nap!

Getting my Craft On! Fall style!

I am a crafty person. I enjoy making crafts. My problem is a lack of time. A few weeks ago, however, while TroubleMaker was spending the night at his Gran's, I got busy... It took a ton more time than it should have as I still have a wounded wing. Using wire cutters with your non-dominant hand is tiresome, painful and not very productive. I also learned I cannot make a bow single handed...

All that aside, it is the best wreath I've ever made. It turned out exactly how I'd envisioned it and I'm immensely proud of the work! I was inspired by this wreath - when I priced out sunflowers at my local craft shop, I rethought my plan and opted for a single sunflower (they were $14 each). My sunflower was actually a napkin ring that I popped off the ring.

I hung it on our front door and it is SO fall! Not wanting to stop there, since I was on a roll, I decided we also needed a centre piece for Thanksgiving... Ten minutes and an existing vase, I whipped it up. I thought I struck pure genius - I always have issues with my silk arrangements staying upright. I've been collecting (not hoarding) rolls - paper towel, toilet, ribbon. I stuck one in the middle of the vase and filled it with leftover bird seed, old popcorn and nuts! I then wrapped it with plastic wrap as my cat, as sweet as she is, cannot leave anything alone and I knew I needed to slow down the eventual spill. See the bumpy green gourds? WE GREW THOSE!!! In fact, we grew like 16 of them!


I'm going to steal a line from the Slap Chop Guy... But WAIT! There's more! Canadian Thanksgiving doesn't have much to do with turkeys (as turkeys are not indigenous to Alberta), but we traditionally eat turkey on Thanksgiving - so why not make some yummy turkey desserts! Inspired by OurBestBites.com and their wonderful homage to the noble turkey, TroubleMaker and I are proud to present our rafter of candy cookie turkeys!

Thanks for stopping by!

Linking up at a few fun places - please check them out for more inspiration!

Funky Junk Interiors SNS!

Chic on a Shoestring Decorating

Menu Plan Monday - October 7 to 14

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! Or at least to my Canadian friends! We had our turkey celebration on Sunday -  and I can assure you I ate my fair share of turkey and I ate so much pumpkin pie; it was delicious!  It was my husband's first time putting together a traditional dinner and he did a fantastic job!

I've been a bit more productive in the kitchen but I spend a good portion of my time on the side lines still "guiding" him through the motions. It is an exercise in patience for us both; I have a hard time not "back seat cooking".

Monday: Ham and turkey sandwiches
Tuesday: Homemade Mac & Cheese
Wednesday: Chicken Salad Sandwiches
Thursday: Swiss Steak & steamed rice
Friday: Nuggets and fries
Saturday: Nachos
Sunday: Spaghetti

Thank you for stopping by and please check out everyone sharing their menus at the Org Junkie's Menu Plan Monday!

Menu Plan Monday - October 1 - 7

Another week as the Arm Chair Chef... Tonight, however, I made dinner as it was my husband's birthday! We've got Canadian Thanksgiving coming up so my husband is going to try his hand at turkey cooking - we are just cooking a turkey breast roast but he'll still be in charge of the dressing (stuffing)! His Mom is bringing Pumpkin pie (made with carrots - it's new - I'll let you know what we thought next Monday).

Monday: Pizza and Caesar Salad
Tuesday: Homemade Mac & Cheese
Wednesday: Tacos
Thursday: Tortellini with Alfredo sauce (FROM A JAR - I may just die from embarrassment)
Friday: Chicken Salad Sandwiches
Saturday: Hamburgers 
Sunday: Turkey with all the fixings

I'm also happy to announce that a suggestion made last week by Ginny from Gabbing with the Gafford's has actually been welcomed by my husband! She plans one week and they eat it for two.. So this week's menu could be repeated next week. When I broached the subject with my husband - as a passing "I can't believe someone would do that!" and he said "that's not a bad idea!"... Especially while he's doing the cooking!

I'm not sure I am totally on board but I think I would do it "every other week" so we may try that. As our grocery budget spirals out of control (my husband actually laughed at me when I suggested a new budget number).

I'm sharing over at the Org Junkie this week. Thanks for stopping in!