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Our dog is finding golf balls in the park

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My husband does most of the dog walking in this household. Our Lab gets a walk each morning and evening with my husband. If I’m feeling up to it (remember I have Crohn’s so I feel awful quit often) I give her an additional walk in the afternoon.

We try to vary where our dog is walked. It’s never the same route, however, my husband has been taking our Lab to the park just down the street a little more often than he usually does in the dead of winter. Why? Well … since we’ve had an extremely rare lack of snow here in Toronto this winter the park is a great place to go with the dog. Usually the park gets all the excess snow dumped in it in the winter, but that hasn’t really been happening this year. So as long as we don’t mind a slightly muddy dog it’s a great place to take her.

Some of our neighbors must have been taking advantage of the mild winter we’ve been having because our dog has become a great source for used golf balls LOL. Yep, she’ll come up to us with two or three golf balls in her mouth. Someones been getting in a little putting practice it seems.

When you walk your dog does he or she find interesting or unusual items to bring home?





I just can’t shake this cold

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Man am I miserable. I’ve been suffering from my second cold in two months for the last week or so and it’s just not getting any better. I now have a cough and I’m not sure if it’s just from the cold or if it’s turning into bronchitis or something worse.

This sucks. My nose is stuffed, I’m coughing and my ears are blocked up too. Oh and every time I stand up a wave of dizziness comes over me. I’m just not anywhere near myself at all. I can’t think and I seem to be forgetting things easier. That’s one of the reasons why, along with the cough, I’m wondering if this is becoming pneumonia. I had pneumonia in 1998 for about two months and I swear it was the worst illness I’ve ever gone through. i was in a fog the whole time. I’m starting to feel that way again.

So … I’m trying to rest (mostly unsuccessfully), eat healthy, and I’m drinking juices and taking vitamins. Oh and I’m also drinking lots of hot drinks like coffee and tea as it soothes my throat. I’m also taking decongestants and yes, my allergy relief which I take every day anyway since I’m actually allergic to my dog.

I actually haven’t been sick with a cold or any kind of respiratory infection since 1998 when I had that bad case of pneumonia so I’d forgotten how bad colds hit me I guess.

Hopefully in a week or so I’ll be back to normal and with any luck I’ll stay cold fee from the rest of the winter. Man I hate this.

I can’t believe how fast my hair grows

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I think I’ll be going shopping this weekend. As I mentioned in one of yesterdays posts I’m putting myself on a better skin care routine – moisturizing daily. So now I’m on the hunt for the best wrinkle cream.

Ok well maybe not wrinkle cream specifically … but really aren’t all moisturizers kind of anti-wrinkle since keeping your skin moisturized can help delay or minimize wrinkles?

I also have to get my haircut. I swear my hair grows so fast that I have to get my hair cut every four weeks or so otherwise it looks awful. Needless to say … it’s been about two months since my last haircut so yes, my hair looks bad! LOL

I actually think it might be my hairdresser. She used to cut my hair great, but I’ve noticed over the last year that even after a week my haircut doesn’t look as good as it used too … so maybe I need a new stylist too?

I’ve always had a hard time finding someone who can cut my hair well. I don’t know why … I have fairly nice hair – it’s fine with some wave and lots of body – not too difficult to work with or at least i don’t think it is … so why do I have so much trouble finding a good stylist? Do you have trouble finding someone who can cut your hair properly too?

Just about Everything on TV is a rerun this week

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I didn’t sleep well last night and now I have a really bad migraine. I hate headaches!

I can’t do much of anything. I’m trying to do a little work on the computer, but it’s not going well. So I’m going to try to relax and just watch some TV for a while. Too bad it’s mostly reruns on this week and next too – thanks to the Olympics.

I have been watching the Olympics here and there, but I’m not interested in every single event … and the stations I normally watch all have reruns on so there isn’t much choice for a girl with a headache. Hmmm maybe I’ll get stuck watching an infomercial on adult back acne or something. LOL

Headache, headache go away!

Slow Cooker Beef Stew

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I’m making stew for dinner tonight. I haven’t made stew in oh … a decade or more! LOL

My mother used to make stew for dinner regularly and everyone loved it except for me. I always hated stew. Oh it was always a little better the next day, but I still didn’t like it very much. For some reason though, my mom could get me to eat canned stew (Puritan Irish stew). I thought it was great.

I think my taste buds have evolved in the last while – or at least I’m hoping that they have because it seems like I’ll eat dishes and foods that I wouldn’t touch when I was a kid or young adult.

Anyway … I’ve been using our slow cooker quite a bit this year. I’ve made at least three slow cooled roasts and I even made barbecued back ribs once. Now I’m trying a tasty sounding stew recipe that I found on the Canadian living website.

I’m throwing in lots of root vegetables – a small store near us has veggies that are always fresh in fact they’re way fresher than the ones we get in the grocery store!

Here’s the recipe that I’m trying out this evening:

Slow-Cooker Hearty Beef Stew

  • 1-1/2 lb (750 g) stew beef
  • 1 tbsp (15 mL) vegetable oil
  • 1 can (28 oz/796 mL) tomatoes
  • 2 onions, cut in wedges
  • 2 cups (500 mL) chopped peeled sweet_potatoes
  • 2 potatoes, peeled and chopped
  • 2 stalks celery, chopped
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1-1/2 tsp (7 mL) italian herb seasoning
  • 2-1/2 cups (625 mL) beef stock
  • 1 cup (250 mL) frozen peas
  • 1/4 tsp (1 mL) each salt and pepper
  • 1/2 cup (125 mL) all-purpose flour

Trim and cut beef into 1-inch (2.5 cm) cubes. In large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat; brown beef in batches. Transfer to plate.

In 18- to 24-cup (4.5 to 6 L) slow-cooker, crush tomatoes with potato masher. Add onions, sweet potatoes, potatoes, celery, bay leaves, herb seasoning and beef; pour in 2 cups (500 mL) of the stock. Cover and cook on Low for 10 to 12 hours or until beef and vegetables are tender.

Add peas, salt and pepper. Whisk flour with remaining stock, stir into stew. Cook, covered, for 15 minutes or until thickened. Discard bay leaves.

** I also added about a cup of red wine, four carrots and 6 garlic cloves and I’m cooking this recipe on high in the slow cooker instead of low. **

Hopefully this stew tastes fantastic. I was drawn to this recipe because it had sweet potatoes in it. I don’t think I’ve ever had a stew with sweet potatoes in it and I love them … so it should be good.

I’m making white rice as well. We’ll probably serve the stew on top of the rice.

Do you ever make beef stew and or use a slow cooker to prepare meals for your family? If you do use a slow cooker what are your favorite recipes?

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