Enjoying Winter

When you live in Canada, you have to embrace winter or you'll spend much of the year wishing you were somewhere else, and in my opinion, that's no way to live your life.  Now it is true that we live in Southern Ontario and we do not have a very hard winter, and even Toronto gets less snow than parts just one hour north.   So this is how we enjoy winter.

We found a winter sport we like - ours is downhill skiing, but maybe you like cross country or snowshoeing.

We took in a hockey game - Marlies this time, but any local sports team will do

We get the whole family outside to shovel

I got a cozy new sweater.

For some reason if I'm outside in the winter at night, I feel like it's worth twice as much time as daytime winter (does that make sense?).  So we took the bus home from a school event instead of driving.

We went for some walks.   This part of the Humber River banks is now full of ice and will not be clear until spring.  We had a bit of a thaw last week and the ice came up over the banks and jammed the river.   It's quite something to see.

Friday Favourites

Good morning!  Happy Friday!

I have been enjoying our new Tranquility essential oil for our humidifier.  I don't know if it actually makes us sleep better but it does smell nice.  I've put it in E's room too and said it is a magic potion to help him sleep better. 

I picked up this lip treatment from Kiehls last week too.  I had wanted this for Christmas but they were sold out when Dave went to buy it.  I've given it to E to use too, these kids get such dry and red lips and faces in the winter!

I was so hungry the other day on my way home from work, I just had to get some Ringolos.  I was going to the Bulk Barn anyway for lentils (#balance) and I got a small bag and dug into them when I got back in the car.  You do what you've got to do!

I saw this on Ashley's Instagram the other day, and it made me laugh.

E started church choir again this week.  They did well with the song they are singing this Sunday.

We started watching Life in Pieces on Netflix this week.  I chose it because I like Colin Hanks but there are a bunch of other great people in it too.  It's cute and has quick jokes.  I don't always feel like watching a heavy 1 hour drama in the evenings so this one hits the spot when you need something light.

I wrote about our Valentine's Day preparations on Thursday.  Looking for another festive cake to make this weekend. 

Check out this cutie from our weekend recap here.

Have a great weekend!

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

andThe Blended Blog for Friday Loves.

Valentine's Day Prep

Valentine's Day is not a huge deal around here but we do like to do a few small things to celebrate.

   A few hearts and spots of red around the house.

New tops for the boys and me

Something sweet with heart sprinkles. 

And of course some class Valentines - Paw Patrol for Q of course! And Avengers for E.

Media Wednesday

A review of some books I read last month, none of which were on my reading list, but I'll start that this month (I've got three books on hold at the library).

The books I read were very different - the first was the third instalment of the Crazy Rich Asians trilogy.  I read the first two at the end of last year and flew through them; this one is called Rich People Problems and it was just as good as the other two.  I like light reads every once in awhile and I was fascinated about this lifestyle that is based in fact.  What I really liked about this final book was that it included some stories of Nick's grandmother's past and reference to World War II and what was happening in Singapore at the time.  I know so much about the war in Europe, I realized that I need to learn more about the Japan arena.  I hope there are movies made of the second and third books too, I love seeing the outrageousness.  And I want to visit Singapore someday soon and eat all the food they ate in the first movie at that market.

The next book is also a sequel called Us Against You. I read the predecessor, Beartown, last year.  I saw this book at the library and was just looking for something to take on our trip and since I knew the author I thought I'd give it a try.  I did not know it was the sequel.  When I found that out I was sort of reluctant to keep reading it, although I liked Beartown I thought I had had enough of those characters and themes.  But I kept going and eventually I was into it (plus we were on vacation and I needed something to read).  The themes are dark, like in Beartown, and the characters can be so frustrating.  What I found to be a compelling read in the first book just felt tiresome in the second book, at least to me, one of my friends read it and like it better than Beartown, so it's all just a matter of opinion.

The last book was a non-fiction book I got at our church library.  I took E to choir before Christmas and needed something to read so I perused the library at church and found Coffee, Tea and Holy Water.  It took me awhile to get through it because I read a number of other things in the meantime (which means I'm well over the due date at the library but I don't think anyone will say anything), but I did like it.  It was a very simple book and an easy read, following the author's visits to five different countries and exploring how their version of Christianity is different and the same as that in the United States.  She goes to Brazil, Wales, Tanzania, China, and Honduras.  I'm always interested in this topic.  Who is to say that our version of Christianity is the right one, let alone our belief in God is the right one, so it is always worthwhile seeing how it is done in other parts of the world.  Knowledge is always useful. I thought she could have done a bit better job of commenting on the differences, rather than just observing, but it was fine.

Weekend Recap

On Friday E's school held its annual Bingo Night.   We had some pizza, popcorn, and bingo dabbers and we were ready to go.  E won a couple of small prizes, and someone from his class won a class pizza party as one of the big prizes.  I always like hanging out at E's school and we enjoyed our company.

Dave had dropped me off since parking has been so crazy at the school lately and we opted to take the bus home instead of walking.   This is E lying in a snowbank while we waited for our bus.

It was too late for family movie night when we got home but we watched an Episode of Great British Bake Off instead.  After E went to bed, Dave and I watched Bohemian Rhapsody and loved it!!

The next morning Q was awake a little earlier than I wanted to get up so he laid in bed with me for a bit while Dave got up and got ready for skiing. 

Then we went to swimming and to get groceries while the boys went to skiing.  We watched some Paw Patrol when we got home.

In the afternoon it was so nice out we had to get outside.  We took the sled down to the park but rather than sledding, mostly Q just pulled it around.

I made chicken nuggets for supper and Q finished things off with a piece of cake.  

We watched the first Harry Potter movie since Dave and E finished the book last week.  I may or may not have fallen asleep during the movie so I just went to bed.

On Sunday morning we were off to church.  Always have cookies and Kool-aid after the service!

After lunch E and I went to Home Sense to try and get a cutting board, which we could not find, but  we did get a mattress pad and frying pan.  Then we went to Walmart to get some Valentine's cards for the boys' classes and E also picked out a new Bey Blade.   We played around in the basement after Q got up.

And then we went over to our neighbours' for a Super Bowl party. We had a great spread of food and Q loved the chicken fingers.   

Since the game was a little boring, we had the karaoke machine set up and sang a few rounds

The boys were up much later than they usually are but everyone did well. I took Q home after the 3rd quarter but E and Dave made it to the end.   

Relationships Link Up

1.  Who is your oldest friend/how did you meet?

When I moved to Shelburne when I was 4, one of the girls that lived on my street came knocking on our door to meet me.  She said she had heard there was a little girl living there.  We still keep in touch although we don't live on the same street anymore!

2. Who are your people?

I have lots of friends/acquaintances from different places but not one big group of friends.  I have friends at work, my neighbours, and from university/Nova Scotia.  I have also been lucky to meet people at my workout class and the parents at E's school.

3.  How did you meet your partner?

I wrote about that couple of years ago here.

4.  How is Valentine's Day celebrated in your home?

We usually have a special meal with a nice bottle of wine, and I will buy a few small gifts usually with a red theme.

5.  What is your love language?

I've never done this quiz but I guess there are five (acts of service, words of affirmation, receiving gifts, quality time, and physical touch).  I don't know exactly how this fits in but my love language is someone making food for me or taking me out to eat (so that's probably a combination of acts of service and receiving gifts).

6.  Do you prefer receiving flowers or chocolates?  

Flowers.

7.  What is the most meaningful gifts you have ever received or have given?

When E was born Dave got me a Tiffany bracelet and when Q was born he got me a charm to add to it.  I don't wear it all of the time but it is definitely the most meaningful item!

Friday Favourites

I went to see A Star is Born again and I saw it at the old Kingsway Theatre.  I love these old theatres, including the one by our house, Humber Cinema.  I enjoyed the movie more the second time and I am not sick of the music yet, despite my daily does of the soundtrack.

I have been enjoying my Saje Immunity Roll-On.  I call it my magic wand; I used it when we were in Europe and on the nights when I've felt a bit of sore throat.  I want to get the Peppermint Halo one too. 

I saw this adorable sweater in Instagram the other day so I clicked through and bought one.  I loved the hearts on the backs of the elbows and it is so cozy.  I got the Small/Medium and I sort of wish it was a bit bigger so it could be slouchier but it fits fine.

A favourite thing for E is his math homework.  We worked on it together on Wednesday evening.

I got this TTC puzzle for Dave for Christmas and we finally started it this week.  It is challenging but not impossible and we are making good progress so far.

I got these crackers last week to serve when our guests came over and besides the fact that the price works out to about 50 cents per cracker (not quite but they were more expensive than I would normally buy), they were do delicious.  We had them with Boursin but I also had them dipped in tzatziki too.  If I could find them on sale, even better!

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

and The Blended Blog for Friday Loves