I have officially finished transferring all of my old posts to my new blog! It was painstaking, and if you look under July 6th you will see about 80 posts, all with the original published date included in the actual post.
So, this is my last post on Maier Musings, and the official launch of my new blog
Sunny Side Up
It can be found by clicking the link above, or by going to sunnykatie.wordpress.com
Thanks for visiting, and I hope to see you at the new site! For those of you who have me on their blogreel, remember to switch it up!
Thanks!
-Katie
Wednesday, 6 July 2011
C-C-C-Changes!
There are going to be some changes coming on my blog soon. I have been considering moving to wordpress for a while now because so many of you have emailed me with frustration that the comments don't work unless you have a blog. The final straw happened yesterday when I tried to reply on a comment and it wouldn't let me! On my own blog! Annoying.
Anyway, I started setting it up yesterday, and it is slow going because I am not familiar with the platform, and it is not quite as user friendly as blogger is. Regardless, I am going to plug ahead!
On a random positive note, Abby and I are both sporting pretty wicked colds that leave our faces looking like glazed donuts if we don't have kleenex handy. I actually fell asleep with a kleenex in my hand last night. Shestood up and started squawking woke up peacefully this morning at 5:55 (what???) and then was back up before Ty left for work, so he brought her into bed with me...where we promptly fell asleep and woke up after 9:00. Score.
Anyway, back to the grind of getting the new blog format up!
Anyway, I started setting it up yesterday, and it is slow going because I am not familiar with the platform, and it is not quite as user friendly as blogger is. Regardless, I am going to plug ahead!
On a random positive note, Abby and I are both sporting pretty wicked colds that leave our faces looking like glazed donuts if we don't have kleenex handy. I actually fell asleep with a kleenex in my hand last night. She
Anyway, back to the grind of getting the new blog format up!
Tuesday, 5 July 2011
2 tickets to Paradise
Ok, so it was 3, but that title sounds so much better! Here is a little summary of our trip to Pratt Lake.
On Wednesday night, we hit the road around 6 pm. It is an 8 hour drive, so we really weren't sure what Abrielle would think of being strapped into a car seat for that long. She thought it was great to have company (me) in the backseat with her, until it was time to have a nap and then she wanted me to hold her. Eventually, I just turned and ignored her for a few minutes and she fell asleep straight away. Score. She managed to sleep for the majority of the ride there, and we only stopped once for fuel. We arrived at the cabin at around 2:15 in the morning, and for some stupid reason we stayed up until 4:30 in the morning chatting with Ryan and Andrea who had arrived a few hours before.
The next day everyone (including the Porters, who actually own the cabin!) arrived, and we got everyone unpacked, food put away, and settled and then it was time to catch some sun. The weather was amazing, and before long we had the volleyball court raked, the net set up, and it was time for a game. Initially, I didn't want to play because a) I haven't played since junior high and b) I needed to look after Abby. Eventually it was decided that GG would watch Abbers and I was in on the court. Turns out I have not a half bad serve! Kelly and I almost killed each other a few times, but we left unscathed.
A tradition there after volleyball, since everyone is so sweaty and sandy is to have a lake bath. Basically, everyone piles on the boat with their bathing suit and shampoo, we drive to the middle, and everyone jumps in and gets clean. So cold, but so much fun! The one time I went out though, when we stopped the bilge wouldn't work and the motor wouldn't fire and we started taking on water and had to contemplate swimming for shore. Luckily, Dave got 'er started and we made it back safe and sound.
On the first night, akin to Harry Potter, there is a sorting into teams. There are two themes at the Porter cabin: Bears and Pirates. The teams are divided into Grizzlies (Dave's team), Care bears (Sherry's team) and Polars (Shirley's team). There is a rotating schedule of cooking, cleaning the cabin, and yard work and the teams work together to get it done quickly and in a way that no one is working too much or not at all. It's a great system. I was a Griz this year.
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The next few days were spent mostly in the same fashion: Wake up, grab something to eat, catch some sun, have a second breakfast, play volley ball, hang out in the hot tub, chill on the porch, beer pong, night time fires, too much alcohol, too much food and many inside jokes that made us roar with laughter EVERY time. We had crazy hat night (a Porter tradition), Tate's birthday and some Canada day fireworks. When Monday morning rolled around we were really sad to say goodbye and not really looking forward to another 8 hour drive.
Kelly and I sat in the back this time and Abby had no problem with napping when she was tired. Other than a little bit of construction, it was a smooth ride home and we arrived back at a decent hour. Even though I had changed her half way through the drive, when we got home we discovered that Abby had peed through her diaper, clothes and car seat. Oops.
Today is that awful post-vacation day that will be busy with errands, laundry, grocery shopping and catching up on everything that happened while we were away. It was such an amazing vacation though, I wouldn't trade it for anything!
On Wednesday night, we hit the road around 6 pm. It is an 8 hour drive, so we really weren't sure what Abrielle would think of being strapped into a car seat for that long. She thought it was great to have company (me) in the backseat with her, until it was time to have a nap and then she wanted me to hold her. Eventually, I just turned and ignored her for a few minutes and she fell asleep straight away. Score. She managed to sleep for the majority of the ride there, and we only stopped once for fuel. We arrived at the cabin at around 2:15 in the morning, and for some stupid reason we stayed up until 4:30 in the morning chatting with Ryan and Andrea who had arrived a few hours before.
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| And we're off! |
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| The kitchen |
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| Our accommodations were in the loft |
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| Living room |
The next day everyone (including the Porters, who actually own the cabin!) arrived, and we got everyone unpacked, food put away, and settled and then it was time to catch some sun. The weather was amazing, and before long we had the volleyball court raked, the net set up, and it was time for a game. Initially, I didn't want to play because a) I haven't played since junior high and b) I needed to look after Abby. Eventually it was decided that GG would watch Abbers and I was in on the court. Turns out I have not a half bad serve! Kelly and I almost killed each other a few times, but we left unscathed.
A tradition there after volleyball, since everyone is so sweaty and sandy is to have a lake bath. Basically, everyone piles on the boat with their bathing suit and shampoo, we drive to the middle, and everyone jumps in and gets clean. So cold, but so much fun! The one time I went out though, when we stopped the bilge wouldn't work and the motor wouldn't fire and we started taking on water and had to contemplate swimming for shore. Luckily, Dave got 'er started and we made it back safe and sound.
 |
| Fresh and clean! |
On the first night, akin to Harry Potter, there is a sorting into teams. There are two themes at the Porter cabin: Bears and Pirates. The teams are divided into Grizzlies (Dave's team), Care bears (Sherry's team) and Polars (Shirley's team). There is a rotating schedule of cooking, cleaning the cabin, and yard work and the teams work together to get it done quickly and in a way that no one is working too much or not at all. It's a great system. I was a Griz this year.
The next few days were spent mostly in the same fashion: Wake up, grab something to eat, catch some sun, have a second breakfast, play volley ball, hang out in the hot tub, chill on the porch, beer pong, night time fires, too much alcohol, too much food and many inside jokes that made us roar with laughter EVERY time. We had crazy hat night (a Porter tradition), Tate's birthday and some Canada day fireworks. When Monday morning rolled around we were really sad to say goodbye and not really looking forward to another 8 hour drive.
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| Game on! |
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| Sunning that little body |
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| beer pong! |
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| The Maier's representing on Crazy Hat night |
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| Hot tub time! |
Kelly and I sat in the back this time and Abby had no problem with napping when she was tired. Other than a little bit of construction, it was a smooth ride home and we arrived back at a decent hour. Even though I had changed her half way through the drive, when we got home we discovered that Abby had peed through her diaper, clothes and car seat. Oops.
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| Sleeping beauties |
Today is that awful post-vacation day that will be busy with errands, laundry, grocery shopping and catching up on everything that happened while we were away. It was such an amazing vacation though, I wouldn't trade it for anything!
Monday, 4 July 2011
Home
After an 8 hour drive, we are home again safe and sound! It was an amazing trip full of sun, sand, sunscreen, too much booze, too much food and way too much fun! I laughed until I cried on more than one occassion, had my first lake bath, and may or may not have demonstrated my ability to put my entire fist in my mouth. Twice.
More details (and pictures!) to come tomorrow!
More details (and pictures!) to come tomorrow!
Wednesday, 29 June 2011
Paradise (almost) Lost
Today is the day! We are heading out on an almost 8 hour journey to Pratt Lake, Sk for 5 days, and I can't wait. Pratt Lake is paradise, our friends who host us are fantastic, and it is just such a relaxing vacation. I have a few things left to do today before we head out, but last night our plans almost came to a screeching halt.
I was lying in bed reading last night when I heard Abby give a little cough, which I thought nothing of. Then she gave a choky cough that was enough to make me jump out of bed and rush to her room, where she was laying on her back vomiting.
Remember all those times where I have marvelled at how much she can eat? Well, I was able to gauge he stomach contents quite well last night. Ty was a trooper and came up from watching a movie to grab all of her laundry while I gave her a bath. Puke was EVERYWHERE on her...on her body, under her chin, in her ear, in her hair...ick. I didn't want to nurse her in case it was gastro, so I gave her a bottle of water and settled her back in bed...and pro ceded to head back into that room every hour until 5:30, and sleep with the baby monitor on even though our rooms are side by side.
As worried as I was about her, I was also worried our travel plans would be affected. Isn't that selfish? I can't help it though, I am so looking forward to going and showing Abby all of the cool things there! Tyler and I were talking about how excited we are to put her in the sand and let her explore.
She seems to be on the mend this morning, so we are crossing our fingers that all is well. I wont be posting for about a week, so I will see you back then!
I was lying in bed reading last night when I heard Abby give a little cough, which I thought nothing of. Then she gave a choky cough that was enough to make me jump out of bed and rush to her room, where she was laying on her back vomiting.
Remember all those times where I have marvelled at how much she can eat? Well, I was able to gauge he stomach contents quite well last night. Ty was a trooper and came up from watching a movie to grab all of her laundry while I gave her a bath. Puke was EVERYWHERE on her...on her body, under her chin, in her ear, in her hair...ick. I didn't want to nurse her in case it was gastro, so I gave her a bottle of water and settled her back in bed...and pro ceded to head back into that room every hour until 5:30, and sleep with the baby monitor on even though our rooms are side by side.
As worried as I was about her, I was also worried our travel plans would be affected. Isn't that selfish? I can't help it though, I am so looking forward to going and showing Abby all of the cool things there! Tyler and I were talking about how excited we are to put her in the sand and let her explore.
She seems to be on the mend this morning, so we are crossing our fingers that all is well. I wont be posting for about a week, so I will see you back then!
Tuesday, 28 June 2011
Eggplant recipe overload!
My friend Bev asked for some eggplant recipes, so I thought I would share a few that my family likes. First though, a tip regarding selecting eggplants. The smaller, the less bitter they are. If you buy a big ol' eggplant, chop it up and throw it into a stir fry or sauce, it is going to be GROSS. For recipes like that, select Japanese (baby) eggplant.
OK, so you have a big ass eggplant...what to do? Here are my three favourites:
Katie's F'ed Up Healthy Sh!t Dip
So named by my brother in law who loves this dip, but actually hates every single ingredient in it. Hence the F'ed up part! You can also use this as a sauce for pasta or rice.
Ingredients
1 large eggplant
1 red pepper
2 zucchinis
3 tomatoes
1 head garlic
1 handful parsley
1 red onion
2 tbsp ketchup
salt and pepper to taste
Rough chop eggplant, pepper, onion, tomato and zucchini and place on cookie sheet. Add cloves of garlic, and drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast at 400 degrees for about 45 minutes.
Allow to cool slightly and then pulse in a food processor until very lumpy, but mixed. Add a handful of parsley and 2 tbsp ketchup, continue to puree to a grainy texture. Best served warm.
Eggplant Lasagna (Vegan..feel free to add cheese)
4-5 Japanese eggplant
2 cans tomato sauce
1 red pepper
1 green pepper
3 handfuls spinach
olive oil
1 onion
1 handful mushroom
On a mandolin, or using a very sharp knife, slice eggplant as thin as possible to make "noodles"
Boil eggplant until soft
Sautee remaining veggies in olive oil until semi-soft, add spinach and allow to wilt.
Layer eggplant noodles, sauce and veggies into a lasagna, bake at 325 degrees for about 45 minutes.
Eggplant Parmigiana
1 large eggplant
1 cup soy milk
1 can crushed tomato
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup cornmeal
olive oil
1 green pepper
1 zucchini
1 onion
1 handful mushrooms
1 tbsp Italian seasoning
Sautee onion, mushroom, green pepper, and zucchini (all diced) until soft, and then add can of crushed tomato and Italian seasoning. Allow to simmer.
Slice eggplant thinly and allow to soak in soy milk as you preheat a skillet with olive oil about 1 inch deep.
Combine flour and cornmeal and dredge eggplant slices, fry 2-3 at a time until crispy and golden. Serve immediately with marinara sauce made above, and enjoy!
OK, so you have a big ass eggplant...what to do? Here are my three favourites:
Katie's F'ed Up Healthy Sh!t Dip
So named by my brother in law who loves this dip, but actually hates every single ingredient in it. Hence the F'ed up part! You can also use this as a sauce for pasta or rice.
Ingredients
1 large eggplant
1 red pepper
2 zucchinis
3 tomatoes
1 head garlic
1 handful parsley
1 red onion
2 tbsp ketchup
salt and pepper to taste
Rough chop eggplant, pepper, onion, tomato and zucchini and place on cookie sheet. Add cloves of garlic, and drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast at 400 degrees for about 45 minutes.
Allow to cool slightly and then pulse in a food processor until very lumpy, but mixed. Add a handful of parsley and 2 tbsp ketchup, continue to puree to a grainy texture. Best served warm.
Eggplant Lasagna (Vegan..feel free to add cheese)
4-5 Japanese eggplant
2 cans tomato sauce
1 red pepper
1 green pepper
3 handfuls spinach
olive oil
1 onion
1 handful mushroom
On a mandolin, or using a very sharp knife, slice eggplant as thin as possible to make "noodles"
Boil eggplant until soft
Sautee remaining veggies in olive oil until semi-soft, add spinach and allow to wilt.
Layer eggplant noodles, sauce and veggies into a lasagna, bake at 325 degrees for about 45 minutes.
Eggplant Parmigiana
1 large eggplant
1 cup soy milk
1 can crushed tomato
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup cornmeal
olive oil
1 green pepper
1 zucchini
1 onion
1 handful mushrooms
1 tbsp Italian seasoning
Sautee onion, mushroom, green pepper, and zucchini (all diced) until soft, and then add can of crushed tomato and Italian seasoning. Allow to simmer.
Slice eggplant thinly and allow to soak in soy milk as you preheat a skillet with olive oil about 1 inch deep.
Combine flour and cornmeal and dredge eggplant slices, fry 2-3 at a time until crispy and golden. Serve immediately with marinara sauce made above, and enjoy!
Le Suck
That is my description of teething. Le suck.
After my last post about teething, things calmed right down and Abrielle went back to being her normal, cheerful, giggly self. She went back to being able to play independently without needing me by her side every minute of the day.
Yesterday, she had 2 solid 2.5 hour naps and was nodding off again at 6 pm. We managed to keep her up until closer to 8 and she went down like a champ as she normally does. So, you can understand my confusion starting around 1 am when I heard noises coming from her room. I honestly didn't understand what I was waking up to at first, and then I clued in that she was crying. I went in, thinking I would just pop a soother into her sleepy mouth and then we would be done with it.
No.
She was on all fours and looking up at me with tears and snot streaming down her little face. My poor babes :-( So, we had a cuddle and eventually she went back to sleep. I went back to bed thinking how strange that was that she had woken up, but chalked it up to her excessive napping.
2 am, same drill, only this time I fed her and gave her some Tylenol.
3 am...up again
4 am....once again
5 am...in for another cuddle, I tried feeding her again and this time gave her some advil because she was warm. Around 5:20 I finally texted my gym buddy and said I would either be late or a no show. Sadly, I wa a no show, as I eventually gave up and brought her in to bed with me. She was so exhausted that she just curled her hot little body into mine and drifted off. We slept in until about 8 thankfully.
I know that there is probably not a lot of sympathy out there, as my baby has slept at least 7 hour stretches since she was a week old, and now does 12 hours at a clip, but here is the deal. We don't do this in my house. Everyone sleeps through the night, no exceptions. I am not use to getting up throughout the night and it really throws me and rearranges my plans. I have a lot of things to do today before we head out to Pratt Lake (aka Paradise) tomorrow, and I need my baby back so that I can do it! We'll cross our fingers that my little miss perks up and feels better.
After my last post about teething, things calmed right down and Abrielle went back to being her normal, cheerful, giggly self. She went back to being able to play independently without needing me by her side every minute of the day.
Yesterday, she had 2 solid 2.5 hour naps and was nodding off again at 6 pm. We managed to keep her up until closer to 8 and she went down like a champ as she normally does. So, you can understand my confusion starting around 1 am when I heard noises coming from her room. I honestly didn't understand what I was waking up to at first, and then I clued in that she was crying. I went in, thinking I would just pop a soother into her sleepy mouth and then we would be done with it.
No.
She was on all fours and looking up at me with tears and snot streaming down her little face. My poor babes :-( So, we had a cuddle and eventually she went back to sleep. I went back to bed thinking how strange that was that she had woken up, but chalked it up to her excessive napping.
2 am, same drill, only this time I fed her and gave her some Tylenol.
3 am...up again
4 am....once again
5 am...in for another cuddle, I tried feeding her again and this time gave her some advil because she was warm. Around 5:20 I finally texted my gym buddy and said I would either be late or a no show. Sadly, I wa a no show, as I eventually gave up and brought her in to bed with me. She was so exhausted that she just curled her hot little body into mine and drifted off. We slept in until about 8 thankfully.
I know that there is probably not a lot of sympathy out there, as my baby has slept at least 7 hour stretches since she was a week old, and now does 12 hours at a clip, but here is the deal. We don't do this in my house. Everyone sleeps through the night, no exceptions. I am not use to getting up throughout the night and it really throws me and rearranges my plans. I have a lot of things to do today before we head out to Pratt Lake (aka Paradise) tomorrow, and I need my baby back so that I can do it! We'll cross our fingers that my little miss perks up and feels better.
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