HOW SWEET IT IS

I'm going to let you in on a little secret... I haven't eaten refined sugar in over two months... two months people... do you know how hard that is?   Well to be honest, after a couple of weeks of my sugar fast it wasn't that difficult but still...

Before you go thinking I am diabetic or something, I'm not,  I just decided one day that it was't good for me and I didn't want to have it anymore. When I do get a craving for something sweet I use maple syrup or honey (did you know it is the only food that will never go bad... unless of course you count McDonalds?).  Here are some of the surprising and not so surprising effects of my no refined sugar diet.

1. I lost weight...not a ton but it was effortless. Win!
2. I no longer need deodorant.  This was unexpected and don't ask me how I came to that conclusion because I can't remember.  As long as I wash first thing in the morning, I am odor free all day.
3. My cuts and bruises heal faster.  That kind of makes me sound like a klutz which I am not..well maybe.
4. While Ian has suffered from a couple of nasty colds, I have remained immune.
5. I have more energy.

I wanted to make myself a sweet treat to have at Brittany's baby shower so I didn't feel left out while everyone else was enjoying the cookies and cake.  I made some maple caramel popcorn that was absolutely delicious and lucky you I am going to share the recipe.  There are only four ingredients and it is super simple to make.

MAPLE CARAMEL POPCORN

8-10 cups popped corn (about 1 cup un-popped) 

1/2 cup butter

1 cup pure maple syrup (medium - dark)

pinch of salt

Pre-heat oven to 350 F. Pop corn and put in large roasting dish.  In a medium saucepan bring maple syrup, butter, and salt to a boil.  Turn down heat and simmer for 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Pour syrup mixture over popped corn, stirring until popcorn is evenly coated.  Place in oven and bake for 30 minutes stirring every ten minutes. Remove from oven and spread on a cookie sheet.  It will crisp up as it cools.  

I MIGHT AS WELL FACE IT I'M ADDICTED TO...

Pinterest.  Don't know what Pinterest is? Well in a word it's...AWESOME!!!  It makes me look like a creative genius (I'm not, I just pretend to be one). I could go into great detail about what Pintrest is and how it works but if you don't already know about it then you probably wouldn't be that interested anyway.   Just trust me when I say that countless hours can pass in what seems like minutes when you are under its spell.
My daughter in law Emily was giving me a hard time the other day about not having nearly as many pins (pinterest lingo) as she had.  I shot her a dirty look and put her in her place when I reminded her that I will only pin a project that I actually plan on doing. This seems to set me apart from most Pinterest users.
So Pinterest is the reason I haven't written a blogpost for two whole weeks.  I have been busy making, baking, and sewing up a storm and when I'm not creating, I'm perusing Pinterest to see what new and exciting things I can make next.  Check out what kind of awesome parties you can throw when you have Pinterest for a BFF.

Jungle Theme Party (Kere is trying to figure out how to convince William that he wants a Jungle theme for his birthday next year.)

Maple Caramel Popcorn

I have to post the recipe for this stuff.  It's almost as addictive as Pinterest.

Even the drinking glasses were Jungle theme.

I love the dollar store.  I got the vines, grass skirt, and the greenery there. cheap!

You will either think this is awesome or you'll be considering gathering all of my family and close friends for a pintervention.

I DREAM IN TECHNICOLOR

Last night I awoke from a bad dream, heart pounding and gasping for breath.  I had dreamed that I was drowning at night.  The surface of the water was far above me and I was sinking slowly downward. I looked upward and could see the body of a woman dressed in old fashioned clothing drifting down as well.  It was at that moment that I woke from my dream in a panic.  I looked at the clock and noted that it was 2:20 am.  The adrenaline rush from my dream left me wide awake so I turned on the T.V. and tried to calm down a bit.  I remembered that it was the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic and knew that  it was probably because of  all the media attention that I had probably dreamed about drowning in the ocean. A few minutes later I could have sworn that I heard someone knocking at the door downstairs however there was absolutely no way I was going to check it out (I've seen enough scary movies  to not be that dumb).  I turned down the volume on the T.V. and listened more closely...nothing... thank goodness.  It took me a good hour to get over my fear and feel sleepy again.  In the light of day it seemed so silly to have been so disturbed by my dream but in the middle of the night my fear was heightened.  Out of curiosity, I went online  this morning and checked to see exactly when the Titanic sank...  2:20 am... you can insert the theme to the Twilight Zone here... weird huh?

On another note...
The toxic Purple Peep explosion of last April has been cleaned up... finally.  I lived with the purple walls for a year and this week while Ian was away, I repainted the bedroom.  This time I went with a colour called French Silver.  It is grey with a hint of blue in it and I am very happy with it.  It is quite different to what was on the walls.  I also sewed some matching curtains, added a little throw blanket to the end of the bed and changed the lamps beside our bed.  These were the only changes I made to the room but they were quite significant.  There was no new artwork hung on the walls and the bed linens stayed the same.  When Ian arrived home I followed him into the bedroom to see his reaction.

"This is new" he said.

"Yes it is." I replied thinking that he was referring to the walls.

"Doesn't Kere have one just like this?" he asked.

I clued in that he was talking about the throw at the end of the bed.

"Yes she does.  They were on sale." I didn't point out to him that it had been in use already downstairs in the family room, for two weeks.  He had seen me snuggled up in it numerous times.  I was suppressing the urge to giggle about that and the fact that he still hadn't noticed the change in the colour of the room nor the new drapes.  He saw my face and knew something was up so he took notice of his surroundings.  It finally dawned on him that things had changed. I think I may have a new nickname for him... Inspector Clouseau.

SUNDAY SMILE

Want a good laugh?  Check out this news article. We grow our men crazy here in Canada.

Drunk Abbotsford men warned after naked car wash spin | CTV News


On another note....Happy Easter!

SORRY, WRONG NUMBER.

There is little hope for me surprising anyone on April Fool's Day.  It seems everyone I talk to is on high alert that day.  They know me too well.  I have pulled some good pranks over the years and I have even had a few played on me too.  This year Nathan and Emily put Saran Wrap across my bedroom doorway right at head level but I spotted it long before I walked into it.  Long story short, April Fool's Day went by without an incident.  It was thoroughly disappointing. I couldn't even think of a good prank to pull on you readers like last year's.
I cheered up though today when I finally got to pull a prank, even if it was on a complete stranger.
Emily got a text message on her phone but not having call display, she had no idea who it was from.  It asked if she needed picked up on Sunday.  I dictated a reply and she sent it.

We waited for a reply but none came.  About five minutes later her phone rings.

"You answer it" she pleaded "I just know it will be from the person that texted."

"So?" I replied .

"I won't be able to talk" she said so I picked it up and the conversation went something like this.

"Hello?"

"Is this Tamara?" (I could tell it was an older person)

"No this is Emily " (I wasn't taking the blame)

"Oh, I was trying to get a hold of my niece Tamara.  This isn't her number?"

"No, it's mine."

"Oh, I think I sent a text to your number a few minutes ago."

"That was you? I wasn't sure who had sent it."

"I'm er... I um... I'm so sorry about that.  I was just trying to message my niece.  I'm so sorry."

Emily is just about peeing her pants she's laughing so hard and I am trying to keep my voice from cracking.

"I thought you were my son-in-law trying to be funny."

"I don't know what to say,  I am just so sorry."

"It's quite alright, you didn't know."

We said goodbye and hung up.

So somewhere on Sunday, there will be a family enjoying an Easter Brunch together having a good laugh about poor Uncle Joe texting the wrong person causing distress for both parties.  So it was not such a bad thing I did after all.  Now they have a funny story to tell at family gatherings because I'm evil nice like that.