The Deliciousness of Chocolate and Peanut Butter - Cookies Worth Drooling Over

Double Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies

I am a huge fan of chocolate and peanut butter together.  Asides from chocolate and mint, I am not sure if there is a better flavour combination when it comes to sweets.

A friend of mine posted on facebook that she had made these cookies a week or so ago, and as soon as I saw the recipe I knew I needed to try them.  They are from The Girl Who Ate Everything - for this particular recipe, click on the picture above and it will link you to the recipe.

If you decide to make them - be warned, they are addicting!

Stop Distracted Driving

This post brought to you by Insurance Hunter. All opinions are 100% mine.

In October 2009, the province I live in banned cell phones and other hand held devices while driving.  The goal is to help decrease the number of traffic related accidents that are caused by distractions.  The only time that you are able to legally use a hand held device while driving, is if you are calling 911.  Fast forward almost 4 years later, and it shocks me to see how many people still talk on their phone or text while driving - which makes me wonder if the ban has helped to Stop Distracted Drivers or not?

Insurance Hunter has released the infographic below to help increase awareness about distracted driving.  I will fully admit that when I was younger, I used to talk on my phone while driving.  This was years ago, before the law came into effect. I will also admit that my children have at times been a major distraction to my driving.  My youngest son hated the car. Absolutely hated it and screamed his way through 95% of car rides until he was 2 years old. It calmed down a bit, and local trips were handled well, but anything over 15 minutes would turn into a scream fest.  Listening to it definitley had me on edge and my focus was more on getting us home or to our destination.  

How about you? What do you find to be the biggest distractions while you are behind the wheel?  Your children or passengers, the radio, cell phone / gps device?  

 

epost - another way to reduce waste and save some tree's in the process

Over the last couple of years I have been trying to implement changes to our household - I am trying to find ways that we can lessen the impact we have on the environment.  Some of these changes are switching from harsh chemical cleaners to Norwex Microfiber; using our recycle bins consistently and now taking part in the green bin program offered by the city.

first flower on my tomato plants

I am also now trying to limit the "packaging" that comes into the house - I have started making my own baguettes and bagels, we are growing our own herbs, strawberries and tomatoes (with hopes to add cucumbers and peppers in next year).

To help eliminate paper waste, I thought that I would try out epost - a service offered by Canada Post. What a great way to eliminate unwanted paper (less envelopes, less bills printed and the inserts that often come with them too!)

This months bills that have arrived so far

the computer, waiting for me

I gathered my bills and opened up the epost website. Setting up an account was really quick and took me less than a minute to complete

What you see when you open the site

Next up was searching through the "mailers" to find the companies I needed.

browsing for mailers

I was only able to add a few of my bills - Rogers, property tax and water and sewer. Unfortunately, most of the bills we have are not offered on epost yet - so I would hope that they would get those added in soon (Bell Canada, Enbridge etc).  Once I chose my "mailers" for Rogers and my bank of choice, I set them up and got everything authorized. Something I wasn't aware of - certain companies are on there and you can add your pay statement to epost - I thought that was pretty neat!

Be sure to check out my Google + album for more pictures - and leave me a comment telling me if you have used epost before, and if you strive to be green!

Monday Giveaway Linky July 29

Please make sure to include the end date and also which countries are eligible to win!

Monday Giveaway Linky July 22

Be sure to include end date and which countries are eligible to win!

10 Ways To Keep Cool On Hot Days

With the hot, humid weather we have been having lately I thought it would be a great time to share some ideas on ways to keep cool on hot days.  Read about those ideas on the CHEO blog!

What are some of the ways that you keep yourself cool when the weather is in the high 30's with the humidex?

Remembering My Dad

18 years ago today, my father passed away.  I was 14 years old - and it pretty much turned my entire world upside down. I have written a few times about it, but today - I am not.  Today, I am going to talk about what a great day I had with Mr. J.

I try and spend time with each of the boys on their own.  With Mr. J in school, I have LOTS of time with Mr. K, but not a lot with Mr. J.  I try and make sure that I schedule time alone with him, so that he still gets some mama time too.

Today, Mr. K was going to his grandparents, and it was the perfect time for some Mr. J time.  Every year on the anniversary of my dad's death, I take my mom to the graveyard. Some years the kids come with me, and sometimes they don't.  I never FORCE them to come, but I do try to encourage it.  Today, Mr. J really wanted to come with us ( I am pretty sure that the ice cream counter at the general store next to the graveyard had just a little something to do with that decision).

When we got out of the jeep, he immediately ran to the water. He loves to watch the boats going by.  Then, he wanted to water the flowers - a few years ago a pump was installed so visitors could get water without having to walk down to the river (it's a bit of an incline to get to, and I have actually slipped a few times). Once he had watered, he found some wildflowers growing and picked them for Papa Rick.

When that was done, we went to the store for ice cream, and he wanted to sit on the dock to watch the water and the boats.

While I am still sad, knowing that I don't have time with my dad anymore, and the boys will never actually KNOW him, it was such a great time to have with my little guy - and made today just a little bit easier.