Anecdote

Remember that woman I told you about in my class - the one who keeps making comments about how my husband and I should have children (oh, or adopt)?

The other night, when she was talking about it again (seriously... I have no words), this conversation came about.

The context: We're in my studio, there are a number of students there, working away on their paintings, while I oversee and give help where needed.

She: So, you guys should have kids. When you guys have kids... But... wait a second, you're vegetarian, right?

I: Yes.

She: (gasp!) But... your babies will eat meat, right?

Um. No. I'm not planning on spawning little sharp-toothed carnivore babies. Or, you know, raising them on someone else's moral system.

Winner announced!

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BestBabyOrganics - Review & Giveaway (TTC?!)

GIVEAWAY CLOSED!
**** The winner is: Holly (confirmed)! ****

I have an exciting post today! It’s all about Best Baby Organics. If you haven’t heard of this online shop, get ready… it’s pretty sweet. Their goal is to bring affordable and eco-friendly maternity and baby gear to you. (Two of my most favourite adjectives are in that sentence!)

If you are in the market for before, during or after baby – or if you know someone who is, and are looking for an affordable AND eco-conscious gift – this is a great place to shop.

For where we are in the whole baby process, I’m impressed that they carry fertility products. You can find the same digital thermometer that I use for my BBT (basal body temperature) charting here, at the super affordable price of $8.95 (recommended! I really like mine). They also have a pretty moonstone bracelet – if you have faith in this sort of thing, moonstone (selenite) is supposed to boost fertility. Hey, it can’t hurt and it is pretty! And they carry that awesome preconception supplement that I was telling you about… FertilAid for Women! Remember that bit, I’m going to come back to it!

They have tons of stuff for baby, like:

• those adorable Japanese Monkey Pants (so freakin’ cute) - along with lots of other organic baby clothes (FYI – there’s currently a 30% off SALE on baby clothes! Check for the code on left sidebar of BestBabyOrganics.com!),
• all sorts of different kinds of carriers, from the more structured (like ErgoBaby and Kokopax) to wraps and slings (popular brands Moby and Hotslings),
• diapering essentials like bags (both shoulder bags and wetbags), skin care and BumGenius cloth dipes,
• nursery furniture (including the stylish Bloom brand), mattresses and bedding
• strollers,
• high chairs,
• toys,
  

and MORE. Yeah, there’s even more – go check it out!

There’s stuff for mama too – they also carry nursing wear, belly bands, the Belly Bandit (which I’m sure you’ve heard of – a compression band for post-baby body recovery), hospital gowns, and organic skin care products for mum. The big brands that you have seen reviewed on many a blog are there.

A big thank you goes out to Best Baby Organics for stepping up! After hearing about the FertilAid giveaway that just closed on my blog, they have generously offered to give one of my readers a one-month supply of that awesome preconception supplement! You can read my review, if you haven’t done so yet – it’s pretty thorough, I think! I went over what’s in there, and why it’s important for us wannabe moms.

Remember, this is a preconception supplement, not a prenatal – as in, you take this to prepare for conception, but once you have that Big Fat Positive (BFP to those of us with baby fever), you stop taking these and switch to a prenatal multivitamin.

So if you didn’t win the last time, here’s one more chance!

The giveaway: A one-month supply of FertilAid for Women!

How to enter: Head over to BestBabyOrganics.com and let me know one thing that catches your eye, OR one thing that you learned there. Make sure I've got a way to contact you if you're the winner!

Extra entries (please leave an extra comment for each):

• Follow the Best Baby Organics Blog (heads up: they have great giveaways there monthly, too!)
• Follow @bestbabyorganic on Twitter (leave your Twitter name!)
• Subscribe via email to the Best Baby Organics newsletter (on the left side of their website)
• Follow me on Twitter (leave your Twitter name!)
• Tweet about this giveaway for ONE entry, this is not a daily! You can use this if you like:

  TTC? Win FertilAid for Women from @bestbabyorganic at Emily's Latest @emilyisland http://bit.ly/dolfyY US/CAN 3/26

• Follow my blog (publicly) – 2 entries, leave 2 comments
• Add my blog button to your blog– 2 entries, leave 2 comments and please leave a link to your blog
• Blog about this giveaway, linking back to this post and to BestBabyOrganics.com – 2 entries, leave 2 comments and please include a link to your post
  

I will be verifying comments so please actually do the things you say you do ☺

Please be sure to include your email address if it’s not public in your blogger profile! Anonymous comments without a way to contact you will be rejected. Canadian or US mailing addresses only, please. Giveaway ends March 26th at 11:59 EST. A winner will be drawn the next day, announced here, in a separate post and emailed!

This review was based on a product that I received at no charge from the sponsor. No payment was made for this review. Prize will be shipped directly from the sponsor.

Impressed by Jessica Simpson

I bet you weren't expecting to read that here. I'm not too into celebrity stuff, usually.

You may have heard about John Mayer's absolutely tasteless recent interview with Playboy. It hit the news because he used some unacceptable words; I found it distasteful in a number of different ways from his discussion of his porn "addiction" to his comments regarding ex Jessica Simpson. (He's since apologized for some of the things he said.) While I do like his music, I also think he's got some really nasty aspects to his personality now.

I just caught this article on Dose with a video of Jessica's interview on Letterman. She handled the interview with a lot of class. I know she played dumb on that silly show with her ex-husband (who treated her like crap on camera, I thought)... but I think this girl's got her wits about her. Worth the 5 minutes to see the intelligent, focussed and classy side of Jessica Simpson.

Score: Jessica +50, John -100

Sharing

Last night I shared some time and conversation with a group of other women who are trying to conceive. It was brief, not too intense, but very friendly - and I was left with the good feeling of not being alone. Sometimes I forget that, surrounded by friends with babies and reading so very many mom blogs. If you're interested in joining in on the chat, you can read more about it here (the info about the chat is on the left side under "TTC Happy Hour Details").

And I want to share a couple other things with you -

First, on "training" your husband - my mum sent me this link to a funny little article that I think has some real gems on interpersonal relationships. I think that a lot of the time when we get close to someone we stop the little social niceties that make things run smoothly - like taking the time to thank them for doing good things. Expectations can take the place of gratefulness. The article is a little tongue-in-cheek, but if you look beyond that, the advice is sound.

Second, if you're in the market for a thermometer, there are a zillion nineteen different giveaways for Exergen Temporal Artery Thermometers (the kind where you just scan the forehead) going on - and that's just the ones open to the US and Canada; there are a few US only ones as well. You can find them all listed here on Mama Buzz.

Spicy Lentil Soup (with Tropical Traditions Coconut Oil!)

You know I'm all about delicious food, and I take care to ensure we're eating a healthy diet. We're vegetarian, and I would estimate that 90% of what we eat is homemade from scratch (we love trying new restaurants as well!). So to have a new pantry staple is pretty exciting for me, since I do the vast majority of that cooking and baking!

I was lucky enough to receive a jar of Tropical Traditions Gold Label Virgin Coconut oil to review. I've never used coconut oil before, and I'd been reading about the health benefits lately. The oil contains antioxidants, and (admittedly, I don't completely understand this part) apparently because the structure of the fatty acids are different than the fatty acids in the majority of fats in the North American diet, they are metabolized differently and apparently stimulate metabolism, give you more energy, and subsequently promote weight loss.

Sounds too good to be true, right? I did a little reading and learned that researchers at McGill University in Quebec did a study that showed this result (in animals). So... maybe. You can read more here, and even more here, if you're interested. I'm not convinced, myself.

For me, I'm not as interested in the weight loss idea as in the potential to reduce the amount of hydrogenated fats in our diet. We do eat butter (mainly in baking, which I do a lot), and rarely vegetable shortening. Coconut oil can raise cholesterol* - just like other saturated fats can - so, like any food, use in moderation!

Plus... I just love the flavour of coconut. I think dessicated shredded coconut is nasty (like eating sawdust!) but the flavour of coconut milk or fresh coconut is something to swoon over.

Anyway, my point is that I got this jar of coconut oil to try out. With this cold/flu/whatever that I have, I know I'm not tasting at 100% right now, but I just couldn't wait to play in the kitchen with a new ingredient. On opening it and scooping out a dollop, I was surprised by the texture. It has an almost waxy texture to it. The oil was solid (our house is at about 21 degrees - it liquefies at 24) but melted really quickly once in a pot on the stove - much faster than butter.

Coconut oil can be used as a spread (not for me, I don't spread oils on my food but if you use butter like that, this could replace it. My husband tasted some of the oil out of the jar and said he could definitely see using it as a spread!), a cooking oil, in baking, as a soothing drink when mixed with honey and hot water, and even outside the kitchen as a lip balm, skin moisturizer and hair mask! Amazing - when I mentioned I got this to review, I heard from two separate people on twitter that both said it's a great moisturizer! So I have a lot of experimenting to do.

Here's what I made with it tonight - a hearty, filling and mildly exotic soup that has rich flavour and a great texture. Plus, it's super fast (30 minutes max and most of that is just boiling on the stove). I started with this recipe from St. Margarets Kitchen, but changed it as I went. The bones are the same, but I tweaked it.

Spicy Lentil Soup

1 Tbsp coconut oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 heaping tsp turmeric
1 1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cayenne (or one minced jalapeno pepper)
1 1/2 tsp curry powder
1 cup red lentils
1/2 cup grated carrot
4 cups water
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1/2 red or yellow bell pepper, finely chopped

the ingredients (less the water & sugar!) - spices are in the pinch pot

In a medium sized pot, saute the onions and garlic in the oil until translucent. Add the spices, stir to combine, and cook another minute.Add in the lentils, carrot, brown sugar, and water, and bring to a boil. Boil for 15 minutes, then add the red pepper and boil for another 5 minutes.

You can blend it if you want (let it cool a bit before pureeing in batches in a blender), but that's just another step and a blender to wash. Phooey! I found the unblended texture was quite nice as is. Plus, I think it's prettier unblended.

Just like that. Yum.
You could sprinkle it with a bit of chopped parsley if you wanted, too.

And yes, you can taste the coconut oil - it's very subtle, but adds a layer of richness.

I'm looking forward to more cooking experiments with coconut oil :) Thanks to Tropical Traditions for providing this for me to try! I can recommend their shipping wholeheartedly as well - the glass jar was packaged so well that I can't imagine it breaking in transit. The time it took to receive? Seven business days to Canada. Pretty good!

Oh, and if you decide to order from Tropical Traditions (aside from the coconut oil, they also sell a wide array of organic and natural foods and household products!) - add my user id 5687267 on your order, and you'll get a free copy of the Virgin Coconut Oil Book included with your purchase!

Sneak peek!

Just a little heads up about some upcoming reviews and giveaways here on my blog. I'm really looking forward to working with the following companies and also looking forward to hooking up my readers with some goodies!

Best Baby Organics is going to set one lucky wannabe mama up with a month's supply of FertilAid for Women! If you didn't win my giveaway from Fairhaven Health, you'll have another chance to try out this great preconception supplement!
Update: the giveaway is on! Ends March 26th :)

ABC Neckties will be sending out a $25 gift certificate to one of my readers (which is enough to buy two ties for the lucky man in your life). I can't wait to show you the tie they sent my hubby - I just have to catch him post-work day and pre-evening, because he changes from Office Guy to Casual Guy in a flash when he gets home, and I want to add a photo to my review.

Eden Fantasys will be sending one reader a fun prize of Paradice and a gift certificate! And yes, I'll be giving you my thoughts on the Paradice as well... should be interesting!

I'll be reviewing two healthy products from Tropical Traditions. You know I love to bake :) I can't taste a darn thing right now because of this flu or whatever it is, but soon I will be ready for taste-testing. And I'll let you know what I think!

There are a couple of other things in the works, but not finalized yet, so I'm not telling!

Meanwhile, stick around for the fun stuff to come :) If you're not following yet, hook yourself up so you don't miss out!

Fairhaven Health (FertilAid) Winner!

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Oh, my gosh, guys, I get so super-whiny when I'm sick! Sorry! And thanks for the nice things you say to me even when I'm being sucky!

BTW, this is the very last day to enter the FertilAid for Women giveaway - so if you are trying to conceive (or know someone who is), get your entries in. I am a convert to these preconception supplements! I'll draw a winner tomorrow.
___

Last night in my class, that woman who keeps telling me that we should have kids brought it up again... I thought she'd moved on to other topics because she hadn't mentioned it in a few weeks. No such luck. She went on and on about it, with me giving vague answers like "We'll see" and "Maybe one day", until finally I got fed up (this is fed up for me, still polite, lol) and said, "It's not always as easy as it sounds."

I think she had an OH moment - lasting all of a second - and then said "Oh, well, you can always adopt!"

Yeah, thanks for the tip, Ms. Sensitive.
___

Unfortunately, frustratingly, I think me being sick is making this month a write-off for trying... and another month goes by.

I'm not going to complain about being sick anymore, but let me just say that the rest of my day involves:

1. crawling under the covers
   
2. staying there

Barely alive

Ughhhhh I have a miserable cold. My grandfather had a charming expression for days like these: "I feel like sh*t on a stick." Classy, huh? But it kind of fits.

I spent the weekend mostly in bed. Somehow my husband managed to catch the cold as well, despite keeping his distance, and he's miserable too. These are not happy times in our household. The dog, of course, is oblivious.

And I have Metric's Help I'm Alive running on loop in my head... again... catchy song but it gets old somewhere around the 150th repeat.

I'm teaching tonight as well, meaning a late night (the class is 7-10). I hope I don't pass on this cold to all of my students.

I still have the blues, despite it being a nice (sunny, but cool) spring day. I'm that far gone that seeing my neighbours' kids playing in their yards is bringing me to tears. Just at a low point, I guess. I'm going to try to keep off Twitter today if I can - there's bound to be more mom/pregnancy talk than I can take atm.

That's the only news around here...

OH and don't forget to enter my two giveaways... one ends tomorrow, the other has only a few days left. Links at top left!

Mopey Me.

So it's Saturday night and I'm sitting at home with the dog (who just decided to go to bed - it's 8pm, past his bedtime I guess), while my husband has gone to the birthday party we were both meant to attend. I've come down with a cold which is making me miserable in all kinds of ways.

And totally feeling sorry for myself too, which is so unproductive, but once in a while I guess we all just need to wallow in it a bit.

I feel lonely. I feel sick. I feel sad. I don't want to wish my life away - it goes so fast anyhow - but...

I can't wait until this part is over.

Game Day! A yummy contest for Canadians

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of henderson bas. All opinions are 100% mine.

This one's for my Canadian readers! You know I'm into contests, right? (There may have been a few clues to that effect in the past ;) ). I wanted to share this contest with you because it's got some fantastic prizes!

I'm sure you've heard of Stouffer's Bistro Crustini by now. They are sandwiches that you just pop in the microwave for a quick meal. I personally haven't tried them because, yeah, I'm vegetarian and they all have meat in them.

However, my husband has tried them and he likes them! They come out of the microwave crispy in just a couple minutes, so they're great for him to take to work for lunches or for a quick snack at home. The sandwiches come in eleven different flavours like Philly Steak & Cheese, and Meatballs & Mozzarella (now if only they'd come up with a vegetarian version for me!). You can pick them up in the freezer section.

Now, save those UPC's from your Bistro Crustini packages - because that contest I mentioned requires them. Use the UPC codes to enter to win the "Game Day" contest! The grand prize is a VIP Trip for two to Las Vegas to watch the Big Game, including:
- Airfare tickets for two
- Five days, four nights at a deluxe hotel
- Chauffeured limousine service
- Two tickets to a show
- $1,500 CDN spending money

I've been to Vegas and it's super fun! Five days is about a perfect length of time to experience it.

There are also secondary prizes of Home Theatre Systems (three to be won!) and a weekly prize of a digital camera.

Best of all you find out if you win right away, it's a fun little spin to win setup with instant results.

Good luck guys! You have until the end of this month to enter! Go win something, I've got my fingers crossed for you (and let me know if you do)!

Quiet

I've been pretty quiet lately, huh? No reason, no news - just a bit of the blues.

Thank you for your too kind comments on the new 'do! I like it better today although it does that thing where it flips in on my right and flips out on my left... like I'm in constant rightwards motion! (sigh)

I do have one more review and giveaway to post next week, if my husband cooperates. Yes, that's a little hint on what it is! (It is a completely family-friendly thing! More of a guy thing though!)

Meanwhile, you can always enter the two fabulous giveaways that are already running - links are up and to your left!

The chop.

I think I'm giving my hair the chop. Not all off, just to shoulder length. Eek, stressful. I have an hour to decide...
___
(later)
Okay... I did it... now I'm not sure (eeeks). I think she should have taken another inch off. But it will look different when I style it myself... She used a flat iron and it's pretty FLAT! Thoughts???

The Rice Bowl of Deliciousness

So, I'm not a food blogger, really. I was contemplating what this blog is "about", and I guess it is just about my life and things I like. I would consider myself a 'foodie'. I spend a lot of time thinking about and making food, probably more than I should. Hence the food posts :)

If you're getting bored reading about food, don't worry... There's more to life and I will get back around to the rest of it. And if you're really here for giveaways (my own or the ones I share), there is more of that to come, too (one is coming up quite soon) - and you can always go enter my MyPleasure.com giveaway, or my FertilAid for Women giveaway! They're still open and both super nice prizes.

Meanwhile, I absolutely have to share this recipe with you.

I've been going to a certain restaurant on Queen West in Toronto for oh, I'm guessing 10 years now - whenever we're downtown we make a point of eating there. It's called Fresh and I know I've talked about it before. It's really, really good. Among other things, they make these rice bowls that are to die for. And I have their cookbooks, but I don't usually have the right things on hand to make a proper Fresh rice bowl. So last night, craving Fresh, I decided to make my own version of delicious rice bowl goodness.


You'll have to excuse the half-eaten rice bowl photo. I was so excited to eat it that I just dug in.
And it was.... amazing. So good. Don't be put off by the long-ish ingredients list - it's pretty quick. Try it!

Rice Bowl of Deliciousness

• 3/4 cup brown rice

Sauce:

• 2 tsp vegetable oil
• 1/2 onion, finely chopped,
• 1" ginger root, peeled and minced
• 1/2 red bell pepper, finely chopped
• 1 tsp Chinese chili paste (or to taste - this isn't very spicy with only 1 tsp)
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 Tbsp brown sugar
• 1 Tbsp reduced sodium soy sauce
• 1/4 cup peanut butter (I prefer all-natural; you could use any nut butter, really)
• 3/4 cup vegetable broth
  

Toppings:

• 1 small carrot, coarsely grated
• sprouts (I used alfalfa but any sprout would be good)
• 1/2 cup chopped cucumber
• 1 avocado, chopped
• 1/4 cup chopped peanuts
• 1/4 cup pepitas
• Lime wedges
  

Prepare rice as per package directions (I use my rice cooker, to which I add 1 3/4 cups water and a teaspoon of butter).
While the rice is cooking, chop the onion, ginger, and red pepper. Heat the oil in a skillet on medium heat, add the onions and ginger and cook, stirring occasionally, for 3 minutes or until they start to soften. Add red pepper and cook another minute.
Stir in chili paste and cumin, cook for another minute, then add soy sauce, brown sugar and nut butter. Stir to mix. Add in the broth slowly, stirring, to make a smooth sauce. Turn the heat down to low.
Now chop up your toppings and then go relax and wait for the rice to finish cooking. Stir the sauce occasionally.

When the rice is done, divide in two and add to your rice bowls. Pour 1/3 of the sauce over the rice in each bowl. Layer the vegetable toppings on top, divide the remainder of the sauce and pour that on, then sprinkle with the chopped peanuts and pepitas. Add a lime wedge on the side for squeezing over top.

Serves two hungry people (or one hungry man and dinner + lunch for his wife). If you want to increase servings, just bump up the rice - there is enough sauce to go around.

The toppings are really open - you could really add whatever you want to the top. Here are some ideas:

• chopped, marinated tofu
• cooked chicken, if you eat meat
• grilled vegetables (eggplant, peppers, baby bok choi, broccoli...)
• chopped apple
• tomato wedges
• pea/sunflower/broccoli/bean sprouts
• snow peas or regular green peas
  

You know... whatever you've got. You could also substitute noodles for the rice; I'm just a sucker for the chewy, nutty flavour of brown rice.

I'd love to hear if you make this!

Eggless Chocolate Bundt Cake

I bake a LOT, but the only cake I've made before (aside from cheesecakes, that's a whole other thing) was such an unqualified disaster that I'd been afraid to get back in there and try again.

Weird, right? Afraid of cake? This was nearly six years ago - the episode had a big impact. Granted, the recipe I used that time had an error in it - there was no rising agent! So it tasted alright, but the texture was like... well, the sole of a rubber flip flop. Compounding my fear of cakebakery was my recent decision to stop eating eggs - I thought I'd never find a recipe that worked.

But I've been craving chocolate cake lately, and having weekend guests was the perfect excuse to be brave and wander back into the wild world of cake. Recipezaar to the rescue! This recipe for Chocolate Bundt Cake is eggless, easy, and so delicious! Originally posted by swirlycinnacakes, I've made a few small modifications. It is a dense cake, but rich and moist.

The photo's mine - you can see how quickly we are demolishing this yummy cake. It was a perfect, pretty ring on Saturday afternoon. Excuse the finger swipes through the icing on the plate! I blame my husband (and he'll blame me ;) we may both be right).

Eggless Chocolate Bundt Cake

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup water
• 1/4 cup plus 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar (or white vinegar)
  

Preheat oven to 350°F Grease a 9-inch bundt pan and dust with cocoa powder.
In a large bowl, whisk dry ingredients together.
Combine wet ingredients in a smaller bowl, then pour over dry. Mix just to combine (overmixing can result in a tough product).
Pour into prepared pan.
Bake for 45 minutes at 350°F, until a tester comes out clean and the cake springs back when gently pressed.
Allow to cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely. Once the cake as cooled, top with this glaze:

Chocolate Glaze

• 2 Tbsp melted butter
• 3 Tbsp cocoa
• 1 cup icing sugar
• 3 Tbsp hot water

Mix together until smooth. Add a little extra water if you need to, to get a pourable consistency. Pour over cake. Lick spoon. Lick bowl. Resist poking finger into glaze on cake.

Next time - and there will be a next time - I'm going to add 3/4 cup of chopped maraschino cherries to the batter, just for fun.

Have I mentioned the best way ever to grease pans? I haaate getting my fingers greasy and this is a good solution. When you're finished your block of butter, save the foil paper it's wrapped in. Just fold it up and tuck it in the fridge. When you need to grease a pan, just unfold and wipe the paper across the pan.

After a disappointing cabbage casserole (and subsequent pizza delivery), this was a really good way to finish a meal. It also was yummy for breakfast the next day. And a little slice at lunch seemed to fit the bill. Of course, it was good for dessert last night, too.

Don't you love being a grown-up and eating cake whenever you want?!

February Blowout at Beyond the Rack

If you haven't joined Beyond the Rack yet, and love getting good deals on clothes and accessories... well, what are you waiting for? Today would be a great day to join as they are having their February Blowout sale.

Beyond the Rack is an online outlet for designer clothes at up to 70% off. Different designer 'events' change every few days, so there is always a new deal to check out. Quantities are limited, and the events only last a couple days. I've seen everything from lingerie, handbags, women's and men's clothing, watches and other accessories, shoes... all big name designers and super cheap.

You can click here to join (it's by invitation only) or you can always click the button on the right sidebar there.

___

In other news, the cabbage casserole with ricotta, leeks and pine nuts that I made yesterday for our guests was a total BOMB! Usually recipes from Vegetarian Times are great, so I felt good about preparing an untested recipe from the latest issue, but man... It was not a success. It had a lot of steps (luckily I decided to prepare it ahead of time, because it took about 1.5 hours) and in the end tasted alright, but kind of bland. We could tell right away by the look on our guests' faces that it wasn't going over well. And we ended up ordering pizza! Trust Domino's to save the night. Anyway... a big disappointment.

Luckily, the chocolate cake was a winner and the cinnamon rolls were also awesome for breakfast this morning. I'll share the recipe for the cake with you tomorrow!

Weekend cooking

After cleaning the house and watching my husband make a snowman in the backyard (we got a ton of snow last night!), I'm about to make some cinnamon rolls. We're having weekend guests and it will be a nice treat for breakfast tomorrow! I haven't decided yet whether to use the stand mixer or the bread machine for the dough. Hm.

Tonight, I'm trying a recipe from the new issue of Vegetarian Times - a cabbage, leek, tomato and ricotta casserole. It sounds interesting. One of our guests is a picky eater so I hope it goes over alright :) I'm also making an eggless chocolate cake today... I'll let you know how it all turns out!

Meanwhile, go enter my giveaways if you haven't already. And I'll go try to get this coffee stain out of my shirt.

A couple of giveaways

(besides my own - see the top left corner for links!)

I know some of you are cloth diaper mamas (I certainly plan to be as well!). If you check out The Eco-Cheap Mom, she's got a cloth diaper event coming up for the month of April. I'm looking forward to it. It seems like a ways off, but the button's down there on the left to remind us :)

I know, we're not even pregnant again yet, but I want to build a stash in preparation. Premature nesting, perhaps. I just love the fluff.

One more thing, less baby-related - Love Veggies and Yoga has some nutty deliciousness to give away! Ends March 2nd.
♡

MyPleasure.com review and GIVEAWAY!

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Winners!

Ooh, I love announcing winners.

Before I get to that, though, I want to point out the fantastic giveaway I posted yesterday - to win a bottle of FertilAid from Fairhaven Health. I know some of you are trying to conceive!

Also, there will be another giveaway posted tomorrow!

Okay, okay, here are the winners for the butterfly decals from Wilson Graphics:

Winner number one, who chose the

... is Josie!

Winner number two, who gets the

... is Robyn!

(Both winners have confirmed.)

If anyone's wondering why 1-32 when there were 33 comments, it's because comment #26 wasn't an entry, it was just a nice comment :)

If you didn't win but just adore the pretty butterfly decals, you can pick them up at the Wilson Graphics Etsy shop. They're a fantastic deal at only $3 each - you could do a whole flock on the cheap for a big impact.

Now, go enter my other giveaway :)

Fairhaven Health Review, Discount & GIVEAWAY!

This is a long review, but if you are TTC I think you will find it very interesting!And bear with me, there is a pot of gold at the end of this rainbow!

The giveaway is now closed! Winner: USCGWifey (confirmed)

As you probably know, we’ve been trying to conceive for a while now. Since November of 2008, to be precise. And while we have succeeded (twice!) in conceiving, we’ve sadly lost both pregnancies – the first to a miscarriage at 11 weeks and the second to an ectopic pregnancy.

After the ectopic pregnancy, we had to wait three months for the drug they used to end the pregnancy to leave my system before we could try again. While we waited, I was talking with Fairhaven Health. When they heard my story, they were kind enough to send us not only a bottle of FertilAid for Women for me, but a bottle of FertilAid for Men for my husband as well, and a Digital Basal Thermometer so that I could try charting.

Now, I’ve been taking prenatal vitamins since August of 2008, so I know the routine. I have mainly stuck to the generic version. One big, heavy, rock hard pill every morning. I’m okay with that. So what makes FertilAid different?

It’s more than just a multivitamin. FertilAid for Women is a preconception vitamin that contains all the essential vitamins (including the crucial folic acid), but also contains herbs that regulate the monthly cycle. Have I mentioned that my cycle is a disaster? I was between 31-34 days before my first pregnancy, but my last few cycles have ranged from 31-38 days. So this for me (and for many women with irregular cycles like me, or PCOS) has a lot of appeal. I did a little research on what’s in there. Let’s take a look at these herbs (click on the numbers for sources)

• Red Clover Blossom Extract: Red clover is considered… to be a phytoestrogenic herb, useful in restoring estrogen balance in women. 1
• Siberian Ginseng: is …thought to stimulate the immune system (and) to help the body better cope with stress, either mental or physical… Siberian ginseng is generally considered safe when used as directed. However, …women who are pregnant or breastfeeding should not take Siberian ginseng.2 This is important to note. FertilAid does state on the bottle that it should be stopped when pregnancy is confirmed.
• Vitex, or Chaste Tree Berry: acts on the hypothalamus and pituitary glands by increasing luteinizing hormone (LH) production and mildly inhibiting the release of follicle stimulating hormone (FSH). This results in a shift in the ratio of estrogen to progesterone, with a rise in progesterone.3 You can imagine how that would be helpful in regulating periods and helping with PCOS. Again, because of its complex hormonal actions, chaste tree is not recommended for use during pregnancy.4 Another thing to note is that this is not an immediate effect – it may take several months to really have an impact.
• Ginkgo Biloba extract: I think this is included as it is believed to improve blood flow. Again, pregnant and breastfeeding women should not take gingko. 5

Okay, so you can see that these herbs might be beneficial to a woman trying to conceive. Regulating hormones, improving blood flow, reducing stress – all great for the wannabe mama. I’m kind of hesitant to trust in herbals – my Western upbringing includes a skeptic’s view of these things. Much as I like the idea, I find I don’t have a lot of faith. But I’m willing to give it a try.

The capsules themselves are pale green, very light in weight (easy to swallow), and made with a vegetable protein casing – which, as a vegetarian, I was very happy about (many pill capsules are made with gelatin, which is essentially made from boiling bones and hoofs. Ick.). You take one capsule three times a day, which distributes the vitamins more evenly than taking one giant dose once a day. Your body eliminates vitamins it can’t absorb, so it makes sense to me that a massive dose once a day is less effective than three smaller doses. I simply took one with each meal. I was worried that I’d forget to take them, but in a month (90 pills), I only missed four. Not bad. For the record, I did ask my OB/gyn for his opinion on multi-dose vitamins over single-dose, and he didn’t really weigh in one side or the other.

So what were my results on FertilAid?

Well, how do I put this… I felt like a teenager again. Remember when you were, say, 18 - and you were (ahem) raring to “go” all the time, both mentally and physically? Remember the crazy mood swings that went along with that? Yeah. I felt like that. Very happy, but also hot-tempered and I had mood swings. Physically (overshare?) I noticed a definite increase in cervical mucus and in my sex drive.

Now, I was not taking FertileCM (another Fairhaven Health product that is meant to have exactly those effects). Just the FertilAid for Women. And I can’t be absolutely certain that it was 100% a result of the FertilAid, but not a whole heck of a lot else changed about my life.

As for regulating my cycle, well that is yet to be seen.

And of course, hubby is taking his FertilAid for Men. This is meant to increase sperm count and improve motility. It has different herbal ingredients (along with the traditional vitamins) to that effect. One thing I wish were included in his supplement is lycopene, for prostate health. But other than that, it seems pretty comprehensive. The herbal ingredients include:

• L-Carnitine: which, among other things, is said to improve activity, number, and fertility of sperm (I was unable to find an unbiased source for this),
• Maca Root: often used to enhance sexual desire and sperm count and function. (click for a really interesting article that disputes this claim)
• Grape seed extract: from what I read, it’s primarily used as a source for antioxidants.8 (All very good but I’m not sure how that helps fertility.)
• Asian Ginseng: seems to affect sperm count, motility, and libido. 9
• CoQ10: Preliminary clinical studies …suggest that CoQ10 may… increase sperm motility leading to enhanced fertility 10

Now, hubby hasn’t reported any effects. But he’s only been taking one pill each day rather than the three. He has a reason, which I believe involves feeling scammed by 90 pills only being 30 days’ dose. Don’t ask.

Pricing: Single bottles of FertilAid supplements are $28.95 (US). Considering that a prenatal like Materna, for example, is about $26 (CDN) and does not contain the herbal ingredients, this seems reasonable. And remember, this is a preconception supplement - you switch to prenatals once you get a positive pregnancy test. So it’s, hopefully, only for a few months if you decide to try it.

Last but not least, I’ve been using the Digital Basal Thermometer. Improperly. And I know it. You’re meant to take your basal body temperature (BBT) at the same time each day, immediately on waking after a solid amount of sleep. That would be fine, except

• I’m a light sleeper and am often disturbed, especially lately as hubby and I get used to his new CPAP machine, and especially towards the end of my sleep;
• Hubby’s alarm goes off at 6:00 am, then he hits snooze at least one, sometimes three times. I can’t fall back asleep in that time. So I’m awake (but wishing I weren’t and trying my hardest to not be) for up to an hour as he snoozes, then showers, etc.;
• I never afterwards wake up at the same time.

So I have been using it, but relatively ineffectively. I’ve been charting on Fertility Friend, which has been interesting for me as I can really see how things change over a cycle, despite my sloppy temperature taking. (If you really want, you can see my chart here. If you want to try FF for yourself, I’d love it if you shoot me your email address so that I can refer you.)

What I can say for the thermometer is this: It seems accurate (having nothing to measure against). It has two decimal places, which is important for BBT charting. It is quite quick to take the temperature (orally). It sounds four very quiet beeps when it’s got a reading. The beeps are almost too quiet; that would be my only complaint. It remembers the last temperature reading, too, so if you fall back asleep it shuts itself off and you can go back later and check what the reading was.

Just a side note, I looked months ago for basal thermometers at my local Shoppers; this was during flu season, so they were sold out of every kind of thermometer at the time, and I noticed the prices there were $40-60 (CDN). I wasn’t going to pay that so I forgot about it. But the Digital Basal Thermometer is on sale right now at Fairhaven Health for $8.95 USD (down from $11.95). Um, hello? No question, this is a great price.

The ordering experience at Fairhaven Health is easy. There is lots of info on the site -from a detailed ingredient list for each supplement and straightforward information, to lots of testimonials from happy (read: pregnant) couples. There are also a few negative reviews on there, lest you think they are cherry-picking the reviews. Their customer service staff is also really friendly and quick to respond to emails – I love that. You can even follow them on Facebook and Twitter and get super quick responses there if you have any questions.

Fairhaven Health also sells other fertility products aside from the supplements, like Pre-Seed (which we’ve also been using – FYI, much cheaper than what I paid at my local hospital pharmacy), teas, and an ovulation microscope (which I am utterly fascinated by) and lots more.

Overall I was thrilled with my Fairhaven Health experience. Here’s the proof – I’ve already ordered a supply of FertilAid for Women as mine ran out. I’m a cheapskate and a hesitant shopper rather than a splurger or impulse-buyer. I’m not going to buy it if I have any doubts. This, I’m wholeheartedly buying into.

Shipping is free, even to Canada! The only thing I am frustrated with is the time it takes to get to Canada. This is the downside to cross-border shopping! The bottle I ordered took 12 business days. I’m not saying this to discourage you (quite the contrary) – just to let you know to plan ahead!

If you’ve tried any of these products, or are thinking of trying them based on my review – I’d love to hear about it!

And rest assured, this whole review is my own writing and opinion (well, not the bits about the herbs, which I’ve footnoted below) and not copied from any promo text or anything like that. They didn’t pay me to write this, though they did send me the initial products I reviewed.

I do have a referral link in my sidebar at the top right (with the cute baby), but all links in this review are not referral links. So if you want to hit me up with a referral, you can do that through the sidebar. If not, well, that’s okay too.

FYI, I found the University of Maryland Medical Centre’s site VERY informative in researching herbs and supplements!

Now for the excellent sharey part!

Fairhaven Health has offered all of my readers a discount code for 10% off!
The code is newyearsavings and it expires on March 31st.

and -

Fairhaven Health has also offered a giveaway for one of my readers:
a full-size bottle of FertilAid for Women!

How to enter: Visit Fairhaven Health, and tell me something that piques your interest, OR something you learned from the website. Please be sure to include your email if it’s not public in your blogger profile!

Extra entries (leave an extra comment for each entry please!):

• Become a fan of FertilAid on Facebook (mention your first name and last initial in your comment)
• Follow @FertilAidAmy on Twitter (leave your Twitter name!)
• Follow me on Twitter (leave your Twitter name!)
• Tweet about this giveaway (once - this is not a daily!) and leave me the permalink. You can use this for your tweet, if you like:
  "Win a bottle of FertilAid for Women at Emily's Latest @emilyisland @FertilAidAmy http://tinyurl.com/fertilaid"
  
• Follow my blog (publicly) – 2 entries, leave 2 comments
• Add my blog button to your blog - leave the URL
• Blog about this giveaway, linking back to this post and to Fairhaven Health – 2 entries, leave 2 comments and please include a link to your post
• Let me know how long you've been trying to conceive. It's a long journey for some of us and a short one for others! I'm just being curious here.
  

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 or US mailing addresses only, please. Giveaway ends March 9th at 11:59 EST. A winner will be drawn the next day, announced here, in a separate post and emailed!

A Groovy Kind of Muffin (Eggless Orange Muffins)

Only because as I was making these I was singing to the dog (it sounds less crazy than singing to myself, right?) -

When you're feeling blue,
All you have to do
Is bake a muffin or two
Then you're not so blue...

Okay. Maybe nothing about that is "less crazy". I definitely bake when I'm needing comfort. And when Genesis is running on endless loop in my head I need comfort, bad.

Regardless, these are some groovy muffins.
Eggless Orange Cranberry Muffins

1 tsp chia seeds + 1/4 cup warm water
1 orange
1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 cup chopped pitted dates
1/2 cup softened butter

1 3/4 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup dried cranberries (or raisins)

Whisk together chia seeds and warm water in a small bowl and set aside, whisking occasionally to prevent clumping. (This makes chia gel. If you eat eggs, you can substitute one egg.) Preheat the oven to 400F.

Scrub the peel of the orange to remove any nasty fungicides or pesticides, or use an organic orange - yeah, still scrub that. Chop the orange into large pieces (including peel) and toss it in a blender with the orange juice. Puree. Add the dates, chia gel, and butter and blend. Pour that mixture into a large bowl.

Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder and sugar in a separate bowl. Pour over orange mixture and stir just to combine (over-stirring muffins makes them tough. Don't do it). Fold in the cranberries and spoon into greased muffin tins (or use silicone cups like I do). The batter will be fairly dry; don't worry.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out crumby instead of goopy. (If you're using an egg, check at 18 minutes.)

Makes a dozen delicious muffins, pretty much guaranteed to make your morning happier.

This recipe is adapted from the Company's Coming Muffins and More cookbook. My copy is well-used and most of the recipes have notes and additions on them. I recommend this book if you are a muffin lover!
____

*** Just a little note to the Welcome Wagon lady who called our home and left the message that she was calling about our "new baby" and wanted to stop by for a visit. I don't know where you got our number (when we signed up for our untaken birthing classes? When we signed up for a hospital tour that we didn't go to? From the midwife we weren't able to use? From our family doctor who botched the aftercare for the miscarriage I had? From the OB/gyn and ER doctors who sorted out the ectopic pregnancy I had?) - but please don't call.

And when we don't return your call, DON'T call my husband on our cell phone and when he tells you we had a miscarriage, hang up on him without saying a word! That's ... just ... rude!

A little giveaway goodness

Today is the very last day to enter my giveaway for butterfly cuteness - two Canadian winners each get a butterfly decal by Wilson Graphics. There aren't that many entries so odds are good :) I'll draw the winners tomorrow!

OH and I know I keep talking about upcoming giveaways on my blog, really, just stay tuned... There are some doozies coming up. I promise. And I'm kinda excited about it :) If you don't follow my blog yet, now would be a good time to start so you don't miss out.

I haven't done a giveaways list in forever, so I'll do a little one today. Really I have moved a lot of this to Twitter (to the dismay of my Twitter followers, I'm sure. Unless they're giveaway junkies like me, in which case they may like the hints on great giveaways I'm entering). Daily twitter entries are evil. Just saying.

For baby:

• Win a Planetwise wetbag and Tiny Tush wipes at the Mothering Grace blog. Ends February 26th.
  

For the ladies:

• Win a Momzelle Criss Cross tank at My Wee View. Ends March 5th.
• Win a Glamourmom nursing tank or top at Two of a Kind, Working on a Full House. Ends March 12th.
  

hmm, I was going to add more, but I've got too much to do right now. I'll catch up with the giveaways some more later - maybe tomorrow.

ps, thank you for your comments and kind words on my recent blog posts. I do read every single comment and I appreciate them.

Retail therapy & hints on upcoming giveaways

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