Top 5/Bottom 5: Travelling

It's no secret our family LOVES to travel. A few nights ago, we left on our summer vacation so I wanted to write a "top 5/bottom 5" about travel, particularly when flying. I've seen this done on a few other blogs and it's always interesting to me to see what people like, and don't like. I will admit, some of my items are particularly random, and some, I think, are fairly unique to Dave and me!

The Top 5 Things I Love About Travelling!

5) The planning

If it weren't for the fact that other people were depending on me not to screw up, I would probably love being a travel agent. I absolutely love figuring out all the details for our vacations. I love finding fun things to do and I love looking forward to the exciting things we have planned. I'm never not up for planning a trip!

4) Being at the airport at the start of a trip

 I really love that moment when you get to the airport, you've dropped off your bags (when checking luggage), you're through security, you've found your gate, and now the anticipation is building! This is the most fun moment! We often plan to eat a meal at the airport as the kick off to a trip and it's just so celebratory!!!

3) The last shower at home before we leave on a trip

I don't know why I love this so much! While I normally hate showering, the last shower before a trip is a part of getting ready for me. I think about how next time I shower it will be in a new place and it's just exciting. (I know, I know, this is a weird thing to get excited about travelling. What can I say? I'm unique!)

2) Packing

Packing really doesn't stress me out. Again, it's the anticipation of "When will I wear this next?" or planning out fun outfits for a specific event. I just really love packing :)

1) The time with people I love, exploring new places

I mean, isn't this what travelling is all about? Getting out of our comfort zones, seeing somewhere new, learning something interesting, and being together. There is not much I love more. Travelling really is one of my happy places.

 

left: Carcross Desert, Yukon Territory, Canada, July 2019; right: Eiffel Tower, Paris, France, July 2022

Bottom 5 Things I Dislike About Travelling

5) Unpacking at home

I hate unpacking. It's sad. It means the trip is over. There's nothing fun about it.

4) Figuring out all the details in a new place

I don't like transitions. I don't like not knowing where I'm sleeping, how I'm getting there, where I'm getting my morning coffee-hot chocolate -- all the transitions are just a lot of work to figure out, and it's not fun.

3) The day we have to pack to go home

This is always one of the things on trips that Dave and I argue about the most. I want to wait until the very last minute to pack to go home and Dave just wants to get it over and done with. He's stressed it won't all get done in time and I'm sad that the trip is ending. It's never a good scene! Hahaha! 

Packing at the end of a cruise, or when we leave my parents' house, is always the worst :( 

2) The last hour before leaving our house

This is also a time when Dave and I are disagreeing with each other a lot. The kids are more helpful now, but leaving our house usually involves a lot of yelling, irritation, and inward thoughts of "WHY ARE WE DOING THIS AGAIN?!?!?!?!" We have to get all the dishes done, we have to make sure lights are shut off, we have to make sure we've packed all the last minute items -- it's just chaotic and stressful.

Leaving our house in a limo to go on a cruise with my parents, January 2020 

1) Delayed/cancelled flights

This is without a doubt the worse part about flying. I don't mind a delay of less than an hour but delays of three to four hours, or worse, flight cancellations are so frustrating. I realize travelling is a privilege and I should be grateful we get to do so much of it but cancelled flights move me to tears.

Do you have anything to add to my list? Is there anything which surprised you? 

I'm going to be taking a blogging break until we get back. I'm "tashajk72" on Instagram, if you want to follow our adventures there. Otherwise, I'm sure I will have a ton of stories and photos for you when we return. See you then :)

What's Up Wednesday: July 2025

I realize it's not yet the last Wednesday of the month but, if you follow me on Instagram, you will see that we left for our summer vacation a few days ago. Unlike last time we travelled to Europe, I left my computer at home this time. So, I thought I'd answer these questions for July today. Here's what was up with us the first weeks of July.

Answering these questions monthly helps me reflect on the past month and I really appreciate having a record of what we've been up to. I actually wanted to document July 2025 before vacation which is why I'm answering these today. The questions come from Shay at Mix and Match Mama and Sheaffer at Sheaffer Told Me Too.

image from here

 

What we're eating this week... Honestly, the past week of eating has been... not great. It was super hot, I didn't feel great, and we ate very randomly. There were not a lot of fruits and vegetables happening. However, I did eat an amazing charcuterie picnic when we visited the lavender farm with Tim & Janice. It even had edible flowers!!!

This past week the raspberries in our yard started ripening so every couple of days I would go out and pick a few handfuls. My favourites are the yellow-orange ones! Yum!!!

 

 

What I'm reminiscing about... As much as I am really enjoying having teenagers, I have been reminiscing about summers when the kids were younger. I see the "empty nest" years barrelling down on us. The saying, "The days are long but the years are short" is very true. I can't believe it was just a few years ago that I had toddlers and preschoolers. Or was working in the summer and needed to juggle childcare. I am so thankful I have the bulk of the summer off to spend with the kids. More realistically, this summer, it's been spending time with the kids in the car as I ferry them to their various activities!

What I'm loving... I am loving having time to leisurely drink my coffee-hot chocolate and blog in the yard, most days. This is exactly where this post is being written :) I am also loving that we've had time to connect with some friends who live out of town this summer. Our weekends are so full during the school year that we don't really get a lot of time to visit with them.

 

 

What we've been up to... We've been up to a lot!

We started July with some good friends at a Jays' game on Canada Day. The Jays won which made it even more exciting!

We met up with Dave's parents for lunch, a visit, and a walk.

 

We visited Lake Erie on one of the hottest days of the summer and loved the chance to cool off!

The kids and I did some volunteering at church the week before VBS, and then Sam volunteered in the kitchen the whole week of VBS while Rachel was volunteering at dance camp.

As I mentioned above, Tim, Janice, Dave, and I enjoyed a charcuterie picnic at a lavender farm and it was an absolutely magical evening!!!

We went to a beach on Lake Huron with friends and enjoyed another afternoon in the water!

The last of my lilies bloomed! I so enjoyed going out to check on them every day.

Auntie Janice crocheted a "downstairs blanket" for Rachel and she has been enjoying it immensely!

There's been time for some creative projects. And housecleaning :)

And we took in another Blue Jays game last weekend. It was a night game, which we rarely get a chance to go to, and so much fun!

 

What I'm dreading... Well, at this point, I'm not dreading anything. Maybe jet lag and all the yard work which will await us when we get back.

What I'm working on... We've been working on biking more. Sam, especially, enjoys it so we've tried to bike a few places, rather than always walking (my preferred method of transportation!).

  

What I'm excited about... The Blue Jays are in first place in the AL East and have been playing some amazing baseball in July! I'm sooooo excited about that!!!

Photo from July 3 when they tied for first with the Yankees. As of today (Monday, July 21), they are three games ahead of the second place Yankees. 

What I'm watching/reading... To no one's surprise, I've been watching Blue Jays baseball. I am seriously going to miss my baseball fix while we're on vacation, but you can bet that I will be checking my MLB app daily! Hahaha!

 

As for what I've been reading, you can read my "first half of July reading" post here. Sadly, my summer reading hasn't been as prolific as I'd hoped.

What I'm listening to... I'm not really listening to much of anything these days. Birds in our back yard, Dave on work meetings, Rachel listening to Taylor Swift -- that's been the background noise of my summer.

 

What I'm wearing... Both of the baseball games we went to this month had replica jersey giveaways. We got the Canada Day red jersey and the City Connect jersey. So I'm excited to have new jerseys to wear to games!!! (I never buy the real ones -- I think they're way too expensive.) 

 

What I'm doing this weekend... This weekend we'll be on vacation! I'm excited because I get to (briefly) visit a country I've never been to!!! I'll also be relaxing a lot because... vacation :)

What I'm looking forward to next month... After we get back from vacation, Rachel has a big event coming up that I'm excited about. My parents will be visiting for a bit, and then I'll be headed back to work (boo). By next What's Up Wednesday, I'll probably be looking forward to getting back into a routine, but for now, I'm enjoying my (mostly) schedule free days.

 

So that's what was up with us in July -- a lot of finding fun things to do around us, a lot of baseball, and a lot of enjoying summer. Happy Wednesday! I have one more blog post scheduled for tomorrow and then I'll be taking a blogging break until we get back. You can catch me on Instagram at "tashajk72" if you want to follow along on our trip in real time.

Halfway Through July And What I'd Read

I'm trying to be a little more timely with my book reviews so here's what I read the first half of July. I have to say, I didn't get as much (in number), or as much of a variety, read as I'd anticipated for summer.

  

Yes, we've been under a couple of heat warnings which fry my brain so I read a little more JD Robb in July than I'd anticipated. However, I was reading all over the series so it was fairly random.

I thought this romcom was okay but I wouldn't rank it as one of the best I've ever read. If you enjoy romcoms, and especially ones which are based around books (and publishing and writing and..), then I would recommend picking this one up.

I loved this book. It was about how much of London life happened underground, in the tube stations, during the Blitz. I thought it was so interesting, and as the three main points of view were women, I really enjoyed their perspectives as well. I would highly recommend this book!

I usually like Beatriz Williams books but I thought this one was just... okay. I think I just expected more from her after really loving most of her earlier novels. I didn't find the story set in Egypt to be all that engaging which I think was part of the problem.

I didn't realize this was a novella. I like Ali Hazelwood but I find her novels really enjoyable and this one just didn't give me enough time to get into it.

 

I think I like Patti Callahan Henry as an author. There were parts of this book I found really intriguing but, for parts of it, I just wanted the story to move a little faster. What was particularly interesting to me is that The Great Smog of London played a role in this novel, and Rachel did a presentation on that particular event in school this past year. I'd never heard of it before this year and now it's come up twice! Do you know what I'm talking about? If not, Google it.

Okay, this is one of the top two worst books I've ever read in my entire life. I will remember this book for a very long time and not in a good way. I rarely feel so negatively about a book but I didn't enjoy this one at all. I didn't like the story, I didn't like the main character, I felt like there were no redeeming qualities about this one. Why didn't I put it down then?

Well, quite a number of years ago I was in a book club with someone who would announce, "I didn't like this book." Then they would admit they'd only read 50 pages of it. I decided then and there that if I didn't like a book, I would try really hard to finish it, just so I could back up my claims. And honestly, sometimes a book turns around in the last few pages and changes the way I feel about the whole story.

This book did not have that. I disliked it to the very end. 

So that's what I read in the first half of July -- some really great books, some bland books, and one book I will advise against ever picking up. Have you ever strongly disliked a book? Tell me which ones to avoid!

Friday Favourite Moments 2025 #29

It's been a big week of favourites around here. Sadly, I spent a few days feeling under the weather due to a major headache. I think it was because of our five days of extreme heat which also meant I felt really tired and grumpy. Thankfully the heat broke yesterday morning and I'm currently sitting outside on Friday morning, feeling refreshed, slightly cool, and extremely happy! This past week, once again, reminded me why I could never live in the American South -- way too hot!

All that aside, here are my favourite moments from this past week.

1) Lavender Farm picnic with Tim & Janice

Although I try to list my favourite moments in chronological order, this one might also be my absolute favourite from the week. This was such a fun evening and you can read more about it in the post I wrote yesterday. Find it here.  

 

2) Rachel at the lavender farm!

 

Rachel was really bummed when she found out we were going to the lavender farm without her. Since we had planned to head out to a beach on Saturday, and we only had to go a few minutes out of the way, we made her lavender farm dreams come true. It was so fun to pop back in, do a fun photo shoot, and get another Lavender Fizz Lemonade, which we had enjoyed on Friday night!

3) Lake Huron with friends

 

In the pursuit of visiting the Great Lakes near us, we headed up to Lake Huron on Saturday. A good friend's dad lives not far from there, so we met up with her and her son, and spent a few hours together. The water was amazing, the views were spectacular, and we really enjoyed our visit! 

4) Church

At church on Sunday, we celebrated the end of the week of VBS, as well as one year since one of our pastors died unexpectedly. What you may not know is that the church friend who died in January was an integral part of music at VBS when our kids were growing up. So while it was a great service of VBS songs, stories, and reflections, it was also a sad morning for a lot of us, what with the one year anniversary and the memory of our other friend's VBS involvement. While grieving is definitely not a favourite moment, my church family absolutely is. (Also, grief sucks, and it's hard.)

The backdrop of the VBS worship set up, with sunflowers, the favourite flowers of the pastor who died, in the foreground. Sam, Rachel, a few other youth, and I helped paint the "Waves of Wonder" banner a few weeks ago.

 

5) Raspberries of all shades!

 

We have yellow and red raspberries from my parents growing in our yard. The yellow raspberries have been ripe this past week and I've loved grabbing handfuls as a snack! On Monday night, we had a friend come over and we enjoyed ice cream and fresh picked raspberries and mint from our backyard. It was a delightful evening of visiting in our backyard.

6) Summer creativity

 

I love seeing how the kids use their imagination in the summer, when they have a ton of unscheduled free time. Rachel did an impressionist painting of the lavender farm this week and it was so creative.

 

7) Janice blankets

 

During Covid, Janice taught herself to crochet. She made each of us a cozy, incredible blanket, and they are in constant use around here (yes, even in the summer!). Well, Rachel was dragging her blanket around the house and she declared, "I need an 'upstairs Janice blanket' and a 'downstairs Janice blanket.'" So she asked Janice to make her another one, and Janice kindly obliged. So below is Rachel with her new "downstairs Janice blanket." I thought Rachel was being ridiculous but honestly, now I kind of want a second one too!!! Hahahahaha!!!

 

8) Errands and Starbucks with Rachel

 

Yesterday was "errand day." Rachel and I were out for about four hours getting various things dropped off and picked up. One of the things we picked up was Starbucks, which Rachel got with one of her numerous gift cards. It was such a treat to enjoy a Starbucks on Rachel, and I really enjoyed running errands with her.

 So those are my slightly belated "favourite moments" from this week. In between bouts of not feeling well, I really did have some great times, so I'll try to focus on that. And honestly, after a week of "soaking up the sun" I'm really enjoying "soaking up the cool breeze!"