Monthly Archives: July 2013

B.C. road trip

Posted on July 28, 2013 | Leave a comment

It’s official — our family is on the road. We’ve loaded up the SUV and pointed it southwest to Fernie, B.C. We’ll stay there a couple days, then drive west to Osoyoos, on to Vancouver, and end our holiday in Vernon.

I love the journey when the scenery is gorgeous! Pictured here: hay bales, canola fields and the Rocky Mountains in the distance en route from Calgary to Fernie, B.C.

I love the journey when the scenery is gorgeous! Pictured here: hay bales, canola fields and the Rocky Mountains in the distance en route to Fernie, B.C. from Calgary.

Leading up to our summer vacation I kept coming across stories with headlines like, How to survive family road trip hell. I read stories urging parents to involve children in the trip planning and others suggesting a ban on electronic devices (a return to the good old days of license plate alphabet). Curiously, all of these advice-y columns include the word “survive,” as if the act of driving from one place to the next with tots in tow is something to suffer through and hopefully come out of intact (or, at least, sane).

We’ve been driving to Fernie regularly with the kids for four years now and while at times I just want the drive to end, there’s a certain comfort in the familiarity of it all: turning west at Nanton, the hills and cows along Highway 22, the huge windmill after turning on to Highway 3, and of course, the World’s Largest Truck in Sparwood. But what I love about a driving holiday somewhere different are all the new sights to see and places to discover along the way. We’ll be breaking new road trip trails driving through Kokanee and Sasquatch country near Creston, and on through Castlegar and Grand Forks. Will the kids get car sick? Will the dog?  Will we, ahem, survive?

Of course, we bring tons of snacks and all the electronic devices to stem off boredom: DVDs, LeapPads, iPhone music and iPad games, but the kids spend a lot of time looking out the window like I did on the annual summer trip from Colorado to Kansas when I was little. Plus, our puppy Piper is a passenger with us this summer and that helps entertain the kids in the back seat.

We did a version of this trip two years ago, when the kids were six and three and it went surprisingly well. I am curious to see how we’ll fare this time. I will, literally, keep you posted. My aim is to upload at least one photo a day that encapsulates our adventures, with a couple of graphs describing the day and its high and low. Will we survive the family road trip? You be the judge.

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Drink of the Week: Coco Loco

Posted on July 26, 2013 | 2 comments

Some years ago on vacation in the Dominican Republic we discovered the tastiest of cocktails at the swim-up bar: the Coco Loco. The bartender whipped up a bunch of booze and, presumably, coconut milk, and served it to us in a fresh coconut with a straw poking out of a hole in the top. The drink was so yummy — and free (hello, all-inclusive!) — the next thing we knew we’d ordered a couple more and were “loco” (Spanish for crazy) from the coco in no time.

This is how they serve them in the Caribbean. In Canada, a wine glass works fine.

This is how they serve them in the Caribbean. In Canada, a wine glass works fine.

I had no idea what the other ingredients in a Coco Loco might be, but I guessed rum was involved. So when I received a bottle of Malibu’s original coconut flavoured rum I decided to try and replicate the DR’s deliciousness at home.

I discovered that Coco Loco recipes vary widely. Some call for vodka in addition to rum (for a Coco muy Loco), others include creme de bananas and still more omit the pineapple altogether. I settled for a recipe featuring  amaretto, hoping to capture that sweet, slightly nutty flavour I recalled.

While my version is pretty good — sweet, tart pineapple and creamy coconut with a hint of almonds — I liked the DR Coco Loco better. Must be the coconut cup!

I liked the Malibu in theis drink -- it adds an extra coconuttiness and makes up for the fact I didn't use coconut cream.

I like Malibu in this drink instead of regular light rum. It adds an extra “coconuttiness” and makes up for the lack of coconut cream.

Coco Loco

  • 1-1/2 oz Malibu
  • 1/2 oz amaretto
  • 2 oz coconut cream (I used canned coconut milk)
  • 1 oz  simple syrup
  • 1/2 cup fresh pineapple (or 1 oz pineapple juice)
  • 6 ice cubes

Combine ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth and frothy. Pour into a wine glass (or hollowed-out coconut) and garnish with a pineapple wedge.

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Posted in Potpourri

It’s someone else’s baby, people. Get over it.

Posted on July 24, 2013 | 1 comment

I, for one, have not been waiting expectantly for the last week for Kate to give birth to the royal baby. But thankfully, the little prince has arrived so now I can stop seeing inane headlines like, Top 10 parenting tips for Prince William and Kate (It goes by fast — enjoy it!), David Beckham’s parenting advice to Prince William and Kate Middleton (name him David), and my personal favourite, Snooki’s advice for Kate on new motherhood (as if Kate would take advice from someone who refers to her baby as a “royal golden nugget”). Where, oh where is the tongue-in-cheek column urging the new parents to dangle the wee nugget from the balcony for fun?

Will and Kate introduce the royal golden nugget, named after David Beckham, to the world.

Will and Kate introduce the royal golden nugget, named after David Beckham, to the world on Fakebook. Why a blanket on his head? Perhaps to hide the red hair.

I’m not sure if I’m getting my point across so I’ll rephrase: Why do so many people care so much about someone else’s bawling, drooling bundle of joy, to the extent that there’s ridiculous online speculation about what he’ll be named, how his parents will raise him and whether he’ll have a “normal” upbringing (e.g. turn out more like Harry).

I know as a culture we tend to obsess about celebrities’ kids, talking about Apple and Moses with friends as if we actually know them (and Gwyneth, natch). And tabloids now dedicate a two-page spread to tracking the fashions and playdates of stars’ progeny, sinking so low as to pit these wee tots against one another in Who Wore it Better? It’s all so… weird. One tweet summed up Royal Baby Watch perfectly: BREAKING: Millions of British Have Nothing to Do, with a photo of the throng waiting outside the hospital for news of the birth.

Poor Kate. I’m sure all she wants to do is sit in her housecoat and cry while the wee prince turns her fun bags into tender no-go zones, but instead she has to look fabulous when leaving the hospital. And Will is probably dying to sneak out to the  pub with Harry for beers, but no. He has to change his first diaper.

I mean, c'mon. Who looks like this the day after giving birth? Must be one of the royal impersonators.

I mean, c’mon. Who looks like this the day after giving birth? Must be one of the royal impersonators.

It will go on now for days, months, years. He-who-at-some-point-will-be-named will make front page news when he attends a polo match with Dad, turns a week old, pretty much every time he burps and sharts (watch out for the poonamis, Kate — they’re messy). And people will eat it up and feed the monarch media machine. So please, let’s all get over it, stop speculating and do something practical. Send Kate some baby wipes… and a Diaper Genie.

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Posted in Parenting

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