Friday, February 14, 2025

Friday Favourite Moments #8

Well blogging friends, it's been another hard week around here. No one else has died, and I'll be able to talk about what's been going on more in a couple of weeks, but it's been another week of sadness and disappointments. I've cried more since January 27th than I have in a long time and I'm really ready for some good news and easy days. In weeks like this one, I think it's even more important to notice favourite moments so I'm going to share them here.

1) Communion and church lunch

We had communion at church on Sunday followed by a lunch together after the service. It was still a hard Sunday as we continue to mourn the deaths of our friends but it was so good to be together.

This is a mosaic that hangs at the front of our church which a group of kids made at our midweek church program a number of years ago.

2)  Sam helping

We've had a lot of snow this week and Dave and I did a lot of shovelling on Sunday morning. When we got home from church, the snowplow had gone by and, in case you don't know, the snowplow snow is the heaviest snow and it always blocks our driveway. Dave was understandably frustrated about having to do even more shovelling, and expressed it. Sam jumped out of the car, grabbed the shovel, and started clearing the driveway. I helped him but Sam really did the bulk of the heavy lifting.

Sam is not the most motivated child and we often have to prod him (multiple times) to get him to help around the house. I was so thankful he just did this without being asked. He also helped Rachel study for a French vocab test this week and shovelled out the driveway after the snowplow went by yesterday, so I've been super thankful for those moments this week. 

 

He also knocked a very large icicle off our house and carried it around like a baby for awhile!

3) Snow day called

We had a snow day yesterday and our board called it the night before!!! Normally they don't call snow days until 6am the morning of, so I have to get up before 6 to see if it's a snow day, send out a message to my school community, text my principal, crawl back into bed, and hope I fall asleep again. With it being called the night before I was able to sleep until 8:30 which was such a luxury!!!

4) Blog Friends Book Club

I had my Blog Friends Book Club last night and it was absolutely one of my favourite moments this week. I really think, for me, this was one of the best things to come out of Covid. You can go here to read the post Allena wrote after our first meeting in October 2020. And we've been meeting almost monthly since then. I think we've read almost 50 books together. I love these three women so much! My favourite part of this picture is I asked if I could take a picture for this post and they all made the heart gesture! (I would have made it too but I was taking the picture and could only manage half a heart - hahaha!)

 
So those were my favourite moments from this past week. I'm really hoping this next week holds less bad news, more good moments, and less snow. However, they're already calling for another 5-10cm (2-4 inches) for tomorrow so there is that...

Thursday, February 13, 2025

Monthly Musings: Winter Self-Care

I'm extremely late to the party but I did want to post my Monthly Musings for January! Holly who blogs at Pink Lady and Patty who blogs at Good, Better, Best are the Monthly Musings hosts and I wanted to give them a shout out, even if I missed the link up. This party is on the last Thursday of the month, but I missed it due to my blogging break. Also, as this is posting, I am STILL ASLEEP because our school board called a snow day last night!!! Normally, our snow days don't get called until 6am but we were expecting a foot of snow overnight, and freezing rain, so they called it early! I'm sooooo happy!!!

1) What do you do to stay warm in winter?

I drink a lot more tea and I am almost always under a blanket. I also wear slippers constantly.

 

2) Favourite wintertime activity?

Reading in bed! Hahaha! Although, I really do love a walk on a winter's day when there is fresh, fluffy snow.


3) Any different beauty routines in winter?

I am constantly putting on lotion in winter. My skin seems extra dry this winter. I also only ever get my hair highlighted in winter. I used to get it done every two years but now I am getting it done every year. It just adds some extra brightness to my life!

4) Skating, sledding, or skiing?

We are not a super active family but have done all of these things. Thus far, this winter, we actually haven't gone skating or skiing but both of those things might change this weekend!

 

5) Favourite winter recipes?

 I think my favourite winter recipe is any soup. I especially love cream of carrot cheddar soup. You can find the recipe here.

6) Favourite winter hot beverage?

Tea!!! I drink more tea in winter than in any other season. When I'm chilled it's just the best way to warm up. Often at work, I will have a cup of tea with caffeine and then after work I drink decaf tea. I like Earl Grey tea or fruity herbal teas best.


7) Best winter memories?

When I was a kid I loved playing outside with my siblings and my cousins. We tried to flood ice rinks in our garden, would try to go skating on the dugout, we'd play in the snow, or just run around together.

The winter getaway our family took a few years ago where we walked goats and skated in a forest is a favourite winter memory with my family.

8) Coldest day that you remember?

I grew up in Saskatchewan and lived in Alberta for five years as an adult. We regularly got down to -40 (Celsius, Farhenheit, it's all the same!) air temperature. Add in wind chill and it got very cold. I don't have a specific memory of a specific day but I know the picture below, taken in December 2017 in Saskatoon, was one of those super cold days. This was Saskatoon's (where I grew up, and where my parents still live) forecast for this past Sunday night: "Low minus 32. Wind chill minus 28 this evening and minus 46 overnight. Frostbite in minutes." (from here)

9) How are you practicing self-care this winter?

Starting a number of years ago, I started buying myself tulips in January and February. They are a constant reminder in my house that spring is coming and that winter doesn't last forever. These past couple of weeks, especially, I've needed the visual reminder that a season of warmth and hope always comes after a season of dark and cold.

 

10) Flannel sheets... yes or no?

Yes, yes, and yes again! We love our flannel sheets in winter!!!

 

So there is my very wintery Monthly Musings. Today will likely include some of my favourite winter activities (drinking coffee-hot chocolate while reading) and some of my least favourite winter activities (shovelling out our driveway after the snowplow goes by - blah). I hope your winter is holing more fun and less work than ours! Hahaha!!! 

Monday, February 10, 2025

Share Our Lives: Tips For Falling Asleep

It's time for the Share Our Lives link up and today's topic is "tips for falling asleep." Since we're in the depths of winter, I decided to focus my tips seasonally. I do different things to fall asleep in summer when it's hot. As a reminder, Share Our Lives is hosted by Sarah, Dara, Joanne, Adrienne, and Jen. (Click on each name to go their blogs.)

The name of the game for falling asleep for me, in winter, is all about warmth and coziness.

1) Flannel sheets

I cannot say enough about our flannel sheets. They warm up so much quicker than cotton sheets when you crawl into bed and just add extra coziness.

2) Warm socks

In warmer months, I rarely ever wear socks but in winter, I start wearing them to bed. The warmer my feet are, the easier it is to fall asleep.

3) Comfort bag

The third key warmth factor is heating up my comfort bag and putting it on my feet for extra warmth. You may know it as a "magic bag" or a "heat bag" but it's basically a bag full of barley (maybe, or beans, or I don't actually know...!) and I heat it up in the microwave then wrap it around my feet. Rachel likes to wrap hers around her stomach at night! 

Doesn't this look like a warm cozy setup?
 
4) Pajamas
 
This seems like an obvious tip but I always change into warm pajamas -- usually flannel pj pants and a waffle long sleeve shirt. The kids always want to sleep in their clothes from the day (sweatpants and a sweatshirt) but I really think it's best to have clothes that you only ever sleep in. And for those of you who know that I've been living in my owl pajamas pants, I never actually sleep in them :)
 
5) Decaf tea

On cold winter nights, I really enjoy a cup of decaf tea which both warms me up and helps me relax.

 
6) Reading on my Kobo
 
I find reading on my Kobo (Canadian version of a Kindle) on a low light setting (around 3-4%) helps me fall asleep easier. I love to read before bed and if it's just the low glow of my Kobo, as opposed to my brighter bedside light, I fall asleep quicker. I'm always telling Rachel to turn down the brightness of her Kobo at night!
 


6) Fresh air during the day
 
My last tip for sleeping well is to get a lot of fresh air during the day. Maybe this is obvious, but I find when I don't get outside during daylight hours, I have a harder time falling asleep at night.

I am writing this on Sunday afternoon and I spent so much time shovelling this morning, I should sleep really well tonight!
 
So those are my tips for falling asleep (in winter)! I'm looking forward to reading the other posts in the link up and seeing if I missed anything or learn a new tip.

Saturday, February 08, 2025

Friday Favourite Moments 2025 #5 & #6

I just didn't have it in me to post a "Friday Favourite Moments" last week, so this is two weeks combined. Also, it's been a full week and I've barely been home in the evenings so this is also being posted on Saturday morning, as opposed to Friday. Such is life right now :) Anyways, here are my favourite moments from these past couple of weeks.

1) watching Sam play soccer

Watching Sam play soccer is always a favourite. Our normally quiet,introverted, teenager is on the soccer field, encouraging his teammates, and talking a mile a minute. He's been playing goalie this session and it's fun to watch him play!

2) my friend's housewarming party

A couple of weekends ago my friend had a housewarming party and, not only was it fun to celebrate her, but it was also a good evening of connecting with a few people I hadn't had a chance to talk to in years. Good food and great conversation make for an excellent evening for me!

3) blog reading last Monday morning

A couple of Monday mornings ago, I was sitting on the couch with my coffee-hot chocolate and as I was reading blogs and commenting, some of you were commenting on my blog at the same time. I really felt like I was hanging out with my blogging friends and it was a fun start to the week!

4) a lovely sunrise, filling me with hope

While much of the past two weeks has been extremely difficult, last Friday morning on the way to work, I saw an incredible sunrise. It filled me with so much hope after a really hard, and sad, week. While I often talk about my church, I don't often talk about my faith, but it really felt like a message from God to me saying, "It's going to be okay. I'm still here."


5) lots of hugs with my church friends

Again, while I haven't loved the reason, favourite moments have been connecting with, and hugging, my church friends. We're all here supporting each other and it's been good to be together.

6) conversation with our kids

 On Sunday night, both kids settled on the end of our bed, and we had a really nice family conversation for about twenty minutes. The kids are in the (natural, but annoying) stage of constantly sniping at each other. I can tell they're generally just irritated by each other so to have twenty minutes of, not only good conversation, but the kids getting along, was definitely a favourite moment of the week!

So those have been my favourite moments over the past couple of weeks. This coming week I will try and take a few more pictures of my favourite moments :)

Wednesday, February 05, 2025

Currently: February 2025

I'm back and, while our church community is still grieving, and will be for a long time, I'm hoping the road to healing has begun. (If you don't know what I'm talking about, please read this post here but in short, a friend from church and her teenage daughter died in an accident just over a week ago.) I'm returning to blogging by joining with Jennifer at Joyful Jenn for her Currently link up. Find Jennifer here.

[loving]

While I'm not loving the circumstances, I have been "loving" the extra time with my church family. We have cried and hugged and gathered together, and I'm reminded once again that I really am "loving" my church.

[anticipating]

I'm "anticipating" a weekend with friends we haven't seen in way too long in a couple of weekends. It will be good to get away and reconnect with friends that we don't see enough of these days.

[remembering]

 One of the ways our church has fostered connection and faith formation is through our midweek program. While Rachel has not been able to attend for the past few years, due to dance, and the parents of youth don't need to attend, for many years it was a mainstay of our Thursday nights. And Sam still attends weekly. The friend who died, and their family, were also a significant part of the program. So I've been "remembering" the years of Thursday nights together. The following pictures are from those many Thursday nights at church...

 

 

[sharing]

Well, I really hope that Rachel hasn't been "sharing" her germs. She was sick for a few days and I really don't want to get sick. Other than that I've been "sharing" lots of hugs with my friends and my family. And I'm hoping my friend will share her quinoa salad recipe with me. I had some earlier this week and it was delicious!

[wish-listing]

I'm "wish-listing" a peaceful month with some time to rejuvenate. 2025 has been kicking our butts thus far and I would like for it to stop, please and thanks.

In other news, I'm also "wish-listing" way too many library books which are all coming in at once. I think I need a readathon to get them all read in time. Actually, a few days of nothing to do but lie in bed and read sounds pretty good right now.

I just read this post and I realize it's not the most uplifting post but it is an accurate reflection of where I am "currently." Here's hoping February is a gentler, healing month for us. As I re-enter blog world, I look forward to reading all of your "Currently" posts later this week.

Wednesday, January 29, 2025

What's Up Wednesday: January 2025

*I had this post written by the end of Sunday night. Then on Monday afternoon we got awful news about a family in our church. You can read that here. I decided to let this post stand as written but please know that this post is not an accurate reflection of our life right now. It was an accurate reflection as of Sunday night.

I've always heard that after the holidays, January is a bit of a letdown. Do you all know what I'm talking about? For us, in the past few years, we've gotten home from our time in Saskatchewan, we head off to our church's winter retreat, then it's into celebrating Dave's birthday, and before we know it, January is practically over and we haven't had time for the letdown. However, in the past week, I've been cold, down, and feeling the winter darkness -- even though technically the days are getting longer. I'm more than ready for spring and it's going to be awhile before we get some of that. Are any of you feeling the same way??? With all that said, here is how our January has gone.

Answering these questions monhtly helps me reflect on the past month and I really appreciate having a record of what we've been up to. 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... We participated in an ice cream workshop a couple of weeks ago and ended up with sixteen pints of ice cream. So we've been eating a ton of ice cream. And we still have more to go!
This is just half of what we made!
 
Our friend Karen drove us up to Winter Retreat and she brought along these Cheez-It Crunch Sharp White Cheddar crackers. They are soooo good!!! We're buying three boxes a week and recommending them to everyone we know. I'm actually snacking on a bowl while I wait for supper to cook and am writing this post. Just make sure you buy more than one box!
Also, I've been really into citrus fruit this month so I've gone through a lot of oranges and grapefruits. I must really need some Vitamin C!
 
What I'm reminiscing about... Speaking of Vitamin Sea (hahaha!), I've been reminiscing about our first Disney cruise. Our first cruise was in January 2018 and it was just a short four night cruise to see if we liked it.
It turns out we loved it and in January 2020, we went on a cruise with my parents. So I've been reminiscing about that one too! It was our last travel before the world shut down and I'm so thankful that we were able to have that trip.
One thing that strikes me about these pictures is how little Sam and Rachel were. Oh my goodness!

What I'm loving... I've been really loving warm blankets, cozy sweaters, and my tulips. Also, January has been full so I'm loving every moment I get at home.


What we've been up to... We hit the January ground running. We got home from celebrating the holidays in Saskatchewan, went back to work and school and then headed off to our church's winter retreat. We played in the snow, hung out with our friends, and saunaed and snowed to our heart's content.
 
 
Then we were back home and celebrated Dave's birthday with a few events including participating in an ice cream workshop.
Rachel and I squeezed in some time to go see Wicked (complete with comfy recliners!).
 
This past weekend we went uptown to experience our city's winter festival. We saw ice carvers and ate maple candy made with snow.
And January in our area has felt like living in a snow globe. Every time I look out the window, it's snowing. This isn't the greatest picture but maybe you can see the snowflakes against the brick. We haven't received a ton of snow at one go but it's just continuously snowing.
And of course Sam and Rachel are busy with soccer and dance (which means we're busy getting them to soccer and dance)!

What I'm dreading... As I do every single winter, I'm dreading icy sidewalks. When I walk forty minutes a day to get to work and back, that's a lot of opportunities to slip and fall and injure myself. (Just one of many, many, many reasons I'm already counting down to spring).

What I'm working on... I've actually been working on showering at night. I used to (as in like, three weeks ago!) shower in the morning before work. But I don't own a really great hair dryer, and hate drying my hair as well, so I've been trying to shower at night so my hair can dry before I have to be out in the cold. This also gives me extra time in the mornings which I appreciate. I've also been working on applying extra lotion consistently, as per this meme :)
What I'm excited about... Last week I finished my latest Conqueror challenge. I walked in Wales (virtually). Now I'm walking through the Norwegian Fjords. I love marking my walks on a virtual challenge. This is the sixth one I've finished since I started walking them in May 2020.
 
What I'm watching/reading... As I mentioned above, I've been watching the snow fall. Other than that it's a dead time of year for me, watching wise. I don't do the winter Hallmark movies, baseball hasn't started yet, and there's just nothing I'm excited about watching.

In terms of reading, I really thought Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros was the last book so last week I re-read Fourth Wing and Iron Flame to get ready. Then I found out this past weekend there's another two books to come... Ugh.

What I'm listening to... I've actually been listening to Mix and Match Mama's Spring Break playlist on Spotify. It's a good mix of "we're enjoying the beach on vacation" vibes and that's pretty much what I need right now. And hey, if I could go on a beach vacation right now, that'd would be great! Hahaha!!!

What I'm wearing... First of all, I'm posting this picture of Rachel and her bestie from this past weekend. Clearly grade 8 girls are wearing black boots, grey sweats, black puffer jackets, and touques with pompoms! Hahaha!!! They didn't even try to twin.
I'm not a Grade 8 girl so I'm either wearing work clothes (with the warmest sweaters I can find) or my flannel pj pants and the green fuzzy pullover my parents gave me for Christmas. And slippers. At this time of year, I'm always wearing slippers.
What I'm doing this weekend... Ice cream for breakfast day at our favourite ice cream shop, attending a church meeting about parenting youth, going to church (and possibly synagogue), and maybe finally getting out with the kids to buy their very belated Channukah/Christmas presents. It's going to be a full weekend.

What I'm looking forward to next month... As I've been thinking about this prompt, I realize that there's not a lot I love about February. I guess I'm looking forward to a three day weekend, a long overdue visit with a friend, and seeing Rachel dance with a local children's choir. And maybe a fun garden visit. Maybe... Other than that I'll try to take notice of the longer days (whoooo hooo), and spend some time under blankets with a good book, waiting for it to warm up outside.

So there's my January "What's Up Wednesday." As you can probably tell, I'm kind of over winter already and thankfully we're one month closer to warmer weather. Yay!!! How's your January been?