Alison's Dad's Chicken Bacon Special

Gord made Alison's Dad's Chicken Bacon Special for supper this evening ... the recipe is in the Best of Bridge Slow Cooker Cookbook.  I'd made it August 2012.  It was easy and yummy!

I've copied and pasted the following from Gord's blog.

You'll need:

• 8 skinless bone-in chicken thighs
• 8 slices of bacon
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 apple, peeled and grated
• 1 1/2 cups BBQ sauce, mild or spicy depending on what you like
• 1/2 cup of chicken broth
• 5-6 quart slow cooker or crock pot

Skin the chicken and and wrap a slice of bacon around each piece and place in the slow cooker.

Meeting my first cousin, Janine

My father had one sister, Liz, along with three half-brothers and a half-sister. He died in 1971 and in the next year or so, our family moved and lost touch with his family.

Fast forward to the mid 1990s and I found Liz (my grandmother had since died).  We kept in touch for a couple years but lost touch again when she moved.  I found out in 2007 she'd died and I went to the memorial service.

Liz and Armand had five daughters (so my first cousins) ... I am FaceBook friends with four of them.  Because of the strange circumstances, we don't really know each other, though.  Isn't that sad?

Guess what?!  I spent today with one of Liz's daughters, Janine.  Whoohoo!  She and I are the same age (Janine has two older sisters and two younger sisters) and this is the first time we'd ever met.  She and her husband, Kelly, live about 1.5 hours NE of Toronto and I drove to their place.

Janine had lots of stories to tell (I know very little about my father's side of the family) and pictures ... and even an old scrapbook of clippings our grandfather had put together.  Janine made delicious pizza for lunch and Kelly made chilli for supper (I was too full from lunch to have any, though).

First cousins ... Janine and I

Kelly and Janine

It was great to get to meet Janine and Kelly and spend time (eight hours!) with them! I hope to see them again soon!

Update:  Sister Sarah has reminded us that we met back in the summer of 1998 at Janine's mom's place.  She and I couldn't have spent too much time together because neither of us remember.  I have a picture of Janine and one of her sisters so it did happen.

Book ~ "Hospice Voices" (2013) Eric Lindner

From Goodreads ~ As a part-time hospice volunteer, Eric Lindner provides companion care to dying strangers. They're chatterboxes and recluses, religious and irreligious, battered by cancer, congestive heart failure, Alzheimer's, old age. Some cling to life amazingly. Most pass as they expected.   In telling his story, Lindner reveals the thoughts, fears, and lessons of those living the ends of their lives in the care of others, having exhausted their medical options or ceased treatment for their illnesses. In each chapter, Lindner not only reveals the lessons of lives explored in their final days but zeroes in on how working for hospice can be incredibly fulfilling. 

As he's not a doctor, nurse, or professional social worker, just a volunteer lending a hand, offering a respite for other care providers, his charges often reveal more, and in more detail, to him than they do to those with whom they spend the majority of their time. They impart what they feel are life lessons as they reflect on their own lives and the prospect of their last days. 

Lindner captures it all in his lively storytelling.  Anyone who knows or loves someone working through end of life issues, living in hospice or other end of life facilities, or dealing with terminal or chronic illnesses, will find in these pages the wisdom of those who are working through their own end of life issues, tackling life's big questions, and boiling them down into lessons for anyone as they age or face illness. And those who may feel compelled to volunteer to serve as companions will find motivation, inspiration, and encouragement. Rather than sink under the weight of depression, pity, or sorrow, Lindner celebrates the lives of those who choose to live even as they die.

Eric is doing well financially and has a wife and kids.  He felt the need to give back and was lucky enough to be able to become a hospice volunteer.  Many people in their final days are alone, living in poverty and/or are afraid.  Hospice volunteers spend time with these people hoping to make their last days happier and more comfortable.  During his training, Eric learned that the average hospice patient survives three months ... patients he was assigned to slipped away within hours while others thrived for years.

In this book, we get to know Bob, Little One, Dolly, Gordon, Ellen, Howard and Cricket.  And Eric doesn't just give comfort to them but also to their families.  In fact, he keeps in touch with some of the families after his patients have passed on.

I was expecting it to be depressing but it wasn't.  Yes, there is a lot of death but it's not dealt on ... most are a phone call or a text.  The focus instead is on learning the stories of Eric patients and the joy they receive in Eric's company as their days starting winding down.

It sounds like it takes a fair bit of time and dedication to be a hospice volunteer.  I guess it depends on how many patients you have and the level of commitment you give them.  Eric was taking them on errands, bringing them cookies and cakes, calling when he was out of town, sending postcards, etc.  While I think volunteering would be an awesome thing to do, I don't think I could handle it emotionally ... getting to know someone only to lose them so soon.

I would recommend this book.   

All book profits will be donated to organizations committed to improving the lives of hospice patients and their families.

An Avicii parady for dog and cat lovers!

Homewood Suites by Hilton, London, ON

I have an enrolment seminar to conduct this morning in London.  It's more than a two hour drive at the best of times from home.  With weather and traffic, I didn't want to chance it so drove down yesterday.  As it turns out, the drive was brutal and took 4.5 hours because they'd closed the highway for most of the day.

I stayed at the Homewood Suites (401/Exeter).  

Studio suites are $120/night and I spent the extra $5 and got a one bedroom suite (so $125/night).

Living room

Kitchen/dining room

Living/dining room/kitchen and entrance - the door to the left is the bedroom

Gym stereotypes

I've been wanting to get back to the gym this week but it's been so freakin' cold ... so I've been coming straight home from work.

My friend, Yvette, who is a trainer, posted this on Facebook today and I thought it was a hoot!



Which stereotype are you?

I'm one of the guys in the beginning.  Once I get to the gym, I'm fine ... it's the getting there part that's tough for me.

Book ~ "Tweet Naked: A Bare-All Social Media Strategy for Boosting Your Brand and Your Business" (2014) Scott Levy

From Goodreads ~ Presenting a fresh perspective on a common challenge, author Scott Levy delivers a new answer to every business owner’s social media question - how can I make social media work for me? Levy’s solution takes a cue from another explosive media phenomenon: reality TV. Levy invites you to create the same magnetism that pulls reality TV viewers in by using the same tools: transparency, authenticity and a human element.

Learn how to use social platforms such as Twitter to tactfully share, or bare, your brand, inciting consumer action. Also learn how to strip your social media strategy down to what works for your brand, exhibit transparency that engages followers on all popular social channels, and create brand consistency across all social platforms. Other topics cover engineering positive brand impacts and avoid devastating damage, using crowdsourcing and retweets, and lifting a brand from relative obscurity to significant popularity.

Real-life examples relate well-known business brands such as Sharpie and Jet Blue, and personal brands such as NFL Runningback DeAngelo Williams. Discover exactly what it takes to seduce the masses and turn them from passive followers into brand champions and loyal brand buyers.

I find social media and how fast it's grown fascinating.  I'm on Facebook and LinkedIn.  I'm on Twitter but I'm not very active.  I'm obviously a blogger.  I have a pro Flickr account and have loaded tons of pictures.  I opened a Pinterest account (I think) but haven't really been there ... what I'm active on is time consuming enough.

This is a good book for business owners and managers who are wondering if they should get involved with social media and how.  The book takes you step-by-step and the chapters are:

1. What is social media?
2. Transparency and authenticity - be yourself, how to be transparent, how being transparent can hurt you, etc.
3. Building your brand - personal vs corporate, customer service and caring about people, your corporate culture, etc.
4. Convergence strategies and your social media team - ensuring the messages on your social media platform are consistent, should you be responding 24/7, etc.
5. Ways to engage - finding your audience, encouraging engagement, content, tips for each platform, etc.
6. How to building a following - sharing your expertise, retweeting, how many followers should you seek, etc.
7. Measuring and monitoring your success - metrics, conversion, return on investment, etc.
8. Advanced social media tips and tricks - explanation of what Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Pinterest are
9. Resources
10. Social media glossary

I liked that there were lots of examples of things people and companies had done right but also what they had done wrong.  A personal example for me are the Hot Stuffs I had bought in November.  They were nasty and I blogged about it.  I put the link on Twitter along with Schneiders' Twitter name.  Within a week, I heard from Bonnie and got compensated with $20 coupons (compensation wasn't my intent).  So I went from dissing Schneiders to blogging how much their customer service rocked.

You should check out this book if you are a business owner and aren't hooked up to social media ... I'm always surprised when I come across companies that aren't.

Book ~ "Notes to Boys and Other Things I Shouldn't Share in Public" (2014) Pamela Ribon

From Goodreads ~ Notes to Boys and Other Things I Shouldn't Share in Public is a "mortifying memoir" from best-selling author and tv/film writer Pamela Ribon. 

Miserably trapped in small town Texas with no invention of the Internet in sight, Ribon spent countless hours of her high school years writing letters to her (often unrequited) crushes. The big question is why she always kept a copy for herself. 

Wince along with Ribon as she tries to understand exactly how she ever thought she'd win a boy's heart by writing him a letter that began: "Share with me your soul," and ends with some remarkably awkward erotica. You'll come for the incredibly bad poetry, but you'll stay for the incredibly bad poetry about racism.

Can you imagine finding the diaries and letters you'd written when you were a teenager and reading them as a adult?  Apparently the author did and this book is her analysis of them.

The book quotes the writings by date and the author cuts in to say what was going on at the time or make a snarky comment.  And other times, the author provides detail about wanting to lose her virginity, her dad having the talk with her about the facts of life, the various boys she'd become obsessed with (some didn't know she existed), etc.

I thought this book sounded like it would be a hoot ... and it was for a while.  But I found it was the same thing over and over and I got bored with it.   And I found it hard to believe that a 15-year-old would actually put down on paper these ramblings.  I felt kind of bad for her teenage self because she was so desperate to be loved.

This book wasn't for me, I guess.

Delicious lemon tarts

Steve and Simone are our neighbours who live upstairs.  When they go out of town, I check on their kitty, Maybelline.

What a sweetie!

Steve is a chef and a hospitality teacher. He dropped off a couple lemon tarts he'd made this afternoon.

It sounded like quite a process to make ... pour on the lemon mixture and bake, then pull it out of the oven and pour on more lemon mixture, etc.  I'm soooooo not a baker so can appreciate the work that went into them.

As Steve suggested, Gord and I split one this evening.  It was rich, really lemony and delicious!

Thanks, Steve!

Our new couch

When I moved into our condo in June 2001, I bought a new couch.

In the last couple of years, it's been showing its age ... kitties scratching it in places, the springs in the corners where Gord and I sit sagging, etc.

We've been talking for the last year about buying a new one but time got away from us.  Last month we shopped around and tried out a bunch.  We found one we liked at the Brick.

I ordered it last week and it was delivered this afternoon ... whoohoo!

It looks like Morgan approves!

They called this morning about 8:30am and said it would be here between 1pm and 4pm ... so we hauled our old couch to the garbage area around 12:30pm.  It arrived at 1:11pm!

It's a good thing I ordered it last week ... the sale is over and it's now $300 more!

Book ~ "The Fixer" (2012) T.E. Woods

From Goodreads ~ An enigmatic vigilante known as The Fixer steps into the lives of the most depraved criminals and balances thwarted scales of justice. For those who employ her, she’s their last hope. For her targets, she’s an inescapable date with righteous payback.

And for The Fixer, each contract she accepts is a futile effort to silence her own demons. In her latest assignment, she violates every rule that has kept her safe. The Fixer is trapped into serving as personal assassin for an invisible employer who strips her of the safety she’s deluded herself existed. As she begins to mentally unravel, she knows her only hope for survival is to identify and destroy her controller.

When Mort Grant, Chief of Detectives for the Seattle PD, learns the death of a prominent university faculty member wasn’t the heart attack it was designed to look like, he uncovers the dark underbelly of animal research and academic politics. Where sex is as viable a currency as a million dollar grant and power is held with an iron grasp. His search for the killer puts him on the trail of The Fixer.

Mort encounters Lydia Corriger, a talented psychologist, with a beautiful and mysterious new patient who mystifies her and tests her considerable clinical skills. Together, Mort and Lydia work to untangle a complex weave of sadistic cruelty, sexual manipulation and limitless money that finds them fighting for their sanity and their lives.

The Fixer accepts jobs that right wrongs.  She is hired to kill Fred Bastian, a chair of neuroscience at the local university, because he inhumanely killed a gorilla in his lab.  It turns out she was watched and set up so she would have to do further killings for the person who had hired her for Bastian's murder.

Lydia Corriger is a psychologist.  Savannah Samuels becomes her patient and is cagey in offering information about why she is there and what she does for a living.  This frustrates Lydia who does what she can to gain Savannah's trust so she can help her.

Mort Grant is a cop who is investigating some deaths which he eventually suspects the Fixer is behind.  Working with Jim DeVilla, the chief of forensics, and Bruiser, Jim's dog, they get closer to finding out who the Fixer is and solving the murders.

This is the first book I've read by this author and I enjoyed it.  I liked the writing style.  I thought it was well-paced and flowed well.  There is a lot going on in the beginning with lots of characters but it eventually all comes together and makes sense.  As a head's up, the language is for mature readers.

I liked the characters.  All have had tragedy in their past that still affects them today.  I liked the interaction between Mort and his friends ... how he teases Jim about his crush on their much younger colleague and in the bar with his crossword puzzle solving buddy.  Mort also has a loving relationship with his son, Robbie, and Robbie's family.

This is apparently book one in the Mort Grant series and I look forward to reading others in the future.

Book ~ "Snack Girl to the Rescue! A Real-Life Guide to Eating Healthy, Slimming Down, and Enjoying Food" (2014) Lisa Cain

From Goodreads ~ From popular blogger Lisa Cain, aka "Snack Girl," a common-sense guide to healthier eating and weight loss, including 100 Weight Watchers-friendly recipes. 

Since 2009, Lisa Cain has been blogging at Snack-Girl.com about how to make healthy changes in your diet and lifestyle. Her mission is to share the secrets and recipes that have helped her stay fit and healthy, without sacrificing fun or flavor. 

Snack Girl to the Rescue contains Lisa's best advice on avoiding common weight-loss pitfalls, shopping healthier on a budget and getting in shape, along with 100 recipes for fun, quick, and affordable meals and snacks. Written in Snack Girl's signature voice - down to earth, encouraging, and funny - this is the go-to resource for anyone looking to incorporate healthier food choices into their lives, whether they are looking to lose weight, have more energy, or just feel more confident about their family's nutrition.

I like reading books about getting healthy and this one caught my eye. 

This book is split into two parts.  The first part is about encouragement and guidance:

• Healthy weight and healthy image - various diets, weight loss pills, prepackaged foods/shakes/cleanses, journaling, etc.
• Healthy cooking - utensils, costs, supermarket versus organic, getting your family to eat healthy, etc.
• Everyday temptations
• Emotional eating
• Exercise
• Food marketing - packaging, buzz words, processing, labels, etc.

The second part are recipes.  I tend to be fairly fussy and found that most of them looked easy to make and delicious.

I've read lots of books on getting healthy and really enjoyed this one.  I didn't learn anything new but it was a great reminder that it's not that hard to get back/stay on track.

I liked the writing style.  A lot of these types of books are written by doctors and nutritionists ... while the information is solid, the writing tends to be scientific and serious.  This book isn't like that at all ... there was lots of great information and it had a conversational manner as if the author was chatting with me.

The author is a mom of two and keeps that in mind as she discusses her strategies ... she doesn't have the time to make anything fancy.  In fact, she doesn't really enjoy cooking but she wants ensure that her family eats healthy most of the time.  The ingredients she uses aren't expensive and are things you probably have in your kitchen anyway.

I'd never heard of Snack Girl but I've since added her link to my blog list.

Toronto Rock 16, Calgary Roughnecks 11

Gord and I had gone to all of the Toronto Rock games last year and enjoyed them so we bought season's tickets for the 2014 games.  The Toronto Rock is a professional lacrosse franchise in the National Lacrosse League (NLL).

Tonight was the first game of the 2014 season.  The Rock were playing the Calgary Roughnecks.

The Rock cheerleaders entertained before the game started.

 Then they welcomed the Rock players.

Like last year, Scotty Newlands sang the national anthem.

Book ~ "Organic Beauty With Essential Oil" (2013) Rebecca Park Totilo

From Goodreads ~ Looking for that perfect all-natural bath product? One that will keep your skin looking great, is appealing to smell, has actual therapeutic benefits, and doesn't break the bank? 

Well, here it is! 

Sweep aside all those harmful chemically-based cosmetics and make your own organic bath and body products at home with the magic of potent essential oils! In this book, you'll find a luxurious array of over 400 Eco-friendly recipes such as Exotic Patchouli Massage Oil, Zesty Banana-Lemon Foot Cream and Jasmine Bath Bombs filled with breathtaking fragrances and soothing, rich organic ingredients satisfying you head to toe. 

Designed with the naturalist in mind, each formula draws from essential oils' well-known skin rejuvenating effects, showing you how to best care for your unique skin and hair type using all-natural botanicals. 

Included you'll find helpful tips and customizable recipes - all with step-by-step instructions - so you can have the confidence knowing which essential oil to use and how much when creating your own body scrub, lip butter, or lotion bar! Discover how easy it is to make bath treats like fragrant shower gels, dreamy bubble baths, luscious creams and lotions, deep cleansing masks and facials for literally pennies using only a few essential oils and ingredients from your own kitchen with Organic Beauty with Essential Oil.

I love this kind of stuff!

I used to be into essential oils a lot more a few years ago.  I still simmer a combination of them when I'm sick but that's about it.  This book reminded me that I should get back into them more again.

This is a great book for beginners and also for those who having been using essential oils for years.  It starts out with an introduction as to why you should make your own bath and body products (more healthy and natural), what essential oils are, how to store them, a dilution chart, a blend chart and methods for using them.

Then there is a detailed list of many essential oils and when to use them (for example, orange or rose when you want to feel happy and joyful, lavender or sandalwood when you want to feel relaxed, etc.).

And finally there are 400+ easy-to-follow recipes to make your own bath oils, bath bombs, bath salts, bubble baths, bath soaps, milk baths, body scrubs, body powders, body sprays and mist, body lotions and creams, facial scrubs, masks and facials, facial creams, facial toners and astringents, shampoos and shower gels, mouthwash and toothpaste, lip balms and glosses, and caring for hands and feet.  If you are just starting out, choose a few things you want to try and buy those ingredients ... and eventually expand your supply.  Some essential oils are relatively inexpensive while others can be pricy.

Fat Mardi's, Mont Tremblant, QC

Gord and I had lunch today at Fat Mardi's.

I ordered the Louisiana Fried Chicken with mashed potatoes.

Le Sommet des Neiges, Mont Tremblant, QC

Gord and I stayed at Le Sommet des Neiges for the two days we were Mont Tremblant.

We had a one bedroom suite.

Living room ... we used the gas fireplace a lot (it was cold out)
The patio doors opened (acted like a window) but wasn't a patio

There was a patio around the corner from the fireplace
(we watched the midnight fireworks there on New Years Eve)

Living room and dining room

Living room/dining room ... we set up our laptops on the dining room table

Pizzateria, Mont Tremblant QC

Gord and I had supper at Pizzateria this evening.

We sat on the heated enclosed patio.  It was so cold out (-31C/-28.3F) that the heaters attached to the ceiling kept blowing the breaker and had to be reset.  It was either really hot or cold ... we liked it when it was cooler.

Snowshoeing on Mont Tremblant. QC

Gord and I headed up the mountain after lunch with our snowshoes

This is the base of Mont Tremblant.

We got in line to go up on the gondola ... it was less than a five minute wait.

One time tickets are $20

The temperature at the top of the mountain was -24C/-11.2F ... there was definitely a windchill but I don't know what it was.

I was prepared for the cold this year and brought hand warmers for my mittens.  I'm glad I did because it was freakin' cold!

Le Shack, Mont Tremblant, QC

Gord and I went up to the top of Mont Tremblant with our snowshoes this afternoon.

Before we headed up, we had an early lunch at Le Shack, which is at the base of the mountain.

Gord had a Croque-monsieur without tomatoes.  It looked really good and he said it was delicious.  Lots of food and he left a lot of his fries.

Bringing in 2014 in Mont Tremblant, QC

After supper, Gord and I walked up the hill to Place Bernard.  The square was jammed and there was a DJ cranking tunes and a couple girls were dancing from 9pm to midnight.

We got closer to the stage and stayed for a while.  But it was cold so we headed back to our hotel.

At midnight, there were fireworks shot off the mountain.  People started gathering shortly before. 

Happy New Year!

New Years Wishes

I wish you Health .... so you may enjoy each day in comfort.

I wish you the Love of friends and family ... and peace within your heart.

I wish you the Beauty of nature ... that you may enjoy the work of Mother Nature.

I wish you Wisdom to choose priorities ... for those things that really matter in life.

I wish you Generosity so you may share ... all good things that come to you.

I wish you Happiness and Joy ... and Blessings for the New Year.

I wish you the best of everything ... that you so well deserve.