My Happiness File – Day 9

Posted on March 18, 2013 by Mama Cormier

…. back to work … March Break is over

Some people may think that there isn’t much happiness in going back to work. As much as I loved the time off to rest and spend time with my husband I really do like my job and as soon as I walked through the school doors this morning I was greeted by people that I really care about.

The grade ones who came to see me this morning love being in the library. It makes my job so much easier when they’re enthusiastic about hearing a story and taking out books. It makes me smile when some of them want to do my job and scan the books in and out of the library. Today a small group of them worked very cooperatively together and there was no fighting over who got to use the scanner.

This afternoon I decided to bring my art class to the library. I really wanted to do print making with the six grade fours in the 3/4 class. I need water for this activity and their portable classroom doesn’t have a sink. The library on the other hand does have one in the office and there is a section of floor that is tiled so if ink gets spilled it’s easy to clean up. The grade 3s in that class are still sewing their quilts so they were able to spread out in the library and find a quiet spot to do their stitching. It wasn’t a perfect situation but the grade 4s finally produced some great prints and the oohs and aahs that came from their mouths when they pulled their plates made the experience worth the effort and the chaos we had to endure. I’ll post some photos of their prints tomorrow.

Finally I got to see the finale of The Biggest Loser tonight. I’m a big fan and I really liked all the contestants this season. It was great seeing how well all the players who had been eliminated early in the game had done at home. Gives me hope in my own weight loss journey.

Cheers!

Traditional Irish Soda Bread

Posted on March 17, 2013 by Mama Cormier

…. this bread made everyone happy today

Happiness Files – Day 8

I was prepared to add raisin and currents to my bread today until I read that traditional Irish soda bread has only 5 ingredients: flour, baking soda, sugar, salt and buttermilk

4 cups (1000 mL) all-purpose flour

1tablespoon (15 mL) sugar

1 tsp. (5 mL) salt

1 tsp. (5 mL) baking soda

2 cups (500 mL) buttermilk

1. Thoroughly mix all the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Nothing is worse than biting into a clump of baking soda. Make a well in the middle.

2. Pour the buttermilk into the centre and then using your hands move the flour into the liquid and mix together until all the ingredients come together.

3. Using your hands gently knead the dough a couple of times until you form a nice smooth ball.

4. Place the loaf on a lightly greased cookie sheet and with a sharp knife cut a deep cross through the middle of the loaf.

5. Bake the bread in a 425 degree oven for 35 minutes. Cool on a rack.

6. Slice and serve with butter.

Dinner today consisted of a beet, wilted greens, and feta salad. I used the beets and steamed greens that I prepared last night. I added feta cheese, a splash of olive oil and freshly ground pepper and salt. I felt like I was in a fancy restaurant enjoying a gourmet salad.

The main course was the Guinness Irish stew and a dollop of champ (mashed potatoes with sliced green onions) that my husband made. It was amazing.

Before dessert we took the dogs, Lucy and Frances, for a nice long walk to help burn some of the calories from the stew and make room our fresh berries and cream and hot steaming coffee.

Here are 5 more reasons why I had a happy day today. Bringing people who love each other together to enjoy a meal, regardless of the occasion, is always a happy moment. Sharing food with people who appreciate your efforts is very rewarding. Hope you had a lovely day, whether you were celebrating St. Patrick’s Day or just enjoying a regular Sunday.

Kevin enjoying a Guinness with his Irish stew.

Cheers!

Happy St. Patrick’s Day

Posted on March 17, 2013 by Mama Cormier

…. starting the day with a ‘full Irish’ breakfast

When my husband and I were on our road trip last Thursday we found a great little market that sold foods from the UK. K was over the moon when he found rashers of Irish bacon and black pudding. Here’s how we started St. Patrick’s Day:

Fried eggs, rashers of bacon, fried black pudding and grilled tomato (done in the bacon fat) and to top it off a cup of Barry’s tea. As my husband likes to call it “a heart attack on a plate”. You definitely don’t want to make this a daily addition to your diet.

As I write this the Irish stew is simmering on the stove and the potatoes are peeled and ready to be cooked and made into a mash. When I get off the computer I’m going start the Irish Soda bread. It has to be traditional, so no raisins or currents, eggs, whiskey or sugary icing … just flour, salt, baking soda and buttermilk. I’ll share the recipe later.

The family is coming over today to celebrate the day. Guinness, Irish beer and cider are cooling on the deck outside. Getting ready gives me peace of mind knowing that all this hard work is going to be appreciated and devoured by people I love. Happiness moment number one!

Found this great quote on Jay Mug

http://www.jaymug.com/post/32340854083/doing-what-you-like-is-freedom-liking-what-you-do

“There are only two kinds of people in the world, The Irish and those who wish they were.”

“May the roof above us never fall in, and may we friends beneath it never fall out.”

Have a great day! Cheers!

My Happiness File – Day 7

Posted on March 17, 2013 by Mama Cormier

…. one step closer to getting my life organized

Being organized and having a place for everything makes me happy. Today I cleaned out every drawer in my dresser and filled a garbage bag with clothes that have gotten too big for me or I just don’t wear anymore. Even my husband let me bag some of his old clothes. Amazing!

We did a huge vegetable shopping today. I’m reading an interesting book that recommends you cook all your vegetables the day that you buy them and then they’re ready for the entire week. It was a lot of work but my fridge is now stocked with prepared side dishes for seven days. I roasted a head of cauliflower, 2 bunches of broccoli, 6 beets, 2 sweet potatoes, and 1 winter squash. I cleaned and steamed a bunch of kale, beet greens and dandelion leaves and with the stems, leaves and cores I made a pesto. Very satisfying. I love trying new things. The book is called An Everlasting Meal by Tamar Adler.

: Steamed greens

I bought my husband a new wooden cutting board today. Our old one had split in two and K really misses having a large wooden board to work from. When my husband is happy, I’m happy.

Cheers!

The Cheltenham Badlands

Posted on March 16, 2013 by Mama Cormier

… actually created as a result of poor farming practices

I came across the ‘Badlands’ purely by accident a few years ago. It was a warm sunny weekend and the area was packed with visitors. When we went looking for it last week my husband and I had a hard time finding it. It’s not well advertised and probably for good reason.

Here is a video, created by Wolfmann that explains the history and layout of the land better than I could.

When my husband and I finally found the area the area was pretty muddy with red clay and there was still quite a bit of snow left on the ground. My photographs show a sightly different perspective of the Badlands than what you see in the video.

If you have a chance to see the Cheltenham Badlands, remember to respect this sensitive environment. There is no one there to keep you off the rolling hills, only signs of what you can and cannot do. It’s up to you, however, whether you choose follow these simple suggestions.

Cheers!

My Happiness File – Day 6

Posted on March 16, 2013 by Mama Cormier

….why does food play such an important role in making me happy?

I don’t think it’s the food itself but the social aspect that surrounds the food. Two of my happy moments today occurred at meals.

The first event that made me happy today was taking my youngest daughter out for lunch. We went to a nice little restaurant in uptown Toronto close to where she lives. It was easy to make healthy choices and the food was delicious but more importantly I thoroughly enjoyed our conversation. We both write blogs and we discussed how her DIY wedding blog and business were coming along and she gave me some tips on how to resolve some issues I’ve been having with my blog.

Today the sun finally came out and it turned into a beautiful afternoon. When I took my daughter back to her apartment we decided to pick up her dog, Lucy and head over to the off leash area over at Sunnybrook. Watching her dog run along the path into the woods with such joy and freedom made me smile and getting some exercise and fresh air put me in my happy place.

When I got home tonight my husband wanted to go out for dinner. I wasn’t sure that going out for two meals in a row was such a good idea but he seemed really keen on going out so I agreed. It turned out to be a happy evening and again I was able to make healthy choices for my dinner. I ordered grilled fish and a side of perfectly cooked beans and broccoli and started with a grilled radicchio and arugula salad. The fish was grilled with bones in so it forced me to eat slowly and carefully to avoid choking on a fish bone. At the end of my meal my husband actually applauded me. He said it was like watching a perfectly executed symphony. His analogy put a big smile on my face.

Spirit Tree Estate Cidery

Posted on March 15, 2013 by Mama Cormier

…. a great little gem north of Toronto

Yesterday I told you about our road trip to the Caledon Hills north of Toronto. The highlight of our trip was our visit to Spirit Tree where we had a wonderful lunch. The first time we heard about this cidery, about three years ago, we were purchasing a bottle of their sparkling cider recommended to us by the proprietor of a local gourmet shop. The same week the Toronto Star did a feature article about Spirit Tree, highlighting all the wonderful features of the store/bakery/restaurant. The next day was Good Friday and it just so happened that they were open to the public. It’s rare for anything to be open on Good Friday in Ontario so we decided to check it out and so did hundreds of other people. It was crazy busy. It’s a weekend that the workers at Spirit Tree wouldn’t soon forget.

Anyway we have made trips since that day and the store hasn’t been nearly as crowded and yesterday was no exception. The restaurant was busy but the atmosphere was relaxed and the staff was extremely friendly and helpful.

One of the many features of the estate is how eco-friendly and green it is. The main building was constructed using straw bales. You can see from the photo with the window how thick the walls are. The breads and pizzas are all baked in the wood burning oven and the place is heated and cooled using geothermal energy. For more interesting information check the link:

Spirit Tree Cidery

If you’re ever in the Caledon Hills, check this place out. It’s well worth the trip.

Cheers!

My Happiness File – Day 5

Posted on March 15, 2013 by Mama Cormier

…..spending the entire day with my husband brought many happy moments today

Today was my first day off the detox cleanse and I was able to enjoy my first coffee in four days. Heavenly!

My husband took the day off work today so that we could spend the day together. After our walk this morning and enjoying the first solid food I had in over three days we got into the car and went for a day trip north of the city. We had a great time checking out the Apple Factory and buying a few vegetables and some specialty items for our Irish dinner on Sunday and then we made our way to Spirit Tree where we had a nice lunch. I’ll write more about our experience in my next post.

After lunch we started driving around looking for the Cheltenham Bad Lands. K set his GPS on his new phone and off we went. We got so lost. I’m sure we drove 20 k in the wrong direction before we turned around. We did eventually find it. For the rest of the afternoon we found our surroundings pretty uninspiring. The one thing that did amaze us was how much snow was still on the ground just 30 k north of Toronto.

On our way home we decided to stop at the movie theatre and take in a show. We ended up seeing Zero Dark 30. I really liked it and I didn’t think I would. Before the show started I made K set his phone so I could play the interactive pre show on-screen game. I came in second and won a slice of pizza that I will probably never redeem. Made me happy anyway.

All in all it was a great day.

Results of the Dr. Oz 3 Day Detox Cleanse

Posted on March 14, 2013 by Mama Cormier

…… and my first happy moment today

For the last three days I was following the Doctor Oz 3 day detox cleanse. I felt I needed to give my body a boost. I’d recently experienced a hormonal change in my body, my weight loss had come to a stop and I had just gotten over a cold.

Dr. Oz’s cleanse seemed very doable. All the ingredients were easily accessible and some of the ingredients I already had in my house. There was also variety. Each meal for the day was a different recipe. Finally the smoothies were about 350 calories each and because each of them had some kind of fat in them they were very filling and satisfying.

The Dr. Oz 3 Day Detox Cleanse

Here is how each meal looked for the last three days.

Breakfast

Lunch

On the first day we forgot to add the coconut oil. It makes a difference and shouldn’t be skipped.

Dinner

The surprise ingredient in this blueberry mango avocado smoothie is cayenne pepper.

This morning when I got on the scale I was down 6 pounds. Yippee! Now I know that a lot of this is water loss but it’s enough incentive to keep me on the right track with my eating and move forward with my weight loss journey. Plus I do feel better. My skin looks better and the aches I was feeling during the cleanse apparently were due to my body getting rid of the toxins. All good.

Life of Pi and Day 3 of the Cleanse

Posted on March 13, 2013 by Mama Cormier

…..two more things that made me happy today

Earlier in the week two of my friends and I made plans to see the Life of Pi. Today was the day. It was a perfect day to see a movie. It was overcast and winter temperatures have returned. I guess old man winter is not done with us.

I was surprised that the movie version we were seeing was in 3D. I’ve never seen an entire movie with 3D glasses and I’m pleased to say that it was a very pleasant experience. In fact it was downright beautiful. Having the birds fly towards us and the fish swim in our direction was magical.

I read the book years ago and was curious how such an unusual story could be made into a movie. The animal scenes in the life boat were tastefully recreated but I know some people that would find them somewhat disturbing. My friends and I thoroughly enjoyed the movie and it was easy to see why it won four Oscars.

The last thing I’m happy about is that I completed the Dr. Oz Three Day Cleanse tonight. As you know I had to do the last two days on my own. I wasn’t sure I’d be able to do it without my husband’s support but it wasn’t as hard as I thought. Tomorrow I’ll explain the program and reveal my results.

Have you seen a good movie lately?

Cheers!