Retail therapy & hints on upcoming giveaways

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

The Nothing New Newsflash

This is kinda personal.

Another loooong (37-day) cycle goes by and... not pregnant.

Not exactly news, I guess. More like stale old leftovers you can't wait to throw out. I'm a little sad today. I didn't have big hopes for this month because I knew based on my chart that the chances were nil for conception. But, you know, it's hard to keep that hope from surfacing as the cycle stretches on and on. I'd told myself I'd test at 40 days if my period hadn't come by then.

And did I mention our friends just announced they're three months along? That makes couple #8 among our friends (I'm not talking old Facebook friends that I haven't seen in ages, these are close friends). Seven of those already have their little ones in their arms. And I feel like the only person in the world who is not pregnant or a mother already.

I know it's not true. I know we shouldn't give up hope. It's just hard some days. I'm 33 and tired of waiting.

We're going over to our happy pregnant friends' house tonight to play Settlers of Catan, and I hope I can keep it together. I wish I didn't know they've only been trying since the fall - so it only took them like 2 months to get pregnant. I wish I didn't know we've been trying since November of 2008 and had two losses already, and besides that many months of disappointment. I wish that every time my body bleeds I didn't feel like it's another failure.

So I'm doing my venting here and trying not to be a sad person with my husband or our friends. I don't want advice. I just need to let it out somewhere.

Still loving Swagbucks

FYI - just got another Starbucks card in the mail from Swagbucks. It's a site where you 'earn' Swagbucks randomly for using their search engine (very similar to Google) and can redeem them for good things like gift cards, DVDs and other swag. You can even opt to trade them in for cash in your PayPal account.

Personally, I like the Starbucks cards. I'm absolutely hooked on the Decaf Espresso Roast whole beans in Bold, which I grind at home and use in my expresso machine every morning. At $16 a bag it's a little gaspy, but I keep getting these Starbucks cards and that makes life a little sweeter.

This makes about ummm... $20 in Starbucks cards, and $40 in Amazon gift certificates that I've cashed in for so far. And yes, definitely good for Canada (and the US, for my American friends).

If you haven't signed up for Swagbucks yet, I'm not sure what's keeping you. It's the kind of thing you don't even have to think about - until you discover you have enough to cash in for something nice. Plus it's kinda fun (particularly for a contest junkie like me) to get that random reward for something I do anyway. Pavlov's Emily.

If you do decide to try it (did I mention it's free and easy?), I'd love it if you sign up under my referral link. Thanks & enjoy!

Little things

These baby slippers from my Etsy shop were featured today on Through Green Colored Glasses. Thanks, Paula! I used eco-felt for these and a vintage ribbon from my grandmother's stash.

Despite being less than impressed with the opening ceremonies, I have to admit I've been watching more of the Olympics this year than I have since 1984. I'm so proud of our medalists. I can't stand the CTV coverage, though (I'm sad that CBC isn't doing it this year).

I have a couple giveaways, at least, for you today. I'll probably post some more in a bit. Twitter has kind of taken over my life a little (I blame you, Capital Mom ;) ). If you follow me there, you'll know what I mean. It's just so... sharey.

For the ladies:

• Win a Bravado Allure nursing bra at Dirty Diaper Laundry. Ends March 1st.

For baby:

• Win a Babykicks OS Bumboo pocket diaper at Take Time To Smell the Rose. Ends March 1st.
  

For anyone:

• Win Superior Soapnuts at Grocery Alerts Canada Reviews. Ends February 26th. Thanks for the heads-up on this one, Lina!
  

OH, and don't forget to enter my little giveaway for those butterfly decals!

Dear Restaurants -

We've eaten some meals out lately. If you're in the GTA (that's Greater Toronto Area, for the uninitiated), you really must try the restaurant Asian Legend, btw! Seriously delicious. For a filling vegetarian meal for two, I recommend ordering the pan-fried veggie dumplings, green onion pancakes, deep-fried tofu, and vegetable fried noodles. Okay, it's a lot of 'fried' but the variety of flavours and textures is marvelous and each dish is SO delicious. Of course, they have a ton of options for the carnivores, too. We like to go there for lunch. We like it a LOT. I'd go there every day if I could.

We had a Valentine's date - dinner at Milestones, and we went to see Up in the Air at the cinema. Up in the Air was good (I was happy just to watch George Clooney wander around in a suit for two hours). I found the meal at Milestones was not quite up to my expectations. First off, we had to wait despite having a reservation. I know it was busy on V-Day, but, yeah, that's why I booked a table. Our favourite appetizer, the bocconcini garlic bread, was delish but had a bit of a sloppy presentation and had maybe 3 tomatoes (and half a cup of tapenade) on it. I guess they were making up in tapenade what they were lacking in tomatoes. Not really a complaint - I love tapenade - but I usually enjoy the tomatoes, too. My entree - one of only two vegetarian options (both of which have goat cheese, ugh) - was the spinach tomato cappellini. Decent (I got them to omit the goat cheese) but a little boring and the pasta was overcooked. The foccaccia stick it came with was either stale or overbaked, I'm not sure which. I did have a yummy drink - iced tea with mango puree and fresh mint leaves. We skipped the dessert menu (most of which contained eggs anyway) and came home to chocolate ice cream and homemade cookies instead. Not a horrible meal for under $50 for the both of us, but it did kind of reinforce for me why we don't eat out more often.

With that in mind, here's my plea to eating establishments...

Dear restaurants,

I want to give you my money but you've got to give me a reason. Please offer more vegetarian options. There really are more creative alternatives than pasta, salad and eggplant. Don't get me wrong, I love eggplant done well, but if I eat one more disappointing eggplant parmigiana, I'm going to have a hissy fit. Also, goat cheese is yucky and makes me gag. It's cruel to include it in the only vegetarian options you do offer.

Maybe your chefs could take a field trip to a restaurant like Fresh or rebar, and get an eye-opener on possibilities for amazing vegetarian food!

I'd love to feel like I'm not an afterthought when I go out to eat. I'd love not to have to make special requests or go off the menu to get a meal I can eat. And to feel like I can get a better meal in a restaurant than I could make at home. Isn't that the point?

Love, Emily.

It's nothing personal, Milestones. That goes out to all the restaurants.
Okay, rant over.

The World's Best Cookies and the Olympics

After watching last night's opening ceremonies for the Vancouver Olympics (more on that later), I had a hankering to make Gold Medal Cookies. But - alas - I couldn't find the recipe. The recipe I remember had a ridiculous number of ingredients, including golden raisins, nuts, flax and other seeds, other dried fruit - it was a doozy. I can't find a like one online.

Not to be deterred from cookie baking, I decided to whip up a batch of the World's Best Cookies. I have no idea where this recipe came from, other than my mother made these often when I was a kid. These are chocolate chip, nut and oatmeal - a classic. This is the first cookie recipe I've baked without eggs. And guess what - it turned out great! I don't know why I'm surprised - so far, eggless baking has been a huge success.I did a new egg substitute (new to me), using chia seeds. Chia seeds, if you don't know, are full of anti-oxidants and omega fatty acids. They are so good for you! You may have heard of them as "Salba", which you can pick up at grocery and health food stores (I've seen it at Shoppers Drug Mart, too), or you can buy them at bulk food stores for a little less money. The seeds are tiny and crunchy (great sprinkled on breakfast cereal, oatmeal or yogourt). When they're wet, the seeds develop a gel as they absorb liquid. So, for each egg in a recipe, whisk 1 tsp of chia seeds into 1/4 cup of warm water. Let it sit for a while as you assemble the rest of the recipe, whisking occasionally. You will see the chia seeds in the product; for these it doesn't really matter, I used dark seeds whole. But you can, if you like, use white seeds and grind them in a clean spice mill to powder before mixing them into the water, for recipes that you don't want dark flecks in.

World's Best Cookies (eggless version)

2 tsp chia seeds + 1/2 c warm water
1 c butter (softened) or shortening
3/4 c white sugar
3/4 c brown sugar (packed)
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 c flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 c chocolate chips
2 c quick-cooking oatmeal
1 c chopped walnuts (optional)

Whisk the chia seeds and water together and set aside. Preheat oven to 375F.
Combine flour, soda and salt in a medium bowl.
Cream butter and sugars. Add chia gel and vanilla, mix well. Add in the flour mixture, stir to combine, then add the remaining ingredients.
Scoop tablespoons of dough onto parchment paper lined baking sheets (or well-greased - I like parchment), with an inch between each cookie. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden. Allow to cool for a few minutes on cookie sheets before removing to cooling racks.
Makes about 5 dozen.

(If you eat eggs, you can substitute 2 eggs for the chia and water.)

Try these! Really.

I found there is no difference in flavour using the chia gel; the only difference I have noticed with eggless baking is that things take just a few minutes longer. With eggs this recipe bakes in 8-10 minutes; with the chia gel it's more like 12. Muffins take about 5 minutes longer using a ground flax & water egg substitute.

_______

Okay, about the Olympics. I am a proud Canadian. And I loved that everyone in the ceremony seemed proud and humble as well.

But the ceremony itself was a little bit of a wet blanket, to my eyes. We watched it with friends and found ourselves groaning (with boredom, with agony, with embarrassment) at different points.

The MC (Lloyd Robertson, right?) didn't sound excited, and I felt like his having to - or at least, feeling the need to - explain what was happening on stage was so didactic.

The First Nations dancers were pretty neat but had to keep dancing and dancing while country after country's athletes arrived. By the end the dancing was kind of an exhausted flailing. And at the beginning, when they first came out and the four giant dildoes totem poles rose out of the stage... Yeah. Someone didn't think that through.

The music was simply awful. Nelly Furtado and Bryan Adams had no chemistry on stage at all, and looked like they were lip-syncing. The opera singer at the end was cringe-worthy. k.d.lang has a brilliant voice, but the song choice - Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah - didn't feel appropriate. The token francophone soft-rocker? Ugh.

The choreography was brutal; the only segment that I really enjoyed was the ski- and snowboarders on wires. That fiddling thing was painful to watch! My friend said it best - they had kind of a badass punk thing going on, and I can't think of anything less Canadian than "badass" and "punk".

They kept panning the officiants, and between Michaelle Jean sitting with her eyes closed half the time, other guys with their heads down on their crackberries, all-around glazed looks of boredom, and people running up and down the stairs in the background, it was an embarrassing showing. Seeing Harper there just made me mad again about him proroguing parliament.

The cross-country representation (the west coast First Nations/salmon/whales, the prairie grass business with the W.O.Mitchell quote and that kid floating around, the east coast fiddly thing, the francophone singer as a tenuous Quebec reference, the ice floes) left out Ontario completely from what I saw. And felt less like a tribute than a cliche.

The Olympic flag was brought in by the seniors' brigade - all accomplished and respected Canadians, but it seemed weird to watch them all dressed in white, smiling bravely as they carried the flag across the stage.

Then the debacle as the torch-bearers stood there with frozen smiles, waiting for the faulty hydraulics to lift the crystal things... And Gretsky's interminable, wet ride through Vancouver streets to the waterfront torch, with hooligans running alongside... *sigh*

I did like that the audience was all in white ponchos, it made a nice backdrop. And the stage lighting was neat, especially that part with the whales. Loved that. I liked the slam poet (and I wasn't expecting to).

Overall, decent effort, but I really felt they could have cut the program in half, ditched the singing, improved the stage, given everyone some coffee or something to perk them up, and spent more time on the choreography.

Like I said, I am a proud Canadian. I love my country and think it's pretty cool that we're hosting the winter Olympics this year. I guess I was just expecting more.

Wednesday catch-up

Well, I'm going to try. I've been a little slow with the giveaway lists lately, I know. And they're piling up. We'll see how far I get. I have LOTS of cloth diaper giveaways to share with you today! Yay :)

For baby:

• Win a $35 gift certificate to Nifty Nappy at Luvn Life. Ends March 3rd.
• Another chance to win a $35 gift certificate to Nifty Nappy at Luvs Jurn3. Ends February 15th.
• Win a $50 gift certificate to Little Monkey Store at Organic Girl. Canadian entrants only! Ends March 10th.
• Win a Jellybean Baby diaper at Coupon Mommy of 2.. Now 3. Ends February 28th.
• Win a Rocky Mountain OS diaper from My Baby Pumpkin at Dirty Diaper Laundry. Ends February 22nd.
• Win an Attinaps nappy at Hip Little One. Ends March 10th.
• Win a Pea Pods nappy at Hip Little One (great cloth diaper giveaways all month, btw!). Ends March 8th.
• One more: win a Thirsties Duo diaper at Hip Little One. Ends March 7th.
• Last one for today from Hip Little One: win an iCandy system from Urban Fluff. Ends March 9th.
• Win an Applecheeks Diaper (Canadian made :) ) at Mama Dweeb. Ends February 17th.
• Win a yellow AIO by Mama Marsh's Creations at Mama Dweeb. Ends February 18th.
• Win an Otter Babies multi-size snap down cover at Mama Dweeb. Ends February 11th.
• One more from Mama Dweeb: win a Totwraps Dream Diaper. Ends Febraury 15th.
• Win an Applecheeks diaper at Mothering Grace. Ends February 12th.
• Win a Smartipants diaper from Diapers Etc. at Suburban Saving Mama. Ends February 24th.

For the ladies:

• Win a Belly Bandit at Best Baby Organics. Ends March 7th.
• Win Moody Mamas maternity clothing at Just for Me and You. Ends February 19th.
• Win a Blush topless tee at the Veater Family blog. Ends February 12th.
• Win a Kalyx sports bra at Simple Mom Reviews. Ends February 18th.
• Win your choice from DownEast Basics at Second Time Around. Ends February 28th.
• Win an Ella Camisole and Hipster from Affinitas Intimates at Networking Witches. Ends February 14th.
• Win a pair of Keen shoes at Feisty, Frugal and Fabulous. Ends Feburary 20th.
• Win a Baby Bug from Eden Fantasys at A Simple Kinda Life. Ends February 17th.
  

For anyone:

• Win a Burt's Bees prize pack at Stretching the One Income Dollar. Canadian entrants only! Ends February 13th.
  

And there's my little giveaway as well, two winners for a butterfly decal (Canada only).

Wilson Graphics Review (and a little giveaway!)

*** This giveaway is closed! ***
*** Winners: Josie and Robyn ***

Something fun :)

I recently received a prize of a vinyl wall decal from Wilson Graphics (I won this over at Project Nursery late last year). Thinking of the future nursery, I picked out a pretty decal of a bird feeder on a branch. We have a wall between the bathroom door and closet door that is about 4' wide and blank. I think it's where a changing table would go. I chose the Jade colour; the room is painted in Tiddley Pom from Behr's Disney line - a very soft and neutral pale greenish yellow. It's hard to tell from the photos but it's a really lovely, calm colour. On receiving the decal I must say it was more turquoise than I was expecting (of course, colours are not always accurate on computer monitors). Still fairly gender neutral, though, so it works for me.

So here is the wall before applying the decal. You can see the decal on the dresser with my painter's tape and the instructions.

Next step is to tape up the decal. I used a long level to get it even with the top of the closet door (my husband chose the height - I probably would have gone a little lower, but I'm still happy with the result). I wouldn't recommend painter's tape for this, by the way - I had it on hand, but really a tackier masking tape would be better. I found the painter's tape, being low-tack, wanted to lift off when I folded the decal upwards to remove the backing paper.

A few minutes of smoothing and pressing it down with one of those mud trowels... you know, the ones for drywall mud, they're flat and broad (they must have a name), and then a few minutes more of gently and slowly peeling off the transparent overlay and ta-da!All in all, it took maybe 20-25 minutes to do this by myself. The longest part was peeling off the overlay - with all those fine branches, I had to be really careful that they were not lifting off with the overlay. That's just the way this design is. With a little patience, I had no rips or bubbles in the decal. I like it!

With the decal I received, Paul from Wilson Graphics also sent me two butterfly decals to pass on to friends. Who do I love? (raise your hand!) I'm going to give these away to two of my readers (one decal each) :) I think they're very cute for a little girl's room or would be fun for a bug-collecting nature boy as well. You can click on the pictures to be taken to the Etsy shop for more info on sizing or to purchase if you just can't wait!

The Giveaway:
Two winners will each receive one butterfly decal by Wilson Graphics

The first winner has first pick! There is no mandatory entry; do any of these things for an entry:

• follow my blog
  
• let me know where you think you'd put a butterfly decal if you win
• add my button to your blog and leave me the link
• blog about this giveaway and leave me the link (it doesn't have to be a full-out post, a mention in a list is fine :) ) - 2 entries, leave 2 comments
• follow me on Twitter (let me know and leave your Twitter name in your comment)
  
• Tweet this giveaway and post a comment with the link to your tweet. You can copy this, if you like: "Canadians: enter to #win a butterfly decal at Emily's Latest! http://tinyurl.com/yfext3r" - 1 entry (this isn't a daily!)

Please be sure to include your email if it’s not public in your blogger profile! Anonymous comments without a way to contact you will be rejected. Canadian mailing addresses only, please. Giveaway ends February 23rd at 11:59 EST. A winner will be drawn the next day, announced here, in a separate post and emailed! This isn't a sponsored post - I'll be mailing these myself & while I was sent the samples to pass on, there was no mention of a blog review/giveaway. Just FYI.

Someone's lucky day (Winner!)

Drum roll... time to announce the winner of the amazing Glade prize. I know I kept going on about it, this is truly a nice prize for one lucky winner!

And remember how I mentioned the entries were kinda random? Yeah. I had entries from Americans (sorry, you weren't eligible for this one, and yes I was checking), daily tweets (it was a one-time thing. I enter plenty of contests myself and am not a big fan of the daily tweet entries - though you probably wouldn't guess it if you follow me on Twitter!), people who were eligible for extra entries and didn't take them, all entries combined into one comment... it was all over the map.

Um, folks, luvs you all, but in future you will make my life easier if you please follow the rules.

With this tangled skein to work with, I ended up making a spreadsheet with all the eligible comments (in order of entry) and drawing a number (with random.org) that corresponded to that.

I know, all you really want to know is... did I win??!?!!

But I thought I'd explain what was up on my end, so in case you're that person who says, #x? but I counted all the comments and I was #x! Why isn't my name in lights? ... well, this is why. Believe me, this is more fair all around. Eligible entries were counted and non-eligible entries were not.

Ok, enough babble. The winner is, out of 195 eligible entries....which is:
Yay! Congrats, and I hope this helps you enjoy your Valentine's Day with your husband :)

I wish I had a prize for everyone! However, I do have some nice things coming up - a quick little wall decal giveaway, the CD I mentioned earlier, maybe something else exciting (I'm working on it!). Do stick around :)

A few things...

I'll be announcing the winner for the Glade prize pack tomorrow, so get your entries in by midnight EST if you haven't already. This prize is full of goodies including Copper Moon wine, Glade soy candles, a Glade reed diffuser, a really big and yummy cookie by Jinja Ninja, and sweet cards from Jonesy. From my end, this has been a really fun review but really random in terms of entries. I've had a lot of entries that didn't read the rules. So I'll be doing the draw a little differently than I usually do. I'll tell you all about that tomorrow.

Also a little sneak preview for what's coming up: something fertility related (a review, at least), and a review *and giveaway* of a new CD that's coming out soon! Fun stuff.

Now for some giveaways from elsewhere...

For baby:

• Win an organic ErgoBaby carrier & backpack at Canadian Natural Mama. Ends February 28th.
• Win an Itti Bitti d'Lish AIO diaper from Alipants at Hip Little One. Ends March 2nd.
• Win a SoftBums diaper at Newly Wed, Newly Bred. Ends February 20th.
• Win The Diaper Sprayer at Hip Little One. Ends March 4th.
  

For the ladies:

• Win a Bella Materna Lightly Padded Nursing Bra at My Wee View. Ends February 12th.
  

For grown-ups:

• Win a $50 Eden Fantasys gift certificate at My Wee View. Ends February 12th.
  

For anyone:

• Win a $25 gift certificate to Chocomize (customizable chocolate bars! yum) at My Wee View. Ends February 12th.
• Win a $25 gift certificate to True North Gear (clothing) at Organic Girl. Ends March 4th.
  

Wednesday giveaways list

Wow, I've been on a bit of a downer lately. Boooo. This is supposed to be fun.

Some giveaways for today... we'll see how far I get.

For baby:

• Win a $50 gift certificate to Cute as a Bug Boutique at Organic Girl. Ends February 22nd.
• Win a Cloud B Lullawrap, Lullabag or Baby Blanket at Feisty, Frugal and Fabulous. Ends February 28th.
• Win a Shi Shu Baby blanket at Life Happens During Naptime. Ends February 5th.
• Win an ErgoBaby organic carrier at Organic Girl. Ends March 15th.
• Win a Baby Lua (car seat cover) from Dittany Baby at Two of a Kind, Working on a Full House. Ends February 22nd.
• Win an Applecheeks Mini Test and storage sac at A Reuseable Diaper Revolution. Ends February 14th.
• Win a Cheeky Diapers OS cover at Dirty Diaper Laundry. They have a really cute design-your-own gadget :) I like it. Ends February 15th.
• Win a MiniLala Nappy from alipants at Hip Little One. Ends March 3rd.
• Win a Tilly Tally diaper and wipes at Organic Girl. Ends March 1st.
• Win Monkey Pants from Best Baby Organics at There's No Snakes in New Zealand. Ends February 14th.
  

hmm, that's it for today. Have a good one!

Giveaways for Tuesday!

Nothing like giveaways to brighten up an overcast Tuesday.

For baby:

• Win a Thirsties Duo Wrap and a Fab Fitted at Minnesota Mama's Must Haves. Ends February 11th.
  

For grown-ups:

• Win a $25 gift certificate to Eden Fantasys at Toddler Mama. Ends February 5th.
• Win a $35 gift certificate to Eden Fantasys at Northern Mama. Ends February 14th.
• ...and win a $50 gift certificate to Eden Fantasys at Frugal Mommy of 2 Girls. Ends February 10th.

For anyone:

• Win a $50 prepaid Visa card at Simply Stacie! Ends February 8th.
  

Hm, small list - I'm just not up for it today. Feeling tired and kind of overwhelmed. Talk to you tomorrow!

Sunshine, on an emotional Monday

Thanks to Jenn from Our Crazy Life for the Sunshine Award she passed on to me! That was sweet :) I'll have to come up with some blogs to pass it on to. I just don't have the energy at the moment.I am definitely in need of some sunshine today. I'm back in the hormonal and emotional rollercoaster of TTC. I say I and not we, because DH is pretty laid back about the whole thing. For the record, I wish I were able to be so relaxed about it. I mean to be, but the hormones just take over. (And please don't say "It will happen when you relax"... it has happened for us twice before, conceiving hasn't been the problem in the past, it's been other things... a miscarriage, then an ectopic pregnancy.)

Me, I'm so sick of waiting and wishing. I just want to level up. And with my ridiculous cycles (last one 38 days, the one before 31), it's really hard to tell when's the 'right' time - even with the help of Fertility Friend, an online charting site (hey, if you want an invite for Fertility Friend, please do let me know & send me your email address. It would help me out by giving me some extra time on the site. You get a month free to start!). I've been taking FertilAid regularly - DH has been taking his once a day instead of three times. I'm wondering if it will have any impact on my cycle. (Stay tuned for an upcoming review!)

So, anyway, today is day 20 and I feel like we totally missed the window. The start of another 4 weeks until we can try again? Argh!

I wish life were more like The Sims. I want to click "Try for Baby" and get 'er done. Instead, I've got an unhappy moodlet and am throwing a mental temper tantrum in true Sim style.

And, I've got my class to teach tonight - with that woman who makes inappropriate comments about me having children. I wonder if this will be the third week in a row that she brings it up?

Otherwise - other than me having the crazies - we had a nice weekend. We got some new inserts for our front doors which offer a bit more privacy and a lot more light. The transom is still on order - what do you think?I'll do a giveaway list tomorrow. If you're craving the rush of entering giveaways (and are Canadian), go enter my Glade giveaway. It's pretty sweet, with a bottle of wine, really nice Glade candles and a reed diffuser, a yummy cookie from Jinja Ninja and some cute V-Day cards from Jonesy. What are you waiting for? Go!

ps, yes, things look different - blogger went and changed the way they do things and my background is no more. *sigh*

Saturday giveaways

Just a few for today. There's a recipe in the post below, fyi! Yummy cheesecake. Diet, schmiet.

For baby:

• Win a Fuzzibunz Perfect Size diaper at Among the Mess. Ends February 3rd.
• Win Kissaluvs products (diapers or lotion) from Thanks Mama at Cloth Diaper Talk. Ends February 11th.
• Win an AMP One Size Duo Diaper at Take Time to Smell the Rose. Ends February 12th.
• Win one of two organic cotton monkey onesies from Momo Design House at The Judson Family Adventures. Ends February 3rd.
  

more to come.

Ever since Capital Mom gave me a gentle shove off the diving board into Twitter, I'm spending oh so much time tweeting giveaways and reading tweets! I'm still a newbie :)

Eggless Cheesecake

This was totally an experiment - I had three packages of cream cheese that were intended for a cheesecake, but soon realized that baked cheesecakes generally contain eggs. What's a girl to do? I made it anyway. Substituting blended tofu for the eggs (1/4 cup per egg). And what do you know, it turned out quite nicely!Those blobs on the top were jam hearts -before it was baked. Baking, apparently turns hearts into blobs. Good to know.

Cheesecake is super easy, yet impressive. This version is rich and has a thick, crumbly texture which I find nicer than no-bake cheesecakes.

The recipe:

Eggless Cheesecake (you pick the flavour!)

• 1 1/4 cups graham cracker (or chocolate wafer) crumbs
• 1/4 cup melted butter
• 3 pkg (250g each) softened cream cheese (you can use light)
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup soft tofu, pureed
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 3 tbsp jam (or instead you could add 1/2 cup chopped Turtles chocolates - yum!)

1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Combine crumbs with melted butter and press into the bottom of a springform pan. I like to line the sides of the pan with parchment paper, although I forgot this time! It keeps the cake from browning as much, and makes it easier to remove from the pan.
2. Mix the softened cream cheese and sugar until smooth. An electric mixer makes this a lot easier. Add tofu in three parts, blending until smooth each time. Stir in vanilla (and chocolate chunks, if you're using them).
3. Pour over the prepared crust. If you're using jam, put dollops on top and swirl them in by cutting through them with a knife.
4. Bake 50-55 minutes. It should look slightly golden and still wobble a little in the centre when it's done. Turn off the oven and leave the cake in there to cool slowly, with the door slightly open. This helps prevent cracking. Cool it to room temperature, then refrigerate for 3 hours or more.

You can use whatever flavour of jam you want for the top, or leave it out and serve with fresh cut fruit or berries. I was considering using dulce de leche instead, but DH wanted to use some of the strawberry rhubarb jam we made last summer.

I'd love to hear if you try this out!

First order of the day - a winner!

Time to draw the winner of the SkinMD Natural Shielding Lotion!

And forgive the lateness - I am not sleeping well these days, a mix of anxiety and the sounds of the CPAP machine in our bedroom. Today I slept in to make up for being awake multiple times during the night and then from 4-5 am inclusive... I'm trying to consider it 'practice' for maybe one day having an infant, but on the other hand it would be nice to get a good solid night's sleep as long as I can. No, that's not some subtle hint at news. There is no news.

ANYWAY on to the good part (I love winner announcements!) ... the winner is...which is... Yay! I have a feeling Ninel will be thrilled to win this one - she told me she tried some samples after reading my review and loved the lotion!

Designer deals!

I just ordered some sweet lingerie by Deréon (yes, the line by Beyoncé and her mom) at Beyond The Rack. I got this cute bra and panty set for $15 CDN! Craziness.

I wanted to share because there are still two days & 22 hours left to take advantage of this particular designer event! They have a ton of really cute lingerie and that's a pretty sweet deal for a set.

Beyond The Rack is like an outlet store but with limited quantities and scheduled sales. These are big name, usually super pricey items (women's and men's apparel, handbags, shoes, jewelery, sunglasses & accessories, sometimes housewares). Each sale event is on for only a few days and it's first-come, first-served for however many of each item they have. Recently they had a blowout sale that was up to 90% off and there was such a huge response that there was a queue to enter the site and tons of things sold out. Just to give you an idea of how good the deals are!

Beyond The Rack is by invitation ONLY. So I'm inviting you to join! You can click this link to sign up. Just so you know, it is a referral link (that's the only way to join as far as I know) and if you do end up purchasing anything, I would get a small credit towards the store. Double happiness with one purchase - you get a deal and then I get a deal.

The current events are: Dereon Lingerie, Sari nail lacquer (sets of 3 high-end polishes for $15!), Pretty Ballerinas footwear, Pure & Simple - Whitney Eve - Jayn Simpson ladies' fashion (last week Jessica Simpson dresses were on, this just reminded me), Hype handbags, Toywatch watches, Antique Rivet men's and women's jeans. These all end in a couple of days and new events start with new big-name designers. I've seen some REALLY nice stuff, usually way out of my price range, at much more reasonable prices.

Just so you know, not a sponsored post or anything... just happy with the deal I just got and wanted to share. I don't think I've mentioned Beyond The Rack here before and I know you all love deals :)

Just giveaways

Just some giveaways to share today :)

psst, it's the LAST DAY to enter my SkinMD Natural Shielding Lotion giveaway!

For baby:

• Win a Katydid OS cloth diaper at Coupon Mommy of 2...Now 3. Ends February 19th.
• Win a Satsuma bamboo velour baby hat at My Silly Monkeys. Ends February 8th.
• Win a Shoo-Foo bamboo hooded towel at Hip Little One. Ends February 25th.
• Win a Zooper Bolero stroller at Two of a Kind, Working on a Full House. Ends February 22nd.
  

For the ladies:

• Win a bottle of Druide Certified Organic Sensual Foaming Bath from TipTopHealthShop at Organic Girl. Ends February 14th.
• Win a $25 gift certificate to Passion Spice at Hurried Homemaker. Ends February 3rd.
• Win a Mineral Eyeshadow Kit from Orglamix at The Embellished Life. Ends February 10th.
• Win your choice of product from Kaponga (eg Cream Perfume!) at The Giveaway Diva. Ends February 17th.
• Another chance to win your choice of product from Kaponga (eg Cream Perfume!) at The Adventures of Paul and Natalie. Ends February 4th.
• Win a scarf from Affordable Scarves at Country Mouse, City Mouse. Ends February 13th.
• Another chance to win a scarf from Affordable Scarves at Thanks, Mail Carrier. Ends February 4th.
• One more chance to win a scarf from Affordable Scarves at The Giveaway Diva. Ends February 5th.
  

For those who sew (I know you're out there :) ):

• Win a $15 gift certificate to Heaven Lei Creations (fabric! yay) at Whimsy Couture. Ends February 1st.
  

For anyone:

• Win a Love Naturally goats milk body and hand wash (fragrance free) and five bars Love Naturally goats milk soap at Hip Little One. Ends February 13th.
• Win a pair of Hi-Tec Auckland Sneakers (one men's pair and one women's pair to be won) at Melinda Joy. Ends February 8th.
  

having fun yet?

Eggless Lemon Loaf

So the lemon that I painted as a demo in my class on Monday night......became this vision of yumminess...It didn't rise quite as much as the regular eggy one does, but I think a little extra baking powder on the next run will do it. It. Is. Delicious. Rich and luxurious. Absolutely can't taste the tofu. More info on where to get the recipe (and what I did to make the recipe egg-free) here.

Now I need to know what to do with the piles of demonstration paintings (of fruit, mostly) that I have kicking around the studio...

Dreams

Last night I had a dream that my husband and I were swimming in a river, against the current, and we'd been doing it for days. We were soaked and exhausted, but we kept going. I kept getting pulled under by the current, but we were making progress.

Some great metaphor for what we've been going through, or just randomness from my sleeping brain? I think I prefer tv star dreams.
_______

Tomorrow is the last day to enter my giveaway for SkinMD Natural Shielding Lotion. Odds are good, because for some crazy reason there are only 49 entries to date. I really like this stuff and I think you should definitely enter to win some! Do eet! (okay, funny accents are not as funny written out)

While you're at it, enter my Glade giveaway, too. I know you want a bottle of wine, candles, a giant delicious cookie and a reed diffuser. This is one heck of an awesome prize for one of my Canadian readers. On the down side for me, since I haven't figured out how to number comments yet, I'll be counting a lot of entries :) Don't worry, I always count twice to be sure I get the right commenter when random.org picks a winner!
________

I'm baking an eggless lemon loaf today. I LOVE baking but going eggless has me scrambling (ha! Sorry) to update recipes (read more about why I'm doing it here). I've made the muffins I showed you earlier twice this month already (DH says they're the BEST muffins I make! Despite his skepticism about going egg free!). I always feel like recipes are more like suggestions anyway - I rarely measure perfectly, add things in and substitute at will.

The lemon loaf recipe I use is from the Company's Coming Muffins & More cookbook - it makes a loaf that is so lemony good. It has a lemon glaze on top, is sweet yet tart, moist and rich... it's delicious. I kind of scoffed at this cookbook when someone gave it to me about 12 years ago - but it's turned out to be a must in my muffin-loving kitchen. It has cheesy quotes, but unbeatable recipes. This loaf, several muffins, and the best cheese bisuits make frequent appearances on our table. I recommend it - the recipes are straightforward and generally awesome.

I didn't want little flecky bits like the flax/water combo gives, so I'm trying a new thing... blended tofu (1/4 cup per egg in the recipe, put through the blender). I didn't have soft tofu, so I'm using medium firm. I'm really hoping the tofu sub will be perfectly unnoticeable. We'll see!
________

Some other giveaways for today, which I recommend entering after you've entered mine ;) -

For baby:

• Win a $25 gift certificate to Natural Urban Mamas at Canadian Natural Mama. Ends February 16th.
• Win a $40 gift certificate to Wee Rascals at Organic Girl. Ends February 8th.
• Win a Smartipants diaper in Cocoa Bean at Dirty Diaper Laundry. Ends February 8th.
• Win an organic bodysuit from B Nature at Organic Girl. Ends February 26th.
• Win a "Love Ewe" Plush Lamb and Lovie Gift Set in Organza-and-Satin Drawstring Bag from The Corner Stork at The Wannabe WAHM. Ends tomorrow, January 28th!

For the ladies:

• Win Orglamix eyeshadow at Luvn Life. Ends February 9th.
• Win a $20 gift certificate to Affordable Scarves (two winners!) at A Mom's Balancing Act. Ends February 3rd.
• Win a Lavender Orange Cinnamon Gift Bag from Tropical Traditions at Love To Shop Mom. Ends February 4th.
  

Shh...

It's finally snowing here after way too many days of rain. Yesterday it was 8 degrees. In Ontario. In January. So wrong! In January, it should be snowing. So all is just a little more right with the world. Not everything is okay, but one thing is better.

Thanks for your comments, by the way, on my sad tail day post... I am not 100% out of the funk today but I am feeling a little better. I think it's part SAD, part work stress, part anxiety. And it sucks that so many of us are going through these feelings. We probably all need a vacation to some sunny spot - to relax, soak up the sunshine for our Vitamin D fix, forget our troubles for a time. I wish!
________

Last night I had my painting class. One of my students kept going on last week about how my husband and I should have kids. This week again, she was talking about it, asking me if I was taking prenatal vitamins and so on. I barely know this woman. I am certainly not about to tell her about our troubles. She seemed to be completely oblivious to the vague, subject-changing answers I was giving to her questions, my smile becoming more and more brittle, how uncomfortable I was becoming. I know she meant well and just to be friendly, but it really had a salt-in-the-wound effect on me.

Unfortunately, I know I have done that to people, too. If you've never experienced the loss of a pregnancy, or the frustration of infertility, you don't even really think about it. I've certainly asked people about having kids before (I don't think I was as persistent as my student, but still). I didn't clue in that it might be a painful subject for some couples.

Just saying. Something to think about next time you're wondering why a couple doesn't have children "yet". Maybe they can't. Maybe it's on their minds at every waking moment. Maybe they've been through agony, both emotional and physical, in their struggle for a baby. Maybe they've got a dresser full of baby stuff, a room painted in the perfect nursery colour (Tiddley Pom by Behr's Disney line, btw), hearts longing for a child to love, names picked out, but only bad experiences to show for it... that look on the ultrasound technician's face. The awkward way doctors tell you that you're about to go through hell. Crying from the pain and the loss on the bedroom floor, in the washroom, in the ER.

Maybe it's better not to ask.
_______

Now that that's off my chest... I do have some more giveaways to share today from other blogs. Don't you love blog giveaways? I do (can you tell?!). I love reading blog reviews, learning about new products, having the chance to win something and try it out. Fun stuff. Here we go:

For baby:

• Win a Thirsties Duo at Dirty Diaper Laundry. Ends February 8th.
• Another chance to win a Thirsties Duo at Haute Tot and Baby Couture. Ends February 10th.
  
• Win a Bummis Organic Diaper Kit at Minnesota Mama's Must Haves. Ends February 5th.
• Win a Snug Organics Sherpa Sleeper at Mom's Best Bets. Ends February 7th.
• Win a set of Bummas cloth wipes at Toddler Mama. Ends February 7th.
• Win a $20 gift certificate to Friendly Fish at Glimpse Reviews (Canadians only!). Ends January 28th.
  

For the ladies:

• Win 15 sample colours from Basic Minerals (eyeshadow) at Coo Coo Courtney. Ends February 4th.
• Win a handbag from Handbag Heaven at Thanks, Mail Carrier. Ends February 11th.
• Win lingerie from Eden Fantasys at Love to Shop Mom. Ends February 4th.

For anyone:

• Win cool printed pillowcases from A Perfect Thing at Sweeps4Bloggers. Ends January 30th.
  

Sad tail day (with arghs and ughs).

I like my new Injinji Performance Toesocks. I won them over at Jamie's Precious Peas. I like my toes to have their own personal space.Cadbury likes them, too. Until he thought about it and realized that his toes are unlikely to ever have their own personal space. Then he had a small sad moment.I DON'T like how our fitted sheets don't fit our pillowtop mattress. Yes, we checked the size on the package before we bought. They were supposed to fit. They did - until I washed them. Now I fight with the #@* sheet every time I put them back on the bed. No matter how hard I tug, they will never reach all four corners. Argh!My in-laws have a great Jack Russell terrier (he is full of personality - I love him) that has sad tail days. Days when he's just not happy enough to wag. I'm having one of those. Despite the fun and colourful socks. It's rainy and grey (in January, that's just wrong for where I live - it should be snowing), which doesn't help. I had a fitful sleep and then woke early. I have a class tonight until 10pm and I'm not sure how I'm going to get through it. It's not a specific thing that's making me sad, just a general sense of hopelessness that has been hanging around for a couple of days.

Ugh.

Just giveaways

I don't have much to blog about today, but I do have a whole whack of giveaways to share. And if you haven't entered yet, there's still time to enter my giveaways right here -

• A bottle of SkinMD Natural Shielding Lotion (Canada and the US) - ending on the 28th
  
• An awesome prize pack from Glade (Canadians only) - ending on the 4th.

Now for giveaways elsewhere in the blogosphere:

For baby:

• Win a $20 gift certificate to Mommybound at My Silly Monkeys. Ends February 4th.
• Win a $55 gift certificate to Clementine Rose at Baby Makin{g} Machine. Ends February 7th.
• Win a Shi Shu baby blanket at My Silly Monkeys. Ends February 4th.
• Win one of two $50 gift certificates to Better Baby Bums at {Natural} Mommie. Ends February 4th.
• Win an Ergo Hands Free System at Happily Domestic. Ends February 1st.
• Win a handmade baby item from Treble Baby (AIO, cover, blanket, etc. - your choice!) at A Heart for Home. Ends February 1st.
• Win a Green Acre Design Diaper at Coupon Mommy of 2...now 3. Ends February 1st.
• Win an Applecheeks cover and bamboo insert at Dirty Diaper Laundry. Ends February 4th.
• Win an AMP OS Duo from Eco Bebe Boutique at Dirty Diaper Laundry. Ends February 1st.
• Win a Mrs. Smith's Diaper Bag at Mom's Focus on Cyberworld. Ends tonight!
• Another chance for a Mrs. Smith's Diaper Bag at My Wee View. ends January 29th.
• Win a cute night light by Kinderglo at At the Fence. Ends February 5th.
• Win a Woolly Wugs twin pack of sleeping bags at Hip Little One. Ends February 2nd.
• Win a natural wooden teether by Little Alouette at A Heart for Home. ends January 29th.

For the ladies:

• Win a basket from The Body Shop at My Organized Chaos. Ends February 1st.
• Win a necklace from Pearl Paradise at Country Mouse, City Mouse. Ends January 30th.
• Win Cream Perfume (3 winners) at unpaint. Ends January 29th.
• Win a Love Tee from Tees for Change at Pink & Posh. Ends January 29th.
  

For anyone:

• Win a $25 Starbucks card at A Day in the Life. Ends February 2nd.
• Win a $50 gift certificate to CSN Stores at An Unconditional Mom. Ends February 21st. (Maybe you will have better luck with this site than I did. It took forever to load and then often would just be 'done' as a blank page!)
• Win your choice of item from Bored, Inc. at Natural Baby Goods! Cute stuff for tots and moms. Ends February 5th.
• Win bath products from Seed at My Organized Chaos. Ends February 1st.
• Win a box of Enstrom's Toffee at Emmy's Boos and Rawrs. Ends January 31st.
  

more to come!

Sleep talking

I've mentioned before about my husband's habit of sleep talking. It is hilarious. I have learned so much from his sleep talk. Like that he doesn't like aliens - particularly the purple ones. And that fuzzy people are scary; we need to hide the dog in the closet when they come.

Sadly, his new CPAP machine seems to have ended the nighttime audio show. I miss the weird comments.

But, I have found a laugh-until-you-cry substitute at Sleep Talkin' Man. He's more talky than DH, and he does it in a British accent. Do you need a good solid laugh? I honestly nearly narfed my tea. (My mistake to take a big drink and then keep reading.) SO funny. The audio clips are great. Go. Now. Laugh until you pee a little.

Setting the Scene for Romance ~ Giveaway!

*** This giveaway is closed! ***
Winner: silverneon (confirmed)

I know I have mentioned before that February is the month of love. In fact, you're probably tired of hearing me go on about it :) Let's just say that we've been waiting for February for an eternity three months, and we're going to make the most of it.

So when I had the opportunity to review an amazing, romantic Valentine's Day assortment from Glade, you can imagine how fast I jumped on it! Romance? Yes, please!

This is the package I received:Wow! Spoil me! What is all that goodness? Well...

A triple-wick soy candle and a soy votive from the Fragrance Collection - Glade's line of boutique-quality scented candles. The scents, Sheer White Cotton and Currant and Acai, are wonderful. The first is like freshly laundered clothes - light, clean, and perfect for bright sunny winter days or chilly winter evenings when you want some comfort! The Currant and Acai scent is rich and fruity with the scent of berries. Both are pure fragrance, no chemical smell, and I love that they're soy, which is sustainable, clean burning, and natural.

A reed diffuser with a pretty wood top in the Currant and Acai scent, again from the Glade Fragrance Collection. We had a minor disaster with our last reed diffuser - I'd propped a framed watercolour on a shelf in the powder room that also held a reed diffuser. Then when the garage door slammed next time, off toppled the picture, taking the diffuser with it, and everything smashed on our tile floor. Cleaning up oil and glass shards from the walls, floor and toilet was not fun (although our bathroom did smell remarkably nice for quite some time after!). I am thrilled to have a new pretty diffuser from Glade for the bathroom - and I promise not to be so foolhardy in my picture placement in the future!

Some lovely cards and tags from Jonesy, a Canadian stationery company that does some great graphic cards that are environmentally friendly - they use FSC paper and soy-based inks. The set of five cards and tags in this package feature sweet little floaty hearts, great for any occasion but perfect for Valentine's Day! I think the tags might become lunch box love notes (shh, don't tell DH! I want it to be a sweet surprise).

An enormous, intricate cookie mookie from Jinja Ninja (love that name!) - another Canadian company that makes these edible creations from organic ingredients. I'm a lifelong baker and I can't even begin to imagine how Beverly comes up with these. They're amazing and would be great gifts for special occasions or just because.

Last but not least, a bottle of Copper Moon Sauvignon Blanc. I've never tried a Copper Moon wine before and I'm quite eager to test it out (tonight?). We love wine - we have toured vineyards in Niagara, and are those people who actually have a stocked wine rack in our cold cellar. I was interested to read that Copper Moon is made with grapes that are harvested at night. Who would have thought it made a difference when the grapes were harvested? But I have learned that the cool temperatures affect the flavour of the grapes. Neat!

AND - drum roll, please - I am thrilled to tell you that -
Glade has generously offered one of my Canadian readers the very same gift package that I received, in time for Valentine's Day!

Nothing like a little candlelight, wine and a sweet treat to set the scene for romance!

How to enter (do this first!): Tell me your plans for Valentine's Day! Will it be date night on the town, or a romantic evening at home, perhaps? Please be sure to include your email if it’s not public in your blogger profile! Anonymous comments without a way to contact you will be deleted.

Extra entries (leave an extra comment for each):

• Visit Glade, and tell me another product you would be interested in trying - 1 entry
• Visit Jonesy and tell me what other design(s) you like! - 1 entry
• Visit Jinja Ninja and tell me which mookie jumpstarts your cravings! - 1 entry
• Let me know which variety of Copper Moon wine you'd love - the Merlot, Shiraz, Pinot Grigio, or Sauvignon Blanc? (no guarantee that you'll get the one you chose if you win, though)- 1 entry
• Follow my blog (publicly) – 2 entries, leave 2 comments
• Add my blog button to your blog- leave the URL - 1 entry
• Blog about this giveaway, linking back both to this post and to the Glade website – 2 entries, leave 2 comments
• Tweet this giveaway and post a comment with the link to your tweet. You can copy this, if you like: "Win an awesome Glade romance prize pack at Emily's Latest (for Canadians only!) http://tinyurl.com/ydgwmxa". Thanks to my lovely and brilliant bloggy friend Capital Mom for the entry idea! - 1 entry (this isn't a daily!)
  

That’s 11 potential entries!

Eligibility: Open to Canadian residents only!

Ends: February 4th at 11:59 PM EST. Winner will be emailed, announced on this post and on a separate post on my blog. If I don't hear back within 48 hours, another winner will be chosen.