Weekend Recap: Birthday Edition (from 2.5 weeks ago!)Let's Be Friends Blog Hop

Well, I realize that this is from 3 weeks ago, but I did want to do a short post about it, b/c it was a nice wknd.

A number of weeks ago, Mom and I had talked about my birthday weekend, and what I would like to do...she suggested that we come to the ranch, as they would be having H for the wknd, and before we all left, we could go out for supper. It was such a good idea, that I went for it!!

Friday was my actual birthday, and I was greeted at school with cards, gifts, and coffee! It was a lovely day, and we had two cupcake parties (another student in our class has the same birthday as me), as I brought cupcakes to share. Right after school, I went downtown to pick up my Steaped Tea order, dropped them off with my friend, came home and got Anker, finished packing, and then headed on up the hill to White Spot for supper. I kind of wanted it semi kid-friendly, as Mom and Dad were looking after H that wknd (b/c SOMEONE got married on my birthday, after they forgot that a certain sister had a birthday that day..hahahah..no, I won't let them ever forget about it...lol), as A and K were away on their anniversary wknd. No matter...we all still had fun without them!!! From Mom and Dad, I got a lovely set of SKORTS and a beautiful pink top. A and K gave me a gardening set (planter basket, gloves and stepping stones). H insisted on giving me this funny talking monkey that he found. Mom may or may not have given me a kids activity sheet that comes with the kids menu. I may or may not have done it :) I have always loved doing them...not sure why..probably because I got bored waiting for food, and I love to doodle..and that was pre-phone era. After dinner, we all car pooled to the ranch. We were so tired, that after a short visit, we all went to bed (Vienna is in the States finishing up her midwife training, otherwise she would have been involved in my birthday shenanigans). Isaac was there when we got home, Aunty June and Uncle Ted were around, and V and J were in ON, so I wasn't able to see them.

Saturday, I slept in, and we all hung out for the morning. I made scones that I got from Steaped Tea, and they were really good. I did dishes, read magazines, and watched the rain come down. Poor Mom was planning on us helping put up their new pool, but the rain didn't let us do it. Dad also wanted to move sheep, and we were all going to be involved in/with that, but the rain didn't let us do that, either. Mom and H coloured/painted and drew a picture, and I read. Mom and I helped C clean out one of the cabins for an hour or so. Then we headed back. Anker and I went for a walk, and he helped the guys change the oil in one of the quads. Dad and I went to check out the sheep, and I wanted to see the new guard dog, Max. OMGoodness, he is SO sweet!!! We came back, and had supper, and then we watched a girly (Hallmark) movie. I love Hallmark movies!!! I went to bed around 11.

Sunday was church, then C and I went to Clearwater to grab lunch, and to do a bit of shopping. I found my sandals at Field's, which I love, and a few other fun things. She dropped me off at June and Ted's, and we had a visit, and then June drove me home, and Anker and I got ready to leave. We brought H home and met his parents on the highway (don't worry, we stopped before letting him out!!), and came home and hung out all evening. It was a great wknd, probably the best I had had in awhile. I loved that my mom had the idea of me coming out there for my bday! She has such good ideas, that mom of mine!

Here are some pics from the wknd! Most of them are also on IG.

 My co-worker gave me these Color By Amber Bracelets. (skinnies? Thinnies?) I love them!!!

 Color By Amber

                         The gifts I got when I got to work. I have the best co-workers!! I also got another GC to/for Starbucks on the Monday after my birthday.

I bought myself some sushi to have for lunch on my birthday!

Supper at White Spot. Yum!

It was so cold, that I made a fire..A FIRE, PEOPLE! Nothing says June like a roaring fire!

I did manage to make and keep a fire going. Twice. You're welcome.

The scones that I made...yum!

 Isn't Max just the cutest!!??

And what is a birthday post without a birthday (wknd) selfie?

I was hoping to have linked up with Tiffany @ The Dwelling Tree, but I never got around to it, and then the link closed..so while I am not actually linking, I AM commenting on the post.

Randoms/Life Update

Here are some randoms of our lives, and a little life update :)

Our garden is giving us food! There are about 10000 strawberries that we have got from our garden! Anker has made some strawberry/orange jam, and it was SO GOOD! We are also getting zucchini and snap peas. Yum!

Our new neighbours have moved in. They seem nice, and so far, quite quiet. We shall see. The new neighbours to the other side of us seem nice, too...Anker actually talked to them. They like to garden, and were there last wknd putting in some stuff.

There is a fire burning not too far from us. Thankfully, it's not threatening any buildings, and I HOPE that it has been contained, but I am not sure. My friend and I went up the other day to check it out. I actually had no idea that it was even burning until she told me, which is weird, b/c I would have thought I would seen or smelled the smoke. Anyway, none of us are worried....yet :)

I fell a couple of weeks ago on my way to work. It was all so silly. Anker was so sweet and bandaged me up, and I limped to work. Fun times. He actually had to drive me. I had errands to do that evening, so I limped around doing those..not fun.

My swallowing issues have started to come back, and I was able to get in to see my doctor on Monday (SHOCKING, since I usually have to wait a week or two to get in!), so he has put me back on Ranitidine, and I will be definitely having my barium swallow the end of July.

I think I am going to the ranch this wknd..which reminds me, I had better ask Mom if I can stay in the house..haha! My SIL wanted to go camping, but with it being the Long Weekend (Canada Day here in the Great White North), and also with it maybe raining, we have decided that we will sleep where God intended...inside on a bed! Ha! I just want to get away for a bit, even if it is to my parents'. I hope their pool is up :)

I am going to try my hand at being a Tupperware consultant. I like their products, and the team here in Kamloops is really supportive. I will try it out for the summer/fall and see on how I do..if I find it's too much or too expensive, I will at least have gotten a bunch of stuff for super cheap!!

Last weekend, I went with my SIL to my baby nieces' baby shower. Mom was taking a few ladies from the church, and I knew that C was going alone. We had a nice trip there and back..and I got to see K for the first time! She is so sweet!! I got to hold her lots, which was so fun!! We left around 6, and I just hung out in the evening.

Well, that's about it for this round!!! Hope you are all having a good summer!

Five On Friday

Happy Wednesday! Yes, I am still alive! I haven't really been feeling the blogging vibe lately, so this ol' blog has been lacking. I have a couple of posts that have their title, and that is as far as I have gotten. Ha! Anyway....here are some favourites of the last week or two:

1) School is OUT! Yay!!!

I am looking forward to 10 weeks of no school! I will be doing a bit of respite and babysitting just to cover some bills, but that's about it. This week has been BUSY! Next week, it should be a bit quieter.

2) Coscto Clothes

For the first time ever, I have bought clothes at Costco. I gotta say, that I am super impressed. I bought a long skirt that a mom at school had on, and it looked really nice, so she texted me to tell me that they were on sale. I ended up getting it, and I also got a top. They are both really comfy.

Not the greatest picture of me, but I texted this to my mom-friend from school to to show her...I really love the top...I also have a picture of the skirt...which, funnily enough, matches EXACTLY with a top that I bought at Mark's a few weeks ago!

Isn't that weird? It even the faded parts on the stripes are the same? And they are from different clothing companies.

3) Date with Nephew

H and I had a date on Saturday, and it was the cutest thing. We haven't had one in awhile, so it was long overdue. I got a gift card to Red Robin, and I thought it would be fun to take him out. I was already slated to babysit him, so I thought that I would take him there for appies and dessert. We had a fun time, and the food was good!!

4) End of School

The last couple of days of school were bittersweet :) I so enjoyed this year, and it was a definite learning year, but I wouldn't have it any other way. I had such a great first year...with lots of positive experiences, and lots of growth and stretching...and patience!! The Thursday before it ended, we went to a nearby park for some water park/playground fun. It was a beautiful day, and I pretty much just sat for most of it.

Friday, we had a Fun Day, which was a total blast. There were 9 stations set up, and all of the primary grades joined in. After that was all done, we said goodbye to the kiddies, and we teachers and EA's got some lovely gifts and cards. I was SO blessed!!

5) New Contract for 2017-2018 School Year

People, I am going back!! I am so excited!!

Show and Tell Tuesday

Happy Saturday!!! Today (a few days late!) I am linking with Andrea to talk about #thestruggleisreal.

Here are a few struggles in my life...

1) Infertility. Most of the time, I am pretty content with our not having kids, but every once in awhile, this becomes a struggle. That is when I have to take a step back, breathe, probably pray, and or talk with someone, and then go on about my day. Or, if i can...just end up being grumpy for the rest of the evening. Ha!

2) Time with God. Yes, I pray as I am going about my day...both sincere, and not-so-sincere; meaningful, and fast...but I really don't spend time with God like I know I should. I have NO excuses! At.All. I do try and read the verse of the day from my phone app, and I have about 20 devotions going. I don't read even one every day. I will go weeks without reading them, then I will read about 5 in a day. At least I try, right?

3) Reading Decent Books. I haven't read a book (decent or otherwise) in years. It has been magazines only. I wish I could get into a few Christian (or even just some sort of intellectual book) books, or even just a good thought provoking book or novel, but I cannot.

4) Health And Fitness. I want to be fit and healthy. I also want pie and fries. I want to got a walk every night. I also want to sit on my butt and watch TV/Movies. #thestruggleisreal

5) Volunteer/Ministry/Helping Others/Church Stuff. I love my job. I really do. But I also need my downtime. Therefore, I will often stay at home in the evenings, and not go out. I often will be selfish, and not help others, not get involved in ministry and or volunteer. Like our church is having VBS in July, I know I should help (and I have in the past), but I know that I will be probably pretty tired, and in need of a break.

6) Time with Anker/Others vs Being Alone. This is weird. I love my husband, my family and friends, but I also love being alone. I actually need to be very aware that people will need me (my company and my scintillating conversation!), but I often will just love to be by myself in our room. Yes, it is a very bad habit. There a lot of times when I would rather be home (in our room) than visiting with friends and even family.

7) Depression and Anxiety. This is for sure a struggle. One that I cope with on nearly a daily basis (on some level).

Life Lately

It's for another LL post!!

What can I say?

We finally got our A/C in our car fixed. We now have A/C in our house...all I can say is..Yay!!!

Our garden is growing, y'all! And we got our first strawberry this year from the garden. Yummy!

I am getting a Barium Swallow done in July to rule out any swallowing issues. My issues that I did have seemed to have been left me for now.

The right side of my neck and should hurt. It started on Friday afternoon/evening, and it hasn't really gotten better. It think it may have to do with all the time I spend on my computer and phone, and probably reading all my magazines!!

Our road is completely torn up. It is kind of annoying, and smelly! They are putting in a new sewer line, so we can smell sewer (even more than usual). It's gross. I hope that they get that part of it done soon.

I got my school staff and class pictures back last week. I have them sitting very proudly in our room. I might end up buying some cheap frames to put them in.

Only two more weeks left of school. I cannot wait! I know I will miss them this summer, but I am looking forward to the break.

Our class went swimming 8 out of the last 10 (school) days, and I really loved it. It broke up our afternoons, and today, we were all talking on how the day kind of went on and on, and on how tired we were...and realized that it was b/c we weren't going swimming today...sadness! The children now think that swimming is over, so school must be over, so they can be all crazy....umm..yah, no! Ha!

I also discovered that the park/swimming pool within walking distance to my house. I met up with my friend on our walk last wk, and I realized that it was super close (I knew that it was close, but I didn't know that it was THAT close!). So I expect that I will be spending a lot of time there!

I saw my friend's daughter at church yesterday. She was in our wedding as Flower Girl 10 yrs ago! Oh boy...did I feel old! She is almost 19, and she looks just like her mom! We talked about adult things...and I just thought...wow..I am old!!! #thestruggleisreal #iamold

I adulted hard last week, and I bought a T-Fal fry pan (that we still need to use..ha!). It was for my birthday. Anker had gotten a GC from CT awhile back (he got it bc he had spent a certain amount), and he told me to go and buy myself something for my birthday (he doesn't shop for gifts much, though, to his credit, he did try to find something for me at the dollar store). It was 20 bucks down from $70. #adultingishardyo

It was super hot/muggy here in town, but when we got to my parents', we were FREEZING! I had to make a freaking fire! IN JUNE! Yah, I wasn't impressed..I was, however, impressed that I made a fire!! #shesstillgotskillz

We have some hard-core flooding here in town (well, all around the Interior, really). I went down twice last (June 2nd) week to one of the local parks, and the river was up pretty far into the parking lot. Then, my friend and I went down around 6 (three hours later), and the river had come up even more! It has receded a bit now (I went down last Wednesday, and it had gone down a lot), but it was kind of scary there, for awhile.

My niece's baby shower is next week, and I am head down there for the day for it. It will be great to see my brother and his wife, and of course, the new baby! It should be a fun day!

I have been watching various tv shows, and movies (either on TV or on DVD) lately. I was into a few shows on HGTV, but I was getting overwhelmed by all of the various episodes (I would set the PVR to whenever they would come on), so I just ended up deleting the series. I still want to watch THE FOUNDER, and a few others. I hope that since no good shows will be on this summer that I will be able to watch my own movies that I have, as well as maybe finish watching FRASIER. and of course TBBT, and FRIENDS.

Last week was our last Chapel of the school year. During the year, the older kids get buddied up with the younger kids (I think this is the first year that they have done this..though the K's and Grade 12's have always been buddied up). It has been really fun, and neat the see the older buddies with their younger buddies. Once a month, we did a project with the buddies, and it was really fun. Well, last week was our last "real" chapel of the year, and we had an entire school chapel (i think they only do this twice a year), and it was super fun! It was held out in the court yard, and the kids had a ton of fun  jumping around, singing, and doing the Congo Line. I hope we do it again next year.

I am getting a night guard, and I only have to pay $23 of it! They did 5 impressions awhile back, then they wanted me back to to the bottom...and while I was there, they said that they need to the do the top again, too! I nearly threw up this time. Thankfully, my friend (who is also a CDA) was there, and that helped. I told them that if they needed to do it again, I wasn't getting the night guard!

I was able to test some products out for a friend who does Arbonne (well, I have two friends who do it, but this person gave me some things to test out), and I really liked them. I will try to do a short review on my blog about it the next while.

Just a quick recap on LAST (June 2-4): Friday, I went to a BBQ at my friends house, then I met up for coffee with some other friends after a co-worker's bridal shower dinner. Saturday, I hung out, then I ran a few errands. I went to CT to grab shop for gifts, and then my friend and I got a Starbucks drink, and went for a walk. Then we drove down to the river to check out the water levels. Sunday, I had full intentions of going to church, but Anker and I ended up talking, and we watched the news. I sat outside for awhile, reading, then I went to H's soccer game. We grabbed a quick drink and snack afterwards, and then I came home. I think I watched a movie or something in the evening, and went to bed (late, as usual)!

I will do a birthday weekend recap/wrap up either tomorrow or Wednesday. It will be epic, let me tell you!!!

I think that about sums up our life. I like doing things LL posts in point form...they make it easy and not has long and stressful.

Here are some pics to end off this post:

 Road construction near our house...it has gotten worse since this picture was taken.

My T-Fal pan :)

Shall we gather at the River? :)

Depression and Anxiety

I was looking through April's issue of Glamour Magazine today, and there was a section about Mental Health, and since that seems to be very popular right now, I thought I would go ahead and share some of my struggles with Anxiety and Depression.

My Mom had PPD back before it was even popular. I won't go into her struggle, but I will say that she suffered from it pretty bad. Thankfully, she was healed from it, and when asked, she will gladly share her story with you. I was about 5 when got it after she had my younger brother. Fast forward to when I was 17. I had negative thoughts and what I know now is Anxiety. I had this for about a year, and it was not fun, let me say. I worried..A LOT! I went crazy with it, and I am so thankful that Mom was there to help me through it. I never thought of going on meds...I am not sure that they would have helped at the time, anyway...or maybe they would have.

Anyway...my second bout of it was when I was living in Calgary in the early 2000's. I was in my mid-20's. Again, with the thoughts, anxiety. I ended up going antidepressants/antidepressives, and they did a world of wonder. I started on Celexa, and then I went to Effexor XR, and it worked. Depression was just starting to go mainstream, especially with the internet. I moved back home to BC, and I shortly after, I went off of the meds. I didn't need to be on them, and I was doing well. I got married, we tried to get pregnant, then I got sick, then we found out that we might not be able to have kids. That was in December 2010. It was in February 2011 that things started to get bad again. I tried to stave off going on meds, or even seeing my Dr. I was too ashamed to talk to him about it, and certainly too ashamed to talk to anyone else about it. That was when Facebook and its groups were getting really popular, so I joined a few (I am quite a few MH, and Anxiety groups, though I don't post on/in them often), so being in them did help a bit. It was good to "talk" with people who had been dealing with similar situations as me. I am not sure when it was, but (not sure when I started this, but it is now June 12, and I should probably finish this up! I don't even remember what my train of thought was in/for this sentence!) things got pretty bad, so I decided to go to my doctor, and he gave me the same meds that I was on a few years prior. Well, I guess my body didn't like the medication this time, b/c I had some sort of horrible reaction: I was sick, and way more anxious than I had ever been. I think it was as close to a nervous breakdown as I had ever been. I finally convinced him to switch me over (he told me to just keep on it, and it may or may sort itself out) to my current meds, and I haven't looked back. I am on my meds, just a small dose, and I will probably stay one them for the rest of my life.

The point is, we shouldn't feel ashamed of it. Christians especially feel the stigma of having mental illness, whatever it may be. Christians are "supposed" to have it all. We are supposed to be happy and have it together all the time. Umm...guess what? We don't! NO ONE should feel ashamed to have a mental illness. Should you seek help and treatment? Yes! Do not ignore it. But please, oh please, don't be ashamed of it. Talk about it. Pray about it. Read about it. Do devotions (if you read the Bible) about it. Read the Bible on it (type in Depression in the Bible, and it will tell you where you can read about it). Being anxious can either be situational, or mental/emotional/on going. However you suffer from it, it sucks. Depression is like a black hole that you feel like you can't get out of. I hope that whoever is reading this that make you feel less alone. Get help. Talk to someone. You (and God) got this! You are never alone.

Friday Favourites (on Monday!)!!

Happy Monday, Friends! I hope you are had a great wknd, and that your week is off to a great start. We are still slugging away at school in Canada, so no summer holidays yet! I do need to do another Life Lately Post, cause I have such an interesting and exciting life! Ha! I haven't even journaled in three weeks. I just haven't really felt like writing, I guess. I am too busy reading magazines, working and watching tv.

Here are my favourites from the last week (please note that most of these things happened after Friday....oooh, well):

1) Connecting with Friends:

I have been super bad about going to church lately, but I will say that I went on the 28th, and it was really nice. We have a potluck once a month after church, and since it was potluck Sunday, I ended up going. It was nice to connect with others again. On the 2nd of June, I went to a BBQ with my girls group (that originated from our church), and it was really fun. I even hit up another after party of a co-worker's bridal shower dinner. Well, "after-party" may be a bit of a stretch...it was more like coffee in a coffee shop! I wished that I could have gone to the dinner, but I already had plans before this one came up. It was fun to hang out with them for some of the night, though. Saturday, the 3rd, my friend from work and I went out for a drive, a Starbucks, and a walk. We had lots of giggles and fun, as always.

2) New BBQ:

Not sure if I posted this or not, but Anker bought a new charcoal BBQ a few weeks ago. We have used a few times already, and we love it. We are currently trying to BBQ a pizza. I read about it, and I thought it would be fun to give it a go...so far, it's not great...it's taking forever to BBQ/heat up.

3) New Sandals:

I have 4 pairs of sandals/flip flops, and NONE of them seem to work for me. My feet get SUPER sore, and/or they leave weird stains on the bottoms of my feet. I actually got a GC to Winner's for my birthday (more on that in another post), and I was planning on using that, but my Sister-in-law Cady, and I ended up going shopping on Sunday, and I found a pair for $30, I hate spending that much sandals..anyway...they actually are fairly comfortable!!! I will post pics on IG in the next day or so.

4) Steeped Tea Scones:

I bought some more tea and I also wanted to try their scone mix, so I bought that too. I got it on Friday, and I took the mix to my parents (more on that), and I made them on Saturday. Oh my...can I just say, that they are delightful? Even my mom, who makes her own scones, said they were pretty good. The ones I got were the blueberry white chocolate chip..and I want to try more out. I am not sure who ate the last of them...the last I heard they were at the top of the fridge, never more to be seen! Pics of that are on my IG, too.

5) Birthday Shenanigans:

It was my birthday on Friday, and I had a lovely day! I got cards and presents from my co-workers, which was amazing. I even got a couple of more cards today at work. I went out for supper on Friday, with my Mom, Dad, Anker and H (more on that later), at White Spot, and it was really good. Afterwards, we all drove back to the ranch. Anker and I have a lovely weekend, although it was very cold. It rained nearly all day on Saturday. We were all a bit bored, but it was great to get away.