Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

Apparently one of the fitness instructors at the gym was seriously injured in a car accident last week when it snowed. She's a mother of young children too. I don't know her because she teaches an early morning class.

I made some stuffed sweet potatoes yesterday based on this recipe. It didn't take more than an hour to bake at 350F. I used chives instead of green onions. It was nutritious and delicious.


News


Kristi Yamaguchi 2 decades since gold - so inspiring!

For 12-year old astrophysics prodigy, the sky’s the limit:

But his parents encouraged his interests from the start. Once, they took him to the planetarium at Butler University. "We were in the crowd, just sitting, listening to this guy ask the crowd if anyone knew why the moons going around Mars were potato-shaped and not round," Jake's mother, Kristine Barnett, told the Star. "Jacob raised his hand and said, 'Excuse me, but what are the sizes of the moons around Mars?' "

After the lecturer answered, said Kristine, "Jacob looked at him and said the gravity of the planet ... is so large that (the moon's) gravity would not be able to pull it into a round shape."

"That entire building ... everyone was just looking at him, like, 'Who is this 3-year-old?'"

$100.00

McDonald's has a new slim sensations lemon blueberry muffin and it's quite good. The 'slim sensations' means it is fat reduced, still high in calories because it's a muffin, and a large one at that.

Last week, my grocery bill was exactly $100.00 and the cashier agreed that I should buy a lottery ticket. I went to the lottery kiosk to check it and there was a bit of a lineup (mostly seniors I'd say). The lottery business is obviously booming. I wasn't a winner.

We have been making buttermilk pancakes recently and they are so light, fluffy and delicious compared to our regular recipe.

Ocean Girl has published her blog into a book using blog2print. Isn't that interesting? There are so many new products out there to satisfy every need.


News

Chuck Hughes the Iron Chef America victor
'Reaction has been crazy,' Montrealer Chuck Hughes says after defeating star chef Bobby Flay on Iron Chef America

Barista Skills

Creative Tuesdays - Springtime

Here is my Creative Tuesday's Springtime entry, entitled 'Ladybug'. I received a complimentary copy of the Canadian Wildlife magazine and found some wonderful, inspiring, nature photography inside. In fact, I decided to subscribe to this magazine, because I so enjoyed the lovely photographs. Besides, it's for a good cause.

Please stop by the other participants to see what they did today.



Here is the ladybug photo from the magazine:

Did You Observe Earth Hour?

So how did you do on Earth Hour? I'm guilty because I planned to be so good. K had a tennis challenge that night at the tennis club, there were 100 people there, so needless to say, they didn't have the lights out. In the paper yesterday morning, there was a mixed report, including a photo of the energy minister's house all lit up during Earth Hour. That seemed like an invasion of his privacy but embarrassing nonetheless, I didn't feel so bad.

We turned out all our lights then L called to say she wanted to Skype. So we turned a couple of lights on, powered up the computer and at least her lights were out at the university. K's school had an hour with the lights out in the middle of the day on Friday. Well, I will say we had most of the lights out for the rest of the hour and the TV definitely didn't go on.

It's a largely symbolic hour, but it's scary how dependent we are on electricity and certainly spoiled by it.

Sunday Sketches - Grass

Here's my Sunday Sketch for Sophia today, just a grass arrangement to celebrate the season although it's been a cold week here.

Please stop by the other artists to see what they did this week. Sophia is such a gracious host, and always finds the time to stop by and see everyone's work.

Do dogs make better pets than cats?

K was practising essay writing for his upcoming literacy test. I chose the topic 'Do dogs make better pets than cats?' We don't have any pets, so I was surprised at his answers and that he had a real opinion on this.

He prefers dogs because you can take them for walks and play with them. They enjoy lots of attention, will follow you around and you can train them to sit, lie down, etc. He surmises that cats are more independent. He went on to say that cats are more likely to cause allergies and you can give dogs baths, whereas you wouldn't give cats baths.

I think we have a dog lover here! Who knew? Lol.


News


More men turning to cosmetic surgery, stats reveal

Broccoli every day may keep cancer away, study says

Paint Party Fridays - Water Lilies

It's Paint Party Friday again!

I drew some water lilies this week. The hardest part for me was the dark water background. I first tried Indigo blue, but it wasn't dark enough, so I ended up putting a layer of black on top of it, and then it seemed vivid enough. Oops, I just noticed a spot in the middle that was left indigo, can you see it? I'm always doing things like that.

Please stop by the other lovely participants to see what they have been working on.

Neurological Skills Test - Interesting!

You are not expected to pass this test and you probably will not.



This one will keep you busy for a while, AND, it could drive you crazy too!

TEST YOUR NEUROLOGICAL SKILLS.

THIS IS REALLY COOL!


It snowed yesterday, enough that we'll have to shovel today. It's a cold week.

The heating element in our oven burned out, luckily I was passing by and saw the flame. I turned the oven off immediately. I was just about to warm up a pizza. M had replaced it many years ago, so hopefully we can just buy a new element again.


News

Elizabeth Taylor's Facebook Page

Quiche

I recently made this Ham, Cheese and Tomato Quiche recipe posted by The Southern Lady Cooks. It is indeed an easy recipe. I used Pillsbury pre-made pie shells and because they come in a package of 2, I made another quiche the next day using some leftover baked trout that I had on hand. It was equally delicious. I'm pleased because I usually just buy quiche, having never made it before.

We finally made our donation to the Japan Earthquake relief effort via The Canadian Red Cross.

My New Dishes

Well, one of the plates in my old set of porcelain dishes broke a while ago and I wanted to get a new set. I was looking at all white, but ended up getting this nice set of bone china on sale in a blue and white pattern. Do you like it? Our food looks so much better now! A simple bowl of soup looks like a work of art! We have a very casual lifestyle, but I think these dishes will work.

The Rim Leak

Well we decided to take my car into a tire shop to have it inspected. I've been having to put air in one of the tires every 3 or 4 weeks and that didn't seem normal. Sure enough, they detected a rim leak (never heard of this type), and it cost about $25 to repair. We were happy not to have to replace the tire. The guy said we actually would have had to buy a pair of tires because you normally get 2 front or 2 rear tires for rotation purposes, or something to that effect.

My big surprise was learning that tires no longer have an inner tube. They now use tubeless tires, which tend to be safer.


We were able to visit L at her school on the weekend. We took her grocery shopping, then went to the local mall where she found a new pair of boots to replace her salt-stained ones. She also got a new spring coat and some new tops. Then we went out to dinner with 3 of her friends, her future roommates in the fall. It was nice to meet them and they all seem to be nice kids. K had a great time with the university kids, like he was in the big times.



Here's that perigee moon from Saturday night. It was very bright and beautiful after the clouds rolled away. I may not have caught it at the best time, but there it is.





News

Augmented Reality Ad Puts You With Angels in London Train Station (Video)

Sunday Sketches - Lipstick

For Sophia's Sunday Sketches today I decided to draw some Chanel lipsticks. I saw them in a magazine and liked the way they displayed the product. I chose spring colours for the lipsticks, to celebrate the first official day of Spring!


Please stop by the other participants to see what they have done this week.





Here is the magazine layout:

This is Fun

Underwater Bowling - give it a try!


News

'Supermoon' to appear this weekend

New York Times sets online fee

Beauty Spot: Bumble and Bumble hair powder

Paint Party Fridays - The Dress

Eva and Kristin have just launched Paint Party Fridays. You are welcome to grab the button on my sidebar, leave a comment on the site and participate!

I saw this lovely dress in a magazine and decided to draw it, what do you think? All those swirls were fascinating to me!

Another Stage of Life

We often plan a trip during the March break holidays, when the kids are out of school. This year is a bit different because L is away. We decided to just have a quiet week and it has been a good idea, I think. With none of the stress of hurrying around, we are just slowly getting things done. K finished his resume, required as part of his career studies mandatory course at school. I just have to get him to create a new, more professional sounding email id. We can use this resume to apply for a summer job.

We had a nice dinner out with friends this past weekend. I've started going for early spring walks with a friend. We were toying with the idea of going to the Bata Shoe Museum to see Justin Bieber's shoes on display, but we got lazy. We heard it was full of his fans on opening day, with people coming from out of town.

I took my mom for a blood test this week, and met someone from K's old school at the lab. She said her family is taking split vacations based on who is available for which holiday breaks. I have another friend doing the same thing. So we are at another stage of life.


News

Ohio boy sells manly scented candles

Chocolate milk, beyond enjoyment - it's good for you!

Lunch meats, bacon, ham

There was a very good article in the newspaper recently:

YouDocs: Save your brain by ditching salt

"Cutting back on sodium can save you from a heart or brain attack (a.k.a. stroke). It’s as important as eating more (many more) fruits and veggies. But it ain’t easy to go low in a high-sodium world."

Bacon, ham, lunch meats, sausage, canned soups are to be avoided because they contain a LOT of salt. We should stick to fresh fruit, vegetables, poultry, fish, whole grains.

My siblings and I all suffer from high blood pressure, so I sent them this article to increase their awareness and to try to ensure we don't pass our bad habits onto future generations. It may be as simple as learning how to read the nutrition labels and understanding what they mean. It will help us to make better food choices.

Try this Interactive Nutrition Label and Quiz, I think you will learn something you didn't know before.

Creative Tuesdays - Breakfast

Well, I got hungry just thinking about ideas for Creative Tuesday's 'Breakfast' theme. Here is what I came up with. My background to the egg is intended to be rather abstract strips of bacon that my son K could not appreciate. "Mom, that does not look like bacon!" Oh well, I liked it anyway.

Please drop by the other participants to see what they did. It will probably make you hungry too!

Complete versus Incomplete Proteins

Here is a good article explaining complete versus incomplete proteins. I don't think I every fully understood this, although it's less important if you're not vegetarian. Complete proteins are meat, poultry, fish, eggs, tofu, cheese, milk. Incomplete proteins are grains, nuts, legumes, seeds. If you combine grains and legumes, grains and nuts, or legumes and nuts, you can get a complete protein. Examples of this are peanut butter with whole wheat bread, rice and beans, hummus (chick peas and sesame paste).

News

'Justin Bieber's Girlfriend' Lands Viral Hit For 14-Year-Old Michaela Wallace

Sunday Sketches - Miyajima, Japan

Today's Sunday Sketch was inspired by Kay at Musings' blog header photo. I hope she still has it up, it's entitled 'Miyajima, Japan'. I had quickly done a sketch of it and then the devastating earthquake struck. So maybe this can be my tribute to Japan.

Please stop by the other participants to see what they did today.




News

Run a website or a blog? You can help Japan with one code snippet.

Re-usable Bins

Sending prayers for the people of Japan, it was such sad news yesterday.




I got L these re-usable bins from the grocery store to help her move off-campus this year. They are better than using cardboard boxes I think and can serve other storage purposes. A lot of people just use them to transport their groceries.

News

Plastic $100 bills here this fall - 20s, 10s to follow

I shouldn't have left the finances to my husband

Cup of joe might actually lower stroke risk in women

Spinach and Leek Soup

This is my very own recipe, I don't think you'll find it anywhere else! After I made a leek and potato soup, I was left with the top (dark green) half of 3 leeks and didn't want to waste it. I also had half of a 16 ounce pack of baby spinach leaves. Then I was watching the FoodTV channel and a chef was making vegetable soup. I was inspired and used the same principle with different vegetables and herbs. The measurements may not be exact, but you'll get the idea.


1 stalk of celery, chopped
1 onion chopped
1 carrot chopped
top (dark green half) of 3 leeks (or you could use one whole leek) cleaned and chopped
8 oz package of spinach leaves (I used baby spinach leaves)
450 ml low sodium chicken broth
1 cup of water
1 sprig of fresh thyme
2 tbs canola oil (or whatever oil you have on hand)
1/2 tsp black pepper

Saute onions, carrots, celery, leeks in oil for a few minutes until they start to sweat. Add spinach, thyme, pepper, broth and water. Cover and simmer for about 15 minutes. Blend the soup in the blender (you may need to do this in 3 batches). Add salt to taste. I didn't feel it needed any extra salt. I hope you'll like it as much as I did!

News

Bright light, bigger city “I really have no idea how it happened,” he says on the phone from New York where he’s just finished a rehearsal. “I didn’t have the slightest intention of studying theatre as a kid. I never thought it was my thing.”

Nasty Weather

So I made the Classic Potato Leek Soup recipe I found recently. I was not disappointed, it was delicious and felt healthy. I did add a bit of salt to my bowl, but that is totally optional.

We are having some nasty weather this week, with quite a bit of wet snow. I shovelled yesterday evening and it was no fun, being wet, heavy and slushy. It was a real cardio workout, and a sweaty one.

News

Toddler gets the gift of sound, hears mom’s voice for first time

Downloadable cartoons spread health, science to developing world

The Tuna Burger

This post is appropriate for Ash Wednesday when I think about it. Catholics are supposed to abstain from eating meat today.

L made this tuna burger for supper the other night. She was intending to make a tuna sandwich but was out of mayonnaise. So she found a recipe for tuna burgers on google. She mixed together one egg, 7 soda crackers, salt, pepper and a can of tuna and was very happy with her efforts.



My brother and his family are crazy, they signed up for flying trapeze classes of all things. They seem to be having great fun.

News

Students like LikeALittle a lot

Study helps unlock key to long life - surprisingly, it says conscientious people live longer than 'happy-go-lucky' types

Did You Know

I received a health newsletter from Living Well (sponsored by Johnson and Johnson Inc.) and thought I'd share these interesting tidbits with you:

'When you look at % daily values on a food label, less than 5% is considered 'a little' and more than 15% is considered 'a lot.' So yogurt with 4% daily value of fat and 18% DV of calcium could be a good choice for you. Use daily values numbers to compare similar products.'

'Chili is a super choice for people with diabetes. Kidney beans are carbohydrates, but they are very high in fibre, which slows the rise in blood sugar. Plus, they have 57% of our daily need for folate, which lowers homocysteine levels, and 20% of required magnesium, a natural blood pressure medicine. Chili powder also helps fight inflammation, reduce insulin needs and lower
blood sugars.'

Okay, it sounds as if Chili Con Carne is the new health food!

News
The book is dead — long live the ebook

Subway Passes McDonald's - interesting

Elephants are quick learners, offer helping hand

New Fashion Trend

I was reading the newspaper on Saturday and noticed this fashion article with a picture of Madonna in combat style pants. Then I realized I've been seeing a couple of the instructors at the gym wearing this style, usually with one pant leg folded up to the knee. Have you noticed this fashion trend? I'm not one of those that keeps up with the latest looks.

Last night, I needed L's signature on a document. Of course, she happens to be out of town. So we realized I could simply scan the page and email it to her. She in turn, printed it, signed it and emailed it back to me. This is all about the wonders of technology! You don't even have to fax anymore. I felt sad that she's growing up so fast. Although I was a lot more sad when she first moved away to school last September.

She's so looking forward to turning 19 in April, the legal drinking age here. I'm just happy that we have blackberry smart phones and can send instant messages to each other at any time. And of course, there's Gmail video and Skype. M's worse than me, he almost expects daily contact. Well, we seem to have daily contact anyway, even if it's just a quick message or photo. In fact, here's a photo she sent us last week. She had made her first salmon dish and said it was delicious:




News

Flowers for Elton - didn't know Elton John loved flowers so much

Sunday Sketches - Snowdrop

Today, I decided to sketch a Snowdrop, one of the first flowers of Spring.

Please drop by the other Sunday Sketches participants to see what they did today!

None But the Lonely Hearts

I heard this restful, romantic piece on the radio yesterday and thought it was beautiful for the mood I was in. And the announcer just happened to name the song right after it played:

Tchaikovsky - None But The Lonely Hearts

K blares all the current pop music when he's with me in the car and it was a treat to listen to something peaceful for a change. I know I'll probably miss the blaring noise one day when he's grown up and I like Bruno Mars, etc.

M went to his first hot yoga class. It's an hour and a half session. He seemed to enjoy it except for the fact that there were only 2 men in the class including him. It is very popular with women. He said it is a young age group (twenties to early thirties). I had got him an introductory 10 lesson package from one of those group discount sites. Well, I told him we all need some stretching exercises for the body and it's good for flexibility. A friend had also recommended hot yoga to him. I don't enjoy yoga myself, too much stretching I guess, and I hate being upside down, etc.

L is about to register for her second year courses. March break for most elementary and secondary school kids starts the week of March 14th.

Classic potato leek soup

I just got this recipe from a Heart and Stroke Foundation newsletter and can't wait to make it. I copied it from this link.

Classic potato leek soup

Makes 6 servings

Everyone needs a fabulous potato and leek soup in their repertoire – well, this is it! The classic flavour is simple yet, wonderful.

Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 25 minutes

Ingredients

* 10 mL (2 tsp) vegetable oil
* 3 leeks, white and light green parts only, thinly sliced
* 2 stalks celery, thinly sliced
* Pepper
* 3 large baking or yellow-fleshed potatoes, peeled and diced (1 L/4 cups)
* 500 mL (2 cups) reduced-sodium vegetable or chicken broth
* 500 mL (2 cups) 1% milk
* 30 mL (2 tbsp) freshly squeezed lemon juice

Directions

1. In a pot, heat vegetable oil over medium heat. Add leeks, celery and 1 mL (1/4 tsp) pepper and cook, stirring often, for 5 minutes or until leeks are tender. Add potatoes, broth and 250 mL (1 cup) water; cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and boil gently, covered, for 15 minutes or until potatoes are soft. Remove from heat.
2. In a blender, in batches, or with an immersion blender, purée about half of soup until smooth, leaving half chunky. Return to pot, if necessary. Stir in milk; heat over medium heat, stirring often, just until steaming (do not let boil). Stir in lemon juice and season to taste with pepper.

Nutrition information per serving

* Calories 159
* Protein 7 g
* Total Fat 3 g
* Saturated Fat 1 g
* Cholesterol 4 mg
* Carbohydrates 28 g
* Fibre 3 g
* Sugars 8 g
* Sodium 95 mg
* Potassium 718 mg

Recipe courtesy of Dairy Farmers of Canada ©2011

Posted: March 2011

Laugh Often

I found this in an email with the caption 'laugh often':




I was at the bank yesterday ordering some new cheques. I commented to the teller how expensive they were these days $46.20 for 100 cheques. She said everything's going up, that she has noticed food prices are climbing stealthily. For example, she pointed out that a bag of chips may seem to cost the same, but the bag has become smaller. Then M was saying he heard they are doing the same thing with the cereal boxes, by putting less cereal inside! His point is that they are saying there is no inflation, but there sort of is.

News

Best and Worst Dollar Store Buys

Believe in Yourself

I found this in an email and thought it was a good one. The caption said 'believe in yourself':

Toronto had the gala red carpet premiere of Billy Elliot last night. Sir Elton John and his partner David Furnish flew in from L.A. specially for the occasion as David is the producer and responsible for bringing the show to Toronto. Apparently it is outselling the Chicago show, it is a popular production. It was exciting to watch it on TV because we saw the show last week, and Cesare Corrales was starring as Billy last night and he was the Billy we ended up seeing.

News

Opening night: Billy Elliot earns resounding cheers

Is diet pop really hazardous for the heart?

Don't worry, be happy and live longer: Scientific studies

Creative Tuesdays - Bedtime

Welcome to March! The year is just flying by but I'm so ready for Spring.

I found this beautiful bedtime image and decided to illustrate it for this week's Creative Tuesdays theme. I hope you like it. I've also started scanning my images in.






Please drop by the other participants to see what they came up with.