It's Love Day

What is Love??

Love is Laughter.  Belly Aching Laughter.

Love is 6:00 family dance time.  Music. Husband. Kids.  And lots of silly dancing.

Love is singing to your wife and kids (even when out of tune).

It's getting up in the night with a sick child to let the other one sleep.

Love is a phone call in the middle of the day just to see how you're doing.

It's a Sunday drive.  Coffee, music, and lots of conversation.

Love is having the ice scraped off your car on a cold Winter's day.

It's laughing when you feel like complete garbage.

Love is jumping on the bed.

Love is Sunday Banana pancakes.

It's taking a 15 hour flight to Hong Kong (for the weekend) to take your wife shopping, when you hate shopping.

Love is taste-testing one thousand recipes until you finally get it right.

 

What does Love mean to you?

Happy Love Day!

xo

Spreading Holiday Cheer (Flight Attendant Style)

Ladies and Gentlemen, Welcome aboard.  

14 years ago, I started working as a Flight Attendant for Air Canada.  Amazing how fast the time has flown by.

During the holidays, I like to leave a little cookie "greeting" for my friends to find in their mail folders.  Something a little more edible than a Greeting card.  ...Although sometimes when you are stuck on an airplane, a greeting card can sound pretty delicious... :)

 This year they will be receiving a F/A Jen cookie.  (I promise I look more feminine in real life... Well, at least I hope I do.

For those of you traveling over the holidays, may you have safe travels!

For those staying close to home, may you enjoy your time with family and loved ones.

Happy Holidays! 

xo

Jen

Kookie. Kookie. Kookie.

The past couple of weeks, it feels as though our house has been filled with every germ imaginable.  

Fevers, Ear infections, Sinus infections, Laryngitis, Vomiting and Pneumonia.  And of course... Very. Little. Sleep.

I knew the kids were beginning to feel better when they started asking for cookies again... Or should I say, I realized how sick they were when they stopped asking for them in the first place.  

Either way... they were finally on the mend.  And I was overjoyed to fulfill their request for cookies.

I'm going to tell you a secret.

My two little Kidlets LOOOVE Cookies!


I am not sure if I should be proud, or embarrassed to tell you this, but the THIRD word my Son learned to say was Cookie.


Yes.  His third word...  

Our mornings usually commence something like this:

Sam wakes in the morning and runs out to the kitchen with a huge grin on his face.  He bends down in front of the oven, points to it and says Kookie.  Kookie.  Kookie.

One night after he realized I had turned on the oven to bake salmon (and not cookies), he dropped to the floor and cried. 


And I realized I may have a problem on my hands.

My Sister-in-Law {Zarine} said it best: 
"Jen, that boy may look like his Daddy, but the kid is all yours"  

She's right! 

I didn't tell her this, but after I pulled the salmon out of the oven that night, I dropped to the floor and cried too...  I also, really wanted cookies for dinner.

I love having freshly baked cookies in the house, but I can't bake an entire batch without having them disappear into my belly.


So, this is my solution. 


I make a batch cookies.  Portion it onto a cookie sheet.  Freeze for approximately 15 minutes until the cookies are semi-frozen.   Transfer the cookies into a Ziplock bag and return them to the freezer.

Bingo Bango.  


You can now have freshly baked cookies in no time.  They may still end up in  your tummy but just not all at once.


Unexpected guests?  No problem.  pull out half a dozen cookies.  Thaw for 15 minutes and bake. 

So go ahead.  Pour yourself a glass of milk.  Grab a cookie.  Eat.  Laugh.  Love.  And Enjoy!


Happy Tuesday!  :)  

Thanks for stopping by!

Are you sleeping? It's my one year BLOGiversary!

On October 30th, I celebrated my first year BLOGiversary.


Holy Moly.  A WHOLE year.   

When I first started this blog, I wasn't sure I was going to be able to keep it up. What on earth was I going to write about?  


Then I realized. 


Writing all my thoughts down here (for you to read), could save my poor Husband from listening to my useless thoughts at  11 p.m. when he is trying to sleep.


Good thought, right?  No. Not really, because truthfully I still pester him when he's trying to sleep at night.  I can't help it.  Night-time is when all my thoughts come to me.  


It usually goes something like this... 

     Me: "Hey Mike, are you sleeping?"

     Mike: "Huh?  Trying to."

     Me: "I just thought of something.. blah, blah, blah"

     Mike: "uh huh"

     Me:"Okay, Goodnight!"  "Oh wait, I just thought of something else. blah, 
           blah, blah"

     Mike: "uh"

     Me:"Okay, Goodnight!"  "Oh, one more thing, I promise.  Blah, blah."

     Mike: No answer.

     Me:"Okay, I swear, this is the last thing.  blah, blah, Wait.  Are you sleeping?
           Mike!  Are you sleeping??"

     Mike: "Why don't you write it down and we'll talk about it in the morning."

     Me: "Uh, cause I'm going to be too tired in the morning, silly!"

That's usually how it goes.
  
So, the other night, I was thinking about my a blogiversary and how I was in need of a giveaway. At midnight (of course) I asked my Husband:


     Me:  "Pssst, you sleeping?  Mike, are you sleeping?  Can I give away 
             a Kitchenaid for my one year blogiversary?"


     Mike: "I guess, If you want to give away your Kitchenaid, you can.  But 
              I can't imagine anyone would want a used one"...
 
     Me: "Umm, Does that mean you aren't going to sponsor my giveaway?"


     Mike: "Good night, Jennifer"


     Me:  "Should I write it down and we'll discuss it in the morning?"


Crumb.  That wasn't the answer I was looking for.  By changing ONE single word... a simple "a" to "your", he managed to completely ruin my giveaway.


So I had two options.
  
1) Give you my used and very much loved KitchenAid (since my Husband wasn't going to sponsor my giveaway with a new one) 


or 


2) Sponsor my own giveaway with something I could afford. 


So I had to turn to option B.  I know.  It stinks.


And, I'm so sorry guys.  I love you, but there is no way I could give away my beloved Kitchenaid... even though she is nearly 10 years old, I simply love her too much!  And truthfully, I know you wouldn't want it.  Alright, if we are being honest, I am afraid you would.

After so much time preparing this dessert table, I didn't even get a decent photo.
(I could have at least removed the saran wrap, right?)

Before I get to the giveaway though, I would like to thank all of you so much for visiting my blog over the past year.  For reading my ramblings, leaving comments,  and inspiring me. I never imagined I would meet so many wonderful people and enjoy blogging as much as I have, so thank you!

Okay, back to the contest.  Since a new appliance was out of the question, I figured I would give back to the those who have helped me make it through my Red Eye flights since returning to work.  

Click on picture to take you to starbucks.ca

Plus, I thought you could use a latte or two for all the late night baking parties you will be having in preparation for Christmas, right.  Think of all the latte's you can have with this 

$50 Starbucks gift card 
Contest now closed.  Thanks to everyone who entered!

Okay, down to the Nitty-Gritty.


To enter this contest:


1) Leave me a comment.  For fun, tell me what you will order at Starbucks if you win this contest.


2) For an extra entry "Like" me on facebook, and come back here to tell me you did.  If you already "like" my facebook page, leave me a comment on this blog post telling me.  


3)  For an extra entry, share this giveaway with your friends on Facebook (with a link back to this post) and come back here to let me know you did.


4)  For an extra entry Tweet about this giveaway including a link back to this page and @bedielsAndCo and leave me a comment here to let me know you did.


Please note, that only comments on this blog post will qualify for the contest.  :)


Contest will close at midnight on Monday November 14th and the winner will be chosen using Random.org. 


That's it.  4 chances to win!  


Please note:  This gift card will be provided by me (or my Husband if I ask him when he's sleepy enough).  Starbucks does not in anyway sponsor this post. 


Contest open to Canadian and US Residents.


Good luck!
:)


Thank you to everyone who entered the Starbucks gift card giveaway.  The winner, chosen by Random.org was #3 (my Mom).  My Mom graciously gave her prize up for another lucky winner. 


The official winner is 
theBrainrunner 

theBrainrunner said...

Venti soy Caramel Machiato extra shot of expresso

November 7, 2011 9:18 PM 

Congratulations, Mike!  Enjoy your Venti soy Caramel Machiato extra shot of espresso (or two)!  :)

Please email me your address so that I can send out your prize.  

Reality check

Today I spent 10 minutes trying to wipe off hair dye from my face, only to realize it wasn't hair dye.  The marks were age spots... (I wish I were joking)

Before going back to work tomorrow, I was really, {REALLY} hoping to lose 10 pounds, but the extra month off, really wasn't good for my waistline.

Once I realized I couldn't lose 10 pounds overnight, I thought I would at least colour my hair.  Makes sense, right?

Now, I am not a hairdresser.  This was confirmed a couple of weeks ago when I tried to cut my Son's hair.  All I can say is thank goodness he is only one, and will not remember the whole ordeal. 

Now having made this confession, I would kindly ask that you please not tell my Grandmother.

Why the secret from my Grandma?  Well, I think she may believe I'm a hairdresser.

When I was a teenager, I took a semester off from High School and moved to Mexico to live with my Grandparents.  The plan was to brush up on my Spanish, (and learn to read and write) but when I arrived, my Grandma gave me two options.


Option #1) I could enroll in school as planned 
or 
Option #2) I could take private Spanish lessons and use the remaining time to travel. 

Duh... There was really, only one logical choice.   

I absolutely insisted I go to school.


Okay, that's a lie!  I chose option #2.  I figured I could practice my "Dos Cervezas Por Favor" at the resorts.

So, I got a tutor.  And my Spanish really suffered as I became good friends with my Spanish teacher.  We spent most of my class time at the local coffee house drinking coffee and chatting about her boyfriend.  (Come to think of it, maybe we weren't really good friends as I was still paying her for Spanish lessons and her coffee)..  Great.

Okay, back to my lack of hairdressing skills...  

My Grandmother thought it would be fun for me to join some classes in between our travel adventures so that I could make some friends and have some fun.  So I joined hair dressing school... (Why hairdressing and not baking you ask?  Because her Nephew owned a hairdressing school.)  So my hairdressing really suffered as I made some friends and we spent most of the class at the local coffee house drinking coffee and chatting about their boyfriends. 

Do you see a pattern?
I do like coffee.  

So, now you know.  I dye my hair and I have age spots.  I blog about hairdressing but throw in some baby shower cookies and cupcakes.

I am sitting in my kitchen eating a pear, pretending it's a cupcake.  Yet still, in all likely hood, my uniform still isn't going to fit me tomorrow. 


That's it.  End of Story.

Happy Grey's Anatomy night.  Do you watch?

One Month

On September 1st, my Maternity leave officially ended, and I was scheduled to return to work (after a year off).  I was so sad the year had gone by so quickly.

On August 31, I received a call that my training had been cancelled and I was to be off for one more month.

Talk about winning the jackpot!

Don't get me wrong.  I love my job.  

But I love being home with the kids even more!

How often are we fortunate enough to get a call from work saying "Stay home for the month, Relax, Enjoy Your kids"

 Okay, perhaps the phone call wasn't exactly like that;  But Hey... I'll take the month!

Wouldn't you?

Please note:  This wedding cake design is NOT my own.  Thanks for stopping by!

When I Should be Studying...

In one short week, I will be returning to work as a Flight Attendant, and my year of Maternity leave will be OVER.  (Insert tears, here).

The last year at home has been incredible, and I have truly enjoyed every minute of being home with my kids.  

The thought of going back is difficult.  I have a lot of mixed feelings about my return.  

Nervous.  

Scared.  

Sad.  

Happy.  

Don't all Moms feel like that after maternity leave?

Nervous.  I have not worked a flight in nearly two years (I worked on the ground while pregnant).

Scared.  I may be spending too much time on the computer, and not enough time studying.  What if I don't pass my 6 days of exams? Isn't that right, Mom? :) 

Sad to be leaving my kids (although, they won't really notice because I will be flying while they are sleeping, and home by the time they are out of bed).  

Happy that I passed my medical exam and that I am allowed to return work... (that's a whole other story).

In preparation for my Flight Attendant Exams, I have a tremendous amount of reading to catch up on, along with a couple of work books to complete.  And for those of you with kids, you know how difficult it can be to read with 2 little ones running around...  (It took me nearly a week to get through one chapter of my manual).  

Then, when I do have some time to myself and should be reading, and studying, and preparing myself for my exams (such as right now), I am here.  Writing this post, and watching my kids in daycare from my computer.

And posting these little guys.

With short arms

And crazy hair.

And little air bubbles in their icing belly... see them?

(The quickest fix for removing the air bubbles, is to remove the belly cookie from the picture all together!)  :)

Happy Wednesday.  

I hope your day is a little more productive than mine!

The Good Samaritan

Mistakes.  Accidents.  Catastrophes.  


Plain Stupidities happen when your brain is in the clouds and you aren't paying attention.  


The rush of life.  


I'm guilty of getting caught up in it.    


Running late {Story. Of. My. Life.}


Taking on more than I can handle. 


Daydreaming while driving and not paying attention to the road.  


It left me stranded after my car jumped the curb and blew a tire a few weeks ago.

It wasn't the tire that worried me.  Not even the fact that I was extremely late on a day that couldn't spare a minute, in order to accomplish all the tasks on my list.


My concern was that I had just driven around a bend in the road (out of view to the approaching cars).  


A concern that there wasn't a shoulder for me to safely pull my car off the road, and that this road was notorious for people speeding around this particular corner.  I knew, because I was guilty of being one of those people.


But, my biggest concern was for the safety of my 11 month old Son Sam, who happened to be traveling with me.  


I know... Shame on me for not keeping my attention on the road in the first place!

I pulled Sam out of his car seat and moved away from the car, behind a median, and waited.  

And watched cars drive by.

With people who either looked at me and saw me on my cell phone holding a baby, or people who didn't even notice I was there.  Stranded.  

People, caught up in the rush of life.

And I wondered.

What is wrong with us?

But it was obvious. I wasn't the only one caught up in the busyness of life.

Luckily my Husband was on his way to rescue us and thankfully he wasn't far, because I was quickly starting to lose faith in humanity. 

I know.  I'm so dramatic, right?!  But did I mention I was holding a baby on the side of the road, stranded?

Just then, I saw break lights.  A car reversed and a man jumped out to see if we were okay.

I thanked him, and told him my Husband would arrive within 10 minutes.

He jumped back in his car and was off.

The car reversed back down the hill and the man jumped out and began directing traffic around my car.  


He yelled up the hill "I will stay here until your Husband arrives.   That way if anyone gets hit, it will be me and not you and the baby".


Okay, seriously?  Did I really say I was losing faith in humanity?


Shame on me.

And he did just that.  


Stood at the bottom of the hill (in front of oncoming traffic), putting himself at risk so that my car, my baby, and I were safe.

When I asked him his name (so that I could properly thank him later with a card and perhaps some baked goods) he shrugged his shoulders and said "Don't worry about it.  I'm just a retired Grandfather"


Secretly, I think he may have  been worried we would send him some of These Cookies

Either way, I am grateful for having been reminded that there are great people in the world, willing to put others before themselves. 

Grateful for being reminded how quickly things can happen when you get caught up in the rush of life.


So, if even just for this moment... Slow Down & Celebrate Life.  


I think I may just do the same.

For the Love of Chocolate

Nothing says love like a chocolate brownie... At least in my world!

For those of you wondering about the brownie I had yesterday after my dentist appointment, it was this one:
Martha Stewart's Double Chocolate Brownie And it was Delicious!

My Sister-in-Law Zarine, gave me This Martha Stewart Cookie Book which so far... I love!  I have only  tried a few recipes, but they have been really great.  What I really love about the book is that there are pictures to show you every single cookie... Who doesn't love that!

Butter, Chocolate & Cocoa

Melted Chocolate, Cocoa and Butter 

Whip Eggs & Sugar

Add Chocolate

Mix until Chocolate is incorporated

Don't let the look of them Fool you.. they are 
Delicious!

Cut and devour!

There are a couple of differences between the recipe on the web and the recipe in the book, but nothing major.  The first ... the book calls for Dutch Process cocoa, and coarse salt instead of regular salt.  I didn't have Dutch process Cocoa, so I used Natural and it worked well.

There is a good explanation of Cocoa and the difference between Natural vs. Dutch process on the David Lebovitz website.
Cocoa Powder- Natural vs. Dutch Process

Now if only I could find my camera charger, perhaps I could take a half decent photo...

Happy Baking!