Flax 4 Life Muffins

You can get these muffins at some Whole Foods, but we get ours at Fred Meyer in 'Merica. They are gluten-free (obviously) but have some good flavours. Our favourite is the chocolate chip; you feel like you're having a bit of a treat. Warning: they do have a load of calories, so don't be thinking you're going to have this and then a second breakfast. Since they are jam-packed with flax (as the name suggests) and you'll be so full, you probably won't even entertain those second breakfast thoughts anyway. Despite the high calories, I would definitely recommend chomping on these muffins. Microwave them for 25-30 secs, and feel free to store them in the freezer. 2nd Warning: these will regulate the shit out of well, your shit. Say goodbye to any fibre issues you may have had. That's a good thing though, right?

Day 1

This morning was our first injection in preparation for IVF. Gerry had put the menopur in the fridge last night, so it was a bit cold and stingy going in, and I ended up breaking one of the Q caps. In the past, this probably would have thrown me off. Not so much now. I just googled if it's okay to have kept it in the fridge, consensus seems to be it's fine, and I'll just get another Q cap later. Meh, no biggy. For the record, and because I may hate him by the end of this week and may need the reminder, Gerry's been lovely & supportive. We're both excited, not just because the odds are slightly in our favour this time, but because we're going to either be doing this, or closing this door, so that we can jump out the open window. Day 1: So far, so good. Rage level: none

Christmas Strata Gluten-Free Style

This year we used Udi's gluten-free bread for the traditional Christmas Strata. There had been a bit of grumbling (panic) from Gerry about how we would be able to have a proper Christmas without the strata.

The gluten-free bread turned out quite well. It's firmer, so it stayed together well, and cut easily.

Christmas Boxes

At TekBusters, we give some homemade cookies to each of the businesses that have monthly contracts. This year, mostly because I've found out I'm celiac, I thought I might make boxes of various caramels. I've made one tonight, and if I make two kinds tomorrow, and three on Tuesday, by Wednesday I'll be finished, which is very exciting. And as is becoming tradition (how many time does it take to be a tradition?) Erin's coming over on Saturday, and we will (of course) be making cookies. I mean, it is Christmas after all. Moral of the story - if you are dairy-free, you're screwed.

Cleanse Day 2 - Smoothie 1 Million

Just kidding, it's not been so bad. Gerry quit at lunch today, but I've been hanging in there... despite the sour soothers, roasted nuts, and chips looking so f'ing delicious today. I don't eat a lot of salt in my daily diet, but day-amn I could totally lick a salt block right now.

Cleanse Day 1 - Meal 1

The first smoothie on Day 1.

G - it's getting a bit better, but it's um... Um... Not for me.

U - yum! This tastes awesome. Like a sandwich.

Laziza

Also known as 'that place where you asked for the gluten-free menu, and they basically brought back the regular menu but with gluten-free written on it.'

The food was delicious, the service attentive, the atmosphere trendy, but not try-hard trendy.

Of note: while 75% of the menu is veggie, them eat selections (according to almost everyone else at our table) was yummy!

Verdict: total success. Great find, Ang Hold!

2 ingredient pancakes

Today I tested the 2 ingredient pancake recipe that my friend, Lola, told me about. Since I've recently been diagnosed with Celiac, I have decided that I will rock the shiz out of Gluten-Free Living. Yeah, I said it. Now back to the pancakes. This is what I did: Smashed one ripe banana Whisked 2 eggs Added a 'pinch' (or accidentally a heaping teaspoon) of cinnamon to the banana Combine both bowls. Heat a pan on medium, melt a little bit of coconut oil, pour in some mixture, let the edges 'dry' you know, like pancakes, and eventually flip it to cook the other side. Add a little bit of maple syrup and go! Here's what I'll do for the ingredients next time: Smash 2 ripe bananas Whisk 1 egg Add a pinch of cinnamon (Maybe add a few chunks of apple) Procede as above. The pancakes were quite good, and with the coconut oil and maple syrup, I definitely give it a thumbs up. The mixture was a little bit eggy for my taste, but more banana will cure that!

UEFA 2012

I'm finally watching today's game of Germany vs Greece. I didn't realize there was a lot of political chest puffing to go with it. I mean, I know Germany's bailing out Greece, but I didn't realize that had made its way to football. I did want to point out that when the Greek player ran into the German goalie, the just tapped hands and there wasn't any, 'oh my eye!' business that usually happens with football. Well done (so far) Greece and Germany!

am I old?

If you can't believe Wheel of Fortune isn't on because of some basketball thingamajig, does this mean you're old?

Turns out...

...I, in typical Canadian fashion, bitch about the weather all of the freakin' time. Well, except for when it's lovely and warm. Lately, like the last couple of years, it hasn't been like that at all. So, in typical, if you don't like something, do something about it fashion, I am going to Vegas next week. Yes, I am leaving B.C. For Vegas in June. And I'm going to love every sweaty minute of it. While there, we'll be meeting up with Jeffy & friends, Damien, and probably my aunt and uncle. Wade may make an appearance from the San Francisco Bay Area, but that is unconfirmed speculation at this point. In summary: the weather blows in B.C. right now, I'm heading to Vegas for sunshine! Roll on the end of the week!

the power of awesome

Burn the libraries down - kids can learned stuff on there oan. Let's just say, I love me some pro-readin' trickery!

fleas/nipples

as i was sitting, scratching nalla's belly today, i suddenly remembered how, when we first got her, i was scratching her belly and freaked out because i thought she had fleas. turns out they were her nipples. oops. in my defence, i'd never had a girl cat before.

welcome to the family, iTampon

SAWEET! in celebration of the upcoming full moon, i got an iPad today. huzzah!
extra awesome is that you can rent books from the library, and download the classics for free. yahoo!

summer goes on and on

as hockey season starts, we're going to give the Canucks some time to warm up. while they're doing that, we're off to Cabos San Lucus!

we're going to stay at: Royal Solaris Los Cabos and hopefully get to enjoy some SCUBA diving and lots of sun! whoo hoo!

Canuck Pucks

for last night's game (meh - it certainly wasn't great, but I do believe that a loss is a loss, and it's gonna be better to write that one off and bounce back for Wednesday) I made these:


I got the idea from the Fort Nucks website, and decided to modify (of course) and try my hand at these tasty treats.

Basically, I made two chocolate cakes (I just ended up throwing the extra one in the freezer) and then crumbled the cake in the mixer, added about a cup of pre-made chocolate icing (which I don't normally do, but I was going for easy since we were already doing loads of other stuff) and then mixed it up again, formed them into puck-ish shapes and threw them in the freezer for a bit. After I melted half of the chocolate chips the recipe called for, I dipped the top half of the pucks into the chocolate and put them back in the fridge. Once the chocolate hardened a bit, I decorated them. I should have let them dry between icing colours, but the game had already started, so that wasn't really an option.

In the end - super tasty, easy to make chocolate Canucks puck cake success!

round 4

well, it's only been since 1994 that we've seen this show. i for one, am ready to see this team finish the post-season in the same way they finished the regular season: on top.

i've been to a few games now, including game 5 of the last round, and let me tell you, the Canucks are playing well and with Manny potentially coming back into the line-up, things are looking good.

normally i'd want a sweep, but since i don't have tickets until game 5, and it is the Stanley Cup finals, I'm not going to hold my breath on that one.

finish strong, Canucks! Canada is cheering for you!

must crochet a beard for tonight's game

etsy playoff beard

it shouldn't be too hard to make. i just need to get some playoff beard yarn. do i join the ginger beard club? perhaps!!

watch for me at the game tonight. go canucks go!

'tis the season

ah, it's that time of year. the flowers are blooming, the vegetable garden is planted, it's warm enough for a drink on the patio, as long as it's not raining, and the Canucks are down to do-or-die.

this year, more than ever, was supposed to be the year. the first two games played out as planned, and though the third was a bit rough, we were still on track. then came game 4, which could have made it a sweep. and wouldn't that have just been showing it to those damn Blackhawks? and game 5 followed. it was scary and depressing.

game 6 started off right, except for a couple of assists by schneider... assists to the Blackhawks that is. a game rife with uncalled penalties, cheers and moans of disbelief. a game that the Canucks showed up for, but still somehow lost. and now the city, the provice, and i do say, even the country is waiting for game 7. it will either be followed with tears of joy, and bitter upset.

i'm hoping for tears of joy. in fact, i think i'm going to sign up for season tickets first thing tomorrow (they're closed on holidays)... sure, i won't get through for years, but i'll be ready, hoping to have a good view of the 2011 Stanley Cup Champions banner that will be hung from the rafters.

a letter to the annoying american girl

Dear Annoying American Girl,
You were sitting behind me at the Canucks game, and I really wish you hadn't been. Unfortunately, your lack of knowledge and ability to read did not stop you from voicing your opinion on basically everything.

Here are some tips that may help prevent fists/drinks/too buttery popcorn from flying in your face at the next game you go to:

1. The guy from Michigan? He's not number 23.
2. There isn't anyone (hot or not) on the team named Bee-es-ka.
3. The crowd isn't saying, 'Boooo' every time Luongo makes a save.
4. The crowd *is* booing the icing being waved off.
5. I don't really care about your friend's room mate who stole from her and is apparently doing coke. Also, just because she's doing coke, it doesn't not stand to reason that the whole Canucks team is doing crack. That's not sound logic.

I encourage people who don't know anything about hockey to go to games. I'm not an expert, but I do know that at some point during the game, it would be nice for the people around you if you just spoke your load opinions a little bit softer, or even took a break for a breath.

Yours truly,
Ursula Hoefer