I Spy Photo Challenge: Week 2

It's the second week of the "I Spy" photo challenge with Lysha at A Camera And A Cookbook. You can find her blog here. If you missed my post from last week, you can read it here or you can keep reading to see what I spied through my camera this week. 

{parts}

These were the various parts of our supper the night we had fish tacos.

{hungry}

We got take out pizza with salads and I was almost too hungry to take a picture.

{details}

You can really see the details of your subject's face when they're looking through a HUGE magnifying glass! 

{home}

Right now our homes are supposed to be our sanctuaries but our neighbours are doing a major renovation so our home isn't very peaceful these days. Boo :( 

{sky}

I waited all week to get an interesting picture of our sky but it was just grey, grey, and more grey. 

10 On The 10th: January 2021

Since Sunday was the 10th of the month I'm sharing ten pictures I took that day. I was struggling a little bit during the day trying to figure out what to take pictures of and then, inspired by an Instagram account I follow, we decided to attempt making stained glass cookies. Then we took about thirty pictures in half an hour -- haha! So you can follow along with our stained glass cookie making adventure.

The first task was to peel all the Jolly Rancher candies and sort them by colour.

Rachel enjoyed smashing them into bits with a hammer.

After the dough was chilled, we set up to make cookies on the table.

 

We found the dough rolled out best between two pieces of parchment paper. 

Rachel and Sam filling in the holes of the cookies with crushed Jolly Rancher pieces.

The first tray of cookies is ready to bake.

Once the Jolly Rancher pieces melted, they bubbled away and it was fun to watch!

Our first batch got a little dark.

Some of the finished cookies hanging in the window. 

This was a really fun craft/cookie to make. You can eat them as well but only the kids were interested in that! If you think this is something you want to try, let me know and I can share the recipe we used, along with a couple of things we learned along the way.

Not Just A Mom: Getting Cozy/Small Comforts

For the first time ever (I think), I'm joining with the Not Just A Mom link up. Since I'm blog friends with three of the hosts now, it felt like a good way to support these friends. Besides, what with lock downs and Covid, I sometimes forget that I have a life outside of being a mom (and an employee).

image from here

Today we're talking about "getting cozy/small comforts" and since we're in the midst of Winter and, as I write this post, it's -11C (12F) and colder with windchill, I'm all about "cozy" right now. So here are some of the ways I get cozy.

I cannot handle being in bare, or sock, feet while at home so in winter, I'm always wearing slippers. I LOVE these slippers from Costco. Last year I bought myself a package of two pairs and then my mom gave me a package for Christmas! Now I have Costco slippers to last me for years which is awesome! I wear these until they get holes in the bottom.

I hate wearing socks but, when I have to wear socks, I've turned to these Costco merino wool socks for years. They are pretty much the only socks I can stand to wear. I have a lot of pairs in grey and black but they were all in the wash. These socks last forever.

 

I also wear a pair of socks to bed every night in the winter. I usually kick them off at some point but I go to bed with them on.

Lately this has been my "go to" comfy outfit. If I'm at home, I'm likely wearing this! I bought these pajama pants years ago and Janice (my best friend) got a matching pair. They are super fuzzy and soft and actually too warm to wear to bed. I hardly wore them for years and suddenly, in about October, I discovered they are the best "at home" pants. I put them on with my new(ish) Sherpa sweater and it honestly feels like wearing a warm hug.

Another way I get cozy is with blankets. I love that you can see three in this picture! The one I'm wrapped up in is a super soft velour on one side and then fuzzy, Sherpa-like material, on the other side. Dave got it in a care package from his work and our whole family fights over it. It is seriously the best blanket.

I love reading a good book, wrapped up in a warm blanket, with a mug of something hot to drink. If it's before noon, I'm drinking coffee-hot chocolate and if it's the afternoon or evening, I'm drinking tea -- usually decaffeinated.

Lately I've been loving a mug (or more!) of cranberry tea. 

At the end of a winter's day, there's nothing like crawling into bed and being enveloped by flannel sheets. I also always have my comfort/magic bag heated up and wrapped around my feet. It's the perfect way to fall asleep.

We took down all our decorations last weekend but we did keep the lights up in the dining room window. I love their soft glow in the evenings and it just makes our dining room feel so cozy.

Another super random, small comfort that I always indulge in during January and (sometimes) into February is having a bouquet (or two!) of tulips in the house. I don't think this adds to the coziness of our house but it does bring me hope that Spring will eventually come.

I'm looking forward to reading the other blogs in the link up to see if there's anything that brings coziness which I'm missing out on! What's something that you do to get cozy or which brings you small comfort?

I Spy Photography Challenge: Week 1

I don't normally post on Saturdays but I will in January (at the very least) because I am participating in the I Spy Photography Challenge which is being hosted by Lysha at A Camera And A Cookbook. The idea is to "look for the marvelous in the mundane" as Lysha put it in her blog post. You can check her original post out here. And her I Spy Photo Challenge link up is here.

So without further ado, here are my photos for the following prompts:

{Hello 2021!}

Mimosas for all to kick off January 1, 2021!

 

 {old}

 

Clearly these flowers are getting old and need to be thrown out. Unfortunately, I have a habit of keeping flowers until long past the time they are nice but maybe I'll try to compost these this weekend. Maybe...
 

{goals}

My goals are becoming more focused (haha!) as the week goes on. Also, each droplet represents 500 ml (2 cups) of water.

{green}

Green needles from our discarded Christmas tree scattered on the snow.

  {happy}

 

I had dreams of getting a photo of Sam and Rachel being happy together but they just kept looking ridiculous. Ha!

Currently: January 2021

In December I linked up with Anne at in residence for the first time ever for her "currently" prompts. I'm excited to share my take on January's prompts. You can catch up with Anne here.

 [beginning]

I'm optimistically beginning to use a 2021 planner. I don't think I looked at my 2020 planner after May last year. I'm hoping this one will see a lot more use. At the very least, I've decided to use it to track some goals and to write three lines about each day. Check back with me in June to see how my planner use is going! Hahaha!

[feeling]

I'm feeling somewhat hopeful that 2021 will be the year which brings us normalcy. I'm hoping it will be the year which brings back travel, attending church in our church building, and hugging our friends. I don't feel like I'm asking for much. Rachel asked me the other day, "Mommy, can we pack our suitcases just for fun?" I said, "no" but I'm hoping we'll be able to pack them for real soon.

Our suitcases haven't moved from this spot in months. They are basically a holding spot for our extra toilet paper in the basement which feels somewhat appropriate!

[organizing]

I haven't been organizing much at home recently. I did organize a bunch of learning packages at work on Monday and Tuesday so that was fun. (I'm currently working as a secretary at a school and while the kids are learning from home, the admin and office staff are working at the schools. Truthfully, I'm not sad to leave the house every morning while Dave manages the kids' online learning and his job.)

[resolving]

I'm resolving to drink more water this year. My 2021 planner has a hydration tracker and nothing motivates me like filling in those little raindrops. Hahaha! 

[wondering]

I'm wondering if our province's week of virtual learning for all elementary students will actually only be a week. I think every single parent of a school aged child, and everyone who works in education, is wondering the same thing... I really hope (there's that word again) that the schools will be allowed to welcome everyone back next week.

So this is what's up with me currently. What's up with you?

One Sentence A Day: December 2020

Guess what? I made it a whole year documenting one sentence (almost) every single day. That's 365 (give or take a few) sentences summing up a whole year. I LOVED this way of recording my days so I will be continuing with it in 2021. Read on to see what December 2020 held and, as always, I'm linking up with Rebecca Jo and other bloggers.

1 - Tuesday -- It was a snow day and we did a lot of decorating and in the evening, we broke out the 2020 matching family pajamas!

2 - Wednesday -- I found out my current position at work was ending sooner than I had anticipated so I spent the rest of the day digesting that news.

3 - Thursday -- I had a headache, came home early, and had a three hour nap.

4 - Friday -- It was a day of getting things done at home, including baking challah, and then picking up our Christmas tree in the afternoon.

So glad we still have our Chariot to haul things around in!

5 - Saturday -- We all went for a walk to run uptown errands (I was the only person who went in anywhere) and we enjoyed our first Starbucks since May, complete with holiday cups!

6 - Sunday -- Rachel had her dance performance taping for December, Dave and Rachel ran errands, and the kids and I looked at our travel photo books.

7 - Monday -- It was a blah day with Sam still at home sick, but we baked Channukah cookies in the evening which made things better.

8 - Tuesday -- I went for a walk with Janice during the day and, in the evening, we decorated our Christmas tree.

9 - Wednesday -- I walked a lot of errands today, and an additional walk with Janice, which meant I went to bed with a lot of steps tonight!

10 - Thursday -- It was the first night of Channukah, and my two day job at a school turned into a week and a half job -- love it when that happens :)

11 - Friday -- We gave the kids their Channukah presents and the rest of the evening was spent playing with them.

12 - Saturday -- It was a rainy day, we stayed inside all day, I napped, and we ended the evening with a family game and our synagogue's community menorah lighting over Zoom.

13 - Sunday -- We met up with Dave's parents for a physically distant walk and then celebrated Channukah with them over Zoom in the evening.

Dave frying our latkes on the griddle outside, as is our tradition!

14 - Monday -- Today my job got extended until the end of the third week in January!!!

15 - Tuesday -- We played a really fun board game this night and lit candles for the sixth night of Channukah.

16 - Wednesday --  I had my blog friends' book club this night and the husbands joined in for about half an hour which was so much fun!!!

17 - Thursday -- We had hot chocolate bombs for the eighth night of Channukah.

18 - Friday -- It was finally the Winter Break from school (and two weeks off work for me) so we kicked it off with going to a drive through light display.

19 - Saturday -- Dave and I ran errands this morning and then we all walked 10km of errands in the afternoon.

20 - Sunday -- We spent all day getting ready to host our church's small group Channukah party over Zoom.

Dave frying latkes outside -- again!

21 - Monday -- I grocery shopped, I ran a couple of more errands, and then I collapsed into bed at 5pm.

22 - Tuesday -- I got all the things done at home this day, we enjoyed a physically distant (very small group) carol sing (with masks and outside) and then Rachel and I had a sleepover.

23 - Wednesday -- Rachel and I (with some help from Dave) spent the morning putting together a puzzle.

24 - Thursday -- We watched our church's Christmas Eve service and celebrated Jólabókaflóð.

Sam was in charge of the display for our snacks! 

25 - Friday -- It was a pretty good Christmas despite the fact we couldn't celebrate with anyone in person.

26 - Saturday -- We watched Home Alone as a family and Rachel and I did a puzzle in the morning.

27 - Sunday -- There were a few rough hours during the day as I processed the realization that our province is now in a second lock down but we did enjoy some physically distant tobogganing with friends in the afternoon.

28 - Monday -- We had a quiet day and then went to (a physically distant) Wonder of Winters to kick off our framily Christmas celebration. (Second sentence: Then we opened presents together over Zoom.)

29 - Tuesday -- Dave, Rachel, and I spent the afternoon creating a snowperson village and it brought a couple of hours of fun for all of us!

30 - Wednesday -- I grocery shopped in the afternoon and then bought more flowers than I had planned on later in the day.

And in the evening, the kids and I made cookies. Yum!!!

31- Thursday -- We had a celebratory supper of fried shrimp and Caesar salad, I worked out at 8pm, and we ate chips and dips at 10:30pm.