This is... late

Better late than never!
This is my favourite thing from nature.

Photo by evaxebra

Flowers, the sky and clouds... what a perfect combo.

Thanks to Cloth and Fodder for this week's "This is..." theme.

This is... my favourite quote

The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart.
~ Helen Keller

Strawberry Kisses suggested the theme for this week's "This Is..."

This is... a favourite recipe I would like to share

Mike will be thanking Three Buttons for this weeks "This is..." theme. Typing up this recipe has me craving Pad Thai, guess what we're having for dinner...

Thai It You'll Like It Pad Thai
Recipe from Looneyspoons by Janet and Greta Podleski

What You Need:
12 ounces uncooked fettuccine or linguine
2 cups sliced red bell peppers (colour really doesn’t matter, just slice them in strips)
1 cup snow peas, trimmed and halved
1/3 cup chopped green onion (or whatever you have on hand)
1/2 cup low-sodium low-fat chicken broth
2 teaspoons sesame oil
2 tablespoons reduced-fat peanut butter (or soy nut butter)
1 1/2 tablespoons reduced sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon white vinegar or rice vinegar
1 teaspoon grated gingerroot (I never add this, no ginger fans here)
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 lb cooked chopped cooked chicken breast (or shrimp)

What You Do:
1. Cook pasta according to package directions; drain and keep warm.
2. While pasta is cooking, prepare sauce.
3. In a large saucepan, combine all ingredients except shrimp; mix well.
4. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to medium.
5. Cook and stir for 3-4 minutes, until vegetables are crisp-tender and sauce is bubbly and slightly thickened.
6. Stir in chicken (or shrimp) and cook just until heated through, 1-2 minutes; do not overcook if using shrimp or it will be rubbery.
7. Toss hot sauce with pasta and serve immediately.

This is supposed to be a low-fat recipe but it's also supposed to serve four people. You guessed it, we split it in half and devour it with absolutely no problem. DELICIOUS!

This is what I'm surprised I like

I shook my head while grumbling and mumbling about Mike and his mountain biking adventures before August of this year. I thought he was nuts to throw himself down a mountain on a bike... until I tried it myself.

One trip down Whistler Mountain in BC and I was hooked.
I can't wait to go back next year, and the year after that, and the year after that, and the... Yep, I've fallen for biking (literally in the pic above).

Another surprising like of mine:

Thanks photobunny for the sweet onion pic (ha! get it? sweet onion.)

I used to hate onions but love, loVe, LOVE them now. That's probably not all that surprising, I don't think I'm alone on this one. Onions belong in a category along with red wine and fancy cheese, as your tastes mature you learn to love them.

Mmmm now I need a snack. Red wine and onions anyone?

Thanks to Earl and Cookie for the "This is..." theme this week.

This is my favourite film

I knew someone would eventually choose the topic of favourite film for the "This is..." meme and the day has come. "What's your favourite film?" is one of my lease favourite questions because I don't have a simple answer. I have watched what seems like a million movies in my lifetime and I can't seem to choose a favourite.

Since Hokey has taken the time to pick the topic for the week I'm going to try my best to narrow down my list of loved flicks.

Fav Musical
This one is easy. Some of you may remember my post about the best movie musical ever: Across the Universe. It is by far the best when it comes to musicals. No point in arguing with me because I'm right and anyone who disagrees is wrong with a capital W. If you haven't seen it be sure to rent it and be prepared to fall madly in love with Jim Sturgess.

Hot hot hot!

The story is good, the soundtrack is phenomenal (Beatles all through but sounding better than the originals thanks to these amazing performers) and well, Jim Sturgess.

Horror
I LOVE scary movies. I've loved them since I was a kid. More often than not my evenings filled with scary movies would be followed up by even scarier nightmares. My parents were saints, they would always come in and comfort the maniac child although I'm certain there were many times when they were tempted to smother me with my pillow considering the nightmares were self-inflicted. The nightmares were awful but they were the result of something wonderful: horror flicks.

Choosing one favourite horror movie is not easy so I've narrowed it down to two:

The Exorcist

Poltergeist
I loved the Poltergeist movies when I was a kid, they freaked me out like you wouldn't believe and the clown with the moving head at the end of either the 2nd or 3rd movie caused me to rip the hanging clown on a swing from my bedroom ceiling and worsened my already evident clown issues.

Comedies
Old School is in my top ten for sure



And of course the classic: Ferris Bueller's Day Off

Best Raindy Day Movie
My mom's favourite movie is definitely one of mine too so I can't end this post without including The Goonies

I could go on and on but that's enough for today. What are YOUR favourite movies?

Blogtoberfest Fave Friday

This is...my current reading material.

Photo credits: 1. Water for Elephants, 2. { ضريبـة النجـاح , !, 3. Love.Twilight., 4. Vintage Munchkin

I'm usually a one-book-at-a-time sort of girl but lately I've been reading multiple books at once; it seems to be working for me.

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen is a phenomenal read, one of those books you pick up and can't put down. I read it while applying my make-up in the morning (no easy task), eating, and cooking mostly. Awesome read. Thanks to Reebs and her books club for recommending this one.

Textbooks, textbooks and more textbooks. My bachelor of ed. program forces encourages me to read a zillion pages of material on a daily basis: teaching math, literature and science; child psychology; curriculum documents for all eight subjects; how to create an equitable environment; teaching ELL and MORE! Don't get me wrong, it's all good stuff but there is just no way it's all going to stick in my brain. At least I'll know where to locate the info when a time that I need it comes along.

Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series is one that my friend Jackie introduced to me while I was visiting her in August. Vampires and werewolves?! I'm in. I've always had a thing for vampires. I just finished reading the second book in the series and can't wait to get my paws on the third.

Goggles by Ezra Jack Keats is a children's book that I am using this week for shared reading with my 3/4 class. Would I recommend it? Probably not but it works well for my purposes.

In the next couple weeks I intend to read A Venetian Affair by Andrea Di Robilant and the classic Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte. I'll be sure to post my thoughts on both.

Thanks to My Champagne Dreams (a fabulous blog that I had never visited until now; I'll be sure to return) for choosing the theme for "This is..." this week.

This is my favourtie kitchen tool.

I am just as in love with my KitchenAid mixer today as I was in high school when I first discovered her existence. I know that sounds ridiculous but seriously, I love my mixer.


I remember telling my mom that I wanted a KA as a wedding gift when I was still a teen. There was no groom in sight but I had figured that marriage was a sure fire way of getting my hands on the mixer - don't worry Mike, the mixer wasn't my only reason for marrying you. Sure enough I received a KA of my own as a gift from my mom and a few other family members at my wedding shower. Needless to say I was a very happy bride-to-be. I could go on and on about that yummy bits my mixer has helped me create but I think I've said enough, I'm sure you get my point: I love my KA mixer, she is without a doubt my favourite kitchen tool.

Thanks to Handmaiden for this week's "This is..." theme, an opportunity to brag about one's KitchenAid mixer should always be taken seriously.

This is: Show Off Time!

What a fun choice for the "This is..." theme this week! Thanks to Katie over at May the Cloth Be With You for the selection.

What to choose?!!

Well since I started school a month ago I have been reminded of just how unbelievably fabulous my wedding & engagement rings are (lots of lovely compliments have been tossed my way thanks to those rings) so I'm going to show them off to the rest of the world here!

If you're struggling to see them just click on the pic and it should blow up on your screen (as in enlarge, not explode - no need to shield your eyes).

Yes Mike does have impeccable taste... he chose me didn't he?
I guess I'm showing off more than my rings by using this photo. I'm showing off my incredible husband, fabulous wedding dress and stunning location too! Yay for weddings in Mexico!

What do you want to show off this week?

This is...

This is what I want to be when I grow up.


A teacher!! I'll be all grown up next May assuming all goes well this year. The next thing I want to be is a mom of course. Hopefully I'll be as amazing at that job as my own mom is.

This is...

This is what I do with a spare 10 minutes.

70%How Addicted to Blogging Are You?
Now that I"m back in school full-time I struggle to find time to do much more than textbook reading but blogging (reading more than writing lately) is still part of my daily routine.

Working on Gingham Skies is my main focus following school but I've been struggling to find time to do anything more than ship products in the last two weeks. Hopefully I can hop on the sewing machine at some point this week, I miss threading my needle.

Thanks to Hoppo Bumpo for this weeks "This is..." theme.

Theme Thursday: Round Up

Stacy suggested that for this weeks theme we show off some of our best/favourite images from the summer. Our trip to BC was amazing and the scenery made it really easy to take some fantastic shots. Here are just a few of my faves for you to check out:

The view from my best friend Rebecca's condo.

Heading to the top of the world (aka the peak of Whistler mountain) with the amazing Jessy on a crazy cloudy day - we were literally in the clouds!

It's so incredible that it doesn't even look real does it?

My awesome man.


One of my all time favourite shots. Can you see Mike?

A shot from the airplane window on our flight home.

Can you believe fall is just around the corner?

This is my favourite children's book.

It's the best book EVER. the end.

This is how I like to spend my weekend.

Spending my weekend with friends and family laughing, singing and dancing makes for one fabulous weekend.

Mike and our niece at our Fiesta this weekend. THANKS MOM & DAD!!


Joanne, Paul and the boys at the "August Birthdays" party on Sunday.

Of course laying in the yard with a good book and a cold glass of water makes for a lovely weekend too and after this busy weekend that's exactly what I hope to do on Saturday.

Thanks to Bird Bath for this week's "This is..." theme, it was an awesome weekend which made it easy for me to post.

This is... a work in progress.

My new business Gingham Skies is coming along slowly but surely.

Theme Thursday: Eyes

Being in BC means spending loads of time with two of my long distance loves who I think about every day and miss like crazy: Cara and Rosie.

This first shot was taken at the Feist concert earlier this week. It's a wee bit under-exposed but I still love it - Cara's eyes were the first thing I was drawn to when I viewed this pic after snapping it.

Of course Miss. Rosie, the happiest baby on earth, takes after her mommy in the 'perfect model department'. Check out those peepers: too cute!

Theme Thursday: Summer Fun

This week's theme was an easy one for me to take part in, playing with my niece and nephews is always a good time!

This is... what makes me happy.

Family and friends are at the top of the list of things that make me happy. These three in particular give me warm fuzzies: I can't help but smile when I see their faces whether it's in person or in photographs.




Better late than never. Thanks to One Little Acorn for this week's "This is..." theme.

This is...what makes my skin crawl.

cockroach
Originally uploaded by phrenophile

Brown bugs, cockroaches, nastiest creatures on earth: same difference. Whatever you like to call them these disgusting little buggers make my skin crawl! I worked for a family up North for a few summers and these little buggers were everywhere (they like damp wood so a cottage on an island is like a little piece of heaven for them).

I woke up as I slapped my chest one morning to find that I had smashed one of these nasty guys to bits under my pajama top - from that night on I wore many layers to bed and tucked my pj pants into my socks!

You learn to shake out your bathing suits really well after finding a cockroach inside... thankfully I saw it before it hit skin. Ewwwwww!

Thanks to flightless boyds for this weeks theme.

This is my most treasured childhood possession.

The item I loved most when I was a kid was a small pillow lovingly referred to as my "stinky" pillow; my dad always called it that and the name stuck. I used to suck on the corners of that nasty little thing and loved it until the foam insides turned to dust. I thought I still had the pillows stashed away but I can't seem to locate it so today you'll meet the runner up: Garfield.

I was obsessed with the Garfield comic strip when I was little so when I tore the Christmas wrapping off of this little guy one year I was a very happy little girl. My big brother picked him out for me and as you can see he chose well, this was one loved cat.

Thanks Danielle from teacups on treetops for choosing the 'This is...' theme this week.