I think the maternal instinct is downright creepy.  Time and again my actions prove that it really does exist.  It doesn’t seem to work in the same way for fathers, well at least my husband as he is the extent of my research on this subject .

The most recent occurence of this phenomenon was last night.  My son has been very sick all week with a terrible cough and all the things that go with it.  We went to the doctor and got some extra strong cough syrup.  I find that once we put him to bed at night he is pretty good until about 5am when he awakes coughing again.  So I have just been following our normal routine all week which is checking on him (and my daughter) when we go to bed.

Last night, inexplicably, I got this weird urge to check on him at 9:30pm.  I NEVER do this.  I got up and went upstairs and checked him and he was burning up.  Got out the thermometer and he had a fever of 104.  I immediately plied him with Advil and put him back to bed.  He was still responsive and talkative so I wasn’t freaking out.  I checked on him every half hour after that and the fever kept going down so I knew he was going to be okay.  I then also set my internal alarm to check him at 3am, when the fever was gone but just in case I gave him extra Tylenol.  Still sick, but no high fever this morning…we will be watching him closely tonight.

All of this to say that it is creepy how I just seem to know when they are sick and need me to go check on them.  This maternal instinct thing is pretty good .

I found this recipe in Chatelaine magazine a couple of years ago, but never made it until last week.  First of all it was so easy to make.  I made it on a weeknight, and it took 20 minutes total.  It doesn’t require a lot of fancy ingredients, essentially sweet potatoes, pork and orange juice.  I served it with a vegetable or salad and that is really all you need for the whole meal.  The kids love it and so do my husband and I.  I have already made it twice, it was such a big hit!

Pork Medallions with Sweet Potatoes
Lean pork tenderloin and super-nutritious sweet potato produce a substantial dinner.
Preparation time 10 min
Cooking time 18 min
Makes 2 servings

1 pork tenderloin
1/4 tsp (1 mL) each salt, ground pepper, chili flakes and dried thyme leaves
1 tbsp (15 mL) butter
1 large sweet potato, peeled
1/2 cup (125 mL) each orange or pineapple juice and water
1/4 cup (50 mL) whole or shredded mint leaves (optional)

1. Slice pork into thick rounds. Place in a bowl. Sprinkle with seasonings, then rub in. Melt butter in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add pork, then reduce heat to medium. Cook until deep golden, 3 min per side, then remove to a bowl.

2. Meanwhile, cut potato into large cubes. After pork is removed from pan, pour in juice and water.  Using a wooden spoon, scrape up and stir in any brown bits from pan bottom. Add potato. Boil, then cover and reduce heat. Simmer, stirring often until tender, 10 to 12 min. Return pork and any juices back to pan. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, until pork is warm, about 2 min. Stir in mint.

First published in Chatelaine’s 10/2007 issue. © Rogers Media Publishing Inc.

This word arose out of a google chat conversation my friend and I were having.  It was supposed to be sigh, but she made a typo.  We liked it so much we just kept it and use it often to mean sigh/ugh etc…we pronounce it sooooogh.  I looked it up for fun a few days ago and it is actually a word!  It is halfway between a sigh and ugh.  Pretty funny.

Anyhow today is a sugh day.  I am just really tired, and not motivated.  I have a lot to do, including a run tonight (that I was scheduled to do last night but just didn’t have it in me). So I feel like I am kind of flopping through my day, not getting nearly enough done, and generally deflating a little more as each second passes.

Anyhooooo, not much to say today other than, sugh.

I am training again for my half marathon at the end of May.  Some days running is just easy.  Some days it takes everything I have to walk two steps.  On Saturday I had to run 4 miles (6.4km).  This is a piece of cake run for me usually.  I don’t have to really think about food (before, during or after) or even bring a water bottle.  I basically just have to put my shoes on and go.

This Saturday it pretty much felt like I would be running a full marathon.  I COULD NOT get my head into this run.  I thought I would die before I completed it.  I procrastinated until mid-afternoon and then literally dragged myself downstairs to the treadmill.  I fired up an episode of Angel which usually is all the inspiration I need.  I then hauled myself up onto the treadmill and ran.  By ran, I mean I did the physical motion while my mind screamed at me and kept telling me to stop.  I felt like the run would NEVER EVER end.

When I finally finished the run, I felt like I had completed a half marathon and needed to go store up some energy and recover.  Seriously, I ran 6.5 km.  This was not normal behaviour.  I think sometimes my mental run is WAY harder than the physical run

I was happy to have done it though…tonight I have to run 3.2 km (2 miles)…wonder how it will go?

I was dreading seeing this movie.  I just thought it would be  boring.  I am not a very politically-minded person and if I am really honest with you, I can say that I am not sure what even happened at Watergate.  I actually promised myself I would try to read up on that today.  So I was not looking forward to a two hour movie about Nixon and Watergate.

I was quite surprised.  The movie was interesting, mostly fast paced, and I quite enjoyed it.  It wasn’t my favourite of the five Best Picture nominees, but I can understand why it was nominated.  The acting was superb, and I wasn’t surprised that Frank Langella was also nominated for his portrayal of Nixon.  I liked how the movie really humanized Nixon and gave you some insight into the man.  I also liked how no matter how much some of the characters hated him, when they met the man himself they were still awed by him.  It was cool.

So overall, my favourite of the five Best Picture nominations was The Reader, but I enjoyed all of the movies except for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, which soooo didn’t deserve to be in this category.

Let me start off by saying, I read this book when it came out and don’t remember really loving it.  I remember it being a slow read, and not really loving any of the characters.  What struck me most about this movie was how incredibly likeable Kate Winslet made her character.  I found myself rooting for her, regardless of her past sins.  She was truly outstanding in this role and I will be shocked if she doesn’t win the Oscar for it.  Ralph Fiennes should have been nominated as well, at least for supporting actor, as his minimal screen time is truly brilliant.  Lena Olin also shines in a brief cameo.  Her voice alone is so wonderful, she can do no wrong.  The young Michael, David Kross, is really good as well, he definitely stood his ground with Kate Winslet, which is no easy task.  I liked the movie more than I remember liking the book, and so far it was my favourite of this year’s batch of nominees.  I doubt it will win Best Picture, but I think it should.

I watched this movie knowing nothing about it other than Anne Hathaway was in it and was nominated for an Oscar for her role.  I thought it was going to be a happy movie about someone getting married.  I love weddings so I figured I would love it.  Well I did love the movie, but it certainly wasn’t what I expected.  Anne Hathaway was really wonderful in this role.  She was gritty and tough yet delicate and vulnerable.  I realized when the movie ended that it was directed by Jonathan Demme, who directed Philadelphia which I also loved.  The story was good, and sad and real.  I couldn’t really relate to any of the characters but it didn’t matter because I was rooting for almost all of them.  I don’t think Anne will win the Oscar for this role, but I am glad she was nominated for it as she is truly wonderful.

I have to add to my earlier post.  The other thing that really bugged me about this movie was the way they reverse-aged Benjamin Button at the end.  In the beginnning of the movie he is born as an old man, but in a baby sized body, which makes sense in that he had to be that size to come out of his mother.  But at the end of the movie, to have him go back to a baby-sized body was just weird.  It didn’t make sense.  It was like they didn’t think we would get the concept if they left him adult-sized but mentally like a new born.  Sigh.

So for me, the only thing curious about Benjamin Button was how the heck it garnered so many Oscar nominations?   I am wondering if the nominating committee actually sat through the whole movie.  It was interminable.  I should also say I am not a Brad Pitt fan.  There is nothing wrong with him, but he is kind of blah to me.  And as my Mom said about 300 times during the movie, “It doesn’t seem that he can act that well.”  He was definitely not stellar in this movie.  His voice was possibly the most annoying thing about the movie.  Frankly everyone’s voice was annoying in the movie.  The editing was horrendous, as was the directing.  There was no excuse for the movie to go on that long.  I love Cate Blanchett.  She is absolutely one of my favourite actresses.  I adore her.  I couldn’t stand her in this movie.  I hated her character.  There were no real bright spots in this movie…maybe the hummingbird?  Basically it wasn’t the worst movie ever, but it certainly was not worthy of Oscar nominations.  If you watched it and loved it, please comment and tell me why?

Welcome to my new favourite song…I can listen to it over and over and over and over and really, over again…

Give it a listen yourself here.

I heard it for the first time on So You Think You Can Dance Canada, where Nico and Allie did a beautiful contemporary dance to it and immediately had to get the song.

There are so many things I like about this song.  I love David Cook’s voice – it brings me back to the most awesome ’80s power ballads.  It is so raspy and cool to listen to.  The words are absolutely beautiful, and and written for his brother who has cancer.

“Is the moment where I look you in the eye?
Forgive my promise that you’ll never see me cry”

The arrangement is beautiful and really showcases Cook’s voice and the lyrics.  I can’t understand why I am not hearing it on the radio yet?  It should be on there all the time.

Anyhow give it a listen, or many.  I love it.