Friday Favourites

Have you heard about the Atlanta Monster podcast yet?  Dave told me about it last week and I've listened to the five episodes that are out so far.  It is kind of like Serial (although not as good), and it has all of my favourite things - true crime, race relations, and southern accents.  In the late 1970s to early 1980s several young black boys in Atlanta were abducted and murdered and this is about how the police solved the case and then others' views about how they didn't solve it at all.

We had a colourful meal on Wednesday - homemade chicken strips, roasted sweet potatoes, and purple cabbage coleslaw.  Q wasn't a big fan of the coleslaw but he ate the rest. 

On Tuesday at work, a few of us ordered burgers and fries from Burger's Priest and they were so good.  I went to the original Burger's Priest a few years ago, and since it became a mainstream franchise, it didn't appeal to me as much (#soldouttotheman) but I think I'll consider going back when we want burgers again.

Short and sweet today, bring on the weekend and the Olympics!

Linking up with Andrea, Erika, Narci for Friday Favourites,

and The Blended Blog for Friday Loves. 

Little Things - Part 13

Celebrating the little things in life which are really the big things when you think about it.

Balloons - We had a celebration at church a couple of weeks ago and E was so excited to bring home a balloon.  He chose red of course.  Then we played with it all week.  So much joy from such a small item.

An award - Each month, E's school has an assembly and two or three kids from each class are given a the Character Development Award for the theme of the month.  This month, E was picked for Teamwork.  He was very proud to go up and accept his award.

Nachos on the couch - This is not something we do often, but we made some nachos for the Super Bowl and let E stay up and eat them with us.  Such a treat and we did a good job of keeping it clean, note the multiple napkins and towels on the ottoman.

Having your child sit on your lap, no matter how big - At soccer this week as we waited for the previous game to finish up, E came and sat on my lap.  He's getting to be a big boy but I love having him sit with m. 

Cheering for Canada - The Olympics are here!! We love the Olympics around here and are so excited to cheer for our country.  So many countries around the world have complicated histories and politics, and simply waving your flag can be difficult; we appreciate that we can be proud Canadians!

Media Wednesday

Last week I finished the book Beartown by Fredrik Backman.  This is the same author who wrote my favourite book from last year A Man Called Ove.  Like that book, I encourage you to pick up this book as well.  It is a fabulously written novel about some very timely topics.  I don't like to give anything away at all, so I will leave the plot points alone. I will tell you that it takes place in a small town (in Sweden but it could be anywhere) where hockey is king.  The story is told from the perspective of the players, coaches, general manager, and their families.  We join the story near the end of hockey season where the team that is the focus of the novel is ready for the semi-final. 

This author does such a good job of weaving the stories of the various characters together and giving you hints about what will happen or what has happened without explicitly spelling it out.  He knows his readers are intelligent and he doesn't pander to them. That is my favourite type of book, when you need to pick up on clues on your own and if you're paying attention you get more out of the book.  The characters are unique and have depth, but at the same time, you can imagine exactly what they are like and relate them to people you know in your own life.

I mentioned above that the story is set in Sweden but the author does not really say that, you can just figure it out because they mention kronor notes (money) and Saabs.  (In A Man Called Ove, it took me more than half the book to realize the story was set in Sweden and not England.)  I think this is important because it means that the story is easily absorbed by its readers.  This could be any town anywhere in the world where hockey or football or other sport is the thing that drives everything.  The players are held higher than others, simply because of their place on the team, decisions are made based on winning and attracting the best players and coaches, and in this case a hockey school. 

One line from the beginning of the book that has stuck with me and I think will resonate for a long time is that life is just a series of moments, and that is why we like and do different things.  Hockey (in this case, but could be anything) is just a game, but the moments of joy that it brings people make it worthwhile (Sidney Crosby's golden goal, 2010 Vancouver Olympics anyone?!).  Sometimes we slog through life doing mundane things and it can easy to get bogged down and wish we were doing something different, or spending more time doing "fun things" or being with people we love. If we are always longing for perfection to be present all day long, then we will quickly become depressed.  Rather I take small moments and those carry me through the otherwise mundane things.  The moments are the ones that we will remember at the end of the day and stick with us. 

Weekend Recap

I had a morning meeting on Friday morning in Markham so going back to the office at 12:30 wasn't worthwhile, so I took a detour to Yorkdale.  I stopped in at Nordstrom but didn't buy anything, and to my chagrin the anthropologie store has closed there!  Then I picked up E early from school so we could go and get his haircut (with a quick stop at Starbucks of course).

This was what he wanted for a cut and it turned out really well!

Dave made steak sandwiches with caramelized onions for supper and they were delicious!  After the boys went to bed we watched The Florida Project.  It was okay but it reminded me a lot of Moonlight, which may or may not describe what I mean. 

Saturday morning came early. Dave and E went skiing and Q and I went swimming, as usual.  Then we tidied up the house before heading out to do some errands. 

Selfies on the couch after nap time. 

We treated ourselves to McDonalds; Q figured out the dipping sauces for his nuggets pretty quickly, and then dipped his fingers in too.

One of my friends and her baby girl came over for some tea and sweets and a visit.  Then the boys got home.  I had bough a pre-made chicken pot pie from Max's Market for our supper so that was easy!  

On Sunday morning E decided to stay home for church and he and Dave went sledding instead.  I had done a grocery order for pick up on my way home from church, so when we all got home we didn't have to go out for the rest of the day.

E worked on his workbook

Then we made some Wookie Cookies (which are those non-baked chocolate, oatmeal, and coconut cookies).

Then we put on the Super Bowl.  We made wings for our supper, and then after Q went to bed, we made nachos.  We let E stay up to watch the halftime show and then he went to bed.  We were happy to see Tom Brady lose the Eagles win.  I stayed up afterwards to watch This is Us. 

All About Love Link Up

Linking up with The Blended Blog for this link up.

1.  Kisses or Hugs?

Hugs 

2. Candy or Flowers?

Flowers

3. Baking or Cooking?

Cooking

4. Do you remember your first kiss?

Yes

5. Favourite colour of roses?

Pink

6. Conversation Hearts, Yes or No?

I'm normally not fan of them but I picked up a few at Bulk Barn this week, I thought E may like them.

7. Do you leave love notes?

No

8. Do you decorate for Valentine's Day?

We have a few decorations but nothing too crazy.

9. Red or pink? 

I've always been partial to pink of all shades, but E's current favourite colour is red so it's growing on me.

10. Milk, white or dark chocolate?

Dark for sure, the others are barely chocolate.

11. Do you believe in love at first sight?

Sure, I've heard people that have said "I'm going to marry that person" when they first see someone, and then they do.

12. Do you give humorous or serious Valentine's cards?

Serious cards, but not with long verses.

13. Favourite chick flick or romantic movie?

So many, The Notebook, Notting Hill, Dirty Dancing, Mean Girls, Princess Bride, Sleepless in Seattle, Romeo and Juliet; I know I'm missing a ton that I could watch over and over.  

14.  Stay in or go out?

I love going out to eat, but for Valentine's Day I'd rather do something at home.

Last year's Valentine's Day

Friday Favourites

Welcome to Friday!  We did it, another busy week in the books. 

This week I took Q with me to E's soccer game because Dave was at the Raptor game.  Q had a great time sitting on the bench with his cheerios cup and water.  He waved his arms around and hollered at the boys too!

E was goalie for the second half and he made some great saves!

I saw the trailer for Black Panther and I think I'd actually like to see it.  I am not usually into these superhero movies but I love most of the cast so I'm interested.

The woman that runs the fitness class I attend on Thursdays recommends this lemon elixir.  She recognizes that although the ingredients may lend themselves to some health benefits, it could all be a bunch of hooey.  At any rate, they can't hurt you, so a few times I have made a bottle of it and taken it to work to drink throughout the day.  It's very refreshing and is more fun to drink than just water.

We only have a few Valentines decorations and I got them out this week.  On the weekend I will put them up.  Last year we made a few St. Patrick's Day crafts so I want to find some for Valentine's Day too that can become our decorations in years to come. 

Have a happy weekend, it's finally not January!!

Linking up with Andrea, Erika, and Narci for Friday Favourites, 

and The Blended Blog for Friday Loves.

Recipe - Sausage and Kale Skillet

This recipe is so easy and very tasty.  I easily whipped this up after work before everyone got home from swimming, and you only need to dirty one pan!

Olive oil
4 cups croutons (cut from a firm loaf of bread in 1 inch cubes, I used a whole wheat ciabatta baguette)
1 lb sausage, removed from casing (I used Italian turkey sausages)
2 garlic cloves, minced
4 handfuls kale, chopped (I used baby kale but the regular full leaves work well too, with stems removed)
1 19oz can white kidney beans, drained and rinsed
3 tbsp red wine vinegar
Salt, pepper, parmesan cheese

Heat olive oil in the bottom of a frying pan over medium heat.  Add croutons, stir to coat with oil, and keep stirring while they crisp up, about five minutes.  Remove from pan into a dish and set aside.

Add some more oil to the pan and add sausages.  Break up and crumble them as you go and cook through.  Add garlic and cook for another couple of minutes.

Add croutons back to the pan, along with kale.  Stir in until wilted.  Add kidney beans and heat through.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Serve and top with grated parmesan cheese.

This was enough for us (although Q didn't really eat any even though he likes bread and sausages) and there was leftover for someone's lunch the next day.  It's very rustic and easy to put together.

I did not take a photo of the sausages (you're welcome)