To Harness or Not to Harness

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This issue is debated almost as much as breast versus bottle and SAH versus WOH.

When walking down the street, my son wears a harness. He is a small boy. He’s not very street savvy. We live in the middle of the city. He doesn’t like to hold hands.

Therefore, he wears a harness.

Do I get looks? Yes.

Do I care? No.

This is one of those issues that makes me question humanity at times. Dogs need to be on leashes. In fact, in a lot of places no leash equals a fine. So why is your dog, who is not very street savvy and won’t hold hands, more precious than my son?

Also, I’m not very tall, but I am taller than Adam. How uncomfortable it must be to be more or less pulled along by an arm that is over your head. Imagine doing that yourself. No chance to explore or stop for a second to look at that interesting bug over there before running to catch up.

Adam has perfect freedom within the length of his harness lead.

He loves it.

And so do I.

Let The Games Begin…

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So, as promised last entry, I’ve been working away at starting my online marketing for Designed To A Tee.

So far I have a: –

Twitter – DTATTweets
Facebook (11 likes to a pretty URL, so like me!!)
And a Blog

Stop on by, see what I have to say about design. As opposed to over here, where you can see what I have to say about evvvverything else!

Trying To Find My Mojo

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So I went to a seminar on Thursday about Online Marketing. I mostly went to support my friend Cathie, who owns and operates Pulse Online Productions. She and I used to work together at The Northern Ireland Science Park. We’ve both moved on now and started our own companies but we keep in touch.

I was only marginally interested in the topic as I haven’t really been marketing Designed To A Tee due to lack of time and because I thought I was going to have another client soon. But I went.

And I loved it. I loved being in a room with people who are interested in some of the same things I am. I met a few interesting people. And I got some ideas for increasing the marketing for DTAT.

One idea was a DTAT Twitter. You can follow that @DTATTweets. I am also going to be launching another blog, to talk about design, digital media and things like that.

So watch this space. Big things are coming.

Time to get my mojo back.

I Was Going To Do A Whole Entry About

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Bin Laden’s death but then decided my blood pressure couldn’t take it. Suffice it to say I think it was a bad move.

In other, closer to home, news…with the exception of last night when he was ill, Adam has slept in his own bed since last Wednesday night! Simon and I just decided it was time. And we were right.

Adam’s illness has been very odd. Threw up Monday night, woke up with a fever Tuesday morning that kept going up despite calpol/nurophen, finally spiking at 103.8, when I called the GP, who had us come up.  His ear is red and his throat was *very* red so he has antibiotics. By the time we got home from the GP, his fever was gone. He went to bed as usual, in his room.  I was settling myself in bed when I heard him wake up and cough, so I went in to him. He was very hot and couldn’t re-settle so I had him on his changing table to  check his temp again when he gagged. I grabbed the vomit bowl just.In.Time!

So we settled him with me. About 30 minutes later he spit up and threw up in my bed, but only hitting one pillow and the bottom sheet. And his PJs. So got him cleaned up and resettled, gave him some Diorlyte, took him back to bed, he crashed.

2am back awake. More dirolyte and then back to sleep by 3. He slept until 8ish and woke up with no fever, no vomiting and has been himself all day.

Weirdest 24 hour bug I’ve ever seen!

Today I Had My First Ever Full Body Massage

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It was a Christmas gift from my parents in law.

I was apprehensive because I have a hard time with back massages. I find people touching my back, unless I know them very well, annoying and I have never had a back massage that I enjoyed. Now, none of those were by professionals, so I gamely went on (to my favourite spa) to have it done.

I also find it hard to relax, even though the atmosphere at the spa is well set up for that, whenever I go for a treatment. Quiet to me means time to think and I have a hard time shutting my brain off. I start to write my blog entry, I think about work I need to do, wonder what Adam is up to. This time was no different.

I also had a hard time when lying on my stomach, breathing through the head rest thing. I almost never lie on my stomach  because I always feel like I can’t breathe, so it took me a few minutes to get through that.

The massage itself was, I guess, good. I have nothing to compare it to, obviously. But I still didn’t like how it felt on my back. I just don’t like it when people mess with my back. I loved the leg/foot/arm/hand part. And the scalp part was really weird since I’m used to having that done when my hair is wet! It was like my hair was crackling under her fingers!

Also this afternoon once at home I am stiffer than I have been in awhile.

So I am thinking massage is not for me.

Next time I’ll have a facial!

Simon and I agree

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Less leftover cheese after it’s grated for quesadillas is a small price to pay for such a lovely little man in our lives!

It used to be that I’d grate the cheese and then give Simon a big hunk of leftovers. Now he and Adam split the big hunk and get a small hunk each.

We realized this when Simon was on the phone when I was handing out said cheese.

Simon came back into the kitchen and said, ‘Is this for me?’ pointing to the hunk on the cutting board.

‘Yes,’ I replied. ‘Adam already has his.’

And then I continued ‘You used to get more, before there was Adam.’ with a big grin.

Simon grinned back and said ‘I was just thinking that.’

Subtext – glad to have less cheese and an Adam!

And Now – Shepherd’s Pie

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First of all, mom, I made paella for you when we lived in the old flat. But I’ll make it again!

Shepherd’s Pie

Freely adapted from James Martin’s recipe. He is, after all, my cooking boyfriend. Please note that Shepherd’s Pie is made with lamb. The pie made with beef is Cottage Pie.  Have you ever seen a Shepherd herd a cow? I think not.

Serves 4

600 grams lamb. I like to buy a shoulder and cut it into chunks
2 carrots
2 parsnips
1 swede (also known as rutabaga in the US)
1 T flour
2 T rosemary
2 cups lamb stock (you can use chicken or vegetable if you can’t get lamb)
2 T tomato puree

Topping
Mashed potatoes made however you like them. I use about 600 grams of potatoes to cover the pie
Shredded cheddar cheese
Grated Parmesan cheese

Place the vegetables, flour and rosemary in the food processor until finely chopped. Put into an oven proof dish that has a good lid and spread the chunks of lamb on top.  Place over a medium heat on the stove top and pour the liquid into it, stirring it in. Bring to the boil, cover and put into a 150 c oven for 2 hours or until the lamb is cooked and most of the liquid is gone.

Remove the veg and lamb from that pan, draining any liquid left, and place in a casserole. Top with mash and cheese.

Return to the oven at 170 c for about 20 minutes or until the cheese is melted and bubbly.

Eat.

🙂

As Requested – Paella

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Shepherd’s Pie was also requested but I’ll do that another day!

Ingredients

Serves 4

1 T olive oil
1 red pepper
1 onion
2 cloves garlic
2 T smoked paprika
1 chicken breast
big hunk of chorizo Sausage, or if you don’t like chorizo, double the chicken breast
12 oz arbarito/paella rice
1/2 cup white wine
2 1/2 cups chicken stock
10 baby plum tomatoes
Mixed seafood (note: in the UK you can buy packs of precooked mixed seafood with prawns, mussels and squid. If you can’t get those in the US then you can just add pre-cook prawns or you can cook the seafood yourself! It needs to go into the dish already cook, however. It just gets warmed up in the paella)

Method:

In a food processor, chop pepper, onion and garlic until medium dice. Add to frying pan with olive oil and cook until just soft. Add paprika and cook another minute or two.

Meanwhile cut the chicken and the chorizo, if using, into chunks. Once the paprika has been incorporated, add the meat to the pan and cook until brown.

Add the rice and the wine and stir, cooking until the wine is absorbed. After the rice has absorbed the wine add the chicken stock and bring to a simmer. Cook, covered, for about 15 minutes or until the rice is just al dente and all or most of the liquid has been absorbed.

Add the tomatoes, which have been cut in half or quarters, depending on size, and the seafood and cook a further 10 minutes or until heated through and the tomatoes are soft.

Serve immediately.

This Isn’t A Cooking Blog

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Any more than it is a Mummy Blog. It’s just a blog.

So I don’t really write about what I cook. And I do cook. Daily. And mostly from scratch.

What do I cook?

Well, tonight it is Macaroni and Cheese and salad. Not combined, you understand. The salad is on the side.

Last night it was left over stew that I made on Sunday. I like things that we can eat over two nights. Especially on Monday’s as Simon gets home late from work and Adam is at daycare all day.

Tomorrow I am not cooking as I am off at a video shoot so Simon is making himself and Adam some pasta. Simon only cooks a few things.

Thursday I am cheating and we are having frozen battered scampi and chips. I am cheating because I have to process the videos from Wednesday night’s shoot all morning and then have a training class in the afternoon so no time to do more than throw something in the oven.  We’ll have peas with it.

Friday I don’t know what I am cooking as Adam and I are off to St George’s Market to pick out some fish. And I think local peas are  coming into season soon. Yum.

I do menu plan, weekly, for shopping on Tuesday. I have no idea when it started to be Tuesdays. I think it might have been from back in our old flat where we had a very tiny fridge that only held about 3 days of food. So we’d get food in on Saturday to last through Monday and then get groceries delivered on Monday night.

Then we moved to this flat with a bigger fridge and I started ordering more food on Monday for the whole week. Then Tesco got stupid about delivery and I got more and more pregnant and then went on Maternity Leave with Adam, I started doing Tuesday through Friday shopping on Tuesday.

So now my rallying cry is ‘Grocery shopping. Must be Tuesday!’ (Pauses for laugh from Buffy fans.)

I don’t have a recipe rota or anything. Mostly I say to Simon (and Adam, but he doesn’t contribute much yet) ‘what haven’t we eaten lately?’ and I buy for that.

I do Shepherd’s Pie and Veggie Lasagne.

I do Paella (which Adam doesn’t like) and Fajitas.

I do Goulash and Turkish Lamb Stew.

And many many other things.

Anyone want any recipes?