Caffeine buzz or feel-good "I'm gonna help fight Cancer" buzz?

Yes - I am OFFICIALLY launching my campaign to support the fight against breast cancer.  That gawd-awful C word. 

Just.

Gawd.

Awful.

On April 21, 2012, I will work out (a.k.a. exercise, dance, prance, jump, twist...) for SIX SOLID HOURS to showcase the fact that I am healthy, while others are not so lucky.  I will sweat in celebration of my charmed life and my amazing and young family. I will breathe deeply in appreciation for all the survivors, the fighters and the family members of those affected by breast cancer. And I hope, through my willingness to do this, that my friends and family will help me raise the minimum $1,000 for this all-day event!

To make it simple, I have added a button on this blog that links directly to my donation page.  You will notice that it, too, NEEDS YOUR HELP.

So. Whaddya say?  Can you give up one of this week's lattes in order to swing a 'just-as-feel-good' donation to kick-start my campaign?

*Note: Donations of $25 or more mean you are awarded the priviledge of asking me to do specific moves (think: funky chicken dance) sometime during the 6 hours.  Over $50 gives you input into hair/makeup/outfit accessories (provided they don't interfere with my team's costume choices). $100 or more....hmmmm - name it!

Let's get this party started everyone!!!!! Click on the button on my sidebar...or click here!

HOLY GUACAMOLE!

Food.  I LOVE food.  And so when my hubby and I come up with an amazing dinner, and something about it goes 'POW' in your mouth, I want to share. 

Tonight, we made fajitas.  It's an 'old standby' in our house when we are looking for tasty but healthy.  This was the view as I jammed these yummy suckers in my mouth...

The composition was as follows:

Marinated BBQ chicken breast
Sauteed red and green peppers with onion strips
whole wheat tortillas
low fat sour cream
salsa (this was homemade but whatever)
fresh cilantro
homemade guacamole
homemade 'fajita' special sauce

So, without further ado, here are the 'recipes'.

Chicken marinade (1 or 2 hours):
Olive oil
garlic
salt and pepper
fresh-squeezed lime juice
fresh chopped cilantro

Guacamole:
2 ripe avocados
fresh-squeezed juice of 1/2-full lime (to taste - I put about 3/4 of a lime via a fancy press)
chopped red onion (maybe 1/4 cup or so)
1-2 tbsp salsa
sprinkle of salt
chopped fresh cilantro (a good amount - 1/4 cup or 1/3 cup)
*Mango - tonight I added finely chopped fresh mango. OMG good...about 1/4 cup

- mash it all together et voila!

Fajita 'special' sauce
(something my hubby tossed together this afternoon that I CANNOT recommend enough!) You can char all of this on a BBQ or roast under broil in an oven, like he did this afternoon.

1 fresh poblano pepper, roasted and de-skinned
1 fresh orange pepper, roasted and de-skinned
2 cloves garlic, roasted
1 habanero pepper, roasted and de-seeded
1/4 red onion, sliced and also roasted/sauteed

- combine all the above in blender with enough olive oil to blend into nice, thick saucy consistency. Add a dash of sugar and salt and about 1/2 tblsp of white vinegar.  Ah...mazing.

Enjoy!

Whine and Wine on a Friday

Oh, what a day.  I'm like a broken record, really, when I talk about how lucky I am to have such wonderful babies.  But it's on a day like today that I realize how lucky.  I mean, they are almost 15 months old and this week was the first week that I REALLY had to deal with a child with a cold. 

Thank friggin' gawd.

Today was particularly trying, as both girls seemed out of sorts and neither were on the same page at the same time (which makes for a particularly crusty mommy).  Alex, still sick, wanted LOTS of sleep and when up was at best unpredictable, alternating between laughter and inconsolable tears.  Hailey, perhaps feeling sickness coming on (?) was irritable, didn't nap well, was a picky eater and just generally wanted a lot of attention.  *As an aside, I chose today to get us all out of the house for a little trip to IKEA.  Ha!  SMRT.

In any event, 5pm hit, and upon return from work, husband was hit at entry with the dulcet tones of whining, whimpering, full-on temper tantrums and other fun.  An early bath, early bottles, and both were put down to bed, also early.  They didn't go to SLEEP early, mind, but Mommy and Daddy had other plans.

BBQ filet mignon, and a WONDERFUL bottle of wine. Seen here:

Yes.  This is what we used to do before our wonderful, blessed additions arrived.  Felt like old times.  Except, of course, for the monitor that showed several decibles of sound were coming from the bedroom. I say showed because the volume was muted.

The wine was velvety, jammy, earthy with dark cherry, a hint of anise. 

New Gig - Come join in the convos!

So I have some kewl news, everyone.  I've got a second Twitter account! 

Well, not REEEEALLY.  It's more like I'm part of a great team of people, and I'll be sending out tweets through their account - you know, stuff I already tweet about. Like what's happening in Ottawa. Or where to take your family for a great activity. Or where the best sale is on awesome gear. Or what a brutal, tough day  I have had.  Or hilarious things our babies do.  And mostly, I'll be chatting with you.

Basically, I'm just going to be myself, and I want you to join me.  I'll be tweeting on UsedOttawa, which I am sure you ALL know is a great site to buy and sell cool, useful or just random stuff, right?  (As an aside, it's a Canadian company - like - NOT owned by Google. #justsaying)

... and come to think of it, it's January, and we've been purging around here lately. I guess I'll also be posting some stuff for sale soon too. But I digress...

So how is this gonna work? Well, you will know the tweets are mine because my initials will be attached to all my tweets, but my partner in crime, Jordan, is pretty darn interesting too, as is Jennifer, a VERY old (we won't really go into how old, kay?) friend from high school in Winnipeg who is one of the big brains at the head office of UsedEverywhere in Victoria, BC.  (You didn't even know this about me, right?  Yes, I am a military brat who spent the better part of her high school years in the 'Peg. The rest? Well, I was in Goose Bay, Labrador, and then many many other temporary 'homes'.  Yeah.  Exactly. Explains so much, right?)

So.  Come join the convos.  See if you feel like following the Used tweets, and be sure to say hello and let us know if there's something cool we should share with other tweeps in Ottawa. I'm excited...