Which makes me wonder how super moms can do so much. It’s almost time to go pick up the kids from school and I feel as though this has been a day where nothing has been accomplished. I exercised, coffeed, went to the doctor, filled a prescription, and shopped for dinner. That took the whole day!

Maybe I need to re-frame my thinking. I did my body a lot of good by exercising, my soul a lot of good by having coffee with the gals, worked on my diabetes and general health by going to the doctor and filling the prescription properly, and tended to my family by shopping for dinner. The weather and mountains were gorgeous and I feel lucky to be alive. What a day it has been!

Kissing don’t last:  cookery do!

- George Meredith

When I started blogging I had to think long and hard about what I would publish and what I would keep to myself. For example, I have tons of hilarious anecdotes about my kids that I could share but many of them would be mortifying for them to read. I wanted my kids (and everyone else I know) to be able to read my blog and not hate my guts or feel they couldn’t share life with me anymore.

So, I thought I had been doing pretty well … until, after reading my blog, my daughter wanted to have a “butt-crack” discussion with me …

This soup is our family’s equivalent of “Grandma’s chicken soup.” It’s wonderful when you have a cold or just need some “comfort in a bowl.” The original recipe is from “Quick and Easy: Enjoy Chinese Cuisine” by Judy Lew.

This recipe serves 4 to 6 people. I generally make a jumbo pot of this soup to feed the whole family plus have leftovers. Also, that way I can use full packages of ingredients like bamboo shoots because I find partial cans often go unused. So feel free to adjust the amounts upwards!

Hot and Sour Soup

4 cups chicken stock

1/2 cup slivered pork (you could also use minced pork or sliced chicken thighs)

1/4 cup slivered bamboo shoots

2 Chinese mushrooms (soaked, rinsed and sliced thin) or fresh Shiitake mushrooms sliced thin

a few cloud ears (tree ears) soaked, rinsed and thinly sliced

1/2 cube tofu sliced into thin strips

1/2 teaspoon white pepper or to taste

3 tablespoons rice vinegar

chili sauce to taste (I use toban djan, guilin chili sauce or chili garlic sauce - any chili sauce that has a deep rich flavour)

1 egg, beaten

2 tablespoons preserved Szechuan vegetable, chopped

1/4 cup chopped green onions

1 teaspoon sesame oil

1. Combine the stock, pork, bamboo shoots, mushrooms and cloud ears. Bring to a boil and cook for at least 5 minutes, stirring to break up the pork.

2. Reduce heat and spoon off any foam/scum on the surface. Soup should look fairly clear.

3. Add tofu and cook gently for a few minutes.

4. Add white pepper, rice vinegar and chili sauce. Add egg and stir to distribute.

5. Stir gently and bring back up to a slow boil. Add preserved vegetable.

6. Taste and adjust seasoning (I find the vinegar evaporates quite quickly so you may need to add more).

7. Add green onions and sesame oil just before serving.

As Rachael says “yum-o!”

“Ring ring. Hello? Oh, hi. I’m behind your car number 4569 right now. I just wanted to let you know that his driving seems to be pretty good. Took that last left turn a little slowly but other than that seems just fine. Thanks for asking.”

I was lying in bed last night in my long-sleeve pyjama top, long pyjama pants, fleece jacket and socks, reminiscing about the days when sleepwear was optional. I am married to a repressed nudenik (he now actually sleeps in briefs and a tee) who would be much more comfortable lying naked on a sunny beach somewhere. While I never really enjoyed sleeping nude (or being awake nude anywhere for that matter), I certainly used to get by without having to wear several layers of fleece to bed.

Don’t get me wrong, I do own some of the slinky stuff, but I’m never quite sure when to wear it - before, during or after? and then there’s always the prospect of the dreaded cold. Nothing squelches the fire more quickly than feeling like a goose-fleshy lump in search of the nearest heat lamp or hot water bottle.

There must be some kind of linear model correlating sleepwear and the length/stage of intimate relationships. You know, lingerie in the courting stage, pretty nighties in the honeymoon years, and flannel in the “don’t-ever-impregnate-me-again-you-bastard years.” My mother-in-law also calls her flannel nightie her “show’s over” nightie. Fleece takes your relationship to a whole new level.

As it is the beginning of a new year, I will, once again, not make any resolutions.

I’ve been sick lately. My diabetes enables the flu/cold thing to drag on and on. It saps my energy and sends my blood sugars through the roof. While those things certainly suck, not all is bad about being forced to rest, nurture oneself and spend quality alone time.

Being sick forces me to let others do for me, to accept nurturing and to confront the slowness of life. I have to give up control (ack!) and practice patience. I’m not good at these things. Illness makes me practice.