'Tis the Season......Tax Season.

Well its that time of year again, time to think about your money. So I figured it would be a good time to do this book review that I've been meaning to do for a while.

Well, its more of a recommendation than a review. This is by far the best finance book I've ever read. Granted, I've not read very many, but I'm convinced that I'll not find a better one for a long time. 

This book explains some simple concepts that make your finances seem a lot less scary.

 

ISBN 0-06-273686-8

Ordinary People, Extraordinary Wealth

"How did a secretary, a firefighter, a retired naval officer, a housewife, a construction worker, a schoolteacher, and a pharmacist become wealthy? Bestselling author Ric Edelman has studied the wealth-making habits of these and 5,000 other ordinary Americans and reveals his findings in this extraordinary book that outlines in eight easy, practical steps and secrets to achieving and maintaining wealth.

Here you'll find a lifetime of wealth-building experience from people just like you -- people who have figured out how to arrange their finances and make wise investment decisions so that they can reach their goals and achieve financial security. Plus, you'll find tips on:

How to turn your mortgage into a wealth-enhancing tool. Why small investments work better than big ones. How to max out on your employer-sponsored retirement plan. When to hold investments and when to fold them. When to pay attention to financial news and when to turn it off.

Let your neighbors lend you a hand. And let Ric Edelman guide you through their lessons in this eye-opening journey with thousands of ordinary folks who found their way to extraordinary wealth."

I recently found out that Ric Edelman is on the faculty at Georgetown University. That combined with the fact that we're planning a vacation very close to there made me feel a little like one of these crazy fans.

Wanting to snap a picture, or shake his hand, just to say I did.

Healthy-ish Lobster Dinner for two.

Our Valentines Day Tradition is to stay home, make a fancy dinner,

 and eat alone, after the kids are in bed.

Simple, but wonderful.

Lobster Tail, Wild Rice with Mushroom "Gravy", and Avocado Bacon Salad.

So the "-ish" from the title is because of the butter and bacon. You just can't have Lobster without butter, and the bacon? Well, I have no excuse, its just so good....

So here are the recipes.

 Lobster Tail


Making Lobster Tail makes me feel like a chef, but you don't need to be one to make it. It looks fancy, but its pretty simple.

Here's a great video demonstration.

I don't use bread crumbs like in the video, just lemon, butter, salt, pepper, dill, and parsley.
I cook them at 350-375F for 15-20 min.
They cool off fast, so make sure they're the last thing ready. Oh, and don't forget to melt some Butter for dipping :)

Avocado Bacon Salad

1 Avocado, cut into small chunks

5 strips of Bacon, fried and chopped

2 tbsp fresh shredded Parmesan cheese

1/3 cup sliced Black Olives

1/4 tsp Onion powder

1/4 tsp Mustard powder

2 tbsp Lemon juice

Salt & Pepper to taste.

Mix Gently.

Of course the measurements are not really important, adjust it to your liking.

One thing I will mention about this salad is that it was much better

 when the avocado was room temperature.

I made it a little early to save time, and kept it in the fridge.

It was still good, but the texture changed significantly.

Before being refrigerated it was soft and buttery

 with an emphasis on the chewiness of the cheese and bacon.

After being refrigerated  its was more like potato salad. There was still a chewiness to it, but the texture was definitely potato salad like. 

With that said, avocado may be a good addition to a potato salad.........

Wild Rice with Mushroom "Gravy"

Wild Rice

2/3 cup Wild Rice

2 1/2 cups Water

1 tsp Salt

Wash the rice in hot water.

Put everything in a pot.

Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover.

Simmer until tender(approx. 30-45min.)

Drain & Serve.

Mushroom "Gravy"

2 cups sliced Mushrooms

approx. 4 tbsp Sour Cream

In a frying pan, simmer mushrooms in water keeping them just covered.

The longer you simmer them the  better.(I started them the same time as the rice.)

When your rice is done allow mushroom liquid to reduce to  almost nothing.

Add your sour cream to the pan, stir and serve. 

Again, the measurements don't really matter, you can use and amount you like.

On to Dessert!

Jesse and I have different tastes when it comes to dessert.

I like vanilla, he likes chocolate.

So you get two recipes :)

Chia Tapioca, and (Avocado) Chocolate Pudding

Chia Tapioca (Serves 2)

If you like Tapioca, this is pretty much identical. The only difference is that you can see the little black seeds, and there is a slight crunch to them. 

1 cup Milk (Whatever kind you like, dairy, coconut, almond, cashew, it works with anything liquid.)

1/3 cup Chia Seeds

1 tbsp Vanilla

1 tbsp Liquid Honey(use more if you like it sweet)

Mix everything together, cover, and refrigerate until thickened(approx. 1-2 hours), stirring occasionally.

(Avocado) Chocolate Pudding (Serves 2)

I did not tell Jesse what was in the pudding until after he gave his opinion.

He loved it! 

We both agreed that the only discernible difference between this

 and store bought pudding cups,

is that this is slightly more chocolaty.

(You could use a little less cocoa if you like.)

1 Avocado, peeled and chopped

4 tbsp Liquid Honey

6 tbsp Cocoa powder

1/4 cup Water

In a small food processor or blender, blend together avocado, honey, and cocoa until smooth.

Add water and blend again.

You can use more or less water, depending on the texture you like.

Now that's a couple of desserts you can feel good about serving, even for Breakfast!

Alberta Bound

Jesse's eldest brother and his family live in BC, past the mountains where I dare not go. This past fall when I was planning Christmas gifts I realized just how long it had been since I'd seen my nieces, and how much they must have changed since then. This, along with Jesse's desire to go snowboarding in the mountains resulted in the following trip. What started as a simple plan soon became a full blown family reunion. Yes half of us are here in Oak Lake, but that's only half. 

Lunchables come with chocolate.....

We started the trip at Mom and Dad Thiessen's house with a Birthday Party for Elias.

Two years old as of January 28.

From a child's eye.

Jesse's family has a thing about packing into small spaces. I used to try to get their attention and move everyone to a more logical spot for things like gift openings. Used to.  

    After one day in Calgary, we all headed out to Castle Mountain Ski Resort where we rented a cabin on the hill for a few days. The boarders and skiers spent their days on the hill and were delighted to have hot lunches at the cabin. The rest of us spent our days at the cabin with the kids, which was mostly uneventful aside from Suzie getting a piece of Lego stuck in her nose. The evenings, for the most part, were spent as one big group. By the end of our stay, I think I'd lost some of my hearing. 21 Thiessens = loud.
    Sadly I was so busy with kids, food prep, and thinking my hubby was gonna die, that I completely forgot to take any pictures of our time at the hill, but I think it is safe to say the a good time was had by all.
    After Castle Mountain, we headed back to Calgary. Some went home right away, and a few of us stuck around for a few days of Calgary tourism.

Building Lego men at the Lego store in one of the Calgary malls.

Couldn't convince him to stop fiddling with his ear long enough to take a picture.

 Found an awesome blog on the net, which led us to this playland in Okotoks. 

Good Daddy :)

Waving at Liam.

Just chillin'.

Somebody jumped on me......

Help....

After Playtopia we went for lunch......Elias didn't make it.

A little shopping.

The underwhelming new science centre....

It made for some good pictures, but I wouldn't say it was worth the admission. 

"Painting" with water on slate.

A little indoor play area.

Jesse, massaging his tired cheeks after laughing so much at Liam with the sound toys. There was one where you'd talk into a microphone and it would play it back to you distorted in some way. Then you could record again and play them together.....I've never seen Liam (and Jesse) so hysterical. 

Electrical bits.

I'm sure that we did some other blog-worthy things that I didn't get pictures of, but since it is now August when I'm actually getting around to writing this post, I just don't remember them. I do however remember leaving tired and satisfied, and being grateful to get home again - which in my opinion, is the best part of a holiday.