Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Kidisms
My 4 year old has been attending pre-school for a year now. A little girl in her class has a (much) older brother. Today, on the ride home from pre-school, she said "Mommy, can I have an older brother?" to which I responded "uh, that isn't really possible, hon". She said to me - and I quote "Sure it is, you just have to make a bigger egg".
Sunday, January 28, 2007
Saturday, January 27, 2007
When I grow up...
I've got it. I FINALLY know what I want to be when I grow up.
As some of you know, I've been writing a cookbook that specializes in good food - cheap, fast and easy.
What I WANT is to help people.
As I was cooking dinner the other night, my 7 year old asked me why I like to cook - and why I like so many different kinds of food. That question took me back to grade 5, my 1st generation Canadian teacher Ms. Lee, and her Mum. Mrs. Lee used to come in once a month or more and cook for the class - she made all kinds of foods that we'd never heard of, never mind tasted, and it sparked a life-long love of food in me.
So, when I grow up, I want to be just like her. The plan is to gain sponsorship from a major grocery chain, the school district and the province; and go into the classrooms (kitchens) of our elementary schools and try to share that experience and love of food with grades 3,4 and 5 in an effort to introduce the world of food to children that would otherwise go home to a fast-food dinner - or something equally unhealthy. What I would LOVE to do is get the kids cooking. The grocery sponsorship would (hopefully) be in kind food donations - enough to perhaps even send the kids home with the groceries to make the chosen meal. The School District sponsorship would (hopefully) be in support and possibly partial payment; and the Provincial Sponsorship, possibly from MSP, would be in the form of a small stipend to enable me to do this as a job. What I would also love to do, is to give these wonderful little people a copy of the cookbook to take home.
Why as free as possible? Because I've just read a report that states that my school district is the poorest in the province. Now, I have to admit that this surprised me greatly because so many of the kids that my children are friends with tend to be in the same income bracket as us; firmly in the middle class.
If we can teach our children to change the way they eat and see food, we'll begin to change medical outcomes in the very near future. Can you envision an end to Type 2 Diabetes? or Obesity? or High Cholesterol and Heart Disease? I can. I think it begins with the education of our children.
Any suggestions?
As some of you know, I've been writing a cookbook that specializes in good food - cheap, fast and easy.
What I WANT is to help people.
As I was cooking dinner the other night, my 7 year old asked me why I like to cook - and why I like so many different kinds of food. That question took me back to grade 5, my 1st generation Canadian teacher Ms. Lee, and her Mum. Mrs. Lee used to come in once a month or more and cook for the class - she made all kinds of foods that we'd never heard of, never mind tasted, and it sparked a life-long love of food in me.
So, when I grow up, I want to be just like her. The plan is to gain sponsorship from a major grocery chain, the school district and the province; and go into the classrooms (kitchens) of our elementary schools and try to share that experience and love of food with grades 3,4 and 5 in an effort to introduce the world of food to children that would otherwise go home to a fast-food dinner - or something equally unhealthy. What I would LOVE to do is get the kids cooking. The grocery sponsorship would (hopefully) be in kind food donations - enough to perhaps even send the kids home with the groceries to make the chosen meal. The School District sponsorship would (hopefully) be in support and possibly partial payment; and the Provincial Sponsorship, possibly from MSP, would be in the form of a small stipend to enable me to do this as a job. What I would also love to do, is to give these wonderful little people a copy of the cookbook to take home.
Why as free as possible? Because I've just read a report that states that my school district is the poorest in the province. Now, I have to admit that this surprised me greatly because so many of the kids that my children are friends with tend to be in the same income bracket as us; firmly in the middle class.
If we can teach our children to change the way they eat and see food, we'll begin to change medical outcomes in the very near future. Can you envision an end to Type 2 Diabetes? or Obesity? or High Cholesterol and Heart Disease? I can. I think it begins with the education of our children.
Any suggestions?
Friday, January 19, 2007
Kids
Man,sometimes they're funny....
Sometimes they're mad...
Sometimes they're cute...
And sometimes they're so beautiful they make you want to cry.
That is all.
Sometimes they're mad...
Sometimes they're cute...
And sometimes they're so beautiful they make you want to cry.
That is all.
Old Friends?
This post was entirely inspired by Sarah at In the Rough. What do you DO with the people that you used to know/be friends with/date? Everyone goes through it - life changes, moves, marriage, etc. and we grow apart from the people that we used to know and love.
Over the past year or so, many people that I used to have in my life have cropped up in memory - some of them being quite persistent enough to prompt visits to ye olde google to see if the 'net knows what they're up to. Some of them I managed to find, some not. I am SURE that I'm not the only one - but has it JUST been the last year or so?
I've had e-mails out of the blue from people that used to know me and found me by "googling" me (sounds like something sexy, donnit?). Likewise, I've surprised a couple of people myself with e-mails, even snail mail(!) for some of them. My hubby has also been contacted out of the blue from people that he hasn't seen for 10 years or more.
What IS this phenomenon? Is it that we suddenly have an urge to connect to our past? Is it that something in our lives is willing us to look back and learn, or perhaps look to seemingly "happier" memories.
Well, whatever the cause, I'm very happy to have connected with those people that I've been able to find. I do wish that I could find more though....
Over the past year or so, many people that I used to have in my life have cropped up in memory - some of them being quite persistent enough to prompt visits to ye olde google to see if the 'net knows what they're up to. Some of them I managed to find, some not. I am SURE that I'm not the only one - but has it JUST been the last year or so?
I've had e-mails out of the blue from people that used to know me and found me by "googling" me (sounds like something sexy, donnit?). Likewise, I've surprised a couple of people myself with e-mails, even snail mail(!) for some of them. My hubby has also been contacted out of the blue from people that he hasn't seen for 10 years or more.
What IS this phenomenon? Is it that we suddenly have an urge to connect to our past? Is it that something in our lives is willing us to look back and learn, or perhaps look to seemingly "happier" memories.
Well, whatever the cause, I'm very happy to have connected with those people that I've been able to find. I do wish that I could find more though....
Thursday, January 11, 2007
Up for a fight?
My 7 year old likes to play soccer, therefore I register her in soccer each year. This year because they're 7, they get to play outside. They've played a total of 3 games this year. Yes, the weather's been bad. Parents have repeatedly asked the local soccer association to find indoor space for the 7 year olds (there are a LOT of schools around here). The soccer association says it's not their problem. The parents have asked for pro-rated refunds, based on the number of games they've lost. The soccer association says "but we each volunteer 20-30 hours a week". The parents get annoyed and say "what does that have to do with the fact that our girls aren't playing soccer?". The soccer association says "you don't know what you're talking about". The parents nearly give up, but offer lots of alternatives such as discounts for next year's play, clearer communication between the fields and the coaches (we've shown up at the fields beleiving they're open because the websites say so an we're told once we're there that they're not) and more open attitudes on everyone's part. The soccer association refuses to respond any further to inquiries from parents.
This is frustrating for everyone. What to do? Contact the BC Soccer Association and report? Good lord, our kids just want to play!
This is frustrating for everyone. What to do? Contact the BC Soccer Association and report? Good lord, our kids just want to play!
Saturday, January 6, 2007
What the...?
How is it, please, that I can read a report on how much underprivileged people spend on fast food and dining out?
One of the many reasons I decided to write my cookbook was because of this report. It identified the underprivileged as the single largest user-group of fast food restaurants. The same report went on to identify the same group of people in Canada and the US as the most likely to become morbidly obese, develop type 2 diabetes (non-insulin dependant) and/or heart disease in their lifetimes. Scary, huh?
Recently, we decided to renovate our home. Part of the reno included being without a kitchen/cooking tools for nearly 2 weeks. One of our discoveries in this time period was how bloody expensive it is to eat out every day. The other was just how gross we ended up feeling, regardless of the food we ate (my usual pick was salad - Leon's was usually a high-protein something or other - but we were proudly staying away from burgers!). At a minimum of $30/night for a family of four, 2 weeks was too many for our bodies and our wallets. Keep in mind that that's just ONE MEAL PER DAY!
The cookbook features fresh foods, cooked with a minimum of work and maximum of flavour - all for less than $20/day... to easily feed a family of 4-6, with leftovers. I plan on marketing this book to our local social service agency, and donating a bunch of copies to our local food bank, to be included in the bags of food they give out. Hopefully this can be my small contribution to a fast-food world gone wrong.
If anyone out there has any recipes they'd like to share or have included in the book, please e-mail me. The only rules are that they have to feed a family of four (with leftovers, if possible), they have to use fresh ingredients and they have to cost less than $15 to make. I WILL try them!
One of the many reasons I decided to write my cookbook was because of this report. It identified the underprivileged as the single largest user-group of fast food restaurants. The same report went on to identify the same group of people in Canada and the US as the most likely to become morbidly obese, develop type 2 diabetes (non-insulin dependant) and/or heart disease in their lifetimes. Scary, huh?
Recently, we decided to renovate our home. Part of the reno included being without a kitchen/cooking tools for nearly 2 weeks. One of our discoveries in this time period was how bloody expensive it is to eat out every day. The other was just how gross we ended up feeling, regardless of the food we ate (my usual pick was salad - Leon's was usually a high-protein something or other - but we were proudly staying away from burgers!). At a minimum of $30/night for a family of four, 2 weeks was too many for our bodies and our wallets. Keep in mind that that's just ONE MEAL PER DAY!
The cookbook features fresh foods, cooked with a minimum of work and maximum of flavour - all for less than $20/day... to easily feed a family of 4-6, with leftovers. I plan on marketing this book to our local social service agency, and donating a bunch of copies to our local food bank, to be included in the bags of food they give out. Hopefully this can be my small contribution to a fast-food world gone wrong.
If anyone out there has any recipes they'd like to share or have included in the book, please e-mail me. The only rules are that they have to feed a family of four (with leftovers, if possible), they have to use fresh ingredients and they have to cost less than $15 to make. I WILL try them!
Friday, January 5, 2007
The Tree is Down
The tree is down, the lights are down and I can finally see what my new curtains look like!
Crazy, I know. We've been renovating/remodelling our house for some time now - it's nearly done - and our new curtains arrived the same day that we put up the tree (which goes directly in front of the curtains)... so we haven't been able to see what they look like! They're perfect- so much better than I ever thought they'd look, coming out of a catalogue.
My girls have been at my Mom & Dad's since Wednesday and are coming home today to a much more well rested Mummy and Daddy. We've been eating when (and what) we like, watching movies and going to bed at a reasonable hour - not trying to stay up just so that we have a few minutes together - and I caught my hubby racing out of bed at 9 this morning to go to work (his schedule's pretty flexible, but he LIKES to be there by 9). All in all, the past few days have been very relaxing - with the possible exception of hiding from the JWs that came knocking on the door TWICE yesterday and for some reason camped out at the end of my driveway (!). Why do they DO that? No, don't answer - I actually know the answer - but really, WHY??? It's SO annoying.
Bringing me now to my next favourite gift of last year (which wasn't actually effective yesterday because apparently those people can't READ). A doormat. It reads "We love our vacuum, we've found God and we gave at the office. Thanks" I laughed SO HARD when my mum-in-law gave that to us! I love it when you can use humour to make a point - it's even kind of funny when the people knocking on my door don't get it.
Crazy, I know. We've been renovating/remodelling our house for some time now - it's nearly done - and our new curtains arrived the same day that we put up the tree (which goes directly in front of the curtains)... so we haven't been able to see what they look like! They're perfect- so much better than I ever thought they'd look, coming out of a catalogue.
My girls have been at my Mom & Dad's since Wednesday and are coming home today to a much more well rested Mummy and Daddy. We've been eating when (and what) we like, watching movies and going to bed at a reasonable hour - not trying to stay up just so that we have a few minutes together - and I caught my hubby racing out of bed at 9 this morning to go to work (his schedule's pretty flexible, but he LIKES to be there by 9). All in all, the past few days have been very relaxing - with the possible exception of hiding from the JWs that came knocking on the door TWICE yesterday and for some reason camped out at the end of my driveway (!). Why do they DO that? No, don't answer - I actually know the answer - but really, WHY??? It's SO annoying.
Bringing me now to my next favourite gift of last year (which wasn't actually effective yesterday because apparently those people can't READ). A doormat. It reads "We love our vacuum, we've found God and we gave at the office. Thanks" I laughed SO HARD when my mum-in-law gave that to us! I love it when you can use humour to make a point - it's even kind of funny when the people knocking on my door don't get it.
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