Yip Yip Yipeeee....here's a few little somethings to brighten the mumma's day.....

I finally received an order from Chapters and nothing could please me more on a stupid Monday....

Two things that make the mumma happy are:
1) Books and
2) Insane asylums
Yes you read that right, insane asylums - they are just so incredibly intriguing, calming (in a weird way) and yes, creepy.
Believe it or not there are people out there that are actively involved in the research, exploration, and history of the long ago "homes for the incurable".  Thank God these people exist, see I'm not just the crazy obsessed one.
I find the history of these buildings and the stories of those who spend their lives residing in such institutions both disturbing and fascinating (just like me....as Lynne would say...)

So here is what I'll have my nose stuck in for the next little while:

Some people are interested in cars, sports, and civil war reenactments.  Meh, give me a tour of a Kirkbride and I would be floating on cloud nine for months....

So just in case you are feeling the need to buy me something that would make me happy then you could never go wrong with the following from my wish list....

And then there is this little jewel - actually watched a documentary on PBS last week about dear ole' Doctor Freeman and his "wild and crazy lobotomies" (said in my bestest Steve Martin voice)

....good times...good times......good times, indeed.....

So there you have it.....a little piece of happiness from me to you...

Oh yeah, almost forgot to inform those who are interested.....I quit my job on Thursday...

Night night all and happy reading!!!

Psst...it actually happened - WE WON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yes peoples....finally in the long lived 3 year hockey career of the boy we have secured a trophy!!! - yes baby we have come a long way...

It has been a great season beginning with the boy scoring his first goal EVER during the first game of the season!!
Unfortunately he could only chase the dream of another goal for the next 6 months - tried like a boy on fire each game making a bizillion close shots on the net...

Now for the highlights...and an example of one of the elusive goals...(the boy is number 3 but basically had the back of his shirt is tucked into his pants for the whole game, cutting edge hockey fashion of course)

If you watched very closely you would have noticed the slight smile he gave to the camera when skating by...

And a few pictures to capture the determination of our own little Gretzky...

Now notice the boy's tribute to himself at the end of the game...avoiding the pile on of victory, instead giving the crowd what we all wanted - a personal show of celebration (seriously...what's wrong with that kid?)

Overall there was no prouder Mumma and boy there today at the rink...

Happy Birthday Aunt Teen Teen!!

Happy Happy Happy (belated) Birthday to our favourite Aunt Teen Teen!! Yes I know we are a day late in posting this, and yes we suck...but we did call and wish the birthday girl a happy day yesterday. We would have did this little tribute to our Teen Teen yesterday but it was awful sunny and nice outside, and we had to go to hockey practice, and mumma needed a nap in the afternoon, and then we visited with friends til fairly late in the evening...(any of these reasons making up for the fact we suck??). Anyhow Aunt Teen Teen this is for you....


Even the dog accompanied the boy by playing the squeaky chew toy

Love you lots Aunt Teen Teen

My favourite Baby Sister

Irish Chicken and Dumplings

So we will begin today's cooking segment with Irish Chicken and Dumplings as it is St. Patrick's Day. I know we should probably be making Corned Beef and Cabbage or Irish Stew but both those meals are barfy....

So I looked for an alternative Irish dish and found the following recipe. I'm not quite sure how authentic of an Irish meal it is but it's the closest thing we will eat around here...it does have potatoes in it so that should count, right?

Anyhow here is the play by play...

First you get all the ingredients together (and tell the boy he has to help cook or we are going to starve)


Next you prepare and chop up all the vegetables required - carrots, potatoes, onions, and celery...




Yes the boy did most of the peeling and chopping and all fingers are intact!!

Now on to adding the vegetables, seasonings, soup, and water to the pot...and this is where things went terribly wrong....

Now I could blame the boy for not reading the recipes thoroughly first...but actually it was the mumma's fault...I was getting tired and he was losing interest (after what seemed like 7 hours of veg prep according to the boy) so I figured everything just gets thrown in the pot but...no, the potatoes and carrots were suppose to be added after everything else simmered for 1 1/2 hours...oh well - too late now..



So we put the pot on the stove with the chicken on top and hope that everything turns out...

After it cooks for 1 1/2 hours on low heat then you take out the cooked chicken and cut it up into bite sized pieces, return to the pot and add the peas...



After you let that cook for 5 minutes you then add your biscuit dough to the bubbling mixture....



You let that cook covered for 10 minutes then 5 minutes uncovered and then tada! Irish Chicken with Dumplings.....




Now I'm sure you're wondering how it tastes...well...





The score cards for Irish Chicken with Dumplings were...
9 out of 10 from the boy - he especially liked the dumplings
5 out of 10 from the dadda - he especially hated the dumplings
4 out of 10 from the mumma - she especially wanted to have articoke salad for dinner.

If you truly would like to try this out for yourself send us an email and we'll get it to you...

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!