Jamming

This weekend I released my inner Domestic Goddess, and she was pretty impressive! Rick and I went with two of my girlfriends (Rachel and Jenn) to Jenn's parents place in the country for the weekend so that Jenn's mother could teach Rachel and I how to make jam. Rick came along, although I didn't see him all weekend - he was busy golfing and helping Jenn's dad do something with their boat (I actually don't even really know what he did!)

Saturday morning started with a trip to the farmer's market where we bought all the glorious, ripe fruit and the biggest bunch of beets I've ever seen! We spent all of Saturday sweating in the kitchen - mashing berries, sterilizing jars, chopping apples, stirring our bubbling pots of fruit - it was so much fun. By Sunday afternoon Rachel and I each had 3 big jars of pickled beets, 6 jars of plum/apple jam and 6 jars of raspberry/blackberry jam. I immediately went out and bought all my own supplies so that I can continue to practise at home. This year everyone will be getting jam, pickles and mustard for Christmas!

I took a sick day yesterday, so I only have a three day work week this week. How great is that? When I got to work and started with my usual routine of entering my temperature in Fertility Friend and checking the message boards, I suddenly realized how depressing of a routine that has become for me - I know it shouldn't be that way, but it is. I've been doing that same thing for a year now and it's just a constant reminder of the one thing missing in my life.

I have decided I need to shake up that routine and start by not checking the messages boards every day. We could be talking about absolutely nothing to do with babies, but it wouldn't change the fact that I'm going to a website devoted to fertility every day and I just need a break from that for my own mental health.

I'm am really going to try and take some time to figure out what I need to do in the next little while in order to just be happier and feel like I'm really living each day.

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Monday night we went to our friends house for a swim and some dinner. I made this salad and everyone loved it!

Sushi Salad:

4 cups of cooked brown rice (or any other type of rice that you like)
1/4 cup of rice vinegar
1 tablespoon of sugar or other sweetener (I use brown rice syrup)
1 chopped, seeded and peeled cucumber (doesn't have to be peeled if it's an English cucumber)
1 chopped red pepper
3 chopped green onions
1 sheet of nori seaweed cut into strips
1 avocado, diced

While rice is still warm, mix in rice vinegar and sweetener until rice is somewhat sticky. Once the rice mixture is pretty well cooled, toss in the rest of the ingredients. Make dressing and carefully toss into salad.

Dressing:
1/4 cup of plain yogurt or sour cream
1/4 cup of mayonaisse
2 tablespoons of soy sauce or Bragg's liquid seasonings
1/2 teaspoon of wasabi powder

Wisk everything together until well mixed.