Golf and the cottage.

It's the VERY LAST DAY to enter my CycleBeads giveaway!
Winner will be posted & notified on Monday, August 24th.

Today's the big day... okay, not so big. But it's the annual golf tournament at my husband's work. First of all let me say I am NOT a golfer. I don't really get it. And I'm not that interested in getting it. So it's more of a long walk with boring scenery and some annoying ball business getting in the way. I don't even have the right clothes... I'm a shorts and tank tops, or jeans kind of girl. Not appropriate. I dug out an old pair of cotton capris and a t-shirt for this, and I still feel like I'm dressed all wrong.

But it "Builds Team Spirit!" is "Good For Morale!" and the old men in the company think it's dandy. So we go. And afterwards there is a big dinner with prizes for everyone. One year one of the prizes was a big flat screen tv - we didn't win that one - mostly we end up with golf shirts that are the wrong size or corpbrand coolers. Sometimes gift cards for gas or electronics stores.

With the economic downturn that everyone's on about, the golf course we're going to this year is about five steps down from last year's. It's golf on a budget, with a shabby green and small clubhouse. Dinner will be outside in a tent, because there isn't enough room for us indoors. And it's supposed to be both 27 degrees and thunderstorming - should be a steamy night! (and I don't mean the fun kind!)

Dinner is a buffet - and I have very low expectations. Typically at this kind of thing, I end up with a potato and a roll on my plate. I'm vegetarian, so that cuts out the main dish (which is invariably meat), and apparently old golf-loving men don't eat veggies unless they are potatoes. I'm taking some granola bars.

Despite all my grumpy complaining, I usually enjoy the day - we golf in a foursome with another couple about our age, who I like. I mainly laugh at my crappy golf swing (hitting the ball 1 out of 4 attempts is my average) - and we play "best ball," so my husband tends to carry the rest of us through the course.

After all this, we are driving up to Wiarton (about 3 hours away) to go to a friend's cottage on Georgian Bay. Apparently the weather will be fairly cool this weekend (19 or 20 degrees), and the water much colder than that - but it should be lots of fun. The friends we're going with are my brother- and sister-in-law, and three of their guy friends, all about 10 years younger than us... so we can play like we're in our early twenties and hopefully keep up!

So I'll be away from the internet for the weekend... how crazy is it that I know I'll be missing it... In fact, I'm taking my laptop (in my new bag! it came!) although I doubt there'll be service up there.

Anyway, can't leave without a quick couple of giveaways, I know after yesterdays' exhaustive list it's surprising to see more!

For baby:

• Win a One Baby, One Earth fitted diaper at Mama Kenz Studios. Ends August 28th.
• Win an aden + anais muslin swaddling wrap at Sweeps4Bloggers. Ends August 30th.
• Win a set of Bummas cloth wipes at Sweeps4Bloggers. Ends August 30th.
• Win a $100 gift certificate to Zutano's Itzy Bitzy collection (newborn clothes) at Sweeps4Bloggers. I'm loving Sweeps4Bloggers today!

For the ladies:

• Win a Medela Mid-Blue sleep bra at MomFuse. Ends August 28th.
  

What you've been waiting for...

So nobody found the perfect pregnancy journal? There must be one out there that is good. I guess I will keep looking. Not that we have good news at the moment. I've got time.

Don't forget, tomorrow is the last day to enter my CycleBeads giveaway!
The odds are pretty good right now for this prize...

Okay, on to the good stuff... giveaways from out there in the world of blog.

For baby:

• Win a $50 shopping spree at Eco Bebe Boutique (a Canadian company) at Moms on the Go. Ends September 16th.
• Win a Silly Billyz pocket bib (in girl or boy design) at Feisty, Frugal and Fabulous. Ends August 28th.
• Win an Organic Dragonfly baby blanket from Sage Creek Organics (a Canadian company) at Canadian Natural Mama. Ends Spetember 21st.
• Win a $25 gift certificate to Maternitique (three winners) at {Natural} Mommie. Ends August 27th.
• Win a Wahloo baby carrier at Organic Girl. Ends Sept 18th.
• Win a Happy Heinys diaper (Peace Bear or solid colour) from the WeeCare Diaper Company at Organic Girl. Ends September 22nd.
• Win an esFitted diaper and esWrapping cover (in the size and fabric of your choice) by esBaby at Your Mama Reviews. Ends August 25th.
• Win a Hook'n'stroll and a BearView mirror at My Wee View! (Remember My Mom's View? She's just moved over to a new name and new site address!) Ends August 28th.
• Win a Little Lasso at A Mom's Balancing Act. Ends September 1st.
• Win two onesies/tees of your choice by Snugfits at My Organized Chaos! I love the future artist one... perfect. Ends August 28th.
• Win a kids area rug from CSN Rugs at A Kindred Spirit's Thoughts. Ends September 9th.
• Win a muslin aden&anais sleeping bag at Minnesota Mama's Must Haves (formerly Thrifty Minnesota Mama). Ends August 28th.
• Win an organic tee of your choice from iKookie at Sticky Feet Reviews. Ends August 29th. Yay, organic!
  
• Win a Zoobie Pet at Lipstick to Crayons. Ends September 3rd. These are so cute!
• Win a Thirsties Fab Fitted with a V2 Cover at Mama Kenz Studio. Must sign up for email newsletter from Earth Angels Diaper Co. site! ends August 21st so hurry.
• Win a Rocky Mountain Lime and Lemon OS diaper at Mama Kenz Studio. Ends August 21st so hurry! I have heard good things about these!
  

For the ladies:

• Win a Sole Delight Foot Therapy Kit by All Things Jill (a Canadian company) at {Natural} Mommie. Ends August 27th.
• Win a Shabby Apple dress at Baby Makin(g) Machine... and you've got to watch Jennifer's video! She's lovely and the dress is too. Ends August 29th.
• Win Weekend Sewing by Heather Ross and some HR fabric (nice!) at Sew-Fantastic. Ends September 1st. Okay, I'm sure guys can enter this one too. Any guys out there who like sewing, go for it.
• Win Spice Up Your Life, a flexitarian cookbook by Bindu Grandhi, at Wishing Penny! Ends August 23rd.
• Win a bar of Godiva Solid Shampoo by LUSH at Feisty, Frugal and Fabulous! Ends August 26th.
  

For grown-ups:

• Win a Bedside Lovers Tool Kit from Eden Fantasys at Leslie Loves Veggies. Ends September 2nd. Hey, when you're TTC (or when you're not) it helps to have a little fun with it!

Wow. Did you get in on all of these? That's a lot of giveaways for good stuff! Good luck, folks!

Pregnancy journals...

Did anyone find an awesome one?

For my short pregnancy recently I picked up The Everything Pregnancy Organizer (2nd edition). It was a spiral bound book with places to fill in info and some journal pages, as well as information on pregnancy. I liked that it had a place to write my questions as I thought of them between appointments. I liked that it had pockets for ultrasound pictures, the prenatal class brochure, business cards and such. I liked that it prompted me to ask some questions I wouldn't have known to ask (like what is the fundal height at each appointment). I liked the day-planner aspect of it.

But I didn't like it as a whole.

I hated the cover - too cutesy, too pink, and the texture of the plastic cover was nasty. I'd been intending to make a slipcover for it just so I wouldn't cringe at the ugliness when I took it out of my purse at the midwife's office to get my list of questions or fill in some blanks.

I hated that the pages were pink inside. And that the amount of space for writing was all broken up between the months, as sometimes I had a lot to write and sometimes not so much... so there either wasn't enough space, or I felt like I wasn't being 'good' about journaling.

I just didn't feel like it was tailored to me properly... I wasn't always sure where to put my information (like, was my first visit to the midwife the 'first pre-natal' if it was so early that they weren't checking for all the things I was 'meant' to fill in?)... it wasn't my style.

And beyond all these complaints, I feel like that one needs to get tossed... it's filled in with two months of hope and then blank... it just makes me sad. I don't want (or need) a reminder. And it makes me grumpy to think I spent $16 on it when I didn't even like it (it seemed the best of the bunch at the local Chapters).

As is patently obvious, we are planning to 'try again' (I hate the term - it makes it sound like we failed the first time... maybe we did... anyway) and I still like the idea of keeping some sort of journal and place to organize my info, dates, questions, that sort of thing.

SO my question to all you mamas out there is, did you keep a pregnancy journal? Did you find one that was perfect for you?

Beach plans

I haven't been to the beach yet!

Madness, right? Okay, there was one trip up to Algonquin, but although it was beautiful as always, it was rainy and a little chilly (the weather's been weird this year, no?) - definitely not swimming weather.

So finally summer is HERE in Ontario - with heat and sunshine to prove it - and now we've been invited to a friend's cottage up in Wiarton for the weekend. I am really looking forward to it!

Then - oh my - we are going out west for just over two weeks! We're heading to Victoria, Tofino and Ucluelet, Whistler and Vancouver, then over to Edmonton for a quick stay at our friends' place before coming back home. We're going the 'cheap' route - staying with friends and in hostels for the most part. I absolutely cannot wait.

And today my mum sent me this link to an article about the World Beach Project. Artist Sue Lawty has challenged the world to make art on beaches with stones, photograph the beach, the process and the artwork you make, and then upload your pictures. You can add your beach to a map as well. Here are some of the loveliest images I've seen in quite a while, from the project:

LEFT: 'Sandsend, North Yorkshire' by Katrin Freitag, 1 December 2007 and RIGHT: 'Kilkeel' by Holly Millar-Whyte, 17 June 2009

Aren't those lovely? So, things are turning out beachy after all this summer. I hope to do my own stone work for the World Beach Project, if I have the time out west! I love the idea and the global scope. You could do one, too! Why not?

I also wanted to say thank you for the comments on yesterday's post. It is a tricky topic but an important one. I really appreciate your comments.

Here's a start on some giveaways for today:

For baby:

• Win a $25 gift certificate to Ju Ju Beane Boutique at My Mom's View (soon to be renamed My Wee View!). Ends August 28th.
• Win a bamboo hooded towel by Shoo Foo at Organic Girl! Ends September 14th.
• Win a JamTots BerryPlush AIO diaper at Your Mama Reviews. Ends August 24th.
• Win an Evenflo Snugli Carrier at Mommy Goggles. Ends September 1st.
• Win a Bambino Mio Trial pack (cover, nappy and liner) at The Cloth Diaper Report. Ends August 25th.
• Win a Shoo Foo bamboo diaper from Organically Hatched at Organic Girl. Ends September 10th.
• Win an EsBaby custom diaper cover at tout-est-des-roses. Ends September 1st.
• Win a Stokke high chair at Simple! Oh, my. Ends August 26th.
• Win a Little Lasso at A Family Completed. Ends September 9th.
• Raisingmy4sons blog is hosting a giveaway sponsored by SHANNYgirl etsy shop. The winner will receive a FREE nursing cover! Ends August 24th.
  

For anyone:

• Win a $25 gift certificate to Amelie Jo American Baby Boutique at Forever and Always. (They have mom and dad clothes, too!) Ends September 1st.

Oh! and ladies, don't forget about my CycleBeads giveaway. It ends on Friday!

What (not to) say.

On one of the forums I'm on, for women coping with miscarriage, a woman wrote in to ask how she could help her friend, who had just told her she's miscarrying. This got me thinking about the things people said (or should have said, or should NOT have said) to me when I miscarried.

Hmm, maybe that's a little misleading. The truth is, I still think about it all the time - and cry about it, and sometimes just go quiet and space out, and feel wistful and sad and frustrated and angry... So thinking about this is not exactly out of character for me right now. It's still very present in my life.

Anyway, the point is, if your friend is having a miscarriage, there are a few things you should know if you want to support her.

The best thing you can do is listen.

She will need someone to talk to who won't judge, won't pretend it's not a big deal (it is a huge deal when you go through it) and won't make her feel bad for hurting or giving "too much information". She will need someone who will offer hugs, cry with her, and let her talk about the pain, the plans she had made for the baby, the emptiness and futility she may be feeling now.

Miscarriages happen before 20 weeks - after that it's considered a stillbirth - so being so early in the pregnancy she may not have yet told anyone she was pregnant. So she may want to talk about the way she felt being pregnant, to relive the joy a little and even the first trimester complaints.

Many women I know are having babies later in life. (I'm 33 and just had my first pregnancy which resulted in the miscarriage - and I have so many friends my age with their first pregnancies or newborns.) So she may be feeling the pressure of 35 looming, with its increase in probability of fertility problems and chromosomal problems or other birth defects. She may have been trying to conceive for a while - years, even - and gone through the frustration of different fertility treatments. She may have seen her friends having children and been feeling so left out and heartbroken. To go from that situation to that Big Fat Positive on the pregnancy test, only to have that joy and hope taken away is truly traumatic.

The worst thing you can do is not call, not ask about it, pretend it didn't happen or act like it's not a big deal.

So your friend needs you. She needs to borrow your strength and your shoulder to cry on. She needs someone to rage about the unfairness of it all with her. So, what can you say?

The best thing you can say is:

If you need something to say, "I'm so sorry" works! Or ask how she is feeling, what she is feeling, how her partner is handling it, what her doctor/midwife said, if she is going to take time off work, if she wants a project to keep her busy, anything - just ask about it. She may feel like she can't talk about it - because no-one does - and that's not right. Women should talk about this.

Before I had a miscarriage myself and learned more about it, I had no idea how common it was. None. Nobody talked to me about this. The pregnancy book I bought - nearly 500 pages - has one paragraph about miscarriage. Neither my family doctor nor my midwife talked to me about the possibility of miscarriage.

Now I know that the best estimate is that 20-25% of pregnancies end in miscarriage. One in four! And this is only an estimate, because it is believed that many miscarriages happen before a woman even knows she is pregnant, so those aren't counted in the stats. Think about that... for every three kids you know, one baby didn't make it, and one woman has gone through a miscarriage. Some women go through many miscarriages before carrying to term. I can't imagine how hard that must be. And nobody talks about it.

I had no idea what to expect physically. My doctor was actually cheerful when I went in, sobbing, knowing in my heart I was about to miscarry. My midwife was kinder and talked to me about it over the phone, giving me some information. But I learned the most from the forum on the internet - from other women.

And I really want to emphasize that we girls need to talk about this. If I hadn't read the words "gushing" and "contractions", I would never have expected these things during the miscarriage. I think I would have expected a heavy period. Ladies, it's not like that at all. I would have flipped at the amount of blood and the feeling of passing tissue. I know this may sound like Too Much Information, but a little TMI is so much better than none if you are about to go through it. Or if your friend is going through it - learn a little about this, help her know what to expect.

The worst thing you can say is:

* "it was (wasn't) meant to be"
* "it will happen again for you soon"
* "lots of women have miscarriages"
* "at least it happened now and not later"
* "just think of the miscarriage like a period, only a little late"

... anything that diminishes her loss in any way just ends up hurting. This was a baby to her, not a "pregnancy" or a "fetus". A baby. Her baby. Most likely much wanted and already loved. Hours or days ago she was a happy, pregnant, mother to be. And suddenly she is not any of those things.

The last thing I will say is, it's not the kind of thing that is 'better' after a week or two. She may still be physically going through it even 4-5 weeks from now, and will certainly be grieving emotionally for a long while. A quick hug or even a phone call and a "How are you feeling?" over the next few months will mean a lot and show you care.

bespoke uprising - review

I want to introduce you to a Canadian artist who takes children’s clothing to a whole new level. I adore her prints and clothing designs!

I first met Roisin Fagan at the Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition, where we were ‘booth neighbours’, both showing our original work. Me with paintings, Roisin with these gorgeous quirky and modern designs on children’s clothes under the name bespoke uprising. Roisin has a BFA (Bachelor of Fine Arts) from NSCAD (Nova Scotia College of Art and Design), and approaches clothing and fabric design from an artist's perspective. It shows!

I was first attracted by the colours of her fabrics – the painter in me loves colour – and was impressed to learn that Roisin dyes her own cloth – no wonder her clothes are more interesting than the usual!

The prints on these fabrics are screenprinted by hand from original drawings by, you guessed it, Roisin. They are quirky and graphic - more like drawing than cartoon, but more like doodle than sketch. Does that make sense? Take a look at some of these and see what I mean:


The designs are also wonderful. I adore the reversible pinafores, and was thrilled for the excuse to purchase one for my best friend, who’s expecting her little girl in September! The one I picked had a large print of a single paper airplane on bright blue on one side, and a print of repeated paper airplanes on red on the reverse. Both the parents-to-be are teachers – how perfect is that?

I have another set of teacher friends expecting their little boy in just a few weeks now, too! For them I chose a blue onesie with a paper airplane motif. Adorable.

I love giving my friends gifts that are handmade. It’s very cool to think that they will have the best-dressed babes in town and not just another Gap baby.

You can pick up bespoke uprising clothing and other goodies (tea towels, wallets, pillows!) at her website, or through her Etsy shop.

And you can enter to win a crazy bunch of bespoke uprising goodies on Roisin's blog!

Friday!

Hang in there for one more post later today... Here's a teaser... Intrigued yet?





And now, some giveaways...

For baby:

• Win an "Orange Bird" gift set (bib, mini blanket, 2 burp cloths) from Modern Baby Co. at Project Nursery! Ends August 21st.
• Win a gDiaper starter pack at Chelsea Said So. Ends August 16th.
• Win a Baby's First Journal by Glow Baby at The Life of a Modern Housewife. Ends August 28th.
  

For tot:

• Get your kiddo up and off to school with this swell giveaway hosted by the Junior Society and sponsored by All Children’s Furniture (who carry everything from kids furniture to toys)! Stop by and enter for a chance to win! Hurry, this give-away ends Wednesday, August 19th at midnight PST!

For ladies:

• Win an Ellembee shirt of your choice at The Veater Family Adventures. Ends August 29th.
  

For anyone:

• Win a $30 gift certificate to Skin Free at Night Owl Mama. Ends August 28th.
• Win a Cleaning Kit from Mrs. Meyers at {Natural} Mommie. Ends August 23rd.
• Win a pretty blue rug from CSN Rugs at It's Great to Be Home. Ends August 20th.
• Win a $30 gift certificate to Fresh Pair at Mommies with Cents. Ends August 15th!
  

Shopping for laptop bags...

I just spent some time shopping for laptop bags online. I'd only seen ugly and pure function-over-fashion bags at the stores around here and I wanted something a little more me.

I found my bag at TimBuk2... and ordered it... yikes. I'm not much of an impulse buyer... at all... this feels like an impulse buy, and I've been needing one for a while.

At least the bag is on sale for $60 rather than the regular $100. But then, shipping to Canada was $30. Yes, $30 US. That's insane. Currency conversion will bring it up over $100 CDN easily. And there may be duty charges on top of that. Free trade, my butt.

I like how it's more of a backpacky bag than a messenger bag, it doesn't scream, "I'm a laptop! Steal me!" and it can hold more than just my laptop - I don't want to carry a laptop AND a purse!

I hope I made the right choice. I'm just not a spender by nature, this was hard.

Anyway, I'm excited. Just, you know, sharing.

What we did...

Well, we just dug the compost bin in. Right up against the fence. I don't know if we're setting ourselves up for a big fight with long grass later, but for now it works! And no fuss with gravel, landscape fabric, etc.

Did you go outside last night to look at the Perseids meteor shower? We went for a late walk and hung out in our neighbourhood park until about 11:30, lying on a picnic table and looking at the stars. And... we were way too early. I hear the best time was pre-dawn. We did each see a shooting star, though. It was a nice night for star-gazing.

Oh, my mum sent me this, you really must take a second to look at it...

And it's a nice day for giveaways :)

For baby:

• Win a $100 gift certificate to Zutano's Itzy Bitzy line at Mommy PR. Ends August 17th.
• Win a $75 gift certificate to Zutano at The Life of a Modern Housewife. Ends August 21st.
  

For ladies:

• Win a Momzelle nursing top at Organic Girl! Ends September 14th.
• Win a B Warmer Hoodie and Nursing Singlet Tank Top (size M) by Boob at {Natural} Mommie! Ends August 23rd.
  

For anyone:

• Win your choice of item under $100 from AllModern at Vintage Goodness. Ends tonight at 6pm, what are you waiting for?
• Win a $30 gift certificate to Skin Free at Frugal and Fabulous! Ends August 21st.
  

And ladies, do check out my CycleBeads giveaway. It's such a great tool for tracking your cycle, perfect for both natural family planning or trying to conceive!

What to do?

So hubby built this gorgeous cedar compost bin, and we are planning to put it up against the fence in the corner of our yard (planning to, because we still have to level the ground underneath it - in case you can't tell, it's very crooked). The question is, what should we do around the bin at the bottom, between the bin and the fence? If we do nothing, the grass between there will get all high and ugly, and there won't be a way to get in and trim it. Hmm.
The man wants to leave a space just wide enough for the whipper snipper to get in. Since I'm the one doing the whipper snipping around here (mostly, while he mostly does the lawn mowing), I think that's a lousy idea.

Plus, we plan to do paving stones around the entire vegetable garden area - we have a big yard, don't worry, we're not paving the whole thing - and when we get to that (next spring?), we'd have to take out the compost bin to put stones around it. We could put stones behind the two sides now, but then we haven't chosen our stone yet for the big project.

Or we could just take out the strips of sod and put in a lining of landscape fabric and then gravel - but hubby thinks grass would come through that anyway.

Any ideas?

While you're thinking about it, go enter some giveaways :)

For baby:

• Win a SillyBillyz pocket bib from Bobux at The Nurse Mommy. Ends August 23rd.
  

For anyone:

• Win your choice of Snorg Tees at Seeryus Mama. Ends August 25th.
  

For ladies:

• Win a Blush topless undershirt at Country Mouse, City Mouse. Ends August 20th.

And ladies, do check out my CycleBeads giveaway. It's such a great tool for tracking your cycle, perfect for both natural family planning or trying to conceive!

Banana Loaf Joy

Not much makes me happier than something yummy from the oven. I love baking, but have rarely ventured into cakes - I usually do bread, cinnamon rolls, muffins, or quickbreads. One of these days I will tackle cakes. I am not crazy about icing (I know, that's nuts, right?), although I do love a good moist cake. One day!

For today, though, I'm making a Banana Pecan Loaf from The Complete Canadian Living Baking Book. My hubby loves bananas, but sometimes doesn't finish the bunch before they start to get those brown spots. When that happens, I freeze them. But here's my tip - when freezing bananas, take a second to peel and slice the bananas into your freezer bag or container before sticking them in the freezer. It makes using them later so much easier, you don't have to deal with a brown skin that falls to pieces and a mushy, slippery banana. I usually pack 2-3 bananas, sliced, together in one bag - enough for any of my banana muffin or loaf recipes. Then I can just pull it out when I get up in the morning and leave it in the sink to thaw. By mid-morning the bananas are thawed and ready to go!

Oh, by the way - the Spicy Pickled Beans (from Recipezaar) and Spicy Pickled Beets (from my Small Batch Preserves cookbook) are a hit! Hubby was unsure about the beans, not being a big fan of beans, but one bite of these hot and pickly morsels had him hooked.

Okay, enough foodie rambling. Here are some giveaways for today!

For baby:

• Win a Britax car seat (!) at The Cloth Diaper Report. Ends August 12th.
• Win a Booroi diaper cover, wetbag, 3 bamboo wipes and a bamboo prefold at Dirty Diaper Laundry! Ends August 24th.
• Win an Adorabumz custom diaper cover at Newly Wed, Newly Bred. Ends August 24th.
  
• Win an Urban Backpack diaper bag from One Step Ahead at Two of a Kind, Working on a Full House. Ends August 28th.
• Win a pair of Turquoise Knit Ruffle Butt Bloomers at Organic Girl. Ends September 2nd.
• Win a pair of Ruffle Butt Bloomers at My Mom's View, too! Ends August 21st.
  

For anyone:

• Win some Crunchy Clean laundry detergent at Your Mama Reviews. It comes in great scents like Buttercream Cupcake! Mmm. Ends August 18th.
• Win a Hain Celestial healthy foods pack at MomFuse! Ends August 14th.
• I know you've been seeing this out there in blogland today - win a pair of Ugg boots at Whooga Boots by posting their badge on your blog. I hear they're comfy!
  

Me in a magazine?!

Yes, really! And no, I'm certainly not modeling!!!

One of my own recipes is published in the September issue of Best Health Magazine. It's on page 103! The really cool part is that although it's in the reader submitted section, one of the editors had actually contacted me to ask me to submit a recipe. This was way back in April!

With a little fine-tuning of the story and the recipe over the following months, today I received the latest issue of Best Health in the mail and opened it up to see my recipe! Very cool.

The recipe is a long-time favourite of mine. It's based on a dish I had while traveling in Spain. I've modified it over the years and it has become a go-to dish for us that is very nutritious, filling, quick to make, and of course, delicious! What else? Well, I'm vegetarian, so this is a vegetarian dish (not vegan - it does contain butter!). It's kind of a comfort-food, homey dish that will satisfy the hungriest carnivore and not leave them asking, "Where's the meat?"

So what is this magical recipe? It's "Arabian" Spinach. It contains spinach (of course), chick peas, and a yummy butter and broth sauce that is richly flavoured, all served over nutty brown rice. Sound good? IT IS! :)

I hope that if you pick up the magazine you will try my recipe. I'd love to hear how it turns out for you and if you love it as much as we do!

Pickles and more

Yesterday I made pickled beans and pickled beets (the beans from our garden, the beets from the farmer down the road), while my husband built an amazing cedar compost bin. The composter is not quite finished (he ran out of screws), but it is beautiful. I'll post a photo of it once it's finished and installed in the yard! Meanwhile, here's a pic of the fruit of my labour:
Yes, only 6 jars of beets (from 4 lb, untrimmed) and two jars of beans (from a quart basket). The recipe for the Spicy Pickled Beets is from a Small Batch Preserves book that I have and love (I think it's the same as this one, although mine has a different cover), and the other two recipes (Classic Pickled Beets and Spicy Pickled Beans) are from RecipeZaar, which has become my go-to site for recipes.

Some giveaways to share for today as well:

For baby:

• Win a $75 gift certificate to Micah & Co. at My Mom's View. Ends August 17th.
• Win a $100 gift certificate to Zutano's Itzy Bitzy Boutique at tout-est-des-roses. Ends August 24th.
• Win a $150 gift certificate to Learning Toys (a Canadian company!) at My Mom's View. Ends August 17th.
• Win a baby star “rock the tote” and a gDiapers starter kit of biodegradable refills and two pairs of little gpants at Project Nursery. Ends August 14th.
• Win an Evenflo Snugli Hug carrier at Mom Central! Must register with the site to enter. Ends August 23rd.
• Win an Evenflo Snugli Sway carrier at Mom Central! A neat design. Must register with the site to enter. Ends August 23rd.
• Win an Evenflo Triumph car seat at Mom Central! Must register with the site to enter. Ends August 23rd.
• Win an Evenflo Symphony car seat at Mom Central! Must register with the site to enter. Ends August 23rd.
• Win an Evenflo Mimi Neo pacifier (35 winners!) at Mom Central! Must register with the site to enter. Ends August 23rd.
• Win an Exergen Temporal Scanner at My Mom's View. Ends August 14th.
• Win a set of Bummas wipes at Mommy Reviewed! Ends September 6th.
  

For ladies:

• Win two boxes of Evenflo Comfort Select Disposable Nursing Pads (24 winners!) at Mom Central! Must register with the site to enter. Ends August 23rd.

For anyone:

• Win a $25 gift certificate to Amelie Jo (organic baby and adult clothing) at My Organized Chaos. Ends August 18th.
• Win $60 worth of Art and Cook products from AllModern at Baba's Farm Life. Ends August 14th.
• Win a pretty Blue Flora Vase Set by notNeutral at Little Pink Magnolia. Ends August 14th.
  

And ladies, do check out my CycleBeads giveaway! It really is a great tool for tracking your cycle, natural family planning or trying to conceive!

Small things

For today. We spent the day at the Toronto Zoo with my sister-in-law and her husband, and their two kids. Oh yes, and the rest of the kids in Toronto - it was jam-packed with kids. It was fun, if exhausting. I did have a few sad moments, seeing a thousand babies and lots of pregnant women. That was a little hard. Guess I'm going to have to get used to it.

Putting the sadness aside, for now, I have giveaways to share:

For baby:

• Win a mandarin GroBaby diaper at Green Kiddos. Ends Sunday night (August 9th).
• Win a Bamboo Bebe kimono and socks at Organic Girl. Ends September 5th.
  

And ladies, do check out my CycleBeads giveaway! It's such a great tool for tracking your cycle and fertility, perfect for both natural family planning or trying to conceive!

Cyclebeads - Review and Giveaway! (8/21)

***GIVEAWAY CLOSED***
winner: Tom, Sherrie and Kaden Kimber!
Sherrie, please email me!

Yes - finally - the long-awaited TTC (Trying To Conceive) giveaway.

But wait! It's not just for TTC women... read on to see what's in the mystery bag and if this would be good for you!

As you may know if you have been reading my blog, I had a recent miscarriage. We had been TTC since November, when we got married - I was thrilled and excited to finally be 'trying'! And, unfortunately, we are back to 'trying' again - this time a little jaded, a little less excited, a little wary, knowing firsthand what one of the possibilities is. Honestly that positive test that we may eventually see is going to be nothing like the innocent joy of the first one. Anyway...

I had never really kept track of my cycle before - other than knowing approximately when to expect it. Suddenly last November that changed. I wanted to know dates! I wanted to keep track and know where I was, the better to plan for conception.

One of the tools I picked up to help with that was Cyclebeads.

What the heck are CycleBeads? I didn't know either! It's basically a loop of beads, with a rubber ring that goes around the circle. The beads are coloured to indicate where you are in your cycle. How does that work? On the first day of your period, you move the ring to the red bead (intuitive, right?!). Then each following day you move the ring one bead over. When you reach the white beads, you've hit the most likely days you could get pregnant. It's based on averages, so is limited to cycles that are regular and fall within the average of 26-32 days long.

And I soon discovered that I'm not average - my cycle is around 34 days long - so I can't use these.

But my loss is your gain as I've decided to pass these along to one lucky winner! These are really not only useful for women who are trying for a baby... this prize would be great for:

• young women just reaching puberty, to help guide them through and keep track
• women who want to use a natural family planning method - yes, you can use them to NOT get pregnant by avoiding the baby dance or using other methods of birth control on the white bead days!
• women who want an easy way to keep track of their cycle for their own knowledge of when to expect "Aunt Flo"
  

PLUS I have made a cute little drawstring bag for them as they did not come with any storage case. The bag contains the Cyclebeads, the illustrated instruction booklet that you will want to read carefully if you are planning to (or not to) conceive, and even an extra ring just in case.
I think this is an awesome product and I really wish it worked for me!

Okay, on to what you want to know - how to enter!

MANDATORY FIRST ENTRY
- leave me a comment saying why you would want the CycleBeads or how they would help you. If you want to give them as a gift, who were you thinking of and why?

BONUS ENTRIES
- follow my blog on Google Friends (current followers count too!)
- add my button to your blog (if you already have it, that counts too!)
- blog about this giveaway

Please leave a separate comment for each entry and leave your email address if it's not visible in your profile. Enter by midnight EST on Friday, August 21st. I'll email the winner, post the winner on THIS post and probably do a new post as well - 'cause I know when I enter giveaways I like to know who won! This is NOT a sponsored giveaway, I will be shipping these myself, so I am limiting this giveaway to US and CANADA only. Entries that don't follow the rules will be deleted.

***GIVEAWAY CLOSED***

Early riser

That's me this morning. So unnatural! I'm a night owl by nature. I'll probably crash and burn midday. Meanwhile, some giveaways...

For baby:

• Win a $25 gift certificate to JamTots Baby & More Store at Feisty, Frugal and Fabulous! Ends August 12th.
• Win a Baby Hawk carrier from The Cloth Diaper Shop at Organic Girl! Ends September 15th.
• Win an item of your choice from Ruthless and Toothless (onesie, tee, hoodie etc) at My Mom's View. Ends August 14th.
• Win a Kumquat outfit (your choice from the sale section) at My Organized Chaos. Ends August 14th.
• Win a pair of BePe booties at Organic Girl. Ends August 24th.
• Win a Zoolio Rainforest from Manhattan Toy at Gobs of Giveaways. Ends August 14th.
• Win Bummas wipes at The Lawellin Family. Ends August 16th.
• Win Bummas wipes at Mommy Loves It. Ends August 13th.
• Win a 3-pack of Muslin Baby Wraps from Little Bamboo at My Organized Chaos! Ends August 12th.

For the ladies:

• Win a Dreamsacks Silk Jacquard Robe (size S/M, in Lilypad) at Pour Some Sugar On Me! Ends August 11th.
• Win Handmade Home (book) at Barefoot Mommies! Guys can enter too, but seriously when was the last time your guy did something handmade for the home? Ends August 18th.
• Win a Boob nursing top at Lipstick to Crayons! Ends August 17th.
  

For anyone:

• Win a $25 gift certificate to Threadless tees at Contest Bytes. I love Threadless tees for their unique designs - I don't actually have any, but I wish I did. Ends August 20th.
• Win one of two pairs of Sanuk shoes at Prissy Green! Ends August 18th.
  

Oh, and I added (finally) a new bunny to my Etsy shop! This cutie's been done for a while, I just hadn't gotten around to posting it.

Just giveaways

For baby:

• Win a Cloud B Toddler Blanket from DoGree Online at Feisty, Frugal and Fabulous! Ends August 31 and is open to Canadians only!
• Win a Wild Dill Babysoy jacket at My Mom's View. Ends August 7th.
• Win a Bored, Inc. onesie or tee and a tote at My Organized Chaos! Ends August 10th.
• Win a KC Fuzzy onesie at My Mom's View. Ends August 7th.
• Win a Bibi and Mimi organic onesie at tout-est-des-roses. Ends August 21st.
• Win a Bored, Inc. onesie or toddler tee, women's tee and a tote at Barefoot Mommies. Ends August 23rd.
• Win a Weleda Baby Starter Kit at My Organized Chaos. Ends August 8th.
• Win a Kushies Safari Organic Sleeper at Two of a Kind, Working on a Full House. Ends August 10th.
• Win a Beba Bean Bamboo Swaddling Blanket and Bamboo Hat at Simply Stacie. Ends August 12th.
• Win a BabyStar outfit - your choice from five colours or patterns - by signing up to receive the monthly Organic Baby Newsletter! Ends August 17th.
  

For the ladies:

• Win a $25 gift certificate to Passion Spice (maternity/nursing lingerie) at Thrifty Minnesota Mama! Ends August 13th.
• Win a bottle of Lush Vanilla Delite Body Lotion at Feisty, Frugal and Fabulous! Ends August 9th.
  

For anyone:

• Win a $25 gift certificate to Bamboo Style Shop at Feisty, Frugal and Fabulous. Ends August 12th.
• Win a $30 gift certificate to Skin Free at Rant-Rave-Roll. Ends August 7th.
• Win a $30 gift certificate to Skin Free at Simply Stacie. Ends August 13th.
• Win a Melamine Snack Set from Accent Furniture Direct at Sweet Cuddlecakes! Thanks for mentioning it! Cute for kids, fun for adults. Ends August 17th.
  

Creative block

I have creative block. I'm tired of the work I've been doing, and I find I draw no satisfaction from my job anymore. I chose a career that is so NOT about the money and much more about quality of life (I'm a professional artist), yet my work has been led by money for the past few years, and the quality of life and meaningful work has fallen by the wayside.

I have a lot of outside pressure to perform, and the judgment is completely money-based - whether I have job satisfaction doesn't come into it. I find this completely frustrating and completely contrary to my belief system. Not only that, the pressure and stress is making the process worse. I need time to fall back, evaluate, discover, review. I need to destress and have a chance to open my eyes to the world and new ideas without criticism. This is what will bring back the spark - based on my previous experience with painter's block.

I have reached the point, after three years of increasingly meaningless work, that I need to refocus and rethink. I've put it off and put it off, succumbing to the pressure, and have reached the point now that I simply can't do it any more.

I so need the criticism and the pressure to go so that I can get to a state where I can create again. If my work becomes a production line, just for the money, I may as well be working on a factory floor - it would be the same kind of mind-numbing, repetitive, soul-killing work (but I'd probably get better pay & benefits!).

Ughhh, it's so depressing.

I need to find inspiration again so that I can be fulfilled in my work.

There isn't any easy answer - no go-to website or manual for overcoming creative block - it is a fickle thing. I have found that for me, time and unfocused thought work. By unfocused thought, I mean a sort of creative meditation - a period of taking things in, turning ideas over in my head, observing life, colour, weather, all the daily routines - a time to consider and wonder.

There are a couple of sites that I find are useful for inspiring random thoughts, an ever-changing set of jumping off points or sparks. It is the thinking about new things that inspires more new ideas for me, and these help:

• Science Daily - read about new research and discoveries in all fields of science, like the recent discoveries of previously unknown species in Laos (a new, bald-faced songbird, a rodent descended from a species that was thought to have been extinct since 11 million years ago, a striped rabbit), how noisy environments can affect language skills and vocabulary in infants, interesting articles about anything science.
• The London Telegraph has interesting picture galleries. This week the paper art of Su Blackwell is featured - lovely and inspiring.
• PaintBlog features a painting by a different artist each weekday. I don't always love each day's selection, but I do appreciate the eclecticism, and particularly the urban landscape artists that frequently show up on this site.
  
• Found (click on Finds and sift through each day and the previous days) - a compilation of found papers, mostly, sent in from all over the world. They tend towards the amusing or odd, and can be fascinating glimpses into the lives of strangers.
• PostSecret - another glimpse into life, in this case people have written their secrets on postcards and mailed them to an artist anonymously.
  
• Overheard in New York - this one's more for entertainment than creative inspiration, but can be fascinating.
  
• Etsy, of course, is full of creativity and can be inspiring - but there's a lot to sort through to find the gems that speak to you.
  

I'd love to hear about it if you have any recommendations of sites that inspire you.

Just this

...giveaways list for today :)

For baby:

• Win a $25 gift certificate to The Baby's Bundle at Two of a Kind, Working on a Full House. Ends August 5th.
• Win a $40 gift certificate to Chick Pea Boutique (a Canadian store) at Organic Girl. Ends August 31st.
• Win a $75 gift certificate to Zutano's Itzy Bitzy (newborn) shop at Mommy Reviewed. Ends August 20th. But you won't really want to enter this one, right? Because I totally want to win it! Oh, who am I kidding! Of course you will want this awesome prize if you know someone expecting or are yourself.
• Win a Soothing Blanket (swaddle blanket) from Luna Lullaby at Barefoot Mommies. Ends August 5th.
• Win a BumGenius One Size Pocket Diaper from Eco Baby's Hut at Dirty Diaper Laundry. Ends August 5th.
• Win a Sweet Pea One Size diaper at Dirty Diaper Laundry, too! Ends August 5th as well.
• Win a Cuddlebunz diaper at Organic Girl! You even get to choose from 4 styles. Ends August 27th.
• Win the Anka high chair from Scandinavian Child at Simple! Ends August 10th.
• Remember Affordable Baby Organics? Dirty Diaper Laundry's hosting a giveaway for the Karma Pouch sling and a pair of BabyLegs from ABO! Ends August 5th!
• Win your choice of Baby Blend tees at While They Nap! Ends August 1st.
• Get your last minute entries in for the notNeutral blocks from All Modern at Le Petit Elefant! Ends tonight at midnight, MST.
• Win a Wubbanub (the cutest, cuddliest pacifier!) at Monkey Mayhem. Ends ??
  

For grown-ups:

• x-rated! Win a We-Vibe from Pink Cherry at Bargain Moose. Open to Canadians only and you must subscribe to their email list. Ends August 21st.
  

For anyone:

• Win a $30 gift certificate to Skin Free at Thrifty Minnesota Mama. Ends August 12th.
  
• Win a $35 gift certificate to Skin Free at Jamerican Spice. Ends August 17th.
• Win a $50 gift certificate to Gorgeous and Green at Prissy Green! Ends August 9th.
• Win a Stork Craft glider and ottoman at Two of a Kind, Working on a Full House. It's sort of for nursing but I can't think of anyone who doesn't enjoy a comfy glider. I would so love one of these for my office that hopefully will one day be a nursery. Ends August 31st.
  

And holy cow, I just had a guy in to quote on painting our house - he wanted $6825. Um, what? Do I look like I'm made of money? Just to put things in perspective, the house is only 1945 square feet. And we don't need the trim, ceiling or closets done - just walls. Yikes. I have two more guys lined up for quotes, I hope they're a little more reasonable!!!

Colouring my world...

Colour is basically my job. I mean, I'm a painter - the artist kind, not the house kind - and I spend my days looking at colour, mixing colour, playing with colour. So it is a mystery to me why it's so hard to pick paint colours for our walls at home!

My last house was a 1920's brick house with warm wood floors. I ended up painting every single room a variation on yellow - which was perfect for that house and made it feel very warm and sunny inside, even in the rooms with small windows. My favourite was the kitchen, which I painted a pale yellow and I did the cabinets in a warm "Squirrel Grey", with new brushed nickel knobs, which looked both modern and classic at the same time.

This house is a new build and we have been living with builder beige since we moved in nearly two years ago! Finally today I went around and picked some colours. Unfortunately my husband has a say (I'm joking, I don't mind - we do both have to live with it!). So I have set out my colours in a list, room by room, and hope when he comes home he will like them. I'm going for mostly pale shades of tan, pale blue-grey, a pale grey-green, and two darker colours - a dark grey-brown and a dark grey-teal. That last sounds weird but I'm not sure how else to describe the colour (I could mix it with oil paints, but I can't name it!). Kind of... natural, sand, rock and water colours. The darks are for the powder room, which I want to feel like a jewel box with its chrome hardware and accessories, and for our great room, which has grey-blue curtains with a gold sheen (prettier than it sounds) and beige carpet and sofas. I think the dark paint will make it feel cozier in there and better for tv watching.
It's hard to pick and I confess I used the paint brochures with the colour sets - then added my own colours to the four in the set. Yeah, I've chosen about 7 colours for the house, but all in the same family. I hope it looks good. We're probably going to hire someone, since we have tall ceilings, especially in the hall with the stairs. I don't mind tackling the smaller rooms myself at all, though! I kind of like painting walls, it's so satisfying and amazing to me that such a small thing can make such a big difference to a room.

The one thing I'm not looking forward to is moving all the furniture!

Do you have a method of choosing paint colours? What are your favourite colours for a house?

Okay, on to some giveaways for today...

For the ladies:

• Win a $25 gift certificate to Layers Clothing at Outnumbered 3 to 1. Ends August 1st.
• Win a 2-pack of RibbedTees at My Mom's View. 5 winners! Ends July 31st.
  

Big plans

I'm excited about a couple things coming up for us... we have a two-week trip planned to go out west (Victoria, Vancouver and Edmonton) to visit friends in September, and also a one-week trip to Mexico with friends and family in November, that will be an absolute riot and also coincide with our one-year anniversary. We got married in Mexico so it's pretty cool that we'll be back there for our anniversary!

This coming weekend we're heading to Stratford with friends, to see a play and eat... Eat, because my friend is a big foodie and makes a point of finding the most delicious food around no matter where she is. I can't wait. We're staying over, it will be fun to get away and spend the night in a hotel!

Lots of vacation coming up for me. Yay! It will be nice to take my mind off things at home and just relax some.

Now some giveaways for today....

For baby:

• Win a $100 or 1 of 3 $25 gift certificates to Ju Ju Beane at The Shopping Mama! Ends August 19th.
• Win a Purple Ducks cloth diaper at Our Life Upstate. Ends August 6th.
• Win a Little Lasso at Tales From a Shopaholic Mommy. Ends August 8th.
• Win a pair of See Kai Run or Smaller shoes at Life Happens During Naptime. Ends July 29th so hurry up!
• Win another pair of See Kai Run or Smaller shoes at Mahayla's Mommy. Ends July 31st!
• One more pair of See Kai Run or Smaller shoes to win at Through Hazel Eyes. Ends July 31st.
• Win a pair of Jack & Lily shoes at Mommies With Cents. Ends August 1st.

For the ladies:

• Win a Cami Tank Top & Shorts from Bamboo Sleepwear at Feisty, Frugal and Fabulous. Ends August 6th.
• Win a Bamboosa Sleep Slip at Flying Giggles and Lollipops! Ends tonight (July 28).
• Win a Dreamsacks cami nightgown at tout-est-des-roses. Ends tonight as well (July 28).

For men or women:

• Win a Poison Apple Shirt at Flying Giggles and Lollipops! Ends July 29th.
  

Back to it

...After a hectic week!

I made it through the baby shower and totally held it together, phew. My friend loved the quilt :)

On Saturday we drove up to Algonquin Park with my husband's brother and his wife. We did some awesome hikes and ended the day with dinner at Bartlett Lodge. It's a cottagey restaurant right on Cache Lake inside the park, you have to take a boat to get there, which is fun. The restaurant is pretty casual; the food is anything but. We have eaten there three times now and never been disappointed. For $55 you get a five-course meal that is absolutely gourmet. And they always have awesome vegetarian options which is really nice for me... sometimes eating out at restaurants is simply disappointing with the only offerings being pasta or salad. Here's my menu from Bartlett Lodge on Saturday:

Amuse-bouche: a baby pattipan squash with red onion and pomegranate confit, and steamed arugula
Appetizer: oh my gosh, I can't believe I have forgotten this!
Soup: Cream of roasted parsnip
Entree: Fresh spinach tagliatelle with a white bean puree and roasted peppers (amazing)
Dessert: Chocolate orange creme brulee with biscotti

The breads with the meal were delicious, too - a caramelized onion focaccia, pine nut loaf, and tiny multigrain buns.

And we took a bottle of Amarone della Valpolicella (a gorgeous red) - which went perfectly with the meal. They don't have a liquor license, but if you bring your own wine they are happy to open it for you (no charge). After about 6 months of no drinking those two glasses of wine hit me like a Mack truck :)

On the way home we saw countless raccoons, a deer, a fox, an owl that swooped low across the road, lots of frogs and a massive house fire - the fire was huge, about 4 storeys high, and had taken the bungalow down so fast that as the fire engines were pulling up, only the 2x4 framing was still standing. Wow.

Unfortunately with the 3 hour drive, DH was trying to cut it a little shorter and managed to hook us up with a speeding ticket on the way back! Oops. Luckily the officer was very nice and reduced the ticket... My hubby's first ticket ever!

Okay, now what you have probably all skimmed past the text to get to! Some giveaways :)

For baby:

• Win a $30 gift certificate to Sophie's Chic Boutique at My Mom's View. Ends August 3rd.
• Win a Keiki Kuddlerz ring sling at MomStart. Ends August 12th.
• Win a Sleepy Wrap at {Natural} Mommie. Ends August 3rd.
• Win an organic Moby Wrap at Mkokopelli. Ends July 31st.
• Win a diaper Daypack or Wallet by My Royal Heinie at Mom's Most Wanted. Ends August 3rd.
• Win Sophie le Giraffe at Canadian Natural Mama. I'm sure you've seen this at Chapters and in the hands of lucky babies everywhere. Ends August 6th.
• Win a nursing cover and diaper clutch by Sweet Wee Bairn at Just For Me And You. Ends July 29th.
• Win a Kumquat baby outfit at Frugal Mommy of 2 Girls. Ends tonight at 9 EST (July 27)!
  

For anyone:

• Win a $30 gift certificate to Skin Free at Cheapskate Mom! Ends tomorrow, July 28th.
• Win a $30 gift certificate to Skin Free at tout-est-des-roses as well! Ends August 16th.
  

Winner - Affordable Baby Organics!!

Time to draw the winner for the adorable organic hat and onesie from Affordable Baby Organics... Who will it be?!

Hmm, heading over to random.org... entering the numbers... there was a non-contest entry comment in the batch. which I deleted so that the draw would be from contest entries only... And from only 18 comments (crazy, eh? With such an awesome prize?)... Random.org picked lucky number 6!

Which is...

Morgan from Mon Petit Amour!

Morgan is expecting, due in November; this will be a sweet addition to her little one's wardrobe! She is a Canadian blogger, based in Calgary.

Morgan, I'll be emailing you shortly!

For the rest of us, we can still shop for the perfect organic clothes and carriers and stay in budget at Affordable Baby Organics. Don't forget that coupon code to save an extra 10%: "emilyisland10"!

I do have another giveaway lined up, which I will post details about later this week! :)