I thought I should probably follow up with a review of new recipes that I have tried. Last week I tried two new recipes:
Baked Rigatoni and Meatballs (November issue of Canadian Living)
- really liked this recipe. It was a bit time-consuming so it might be a good idea to do the "make-ahead" parts the day before (when the kids are in bed) and then just heat it up before dinner time. My hubby liked it but thought I should put in a lot less carrot next time.
Baked 10 Grain cereal (November issue of Canadian Living)
-I really like this recipe too. It came out of the oven looking nice. All of the apple bits were browned on top. I took a picture and will upload once I have access to my computer again. The rest of the family liked it too, except for my hubby. He thought it was like eating horse-feed due to all of the grains.
Monday, October 29, 2007
Menu Plan - week of October 29th
Again, I am only going to do a 5 day menu plan. Right now, the weekends are a bit hard to plan for. It depends on whether my hubby is working and what the rest of my family is up to. I will start doing 7 day plans once we are in our own house.
Monday
every man for himself!!!! The kids were hard to deal with this afternoon
Tuesday
Dijon chicken with carrots
rice cooked in chicken broth
Wednesday - Hallowe'en
I am going to make it easy for everyone to just grab something
Turkey Meatloaf with Red Pepper Sauce
Fluffy Buttermilk mashed potatoes
cauliflower & broccoli (Maybe with cheese sauce)
Thursday
pasta with artichoke pesto and grilled chicken
green salad
Friday
oven braised beef with beer
mashed potatoes
green salad
Saturday & Sunday - TBD
Monday
every man for himself!!!! The kids were hard to deal with this afternoon
Tuesday
Dijon chicken with carrots
rice cooked in chicken broth
Wednesday - Hallowe'en
I am going to make it easy for everyone to just grab something
Turkey Meatloaf with Red Pepper Sauce
Fluffy Buttermilk mashed potatoes
cauliflower & broccoli (Maybe with cheese sauce)
Thursday
pasta with artichoke pesto and grilled chicken
green salad
Friday
oven braised beef with beer
mashed potatoes
green salad
Saturday & Sunday - TBD
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Our builder - part 3
continued....
I told our builder rep "according to the Tarion New Home Warranty program, we are entited to $100/day if we were not given proper notice."
She said "that is only if we delayed you more than 120 days past your original closing date."
I said "no, you were suppose to give us notice IN WRITING 35 days in advance of the delay if it is going to be more than 5 days."
She replied "that is neither here nor there."
Um, it is VERY here or there to me and my family!!!!!!
We then had a conversation where she said that they could move us in with a working kitchen sink and toilet without the rest of the house being completely finished. She also wanted to know why we couldn't stay in our existing house.
I explained that our house was sold and closing on Oct.3rd, that we had 2 small children under the age of 2.5 years old, that moving them twice was extremely disruptive to our lives and that having everything we own in storage was expensive and an inconvenience. She explained how they COULD move us in without the kitchen, but we wouldn't want that.
GAME ON!!!!!!!!
I felt like she was threatening us and decided to call her bluff. I told her that we weren't completly adverse to moving in 5 days later than our closing date and she should communicate to our lawyers. It turns out that they were trying to sneak the paperwork by us saying that we mutually agreed upon Nov,6th. If we signed the paper, we wouldn't receive any compensation.
Since then we have been going back and forth with our lawyers. We went by the house and they did put in temporary cabinets (one set) in the kitchen, just enough to hold a sink with a a piece of wood for a counter top. We talked to the construction supervisor (who is quite nice) and he said that for some reason someone at head office seems to have it out for us. He was told to make it "livable" for us so they could force us in. He hated the idea of that because it would then take 6 months to finish the house as they would always have to book appointments to do anything.
After much back and forth we told our lawyer that we would settle for our actual costs incurred as a result of the delay and would not seek the $100/day if they could move us in, house complete, by November 6th.
On Friday we heard that now the kitchen cabinets look like they are delayed again, so now we have no idea what is going to happen. Our lawyer is away this week, so hopefully we will have some answers next week.
I told our builder rep "according to the Tarion New Home Warranty program, we are entited to $100/day if we were not given proper notice."
She said "that is only if we delayed you more than 120 days past your original closing date."
I said "no, you were suppose to give us notice IN WRITING 35 days in advance of the delay if it is going to be more than 5 days."
She replied "that is neither here nor there."
Um, it is VERY here or there to me and my family!!!!!!
We then had a conversation where she said that they could move us in with a working kitchen sink and toilet without the rest of the house being completely finished. She also wanted to know why we couldn't stay in our existing house.
I explained that our house was sold and closing on Oct.3rd, that we had 2 small children under the age of 2.5 years old, that moving them twice was extremely disruptive to our lives and that having everything we own in storage was expensive and an inconvenience. She explained how they COULD move us in without the kitchen, but we wouldn't want that.
GAME ON!!!!!!!!
I felt like she was threatening us and decided to call her bluff. I told her that we weren't completly adverse to moving in 5 days later than our closing date and she should communicate to our lawyers. It turns out that they were trying to sneak the paperwork by us saying that we mutually agreed upon Nov,6th. If we signed the paper, we wouldn't receive any compensation.
Since then we have been going back and forth with our lawyers. We went by the house and they did put in temporary cabinets (one set) in the kitchen, just enough to hold a sink with a a piece of wood for a counter top. We talked to the construction supervisor (who is quite nice) and he said that for some reason someone at head office seems to have it out for us. He was told to make it "livable" for us so they could force us in. He hated the idea of that because it would then take 6 months to finish the house as they would always have to book appointments to do anything.
After much back and forth we told our lawyer that we would settle for our actual costs incurred as a result of the delay and would not seek the $100/day if they could move us in, house complete, by November 6th.
On Friday we heard that now the kitchen cabinets look like they are delayed again, so now we have no idea what is going to happen. Our lawyer is away this week, so hopefully we will have some answers next week.
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Menu Plan - week of October 19th
Monday
homemade mac and cheese
salad
Tuesday
pecan chicken ( I swear this is my little guy's favourite! He eats a whole chicken breast)
roasted sweet potatoes
fresh steamed green beans
Wednesday
chili
buns
Thursday
rice pilaf
something on the BBQ - I'll see what looks good! Maybe marinated chicken breasts.
spinach salad
Friday
Baked rigatoni and meatballs (November issue of Canadian Living magazine)
salad
Saturday
I'm not sure what we will do for dinner _ I have to see what the whole family is up to.
I am going to make the "apple raisin baked 10-grain cereal" for breakfast (from November Canadian Living magazine)
Sunday
Same as Saturday - have to see what is happening with everyone first!
homemade mac and cheese
salad
Tuesday
pecan chicken ( I swear this is my little guy's favourite! He eats a whole chicken breast)
roasted sweet potatoes
fresh steamed green beans
Wednesday
chili
buns
Thursday
rice pilaf
something on the BBQ - I'll see what looks good! Maybe marinated chicken breasts.
spinach salad
Friday
Baked rigatoni and meatballs (November issue of Canadian Living magazine)
salad
Saturday
I'm not sure what we will do for dinner _ I have to see what the whole family is up to.
I am going to make the "apple raisin baked 10-grain cereal" for breakfast (from November Canadian Living magazine)
Sunday
Same as Saturday - have to see what is happening with everyone first!
Monday, October 15, 2007
Menu Plan - week of October 15th
This week should be a fairly simple one because I won't be cooking either Friday or Saturday. I'm going away for the weekend with the kids.
Monday
Stew that my mom made on the weekend
Tuesday
Dijon chicken with carrots ***I didn't get a chance to make this recipe last week***
Long grain rice (cooked in chicken broth)
Asparagus
Wednesday
Roasted pork tenderloin and roasted vegetable medley
Israeli couscous
Thursday
Sausage paella
green salad
Friday
-no cooking ---in the States
Saturday
-no cooking - - - in the States
Monday
Stew that my mom made on the weekend
Tuesday
Dijon chicken with carrots ***I didn't get a chance to make this recipe last week***
Long grain rice (cooked in chicken broth)
Asparagus
Wednesday
Roasted pork tenderloin and roasted vegetable medley
Israeli couscous
Thursday
Sausage paella
green salad
Friday
-no cooking ---in the States
Saturday
-no cooking - - - in the States
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Our builder - part 2
When he finally reached the person we were suppose to be talking to, she didn't really have a good answer. She basically said that they just found out that very day that we were going to be delayed (which wasn't true). My husband asked her about compensation due to them not giving us proper notice in writing and she told us we needed to contact Tarion (the new home warranty program). She also mentioned that we were now looking at a November closing, but couldn't give us a proper date.
Since we didn't hear back from her, we decided to call and leave her messages every day for several days until she finally returned our call. I don't usually like being a pest, but we needed to schedule things with the movers, the bank, utilities, etc.! She finally left us the date of November 6th. We called back and left a message indicating that we would like it in writing. She said that due to the fact that it was so close to our old closing date, she would need it drafted by their lawyers and have it sent to our lawyers. Whatever, just do it!
A few days later our lawyer received the letter/fax. He was concerned that the wording saying that we "mutually agreed upon the new date" would prevent us from receiving compensation if we signed it. We called everyone including the buidler, Tarion, a friend who is a real estate agent, etc looking to see if this was true.
The first person to call us back was the rep from the builder. I answered the phone. She mentioned that my husband had left a message expressing some concern over the fax that they had sent to our lawyer with the new date. I said to her "yes, we are concerned that if we sign it that we will not get any compensation for the delay."
She said "What compensation do you think you are entitled to exactly?!" As soon as I heard those words out of her mouth, I knew we were in for some problems!
to be cont...
Since we didn't hear back from her, we decided to call and leave her messages every day for several days until she finally returned our call. I don't usually like being a pest, but we needed to schedule things with the movers, the bank, utilities, etc.! She finally left us the date of November 6th. We called back and left a message indicating that we would like it in writing. She said that due to the fact that it was so close to our old closing date, she would need it drafted by their lawyers and have it sent to our lawyers. Whatever, just do it!
A few days later our lawyer received the letter/fax. He was concerned that the wording saying that we "mutually agreed upon the new date" would prevent us from receiving compensation if we signed it. We called everyone including the buidler, Tarion, a friend who is a real estate agent, etc looking to see if this was true.
The first person to call us back was the rep from the builder. I answered the phone. She mentioned that my husband had left a message expressing some concern over the fax that they had sent to our lawyer with the new date. I said to her "yes, we are concerned that if we sign it that we will not get any compensation for the delay."
She said "What compensation do you think you are entitled to exactly?!" As soon as I heard those words out of her mouth, I knew we were in for some problems!
to be cont...
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
Menu Plan - week of October 8th
Right now we are staying at my mom's house with limited fridge space, so meal planning will be more of a 5 day routine.
Monday
Leftover turkey, potatoes and veggies....yum!
Tuesday
Chili, green salad and garlic bread
Wednesday
Homemade mac & cheese
spinach salad with homemade honey-mustard dressing, toasted pecans and apple slices
Thursday
Dijon chicken with carrots (new recipe from this month's Canadian Living magazine)
long grain white rice cooked in chicken broth
Friday
Fettucine Verona (fresh noodles with chicken, artichoke hearts, sundried tomatoes and cheese)
Saturday
Going to my FIL and step-MIL's for dinner.
Sunday
My b-day, so no cooking for me!
Monday
Leftover turkey, potatoes and veggies....yum!
Tuesday
Chili, green salad and garlic bread
Wednesday
Homemade mac & cheese
spinach salad with homemade honey-mustard dressing, toasted pecans and apple slices
Thursday
Dijon chicken with carrots (new recipe from this month's Canadian Living magazine)
long grain white rice cooked in chicken broth
Friday
Fettucine Verona (fresh noodles with chicken, artichoke hearts, sundried tomatoes and cheese)
Saturday
Going to my FIL and step-MIL's for dinner.
Sunday
My b-day, so no cooking for me!
Friday, October 5, 2007
Our builder - part 1
Honestly, I am really having bad feelings towards our builder. I expected delays and a few issues here and there, I think that is just "par for the course" with a new home. What I didn't expect were the lies, lack of communication and threats that we have been dealing with.
Our original move in date was set for August 1st. Through the Tarion New Home Warranty Program the builder needs to give you notice in writing 60 days in advance if they are going to delay you more than 35 days. We received notice in writing exactly the amount of days they needed to. Fine, whatever. We had an offer on our old house and the potential owners were agreeable to that closing date.
Our new move in date was set to October 3rd. And, guess what, we're not in our new house. And, we aren't exactly sure when it is going to happen.
About a month ago we went to our new house, as we usually do, to poke around and see the status. While in there we noticed that at couple of upgrades we had paid for weren't done. We found the construction supervisor and told him about them. While talking to him he said "so you heard you guys are delayed again?" Um.....no! He said he told the head office a month prior that our kitchen was going to be delayed from the supplier. No one told us! We got all of the upgrade issues straightened out and my husband called the head office to ask about our latest delay and why no one notified us (they have to give you 35 days notice in writing if they are going to delay you more than 15 days).
To be continued.........
Our original move in date was set for August 1st. Through the Tarion New Home Warranty Program the builder needs to give you notice in writing 60 days in advance if they are going to delay you more than 35 days. We received notice in writing exactly the amount of days they needed to. Fine, whatever. We had an offer on our old house and the potential owners were agreeable to that closing date.
Our new move in date was set to October 3rd. And, guess what, we're not in our new house. And, we aren't exactly sure when it is going to happen.
About a month ago we went to our new house, as we usually do, to poke around and see the status. While in there we noticed that at couple of upgrades we had paid for weren't done. We found the construction supervisor and told him about them. While talking to him he said "so you heard you guys are delayed again?" Um.....no! He said he told the head office a month prior that our kitchen was going to be delayed from the supplier. No one told us! We got all of the upgrade issues straightened out and my husband called the head office to ask about our latest delay and why no one notified us (they have to give you 35 days notice in writing if they are going to delay you more than 15 days).
To be continued.........
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
menu planning
I actually did a menu plan last week that centred around using as much as I could from our cupboards, freezer and fridge. It worked fairly well, but we did end up trashing it a couple of days when things just got too busy.
I am going to wait until next week to start again. We jus need to get settled in my mom's house this week, plus it is Thanksgiving and we have a couple of dinners to go to.
I am going to wait until next week to start again. We jus need to get settled in my mom's house this week, plus it is Thanksgiving and we have a couple of dinners to go to.
Monday, October 1, 2007
bad blogger
I have been so bad at blogging lately. Usually I find blogging
somewhat therapeutic, however, I've just been too busy lately to be
able to sit down and write. Also, I feel a little guilty spending
time on the computer when there has been so much to do!
I am sitting here relaxing tonight even though we are moving on
Wednesday and we haven't finished packing yet! But, there is not much
I can do. The kids and I have moved into my mom's house (as of
yesterday) and there are in their beds. My mom and step-dad aren't
home yet, so I am here with the kids. My hubby is home so he can get
some sleep for work and to watch the house. Not a wise idea to leave
a packed house unattended...makes it to early for burglars.
I am going to do a couple of posts tonight to try and catch up a little!
somewhat therapeutic, however, I've just been too busy lately to be
able to sit down and write. Also, I feel a little guilty spending
time on the computer when there has been so much to do!
I am sitting here relaxing tonight even though we are moving on
Wednesday and we haven't finished packing yet! But, there is not much
I can do. The kids and I have moved into my mom's house (as of
yesterday) and there are in their beds. My mom and step-dad aren't
home yet, so I am here with the kids. My hubby is home so he can get
some sleep for work and to watch the house. Not a wise idea to leave
a packed house unattended...makes it to early for burglars.
I am going to do a couple of posts tonight to try and catch up a little!
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