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11.14.07

November surprises.

Almost a year ago, I anxiously reported that Lisa D., one of my most favourite people, was coming to town to celebrate her birthday.  Typical Lisa.  She lives a far away, and has for years, but she always finds a way to swoop back into town and catch us all off guard.  She loves a good surprise.  One of my favourites was when she secretly planned to fly in to make it to one of our friend’s weddings and told no one she would be there.  I almost lost it.  Oh wait, I did lose it.  I was a basketcase.

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Another memorable surprise came at my own wedding.  Lisa was a bridesmaid and therefore couldn’t surprise me with her own appearance, but she succeeded in keeping from me that her Willie (another one of my favourite people) was secretly making the trip out up until the night before.  It would have remained completely under wraps were it not for my supremely sharp P.I. skills.  Either way, still amazing.  Again, they got me.  I was mush.

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So I shouldn’t have been surprised when the phone rang two days ago at 7 am.  But I was.  Lisa D’s mom was on the line to give us the good news….LISA AND WILLIE got engaged!!!  And in a very typical Lisa and Willie style, it happened in Australia… on the Sydney Bridge.  Way to go, Willie.  That’s pretty untopable.

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In all the excitement, I can’t forget to wish Lisa a happy, happy birthday.  Though, something tells me that is already taken care of.

 

Filed in: Big events | Birthdays | Friends
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November 15, 2007 - 10:22 am

Alicia - I can’t wait to attend their wedding in some far-off exotic place, or here in Ottawa, or in Fenlon, or at their place in BC…or see pictures of wherever they eloped too.

Yahoo Lis & Willie!!!

November 16, 2007 - 10:21 am

Shannen's Mom - Congratulations Lisa and Willie!!!! I was so happy to read the news of your engagement.

11.13.07

Day 317 – Capturing her curls.

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Filed in: Photo of the Day
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November 13, 2007 - 3:16 pm

Dan - I think “curls” should actually be singular in this photo … one lonely one over her ear 🙂

Almost time for Daddy to give her her first haircut! Next time Momma is out maybe?

November 13, 2007 - 8:50 pm

Harley - Awwwwww! I can’t wait for the pigtails. Put those scissors down, Dan.

November 13, 2007 - 11:04 pm

lindsay Haig - this is such a cute picture… i’m still anxiously awaiting the time i get to meet little jaia. with the absence of the “murphy family reunion” came a missed opportunity to spoil my little cousin… hehe.

11.9.07

That time of year again…

Nope, not Christmas, though the aisles and aisles of decorations at any of your local big box stores (for those of us in the ‘burbs) would beg to differ.  The time of the year I’m currently excited about is Crock Pot season. 

Having been packed away as the warmer months arrived last spring, our beloved crock pot has finally made it’s triumphant return and is cooking up some Barley Sweet Potato Chili on the counter as I type.  And it smells absolutely delicious, which is the best part of having a slow cooker and using it.  Coming home from work (when I did that) to the smell of dinner, warm and ready with minimal effort was easily the best part of my day…

Last week and a few weeks before that, the fruits of our apple-picking labours (literally) were tossed into the slow cooker with a touch of cinnamon and a half a cup of water.  6 hours later, we had the most amazingly fragrant and delectable homemade apple sauce ready to be devoured.  And devour we did.  Warm apple sauce and a scoop of vanilla ice cream may be my new favourite after dinner treat. 

Our cookbook of choice is The Healthy Slow Cooker: More than 100 Dishes for Health and Wellness.  The recipes are absolutely delicious and very out of the norm for cooking in the crock pot.  Most require a bit of prep (I would have been browning the cumin seeds this morning had I had cumin seeds to brown), but the end result has been gold each time.  That’s not to say that the old stand-bys aren’t as delicious; we enjoyed a roast on Sunday and will likely make regular chili on at least one occasion in the cold and blustery months.

If you’ve long thought of crock pots as that wedding gift that people tuck away in their basements never to be seen again, you are probably right.  Most people we talk to to don’t own a slow cooker or, if they do, have no idea where it is.  If you fall into the latter category, go find it.  Pop a chicken in there one morning before heading out the door and tell me if you feel the same way when you return at night.  The aroma alone will convince you, I promise.  Though the lack of dishes and post-dinner clean-up might be reason enough to give it a try.

Mmmm…All this recipe talk and I just made myself hungry again.  I can’t wait until dinnertime.

Filed in: Food
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November 13, 2007 - 8:48 pm

Harley - Hmmm…someone very smart turned me on to that cookbook and I wholeheartedly agree. Delish. We didn’t pack the slow cooker, but I kind of miss it after reading your post. And that applesauce was awesome, by the way. So awesome that I bought pre-made applesauce here earlier this week, but it really wasn’t the same.

11.7.07

Playing Tourist…

For months now, some girlfriends and I have met on a weekly basis for playdates.  When the babes were really little, the playdates consisted of us sitting around holding them while they slept or ate.  Soon enough, the little ones were holding their heads up on their own, rolling over and crawling and we were finally free.  A little.   

Our playdates then changed from just going to one of our houses to venturing to local parks or the Arboretum, walks along the canal, and shopping trips or meeting at Starbucks (to beat the heat).  But now, as the temperature is quickly dropping and the shopping is so overdone, we decided to take advantage of our days off and of all the city has to offer.  We, and our babies, are going to tour the city.

Our first stop was the Museum of Civilization.  I have lived in this city for the better part of 25 years and I have barely stepped foot in any of the museums and galleries, let alone visited any of the landmarks.  If it wasn’t on a school trip, I didn’t go.  The Museum of Civilization was no different.  And it was a perfect place to start.

It was amazing.  As you can imagine, your visit isn’t the same when you are wheeling through with a 10-month-old in a stroller as it would be on your own, but I still really enjoyed myself.  It renewed my interest in Canadian history and tempted me to pick up my copy of The Short History of Canada.

Our next stop, the National Gallery of Canada.  Again, somewhere I’ve always wanted to go but never made the time to visit.  I’m very excited.  And a little scared to approach the giant spider that lives just outside the doors.

We will definitely be taking pictures of that one when we head there next week.  Though none will compare to the best giant spider/Danielle picture ever (stolen from Danielle’s Facebook album). 

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Think I can get Jaia to replicate this pose?

Filed in: Friends | Random
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November 7, 2007 - 11:22 pm

Danielle - hah! i’m famous!

…and can’t stand spiders.

That was such a great day. You’ll love that place. There were people getting wedding pictures by that spider too. A bit strange, but hey.

Can’t wait to see you again soon!!

November 8, 2007 - 1:30 pm

Jessie - See Shannen?? We read, we read, but it takes Guerilla tactics like posting stolen Facebook pictures to squeeze out the comments! Well done!
xo
J

November 8, 2007 - 3:35 pm

Shannen - You are next, Jessie. 🙂

November 9, 2007 - 11:14 am

EAP - Your next stop should be our amazing (relatively new) War Museum, just in time for Remembrance Day. Lest we forget.

November 9, 2007 - 2:28 pm

Shannen - I’ve actually recently been to the War Museum, surprisingly enough. I really enjoyed it. A very good addition to what the city has to offer…

November 17, 2007 - 4:14 pm

Kel Morin-Parsons - Okay, so I’m ‘way late in commenting on this, but just wanted to say that I’m going to Bilbao in Northern Spain in February, and plan to take a photo of Maman’s sister, er, Maman, which is outside the Guggenheim in Bilbao (there is a third outside, I believe, Tate Modern in London). I’ll bring it back to show our Maman.

I’m terrified of spiders, but love this one.

11.6.07

Day 309 – When daddy styles her hair…

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I’d better make sure I’m around the mornings of school pictures…I can only imagine what he’ll come up with it’s long enough for pigtails.

Filed in: Photo of the Day
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November 6, 2007 - 1:28 pm

Dan - You can’t tell in the black and white photo, but I dyed it blue as well.

November 6, 2007 - 8:04 pm

Jennifer Fullerton - How come it looks like she lost her thumb?

November 6, 2007 - 9:18 pm

Shannen - Ha ha! I hadn’t noticed the thumb. It’s still there, I just checked. Must just be a trick photo.

Who knew I was that talented?

November 9, 2007 - 4:19 pm

Mark M - How come Dan always looks like one of those characters in “The Truman Show” or Soundgarden’s video for ‘Black Hole Sun’, with that eerily forced Laura Bush style fake smile? How do we know this “Dan” is not just a human host for some other being? Is it a coincidence that ‘Dan Fullerton’ is an anagram for ‘Rodent All Fun’?