Day 86: Cat Gel Nails

Have you heard of Soft Paws? Hubby's been going on about them forever. Our cats scratch everything, and he seems to think they will stop them. But they run $20 for a set of 40, which covers 4 applications, so I haven't caved yet.

Well, I found some on a Facebook local auction group, and I ended up paying $6! Not a bad deal, in my opinion. I didn't get to pick the colours, but that's a small price to pay. (haha, get it?)

We put them on the cats today. Pixel got sparkly white, and Lola got sparkly blue. They look so pretty. The girl who sold them described them as cat gel nails, which cracked me up, but that's pretty much exactly what they are. They're little plastic caps that go over top of the cat's nails. But don't they look pretty?

The Soft Paws

I think Pixel looks fabulous

Lola doesn't like posing her paws

Day 85: Happy Birthday, As of Yesterday!

Worked again today. An awful shift; 1-9.

After work, I went straight to a birthday party. So I didn't really get anything done today at all, but hey, I had fun.

All of my highschool friends have birthdays within two months of mine, so there's like this season in April-May-June of birthday parties. I love it.

It was lots of fun, I loved hanging out with a whole bunch of friends. I didn't even flinch with all the food on the table and not being able mooch and eat any of it. I did flinch with all the drinks though. My friends next to me were all drinking yummy-looking things, and I kept wanting to steal a sip, or leaning into the straws. I don't actually want alcohol, and I don't actually want to get drunk, I just want to have fun and forget my stomach for one night.

Oh, and her birthday was yesterday, which is why the title. :)

Day 84: First day

I started the new job today. I'm not exactly thrilled to be working retail, but I'm glad for the change of pace, and I think it'll be fun. I spent pretty much most of today reading training materials and watched training videos, and then stocked shoes. Golly, I feel like I haven't had such a boring day in ever, but actually I just had differently boring days.

After work, I made some basic chicken wings and some pasta. Ugh. Working on my feet really tired me out.

I'm really going to try to keep up with baking, cooking and blogging, but the first few days of work is gonna be rough.

Day 83: Unemployment and Spicy Chicken Rub

I think unemployment suits me. I had a great day today. I wish I could have a lot more days like today, but I start at my new job tomorrow. So that's poopy, but whatever.

I cleaned, and organized some things and cleaned some more. I made a spicy rubbed chicken for dinner. It was a great day.

The chicken was great. I got the recipe from my new Cooking Light Gluten Free cookbook. I found it at the library, and fell in love, and decided it was the one and only cookbook for me. I've been looking for it (passively) everywhere, and Banana found it for me! At Chapters, it was the only one left, and the only one in the province. Apparently I'm the only person in the world who realizes how amazing this cookbook is.

The spicy rub is really basic, just a mix of a few spices. The book says you can rub it on fish, chicken, and steak, or whatever. I only made enough for two pieces of chicken, and Hubby barbecued it, just to see how it goes. I really liked it, and so did he, so I'll definitely be making it again.

Day 82: Downtown Boston Pizza

So, today was my last day of my job. It still feels a little surreal. I'm probably going to wake up tomorrow and start getting ready for work. I wrapped up my projects, showed my supervisor where I was leaving off, signed a paper or two, and handed in my key. That was the saddest part, I think.

Oh, and we went out for lunch. My office is pretty small, so we planned to all go out for lunch to celebrate my last day. Actually, only four of the guys and I went, because the other five all bailed. Lame-o's. Anyways, so five of us went to Boston Pizza. I wanted to pick something downtown so we could walk, and I haven't really eaten anywhere downtown, but I have eaten at the other Boston Pizza, and they're always really good and have several options, so I naturally picked it.

Let me just say, not impressed. I mean, I had a great time. It was great to sit and chat with the guys, and it was a nice closure, and my food was good... But I'm not eating there again.

First of all, I ordered the Tuscon Linguine, sub Glutenwise pasta, and alerted the waitress that I have a gluten allergy. My food came, and I first made sure I got the right pasta, then pulled out my fork, stabbed a piece of rotini, and froze. There was a big hunk of garlic toast sitting right on top of the whole thing. Just sitting there, staring at me. Taunting me.

My co-worker said, "Did they give you the right pasta?"

I had this moment of debate, where I tried to decide if I should just move the garlic toast and eat the pasta, or if I should just eat all the pasta that wasn't touching it, or if I should make a stink, but I was afraid my coworkers would judge me, or think I was making too big of a deal about it.

All I could say was, "There's garlic toast on top of it."

As they realized what that meant, they all said things like, "You said it was an allergy, I heard you say it was an allergy!" and "Send that back. Don't eat it." and "Make sure they actually remake it. They might just pull it off and call it good." I felt very supported. I'm so thankful for all the people in my life who understand.

So when the waitress came by, I asked her to make me a new one, and then when it came, I turned the whole plate around to check for bread crumbs, and it was also piping hot, so I'm actually pretty sure they did make me a new one.

And then my coworker, who had gotten a pulled pork sandwich, discovered the bottom of his bun was moldy.

They remade his food too. And we both got our meals for free.

Which is great, and normally would make me think it's worth going there again, but it's not. There are two Boston Pizza's here, and they're about a ten minute drive apart. So I will keep going to the Thatcher BP's (where I have never had a contamination problem), and not the downtown one, ever again. So not worth it.

Day 80: Happy Mother's Day

Today is Mother's Day, that day when we're obligated to buy something for the women in our life, write cards, and make phone calls. I laid awake in bed last night, thinking about what Mother's Day really means, and why we bother with it. I mean, mothers certainly deserve a day to themselves, they give up enough days for other people. But just like Valentine's Day, why do we need a day that we have to say I love you? Doesn't it mean less when we do? I know we all get busy, and we forget, and we don't bother. I love Valentine's Day, because it forces my husband to take me out on a date and remind me he loves me, which sometimes he just gets so focused (on making my life better) that he forgets to. The same thing happens to mothers. We forget about the sacrifices they make, and the work they put in without recognition. We get busy, and forget to say Thank you.

Now here's my problem. Just because your uterus is or has been occupied, doesn't mean you're a mother. Ah, don't shoot me just yet. I know people that from day one of pregnancy, have been a mom. Their bodies have given them nothing but trouble, they have had to give up doing things they enjoy, because of a baby growing inside of them (and I do not just mean drinking), they have spent nearly nine months researching and shopping and preparing. They have put in work, at the same time that every part of their body is rebelling against them. Those people, they deserve some recognition.

But I also know people who were not a mother when they were pregnant. They didn't think about this baby like a child. They perhaps smoked, or drank, all the way through. They complained about the inconvenience of a baby belly, and talked about how awful their life would be once this kid popped out. They made me sick, and I wanted to punch them, or at least volunteer at the hospital, steal their baby once it was born and run away. And even after birth. These women might have a kid, but that doesn't make them a mom. I think you guys know what I mean now. We all have friends who have that kind of mom, who really never put in work, and really didn't seem to care. They don't warm your hearts when you think about all they've done.

So just because someone is a mother, doesn't exactly mean  they deserve even a Mother's Day card.

But my mom does. She is amazing, inspiring, wonderful, and heart-warming. She is everything to me, and has done everything for me. I tear up on the inside just thinking about it all.

So I wrote her a big long note last night, just to tell her I love her, and appreciate her. But honestly, a Facebook status isn't enough, no matter how long it is.

So this afternoon, I bought her a box of chocolates, and then wandered through the dollar store, and bought her a little plastic trophy (Number one mom, yo) and some other little things, and a card. She teared up when I gave it to her, saying that she thought the Facebook note was plenty.

I don't think I can even explain how much I appreciate my mom.

So, to all you mothers out there, I hope someone is remembering to appreciate you, and thinking about how much you mean to them.

Day 79: Testing out my new oven

So, we bought an oven three weeks ago. Well, technically, I guess our landlords bought an oven, but they live three hours away, so we picked it up and brought it home. And then it sat in the backyard for two weeks, because Hubby couldn't move it alone, and everytime someone was around who could help, he forgot about it. Last week, when all my family was over, I got my brother, husband, and sister's boyfriend to bring it into the kitchen for me. And then it sat there for a week. I wanted to clean it before I plugged it in to see if it worked, and I just haven't had the time and energy to clean an oven. Finally this morning, I woke up and just did it. I actually cleaned both ovens, because I'm hoping to sell ours, and it needed a good cleaning.

Oh, the oven we bought wasn't new. Or even clean. We bought it from a guy who bought a house to tear it down, so he wanted to oven out, but also hoped to make a quick buck from it. So he didn't know if it even worked, and it was kind of dirty. But it has a glass top, and a convection setting, which makes it way better than ours... If it works.

So I cleaned both oven, and both stoves, and then went to the gym, and hubby swapped out their places so that we could plug in the new one, but not abandon the old one just yet.

And then I made banana muffins, to see if it worked, and how well, because I know that recipe. It did work, and well enough. They were done a little sooner, so it's a little hotter. After that, I made bread in the convection setting, to see how well that worked. Also worked well. Shaved 15 minutes off of the recipe time. I hadn't made this one before, so I can't compare that to anything.

I wish I could share this bread recipe, but it was actually from a mix. A friend highly reccomended Bulk Barn's cinnamon raisin bread mix, so I bought some awhile back. I wouldn't reccomend it. It tastes like raisins, but if you get a bite without any little shrivelled up grapes, it just doesn't have taste. It doesn't taste like cinnamon, or even bread. It's just texture in your mouth. Yuck.

Actually, it's okay slathered in peanut butter, or even in a PB&J sandwich. I have been eating it. I just wouldn't eat it plain.

Day 78: The Great Gatsby.

Today was one of those days where I didn't go home much at all. I went from work to the gym, and then straight to the movie theatre after that. I don't mind much though, because I got to see The Great Gatsby and get my workout in, because I slept in this morning. And the movie was amazing. I had high hopes, which meant in the back of my head, I was preparing for disappointment. I dearly loved the book, but it has been some time since I read it. From what I remember, they stuck really well to the book, but like I said, it's been a few years, so it's not like I fact-checked every single detail. I think they did the book justice, they got the point across, and it was a visually stunning movie. So even if you recently read it, and you're all nit-picking the things they almost certainly got wrong, I don't care. The other major thing with book-to-movies is that people have imagined this world, and then they're shown what someone else imagined, and they don't like it. Okay, so maybe I pictured Nick a little differently, or I had a different image of his cottage. Oh well. The main thing is, they just showed everyone who didn't read the book this amazing world that has been dancing in my head. They brought it to life in the best way. Every major point, every important school of thought was made. The book was one of those books that makes a point, that shows people something they weren't thinking about, and for me, the movie did that too.

And that's all that matters.

Day 77: Blender Fudge

I had a serious craving for fudge today. I have the recipe my mom always made, the kind that goes in the microwave and doesn't take much work. But I didn't feel like doing that much work, and I had a paleo fudge recipe pinned to my baking board, so I made that. I technically didn't make paleo fudge, because I used peanut butter, regular honey, and normal cocoa, but hey. Close enough, right?

It doesn't take much work, besides cleaning out your blender later, and you'll want to eat it so fast you forget to take any pictures.

So you melt some coconut oil, and then you throw a bunch of stuff in your blender, and then you blend it. You might find yourself standing there watching it blend for awhile, but I promise it's worth it.

And then you pour it from your blender into a mold. I used a couple of ice cube trays. Here's another fun fact about Robynne: I don't actually have any cube-shaped ice cube trays. I have at least half a dozen different ones, but not a single one is cube-shaped. I have hearts, apples, pumpkins, pears, ovals, and diamonds, though. So I made some fun shaped bits of fudge that were about two-bites big each, which is just the right amount for a creamy, chocolatey, smooth fudge. I threw one in the fridge, and the other two in the freezer, so I wouldn't eat them all in one day.

Everyone goes on about microwave fudge and Oh look! It's so quick and easy! but I think I like this better. No cooking at all, and nothing dirty but a blender.

1/2 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
1/4 cup honey
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Melt coconut oil. Blend all ingredients together in a food processor or blender. Pour into silicon tray, muffin tin, or lined muffin tin. Chill for 30 minutes, and store in air-tight container.

Day 75: My Basics of Slow Cooking

I don't know if I've told you this yet, but I have five crock pots. Yep, five. They all work just fine, and they're all less than two years old. They're also all different sizes.

You see, before I got married, I had one and only one, and it was a good one. When we were engaged, I didn't put a single crock pot on my wedding registry, because we had one, and who needs more than one?

And then I got three for my wedding. We got a gift reciept with one, so we turned it into some cookie sheets, but that still left us with three large crock pots. I decided to keep two, and hang on to the third, but leave it in it's packaging. Recently, I had need of three large crock pots, so I pulled it out. They are 4 qt, 5 qt, and 6qt, respectively.

Even the smallest is a little big for making dinner for two, so at Christmas time I asked for a small crock pot, the kind you can make two chicken breasts in, and both my mother and husband bought me one, but they were each different sizes too, (2 qt and 3 qt) so now I actually have five different sized slow cookers. Oh boy.

Anyways... I was recently explaining this all to someone, and he said he didn't know how to use a crock pot. It seemed difficult, and exact. I tried to explain how easy and unexact it really is, but then I remembered how I used to feel about them. I was obsessive about having the right amount of liquid in there, afraid it would burn off, and I had to measure everything before it went in. After cooking dozens and dozens of meals in slow cookers, I've got it pretty well figured out. I can guesstimate the average recipe. Granted, I will still follow recipes very carefully for anything that isn't chicken, ground beef or soup.

So, some basic rules of basic slow cooking...

1. Add about half a cup of liquid to a meat. It can be marinade, water, broth, or sauce.

2. You can cook meat in bulk by just adding water, and then freeze portions for other meals.

3. If you are cooking for one meal only, flavour it. It will taste immensely plain if you don't. Spices, barbeque sauce, or a marinade are my favourites.

4. It depends on your slow cooker, but the general rule is Low for 7-8 hours, High for 4-5. If you have the time to put it on low, I suggest you do. It's less likely to burn, and tends to come out more fall-apart-in-your-mouth.

5. There are a million recipes on Pinterest for slow cookers. They can be a bit overwhelming, but if you find a good collection of slow cooker recipes, you can pick your favourite and start experimenting.

6. I suggest slow cooking if you tend to have time during the day, but no time in the hour before you want to eat dinner. I also highly reccomend it if you have a small kitchen, because you just need a square foot of space and a plug-in. Also, it's the second best option (next to barbeque-ing) on hot summer days, because it lets off a lot less heat than your oven or stove.

Okay. So there are my basics. I'm sure I'll share a bunch of slow cooker recipes as we get into summer, so stay tuned.

Oh, and this all came to mind because I made dinner in a crock pot tonight. I dumped two chicken breasts in, added half a jar of leftover spaghetti sauce (with chickpeas and spices) and turned it on low. I think we ate six or seven hours later, and I made rotini for the side. That's how simple dinner can be.

Day 74: NapFan

I had three naps today. How do you even fit in three naps when you work 8-5 and go to bed at 10? I don't understand. I'm just so exhausted. Ugh. This morning, I was ready for work fifteen minutes before I had to leave for work, so I laid down on the couch, and woke up half an hour later. Whoops.

And then this evening after dinner, I did the same thing. I just laid down, and all the sudden hubby was waking me up to say he was going to Dairy Queen and did I want anything? I think I answered, "Gluten free." After he left though, I woke up a bit and had a glass of water. I guess he went somewhere else before going to DQ though, because I laid back down, and then he was waking me up holding ice cream, and I was out. I mean, it did not make any sense that my blizzard had chunks of chocolate.

Man, I felt so messed up today. I need to be getting more sleep. Admittedly, I have been waking up at four am lately, and usually fall back asleep after five - in time for me to wake up at 5:30 and go to the gym. Ugh. I'm surprised I didn't fall asleep at work.

Day 73: I Scream, You Scream, We All Sream For...

Since it's finally summer, I decided to celebrate by going for ice cream tonight. There's a little laundromat/ice cream place down just a block from our house. When our washer broke, we had to use the laundromat there, and hubby and I used to occasionally walk down for ice cream during the summer.

So we grabbed the dog (who we adopted in November - she's never made an ice cream trip) and walked on down. I usually avoid small businesses, because I can google franchise's gluten-free options. I told the guy working right away that I had a gluten allergy, so he handed me a list of all of the ice creams and their ingredients, and washed the scoop with soap. I was very impressed. I had pistachio in a plastic bowl, and hubby had black cherry in a waffle bowl. Sometimes I think he rubs it in. Just kidding, he asked if I was okay with it first.

I was impressed. The guy admitted he didn't know what all had gluten in it, but he was aware of how to treat an allergy, and did his best to accomodate me.

Oh, I know. It's still not safe. The scoop goes back into the ice cream long before I get there, and it could that a cone broke over one of the tubs. Things that come out of tubs like that are never 100%. I know. But honestly. The amount that would contaminate... It's not like my own ice cream rubbed against a gluten-y scoop... Ah, the line I dance around of safe vs not safe.

Day 73: Roast Chicken in a Slow Cooker

Well, today was the day of my big family dinner. It actually went really well, food was devoured, and forks were not thrown. My sister did throw a spoon at me, but at least it wasn't a fork. Or a knife!

I started the day around nine this morning, with three chickens in my sink.

I said that to someone yesterday, and apparently she thought I meant like dead chickens, but with their heads and feathers... Gross. No, I mean raw, ready to cook fryer chickens. My mother and I agreed on slow cooker whole chickens, because yes, I have three crock pots that will fit a whole chicken. And I have two more that are too small. I have a crock pot problem.

Anyways, I guess I actually started with potatoes and carrots. When slow cooking chickens, you need to put something between the chicken and the crock pot. You can quarter some potatoes and loosely wrap them in foil, you can throw some whole carrots down, you can chop onion, carrot and potato if you like. I opted for the last one, but I quickly discovered my onion had gone bad, so it was just carrots and potatoes.

I rinsed two pounds of baby potatoes, and roughly chopped a pound of carrots and divided them between the crock pots, so that all of the bottoms were covered.

Then I mixed up a few spices in a bowl.

I took each chicken one by one and rinsed it, patted it dry with paper towel, rubbed it down with the spice mix, set it in a slow cooker, and tossed two or three garlic cloves inside. I put two of the chickens with their breast bone up, and one of them with the backside up, and the only difference I noticed was that the breast-down one came out in one piece, whereas the other two came out in about twenty-five pieces. That could be several other factors too, but I would suggest putting it breast bone down.

And then I put the appropriate lids on, and turned them all on low. I put them on at 9:30, and the first chicken came out around 5:30, with the last one coming out closer to 7. Around 4, the chicken in the biggest crock pot (with the most room) starting falling apart, and within an hour, it had collapsed completely. It doesn't need to be that dramatic, but you should see the meat starting to pull away from bone. And that means you have juicy, succulent, fall-of-the-bone chicken, with little-to-no effort.

I also made mashed potatoes, and roasted asparagus, and served the potatoes and carrots from the bottom of the slow cookers. They were well cooked, and very savoury. I didn't plan on serving them, but we ran out of mashed potatoes and all the menfolk were complaining. They were delicious enough to have served them in the beginning though. Oh, and I also made gluten-free gravy with the chicken drippings from the slow cookers, and a gluten-free thickener I bought for stew (that I never made).

Roasted Chicken in a Slow Cooker

1 fryer chicken

2 cups roughly chopped vegetables (potatoes, carrots, onions, etc.)

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp dried thyme

1/2 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp black pepper

2-4 whole garlic cloves

Put the chopped vegetables in the bottom of the crock pot.

Mix all of the dry spices together. Rinse the chicken, then pat down with a paper towel. Rub spice mixture all over the chicken, and under the skin of the breast.

Set the chicken on top of the vegetables, then place the garlic cloves inside the cavity.

Cover and cook on low for 7-8 hours, or high for 4-5 hours, until the meat starts falling off the bones.





Day 72: Rainbow Jello!

Tomorrow I'm having a big family dinner at my house! My older brother has been living in BC for several months, and he finally came home to visit, and brought his girlfriend (who none of us have met) too! They're staying in the bigger city, where her family is, but they're coming into town tomorrow for dinner.

Hip hip hooray.

I'm hosting, because I have the biggest dining room, and I'm cooking because I can make safe, yummy food. My mom will help, of course. She offered to do it all, but I insisted.

I kind of feel bad for his girlfriend, because she's going to meet all of us at the same time, in one giant family dinner. Oh, my sister is also introducing her boyfriend to the family tomorrow, so that should take some stress off of both of them.

That also brings the people count to ten.

I'm making dinner, not a feast, so I won't start cooking anything until tomorrow, but I did start dessert today. Rainbow Jello! Hubby wanted to try making it months ago, so we have six packs of different coloured Jello, and unflavoured gelatin.

I used six flavours, Strawberry, Orange, Lemon, Lime, Berry Blue and Grape. You could use Cherry, or Raspberry for red, if you like.

I made mine in a fluted bowl, so the bottom layers are a lot thicker, even though there are the same amounts of each jello. If you have a straight edge trifle bowl, by all means, use that! Also, make sure your dish will hold twelve cups of liquid. Each box makes two cups of jello.

I poured the pack of Jello powder into a large measuring cup, sprinkled a bit of plain gelatin in too (I couldn't tell you how much, it varied every single time) just to help it set up better. Then I added one cup boiling water, whisked, and added one cup cold water. When it was well stirred, I poured it in.

The first layer was the easiest. The next few, I slowly poured the Jello down the side of the bowl, and the last few, I poured it over the back of a ladle, to prevent the fresh Jello from disturbing the set Jello.

I let each layer set for an hour or two. The longer, the better, but I did start running out of time, so the last couple were pretty close together.

I served with a ladle, and tried to scoop all the way to the bottom, so each bowl would have a mini rainbow in it. I also served it with whipped cream, which some people stirred in, or ate on top. Delicious, fun, simple, and who doesn't like Jello? Perfect family dinner dessert.

Day 71: Hello, Summer!

It is officially summer weather here! There is no more snow on the forecast, just sunny skies and gorgeous temperatures. My husband's motorcycle is plated, and already getting lots of use, I dug out all of my flip-flops, and we even opened some windows!

Helllooooo, Summer!

I'm thinking about all the classic summer foods, now. I'm going to have to find some good gluten-free hot dog and hamburger buns. I'm thinking watermelon, coleslaw, ribs... Mmm, I can't wait to turn on our barbeque. That's not happening this weekend, but oh! Any day now.

I love summer.

I hate winter, but I can not get enough of the sunshine, and warm weather, and green grass and sun burns!

Day 70: Pizza for Moving?

A couple friends of ours moved today. They lived in a small town fifteen minutes from here, and they moved to Saskatoon. Ugh. I would hate to pack everything I own into a U-Haul. I liked moving slowly, making several trips, and having things in two houses for a day or two.

We wanted to help out, so we picked up some pizza for them and brought it out to their house, and then Hubby helped them load some of the last stuff (excluding the bed) into the U-Haul. I sat on the floor and watched, totally spaced out.

Because he was just going to eat pizza with them, we stopped at Safeway on the way out of town and I bought some GF buns, some pretzels, and some chips for dinner. If I'd been thinking, I would have bought some deli meat and some cheese, but I wasn't. So I had a pretty lame dinner, but hey.

Day 69: Coconut Chocolate Bars

I seriously can not get over wanting granola bars. They're one of those super easy things to make, that I've always enjoyed making. Since I'm cutting oats out for now, they're kind of harder to make. I've bought a few types lately, one of which was made with dates. I bought one last week, which I loved, and even Hubby thought I should buy a whole box. Boxes are expensive, so I decided to make some.

I did a little research, and then whipped up something. I overestimated how much coconut I had in the cupboard, so I would suggest adding a little more. 

The addition of chocolate takes them from a coconutty, chewy, sweet treat to a crunchy, sweet, delicious bar. This is a chewy, sweet, crunchy, square filled with coconut. Also, coconut and chocolate! How much better do you get?

2/3 cup coconut oil

1/3 cup honey

Dash of sea salt

1 1/5 - 2 cups coconut

1 cup chocolate chips

Melt the coconut oil on low heat, and add in everything but the chocolate. Add the coconut like 1/3 cup or 1/2 cup at a time, until the mixture is saturated. I ended up using 1 1/3 cup, but I figure I would have used about 2 cups. 

Pour it into a pan lined with plastic wrap or foil, and chill. Melt the chocolate in a double boiler, and when the coconut oil is hardened, pour the chocolate over top. Chill.

Slice up the bars and enjoy slowly!

Because I didn't have enough coconut, the mixture had a lot more oil. Which was fine, until the warm chocolate melted the coconut oil and the oil lifted to the top of the chocolate and then chilled. It actually ended up looking pretty cool, with the white swirls.

Doesn't make them any less delicious, though. Mmm...