WHOA, JUST HOLD IT A MINUTE!

This evening I was contentedly lounging on the couch working on an assignment when I received a phone call. It was a woman from a company (Universal America) telling me that I had won an online contest. I entered this contest last week on the spur of the moment - never in a million years did I think I would win anything. Then I promptly forgot about it. So, this woman comes on the phone and is telling me all about this amazing trip I won. 7 days and 6 nights in Orlando with a rental car and a 7 day pass to Universal Studios for 2 people, plus 4 days and 3 nights in a beach resort in Daytona including a Sun Casino dinner cruise. All this just for the registration fee of $249 per person. Plus 2 more people could join us free of charge. The trip has to be taken within 12 months, but they will extend that time period if needed. All they ask is for 30 days notice of when we want to take it.
I was thinking who wouldn't love a trip to Florida, but I told the woman on the phone "this sounds just too good to be true. What's the catch?" "Oh, no catch" she says. The next thing I know she says "I am going to hand you over to someone from shipping to confirm your address and give you a confirmation number."
So, on comes this other woman and proceeds to reiterate the entire package. She then gets to the point of "we have connections with Visa and Mastercard, so with the birthdate you provided and your address the Visa card number I'm showing is..."
Right away I said "stop! I don't want you charging anything to my Visa until I've seen some proof of this other than just a phone call."
Response: "Well, you use a credit card for hotels and rentals over the phone all the time."
Me: "I'm not comfortable with this..."
Response (Cutting me off): a continuation of my good standing with Visa.
I tried to stop her, but she wouldn't be stopped. So I just hung up the phone.

Then I got back on the phone to Visa, ended up canceling my Visa card and getting a new number. That may not stop them, but at least if they try to charge anything I won't have to pay it because I've done my part.

Moral of the story: even giving out your birthdate is a dangerous thing to do. Sheesh who wouldv'e thunk it!

MORROCAN CHICKEN AND LENTILS

Kara, this recipe is for you. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do. I nabbed it from the Eat Clean Diet Cook Book.

8 cups water
1 lb lentils, rinsed, drained and picked over

Boil water and add lentils. Cover and reduce heat to medium. Simmer 20-25 minutes. (I use about 1/2 this amount for the two of us)

1 cup plus 2 TBSP olive oil
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
3 TBSP ground cumin
2 TBSP plus 2 tsp chili powder
2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced

Mix 1 cup olive oil, vinegar, 2 TBSP cumin, 2 TBSP chili powder, garlic and 1 tsp sea salt. Use this mixture to pour over cooked, drained lentils.

1 large onion (I use 1 1/2 - 2 onions because they are sooooo good)
2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast
1/2 tsp cinnamon

In large skillet heat 2 TBSP olive oil. Add onion and saute until well cooked (5 minutes) Add chicken and saute 2 minutes more. Add 1 tsp sea salt, 1 TBSP cumin, 2 tsp chili powder and cinnamon. Saute until chicken is cooked.

This generally only takes about 1/2 an hour to prepare. Easy and delicious.

ON BEING DISCONNECTED

This past year has brought about many changes for Brian and I.
- Naomi graduated from high school, went to Ireland, moved to Kamloops and is now living in Calgary with the love of her life, Cory.
- Hannah began dating the love of her life, Ben. The two of them travel back and forth to Tagish each weekend to his parents house. Both boys have become part of our family.
- Josh moved to Whitehorse in September to attend grade 11.
That has left Brian and I as empty nesters. One would think that the empty house or the lack of kids around would cause me to be depressed. However, I get more than enough of my daily dose of children at work. Sometimes we even have some great conversations like this one with one of my grade 1 boys:
Me - what animal should be learn about next J?
J - you know
Me - porcupines?
J - no
Me - Caribou?
J - No, it starts with a T
Me - Tarantulas?
J - No
Me - tigers?
J - No
Me - I give up
J - It's a monkey!

I'm not sure where the T came in, but at least he's recognizing there are letters associated with words. And apparently moose meat starts with a B. LOL

Anyways, the thing I feel most is a disconnection with my children. Even though they haven't all graduated yet, they have essentially begun to live their own lives. These lives are separate from Brian and I. It is this disconnection from them that I find the most difficult to deal with. I guess this is part of raising independent children. We wanted them to be independent and ready to face the world. I just didn't expect that it would happen so soon or that I would be so left behind.

All that being said, I am very proud of my children. In spite of all the stress they have caused me, they are fabulous individuals who have great futures ahead of them.

THE GREAT ROOTBEER EXPLOSION

Today was the day Josh decided to open his other bottle of rootbeer. We were ready for it this time we even made sure we were at the sink.


Please let me know if the video does not work. Thanks.

SEWING UP A STORM

Living in the far north we are almost guaranteed that there will be days during the Christmas holidays when it is just too cold to venture outside. Before the kids came home for the holidays I told each of the girls to pick out a sewing pattern and buy all the necessary materials to make a garment over the holidays. We had lots of fun, and a little aggravation, creating these fabulous garments.
Great job girls.