Thursday, January 31, 2019

Costco

I have a love/hate relationship with Costco, or rather a "indifferent opinion/hate" relationship.   I am never super excited to go there, I'm never overly impressed with their offerings, but we are members for the cheap gas and by extension we will go into the store and buy a few things.   So what are my Costco habits?

- First we get in line for gas; I am one of those people who likes to be the fastest, I have my cards ready, I tap debit, and I don't ask for a receipt.  My goal is to be done before someone who was there before me.  (I am trying to win a contest that no one else is participating in.)

- I buy a few packaged snacks there for school lunches and snack time.  Q in particular loves the fig bars.  I also will get the Made Good granola bites.  I get these first since they are by the front.  We usually have a box of Clif bars for skiing too.

- I always take a swing through the clothing but I don't buy much here - maybe a swimsuit for E or some socks.

- Then onto the meat section, where I usually pick up chicken breasts, ground turkey, and salmon.

- In the produce section I like getting bags of lemons, bell peppers, cherry tomatoes, spaghetti squash, cucumbers, and baby potatoes.

- Eggs and milk make it into the cart if we need them that day.  We also like the smoked Gouda and creamy Havarti, especially if we are having people over.

- We get our paper towel and toilet paper here as well.

- Dave usually tells me to get some kettle chips, although we haven't had any since the new year started.  I have a weakness for the Chicago Mix popcorn so I really need willpower not to get this more often.

- I usually walk up and down all of the aisles, and if E is with me he tries all of the samples, and things that go in my cart (when I need them) are: butter, tuna, coffee beans, maple syrup, cereal, cinnamon, peppercorns, laundry soap, dishwasher detergent, frozen lasagna, and that's pretty much it.

- We have bought stamps, batteries, passes for Canada's Wonderland, and tickets to the Science Centre (online) with our membership and those have been good deals.

Everything else that I could buy are in quantities that are just too ridiculous to buy and I don't think it is worth it, we aren't running a restaurant; a lot of the other stuff is too processed and we don't eat that type of food anyway.

Is there anything I'm missing out on?



Wednesday, January 30, 2019

What's up Wednesday




What we're eating this week...
Sunday - Roast chicken, sweet potatoes, and caesar salad
Monday - Stir-fry
Tuesday - Chicken fried rice
Wednesday - Pasta with turkey meatballs
Thursday - Shrimp
Friday - Pizza at Bingo Night
Saturday - Not sure yet

What I'm reminiscing about...
Our trip to Jamaica that we took a couple of years ago.  It was so nice to hang out in the sun during the winter months. 

What I'm loving...
Doing swimming lessons with Q.  Although it was cold in the pool this past weekend, I love getting out of the house early on Saturday morning.  We are done the lesson at 9:00 and by the time we get changed and do a couple of errands, we still have half the morning left.

What we've been up to...
Shovelling all of the snow.  Dave does most of the work but I was out there on Sunday morning and Monday night.  We were hit with a lot of snow for our city, but it is beautiful and I don't find driving in it too bad.

What I'm dreading...
Nothing really right now - I mean, it's touch and go on whether Q minds getting into his coat and boots on any given day so I'm just dreading those days when it's hard to get out of the house with a grumpy toddler. 

What I'm working on...
Summer plans.  I need to start plotting out our vacation and summer camp options for E. 
(T-ball sign up is done though!)


What I'm excited about...
The release of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, the story about the Charles Manson murders.  It has Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio.  

What I'm watching/reading...
We are watching Narcos: Mexico, The Good Place, and Workin' Moms, we finished Friends From College (Season 2) very quickly and I would recommend it (Fred Savage is the best).  I am still catching up on This is Us. 


I am reading The Cozy Life.  I lit some candles the other day when we were eating dinner, can't wait to finish the book so I can really understand Hygge.


What I'm listening to...
The soundtrack to A Star in Born on repeat.  I cannot stop! 


What I'm wearing...
My old winter boots.  I need to get a new pair and I'm looking at Sorrels which means I will look just like Dave and E, but I'm done with my Uggs, I need to try a new brand. 

What I'm doing this weekend...
Bingo night at E's school, swimming for Q and skiing for E, church on Sunday, and then Super Bowl (I guess, I used to be so into football and now I can hardly muster excitement, but we will tune).

What I'm looking forward to next month...
We have nothing planned and I'm excited about that.  I find September to December is so busy it is nice to reset and spend weekends at home in the winter. 

What else is new...
E got his Bey Blade stadium this week.  We ordered it from Walmart and it was only $4! Now he wants to take it to school which I am not overly excited about.

What is your favourite family Valentine's Day tradition...
We don't do much for Valentine's Day but we usually make something we can add pink and red sprinkles to.

Linking up with Shay and Sheaffer for What's up Wednesday. 


Tuesday, January 29, 2019

Weekend Recap

Another fairly quiet winter weekend; great for the soul.  On Friday night after work Dave made some homemade pizzas that were waiting for us when we got home.  Then we watched The Grinch (the new cartoon one).

On Saturday morning we were up early to get the boys out the door for skiing.  After they left, Q watched a couple of episodes of Paw Patrol before we went to swimming.  He is all snuggled up on the couch under his blanket.

Saturday outfit - new sweatshirt and leggings.  

The pool at swimming was colder than usual so Q was not overly thrilled to be there, but he eventually got into it and liked jumping off the side.  After we left swimming we picked up our grocery order and then got a few things on Bloor. 

Meanwhile it was race day at the ski hill and E came in third place!



While Q napped (for three hours), I cleaned the house and prepared for our dinner guests.  We were having chili with various toppings - cheese, chips, sour cream, avocado, cilantro, and green onion.  

A few snacks to start us off.

When I moved them over to the table, Q was very interested. 

The kids are ready to eat.

On Sunday morning we woke up to a surprise snowfall.  I had gone to bed at 10:30 and there had been no sign of snow; we were surprised at how much there was.  We all went out to shovel.  

I took the boys to church where we were celebrating the anniversary of being an affirming ministry (which means we welcome people of all walks of life, specifically those in the LGBTQ community).  There was a lovely rainbow flag hung at the front.

And we got to have rainbow cupcakes afterwards!




In the afternoon, Q went to nap, I did some reading, and E worked on his math app on the iPad. 

Dave came home after picking up his parents at the train station, and we just hung out for the rest of the afternoon.  They also went sledding while I got supper ready.  I finished up my night with yoga.  

Monday, January 28, 2019

Fitness, Fashion, Food, and Friendship Goals

I saw this the other day on Instagram and I felt I could relate.  


Being away from the 3rd to the 12th means we weren't able to jump right into the new year.

To get centred on some goals for 2019 I'm using the following categories:

Fitness
I've already signed up for a monthly membership of Well and Tight which is what I did all last year.  A monthly membership means I get unlimited classes and discounts on some stuff.  There are four classes per week that work for my schedule so my goal is to make it to at least three.  I am one of those people who never really wants to start the workout but I'm always happy I got through it.  Another goal will be to do some workouts at home.  Dave has a Pelaton subscription and they have yoga classes and E likes to do them with me.  

Fashion
My goal this year is to get new clothes.  I tend to be satisfied with the same old things, which is fine, I have lots of clothes that are still in good shape and there is no need to replace them, but there are other things that could stand an upgrade.  For example, my winter boots have holes in them and I've had them repaired twice but the holes keep coming back.  It's time for a new pair.  My silver flats and nude heels are looking pretty ratty so I could get some new ones of those. And I have a bunch of undershirts, pyjamas, and socks that have seen better days.  

Food
Keep it simple more often.  I love cooking and making various types of recipes and I won't stop doing that, but I want to incorporate more simple meals into our weekly menu.  Everyone in our family loves salmon, roasted sweet potatoes, and frozen broccoli, so that makes an appearance almost every week.  Pre-made turkey meatballs with pasta sauce and spaghetti is also an easy things to make that everyone loves and we can always get lots of extra vegetables in the sauce.
(Tacos is another easy favourite) 

Friendship
Do something at least once a month with a friend - coffee or late dinner.  Making plans is kind of like working out, I sometimes dread leaving the house after I'm already home and cozy, but I am always happy I've gone out to connect with a friend. For that matter, I also want to go out with Dave at least once a month.   We were spoiled this month with a whole week away on our own!







Friday, January 25, 2019

Friday Favourites




We have fully recovered from our travels to Lisbon and Barcelona earlier this month.  You can read about our trip here. (This is the link to the last day of our trip and then you can click on the other links to the previous days at the bottom.)  Despite our run in with some sardines (click here to read that) the souvenirs we picked up from Libson are sardine themed.  It was Dave's idea to get a plate of some sort and I liked the shape and neutral colours of this one.   And as usual we picked up something that can be used as a Christmas tree ornament.


I have never really eaten radishes but have seen them around in a number of different recipes lately so I decided to try them out.  I am a radish convert; I've had them at breakfast, lunch, and dinner and I love them.


I have never had a skincare "regimen" I really do believe that if you wash your face and moisturize it, it doesn't really matter what you use, but I decided I would try something new so I took a recommendation from instagram from one of the bloggers I follow (Narci) and picked up some toner with witch hazel and a microdermabrasion wash (which came with some fancy samples like a retinol eye cream, wrinkle cream, and puffy eye cream). I'm not expecting miracles but it is fun to try these new things and I like them so far.






My workout group made some new sweatshirts and I could not resist the sparkly logo.  I picked up mine on Wednesday and I'm excited to pair it with my leggings.

We made our recipe for granola and the kids helped (after they finished wearing the bowl for a hat).

Linking up with AndreaErika, and Narci for Friday Favourites
and The Blended Blog for Friday Loves. 



Thursday, January 24, 2019

A Day in the Life

This past Tuesday I set a reminder on my phone to do a Day in the Life Post.  I tried taking a photo about every hour.  It was a true ordinary day.

7:00 - Everyone had slept well the night before so I was actually awoken by my alarm at 6:30.  I had showered the night before so I only needed to flat iron my hair. When I went into get Q he was pretty happy.  He then went downstairs with Dave and I finished getting ready.  For breakfast I had hot wwater with lemon, leftover shake, and a piece of cinnamon raisin toast.  Got our lunches ready and addressed some sympathy cards. 


8:00 - Kids are dropped off and my car was nice and warm so I shed my jacket for the drive to work.  I talked to my mom on the phone and then started a podcast. 

9:00 Got to work, answered some emails and signed letters. 

10:00 - I took a little break to read some blogs and eat my muffin. I ordered a new sweatshirt and then got back to work. 

11:00 - I needed an extra push to get through to lunch so put on my current favourite album - A Star is Born Soundtrack.  Give me all of the Gaga.  This also reminded me to check the Oscar nominations. 

12:00 - I went to the lunchroom to eat.  I had a roast beef sandwich and vegetables.  A few of my colleagues were there too and we talked about movies and comedians. 

1:00 and 2:00 I was just sitting at my desk so I didn't take any photos.

3:00 - Snack of apple, almonds, chocolate and a coffee.  I took a phone call and then kept working. 


4:00 - Called Dave to talk about summer plans, no photos. 

5:00 - I would usually be gone by this time but I had a phone call.

6:00 - Time to go home.  Started up my podcast again.

7:00 - Greeted by this cutie when I got home.  He joined me at the counter to drink some milk while I ate my dinner.

E was playing video games on the iPad, so I popped over there to say hello before he went up to bed.  Dave cleaned up the kitchen while I put Q to bed and then did some blogging. 

8:00 - Kids are gone to bed so I tidied the living room.  Then I prepared supper for the next night, a chicken soup that would be cooked in the slow cooker, and cut up a melon for breakfast in the morning.  

9:00 and 10:00 - No photos, just Dave and I watching TV.  We watched two episodes of Workin' Moms and one episode of Friends From College.   Then to bed.  

You can see previous Day in the Life posts here.

Wednesday, January 23, 2019

Three Things

Three things going on with each of us at the moment:

Q

1.  We thought about commencing the potty training journey for Q soon but I don't think he is ready yet.  One of the signs is that he can pull down his own pants; I've been prompting him to get himself undressed but he is not interested.  

2. He only likes one pair of mittens - which are these thin fleece ones.  He needs warmer and waterproof mittens but he does not want to put them on.  When we went out to shovel on Sunday Dave and I had to hold him down while we put the good mittens on him.   

3.  He is very concerned with others.  The other day I was putting groceries in the car and bumped my head on the hatchback door and said "ow".  From his carseat where he was already strapped in, he said "okay?" and I said "Yes I'm okay" and he was satisfied.

E

1.  E's teacher set up a math app for their class; it's called ILX Math and set up by grade level.  He loves doing it and goes through a few of the exercises each night.  He loves math!

2.  He got some Bey Blades for Christmas and took them to school last week so he could participate in the Bey Blade battles with his friends.  He said he needs to go Toys R Us to get a Bey Blade stadium.

3.  He didn't have school last Friday and Dave was going to let him stay home instead of going to the YMCA all day but he said he needed to be there.  He and his friends had built a Lego Titanic, iceberg, and the Carpathia (the ship that rescued the passengers, and yes, I had to look that up just now, but he knew the name).  They were going to do a demonstration of what happened.  Kids are cute, they are really listening and learning all of the time. 

Dave and I

I struggled to come up with three things about us that would be different from the last ones I've written about - we are trying to eat healthy foods, drink less alcohol, exercise, keep the house clean, spend time with our children and each other, and get our work done. These are the days!