Family Day Weekend Wrap Up

Yes, I am writing about last weekend. Just go with it! I read today that the province of BC will move FD to the third Monday in February. Yay! The rest of Canada celebrates FD (or another holiday) on that day, so it only makes sense to have it line up with that. Also, most of the US celebrate Presidents Day on that day, so it helps with cross-border holidays, shopping, etc. I am very happy! I always wondered why we had on a separate wknd (not that I am complaining..a 3 day wknd is a 3 day wknd...I am always happy when I get an extra day off!) from the rest of Canada/US. Oh yah...for those of you think that the newspaper is dead..think again..I read that in the newspaper...I do read them from time to time :)

Ok..so on to last wknd:

Friday, my friend asked if I could drive her home "up the hill", and she promised me a coffee if I did...and of course, who was I to say no? We went to Starbucks, and we talked for two hours! Then I went to Wal-Mart to grab a few things, and I went to my brother and Sister-in-Laws for the night. They were away for part of last wknd, and I asked if I could stay there. I had a fun time, watching Last Man Standing, eating sushi, and going to bed at a super late hour. Fun!!!

Saturday, I woke up around 10, and I cleaned up, and I came home. I grabbed McD's breakfast for us, and we watched the Olympics. I was home for a few hours, then I went out to the library, and then I grabbed some groceries. I didn't do much on Saturday; I watched TV, and hung out. Very exciting!

Sunday, I went to church, and then visited a friend for an hour or so...then home, and I ran some errands, and I went and hung out with my friend for a couple of of hours. I came home around 9, and I hung out. Again....it was super exciting!

Monday: I slept in, and I did a bit of cleaning. I met up with my friend, and we worked out for an hour. I met up with Mom and Dad, who were in town, and we had a few things to give each other. We had a coffee, and then I think I grabbed a few groceries, and then I came home. I think I watched TV and ate dinner.

It was actually a busy weekend; I felt like I got some things done. And I did a lot of relaxing! This week was Valentine's Day and 100 Day at school, so it was busy!

I took my PopTop with Tropical Fruit Punch Tea in on Thursday, as I got another cold. It seemed to help a bit.

Five on Friday

Happy Friday! I am at home with a cold today. This is my 3rd or 4th cold of the school year. Ugh! I am not amused. Anyway....I could have pushed myself to go in today, but I decided to be kind to myself (and others), and stay home.

1) We are Medaling/Google Doodle

Canada now has 13 medals!!! I am so proud! I am not watching as much Olympics as I normally do...I am watching a lot of shows right now, but I am watching a fair amount, and I am getting the updates via the news, and my Olympic App. I may or may not be happy that we are the 4th leading country to have the most medals...behind Old US of A :) PS...does anyone else like saying Pyeongchang like me? I am LOVING Good Doodle's Daily Doodle (or whatever you call it) that they are doing every day for the Olympics. Check them out! The doodles are so cute!!!

2) Workout:

I worked out two days in a row this week. I am so proud of myself! I went on Monday (Family Day) with a  friend, and I did an hour work out...and the same friend and I went out again and worked out :) Fun times!

3) Valentine's Day:

I had a great Valentine's Day at school. I got a coffee from the teacher, and lots of cards and chocolates from the kids. We also had a Valentine's Party :)After school, I went to the library, and then grabbed some dinner. Anker was already watching a movie when I got home, so we ate, and I watched tv. I know...we are weird. Anker did end up knitting me a basket to put things in that I got the next day. I made him a little package of chocolates, cards, gifts, and a puzzle.

 I love this verse from John 3:16....someone noticed that the word "Valentine" is interwoven in it. Coincidence? I think not!

 The cards and gifts I got :)

 My teacher brought me a mocha :) Another one of the teachers was going around dropping of hugs and kisses chocolates :)

We also had a Valentine's party! After the party, we did a Valentine's Day craft, then it was time to go home!

Anker made this basket for me. Isn't it cute?

4) New TV Shows: 
Because I don't watch enough tv, I have gotten in to two new shows: The Resident, and 9-1-1. I am loving The Resident, and the jury is still out on 9-1-1, but I do like it. Amazing Race is on again..for 4 days a week. Does anyone know why it's on so many times?

5) Friday Night Alone:

I had a mini vacation alone on Friday night. I was supposed to go to the ranch, but for a few reasons, that didn't work out. My brother and his wife went to for a night, so I asked them if I could say there for the night. When they said yes, I was so happy! Sometimes, I just need a night alone. I got some sushi, watched Last Man Standing on Netflix, and I went to bed a ridiculous hour. Loved it!!

Those are my fives from the week! What are yours?

Five on Friday/Life Catch Up

Happy Saturday!! I haven't been in the blogging groove lately. But I am buckling down and trying to hammer out a few posts tonight.

Here are some of my favourite from the last week or two:

1) Winter Olympics:

I am not as into them as I usually am this time. I think part of it is that I have SO MANY other movies and shows to watch and catch up on, that I am watching those right now. That being said, I did watch some today. I am happy to report that Canada got its first 2 medals today!!! Go, Canada, Go!

2) Sweet Gifts

I was given two gifts in the last week or so at school. A student gave me this scarf, and a teacher gave me this S'Well Bottle.

3) 3 Day Wknd!

It is Family Day Long Wknd this weekend, and we are all excited about it.

4) These Cookies (and making them with Anker)/Dates with Anker

Last Sunday, it snowed so much, that I didn't go to church. Again. And I was sad about it. I was not sad, however, in the fact that I stayed home all.day.long, and Anker and made some cookies together! He said that he was wanting some peanut butter cookies. He found the recipe from Kraft Canada, and they are SO GOOD! Anker has been eating most of them, thankfully. I might have had 3 or 4 tonight after dinner. 

On Jan 29th, Anker and I went to his eye appointment. Afterwards, we went to Tim Hortons's, had donuts and coffee, and a visit. We also went to 2 more doctors' appointments together (including getting his glasses. Our life is exciting, people!

5) Twin Day

It was Twin Day at school last Friday. We all had fun dressing up like our friends. We wore jeans, black shirts, and purple sweaters and we pinned on pink hearts.

5.1) New Nightie

I am not a huge nightgown fan (I used to be, but not as much anymore), but I ended up staying at my brother and sister in law's house last night (more on that later), and since I had left in the morning without packing, and I drove a friend home ('up the hill)") from work, I didn't have time to come back and pack. I went to Wal-Mart, where I grabbed this cute nightie for just under $12. It was pink and sparkly! 

So, on to what else we have been up to:

We got Netflix the other day. I haven't watched it from our end yet. I have watched it on A and K's, and of course, on my parents', but I have been too busy catching up on TV shows, and movies to really WANT to watch anything on it. That being said, I am getting into Last Man Standing, which I have watched at A and K's, and I really like it. I will probably start watching it here at some point. I know that there are tons of movies that are on there, so I will probably start watching movies on t here, vs getting them from the library.

Yes, I/we watch too much tv. There are also two new shows that I want to watch...9-1-1, and The Residents. I am loving the Good Doctor right now. Can we just take a moment to talk about THIS IS US. Oh. My. Word. I had no idea (until 3 episodes ago) that that is how Jack would die. Wow!!!I am also watching Hallmark movies on W Network. I also am kind of getting into Mike and Molly, but I get those from the library. I am almost half way through season 2, and I am deciding if I want to continue it or not. What are your thoughts? I haven't really been into watching movies (DVDs) right now. I will get movies out from the library, and I won't watch them. Then, I will watch a movie, and wonder why I don't watch more movies? I think part of is that I don't have a proper DVD player. We have the main one, of course, and I do have one in our bedroom, and I do use it, but I don't often use it. I mainly use the one on my laptop, and since I am on my laptop lots, I will often just watch tv. I will put moves or Friends or Big Bang in at night in/on my laptop and put in ear buds, and go to bed. I know that it isn't probably healthy, but I will sometimes move the screen, so I am not looking directly at it.

So...what have we (well, mainly I) been doing? Exercising; both with friends and myself, watching tv, reading magazines (yes, I am still addicted), baking cookies, baking granola bars, working, sleeping, cleaning (kitchen, bathroom, microwave), going to a Steeped Tea party, going to my Tupperware meeting, shovelling, going out for coffee (myself, with friends, with my aunt), going on a couple of dates with Anker (they were day dates, but hey...I will take what I can get!).. doctor's appointments (for both him and me), getting Anker his new glasses (we went out together to do that), errands, library, laundry, connecting with family via the old fashioned device called the Telephone, watching Jumanji with a friend, hanging out at my friends' houses......Not going to church (due to being snowed in two Sundays in a row, and not wanting to go the Sunday prior).....I think that about covers it!

Here are some pics from the last bit...

These are in no particular order:

 My Aunty took me for coffee last Saturday. I tried this Be Mine Donut. It was ok..very sweet.

 I made chocolate chip cookies two Sundays ago. Yum!!!

I made granola bars two Sundays ago, too. I might have made up the recipe (I combined two that I had used before). They might not have turned out. I might have had to make them into granola. I might have been sad about it.

This was the scene two Sundays (plus more days) in a row. Oh well..it IS still Winter!

There is a story behind this picture..well, kind of: I had wanted to go up to Vavenby this wknd, but for a few reasons, it didn't work out. I really had wanted to get away on my own for one night, and I obviously can't afford a hotel. My bro and SIL were at the 'rents last night (I knew that they would be away), so I asked if I could stay at their place. They were so sweet, and said that I could. So, after my friend took me out for coffee after school yesterday, I got sushi, and I parked myself on their couch, and watched Last Man Standing! I loved it!!! It was very much needed!

I did a work out the other day for the first time over a week. I will either go tomorrow after church, or  on Tuesday.

I tried the Cherry Mocha on Thursday. I am not a huge fan.

Did any of my Canadian Friends join the Bell Let's Talk Campaign this year? I did! I think it is so important to talk about mental illness...and to stop the stigma!

I saw this on FB...I love it!!!!

Also, can I just say to those celebrities who are naming their children after certain cities, and just general weird names: You know names like William and Jessica? They're still ok to use! #rantover

Christmas and NY 2017

I realize that we are almost done with January, and I am only now just getting to writing about Christmas. Oh-freaking-well!! Ha!

Well, it is now almost the middle of February, and I STILL haven't got to Christmas, yet! I had better blog about it now, or it will be too late. I never did blog about our trip to Victoria 2 or 3 years ago. I started to, but I never did. So, though it wasn't super exciting, I want to document it (yes, I keep a journal, but going to the blog is easier when I am trying to look stuff up). I won't put a ton of pics up, b/c I put most them of on IG and FB, and I want this to go fast.

Since school went right until the 22nd, I wasn't really into Christmas this year until about the last week. We were all too tired, and too busy to care. I didn't even know if I was going to put up a tree this year, and though I am glad that we did, I don't know if we will put on up next year. Anyway...on the last day of school before Christmas Break, our class had a Christmas party. It was a total blast. I got totally spoiled again this year, both from students' parents and co-workers. Friday, I am pretty sure that I got things ready to go; I think I got the last our gifts, and then got packed up. Saturday, we ran some errands, and then got on the road around noon.

At the start of the trip, the roads were great....

...however, as we got towards home, the roads got a bit worse...

We got to my parents in the early evening (or late afternoon), and we were going to sleep at the house, as it was really cold (-20C), and my parents warned us that it might be too cold to stay at the B&B...well, Anker, decided that we would try it for one night at least, and though it was cold, it got warmer, and it was actually quite nice. There is a wood stove that provides most of the heat, while there is a small electric heater. Saturday night, we ate supper (I can't remember what it was...I think nachos, or something...or maybe pasta and sauce), while we watched THE CROWN. Anker and I went back to the cabin, and played on our phone and computer, and went to sleep.

                                                                 My parents' tree!

Sunday was church. I had no idea that my childhood friend and her family were going to be there. It was a fun surprise! After service, we all had soup and sandwiches, and then it was back to the ranch. We had a nice relaxing afternoon....and that evening, we watched a movie called What Happened to Sunday. It was a not a Christmas movie..Ha! It wasn't my type of movie, but it was a fun memory. I am not sure what we had for supper then, either. That evening, Mom and V ended up baking up tarts and pies. On my way back to the cabin, I stopped off at my aunt and uncle's for my annual Christmas Eve visit.

Christmas morning, I think it snowed (or maybe it snowed on Christmas Eve..or maybe both), and i was such a beautiful morning! We were waiting for one of my brother's and his wife to arrive, so we had a relaxing morning at the house. We dd our Bible reading and our communion together, and we also did some cleaning (my mom is weird). We also started getting supper ready. My brother and Co arrived around 2 or so. We opened up our bags (instead of stockings), and then gifts. I got lots of little do-dads; calendar, hair stuff, food items, earrings...etc. Anker gave me foot soak set. after the gifts, we had our immediate family dinner. We had lamb, ham, and two salads. Yum! We ended off with mincemeat pies and tarts. We had a nice evening together. We all visited around the fireplace, which is always a good time.

 My mom decided to do away with the stockings, and came up with reusable bag idea. Genius.

Boxing Day, we had my mom's cousin and her husband over for the big meal. Our aunts and uncles were also there. We had a wonderful dinner, and we had Christmas pudding for dessert. We had a nice afternoon and evening of visiting, relaxing and more eating. I think Anker and I went back to the cabin fairly early; he went to bed, and I read :) I had brought my laptop, so we listened to music, and watched FRIENDS or Big Bang, or whatever I brought with us to watch.

We left on the 27th, as we heard  that the roads were going to be bad. We were also ready to come home. The roads going back where HORRIBLE, but we made it home safe! The next day, it snowed. Hard. We were SO glad that we had come home when we did.

The rest of the holidays were spent watching movies, tv, reading magazines, going to Starbucks, and generally wasting time. I DID manage to clean the fridge out one day, and the next day, I cleaned our entire bedding.

New Year's Eve, Anker and I watched a couple of movies together, and had fun foods! We watched Beauty and The Beast, and a Hallmark New Year's Eve movie. Anker went to bed around 11 or so, and I stayed up and watched The Christmas Candle, stared at the tree, had wine, and played on the computer. New Year's Day, Anker and I had a nice brunch together, and then I went to visit my friend Jill, then went over to Adam and Krystle's for supper and a visit. Anker was already at home, and he didn't want me to come back and pick him up, so I just stayed on that side of town. I had a nice supper and visit with A and K, and stayed until 8 or so.

 I loved our Christmas tree this year, even though I didn't want to put it up (it may still be up, with lights on it!).

I went through my posts from around Christmastime, and I realized that I didn't put any pics of our tree on here...though they are all over IG and FB...but here are a few:

                                           I love taking pics of the tree in the dark..can't you tell?

 One of my students gave me this beautiful Christmas ornament...it is blown glass!!

The next day, I spent 5 or so hours at the library. It was HEAVEN!

All in all, it was a great 2 weeks off! Christmas went well. Everyone got along (mostly!), and it was restful (mostly) for me. Anker and I got some time together, which was nice. I also spent some time in front of the tree, and watched TV, and drank wine. I was almost ready to get back to work. Almost.

Well, that was our Christmas and NY. Reading on all my blogging friends' posts, it looks like most of you all had a great one, too!