Come on down folks, this is the final Happy Things Friday post before Christmas. (I totally said that in The Price is Right announcement voice.)
Well, you already know there was some angst in my world this week. Getting that all out on digital paper really helped. As did your solidarity in the comments. I feel so seen when I share about things weighing me down. Thank you for the support and encouragement; it truly makes a difference.
This week was a doozy. Lots of different activities and competing demands, another snow day (but I’ve already talked about that enough!), and I think our whole family feels a bit like we’re limping toward the holiday break.
Today we arrive. John’s work has been especially intense lately so I asked him to take Monday and Tuesday off next week. The kids finish school today, my father-in-law arrives tomorrow, and then it’s time to recuperate! We have plans for over the holidays but not too many plans (I hope) but enough plans to not get bored (I hope).
Let’s talk Happy Things.
FREE AIR CANADA LOUNGE PASSES
John gets extra flying perks, including lounge passes to give away. We dole these out to family and friends throughout the year, but he has two lounge passes left that expire January 3rd. If anyone reading this is flying Air Canada and will be departing from a Canadian airport (theoretically you could be flying Air Canada from Europe into Canada and then on to the US, for example) that has a domestic or US Maple Leaf lounge, and would like access to a lounge during your layover, please let me know! First come, first served, e-mail: optimisticmusings {at} gmail {dot} com.
Lounges are a nice way to spend a layover and, for frugal-minded folks, there’s free food! Unfortunately, each lounge pass only covers one person, so at max two single people or one couple will be able to get in for free. Here’s hoping someone out there matching this description can use this freebie!
LOFI CHRISTMAS MUSIC
I first heard about lofi (low-fidelity) music last year and I don’t generally love the vibe unless I’m listening to an actual record, but lately I have been finding it very relaxing. Especially if I’m doing computer work where I need to concentrate but want some musical accompaniment.
CHRISTMAS MOVIE
Our church hosted a Sunday-afternoon viewing of The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. They supplied popcorn and we took some snacks and there were kids in PJs and blanket forts on the floor. Indy snuggled up under a blanket with me and it was very festive. I took zero pictures, so you’ll have to use your imagination…
WHITE CHRISTMAS
Speaking of movies…one of my absolute favourite evenings of the entire year is my annual viewing of White Christmas with Joy. It fills me with so much joy. We recite dozens of lines, laugh at the same jokes which seem to get funnier every year and it is such a simple, relaxing, wonderful evening.
10/10 recommend.
SNOW FUN
Don’t get me wrong. I am over the snow. I wish it would fall and then stay cold enough for the snow to stay while leaving the roads clear, BUT it really is beautiful. And Indy has been spending a lot of time outside with friends.
I captured this picture last Friday morning which was one of their snow days.
And on Monday, Belle hosted her three closest friends for a little holiday shindig. It was hilarious. So much laughter, plenty of sarcasm, and four very funny, sassy teens doing running commentary to a Princess Switch movie and at least a dozen rounds of (hilarious) Scattergories after demolishing the pizza we bought!
It’s moments like these that really warm my Mama heart.
WASSAIL CHRISTMAS CONCERT
For the last 3 (?) years, I have taken my parents to a local concert. It consists of old wassail songs and carols and most of them are obscure but all of them are delightful. The musicians are wonderful. The choir director is a CHARACTER and has everyone in stitches, but in a very thought-provoking way.
It’s an intimate chapel venue and the acoustics are amazing. The two performances sell out every single year, so I try to nab tickets immediately.
It didn’t disappoint. (I was a bit distracted by neighbourhood nonsense, but I mostly put it out of my head. Also, I was randomly talking to the person I was sitting beside and we had so much overlap and she has now invited my parents and I to her house for coffee; I feel like Nicole would be so very proud of me.)
HAPPY THINGS IN BLOGLAND
- Sarah’s book is officially out in the world. I may be a bit salty about the fact my pre-order (FROM MAY) may not arrive until after Christmas, but delayed gratification for the win.
- Catrina not only knocked her latest race out of the proverbial park (2nd out of 195 in her age group; 11th out of 1002 women), SHE GOT INTO THE LONDON MARATHON!
- Michelle shared more adorable treasures from her Kawaii Advent calendar.
- Kae has had an epic year (a visit to NS! travel! a visit to NS! home upgrades! a visit to NS…haha) and she wrote an inspiring post all about it.
CHRISTMAS CARDS
The mail is such a delight this time of year. Two special shout-outs.
One, a blogging friend (YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE), sent me an adorable greeting and a Starbucks gift card. This was the first Starbucks gift card I’ve received in my life (I’d never had a single Starbucks drink until this year). It made my day in the middle of a tough week. AND, on Wednesday I was able to treat a certain child who was having a very hard week to a Starbucks drink and it boosted their spirits.
And this card from Michelle. Y’all. She designs these cards herself and I am smitten. SMITTEN!
CHRISTMAS SHOPPING…WITH A KID WHO MAKES THEIR OWN MONEY
This is the first year Belle has a job. And her babysitting gig is pretty darn sweet.
She wanted to buy gifts for the family with her own money (yes, please), so we headed off to do that last Saturday. (Ironically, while we were shopping, she got asked to babysit later in the day—which was helpful since she spent almost every last penny of what she had earned on gifts.)
I wasn’t dreading it, but I certainly wasn’t looking forward to it. Crowds! Trying to find the right gifts!
Everything went as smoothly as humanly possible. She found perfect gifts for everyone, some of them on CLEARANCE, and we were there and back in under 2 hours. Hallelujah!
MEAL INVITE TO MOM AND DAD’S
Sometimes I wonder “Why me?” in a negative way. Why does this have to be my set of things to deal with.
And then I try to remember to flip that script. Why me?
Why am I fortunate enough to have loving parents who call me on a Wednesday afternoon and ask if we want to come down for supper. In the end, I took Belle and a friend and since we were tight on time (I had to take Belle and this friend to a Christmas formal) I left without lifting a finger for cleanup. Having my parents walk us to the door and send us off into the night with full bellies really warmed my heart.
HOLIDAY NAILS
I have had some compliments on my current nail colour and am here to share the deets. It is Drop the Beet by Sally Hansen which, on sale, costs about $3.25 here in Canada. I have had great luck with this nail polish line. Since I was using a dark colour, I only needed a single coat (which I quasi-float).
I should also highlight the Orly basecoat and Seche Vite top coat I use (both at the recommendation of Kelsey). These products are definitely more than $3.25, but the Orly bonder in particular will last me approximately forever and dries almost immediately. #Love.
The top coat is very shiny. It DOES cause some polish shrinkage/tightening which I don’t love and I’ve heard it can get very thick over time and sometimes requires a special product to thin it out. I love the effect, but would likely rate it a 4.5/5 overall in terms of a top coat. The shrinkage issue is really only a problem with lighter colours where I have to do multiple coats because ideally Seche Vite is applied while the polish is still slightly damp, but when there are 2+ layers of polish, the different colour layers are at different dryness levels). I would like to get the Seche Vite gel top coat, but haven’t been able to find it in Canada yet.
In terms of holding up, my nails are 5 days “old” in this picture with one coat of the Orly base bonder, one coat of Sally Hansen Drop the Beet, one top coat of Seche Vite and on day 3 a quick swipe of a generic clear top coat. I didn’t cap my nails because it’s such a nuisance, but that’s really the only place the manicure has broken down. Since a single layer is so quick to do, I figure I can just re-paint my nails more regularly and save the hassle of capping.
READING BUDDY
Indy bought the latest Diary of a Wimpy Kid book at his school’s book fair and it is SO lovely to see him reading. Before we headed out to pickleball on Tuesday I was on the couch reading my book and would occasionally look up and snap a picture. I love the time stamp progression of the evening. At first he’s all curled up (6:01 PM), with hat and slippers on.
Then he’s stretched out (6:07).
By 6:30, he’s all in: slippers on the floor, hat off, and body sprawled (in what looks like a somewhat uncomfortable position) across the chair. There is little in this world that makes my heart happier than seeing one of my kids reading a book.
And while Indy waited to go to soccer practice the next night…he hopped into bed with his book!
While on the topic of reading, Belle has not been a fan of her English class (it’s less about the class, and more the teacher). She loathes the book he chose (warranted), and he was reading out loud at, according to Belle, a 0.7 pace.
She is a not a 0.7 pace type of gal. More of a 1.5-2x.
One day he asked for a student volunteer to read, Belle put up her hand, and I guess after that all her classmates asked if she could please be the one to read out loud. She has a booming voice and really is an excellent orator, so this made me happy to hear.
BONUS HAPPY THINGS
- One of the most important parts (for me) of maintaining a gratitude practice is being easily delighted. Here is a very simple delight. A new Scrub Daddy. Look how happy he looks!!
- Peanut Brittle Bars. One thing I noted last year after Christmas was that I needed a bit more holiday baking stashed away in the freezer. Things I could pull out at a moment’s notice when we had people stop by for coffee or to round out a meal. These bars are SO addictive and SO easy.
- A friend gifted us a rosemary “Christmas tree” (you can see it to the right of Indy in the pictures where he’s reading in the living room). And I got to cut off some sprigs and put them into my stew.
See the little tree on the side table! That’s fresh rosemary!
- Belle has been babysitting quite regularly. One day this week I hosted the girl she babysits for supper and I wanted a “safe” kid-friendly meal. I made these Greek yogurt waffles (gold stars for protein, right?) up in advance and they are delicious. We top ours with peanut butter, berries, and banana (with a dollop of yogurt and syrup on top). Yum.
- Between personal and corporate accounts…we have a lot of cards and logins. I keep track of all of those things offline in a Word Doc I print out. It is so handy to be logging into a government website and have the correct login and password in hard copy! BUT all sorts of things needed updating and rearranging and categorizing and I did it. A job that felt onerous wasn’t actually that bad. Some logins were no longer relevant (DELETE), some passwords had been updated (I made note). Everything is clean and neat and it feels very good.
- Indy and I went sledding! There was no part of me that had the bandwidth for this on the snow day, but I rallied the next day and after school we went for a short stint to the hill. I went down a few times, he went down a few dozen times and it accomplished exactly what I had hoped: fun outdoor memories, minimal effort on my part and snow day guilt laziness assuaged.
- Bonus happy thing: that red sled was an inexpensive purchase over a decade ago (it’s like a very firm crazy carpet). We have gone through many other sleds in the same time period, but this thing still looks like new.
And that’s a wrap.
- What Happy Things happened in your world this week?
- When was the last time you went sledding? Are there some people reading who have never been sledding?
- What’s your favourite Christmas cookie, bar, or other sweet treat?
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I have to zoom in on Belle putting her hand up to read out loud – she stepped in, owned the room, and made it better for everyone else. That’s confidence and generosity. She’ll go far!
And Indy reading himself into full sprawl mode must make your reading-Mama heart very happy.
Your sledding question reminded me that we have a local mountain in Zurich with a long sledding run: train up, sled down. It’s great fun, especially at night!
She definitely steps up for lots of things 😉 She will indeed go far. What a hoot she is…
Seeing Indy reading made me SO happy. There is something special about reading in a room with someone else and it rarely happens for me since I’m the main reader in my family.
How wonderful to go over to your parents for dinner and then come home and not deal with the cleanup and such! And sledding is so so fun. I have enjoyed going as an adult with my kids. And I love that they are both at an age where they don’t need to ride with a parent. They are getting new sleds from Santa this year. And that concert with your parents sounds amazing. I went to our church’s concert last Sunday and it was amazing. I am not a crier but I cried during this mash up of ‘lo how a rose err blooming’ and ‘the rose’ sang by the HS choir and then during ‘silent night/peace peace’ at the end which is sang by candlelight with all 500 singers. It was 10/10 amazing.
The best part of my week is having yesterday and today off. And it’s thanks to you gently suggesting I take some days off after my bad day last week. So thank you thank you thank you! (Throws confetti… and then sweeps it up).
Pre going GF, my fave treat was leant butter blossoms or gingerbread cookies. Those both have gluten and while I could make them GF, I don’t. So my fave treats are the peanut brittle and heath candy my mom makes.
It is such a nice stage of parenting when kids can independently sled! (And climb back up the hill themselves!)
Yay for new sleds.
Your choir concert always sounds truly incredible. I would love to teleport there for that holiday experience with you.
Confetti on the floor would stress me out, but I am SO glad you took a few days off. Yay, yay, yay. You need this, you deserve this…and I am so glad the kids were both well enough to be at school on your days at home.
This all sounds so wonderful and festive! Hooray for so many happy things! And for PLANNED time with the kids at home — so much more enjoyable than having it sprung on you.
What does “quasi float” mean? I love the nail polish color but am baffled by that phrase!
One happy thing I have been enjoying all month is Leo’s box fixation. Any time we get a new box — especially if it has brown paper in it — he LEAPS inside and then plays for hours. So cute!
Yes, I know I’m staring down the barrel of 2+ weeks off, but it’s different! Having it planned and just generally being relaxed (no lunchboxes! everyone can sleep in—because on snow days they always wake up early to check if they have school and Indy at least will never go back to sleep)…I’m looking forward to the break from the routine.
So floating is when you load up your brush with quite a bit of a polish and barely touch the nail. You float the brush over the nail, this way it doesn’t leave streaks. I don’t fully float the polish (I press down a bit), hence quasi-float. It is NOT an official term, it is just how I think of it. Floating is a term, but quasi-floating is not. DOES ANY OF THAT MAKE SENSE???
Hooray for Leo. This is your first Christmas with him; how special for all!!!!
I LOVE all the Christmas-y happy things- but I have to admit I got a little sad when you said it was the last Happy Things post before Christmas (noooooo!)
You have so many good things in your life. I know things aren’t perfect (neighbors) and kids can be aggravating- but overall you have such a wonderful family. And yes, you’re so lucky to have your parents there! I’m VERY glad you and Belle (I’m just assuming it was her having a difficult day) enjoyed a Starbucks treat.
You’re reminding me that I have to make peanut butter balls!!! Those, along with biscotti, are family favorites.
This time next week Christmas is over. You are my soul sister with the post-Christmas letdown, so we need to cheer each other on.
I have so many good things in my life, Jenny! Very blessed.
Starbucks HIT THE SPOT. *wink*
HERE WE COME A WASSAILING AMONG THE TREES OF GREEN!
I am so proud of you for making a new chatty friend!
We get the WestJet lounge passes with our “status” (Rob just got platinum, which I feel is over-the-top). It makes SUCH a difference! Food! Drinks! A nice bathroom and place to shower, not that I’ve used the shower but it’s nice to know it’s there.
I’m shocked your pre-order of Sarah’s book isn’t coming until after Christmas – I just ordered mine on like Tuesday, and it is supposed to be here before then. Oh well, it will be a nice after-Christmas treat for you.
Your nails look great but HOW ARE YOU GETTING SALLY HANSEN FOR $3.25?? I think mine is at least ten dollars, I haven’t looked lately. I guess mine is a different kind but still. I didn’t know you could get anything for $3.25!
I think it’s the type of Sally H. It’s X-treme nails and is much cheaper than the gel one you use?
At my Shoppers it’s on the very bottom row and I think regular price it’s $5.29, but it comes on for $3.25!!! (Like every two weeks).
Update: Amazon is now telling me her book will arrive on Monday. All my fingers are crossed.
I forgot to mention the bathrooms. SO handy in the lounges. I also have never used the shower, but it is nice to know it’s there! I feel like if we were every majorly delayed I would definitely think about using it. Though do they offer footwear???
I didn’t know that Belle had gotten a job! Congrats to her!
I’ve never been sledding, but I’m planning to watch White Christmas soon, so does that count?????
Baking season is about to get underway: chocolate chip cookie bars with red and green M&Ms, oreo balls, Christmas crack, frosted eggnog cookies, and another round of Kelly’s brown sugar shortbread!!!
She has been babysitting twice a week!
You’ve never been sledding??? WHAT???? Tell me more??
And I cannot wait for you to watch White Christmas. I hope you love it <3
That is so kind to give away those lounge passes. I hope someone takes you up on your offer.
The Lofi Christmas music sounds interesting. I might have to try it and the Christmas movie sounds like great fun.
Snow is fun for the first day or two but then it gets a bit disruptive.
Belle’s shindig sounds like fantastic fun and how sweet of her to buy gifts. It’s the first year my youngest has a job and own money and she has been buying gifts, it makes me so proud!
Agreed: I like snow for a few days and then it feels like a VERY big nuisance 🙁
I think it’s really helpful to get a better grasp of how much things cost. She was rather amazed how quickly her money was gone!!!
Our first winter married it actually snowed a freakish amount – for us. Like every weekend for all of January and part of February. One of them was enough, and the right type, for sledding and we went to my in-laws and slid down the “trail” next to the garden. It was hilarious good fun, though cold. And years ago, when I was in middle school (?), we had a super deep snow and convinced our Lab dog to pull the sled for us, lol
My festive cooking will take place next week: primarily things that I am taking to a family function, but maybe a few treats for Mr and I as well, time depending…
I have a few things left to bake, but mostly now it’s cooking! Turkey! Lasagne soup! Christmas breakfast! I’m trying to not feel a bit overwhelmed by it. And now that the kids are older I’m going to recruit them to help with more of it!
I love a new Scrub Daddy! My favorite scrubbing sponge. My early Christmas gift to me was a large set of microfiber cleaning towels. I’ve never had a bunch, always just one random one, and now I have a dedicated pile and they make me HAPPY. I can clean the bathroom without using a bunch of chemicals or copious amounts of baking soda (though I do use that as well), and they pick up dust like nobody’s business. I spent a happy morning today cleaning, and showing the kids how to use them for dusting, and using them on my Swiffer, and now the dirty ones are in their own dedicated laundry bath.
Other happy things: My husband was informed he has the day before and after Christmas off, so he gets nearly a whole week of vacation without having to use time off; the paperwork finally went through and my second son and I are scheduled for our nurse aide training certification tests. He has been so anxiously awaiting this, because he wants a JOB and now we’ll get the test out of the way before our holiday trip so it won’t be hanging over our heads. Woo hoo!
I love Scrub Daddy’s. This is my first year using them and I find they work so well!
YAY!!! The paperwork went through. I am so relieved that happened before Christmas and before your vacation. This is such wonderful news. I am so, so happy for you, Karen <3
Those peanut brittle bars look super yummy! My favorite are magic cookie bars (layers of graham cracker crumbs, sweetened condensed milk, butterscotch and chocolate chips, coconut, and chopped walnuts. I only make them at Christmas, but they are incredible.
I had to look up lofi music and I honestly still don’t understand what it is. Also, my mom had a stash of the Scrub Daddy’s, and I don’t understand what people like about them? They just seem really inflexible, compared to a sponge. Please help me!
My mom always used to make magic cookie bars! I should ask if she is making some this year; if not, I’ll try to convince her! I had them growing up but they’re not a recipe I make myself.
Lo fi has crackles and there aren’t generally layers to the music (like synthesizers, etc).
I LOVE the Scrub Daddy. I find it works so well. I like the one that is just mesh and doesn’t have a sponge. It gets very soft and pliable when it’s in warm water, but it’s hard when dry or in cold water.
Just so you know, Indy’s third position is my preferred reading position. I almost always have my back propped up with a pillow and my legs hanging over the chair. I mean, it would be better if there was a kitty snuggled up next to me, but I guess that’s not an option for Indy!
Look, I don’t pick favorites. I like sugar, molasses, and chocolate chip cookies. I like lemon, gingerbread, and peanut butter cookies. I don’t actually like chocolate as a base for my desserts, so I’d probably not choose a chocolate cookie, but, hey, other people should stand a chance at getting cookies, shouldn’t they?
Alas, no kitties at our place though Indy LOVES to be cozy and I can only imagine how much he would love having a cat snuggled in beside him and purring.
I don’t really like chocolate cookies either. Ginger are my absolute favourite in terms of cookies, but I love all sorts of bars. Cherry cheesecake, though, will forever have my Christmas heart <3
Indy’s reading progression is basically me. I’ll sit down and think, “this is cozy, but maybe with a blanket…and a cup of tea…and Christmas lights on…” and then 5-10 minutes later I have my perfect set up. I have been sledding–most recently when we lived in Boston, which over a decade ago. I didn’t grow up in a cold climate, so when I moved to Boston after undergrad I tried to soak up all the wintry experiences. My favorite Christmas cookies are Pizzelles, which are an Italian Christmas cookie that are like very thin waffles with a pretty design on them and powdered sugar.
He did take his time getting into the sweet spot 🙂
I love your nail polish color! I’ll be needing to get a Scrub Daddy ASAP! Why haven’t I ever come across one before? So cute! A smiling sponge has to make cleaning happier, right? I haven’t been sledding in a very long time. I think it would break me at this stage of life! 🤣
They are so fun. I love the bright colours and the smiles. And I find them to be very effective!
Lisa’s Yarns, you can make peanut butter blossoms without the flour! Peanut butter, sugar, and an egg is all you need.
I love the story of Belle reading to her class and being voted as the usual reader. How amazing. And she’s babysitting. I earned so much money babysitting as as preteen- and, well – I’m still at it. Ha. I went sledding with Kay and Rae last year. It has been years for me, as that was usually Coach’s thing. Happy things – Mini is home. I pulled off the surprise for Curly’s bday (slight hiccup, but she is thrilled to have her cousins here for her birthday). I’ve made some headway, tackling things on my list – but my sleep is not cooperating. Struggling to turn my brain off and keep thinking “just get up and get all the things done.” I prefer baking in advance and freezing the goods – but Kay likes to help herself to my stash. It’s pretty frustrating.
Babysitting seems to be a very high-paying gig these days!! I remember making $3/hour FOR TWO KIDS.
I am so glad that Curly’s surprise worked out (hope the hiccup wasn’t too much of and issue).
I have a hard time not raiding a stash of goodies in the freezer…
So many wonderful Christmassy things! I am surely but slowly getting into the Christmas spirit – although I have two more work days before a long Christmas weekend – and your mention of Christmas movies and supper with Mom and Dad warmed my heart 🙂 It’s amazing that Belle has her first job and that she wants to spend her money on gifts for everyone. And I love that Indy is reading with (and without) you. The kids are growing up!
My mom sings in a choir and they had their Christmas concert this week. I was able to go last year and I am bummed that I miss out this year. But I love that you took your parents to a Christmas concert – I feel like that’s 100% part of the festive season!
The kids are growing up indeed. I know I’ll blink and Indy will be a teen. And then Belle will be graduating high school. When they’re little those big transitions seem sooooo far away but, in reality, the start to creep up fast at this point in parenting.
I’m sorry you aren’t able to be with family this Christmas. That’s really tough and I’m sure you miss them even more this time of year. I hope you and Jon have some cozy, relaxing, and restorative holidays and I know you always knock the Christmas menu out of the park!
So many cozy, happy things in your life lately! Or maybe it’s the cozy things that make you happy?
I made two varieties of gingerbread bars for the work cookie swap last week, and the gingerbread blondie version were so good that I’m making a second batch even as I type this. The other were good too but the kids said they were *too* ginger-y. Probably because they had crystallized ginger in them.
We’ve had two inclement weather delays – not for snow, but for ice. No true snow days yet. We’ll see if we even get there this year…
Cozy things DO make me happy.
Ohhhh. Gingerbread blondies sound AMAZING! I hope you share the recipe on your blog!