Have You Flapped Your Jack* Today?

· In Canada, the United States, and South Africa, flapjack is another term for a thin pancake that is not only crispy, but slightly chewy as well. A largely defining attribute of a flapjack is its large diameter, commonly measuring 12" (30 cm) or more.

Today is Shrove Tuesday* (pancake day), yum!! I will indulge any holiday that includes food … especially PANCAKES!

One of my co-workers, Danny (you may remember him from this post) brought all the ingredients to work for making pancakes from scratch … YES, I said SCRATCH! At lunchtime Danny went to work in the kitchen making tones of pancakes. Of course, once the aroma of pancakes wafted throughout the office the taste-testers began to arrive. We were treated to apple cinnamon pancakes and real maple syrup.

Thanks for the tasty treat for lunch today Dan!

After I left work I came home to make some more pancakes, lol!! Guess I just couldn’t get enough!

*Shrove Tuesday Traditions
Among Anglicans, Lutherans and other Protestant denominations, and among cultures in Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick, this day is also known as Pancake Tuesday, as it is customary to eat pancakes on this day.
Pancakes and doughnuts are associated with the day preceding Lent because they were a way to use up rich foodstuffs such as eggs, milk, and sugar, before the fasting season of the 40 days of Lent. The liturgical fasting emphasized eating plainer food and refraining from food that would give pleasure: In many cultures, this means no meat, dairy, or eggs.

Here is a good recipe for some Good Old Fashioned Pancakes.



INGREDIENTS
· 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (sifted)
· 3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
· 1 teaspoon salt
· 1 tablespoon white sugar
· 1 1/4 cups milk (room temp.)
· 1 egg (room temp.)
· 3 tablespoons butter, melted (unsalted)
·
DIRECTIONS
1. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Make a well in the center and pour in the milk, egg and melted butter; mix until smooth.
2. Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. Brown on both sides and serve hot. Enjoy!

Snow & Ice Festival

My Mom emailed me a link about this AMAZING winter festival in Harbin, in China's far northeast. These are some of the most beautiful and breathtaking ice sculptures I have ever seen.

The festival is over for this year but it would be wonderful to experience another time.

Below is the link I received and a short video of the event.


Click HERE for more about The Harbin, China - Annual Snow and Ice Festival

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Start A New Week With A Smile

I found this video on You*Tube and had to share it. This little girl is absolutely ADORABLE!!



Have a great week everyone!

Love Is In The Air

Happy Valentine’s Day friends!!
I hope everyone has a wonderful day filled with lots of love.

______________________________________________________________________________

To my magnificent husband:

I'd like to take this time to say
just
how you make me feel.
Your smile brightens my darkest day
and makes our
friendship real.

Every time you hold my hand,
I feel butterflies
take flight,
and I find myself missing you
each time you're out of
sight.

Each morning when I awake,
you're the first thing on my mind,
and I'll protect the special bond we share
because true love is hard to
find.

You're someone very special
and this I know is true.
I'm
happier than I've ever been
and I owe that all to you.

I love you
Larry!
xoxo

Pucca Funny Love - CLICK to see how Pucca finally gets to kiss Garu

News, News and More Good News!!!

Yesterday I took my payroll course mid-term exam. I was having a really hard time preparing myself for this exam. I have found this course very detailed, time consuming and lengthy. I know that it will be a benefit for me to have this certificate in the future but I sure will be glad when it is all over with! My mark for the mid-term was 88%, not the best but after all the stressing I did over it, I will gladly accept the 88% and move on.
___________________________________________________________________________________

Now on to the BEST news …

I was very surprised to come home Friday night, after grocery shopping, to find a message left on our service from Children’s Bridge (CB). I sat down to listen to it and thank goodness I did!! Cathy called to let us know that we have finally been moved from the “Call Back List” to the “Official Waiting List”!!!!! I was so thrilled to receive this call and couldn’t wait to give Children’s Bridge a call back.

Yesterday I received the weekly newsletter from CB and noticed that there was a bit of a change with some of the estimates for referral wait times. Cathy does not work in the CB office on Monday’s so I had to wait until today to return the call. She went over the stuff in the message from Friday and I had a few questions to ask and she answered them. Then she proceeded to let me know that the next batch of files from the CCAA should arrive in April and that we could expect our referral sometime THIS SUMMER!!!!!!!!!!!! I was so shocked & surprised when she said that!!! I was expecting to wait much longer! I nearly had a heart attack!

After waiting and wondering, living the last couple years with doubt and disappointment … this was AMAZING news for us!

I’m still not even sure how to express my happiness and yet I can barely contain my excitement! I want to cry, laugh, scream & dance all at once. So I found a song that suited my mood and I thought I would share it.

Take a listen, it is bound to at least get stuck in your head & make you chair dance for a bit. Enjoy the flashback!

Hold On To Your Dreams

Even though we have been waiting (a very long time) ... we need to appreciate everything we already have around us.

Hold on to your dreams but don't forget to live for today.




Have a great weekend everyone!
xo

Damn ... Sam Saw His Shadow!

Today was Groundhog day and it was beautiful and sunny so I guess since Shubenacadie Sam (our local rodent) saw his shadow we can count on another 6 weeks of winter.
~*Oh Yay*~ (spoken with sarcasm)
Like we didn't know that since we have a Winter Storm Warning for tomorrow.







I am so ready for winter to be over. I am tired of shovelling snow, and freezing all the time, having to wear mittens and boots and hats! UGH!!

Be gone Old Man Winter!!!

















Yesterday was the South Shore gathering for Chinese New Year. It was so nice to see everyone and catch up on what has been going on. All the little ones looked so pretty all dressed up. There was a great turn out with lots of good food and it was nice to see a few new faces as well. Below are some pictures for our wonderful day.