Well, my party is over and I am exhausted from cleaning and cooking all day, however, I felt the need to blog while the details were still fresh in my head. The finalized menu for the party was Watermelon, Mint and Feta cubes, Chips and Salsa, Strawberry Rhubarb pie, Affogato, Rum Soaked Peach Phyllo cups, Phyllo Antojitos, Cucumber and Mango Maki, Mee Krob, Corn bread with Sweet Pepper Jelly, Cheese and Bread and Lychee Martinis. The Margarita Soaked Watermelon slices was a no go simply because it would've been too much alcohol with not enough food. The Maki rolls were lacking avocado because my avocado didn't ripen in time. The peach phyllo cups happened because I had planned on making the ricotta and cream cheese mix that I normally do but my ricotta was past its prime. So I cut up the peaches anyway and soaked them in aged rum and coated them with nutmeg and cinnamon, put them in the phyllo cups and brushed them with butter before I sprinkled sugar over them. I was debating whether I should put whipped cream or cream cheese on top and then I tasted one and decided they were perfect as is! The Mee Krob was fun to make. Apparently when you deep fry Rice Vermicelli noodles the puff up into little styrofoam-esque pieces. The Antojitos were the highlight of my evening I think. My sister really wanted me to make these so I had to figure out a recipe. At first I proposed mixing taco seasoning into cream cheese but she said that it wasn't a taco taste she was looking for as much as a spicy, tex-mex taste. So I improvised completely. I whipped the cream cheese before I added cumin and chili powder. I kept adding and tasting but it probably worked out to be 6 ounces of cream cheese, 1 tbsp cumin and 1 tsp chili powder. Then I added 3 minced jalapenos and stirred it all together. I layered four strips of buttered phyllo on top of eachother and then cut the layered piece into two. I put on the cream cheese mix, then some red onion, red peppers and a bit of cheddar. I folded the phyllo in half so it made a little pocket and baked them at 375 for 10 minutes. They were absolutely perfect.
The Lychee Martinis were my sister's concoction. 1 Shot Orchid Lychee liquer, 1 shot pineapple juice, 1 tbsp lychee syrup from can, three cubes ice and 1 lychee. Those were a really big hit too. I'm having one right now actually!
Well, I'm really tired and I have to be at the church at 7:30 tomorrow so I'd best get to sleep now!
Mrs. Vander Leek ;)
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Friday, August 27, 2010
Cocktail Party Menu
Woohoo! I've finally finished planning my menu for my party tomorrow! I think I'm slipping though because I'm usually done planning menus for parties at least a week in advance - usually no more than a week after I initially conceive the idea. In any event, it is done.
Margarita Mix Frozen Watermelon Slices, Affogato, Corn bread with sweet pepper jelly, Watermelon cubes with Feta and Mint, Cucumber, Mango and Avocado Maki Rolls, Mee Krob (cripsy asian noodles), Warm peach and ricotta phyllo cups, Antojito phyllo rolls, an assortment of cheeses and chips with pico de gaillo. We may not be able to have Lychee Martinis since I could not find any lychees - canned or fresh. However, I'm sure I'll figure out something or other.
Most of the menu are things I've never made before, such as the Mee Krob. You have to deep fry rice vermicelli noodles and then coat them, usually, in sweet and sour sauce. I'll mix in some sweet chili sauce with the sweet and sour sauce and then add green onions and shredded carrot. The Antojito phyllo rolls will be cream cheese mixed with cumin, chili powder and minced jalapeno and then red peppers and onions. The maki rolls are a modification of what I've made before, as are the warm peach and ricotta phyllo cups, obviously, since I've been making my stuffed grilled peaches every chance I get. I've still yet to figure out one more dish however. I have those gorgeous new amuse bouche cups and I haven't got a thing to go in them! Something savoury of course... Maybe something layered with pesto and sundried tomatoes.
Well, I'm sure I'll have it all figured out by the time the party starts tomorrow!
I tested the espresso machine at the church yesterday while my sister-in-law wrote out the new menu boards. The machine is great, but I had some issues with the grinder. The grind was much too coarse, which is an easy fix, but the tamper that they use is attached to the grinder and its diameter is too small for the gruppa heads. Instead of applying even pressure across the whole surface of the grinds, it leaves a quarter inch ring of space, letting the grinds put up and out as you tamp. Makes for crummy shots. So I've got to find a new tamper as well as some other small things like long handled metal spoons to use as a catalyst in the milk. When you steam milk it can get hot spots and boil in some areas but not heat in others. Using a spoon inside the steam pot helps.
I'm really excited to be starting up the cafe in two weeks. It's going to be awesome.
Anyway, my sister and her family are in town so I'd best get off and be social! I'll post how the menu items went and what I ended up putting in my amuse bouche cups!
Mrs. Vander Leek ;)
Margarita Mix Frozen Watermelon Slices, Affogato, Corn bread with sweet pepper jelly, Watermelon cubes with Feta and Mint, Cucumber, Mango and Avocado Maki Rolls, Mee Krob (cripsy asian noodles), Warm peach and ricotta phyllo cups, Antojito phyllo rolls, an assortment of cheeses and chips with pico de gaillo. We may not be able to have Lychee Martinis since I could not find any lychees - canned or fresh. However, I'm sure I'll figure out something or other.
Most of the menu are things I've never made before, such as the Mee Krob. You have to deep fry rice vermicelli noodles and then coat them, usually, in sweet and sour sauce. I'll mix in some sweet chili sauce with the sweet and sour sauce and then add green onions and shredded carrot. The Antojito phyllo rolls will be cream cheese mixed with cumin, chili powder and minced jalapeno and then red peppers and onions. The maki rolls are a modification of what I've made before, as are the warm peach and ricotta phyllo cups, obviously, since I've been making my stuffed grilled peaches every chance I get. I've still yet to figure out one more dish however. I have those gorgeous new amuse bouche cups and I haven't got a thing to go in them! Something savoury of course... Maybe something layered with pesto and sundried tomatoes.
Well, I'm sure I'll have it all figured out by the time the party starts tomorrow!
I tested the espresso machine at the church yesterday while my sister-in-law wrote out the new menu boards. The machine is great, but I had some issues with the grinder. The grind was much too coarse, which is an easy fix, but the tamper that they use is attached to the grinder and its diameter is too small for the gruppa heads. Instead of applying even pressure across the whole surface of the grinds, it leaves a quarter inch ring of space, letting the grinds put up and out as you tamp. Makes for crummy shots. So I've got to find a new tamper as well as some other small things like long handled metal spoons to use as a catalyst in the milk. When you steam milk it can get hot spots and boil in some areas but not heat in others. Using a spoon inside the steam pot helps.
I'm really excited to be starting up the cafe in two weeks. It's going to be awesome.
Anyway, my sister and her family are in town so I'd best get off and be social! I'll post how the menu items went and what I ended up putting in my amuse bouche cups!
Mrs. Vander Leek ;)
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Birthday and Verrine Glasses
Yesterday was my birthday and in all the excitement of the day I didn't have a chance to post. It was a very good birthday too. At first I was rather worried that it wouldn't feel like my birthday at all - Matt bought me my present a month ago, we didn't have any special evening plans and my only plan for the day was to paint. Well, fortunately my sister-in-law just got home from a trip to Costa Rica the night before and was eager to see Gabe. I let Gabe sleep in until almost noon and stayed in bed myself reading the whole time. Once we got up I fed Gabe and decided that I did not want to cook for myself so I called my sister-in-law and booked her for the day. We went out for brunch at Phils and then went shopping to Homesense! I've been looking around for verrine cups a lot lately (slightly bigger than shot glasses and preferably prettier) however the ones at Pier1 were too expensive and the ones at Ikea were cheaper but not as cute. And yet again, Homesense came through for me. Within 3 minutes I had found a box of what they called 'amuse bouche glasses'. There were 12 in the box, 3 different styles and all for $13! The ones at Pier1 were nearly $4 apiece and the ones at Ikea were $2.50 apiece! The only slight issue I had with the ones at Homesense was that I didn't like one of the styles as much and the first box I opened of them had only that style. The second box I opened had the other styles in it and I thought, "it hardly matters, they are still cute and cheap and will work perfectly," so I bought them. Later when we got home I opened them up to show Matt who had been aware of my hunt for cute little glasses and I realized why the first box I opened had only that one style: someone had taken out that style from other boxes and replaced it with some of the other two styles. So I had none of the ugly glasses! And honestly, they weren't really ugly, they just didn't seem very special to me since my parents had water glasses in that style when I was growing up. Anyway, we got home and I was debating painting some more (I had done a little bit in the morning before brunch) but Matt came home in good time and banished all my thoughts of being productive. He came in carrying a small gift bag and a large bouquet of flowers! He was also worried that it wouldn't feel like my birthday apparently. After he showered we dropped Gabe off at my parents' house, grabbed dinner at Timmy's (upon my request) and went to Auxano. I love going to that. The guys who lead that are wise, godly men and the teaching times are great. Well, once Auxano was done and we had chatted with some friends we went to my parents' house to pick up Gabe and we ended up staying until 11! My mom wanted us to see some of Big Bang Theory, which she apparently just discovered. It was quite cute. I could see myself watching the series on DVD.
Today is going to be a more productive day. I'm going to finish painting the china cabinet, the banister and some baseboards, I need to go grocery shopping, make phone calls and I spent about an hour already working on memorizing James 1. But tonight I get a birthday dinner with my parents, complete with jello salad and my favorite honey garlic chicken wings!
My backyard party this weekend is still happening and I have to plan the menu still. So far all I've got planned are Lychee martinis, cucumber, avocado and mango maki rolls and margarita soaked frozen watermelon slices. I might do watermelon, feta and mint cubes and I may also pick up some cheese but I'll definitely be adding to that menu before the party.
Well, Gabe just fell asleep and I think now would be a good time to finish painting!
Mrs. Vander Leek ;)
Today is going to be a more productive day. I'm going to finish painting the china cabinet, the banister and some baseboards, I need to go grocery shopping, make phone calls and I spent about an hour already working on memorizing James 1. But tonight I get a birthday dinner with my parents, complete with jello salad and my favorite honey garlic chicken wings!
My backyard party this weekend is still happening and I have to plan the menu still. So far all I've got planned are Lychee martinis, cucumber, avocado and mango maki rolls and margarita soaked frozen watermelon slices. I might do watermelon, feta and mint cubes and I may also pick up some cheese but I'll definitely be adding to that menu before the party.
Well, Gabe just fell asleep and I think now would be a good time to finish painting!
Mrs. Vander Leek ;)
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Camping trip
We are home from camping! Yay! It was a great trip that had some curveballs but everyone had great attitudes about it so it was still low-stress and super fun. On Friday we packed the van up and hit Timmy's on our way out of town. We were going out to Nordegg so we left fairly early considering check in wasn't until 4. As we were driving out we noticed that the smoke started getting thicker and thicker... Matt's sister was right behind us and we had planned to meet in Rocky Mountain House for more Timmy's but before we even reached Rocky we made some phone calls between cars and decided to turn around. The smoke was so thick that we could barely see a kilometer down the road. We had already been concerned about the smoke for Gabe's sake, but seeing that much smoke we became concerned for our sakes! So, 20 km outside of Rocky we turned around and went to the Timmy's in Sylvan Lake. While we stopped we schemed and opted to try our the Brewer's campground at Gull Lake. The smoke was barely noticeable there and they let us check in early and we were able to get campsites right by the bathrooms and directly across from each other. It wasn't our first choice but for this trip I think it was the best choice. We would've spent all our time in our tents and wouldn't have even been able to see the mountains had we gone to Nordegg. Plus, all of the wildlife that would have gone further down the mountains and towards the water sources because of the fire would have meant even more cougars and bears in the area.
Friday night we had a heck of a time starting the fire. The two bundles of wood we bought were both fairly fresh and damp wood which made it pretty hard. Eventually, after camping fuel, fire starters and my own pyrotechnic abilities failed us, Matt drove into town and bought more wood - dry wood, specifically. Once the fire was finally going we were able to start dinner: perogies, smokies and bannock. It was so yummy! Just the thing after a lot of traveling and only snacking through the day. That night we sat around the fire for a fair while talking and playing guitar and went to bed after it was good and dark. Unfortunately for us, we were by no means the last people to go to sleep. Apparently our sidd of the campground was the rowdy side. Lots of people were talking and singing and laughing long after the 11:00 Quiet Time. Oh, and it was freezing in the tent. Matt and I had our two sleeping bags opened up and laid flat and we were sleeping between them but by about 11:30 Matt decided that wasn't warm enough so we had to get up to zip up the bags and each get our own. Then the people across from us started singing. The guy who was leading them was actually a fantastic musician and had a great voice, but it kept me awake - partly because I was listening and partly because they were singing some songs that they didn't know the words to and I did. At some point I fell asleep but I quickly woke up again because the rain and thunder started. The people that had been singing were still at it so I couldn't have slept long. I started counting the seconds between the flash of lightening and the thunder to tell how far away the storm was. It started at 9 seconds apart and I was starting to get slightly nervous. Gabe is horrified of thunder ever since he heard a particularly loud one and sleeping outside in a tent with a thunderstorm directly overtop of you is never a fun thing. Fortunately however, the storm moved further away instead of getting closer. The rain on the tent was so loud that the thunder didn't even wake up Cash who was sleeping on the floor of the tent next to our mattress. Matt expressed a concern about Gabe's warmth at about this point so I pulled him into bed with us and tucked him into my sleeping bag. Shortly after I fell asleep again only to be waken up by another burst of the storm. The seconds between lightening and thunder were now 19 and I fell back asleep after they hit 30. Then at about 5 in the morning I heard that Cash was awake and needed to go out so I tied I'm up to his chain that was right outside the tent door and tried to get back to sleep. Unfortunately, Cash was lonely and I didn't want him back in the tent while he was awake so I got up at 5. Fortunately, my brother in law had a similar circumstance wake him up so I at least had company. We started the fire and sat around talking until Matt got up at around 7. We whipped up breakfast using the fire and he camping stove we brought (bacon, sausage, eggs and toast) and then spent the rest of the day lounging, playing games and eating. Dinner that night was interesting... I realized the reason that when you cook pasta you need to turn down the temperature after you add the pasta to the water. We cooked ours over the fire which meant one cooking temperature, but when I went to scoop out the vermicelli from the pot it quickly became very creamy and mushy. Evidently, the starches cook and release too much if you leave the temperature on high! It still made a decent pasta primavera with roasted tomatoes, snow peas, shredded carrot and green onion. Oh, and we made very good garlic toast overe the fire too! The rest of the night was spent eating. We had jiffy pop, pie irons, smores and my roasted peaches stuffed with the ricotta cream cheese mix. All of the partiers from the night before had left so we all had a great sleep, save the fact that I had the zipper on the wrong side last night so I was freezing. This morning we all slept in until around 7 and then whipped up pancakes and leftover sausages for breakfast. After sitting around a bit we decided to pack up and I was thrilled to find it didn't take very long at all! I had packed everything of ours in rubber maid containers so all weekend I had been putting things away and keeping things reasonably contained. I had all the dishes, food and supplies packed up before Matt even had the fly off the tent! We picked up coffee on our way home and got back to town by 12:40. As soon as we got home I set to work unpacking- first from the car, then from the rubbermaid containers. Since we're going camping again in a couple of weeks I left all the supplies packed and stored in the basement so that made for a fairly quick job. Then came the grooming portion of my weekend. First I gave Gabe a bath, and then, with the help of Matt's diversionary tactics, I gave him a haircut, then I went outside and gave Cash a bath in the kiddie pool. Then I gave Matt a haircut and while he showered I went downstairs and brushed Cash out. Finally, I got to take a bath. Man it feels great getting clean after a weekend of filth. Gabe was perhaps the messiest of us all and he was the only one who bathed all weekend. We really enjoyed playing in the dirt at the campsite so the first night I had to wash him in one of the sinks in the wash house. I suppose Cash bathed too... He had never been to a lake or river before so we took him and Matt's sister's dog - Indy - to the boat launch to let them run around off leash and play in the water. Well Indy already loved the water so he was right in there. Cash took a bit more coaxing. He'd dip his paws in and follow Indy a little ways but always chickened out before the water got up to his body. Eventually we resorted to throwing things for him into the water. The first time worked great! He took off after it, right into the water. And then he got wet and apparently very heavy. He had been bounding through the water at first and by the time he got back to us he was dragging himself through the water because his coat was so heavy with water.
Anyway, I'm now home, I'm clean, my baby, my husband and my dog are all clean and my house doesn't look half bad! I think we'll order in tonight and spent the rest of the night sitting around reading!
Mrs. Vander Leek ;)
Friday night we had a heck of a time starting the fire. The two bundles of wood we bought were both fairly fresh and damp wood which made it pretty hard. Eventually, after camping fuel, fire starters and my own pyrotechnic abilities failed us, Matt drove into town and bought more wood - dry wood, specifically. Once the fire was finally going we were able to start dinner: perogies, smokies and bannock. It was so yummy! Just the thing after a lot of traveling and only snacking through the day. That night we sat around the fire for a fair while talking and playing guitar and went to bed after it was good and dark. Unfortunately for us, we were by no means the last people to go to sleep. Apparently our sidd of the campground was the rowdy side. Lots of people were talking and singing and laughing long after the 11:00 Quiet Time. Oh, and it was freezing in the tent. Matt and I had our two sleeping bags opened up and laid flat and we were sleeping between them but by about 11:30 Matt decided that wasn't warm enough so we had to get up to zip up the bags and each get our own. Then the people across from us started singing. The guy who was leading them was actually a fantastic musician and had a great voice, but it kept me awake - partly because I was listening and partly because they were singing some songs that they didn't know the words to and I did. At some point I fell asleep but I quickly woke up again because the rain and thunder started. The people that had been singing were still at it so I couldn't have slept long. I started counting the seconds between the flash of lightening and the thunder to tell how far away the storm was. It started at 9 seconds apart and I was starting to get slightly nervous. Gabe is horrified of thunder ever since he heard a particularly loud one and sleeping outside in a tent with a thunderstorm directly overtop of you is never a fun thing. Fortunately however, the storm moved further away instead of getting closer. The rain on the tent was so loud that the thunder didn't even wake up Cash who was sleeping on the floor of the tent next to our mattress. Matt expressed a concern about Gabe's warmth at about this point so I pulled him into bed with us and tucked him into my sleeping bag. Shortly after I fell asleep again only to be waken up by another burst of the storm. The seconds between lightening and thunder were now 19 and I fell back asleep after they hit 30. Then at about 5 in the morning I heard that Cash was awake and needed to go out so I tied I'm up to his chain that was right outside the tent door and tried to get back to sleep. Unfortunately, Cash was lonely and I didn't want him back in the tent while he was awake so I got up at 5. Fortunately, my brother in law had a similar circumstance wake him up so I at least had company. We started the fire and sat around talking until Matt got up at around 7. We whipped up breakfast using the fire and he camping stove we brought (bacon, sausage, eggs and toast) and then spent the rest of the day lounging, playing games and eating. Dinner that night was interesting... I realized the reason that when you cook pasta you need to turn down the temperature after you add the pasta to the water. We cooked ours over the fire which meant one cooking temperature, but when I went to scoop out the vermicelli from the pot it quickly became very creamy and mushy. Evidently, the starches cook and release too much if you leave the temperature on high! It still made a decent pasta primavera with roasted tomatoes, snow peas, shredded carrot and green onion. Oh, and we made very good garlic toast overe the fire too! The rest of the night was spent eating. We had jiffy pop, pie irons, smores and my roasted peaches stuffed with the ricotta cream cheese mix. All of the partiers from the night before had left so we all had a great sleep, save the fact that I had the zipper on the wrong side last night so I was freezing. This morning we all slept in until around 7 and then whipped up pancakes and leftover sausages for breakfast. After sitting around a bit we decided to pack up and I was thrilled to find it didn't take very long at all! I had packed everything of ours in rubber maid containers so all weekend I had been putting things away and keeping things reasonably contained. I had all the dishes, food and supplies packed up before Matt even had the fly off the tent! We picked up coffee on our way home and got back to town by 12:40. As soon as we got home I set to work unpacking- first from the car, then from the rubbermaid containers. Since we're going camping again in a couple of weeks I left all the supplies packed and stored in the basement so that made for a fairly quick job. Then came the grooming portion of my weekend. First I gave Gabe a bath, and then, with the help of Matt's diversionary tactics, I gave him a haircut, then I went outside and gave Cash a bath in the kiddie pool. Then I gave Matt a haircut and while he showered I went downstairs and brushed Cash out. Finally, I got to take a bath. Man it feels great getting clean after a weekend of filth. Gabe was perhaps the messiest of us all and he was the only one who bathed all weekend. We really enjoyed playing in the dirt at the campsite so the first night I had to wash him in one of the sinks in the wash house. I suppose Cash bathed too... He had never been to a lake or river before so we took him and Matt's sister's dog - Indy - to the boat launch to let them run around off leash and play in the water. Well Indy already loved the water so he was right in there. Cash took a bit more coaxing. He'd dip his paws in and follow Indy a little ways but always chickened out before the water got up to his body. Eventually we resorted to throwing things for him into the water. The first time worked great! He took off after it, right into the water. And then he got wet and apparently very heavy. He had been bounding through the water at first and by the time he got back to us he was dragging himself through the water because his coat was so heavy with water.
Anyway, I'm now home, I'm clean, my baby, my husband and my dog are all clean and my house doesn't look half bad! I think we'll order in tonight and spent the rest of the night sitting around reading!
Mrs. Vander Leek ;)
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Camping
My goodness! We are going camping in the morning and I'm not even finished packing! I used to pack a week in advance for any big trips! What happened to me??
Well, I suppose I did have other things going on this week anyway... And today we even had company over for dinner which didn't go quite like I had planned either. Yesterday when I was out getting groceries I picked up a warehouse pack of ribs and that was basically as far as my planning took me. This afternoon I pulled out an old church cook book and looked up a recipe for oven roasted ribs in there and planned to use that. So I got the ribs cut and boiling and didn't think about them again for another hour or so when I went to make the sauce for them and I realized I didn't have some of the ingredients! I was far too stressed about camping to care so I pulled a bottle of Diane's BBQ sauce out of the fridge and poured it over the ribs, then I slow roasted them for two hours. They were amazing!
Anyway, after our company left I finished digging out all our camping cookware and took a break. I figure I can finish in the morning since we don't have to leave until 10 and frankly, my brain just isn't working right now! I'm sure I'd forget half the things if I tried to finish packing tonight. As it stands I have three lists sitting around the house of things I should pack and in the morning I'll have to refer to all three lists because each of them have things that I forgot to put on the others. It's amazing the scope of things you need to pack for camping... Hand sanitizer, a broom and dustpan for the tent, flashlights and dish soap and tarps...
Well perhaps it would be best if I just went to sleep. The more coherent I am in the morning, the better my odds of remembering to pack everything important!
Mrs. Vander Leek ;)
Well, I suppose I did have other things going on this week anyway... And today we even had company over for dinner which didn't go quite like I had planned either. Yesterday when I was out getting groceries I picked up a warehouse pack of ribs and that was basically as far as my planning took me. This afternoon I pulled out an old church cook book and looked up a recipe for oven roasted ribs in there and planned to use that. So I got the ribs cut and boiling and didn't think about them again for another hour or so when I went to make the sauce for them and I realized I didn't have some of the ingredients! I was far too stressed about camping to care so I pulled a bottle of Diane's BBQ sauce out of the fridge and poured it over the ribs, then I slow roasted them for two hours. They were amazing!
Anyway, after our company left I finished digging out all our camping cookware and took a break. I figure I can finish in the morning since we don't have to leave until 10 and frankly, my brain just isn't working right now! I'm sure I'd forget half the things if I tried to finish packing tonight. As it stands I have three lists sitting around the house of things I should pack and in the morning I'll have to refer to all three lists because each of them have things that I forgot to put on the others. It's amazing the scope of things you need to pack for camping... Hand sanitizer, a broom and dustpan for the tent, flashlights and dish soap and tarps...
Well perhaps it would be best if I just went to sleep. The more coherent I am in the morning, the better my odds of remembering to pack everything important!
Mrs. Vander Leek ;)
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Broken Nose
Well, I woke up this morning and Matt rolled over to kiss me and it hurt my nose. So I knew it was still tender. And then I got up and looked in the mirror and realized that I had a black eye. Not a huge one, it kinda just looks like I'm tired, with some broken blood vessels. And then I looked closer in the mirror and saw that my nose was really swollen in parts and that one of my nostrils was bigger than the other. And I've always prided myself on having very symmetrical nostrils (seriously. I'm not kidding about that.). Anyway, based on the tenderness, the swollenness, the black eye and the lopsided nostrils, we have decided that Gabriel did, in fact, break my nose last night when he head butted me. I might go see a doctor tomorrow to get it reset but honestly that idea doesn't appeal to me. I may just hope that it's a small crack and trust that my nostrils will again be symmetrical once the swelling goes down (again, I am quite serious.)
In spite of that minor hindrance I did manage to have a fairly good and productive day. I got up with Matt this morning and when he left I started painting the china cabinet. That involved a bit more than I had anticipated since I had to remove the doors, the hinges and the knobs before I even got started, but thankfully Matt taped all the glass and the walls around the cabinet last night otherwise the prep would have taken me even longer. I finished the prep and just started painting when Gabe woke up but fortunately he's a happy boy when he wakes up so I set him up with some cheerios in his high chair and he jabbered away while I kept working. Then at around 10:00 the doorbell rang. I decided against answering it since I was decent but by no means presentable and I assumed it would just be someone trying to sell me something. Then the phone rang - a sure sign that it was someone I actually knew at the door. Sure enough it was my mom! She had the day off and wanted to stop by and say hi. So I put her to work feeding Gabe while I finished up with painting the cabinet. After she left I finally grabbed some breakfast for myself and played with Gabe for a little bit. I wanted Gabe to nap but he was really fighting it. Finally at around 2 he fell asleep and I was able to go back to painting. I still had all the doors to do so I set up drop cloths on our old dining room set and on the floor and got to work again. By 3 I got all of the doors painted except for the undersides which I left until the tops dried. When I finally cleaned up the paint and brushes I sat down to write out a shopping list. I knew that I needed to get in a Walmart trip today as well as a grocery trip and I wanted to make sure I got everything we would need for camping so that I wouldn't have to go back. It was a little chilly in my living room so I went upstairs to the guest room and laid on the futon while I wrote. At some point I pulled the big comforter over me... And then laid my head down while I wrote... And then closed my eyes for just a minute... And then woke up at 4:30. Whoops!
Well, both Gabe and I got our nap in but because Gabe fell asleep before he had lunch he was pretty hungry. So I set him up with food while I finished my shopping lists - this time I was sitting upright, my eyes wide open and slightly chilly. I got Gabe and myself ready and we took off for Walmart first. That was a fairly big trip considering my list only had 5 things on it and they didn't have two of those things! Then we ran over to Co-op for another big spending trip. Although I was delighted to see that they had 4 different varieties of plums in stock this time. That's really for my Co-op! We left the store and I remembered that I had not eaten much today and still had not had dinner so I drove to McDonalds. Yep. I did. Anyway, it was nearly 8:00 by the time I got home and had unloaded the van. I got Gabe set up with some dinner, I got my dog set up with some dinner and eventually, after a few phone calls and putting away groceries, I ate dinner myself. It was at about this point that I looked around my house and was appalled to see the state it was in. This feeling was increased by remembering that we are having a friend over for dinner tomorrow! So I set about tidying, finishing painting the undersides of the cabinet doors and organizing all the supplies I had just bought for camping. By 9:30 I was feeling pretty good about things. Sure my house still looks awful, but once we move all the stuff I pack for camping downstairs and when I finish painting the cabinet and rehang the doors tomorrow it will look great!
But now my husband is home from doing a side job and we have a date to clean the kitchen!
Mrs. Vander Leek ;)
In spite of that minor hindrance I did manage to have a fairly good and productive day. I got up with Matt this morning and when he left I started painting the china cabinet. That involved a bit more than I had anticipated since I had to remove the doors, the hinges and the knobs before I even got started, but thankfully Matt taped all the glass and the walls around the cabinet last night otherwise the prep would have taken me even longer. I finished the prep and just started painting when Gabe woke up but fortunately he's a happy boy when he wakes up so I set him up with some cheerios in his high chair and he jabbered away while I kept working. Then at around 10:00 the doorbell rang. I decided against answering it since I was decent but by no means presentable and I assumed it would just be someone trying to sell me something. Then the phone rang - a sure sign that it was someone I actually knew at the door. Sure enough it was my mom! She had the day off and wanted to stop by and say hi. So I put her to work feeding Gabe while I finished up with painting the cabinet. After she left I finally grabbed some breakfast for myself and played with Gabe for a little bit. I wanted Gabe to nap but he was really fighting it. Finally at around 2 he fell asleep and I was able to go back to painting. I still had all the doors to do so I set up drop cloths on our old dining room set and on the floor and got to work again. By 3 I got all of the doors painted except for the undersides which I left until the tops dried. When I finally cleaned up the paint and brushes I sat down to write out a shopping list. I knew that I needed to get in a Walmart trip today as well as a grocery trip and I wanted to make sure I got everything we would need for camping so that I wouldn't have to go back. It was a little chilly in my living room so I went upstairs to the guest room and laid on the futon while I wrote. At some point I pulled the big comforter over me... And then laid my head down while I wrote... And then closed my eyes for just a minute... And then woke up at 4:30. Whoops!
Well, both Gabe and I got our nap in but because Gabe fell asleep before he had lunch he was pretty hungry. So I set him up with food while I finished my shopping lists - this time I was sitting upright, my eyes wide open and slightly chilly. I got Gabe and myself ready and we took off for Walmart first. That was a fairly big trip considering my list only had 5 things on it and they didn't have two of those things! Then we ran over to Co-op for another big spending trip. Although I was delighted to see that they had 4 different varieties of plums in stock this time. That's really for my Co-op! We left the store and I remembered that I had not eaten much today and still had not had dinner so I drove to McDonalds. Yep. I did. Anyway, it was nearly 8:00 by the time I got home and had unloaded the van. I got Gabe set up with some dinner, I got my dog set up with some dinner and eventually, after a few phone calls and putting away groceries, I ate dinner myself. It was at about this point that I looked around my house and was appalled to see the state it was in. This feeling was increased by remembering that we are having a friend over for dinner tomorrow! So I set about tidying, finishing painting the undersides of the cabinet doors and organizing all the supplies I had just bought for camping. By 9:30 I was feeling pretty good about things. Sure my house still looks awful, but once we move all the stuff I pack for camping downstairs and when I finish painting the cabinet and rehang the doors tomorrow it will look great!
But now my husband is home from doing a side job and we have a date to clean the kitchen!
Mrs. Vander Leek ;)
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Quick recap
Just a quick run over of what I did today and then I have got to get to sleep!
I hardly slept at all last night due to the stupid thunder which wasn't all that loud but I kept expecting one of those super loud sonic boom ones so I was actually laying in my bed with my ears plug until about 2 a.m. when I finally fell asleep - and then I woke up at 3. The rest of the night went the same way. I got up, got ready, got Gabe ready and then headed downtown to have coffee with a friend that I really enjoy hanging out with but that I never really get to. Actually, today was the first time we've ever got together by ourselves! Weird... Well, when I got home Gabe had fallen asleep in the car and since it was a late nap for him I figured it would be a long nap as well. I decided to finish sanding the banister and to start painting it! I got the first coat of primer on it and tomorrow I'll do the top coat! At around 5 I started getting things ready for my cafe meeting tonight and then made sure there was dinner for Matt and Gabe. Somehow I forgot that I hadn't eaten anything since breakfast and I failed to make food for myself. Whoops. Well Matt got home just in time for me to take off for my meeting which went awesome. I've got a much clearer picture of what the fall is going to look like and I'm even more excited for the cafe than I was before! One of the things I'm going to do is to go into the church every Tuesday to do my ordering and since that is staff meeting day for the church staff I think I'll show up around lunch time and make some lattes for them! I think that will go over well!
Anyway, I got home from my meeting just before 9 to find that Gabe had been a little poop for Matt while I was gone and refused to eat the dinner I'd made for him (orzo pasta, steamed broccoli and cottage cheese). So I took over, Gabe ate his dinner without any complaint and I sent out an email to all the cafe volunteers and organized my contact book before finally eating dinner. Matt started taping around the built in cabinet for me to paint tomorrow so I took Gabe upstairs to the office with me while I tried to do more work on the IPad. At one point Gabe managed to get into a sitting position on my head and I was so helpless I had to call Matt to come get him off me. Not even two minutes later Gabe head butted me in the nose so bad that I thought it was broken. Only the absence of blood could have convinced me that it wasn't. That happened over an hour ago and it's still throbbing. And now the baby is in bed, my tummy is full, my mind is at ease about the upcoming month and I think I am going to sleep well tonight. At least, I'd better.
Mrs. Vander Leek ;)
I hardly slept at all last night due to the stupid thunder which wasn't all that loud but I kept expecting one of those super loud sonic boom ones so I was actually laying in my bed with my ears plug until about 2 a.m. when I finally fell asleep - and then I woke up at 3. The rest of the night went the same way. I got up, got ready, got Gabe ready and then headed downtown to have coffee with a friend that I really enjoy hanging out with but that I never really get to. Actually, today was the first time we've ever got together by ourselves! Weird... Well, when I got home Gabe had fallen asleep in the car and since it was a late nap for him I figured it would be a long nap as well. I decided to finish sanding the banister and to start painting it! I got the first coat of primer on it and tomorrow I'll do the top coat! At around 5 I started getting things ready for my cafe meeting tonight and then made sure there was dinner for Matt and Gabe. Somehow I forgot that I hadn't eaten anything since breakfast and I failed to make food for myself. Whoops. Well Matt got home just in time for me to take off for my meeting which went awesome. I've got a much clearer picture of what the fall is going to look like and I'm even more excited for the cafe than I was before! One of the things I'm going to do is to go into the church every Tuesday to do my ordering and since that is staff meeting day for the church staff I think I'll show up around lunch time and make some lattes for them! I think that will go over well!
Anyway, I got home from my meeting just before 9 to find that Gabe had been a little poop for Matt while I was gone and refused to eat the dinner I'd made for him (orzo pasta, steamed broccoli and cottage cheese). So I took over, Gabe ate his dinner without any complaint and I sent out an email to all the cafe volunteers and organized my contact book before finally eating dinner. Matt started taping around the built in cabinet for me to paint tomorrow so I took Gabe upstairs to the office with me while I tried to do more work on the IPad. At one point Gabe managed to get into a sitting position on my head and I was so helpless I had to call Matt to come get him off me. Not even two minutes later Gabe head butted me in the nose so bad that I thought it was broken. Only the absence of blood could have convinced me that it wasn't. That happened over an hour ago and it's still throbbing. And now the baby is in bed, my tummy is full, my mind is at ease about the upcoming month and I think I am going to sleep well tonight. At least, I'd better.
Mrs. Vander Leek ;)
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