Random Thoughts, Summer Adventures & Tagliatelle with White Wine Corn Sauce
Life is something to do when you can't get to sleep.
Fran Lebowitz
We have been continuing on that road. I am constantly trying to think up repetitive things for her to think or imagine without her having to use too much brainpower. I am hoping that I can find something that is just so automatic she will allow her brain to relax.
A few nights ago she came out of her room in tears. So I did the only thing I could do… I explained it to her. I said, "what you need to do Sweetie is code your brain. You are the programmer. If your brain is very very busy there's no way you can go to sleep. You need to find something that you know very very very well and repeat it in your brain to relax it. I have a movie, 10 Things I Hate About You. I know it so well that I just start it from the beginning, in my head of course, until I fall sleep. I also have a song, On My Own, I sing it over and over and over in my brain until I fall sleep. I also have a book that I've read thousands of times, Captive Passions, no you may not read it, I start at the beginning and I pretend I am the author and I rewrite it. So you need to find something to relax your brain. You are in control of what you think and you need to learn how to control your brain. Do you understand?"
"Yes. That makes perfect sense. I will sing Riptide by Vance Joy. Thank you. Good night!"
😳😴
She never ceases to amaze me. We are on week 3 of summer holidays and so far she has been great! She has been helpful, a fabulous listener, and up for anything. I am just so proud of the young lady she is growing into. She drew this page for her summer journal. It is a picture of her and her cousin FBM 💕.
Other randomness...
Our grapes are looking good! I think we are going to have an excellent crop this year!
I was in the freezer the other day looking for... well I can't remember but I came across a bag at the bottom of the deep freeze. It made my heart stop. It was my Mom's printing. I looked closer and it said, Racotta Perogies. I burst out laughing! Like HARD! I would have totally made fun of her for spelling Ricotta wrong! That led me to the memory of making all the perogies together. It was a good day. I miss those days 💕.
While HBear has been rocking summer... SBean has had a bit of an adjustment period. It is a whole new schedule, it has been hot and she hasn't been getting the same amount of sleep as usual. She isn't being bad... she is just more willful 😂. Yes, we will go with that. On Monday we did our grocery shopping. She asked if she could get a cookie from the bakery. We don't do it all the time because I certainly don't want to make that a habit, but when she is good I have no problem with a little treat. When we got to the bakery the nice Lady held it out for me and I said, "what do you say?" SBean sat there with the look of steel on her face. I knew there would be no manners used at this point. So I thanked the Lady, put it in my pocket and explained that we only get treats if can use our manners. She screamed and yelled at me and looked like the Exorcist had a hold on her! I ignored her and continued shopping. When people stared at me I explained that my daughter did not know how to use her manners when someone was being kind to her so she wasn't getting a treat.
After a while, she stopped.
We went through the check out and at the end she said, "I'm sorry. Can I please go thank her for her kindness?"
We walked back to the bakery and SBean walked up and said, "I'm sorry. Thank you."
We walked to the car hand in hand. On the way I reached into my pocket and handed her the cookie 💕.
I will probably tell you all about it again on the next How Was Your Week, Honey? Last week we put out 2 episodes because we missed a week with all of our visitors. Check out ep. 23 Happy 150th Birthday Canada and ep. 24 Meet Bubbles and Blurple!
When we went to Vegas I had a pasta dish at Wolfgang Puck Bar & Grill that was to die for! Ravioli in a sweet corn sauce. It doesn't sound like much but I honest to God crave it! I have looked online for the recipe but I have been unable to find it. We went out for dinner one night last summer to this little restaurant in Peachland and they had a pasta dish that was in a corn Alfredo sauce… It was wonderful! Not quite the same taste but the closest I have come to Wolfgang Puck's dish. I found this recipe and tweaked it a bit and I have to say, it was amazing! It was light, which is super important right now in this crazy heat but it certainly was not light on flavor! Everybody licked their plates!
Adapted from The Food Network
2 ears corn, shucked or 1 can of niblet corn
5 tablespoons margarine
1 cup grape tomatoes
SBean had a 3 morning dance camp with GBesty and JQ! She loved it! She won the Leadership Award 😂 💕.
Monday was also Ninja's birthday! As it was the beginning of the week it was pretty low-key. I made him his favourite dinner courtesy of my Sis and BIL 😊.
On Friday evening we went over to Grandma and Grandpa's for an evening swim.
I don't know what I was thinking but on Saturday morning I picked up my SIL and convinced her to go to a Pound class with me. My Sis had been talking about it for a while and said that I would really enjoy it… She's either a sadist or she doesn't like me 😂. It's been 2 days and my thighs are just beginning to stop quivering! Pound class is an aerobic class that listens to rock music while pounding drumsticks on the floor and against each other. You do this while doing squats and lunges 😳. For an hour! I have to say though, it was a fabulous way to start the morning though!
From there, we headed to the Farmer's Market.
After a lovely morning stroll, ice cream and snowcones, and 1 or 2 wine samples LOL we settled in at the beach. HBear and her GR2Besty spent the entire day on the Wibit while Ninja and SBean happily played in the surf and I actually read a few pages of my book! A little while later my in-laws, SIL and JQ met us for a little beach fun.
Sunday morning we met at the beach again but this time we did some SUP! I freaking love where I live! Honestly, it is stunning, the weather is great and there so many activities within a 5 minute radius of our house. I am so very blessed.
After SUP we went to my in-laws for a swim and for a delicious dinner.
SaveSave2 ears corn, shucked or 1 can of niblet corn
5 tablespoons margarine
1 cup grape tomatoes
1 bel pepper, chopped
1 cup snap peas
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup white wine
12 ounces tagliatelle pasta
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 small bunch chives, chopped
1/2 cup freshly grated Asiago, plus more for topping
Torn basil, for topping
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the corn and cook until slightly tender, about 3 minutes. ***My corn was UGLY. I don't know why so I had to throw it out. I used a can of corn instead. I poured the whole can in the boiling water and cooked it just as the recipe says.*** Remove with tongs (or remove with a slotted spoon if using canned) reserving the boiling water. Let the corn cool slightly, then cut off the kernels.
Melt 2 tablespoons margarine in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the tomatoes, the peppers, the peas and 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and cook until the veggies soften, about 4 minutes.
Add the garlic and cook 1 more minute.
Add the wine and cook until reduced by half, about 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, cook the pasta in the corn water as per the directions on the box.
Reserve 1 cup of the cooking water,
then drain the pasta.
Add the chicken broth and corn kernels to the skillet and bring to a simmer.
Add the pasta to the skillet; add the chives, Asiago, the remaining 3 tablespoons margarine and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Toss to combine, adding the reserved cooking water as needed. Season with salt and pepper. Top with more cheese and basil.
We started out the week with a pretty busy day! HBear actually started science camp, for real this time 😂. She loved it! They blew things up, made engines, did chemistry, physics, and blew up some more stuff LOL.
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup white wine
12 ounces tagliatelle pasta
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 small bunch chives, chopped
1/2 cup freshly grated Asiago, plus more for topping
Torn basil, for topping
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the corn and cook until slightly tender, about 3 minutes. ***My corn was UGLY. I don't know why so I had to throw it out. I used a can of corn instead. I poured the whole can in the boiling water and cooked it just as the recipe says.*** Remove with tongs (or remove with a slotted spoon if using canned) reserving the boiling water. Let the corn cool slightly, then cut off the kernels.
Melt 2 tablespoons margarine in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the tomatoes, the peppers, the peas and 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and cook until the veggies soften, about 4 minutes.
Add the garlic and cook 1 more minute.
Add the pasta to the skillet; add the chives, Asiago, the remaining 3 tablespoons margarine and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Toss to combine, adding the reserved cooking water as needed. Season with salt and pepper. Top with more cheese and basil.
SBean had a 3 morning dance camp with GBesty and JQ! She loved it! She won the Leadership Award 😂 💕.
Monday was also Ninja's birthday! As it was the beginning of the week it was pretty low-key. I made him his favourite dinner courtesy of my Sis and BIL 😊.
He opened his gifts… A pop filter for podcasting, a new FitBit, and a gift certificate to go golfing with HBear!
Then we met the family down at the Peach on the Beach for a decadent dessert! Unfortunately the smoke from all the surrounding wildfires was terrible 😞.
We also tried to get in some quality JQ time! We were fortunate enough to have a week and a half extra with my SIL and her little guy!
After all of our visitors left I spent 2 days cleaning, mowing lawns, doing laundry, changing bedsheets, and finally restocking the kitchen. SBean and I took a trip to Costco this week. After a giant ice cream cone she fell promptly asleep 💤. (This was after I undid her and tried waking her up. She did NOT drive without her belts being done up)
We have been watching my Sis's dog and he has been great! I have enjoyed our evening walks and so has SBean! One evening HBear went out for dinner with Auntie and JQ and we had SBean all to ourselves! I love when we get one on one time with each of the Girls. It gives us a chance to get to know them so much better! We had dinner outside, a dip in the hot tub, and then we took Lenny for a walk. As we began walking SBean was giddy and she looked up and said, "this is my first time taking a dog for a walk. Ever." She had a great time 😁. It was quite hot however and by the time we got around the block and to The Leir House she was pooped!
We have been watching my Sis's dog and he has been great! I have enjoyed our evening walks and so has SBean! One evening HBear went out for dinner with Auntie and JQ and we had SBean all to ourselves! I love when we get one on one time with each of the Girls. It gives us a chance to get to know them so much better! We had dinner outside, a dip in the hot tub, and then we took Lenny for a walk. As we began walking SBean was giddy and she looked up and said, "this is my first time taking a dog for a walk. Ever." She had a great time 😁. It was quite hot however and by the time we got around the block and to The Leir House she was pooped!
On Friday evening we went over to Grandma and Grandpa's for an evening swim.
From there, we headed to the Farmer's Market.
After a lovely morning stroll, ice cream and snowcones, and 1 or 2 wine samples LOL we settled in at the beach. HBear and her GR2Besty spent the entire day on the Wibit while Ninja and SBean happily played in the surf and I actually read a few pages of my book! A little while later my in-laws, SIL and JQ met us for a little beach fun.
Next week we say bye bye to JQ but really it is more like "see you later" as we will be visiting them in Winnipeg in just 3 short weeks! Let the planning begin lol!
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