Well, my New Years Resolutions lasted about 3 days just as I expected. There is just something about a resolution that I can’t stick to. So, there I was, on January 4th sitting on the couch (with a snack) in front of the tv after the kids went to bed.
Tom was there with me, and we both want to get back in shape, so when I saw on Facebook that some friends had challenged one another to a weight loss competition, a light bulb went off. Maybe if Tom and I could motivate each other, we would stick to it. I proposed a challenge and he accepted.
So, starting tomorrow, February 1st (until April 1st) we are doing a weight loss challenge of our own, and I’m totally going to kick his butt! I think fate is on my side since, on Saturday I went to a charity event, and I won a 3 month gym membership. I may be looking for your support too, and perhaps you would like to join in too? Feel free, we can share our progress together.
I do have the knowledge I need to do this since I have taken a course to become a nutrition counsellor. The first step will be to drink more water. If you need to do the same, here is what I suggest, get a large water bottle and fill it in the morning, now be sure to finish it before dinner time.
My next step will be replacing my night time snack of ice cream or cookies to something healthier, veggies and humus maybe? Eventually, I’ll get rid of that snack all together, but I’m going to take baby steps.
And then there is the gym. That membership is not going to activate itself, and I’m going to have to make the time to actually go. Again, baby steps, I’ll start out with half an hour on the elliptical and move forward from there. Don’t have a gym membership? Start with a short walk, and as you get comfortable with that distance, make it longer.
Weigh-ins are this morning. Let me know if you’re playing along and we can motivate one another.
Choosing a baby name can sometimes be a difficult task, and it took a long time for me to saddle our baby with the name Siobhan Annalise Rasmussen. I say “I” saddled her with that name because ultimately it was my decision. Tom told me to choose. I knew that Siobhan was his favourite name so, after much deliberation, that’s what I (we) went with.
Why so much deliberation? Do you know how to say Siobhan Annalise Rasmussen? Like Rasmussen wasn’t bad enough, perhaps we should have gone with Ann?
I got many messages after she was born asking how you say her name, and I guess I knew she would be correcting people all her life. Every year, that first day of school, while attendance is being taken, she will be waiting to see how badly the teacher will butcher her name.
I got to experience how she will feel yesterday. I had to take her to the emergency room (long story short, I thought she ate something toxic. She’s fine). So, there I sat, in the waiting room of the hospital, wondering if I would recognize my daughter’s name when they attempted to say it.
So-ban Rasputen, that’s who they called. I stood up, and took Siobhan into the room. Where I made sure to say her name, and the nurse said “How do you say her name?” So I told her.
I laughed about it when I told Tom, but I wonder how funny Siobhan will find it. So, I thought maybe I could start the ball rolling for all the Siobhans (Shivawn), Niamhs (Neeve) and Roisins (Rosheen).
Maybe if I explain gaelic spelling to you, and you tell 2 friends, and they tell 2 friends (it worked for Faberge).
So, the basics... mh = v, bh = v... okay, I can’t teach, but there is a website that can. Check it out.
Siobhan thanks you.
If you know me, you know I love to bake. Even more than that, I love to bake with my daughter. When I’m not baking, I like to watch shows about baking (Cake Boss, Cupcake Wars, Next Great Baker etc.); Rebecca likes to watch with me.
I decided that for Christmas, we would give Rebecca her own baking supplies, baking pans, oven mitts, whisk, spatula, rolling pin and cook books. I was a little nervous about the gift because, although I knew she loved baking, it wasn’t something she had asked for, but then maybe she didn’t know it was a possibility?
The gift was a hit, more than once being toted as “the best gift ever”. We have had lots of use out of them too.
Last week, while watching The Next Great Baker, Rebecca asked if we could try using fondant, and I said we could. Shortly after that, she was icing cookies and she said grandma had a bag you could squeeze icing out of (grandma, her dad’s mom, is a baker). I quickly made piping bags out of ziploc bags. She was happy with them, but asked if we could “one day” get real piping bags.
So, on Thursday (her day off school), we headed to a local store where I knew they would have baking supplies and I let Rebecca take a look around. She found the piping bags and she found the fondant, she also checked out all the shaped cake pans and different muffin tin liners, she was in heaven.
We ended up buying a cake decorating kit that had a dozen disposable piping bags, 5 tips and a couple concentrated food colours. We picked up a tin of white fondant and a few bars of coloured fondant, and a couple sparkly gel writing tube icings. We were ready to bake.
Well, except for the fact that I had tonnes of house cleaning to attend to before we could start.
Rebecca was anxious to get going and wanted me to forgo the cleaning, but it needed to be done. I made her a deal. I put out the ingredients for the cake (we used a boxed cake this time round) and she mixed them all together, while the cakes were baking, I had her fold the baby’s laundry while I cleaned the kitchen.
By the time the cakes were baked, most of the cleaning was done, so we got started on the details. Well, Rebecca did, really.
I wanted the cake to be as much hers as possible, so she rolled out coloured fondant and cut out the shapes. I even let her take the cakes out of the oven with her new oven mitts; she thought that was pretty cool.
Then, when the cake was cooled, I cut the layers in half so she could ice the middle. She chose pink and blue icing. We then stacked the cake, and we rolled the white fondant. It took both of us to put the fondant over the cake.
That’s when we got out the piping bags. Rebecca did most of the piping. I did turn the plate to help her, and I did help with writing Rebecca’s first cake on the top, but the rest is her work. She put the fondant cut-outs on using some of her icing, and made that cake look gorgeous.
I am so proud! More importantly, she was so proud. She was beaming with delight when she was able to present it to the rest of the family, and they were more than happy to help her eat it.
Our next challenge? Learning to make icing rosettes!
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