Honestly? It feels like my “new year” only started late this week. The holiday season bled well into January when my sister and niece came to visit shortly after my brother and his wife left.
It was great. My parents were head-over-heels excited about the surprise visit. We ate great food, spent hours reminiscing around the table, and made a lot of wonderful memories.
And now it’s time to get into some semblance of routine!
FAMILY VISIT
Time with my middle sister is limited, but we’re the closest sibling pairing so it makes the time together extra sweet. My niece and I went to my favourite coffee shop.
We exchanged “belated Christmas” gifts, which were a hit for everyone. The Canada puffer suit for the baby was especially warmly received and basically every item we gifted them had some direct connection to Nova Scotia or Canada. My sister brought Dots pretzels (the literal BEST), fancy soap, our favourite gummy bears (Albanese), a new cookie scoop, books, and all sorts of other treats. One of her other daughters made homemade salt dough gingerbread ornaments.
On Saturday morning a group of us went to the local farmer’s market and we popped our head into all sorts of little shops in the area.
My sister went with our dad to a few of his classes (he’s auditing SIX university classes this term…just for the fun of it). They met Ferrari the Fish. We played the thirty-six question “game”.
HOMEMADE PIZZA
Belle asked to make supper again, and this week she chose homemade pizza. I always take the shortcut of using Naan bread for the base, but she wanted the “real deal” and made dough from scratch. It turned out really well! Aside from helping her roll it out and a bit of fiddling with the broil setting on the stove, she did this solo.
You can’t actually see any of the toppings because she DROWNED the pizza in cheese. But there is fresh basil and mushrooms and pepperoni and bacon hiding underneath the dairy sea (in varying degrees – Indy only wanted cheese and boy howdy did he get that).
Do I detect a promising weekly tradition?
SLEEP
I need to write a Demerits and Gold Stars post again soon and I know that sleep will be one of my top demerits – inconsistent bedtimes, staying up too late reading books or scrolling, and all sorts of other sleep hygiene issues. Now that Christmas and company are behind me, I’m committed to getting my sleep schedule back on track.
So far, so good. One thing helping is tracking it with an Oura ring. John had his original ring replaced because of a battery issue so I happily inherited the old one (I don’t mind charging it more frequently). It has been fascinating to look at my sleep patterns.
And it also captures my activities…including some downhill skiing!
SKIING
I always dread the first trip to the hill. It’s work to get all the gear organized and into the car. It’s work to get all the gear on our bodies. It’s cold. It’s work to get out of the gear at the end of the night. It’s work to take the gear back inside and dry/organize it in the basement again. But it’s also a lot of fun. I went alone with Indy. While we hit a few snags, we made the most the evening and it was special to spend that one-on-one time together.
WORK
After dreading it for what feels like an eternity, earlier this week I finally finished corporate tax prep and sent the relevant items off to our accountant who proceeded to FINISH THE DRAFT RETURN in like…two days. I always, always, always review the draft prior to submission (one time I caught a $5,000 error; it took me a few hours of work, but that’s a pretty nice hourly rate in savings). Then it’s just personal taxes left. These are far less onerous and I’ve already submitted most of the supporting documents (my university T4 won’t get released until the end of February/lots of charitable donation receipts haven’t been sent out yet, so personal taxes are stalled for now anyway).
Another win? Yesterday I ended up having a solid day of calls – unusual for me – which was intense but it also meant I was able to mass finalize interview applications before using Bcc to make the follow-up email communications far more streamlined.
BONUS HAPPY THINGS
- Carpooling.
- Freshly fallen snow. It has been cold and overcast. In other words, standard depressing Canadian winter weather. BUT, a light dusting of fresh snow makes everything look more cheery and hopeful. It also made my view out the gym window a lot more refreshing.
- The sound of the dishwasher in the evening. Clean dishes await!
- A long pre-bedtime snuggle/sing song/chat with Indy.
- Listening to Belle and one of her spunky friends banter. The volume goes through the roof, but it is hilarious.
- YouTube workout videos. How great is it to be able to enter specific search strings and have so many options at my fingertips?!
- Cottage cheese mixed with drippy peanut butter, raisins, and pumpkin seeds. I keep returning to it over and over. Sometimes I add chia seeds and a sprinkle of cinnamon.
- Soft scrambled eggs with a perfectly ripened avocado seasoned with a generous helping of salt and pepper. Yum.
- Speaking of food…listening to Ina Garten read the audiobook version of her memoir has been a highlight of my week. I’m a few hours in and it has been DELIGHTFUL.
- A fun strength training session at the gym. I skipped cardio and it was lovely. I’m noticing marked improvement in my form and I finished things off with a ten minute standing yoga workout (thanks to Nicole’s encouragement/daily yoga challenge) and it was the proverbial cherry on top.
- If you’re in need of a happiness boost, Michelle has posted a few Valentine’s photos from the gnome dollhouse AND she’s offering to send a Valentine to anyone who’s interested – including international readers! Go check out her post for more details and to sign up.
And that’s a wrap. We have a busy weekend ahead – choir camp and church and attending a university volleyball game and kid basketball (practice + 2 games) and an at-home date night with John and…somewhere in there…a few loads of laundry MUST also get done.
Your turn.
- I’d love to hear about some Happy Things from your week?
- Have you ever been downhill skiing?
- How do you feel about cottage cheese? Avocado?
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Kyria @ Travel Spot
I love cottage cheese, love avocados, love downhill skiing! 🙂 I did not go this year, even though my brother and Dad did when I was home, but it was nice to stay home with my Mom and get some admin things done, although I missed the slopes! However, maybe I will go in Europe, which would be the first time I have done that (if I do go). I am actually only a couple of hours away from the mountains! Hmmm…
My happy thing last week was lots of eating! However, I need to get back on track and into my routine. The only saving grace was that I always walk to the restaurants so I am getting lots of exercise, at least that is what I am telling myself.
It looks like you had an excellent time with your sister and niece; I am sure it was great to see them, even though it was probably a bit of a whirlwind of activity for a while there!
Elisabeth
Ohhhh. Skiing in Europe sounds great.
You are in the gastronomic capital of the world so I would be worried if your highlight wasn’t eating!
It was so, so special to see my sister and niece. Extra special since my niece will be having the first great-grandbaby in the family AND the surprise and delight of my parents was something I will never, ever forget.
Michelle G.
What wonderful visits with your family, and you got so many beautiful photos! That huge wreath at the gazebo makes a perfect photo spot. I like cottage cheese and avocado – but I’d throw them right into the trash if offered a piece of that incredible-looking pizza!
Thank you for mentioning my Valentine’s card sign-up! ❤️
Elisabeth
The pizza was delicious, albeit a bit heavier on the stomach than eggs and avocado!
I think your Valentine’s idea is so fun!
Michelle G.
Oh – your water bottle is so pretty!
Elisabeth
I know there was a lot of “hype” around Stanley bottles, but I 10/10 adore mine. I use it daily and love, love, love that I can put it into a gym bag and it doesn’t spill.
Kelsey
What a lovely round-up! I love that your Christmas tree continued to “host” celebrations even into January. I LOVE seeing my sleep data (Apple Watch) and it’s cool you are getting to see yours. I love cottage cheese although I only “remembered” it in the past year or so but have been happily enjoying it every since. Have not tried it with PB though! But I love PB so I will try. I like it with a huge pile of chopped fruit and a sprinkle of toasted pecans. I am also very on board with scrambled eggs, avo, salt, and lots of pepper. Yum! Downhill skiing: have been years ago but not in adulthood. It’s not very available here in central AZ…there is skiing up north in AZ but I’m intimidated by the whole production and cost of it. Perhaps as Maeve is older I will be ready to brave it. It would be a great experience for the kids.
Good things for me this week: quiet workdays at home with Chris; the online college class I’m teaching (for the first time!) is going well and I’m really enjoying it and was asked to teach in the second quarter as well; a coffee date with Chris at a lovely shop; and I had a great afternoon yesterday with Maeve feeding ducks, visiting the library, and going to her swim lessons. Thank you for this moment to reflect, and happy weekend!
Elisabeth
I’m so glad I left the tree up into January. And now…I’m also glad it’s put away. It feels like I really do have my January start this week!
Cottage cheese with PB and fruit is sooooo good. With fresh raspberries is my favourite; love the tang. Toasted pecans sound amazing.
Skiing is a lot of work and I think either requires a destination vacation (like what SHU does) or you need to live close to a small hill (like we do). It’s small, but I think if it were any further away/any more expensive, I wouldn’t do it!
I love quiet days working from home. I know that arrangement isn’t available/won’t work for everyone, but I think it’s a gift in my life and I try to treasure the perks of it.
Can’t wait to hear lots more about the teaching. And coffee, feeding ducks, and the library all sound lovely.
Nicole MacPherson
Skiing – so fun, so much work to just get there. And I only cross-country ski, which is much less work, but it still feels like work.
I love love love avocado, but I don’t like cottage cheese, so your favourite snack would not be my favourite snack. More for you!
My friend invited me to join her book club, and I was unsure because the books are of a self-help Christian nature and I wasn’t sure that would appeal to me, but I’ll tell you, it’s WONDERFUL. I am really enjoying talking with these ladies, who are super open and welcoming. No one is more surprised than I am! The book is okay but the discussions are phenomenal.
The snow is so pretty. It rained here yesterday, so strange for me to be in a place that rains in January! However, I’ll take it!
Elisabeth
Yes! It really is so much work. I am perpetually amazed how many families do it all the time in the winter. With literal TINY children in tow. They must be made of hardier stuff than me.
I’m curious what books you’re going through – and I think discussions about faith and the like are so important. I love the imagery of wrestling with big faith questions and recognizing that wrestling in a full contact sport. Better to wrestle, doubt, fear, discuss, and grow than to stay in one spot not stretching to better understand how God works.
Lindsay
What a great list! I have learned so much about my sleep habits from my Oura ring (or need for better sleep habits, haha). A happy thing from my week was taking my daughter and a friend to a tween strength and conditioning class they’ve started doing; they were the only two there that night and they gave that instructor some literal LOLs with their between exercise chatter, haha! It was so funny to peer into from the lobby.
Elisabeth
I’ve been really enjoying it so far. Obviously just a few days in, but I have found myself making some subtle changes and I appreciate being able to track trends over time, see shifts based on the time of the month/hormone fluctuations etc.
Aww. That sounds fun AND hilarious. I really enjoy observing my kids from a distance and seeing them as independent mini-adults. They have such unique personalities that present in different ways when they’re with friends vs. with adults.
Ernie
I do not like cottage cheese. To be fair, I’ve probably not tried it since I was a child. I like avocado, but usually like it in salads or with bowls of peppers and rice, etc. I’ve never had it with eggs.
I do not downhill ski. I tried it once, in Switzerland in the Alps. Um, that was dumb, but all the abroad students from my college were going as a group. I’d never skied before, but my brother was also abroad and he’d skied when we were kids and he was like, Where were you when we went skiing? Um, babysitting, of course. It was downright dangerous and I will never go again.
Happy things here – I finally bought a cabinet to put in the basement to store the Irish dancing trophies that have literally littered the girls’ room since a tornado in ’21 ripped through our neighborhood and caused our house to shake and the shelves with the trophies to rip out of the wall. Coach is on board with reorganizing the storage places in the basement this weekend. This feels like progress.
Elisabeth
I used to hate cottage cheese, but now I feel like I’m borderline addicted. I think there are worse addictions?
Yikes – that tornado sounds awful…and so sad that the trophies got knocked off their shelves. That is great progress, Ernie, to have a cabinet. And here’s hoping there are never any more tornados in your area.
Happy Things Friday – Alexandra Wolfe
[…] in the footsteps of those who have gone before (check out Elisabeth’s post this week) I’m going to try to get into the habit of writing a Happy Things post every Friday. Mostly […]
Alexandra
Always, but always enjoy reading about what you and your family have been up to. Despite living in a city with a great ski hill (St. Annes) I haven’t been skiing in decades. I would need to get fit in order to even think of hitting the slopes again. As for eggs? Eggs and I are no longer friends. No matter how much I wish otherwise, I can no longer enjoy a simple boiled egg.
My own happy thing this week was finally being able to order myself a dedicated crafting table to assemble and have it’s own space in one corner of the lounge. Pictures to follow once we manage that “some assemble required” part.
Oh, and you have me wanting an Oura ring for my birthday (in March).
Elisabeth
I know a few people who are allergic to eggs. It would make me sad, but I’m sure I could adapt. For now I love them and can eat them so I’m maximizing!!!
Yay for a dedicated crafting space. Gold stars for prioritizing something you love and that will make it easier/more enjoyable to be creative.
Alexandra
The egg thing is a recent event that took me by surprise, Elisabeth. Up until last year I was, I would say, okay and then? Something happened and now, I can no longer eat them without being violently ill.
Oh, I am in love with my new space, it looks so stylish too. So so happy!
Maria
You and your niece look a lot alike! So many great happy things for you this week! The pizza looks amazing. Belle sounds like a very promising young cook. My parents suffered through a lot of subpar Saturday evening meals untold my sisters and I got decent at it, but they said the payoff of three good cooks was worth it. Looks like belle won’t be making you suffer through her learning to cook stage!
A happy thing from my week: the almost three year old woke up super early and after a snack and potty trip he asked if we could go cuddle and talk and he just sat in bed with me and chatted his heart out for nearly an hour. It was wonderful !
Elisabeth
I think it is sooo helpful for (both genders!) to know how to cook competently when they leave home. Both financially and health-wise. I don’t love the mess that can come from kid cooks, so to be honest I’ve really waited until this year to let her cook independently, but she enjoys it and what a delight to not have to cook and actually have literal food be prepared in my kitchen by a tiny human I helped raise and nurture!
Cuddle chats are the best. I’m so glad you recognized the moment for how special it was…<3
Jenny
Yay for Happy Things, but how did it get to be Friday again ALREADY??? My UNhappy thing is that my son left today- but looking on the bright side, I also need to get my sleep back on track. When he’s home he gets on a late schedule, so I start drifting later and later, but my daughter still has to get up at 5:30 so… ack. It’s been a rough week.
I think snow really helps with winter depression, because not only is it pretty, but it’s bright. You need lots of bright things right now!
No, I’ve never been skiing and I think it would be a really bad idea to start now. I’ve already found plenty of ways to injure myself without careening dow the side of a mountain.
Your weekend sounds busy, but fun! Enjoy.
Elisabeth
It’s so hard to say goodbye, and I know you love having home home. Is this his last year? I feel like it is? Can it really be?! I’ve been reading your blog since his freshman year, right?
I agree that I feel better mentally when we have some snow vs. dark/grey/brown/cold.
San
Oh Elisabeth, this post was balm for my soul – so many happy things! The time with your sister, a visit to the Farmers Market (that wreath is something else!), skiing!
I was supposed to go on a girls’ trip this weekend including a day on the slopes, but sadly, I had to cancel that… but I am so glad you got to go. I am also super-intrigued by the Oura ring and am not surprised that you love the stats! Does John’s ring fit you though? I’d think your ring sizes are not the same?
Things are slowly looking up here this week. I am feeling much better and my mom is back home from the hospital. What a relief!
Elisabeth
I’m so sad you had to cancel time away. What a rough end to 2024/start to 2025 you’ve had – hopefully onward and upward from here <3
The ring has a bit of a tension fit (the sensors grip into the fleshy part of the finger a bit, so it fits a bit differently/flexibly than a standard ring). I think normally I'd order one size smaller, but we also wear them on different fingers, so my index finger (where I wear the Oura ring) and his ring finger (where he wears his Oura ring) are fairly compatible in size. If I tried to wear it on my ring finger, it's WAY too big. But it does fit on my index and middle.
I'm glad your mom is home and hope some extra rest does the trick <3
Lisa’s Yarns
I love cottage cheese and avocados! Paul especially loves cottage cheese. He would eat it at every meal if we allowed him to a perfectly ripe avocado is a thing of beauty!
I didn’t learn to downhill ski until I was 21 years old. I had too much of a fear of dying to really embrace the sport. Lol I prefer cross country skiing but haven’t done that since having kids. I’d love to get back to doing that though.
This week was not my favorite, but at least it’s almost over and I’m one day closer to getting this darn cast off.
Elisabeth
I am about at the point where I think I could eat cottage cheese every meal. It’s so good! Salty, sweet, tang, filling, creamy. YUM!!!
Not a fun week (or set of weeks) for you 🙁 But I’m glad you’re closer to getting your cast off AND to being able to taper off prednisone.
J
I love downhill skiing, but it’s an expensive sport and it’s several hours away, so really means a couple of days. The first time I went skiing, I was in 8th grade. My mom’s friend Linda (on and off our roommate, along with her daughter)was dating a guy who loved skiing, and so Linda, boyfriend, daughter and I went on a ski trip. I did not have ski pants, just jeans. I fell so much that first day that I could look up at the hill and see the blue from my jeans on the snow, and they were SO faded. The next day we had lessons, and it was SO MUCH BETTER. Having said that, I don’t really enjoy it as much anymore. My joints aren’t strong enough maybe, not sure. It’s been a while. Anyway, I have a lot of good memories over the years of skiing. I’ve never tried cross country.
I love the pictures of you and your sister, glad you had such a lovely visit!
I haven’t lived in the snow a lot, but gosh, I know that ugly dirty snow phase of winter, and fresh snow to cover it up is SO lovely.
Elisabeth
Skiing is sooo expensive. We’re fortunate to live close to a very (very) small hill so a season’s pass is under $200. We use second-hand gear and don’t have to drive far. But if we lived closer to a big hill – goodness, it could easily cost us more than $200 each time we went to the hill. I am always amazed how many seniors I see. Maybe they’ve been skiing all their lives so feel extremely confident. My knees take a beating and I feel like I’m always on the edge of getting hurt (hurtling down a hill!!) – I can’t imagine skiing well into my twilight years. But they sure seem to be having fun.
Stephany
Going out for a day (or evening) at the slopes sounds like SUCH fun! I’m glad you’re getting to go more often and enjoying some 1:1 time with the kiddos. I guess I would compare that to beach days here, although the gear is much less costly and no passes needed haha. But contending with traffic and parking and sand everywhere makes me much less apt to do so!
I love all of your happy things, especially the extra family time, Belle cooking (!!), and oh the sound of a running dishwasher makes me so happy, too. I love knowing I’m about to have some clean dishes that I didn’t have to do any work for!
Elisabeth
It really is so different parenting one kid at a time! And it’s fun to chat on the chair lift and then race down the hill together. Just the right amount of engagement for this introvert 🙂
Melissa
Yay for visits with family. All the stuff required for skiing is a lot, but it is so fun. I love downhill skiing. The mountain near us is about 3 hours drive, but it’s a bit less crowded on the ones 5 hours away. We went skiing at Whistler with the kids twice when they were younger and that was fabulous, once in January and once in Spring.
Kate
Confession: I love cottage cheese straight out of the container… only an option because I’m the only one in the house who eats it! The idea of mixing PB and raisins in it does *not* appeal to me but maybe I’ll try it one day. I love omelettes made with cheddar cheese, salsa, and sometimes deli ham or a leftover sausage patty one of the kids plucked off a frozen breakfast sandwich).
Family time is just the best and the older I get the more I appreciate it! Your niece’s hair is absolutely amazing! And well done, Belle, on the pizza. “Sea of dairy” made me chuckle. Honestly that’s the only way pizza should be made!
Happy things here: I finally bought a big rug for our family room (it’s open with the kitchen and shares the same ugly brown linoleum floor which is freezing in the winter). Since unrolling it yesterday afternoon the kids have been playing on it nonstop and it just makes the room feel cozier. $200 well spent!
Elisabeth
Oh I eat it out of the container, too! Same reason – no one else eats it so why not.
I HATE a lot of cheese on my pizza. In fact, I don’t really like any cheese that’s baked on top of things (like lasagne). I generally pull mine off and give it to someone else in my family because everyone else (well, maybe not Indy) loves, loves, loves baked cheese.
Isn’t it so satisfying when you make a purchase that not only fills a need but encourages something that brings your joy. I love all things cozy. Gold stars for making this happen!!!
Marcia from OrganisingQueen
If you do this every week, I’ll start tracking my happy things 🙂
I am an original cottage cheese eater before the big trend these days but I like mine flavoured sour cream and chives, not plain. I also like avocado but only in-season because it is ridiculously expensive out of season.
Never skied! A little scared to be honest but I think I might be okay as my balance is good (famous last words from someone who hasn’t a clue and lives in a country with zero snow)
Elisabeth
Snow does end up being rather important when it comes to skiing!
Tobia | craftaliciousme
So many great things… fresh snow, scrambled eggs and avocados, visits from family, dinner being done for you… Fingers crossed the last one is becoming a tradition. How fun would that be.