Our Basement in Progress....

This has been our focus the past month or so, and has been consuming a great deal of our time. It has definately put a cramp in my style as I must stay at home all day to let people in and out of house as they work away. I am going to post some pictures of the progress. If you compare it to the ones I posted a few weeks ago, I think you should be much impressed.

This is our T.V room.

This is the spare room. I love the colour... but I can't decided whether or not I want to keep it. This is just the primer.

Lastly this is Cali's play room. I had a play room as a kid and just loved it. So this is hers.

The Vinyl Cafe

For anyone who is a Vinyl Cafe fan I have good news! I just found out from Charlie, the medical student at work that you can download Vinyl Cafe podcasts from http://www.cbc.ca/podcasting/

This is great news. As I have tried a few times to stay up and listen to it on the radio but I tend to fall asleep as it is on so late. I also like how the broadcasts are accompanied with genuine Canadian Music and history. Stuart McLean is such a great storyteller.

I know that I have posted this video before but I just love it so much I have to share it again!!!

Thank Heaven for Tylenol

I just want give a little shout out to my favourite drug. Tylenol has helped me a great deal in over the past two years. It helped us get through our immunizations, teething, and other aches and pains. Tylenol has been nicknamed "elixir if the Gods" by several nurses, myself included.

Last night I had a terrible headache. It was so bad that I was getting sick. I normally try to tough my headaches out but last night I knew I couldn't do it on my own so I took some Tylenol. Seriously within an hour it was gone. I was so grateful to the man who created it.

I work in a small town emergency room and I am just floored by the people that come to us without trying any medications at home. Tylenol is cheap, I just bought 200 tablets for $8. A trip to the emergency room is $300. Often this is our first drug of choice and it often relieves several aliments. So before you run to the ER try some Tylenol.

Thank you Tylenol!!!

I Got My Dresser!

Today I got my dresser! I am so excited!!! I have been using the same dresser since we lived in Hilden. Needless to say it no longer fit my clothes. Also it wasn't finished around the edges of the drawers so it would often catch my clothing and tear it. I am so happy!!! So I filled it up with all of my clothes and half of Ed's. This is great, all I need now is a finished basement. Getting closer...

I found the dresser at Faveri's in Calgary. You pick the furniture and they finish is any way you like, and I love it!!! I just need to save up for the matching bed and side tables.

I do have an observation about renos I would like to share. It reminds me a dating again. You know staying home waiting for phone calls that don't come, waiting at home for people to arrive that don't show... and they always have a good excuse. Too many memories are coming back.... Oh I don't miss those days one bit! I also won't miss these days once they are gone as well.

Our Basement

So I ventured down to the basement and took some pictures of the progress. I am really excited to have the extra space!!!!

This is the view looking down the stairs into the basement.

This is our bathroom!


This is one of the bedrooms. I plan on this being Cali's playroom until she is old enough to move down to the basement.


This is going to be the spare room and Ed's office.

This is the family room where Ed can have his big screen tv and his video games.

The guys are coming in this week to put up the drywall and crackfilling. So having basement finshed it feeling real! In other news Cali went potty today all by herself... but I still think being fully trained is a ways away....

Smokehouse Quesadillas

When I first moved to Calgary my favourite restaurant was Moxie's. They had this great appetizer called the Smokehouse Quesadilla. Well a few years later they changed their menu and would no longer make them. My mom and I were both disappointed so I decided to try to make it myself and I succeeded. So here is my recipe.

Meg's Smokehouse Quesadillas

3 fully cooked chicken breasts
2 cups shredded colby and Monterey Jack cheese
6 8 inch flour tortillas
2 127mL cans diced green chilies
2 tablespoons chopped green onions (2)
1 cup Bull's-Eye Bold Original BBQ sauce
jalapeno peppers (optional)
sour cream (optional)
salsa (optional)

1. Chop the chicken breasts into bite-size pieces place in a small bowl and mix in BBQ sauce. (Of course you can try other brands of BBQ sauce but I'm sticking with Bull's-Eye.)

2. Sprinkle 1/3 cup cheese over half of each tortilla. Top with 2 tablespoons green chilies, some green onion, jalapenos (if desired), and 1/6 of the chicken breast mixture. Fold tortilla in half , pressing gently.

3. In a 10 inch skillet cook quesadillas, 2 at a time over medium heat for 2-3 minutes or till lightly browned, turning once. Remove quesadillas from skillet; place on a baking sheet. Keep warm in 300 degree oven. Repeat with remaining quesadillas. To serve, cut into wedges. If desired serve with salsa and sour cream. Makes 6 appetizer servings.

Try it out. That's what we are having for dinner tonight. Oh and for anyone who is a fan of the Broccoli and Cheese Soup at Moxie's I found the recipe for it at allrecipes.com: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Broccoli-Cheese-Soup/Detail.aspx

Homemade Irish Playdough

I would like to wish everyone a Happy St. Patrick's Day. As my brother often reminds me I am not Catholic and therefore should not celebrate this holiday. Steve Cali and I will make orange playdough on Orangemen's Day on July 12th. Hey maybe we will be in Nova Scotia then!

Anyway to celebrate Cali and I made green playdough. This was her first time playing with playdough. I can't believe that I didn't think about trying this before. My brother and I used to spend hours with playdough as kids. Anyway I found this great website with a few different recipes to try.

http://www.creativekidsathome.com/activities/activity_8.html

My friend makes the kool-aid playdough and her kids love it. Cali and I just made the plain old flour, salt, and water. It great because I don't have to worry about her eating it because I know for sure all the ingredients are safe.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!