Yummy goodness from Canada

Of course a trip home means I get to stock up on some of my favourite foods from the five major food groups:

back row: ketchup chips, Special K (different than the Special K in the U.S.), dill pickle chips, and Hickory Sticks

middle row: Shreddies (cereal, had to get rid of the box for packing purposes), Arrowroot baby cookies, Crispy Crunch, Oh Henry, and Caramilk

front row: Walker's shortbread cookies

And no, I don't eat junk like this all the time. But going home for the first time in 5 years calls for a splurge, right? Plus at my last OB appointment, my doc told me I needed to gain some weight. Mission Accomplished!

When is a fudgesicle not a fudgesicle?

Warning: this rant is fueled by pregnancy hormones and one big, fat craving. It might sound over the top and full of hyperbole, but I assure you that every emotion is very real.

All I want is a fudgesicle, and have for about the last week or so. It's really been the only craving I've had thus far in my pregnancy. When I was pregnant with Elise, my OB gave me some very good advice; when you have a craving, wait for about an hour, and if it's still there, then go for it. Is it just me, or does that sound like the pregnancy version of, "if you love something, set it free..."?

Anyway, sometimes I'll decide that a chocolate milkshake sounds good, but I've already forgotten about it 5 minutes later because I've become distracted by something bright and shiny. Or a ball of yarn. Because pregnancy has not only made me a little bit dumb, but also a cat.

My husband, being the good man that he is, went out one night after I had been chased to bed early by one of my nightly bouts with extreme nausea, and bought me some fudgesicles. He left a note that I found the next morning that said to look in the freezer for my treat. I eagerly opened the door and pulled out the box, only to read those three very suspect words No Sugar Added.

Fred's thinking was (and I don't blame him on this), is that this product was better, because it had No Sugar Added. But I understand how the minds of these people work. They are tricksy little hobbitses.

No Sugar Added actually means Sugar Free, which actually means We've-Added-Some-Nasty-Ass-Chemical-That-Was-Concocted-In-A-Lab-To-This-Food. Namely, Aspartame. UGH!

I don't do fake sugars. Any of them. Which may really surprise you coming from the mother of a Type 1 Diabetic. I have my reasons, but that's another post for another blog, for another day. Oh wait, you can read it right here.

So on our next trip to the grocery store, we returned the offending box of fudgesicles, and I set off to the "frozen novelty" section (a name which has always made me laugh, by the way) to find some honest-to-goodness frozen chocolate on a stick.

Only, they doesn't exist. They don't make them anymore. I know, because I have now searched in 3 different grocery stores, and I cannot find any fudgesicles without fake sugar. Why? Why can't a pregnant lady have herself some REAL SUGAR?

I'm sure these companies think they're doing us a favour, taking away our choice to choose real over fake, but I'd like to think I'm competent enough to make that decision for myself. And how long until other products start appearing with the only choice being No Sugar Added label?

I'm telling you, it's enough to make a grown woman weep. If I wasn't so tired and nauseous. Bah, I think I'll just go to bed.

It's always something, isn't it?

Today was one of those days where the planets and the stars aligned and all was right with the world. Elise slept soundly through the night and woke up in a wonderful mood at 8:00 am. A nurse from the endo's office called to discuss Elise's numbers, and we ended up making some changes to her treatment plan that Fred and I had been asking for.

Later in the morning, Elise and I got our walk on and enjoyed the bright sunshine and temperate weather. Yes there were birds, and yes they were singing. There were no huge food battles today and Elise enjoyed everything I put in front of her. To top it all off, the proverbial icing on the proverbial cake... Elise's numbers ranged from 94 - 155. Can you say woo-hoo? Because I can.

WOO-HOO!

The only hiccup in our day was the 1 hour nap Elise woke up crying from. But I think it's safe to blame that on the teething monster.

As I was preparing Elise's dinner, I thought to myself, "I am a good Mom. No, a great Mom." I gave my daughter an adoring look, to which she returned ten-fold. And then it hit me.

I had totally forgotten to make dinner for Fred and I.

Not only that, I had forgotten to even prepare anything. I had even forgotten to think about preparing anything. It was 5:30 p.m. and all thoughts of my greatness flew out of my head as I rummaged through my fridge for anything that I could magically turn into dinner in less than 30 minutes; start to finish.

I'm happy to say, I did it. It wasn't easy trying to feed Elise, cut peppers, boil pasta and make sauce, but I got it done. You know, being a wife and Mom would be a whole lot easier without all this "extra" crap.

Our Fondue Fun-Do

Saturday night, in a very un-Joanne-like move, we hosted a fondue party for a bunch of friends. I say it was un-Joanne-like because those who know me very well, know I HATE entertaining. I think Martha Stewart needs to be banned from the airwaves. And locked up. Not for insider trading, but for giving people unrealistic ideas of what entertaining should look like. No, I WILL NOT fold your napkin so it looks like a swan. And nor will my entree be served looking like some modern art piece.

I don't know why, but the prospect of people coming over to my house makes me itchy. It's not all the work that goes into preparing your house, in a very perverse way I enjoy that. I think it's all the pressure of making sure the people have fun and enjoy themselves. Because we all know that I'm responsible for everything that ever happens, ever.

But our friends Johnny and Kellie were going to be in town, and she wanted to get a bunch of us together. And I love that girl and would seriously do almost anything for her. Including, apparently, having 10 people come and hang out in my house. So no one was more surprised than me to hear the word yes come out of my mouth when she asked.

You know, maybe I'm becoming more relaxed in my old age (or maybe it was the copious amount of wine in the fondue), but it wasn't that big of a deal. I actually ENJOYED it and didn't even go through any of that I'm-so-nervous-and-uptight-and-I-can't-sit-down-and-are-you-sure-you're-having-fun-do-you-need-anything pacing that I usually do during get-togethers at our house. You don't need to say it, I am well aware that I need therapy.

Getting ready for some fondue

Time to eat!

Yummy cheese fondue and Val's model-esqe hand


Elise diggin' Chris on the guitar (on a completely unrelated note, I am fully aware at how horribly my socks clash with my outfit... at least my feet were warm)


Yes, we had a chocolate fountain... jealous much?

Preston and Elise hanging out


Johnny? Whaddya mean Barq's has bite? Johnny? (Heh, I love that commercial!)

So thanks to Johnny & Kellie, Gina, Val & Chris, Jade & Michael, Preston, and Austin & Renate for good food, great fun, lots of laughs and friendship. I may even be up for doing this again in a year or two!

We don't need no Stinkin' Turkey!

This Thanksgiving we decided to do things a little differently. Rather, I did. We were going to invite some friends over and do the whole turkey/stuffing/pumpkin pie thing, but then last week Fred came down with some sort of crud, and while he didn't get all that sick, he did pass it onto Elise and I, who fared a little bit worse. Plus Elise's numbers have been really high again, making her a bit of a hand full. So we ended up dis-inviting (uninviting?) our friends (sorry Pam and Michael - thanks for being so awesomely understanding). Then I got to thinking; do I really want to make a turkey with all the trimmings for just the three of us?

So I discussed it with Fred and the decision to do a non-traditional Thanksgiving was unanimous. First we started off with a bit of lunch: Prosciutto, marinated mozzarella, roasted garlic & monterey jack cheese bread, and tomatoes with fresh basil. Ever so yummy!

A few hours later we moved onto the main course... Cheese Fondue! I make it from a traditional Swiss recipe that my dad gave to me, and I think it's better than what they serve at the Melting Pot. Just my opinion. And Fred's. And pretty much everyone else who has tried it. Fred and I discussed what we were thankful for (a post on that coming soon!), and then stuffed ourselves full of gooey, cheesy goodness.

We ended the day with a wee bit of tradition; homemade pumpkin pie. I'm a bit ticked that the crust didn't come out all that well, but it sure didn't mess up the taste. Even Elise got to try a bit (pumpkin pie has a lot of carbs, but I gave it to her without the crust, and made it a part of her dinner).

I have to say that I enjoyed our non-traditional Thanksgiving. Maybe we'll make it OUR tradition! Since we're not American, Thanksgiving isn't that big of a deal for us anyway.

Hope your Thanksgiving was just as much fun as ours.

Elise enjoying her first taste of pumpkin pie

I've Got The Meat Sweats

Fred and I had a lovely meal at The Keg tonight. Lovely because my Mom looked after Elise (she's in town visiting), and because my dinner was paid for thanks to the birthday postcard The Keg sends me every year. Also lovely because I love a good steak.

Tonight I had a good steak. All 16 oz. of it. Plus garlic mashed potatoes, garlic bread, and a grilled tomato. That's right, I ate 16 oz. of medium-rare rib eye. Take that, colon.

I think I'm going into a meat coma. Totally worth it though...