Where has the time gone!

Hey y'all
I'm back again, after a crazy summer. I obviously didn't find the time to post this summer, it was busy busy. Elmo in concert, CFL season started ( Go Stamps Go), Ella is in gymnastics, baked a few custom cakes......etc. etc. etc.

This summer we really spent so much time planning our new addition to our home, concrete, doors, windows, etc. It's getting so exciting to expand our home from a little farm house, to a house that can hold more children. We are so blessed to have what we have and be able to do the things we do.

So this summer (like i was saying) has been crazy, but aside from the building process, it was the lake, travelling alot and alot of yard work. I had a small garden this year, but i am so proud of the things i grew. I pulled my pumpkins yesterday , one large one and about 25 ornamental pumpkins, sooo excited for them to turn orange. With my canning coming to a close, the perogie making and cabbage rolls will begin......by the time I'm done it will be Christmas shopping time lol....

Also this summer our little one had her 2nd birthday, which was so sad and happy at the same time. Time really does fly. We had all our family out for Ella's party which was so amazing. Its like an annual get together. It makes you realize how great you have it.......What I have learnt in the last year is that family is so important and we are so lucky to have the family we have, Only if you are willing to be a family will you succeed at being a great one, if you don't make the effort to do so or you sit on a big pile of negativity, failure is inevitable. For Ella's birthday it was so nice that even though family cant always talk on the phone all day or see each other cause we live miles apart, we all pick up where we left off, we don't hold grudges against each other, and we always feel happy around each other....
Ive felt like I've turned a new leaf realizing what is important and  what is not. My hubby and I have had many conversations about our life lately and how fortunate we are and how excited we are for the things to come.
Our new motto in our house, relationships, our marriage, and life in general came from my good friend Fran. she said:

" Anger comes from unmet expectations, Expectations must be achievable and communicated"

SOoooo friggin true. I think about that everyday and it has related more to our life lately.....Id like to stamp this on some peoples foreheads lol....

There is more and more that i could talk about from our life lately...but i have to save some stuff for later !!......till next time !

It's been awhile........

Hello all,

I am so sorry for those that actually like to read my post. I have been so busy with so so so many things, that I have not had a chance to get on here and write something worth reading or even typing. All in all we have been busily getting ready for summer, and the new addition we are doing to expand our house and family. No that was not a hint of some kind into us being pregnant. We are NOT expecting a baby anytime soon. We have a few more things we want to do before that happens.

Since my last post, we celebrated Easter and mothers day, and we had lots of things going on. We finished up our plans for our addition onto our existing home and lots and lots of yard work.

As well I am about to head home after a wonderful experience in being present for my nephews birth. His name is Griffin and he is my little peanut.....I am in love with that little man. Ella and my nephew Felix had a blast playing with each other in the time we were waiting for Griffin to arrive as well as during.....

Instead of me rambling on, i thought i would just post some great pictures from our time since the last post. I hope you enjoy them.



Ella at the Peeting zoo!










Eating popcorn at the circus.

Ella and Daddy on the quad doing yard work.

Ella Swinging with her papa, and helping with the gardening!

In Memory Of My Papa.....

Today marks three years since I lost a piece of my heart. My papa passed after a painful fight for years. Though I know he is in a better place, I still struggle with not seeing him and talking to him. It rips my heart out that my papa never got to meet my baby girl, see me marry the love of my life, and of course missing alot of life events along the way. At the end of the day I know he is with me everyday and watching over all of us who loved him so very much. The memories I have are a blessing.

My papa and I shared the same birthday, August 25th, and let me tell you, it is an Honor to share that with someone you love. I spent so much of my childhood trying to figure out how I had the same birthday as my grandpa but he wasn't the same age as me.......

I thought instead of going on about him, which I would spend days writing, I would showcase my love and memory of him through a few of my favourite pictures.......

Sausage, Projectile Vomit, and April Photo A Day....

Well after a crazy week or so, I am back.

My hubby had his days off so we went out to his farm to make sausage. We had such a good time and accomplished alot. I chased Ella around quite a bit, but I did get a chance to get my hands dirty. We had some Elk meat from Preston's hunting adventures this year, so we went out and made 90 pounds of sausage. It was so nice to escape to the middle of no where. I actually love going places where there is barely any cell service, and of course Ella was so excited that after so much time of asking to see a cow, she finally got to. Too cute.

 I was not to sure how sausage was  made, but I got to see it first hand from start to finish. It was awesome to learn something new and benefiting from the hard work. OUR FREEZER IS STUFFED. Sausage anyone?

We were able to make 2 kinds, a breakfast sausage which is a little more on the sweet side due to my husbands obsession with brown sugar, and a jalapeno kind, for my obsession of spicy.

After we got back from the farm, we had a busy week. Ella and I intended on travelling to saskabush, but of course the crazy flu hit our house, so we couldn't go. My husband was bed ridden for practically 48 hours and then it hit my poor baby Ella. She has never been sick other than with a cold, so the poor little angel just didn't understand what was going on. I really have to say though, she sure knows how to inform us when the up chucking will start, which was helpful the 12 times throughout the night. Just a shout out to my sister for informing me of the B.R.A.T. Diet for when you or your child has gastrointestinal distress. Banana, Rice, Apple Sauce, and Toast. Works like a charm. Ella is better now, and even went for her first hair cut today, which was fantastic. She looks so old now. If only we could freeze time. Boy oh Boy.

One last thing, April Photo a Day has just begun so with that being said below is my April 1st and April 2nd shots.

 April 1st - Your Reflection

Seriously how awkward is it to take a picture of yourself in the mirror. I was trying to line it up, so that my phone wasn't taking up the whole shot and this is what I got..a goofy reflection..lol.

April 2nd - Colour

A Picture of a beautiful card my friend Fran gave me today wishing my family a happy Easter. I love the yellow in this card. What a sweet way to end my day.

Oh My.....I Must Have Lost My Day Planner...

Oh its been a few days since i last posted an entry, but boy have we been busy. This will be short and sweet.

When Preston goes on days off it seems like the world comes to a halt....we always have somewhere to be or a function to get ready for, so I have been disconnected for a few days. I had a Dr. appointment in toon town and decided to leave our precious baby at her grandma's. Wait a minute we did not decide, grandma did. We had an amazing time just Preston and I, which doesn't happen very often at all. Ella had an amazing time and boy is it nice for her to have time away from me, cause the hugs and kisses were one after another......I love that feeling.

While our baby was away we were able to go to a movie together( The Goon) we loved it. As well I was able to make a cake for my friend for his birthday. He is a firefighter, so it was only natural to do a firefighter theme. I tell you, with no one needing me for 48 hours, I was able to get a cake that would have taken me 2 days if Ella was home, 5 hours!!!! unbelievable.

Now I am at my hubby's farm, where Ella gets to run around like a crazy girl, and where there is actually cows. She talks about cows all day. She even thinks the horses in our corals are cows.....this one might take a bit to get her use to, or we could just buy a cow. I just hope that if we get a cow for her that she doesn't think its a horse.

So anyways at the farm, relaxing and taking in the family time. Ella is so thrilled running around saying Papa Papa. So Its been really nice.

Well I am signing off to continue our visit. More to come this week.

Tasty Tasty.....

Well another recipe coming your way.

I made Singapore noodles tonight, and let me say HOLY CRAP.......I have tried these in restaurants, and they always vary in taste. This recipe I have is so mouth watering and so filled with flavour, it will knock your socks off.

With thinking we were done with winter, it came back again last night.....but what seemed to be a little snow was ALOT of snow, so I decided to make a "warm your stomach" dish. At first I thought this dish might be spicy and a little potent for Ella to eat, but turns out this baby likes curry....go figure.

So here is my fabulous Singapore noodle recipe.

8 oz of Rice Stick Vermicelli

3 Tbsp Sodium Reduced Soy Sauce

2 Tsp Sugar

1/4 C. Water

2 Tbsp Olive Oil

2 C. shredded Cabbage

1 1/2 C.  Tofu (calls for tofu but I use chicken, so cook your chicken in advance)

1 Sweet Red Pepper, Julienned

4 oz Snow Peas

4 Green Onions chopped finely

2 cloves of Garlic

4 Tsp Curry Powder

1 1/2 Tsp each  Ground Coriander and Cumin

1/4 Tsp Salt and Pepper

1/4 C. Unsalted Peanuts

Step 1: In large bowl soak rice sticks in warm water, about 5 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Step 2: In a small bowl whisk together soy sauce, sugar, and water. Set aside.

Step 3: In a wok or large pan, heat oil over med-high heat; stir fry cabbage, tofu or precooked chicken, red peppers, snow peas, green onions, and garlic for 2 minutes. Add curry, coriander, and salt and pepper; stir fry 2 minutes.

Step 4: Stir in soy sauce mixture, bring to a boil. Stir in noodles, tossing to combine. Stir fry until tender, about 7 minutes. Sprinkle with peanuts.

EAT IT!!!!!!

And after you are done, maybe a cookie for dessert?

Pollard Pizza Night.....

Oh the joys of cooking, after the flour got swept up, the cooking was finished , the eating came to an end, there was one thing left to do.........UNDO Top bottom.

I have been promising Preston for multiple days that I can make stuff crust pizza. I mean I worked at Pizza Hut for years, how hard could it be. I found this recipe in my never ending pile of recipes I have collected over the years. You know the ones you go "ohhhh I can make that" except you never have the ingredients or time to actually attack the task of trying out this new recipe. Well let me tell you , it is worth it to test out that recipe.I have had several Pizza dough recipes that I've used over the years but I just found the one ALL of you need to use.....here's why:

1) Easy to make
2) I can burn water so if this turned out for me it will turn out for you
3) 5 ingredients, that is it.
4) and most importantly fluffy easy to work with dough, UNREAL.

So I attacked this recipe by starting with cutting up my toppings while my dough was rising. When the dough was ready, it was go time. With Ella sitting there watching me fold the cheese string into the crust, every time was "oh wooow". I hope she always thinks what I do is amazing lol.

I am not one to withhold information so here is the recipe for the most amazing dough......

2c.   Flour ( replace one cup of  the flour with whole wheat if you want)
8-g pkg Instant yeast ( or 2 1/4 tsp if you buy in bulk like I do)
1 tbsp  Olive oil
3/4 Tsp Salt
1c. Warm water


Step 1: Stir 2 tbsp of flour with 1/2 cup warm water and yeast in a large bowl. Let stand till it gets bubbly and cloudy, roughly 5 min.

Step 2: Stir in remaining flour, oil, 1/2 cup of warm water, and salt. Stir together until the dough starts to come together. ( It wont be soft yet, it will be a little bit sticky but that is where the kneading on a well floured surface fixes that)

Step 3: Transfer dough to well well floured surface. Knead till dough is smooth, 2-3 minutes.....this may take a little bit more flour.

Step 4: Spray same bowl used for mixing with oil ( I just put some oil in the bowl and use paper towel to spread it around). Return dough to bowl.

Step 5: Cover bowl loosely with a kitchen towel and let rest for 1 hour. Dough should double in size.

Step 6: Take the dough out of the bowl push on it to remove air pockets. Lay it flat on surface with a little bit of flour. If its a little sticky just use some more flour......I shake my dough out to get it to size....but you can roll it out too.

- dough as is, is the perfect size for stuffed crust
- cut dough in half for about 16 inch pizzas each
- cut dough in 4's for little 8 inch's

Step 7: Add toppings, Bake at 425 F for 15 min.


And there you have it ....... amazing pizza dough...

The Week in Review......

I thought I would show you some of my pictures from this week.

I had kind of a hectic day so I thought I would do a TGIF entry.....

This is Ella. She was thrilled to go outside and learn what a puddle was. She had such a good time turning all of her clothes black. This is the before pictures. Moments later I turned around and she stuck her mitts in the water lol. Her Auntie Janelle sent her the Minnie Mouse jacket, which she now carries around just because Minnie is on it. I was floored when she put it on and it fit, cause she should be about a size 18-24 month, and its a size 3 lol..... TALL baby.

 I remember doing this......finding a place in the house that is not your general playing space......and making a hiding spot. Well Ella did just that.

She made a bed in the bottom of my closet. To cute.

SO last picture of my highlights of the week....story behind this picture is this. Preston has had a very sore back lately. He blames it on our mattress but wont go buy a new one.....don't get me started. SOOO he pulled our single mattress up from the basement and put it on the floor in the living room.....fitting since he cant sleep without a T.V. on.

Well Ella was amazed at the HUGE couch/bed she got to watch her morning shows on. She is so use to sitting on her reading chair or on her princess foam couch, but this was like winning the toddler lottery...in this picture as you can tell, she is just taking it all in Special Agent Oso, a sippy cup of water, a blanket, and a twin mattress in the living room.......life couldn't get any better.....

The pictures above are just a touch of how obsessed I am with my little girl. Everyday she amazes me with the things she knows and the things she does.

PS Today we went outside and our kitty ran out in front of Ella, tripped her, she fell down, she got back up and said "oh sorry titty".....I laughed so hard, and that made my day.

Plants, Plants, and more Plants......

OK so I bantered yesterday about the snow coming back........well now its gone. I don't know what to think and neither does my sinus'.
Yes we had a blizzard but it melted hours later and produced a pretty nice day........although we are back to spring, I think its only necessary for me to bow out of the thought of revitalising my yard right now and focus more on inside my house, at least for a few more weeks.

So I came across this article in my FAVOURITE magazine EVER.....Whole Living. This magazine is so inexpensive and has some great information about bettering your life, home,health so on and so forth. So anyway this article I fell in love with was about Plants that you should consider having in your home for different purposes showing that plants not only provide freshness or colour to a room but can do amazing things for your home.

So to just touch on this, they listed that Ficus Alii, Bamboo Palm and Boston Fern are know to be air purifiers, Jasmine and the Miltonia Orchid are said to give natural soothing fragrances to your home, and last but not least Ficus Lyrata and Jade are the energy boosting plants.

I was so intrigued by this article that I am going to attempt to bring this power house of plants (yes every single one) into my home......whats the worst that can happen...?
 

Well I have 2 pictures of the painful house plant experiences so far.  I have a Christmas cactus my mother in law gave me which she would think looks horrible, and probably wonder if I take care of her son the way I take care of my plants lol. The truth is, my cat knocked over my Christmas cactus and I didn't find it till 3 days later when I returned home. The other plant is another cactus a gentleman gave me at a previous job.....also dying (neglect).

Well my goal this week is to round up all of these new plants, place them throughout my house, and hope that I can take care of them, all while trying to bring these dying plants to life.......if you have any suggestions of how to get these old ones going, PLEASE comment below....

  OK so wish me luck!!!

 PS pick up the new issue of Whole living.....its a great one!!!  .......and the first picture on this post is of the orchid my hubby gave our little girl for Valentines Day....the only plant succeeding....

Hello Spring !!!!

Today I had a fantastic day opening the windows, cleaning, taking care of odds and ends before it comes time to spend full days outside. Ella is so bloody confused with this time change, nap times a mess, and eating time is off . Really I have a very hard time living a couple miles from Alberta, going off of Alberta time, but I LIVE IN SASKATCHEWAN....oh well, good new is.....Almost all of the snow is gone from my yard. What a feeling to have my canvas back......even though it is brown grass, brown trees, and quite honestly, it's pretty gross out for colour, BUT I can't wait to get started gardening.

Last year it was a running joke......I had an organic garden.
Yep an organic garden, in the sense that I didn't touch it, I didn't till it, I let me garden go. Heck I didn't even plant anything and it still produced edible greens.
My garden looked depressed it had more weeds than my 10 acres put together. I really can't help it.
I HATE WEEDING.

This year is going to be different. I am really excited because I have been planning my garden, my flower beds, and a play area for Ella, not to mention some pretty trees to be planted.

Just as I am waiting for all of the snow to be gone, mud to dry up and thinking of all of this wonderful green thumb motivation, my husband looks out the window and says
"Holy crap look at all the bugs outside"....
I ran to the window, thoughts started going through my head like; wheres the raid?, do we even have mosquito spray on hand?......
I get to the window and marvel at the large amount of bugs outside our window, to then have Preston say "ummm I think the snow is back"........

BLIZZARD......crap.....Soooo Plan B begins tomorrow......stay tuned...

Let Me Introduce You To The Nut..........

Well here I go my first blog entry.......how exciting and where to begin.....
First, my name is Carly. I am a pure city girl that thought since a young age, that I was going to go straight to Hollywood to be an entertainer or to New York to start a fashion line......both ending with marrying Justin Timberlake.

Instead I got better than all that............
Straight out of high school I dated and eventually married a farm boy. The man of my dreams. Years and years later we had a baby and now I am a stay at home mama to my beautiful baby girl Ella, now 1 1/2 years old.....and very very busy.
I  live where you can see all of the stars...............the country baby!!

I have lived on an acreage now for 5 almost 6 years......Its a hard adjustment.
I am still getting use to living where there is no Walmart 6 blocks away and where at night there is the sound of coyote's not sirens or traffic.

I am still learning that freshly baked bread SHOULD NOT weigh 15 lbs and that if the horses are out of the fenced area they are not going to break down the door and come in to your house.

City girl + Living in the country = Holy Crap!

So why am I writing a blog...........
I decided to start a blog because I love love to write. Most people do not know this about me, but I do. Being a stay at home mommy I wanted a creative outlet. I need something that is all mine, my getaway where I can share my passions, my thoughts, and my experiences (some are holy crap situations) through writing. I have the time and the drive and I am so excited to sit down and enter the blogging world.

Soooooo.........

 I hope you all enjoy my entries about love, food, creativity and a whole lot more........maybe laughing, learning or just relaxing hearing some things from this mama in a nutshell.