I've been MIA due to being horribly ill for the last month or so. We've had some changes. For one, we got a dog!!! Her name is Lillie and she is 8 years old. She is a Jackchi (Jack Russel and Chihuahua mix). She has really become one of the family. We love her very much.

Dechlan visited Santa this year and he just loved it. He's really excited for Christmas. He really gets Christmas this year. This morning he got to open his gift that Santas elves. Every year, we give him a gift that is from Santas #1 Elf. It's always pjs so that he can look good for Santa. He also gets his stocking Christmas Eve to keep him busy while the adults get things ready for Christmas dinner the next day.

In a few hours we are off to Niagara-On-The-Lake to stay over at my inlaws tonight and spend Christmas with them. I spent all day yesterday baking and I'm 100% ready for tomorrow. I'm fairly excited now!!

So Happy Holidays to you all. I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and Happy New Year!

                 HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU ALL!

I hope you all had a safe and fun NYE. We had a great time. Movies, food and lots of wine. It was great.

Like every year, I make 2 or 3 resolutions. This year I'm keeping it simple. I want to read 20 books and I want to lose 20 lbs. I also want to make 20 new dishes. I will make 1 new meal every 2 weeks and post how it went.

I'm fairly excited about it. I'm going to pick up a healthy eating cookbook and use that for my 20-dishes challenge. I love cooking so this challenge will help me expand on my skill level and love of cooking.

2012 will also be the year we potty train Dechlan. Already today he has used the potty once. Mind you, 5 minutes later he came into the room with wet underpants. He really hates the potty. He WILL get potty trained. I'm sick of diapers.

Do you make New Year resolutions? Anything special happening in 2012? I want to hear all about it!

In our 5 years of marriage, we've had our ups and downs like any marriage. The one thing we've always done for each other is randomly come home with 'I love you' presents. No real reason for the gift. Just to day I love you and appreciate you.

Last night I decided I wanted to get him something. He never asks for anything, and he's pretty content with what he has and only ever buys video games. I wanted to get him something he needed but also something he would feel is actually a gift.

I bought him a new laptop. The one he was using had a cracked screen from when Dechlan dropped it on the tiles in our kitchen. Also it was a small Netbook. That alone is a turnoff for me. I went to Future Shop with no real luck. Believe it or not, I found one at Walmart! Good price too! It's super powerful and has everything he needs. I bought a gift bag and a card.
**On a side note, My husband and I don't really get cards for each other. They never say exactly how we feel for each other. They're usually corny and lame. I found one today that said everything I felt and it was perfect. My husband even loved it. I was shocked.

 Anyway, he was very very happy about it. He couldn't believe I had gotten him a laptop. He is thrilled with it. He called me sneaky because he had no idea what I was doing today. I took Dechlan out for a few hours and we had lunch and did our thing.

He was so happy that he made dinner tonight and cleaned the condo!!! I guess I should buy him surprise gifts more often! He says it was the card that made him decide to take on the household chores. I need to buy a stack of cards, clearly!

This will be my last post of the year, So







HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL MY WONDERFUL READERS!!

Hard to believe that 2011 has come and almost gone. This year has gone by so quickly.

I find New Years Eve kind of boring. I'm not really a social butterfly. I don't like going out in big crowds or partying. I got in a ton of partying when I was a teenager. It's not my thing anymore.

Every year, my husband and I stay home and we watch movies, drink wine/beer and have appetizers for dinner. It's nice to just be home with my family. This year we've decided to watch The Lord Of The Rings Extended edition blurays that I got Nick for Christmas.We will enjoy Taquitos, Sausage Rolls, Mini Quiche and Nachos. Lots of wine is chilling in my fridge as well as sparkling wine. I love wine <3

New Years Day, we always do a big breakfast and relax.



What are your NYE plans?

                          Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah!


The last 2 days have been so hectic that I've forgotten to blog. I was so busy on Saturday baking away. I think I spent 5 hours baking. I made Gingerbread men (I'm terrible at using cookie cutters. My gingerbread men we a bit disfigured), Sugar cookie snowflakes (With the help of my 4 year old they actually turned out pretty nice), Cake balls and Gingerbread cupcakes.

Christmas Day was exhausting but really amazing. We woke up at 7 and opened gifts. Dechlan was really thrilled that Santa really came for him. We were due at my in-laws for breakfast at 9 so we all got ready and gathered their gifts and headed to their place. After an amazing breakfast of scrambled eggs (My husbands family make the best scrambled eggs. Even my husband that doesn't know much about cooking makes pretty amazing eggs), sausage and back bacon. In my mind that is a perfect breakfast. We then opened gifts (again). My Christmas was made right there. I only asked for one thing this year and I got it. I got a Tassimo Brewing Station. Dechlan loved opening gifts and passing them around to everyone. He was such a little helper. Once he was done all his gifts he thought it would be okay to help everyone open theirs before they even got it.

We all did great with gifts. We all got what we wanted. Well, that isn't quite true, Dechlan asked Santa for a real, live bunny rabbit and he didn't bring him one. He was a little sad. But he seems to have forgotten it today.

Around 2pm, we headed over to family friends for Christmas dinner. It was lots of fun and we ate SO much. Turkey, ham, sausage stuffing, roasted veggies, YUM! There were so many goodies for after dinner too. mini cheesecakes, cookies, cake balls, cupcakes, Christmas pudding and macaroons. You know you're part of a British family when you have more goodies than actually real food.

Last night we all just sat around feeling very satisfied and exhausted. Dechlan passed out pretty hard just after 7pm. Nick and I watched one of the movies I got for Christmas and then read until I got a little silly for exhaustion and passed out. Today, we are all still quite tired. Early night tonight I think

I hope you all had an amazing Christmas or whatever holiday you celebrate.

T'was the week before Christmas and this mama realised that she hasn't figured out what to make for Christmas. I'm known to make cupcakes but this year I want to make something new. I'm not sure what I'm going to make! I will be making red velvet cake balls as gifts. I'm thinking Friday I will make the cake balls and keep them in the fridge until Sunday. I've never made them before so if they don't turn out, I still have time to fix it or make something new.

I might end up making gingerbread cupcakes to bring to Christmas dinner. Who knows. I have a few days to go through my cookbooks and blogs I follow to find something.

I'm really excited that Christmas is 1 week away. Dechlan is even more excited than anyone. I can't wait to see his face as he opens his gifts.

Dechlan is 4 years old and he hasn't really understood or even really cared about Christmas. He's really gotten into it this year. He doesn't quite understand the whole Santa thing but loves Christmas anyway. He has really gotten into the Christmas tree decorating. We even got him his own little tree and he decorated it. He really loved it.

You never fully appreciate Christmas until you have a child, or atleast that is how it was for Nick and I. I have always loved Christmas, but having a child has made it even more amazing. It's been really special for us.

Dechlan has really gotten into Christmas. He loves the movies, the decorations and even baking with me. What has really been cute is hearing him hum along to holiday music. It's the cutest thing ever hearing him sing Jingle Bells. He says it's his favourite. It's just amazing hearing him sing the songs.

It gets more and more amazing every single year with him. His first Christmas was at 3.5 months old. He opened 1 gift, decided the paper was better than the gift. Then he proceeded to fall asleep. It was absolutely amazing.

His 2nd and 3rdand 4th Christmases were spent trying to get him to just open ALL the gifts and convince him that he could play with the toys a little later. Hopefully this year he understands that. Either way, Christmas is always amazing for him.

He is the only Grand-child for my Mom and Nick's parents so he gets spoiled to death. I have to admit that we spoil him as well. That's the great part of having one child, you can spend so much more on the child.

I just love the Holidays with my little family. I'm so thankful for them. You really do make my Christmases the best and brightest.

I love Christmas. I'm always happiest in winter in general. I love snow and everything that comes along with it. I especially love holiday movies. Unlike my husband, I can't get sick of Christmas.

I love curling up on the couch with hot cocoa and watching a movie with my family. Everyone has movies they watch every single year. Movies that really make Christmas special. My family has favourites too.

Dechlan's favourite holiday movie is Frosty The Snowman. He doesn't seem to get sick of the movie. It was one of my favourites when I was younger. He's really into Christmas and everything that comes along with it.

My favourite holiday movies are Elf and The Polar Express. Those two are must see movies for me every year. It doesn't really feel like Christmas without those two. Dechlan watched them both this year and thought they were pretty awesome. It's so amazing to share them with my child.

My husband only has one movie has needs to watch. He loves Scrooged. I'm not a big fan of Bill Murray but even I like that movie. It's a great story. I don't think Nick get into the Christmas spirit until he sees that movie.

What are your favourite holiday movies?

In my recipe search for holiday goodies, I found a recipe that I just HAD to make. It's called Peppermint Bark. It's chocolate on top of chocolate topped with candy canes. I love chocolate and I love candy canes.

The recipe was super easy. So here it is!

Peppermint Bark:

6 ounces (170 grams) semi sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

2 teaspoons vegetable oil (flavorless oil)

6 ounces (170 grams) white chocolate, coarsely chopped

1/3 - 1/2 cup (80-120 ml) crushed candy canes

Line the bottom and sides of an 8 inch (20 cm) square baking pan with aluminum foil, smoothing out any wrinkles.

Melt the semi sweet chocolate with 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil in a heatproof bowl placed over a saucepan of simmering water. Immediately pour the melted chocolate into the prepared pan and tilt the pan so the chocolate makes an even layer. Place in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes, or until the chocolate has set.

Then, melt the white chocolate with the remaining 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil in a heatproof bowl placed over a saucepan of simmering water. Immediately pour the melted white chocolate over the dark chocolate and tilt the pan so the chocolate is in an even layer. Sprinkle the crushed candy canes evenly over the white chocolate. Place in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes, or until the chocolate has set.

Remove the Peppermint Bark from the pan by lifting the edges of the aluminum foil. Peel back the foil and break, or cut, the bark into small irregular pieces. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.

Makes about 25 pieces. Preparation time 45 minutes.

Today, that is exactly what I said to my husband after he gave me a look saying 'Really Sweetie, You're starting your Holiday lists already?'  Why yes, yes I am. I love to plan. Holidays always get busy and I don't like being stuck in big crowds of people. I like to get my lists done early and do the shopping in November/ early December. I have NEVER had to go shopping in big crowds of people. I'm never rushed either. I like that.

So, today I've started getting some ideas ready for the Holiday season. I'm going to go through magazines and pick out recipes for my baking, and possible crafts I can do with Dechlan. He's at the age that he can help me bake and do some fun arts and crafts.

I love being done everything by December. I've already started on my Holiday music mix and I'm starting to make a list of recipes I'm going to use. I'm getting a head start already :)