Monthly Musings

 

1. Describe your winter so far in one word.

Snowy

2. What winter activities have you tried but want to?

I would like to go dogsledding. We thought we could try that when we went to Tremblant a couple of years ago but they had already closed up for the season. 

3. Favourite winter beverage?

I like mulled wine as a treat, but I don't have it often, bonus points if I am by an outdoor fireplace.

4. Least favourite winter chore?

Filling up the windshield wiper fluid or putting gas in the car. It always seems like you're standing out there for so long.

5. Soup or chili? Share recipe?

I like either. I don't have a recipe to share.

6. Dark chocolate, milk chocolate, or neither?

Dark chocolate, always.

7. Share your Valentine's Day plans.

It is a long weekend for us, plus a ski race for E on the Friday, so we have two nights booked at a hotel near the ski hill.  We will have dinner out, but nothing that specifically screams Valentine's Day.

8. Do you dress festive for Valentine's Day?

I have a couple of t-shirts that work for Valentine's Day and a sweater with hearts on the sleeves.

9. Do you make any sweet treats for Valentine's Day?

Not specifically but I do like anything with a red or pink sprinkle.

10. What is your love language?

I have never done the test but "Acts of Services" sounds about right.  Just bring me a coffee, that's all I want :)

Linking up with Patty

What's Up Wednesday

What we're eating this week...

Sunday - Costco Pizzas

Monday - Chicken Nuggets and Coleslaw

Tuesday - Chicken and Sweet Potato Risotto

Wednesday - Shepherd's Pie

Thursday - Tortellini Soup

Friday - Wings and Appetizers

Saturday - Out

What I'm reminiscing about...

E went on a school ski trip yesterday. He said some people didn't know how to ski and wondered why they would bother going.  I told him that some people don't get to go skiing every weekend and the school trip may be their only opportunity to try it out. That's how it was for me when I was growing up.  I had never tried downhill skiing until the school trip and I gradually learned. I remember graduating from the bunny hill and then falling off the t-bar and having to make my way over to the slope on my bum.  I am still traumatized by a t-bar!

Not everyone gets to learn this young!

What I'm loving...

I do love the snow even with the necessary shoveling and the difficulty it takes to get around the city. I love winter!

What I'm dreading...

Getting sick.  We have been pretty healthy so far this winter but I am always worried that a slightly sore throat will turn into something worse. We continue to try to get to bed early, run the humidifier, and stay bundled up. 

What we've been up to...

Keeping an eye on the news - what's going on in Minnesota, Mark Carney's various remarks at Davos and since, the protests in Iran. There is a lot to absorb. I am grateful for my Bridge podcast where I know will get good commentary to keep me informed. 

What I'm working on...

Decluttering various areas - slowly but surely.  I made a list on my phone of the places I need to tackle and I've done a few since January started. I'd love to get the list done before winter is over.  I've found it actually doesn't take that long, I just need to dive in. 

What I'm excited about...

There is only one answer here and it's THE OLYMPICS!! We love all of the Olympic sports but I do have an affinity for the Winter Games.  I can't wait to get obsessed with every single thing.

What I'm watching/reading...

We just finished Pluribus so next up is The Pitt.  I am also halfway through Emily in Paris, and I want to watch the Elizabeth Smart documentary. 

I am reading a book by Colm Toibin. It takes place in Ireland and it's a little dreary but good.

What I'm listening to...

I watched the Taylor Swift documentary and now I'm listening to a lot of her music again. I really didn't appreciate how special the Eras Tour was to her devoted fans.

What I'm wearing...

Long underwear.  Obviously I wear it for skiing, but also as a layer under my pants, or over my tights when I'm going to work. Costco had a Puma set and they are really nice! I tried to get some for E but they only had XXL for the men.

What I'm doing this weekend...

Taking the day off on Friday to take Q to a ski race, then regular ski training on Saturday and Sunday.  We made plans with some friends to hit up Quayle's Brewery for après ski on Saturday and then we are spending the night in Orillia.  And then the Grammys are on Sunday night so I will want to watch that.

(last year at Quayle's)

What I'm looking forward to next month...

Ski season continuing with more races for the boys, Family Day weekend, Valentine's Day, and (I can't believe it!) baseball tryouts for Q.

What else is new...

Just thinking ahead to our March Break trip to the French Alps. We have everything booked now and it's going to be here sooner than we know it!

 

Weekend Recap

On Friday night I took Q to baseball and then spent a good part of the evening getting ready for skiing.  We have to get all of our food ready to go and since we were also staying overnight on Saturday we needed to pack our overnight bags.

On the drive up on Saturday morning we saw many cars off the side of the road, it was very slippery out there! We made it unscathed, thank goodness. It was our coldest morning at -20 Celsius so I wasn't super excited about going out, but it turned out to be the best day!  The snow was prefect and although we were cold to start the day, it wasn't that bad.  

The sun helped too.

After race training wrapped up for the day, E and I headed for Huntsville to stay at the Hidden Valley Resort, and Dave and Q went home with our friends' to spend the night there. E and I checked into the hotel and then met up with the rest of the team for dinner at the Huntsville Brewhouse.

It was a cold crisp morning on Sunday for E's race.

The U16/U19 group.

The ski resort had the task of knocking down this huge icicle.  I was watching the race and missed it fall, but heard it!

Ready to race!

Some parents were great at taking photos of everyone.

Meanwhile Dave and Q were at The Heights for Q's race. The U10 boys warming up by the fireplace.

I was worried about the storm that was coming as I didn't know what to expect for our drive home.  Fortunately it was not that snowy up north and we had clear roads all the way home, except when we got to the 401 in Toronto.  Then it was a white out and I was glad we were at the end of our highway journey. I had thought our whole drive would be like this so I was very grateful it wasn't.

When we got home, we had a driveway full of snow, so we had to shovel before we could pull the car in. We did some good work and could not get over the snow. 

I thought this deserved a storm Negroni (or two).

Dave went out again to shovel and there must have been another 30 cm since we had been out the first time.

The kids went to be knowing school was already canceled for Monday, lucky them! (E actually already had no school because of the exam schedule.)

Friday Favourites

Happy Friday! We have a cold and snowy week and it looks like we are getting a pile more snow on the weekend.  Bring it on!

My Christmas cactus is blooming! I've had this for several years, a cutoff from Cousin Jean's plant, and although I had kept it alive, this is the first time it has had multiple blooms! 

Q wanted a yellow vest and I found one for him at Joe Fresh, on sale.  We ordered an XL based on the measurements provided by Joe Fresh (and since it was the only size left!).  It is slightly too big for Q but he can grow into it.  E tried it on too, haha.

Dave and Q got to go to the Leafs game on Wednesday night!

And E and I went out for dinner as our own treat. 

I mentioned before that E's skiing friend broke his leg.  The ski team is putting together a gift basket for him and E decided to 3D print a dragon to include. 

The Oscar nominations were announced yesterday.  I was surprised to see nothing for Wicked For Good, but happy to see Benicio Del Toro getting a nom for his role in One Battle After Another, he was a great part of that movie. 

The boys each have a ski race on Sunday so Dave and I are dividing and conquering.  I'm going to Huntsville with E and Dave will be cheering on Q at The Heights. 

Linking up with Andrea and Erika.

Resolutions Status

In my Happy New Year post I wrote about a few things that you could consider are my 'resolutions' for the year.   

Diet - As I started the year I decided not to focus on calories or protein content or anything specific, but instead just started eating less. I feel like I eat pretty well most of the time and I know what is important to consume, but I think it was really my portion size and frequency of eating that was getting me down. I was always afraid of being hungry so I would always make sure I had extra snacks or fill up during a meal. I have started eating smaller meals and if I do need to something to tide me over until a meal I will just have a few almonds or something instead of a substantial snack. Sometimes I am hungry before a meal, but it turns out I don't need to panic about that. 

Alcohol - Given my attempts at consuming less, then I am not inclined to drink alcohol throughout the week or even on weekends, with a couple of exceptions.  We went out to eat with ski friends and I had wine, and I met a former colleague for lunch last week and I had wine. I still like to have a drink but right now I am limiting it to social situations. 

Fitness - I have been very good at getting up to work out in the mornings. I have done weights workouts on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, a bike ride on Friday and on Sunday afternoon.  And we are skiing twice a week of course.  

Work - I have adopted two new habits to get away from using paper - making my daily notes in a Word document, and keeping track of my to-do list on Teams Planner. I have also started using Gemini as my AI platform of choice, I find the tone of the information is more conversational rather than robotic, if that makes sense.  I've looked up a few things for work and also for the trip we are planning. 

Parenting - This one is a work in progress, as it would be, but I have tried encouraging more helping with things (without yelling) and there have been some wins. 

Weekend Recap

Dave and I are very proud of ourselves as we were able to watch two full movies without having to split them up! On Friday night we watched One Battle After Another and on Saturday we watched The Rip. Both were very interesting and held my attention so I wasn’t even close to nodding off.  As a life long Leo fan, I very much enjoyed One Battle After Another.  The Rip was also entertaining.

We also had two great ski days.  This was a weekend where we drove back and forth on both Saturday and Sunday instead of spending the night up there.  We had some snow squalls on Saturday’s drives, both ways, and a tiny bit on Sunday morning but finally on Sunday we had a nice clear drive home, seriously the first time this ski season that has happened. 

On Saturday it was not too cold and the snow was pretty perfect. 

I love a freshly groomed trail, I feel like I’m a good skier on days like these.

Dave was spying on me when I was in line.

What was not perfect about this day was that one of the 6-person lifts shut down in the morning so that led to longer lines everywhere else. 

On Sunday it was colder but the snow conditions were still pretty great. It was a privilege to be in line for one of the first chairs up the hill, and we were the first ones down Adventure. We got home in good time to get everything tidied up, everyone cleaned up, and then settled in to watch the first couple episodes of Mr. Beast. 

Friday Favourites

The kids had a snow day yesterday and I decided to work from home as well, also Dave was trying to get back from Vegas and dealing with cancelled and delayed flights. This is kind of a "Day in the Life - Snow Day Edition".

I was up at 5:45, as I had planned, to do my workout. I scheduled an upper body workout which may have not been the best idea since there would be lots of shovelling later on, but I stuck to my plan. 

While doing my workout I got the message that school was cancelled and saw that the snow would be continuing most of the day.  I went up to turn the boys' alarms off and left these notes for them so they would know the good news when they got up. 

I did go out and did a bit of shovelling. Some would wait until the snow stopped by this is why I didn't wait: 1) I knew it would still be light and fluffy, 2) I wanted to clear the sidewalk, and 3) I knew I'd have to move the snow anyway so I might as get a headstart. 

I worked for about 45 minutes and got the sidewalk cleared and the front of the driveway.  

Then I took a mini-snow day break and read my book under the heated blanket for a little bit before I needed to get to work.  I’m really glad I took these few minutes when I had the chance since the rest of my day was pretty busy.

I had back to back meetings all morning but the kids went out and did some shoveling on their own.  After lunch I went back out.  E was going to a friend’s house but I made him help me for a few minutes before he left.

Q came out for a few minutes too before I went back in. There really was so much snow and we couldn’t do it all at once, plus it was still snowing!

I finished up my work and then went back out.  The plough had gone by so I had to do the end of the driveway and then I cleared the car and did a bit of tidying up.  There was one part between the cars that I just could not do. But we can do it tomorrow.

I had put together a lasagna and it was ready when I got back inside.

Dave eventually connected through Vancouver and got on a flight to Toronto off the stand-by list. 

Hope you have a great weekend, we are expecting more snow, which is great for skiing, not for shoveling.

Linking up with Andrea  and Erika