Cookies, Coffee, and a Christmas Concert

Well, it is now the weekend, and THIS post is about last weekend. Oh well :) First off, can I get an Amen that it is now Friday before Christmas Break? You're welcome!!!! I am looking forward to sleeping in, eating, and enjoying family. I also hope to do some reading..books and magazines! So far, it hasn't snowed in our area of town (well, it did a few weeks ago, but it didn't last or stay long), which I am not entirely mad about.

Like I said, this is about last wknd...I had hoped to have gotten this out beforehand, but somehow, it never happened. So, here is a glimpse of my/our life last wknd (yes, I said wknd twice..lol).

Last Friday, we had our secret Santa reveal at the end of the day. I was super surprised on who had me. Then, I helped my sister-in-law for a few hours. She ended up feeding me supper, which is always a good idea! I decided to go grocery shopping, since it was pay day :) I came home, put away the groceries, and watched a movie and read magazines. It was a wild Friday night, let me tell ya!

Saturday, Anker had to run an errand, so I decided to go with him. It was BUSY, so we didn't stay in that particular area for every long. We had coffee at Starbucks, then came home. I baked cookies with my friend, which was fun. We ended up making gingersnap cookies. It was the first batch of cookies that I had made this season. Anker has made 3 batches (well, four, as one set was remade), but I haven't really been wanting to bake much. I might get a few batches done this wknd, but I highly doubt it. Our fridge and freezer need a wipe down in the worst way, so think that will be the first thing I do! After the cookie baking, I came home and watched movies for awhile, and then I went to my friends house for tea. We had a wonderful visit, and I came home at 10:30.

On Sunday, I woke up at 7:30 (am!), and I had plans on going to my brother and sister-in-law's church, as H had his Christmas concert. I ended up going to the 1st service, and I understand on why the first service is so popular....you're out by 10:30! He did so well in the play..I would have taken pics, but they had asked that we not post any pics that we take on Social Media, and I wouldn't have gotten any good pics of him, anyway. After that was over,  I very nearly went to "my" church, and I probably would have, if Christmas Break had already started...so I went to Starbucks, and I journaled, and then I read. I also went back up to A and K's, but I just wanted to have a relaxing day (well, time on my own, then watching movies). I left Starbucks at 1:30-2. I came home, and I hung out and relaxed for the rest of the day. So, that was my/our wknd!!

 Gingersnap cookies! My friend's mom also gave us tarts!!

 We found these glass ornaments for $18 at Michael's. We thought that for glass ornaments, they were a good price.

I spent a few hours relaxing at my happy place!

Five on Friday/Randoms

Here are some Friday Faves from the last while. I will try to keep them short and brief :)

1) Shoes
I bought some shoes from Value Village a couple of weeks ago, and I really like them. Well, I love one pair. The other pair? Not so much! I wore them to my work Christmas party, and it did not go well! At least they were pretty! I might sell them, or I might keep them for when I need a fun pair of shoes. I really love the other pair, though!

               I love these boots! These shoes below? Not so much! But don't they look pretty?

2) Christmas (plans, movies, parties, decorating, baking, etc)
I actually decorated our tree a couple of weeks ago! We also bought some more ornaments today, so we put some of those on the tree. I went to another party that we girls had. 3 of us were missing, but we four had fun. I had fun at our work Christmas party last wknd. There was fun, food, laughter, and spitting crickets (dude, it's a thing!). The party was over by 8:30. #christianspartyhard I also started (finally!) doing some baking this weekend! I of course, have watched a million Christmas movies!! Our plans this year involve going to Victoria to see Anker's sister and her family. She found us an awesome deal (well, an awesome deal would be for 10$, but it is close enough!), as we don't want to drive, and the bus service since Greyhound closed down is a bit dicey. We are going for 4 days, and we are looking forward to it! There have been a few girls' parties, as well. I think I have blogged about them, but 4 of us girls got together this last Thursday. We had appies, and we watched a movie, called Book Club. It was hilarious!

3) New Owners of our Complex
We have new owners of our apartment complex! We were a bit worried as who would buy it, but we found out WHO bought it, well, we were pretty happy! The owners are actually semi-related to me! The want to keep the place as is, and not demolish it...nor raise the rent..Yay!

4) Hypoxy Rear Defrost thing working
Late last winter (or early spring), the connector to our rear defroster on our car went. Anker found something online that would work. It never came. Well, it took about 4,000 phone calls to PayPal and to Canada Post, and lo and behold, it came! He put it on the next morning, and it worked!!! We said a few prayers that day, y'all!

5) Not getting sick
While everyone at work has been sick with some sort of plague, I thankfully haven't gotten it! I know I still could, so I will not be smug, but to be honest, I am really surprised that I haven't gotten it yet!

6) Dates with Anker
Anker and I went out on American Thanksgiving evening. We were only going to go for coffee (which we also did!), but then went to Denny's for dinner. I had to the Turkey Dinner, and it was actually pretty good!!! It was nice to spend some time together. Then, yesterday, we ran an errand, and then grabbed coffee on our way home. Last weekend, we decorated the tree, and then we had brunch in front of the tree, while we watched Christmas Chronicles. It was cute!

7)) Grant Mullen Wknd
One weekend in October, I went to my parents'. The churches in town were co-hosting a speaker named Dr. Grant Mullen. He is a doctor from Ontario, who now specializes in mental health. I went all day Saturday, and I really enjoyed it. I also got his book, and Mom bought me a dvd.

8) Socials /Snack/Secret Santa(work)
We have socials (coffee/snack/drinks out) once a month. I didn't go to the last one, but I will probably go to the one this week. It is fun to go and hang out with my colleagues, have some laughs, and just relax at the end of the day. We also have snack day one a month (they sometimes happen on the same day!), which is kind of fun! We have lots of fun goodies, and it makes packing my lunch a bit easier (less food to take!). We also had our 2nd annual secret santa at work. It is completely optional to be involved, but I would say about half of us do. I know it's a bit more $ (not super expensive gifts, but it does add up), but it is fun, and it helps to get to know our co-workers a bit more.

 The gifts started coming in on Monday, and I wasn't sad about it. Below is a teacher gift from one of the students.

                           I think this was Day 2 of our Secret Santa. I got chocolates. Yum!!!

9) Senior (and our own) light tours
I went out with a friend to our city's light show last Thursday. It was good, but I could have covered more ground if I had driven myself. It was nice not to have to worry about (not) driving off the road while looking at the lights. After the tour, we went downtown, where we had coffee/hot chocolate and goodies, and listened to a Rube Band play. I was home SUPER late, so was a tad annoyed..oh well. At least I could say that I have gone, now. A week or so prior, my friend and I drove around (after getting coffee from McD's) looking at the Christmas lights. I had fun driving around looking at everyone's lights!

10) Two Party Weekend
The Remembrance Day Long Wknd, I went to TWO parties on ONE night! Can you believe it? You would think I was 35, or something! Our friend's bday was on the 10th, so we went to a Chinese place, and it was so good! After we were done, I went over to my other friend's place for a couple of hours, as she was having her bday party, and she had invited me. I wasn't sure if I was going to go, but I ended going for a bit, and I had a fun time!

11) The Grinch
I saw the new Grinch movie a couple of weekends ago. I liked it.

12) Baby, It's Cold Outside
I am glad this song is back on the air. Really, people have WAY too much time on their hands and over think, sometimes!

13)No snow
I am happy that it hasn't snowed yet! I really do dislike winter driving!!

14) Winter wear
I finally took out our winter wear the other wknd. It has been fairly cold on and off the last couple of weeks. It had to be done!

15) Kraft Lime Dressing
Y'all, if you haven't tried toe Kraft Lime Dressing yet, you should! It is devine!

16) Christmas Concert
Our school's Christmas concert is this week. I will be going, as moral support :) It should be a fun and crazy time!!

17) Being an Aunty Again
I have been sitting on this news for awhile, but I am going to be an aunty again! My brother Luke, and his wife are going to have baby #3 in the spring!! N is 6, and L is almost 4! We are all so happy for them, as they have had some miscarriages, which has been very heartbreaking for them.

18) Advent Bible Reading
I have been slowly been reading some of the Advent readings. I have about 10, including one that I started last year.

19) Placement Cards
I have also decided to open up an Etsy shop, for clearly, I have missed my calling. I was asked to make placement cards for our work party last wknd, and Y'all, they were epic!

20) No Payment on my SL for a few months
No payment on my SL for the next few months, which makes us very happy! We are going to be really short on funds for the next couple of months, as we found out that Anker won't get his full disability cheque next week, and won't get any in January. Not sure on how we we will manage, but we will somehow.

21) Pinterest ideas for school
I am pretenting that I am a teacher, and going online to find a few ideas to keep the kids occupied for the next week or so. I am happy that I found two Bingo Games, a couple of Booklets (including a memory game), and a few crafts :) If you want to find a relatively easy craft, go here to check it out! It is a Christmas Tree craft. You can decorate it with whatever you want! I found a few things from the dollar store, and they worked really well (small pom-poms, sticky "jewels", sticky "gifts", etc). Go here for some free Bingo printable!

22) Steeped Tea Party
I had/held an online Steeped Tea party last week, and I didn't think that I was going to get the host (or any other) gift, and sure enough, at the last minute, some orders came in, so I was able to get a ton of stuff!!!

Christmas Has Arrived at the W House!!

I posted here a few weeks ago about on how blah I felt about Christmas, or at least on how I felt about decorating. Well, a couple of weeks ago, I decided to do some decorating in our bedroom, and last week (?), I ended up decorating the tree! Truth be told, it has been sitting up (with no decorations) all year. If it had been put away, I might not have bothered to put it up, but since half of the job was done, I decided to just go ahead and do it. I am glad that I did. Even though I don't spend a lot of time in the living room, I DO get to enjoy it as I am passing by....and Anker and I even had brunch in front of it last Sunday! I started, and then Anker helped me a bit. He rearranged it a bit when I went to work on Monday, and we got some new decorations from Michael's yesterday (60% off glass ornaments? Yes, please!), so we put a few more on. Anyway.....we don't have a theme this year, although I am thinking that next year, we might do white lights on the tree. We have a TON of ornaments (I actually sold a few last year), so we take turns using different ones each year. Here are some pictures of our very humble decorating style!

                            The lights on our headboard. I think I will leave them up all year :)

 Half of the reason I love our tree, is that I love taking pictures of it with the lights on at night.

                                              Some of our Christmas ornaments up close.

I love these snowflake ornaments!

Our tree yesterday after we put some of the new ornaments on it.

                                                         Our window lights!

If you would like to see more, go to my IG, and or my FB :) Merry Christmas!

Teacher/CEA/EA/SEA Gifts

Oh my goodness! I am sooooo far behind in my blog posts! I am alive, and I am doing well, I promise. I hope you the start of the Christmas season is going well for you. Ours is going well....it seems that I have been really busy, hanging out with friends, with work, etc. Last weekend was a SUPER chill weekend, which I needed! Even this last week I was home for 3 out of 5 nights :) This last week, we did Secret Santa gifts, and we all had fun giving and getting gifts :) Anyway, I wanted to do a quick post on what Teacher/CEA/EA/SEA gifts. I did one on my IG story, but I wanted to do one here. And no, this is not sponsored in any way...these are just some of my suggestions that I think are great for the educators in your life!

1) Mugs

I know some people don't like them, but I LOVE mugs...the cooler the better!!!

2) Gift Cards

Pretty much to anywhere works for me. I love me a Starbucks, or Tim Horton's GC...or to a restaurant is a great idea, as well.

3) School//Craft/Office Supplies

My teacher loves getting Sharpies, or paper (sticky notes) is a great gift, since a lot of teachers use their own money to buy school supplies. Just make sure they are really fun, and try to make it personable, and buy something that only they will use (instead of using it for the kids!).

4) Mani/Pedicure/Spa

I know this is expensive, but consider joining up with a few parents to give your child's teacher (EA, etc) something fun from a spa :)

5) Bath Stuff

I love getting bath stuff!

6) Candles

I love getting candles! I have been burning a lot of candles lately, and I love the smell.

Those are some of my favourite gifts to get (even before I was a CEA), and since I have entered the education world, I have really come appreciate certain gifts even more. But in all honesty, whatever you get for your child's teacher or EA will be appreciated! Just knowing that you thought of them is a wonderful sentiment.

Weekend Shenanigans/Tell Us Tuesday

Hello, Fellow Bloggers!

Yesterday was a bit of an odd day, so I didn't get time to blog. I hope you all had a lovely weekend.

Friday, I spent the morning relaxing, then went to run a few errands. I went to Starbucks armed with Christmas magazines from the library, and I enjoyed a nice hot drink, whilst reading:)

I came home and started cleaning our fridge. It took a couple of hours. I hate cleaning the fridge, but it looks so much better; both inside AND out! I had to rush out, as I was meeting a friend downtown for a ladies home business/craft fair evening. I had thought that it had started at 7, but I messed up on the time, and it started at 5 (I hate the 24hour clock! Thanks, FB!). In the end, we couldn't have left any earlier, anyway. We parked at her work, and walked a block to the craft fair, which was a bit of a disappointment, as we thought there would be more of a program, but I saw some ppl I knew, and it was fun to browse. We were hungry, and we went to McD's. The food and fellowship were really nice. I came home around 9 or so, and just hung out. I think I watched TV:)

Saturday, I had a nice sleep in, and FB'd, and watched TV (can't remember what I watched), and I made cookies for a friend (and for us, too). I made the gingerbread cookie dough, then I headed out to meet up with a bloggy/FB friend of mine. I forgot to take my camera, and I even forgot to take pictures of us on our phone! Oh well. We had a nice visit, and it was nice to meet her kiddies.

I ran errands, and came home and finished baking the cookies (hubby was sweet and started them), and I found some Diabetic Sugar Cookies on Pinterest. They turned out really well, despite my not having any brown sugar, no cake flour, and my corn syrup was one big lump, and I had to use honey instead. You can find the recipe here I visited my friend/neighbour, and we watched stuff on NF, and visited, and had cookies and eggnog/coffee.

Sunday, we had great plans on going to church, and then going to the SPCA Craft Fair, but hubby wasn't feeling well, and I didn't feel like going alone. So, we stayed home and watched movies:) I did manage to go the library (the downtown library is open on Sundays over the winter..love it), to pick up my holds. I grabbed a snack at McD's on the way home, and I came home and we watched the Grey Cup (CFL). I finished making cookies, made some icing, and iced some of the cookies, and went to visit my friend for a bit, then came home and watched Twilight, Breaking Dawn Pt 2.

I am meeting up with my boss today to give her back the keys for the store. I am also meeting up with mom and dad for a few minutes. Today is another kind of lazy day, but I am not complaining. I hope to have most of this house cleaned up by the wknd. Hubby is doing pretty well in/with his part. I am still waiting for sure to hear back from the job; re: a few things. I hope to know for sure by the end of the week.

Five on Friday!/Random 5/SUYL-Bloggers Connect in your Area

Yes, I am on a blogging roll! I thought I would do it now, because, I am in the mood to blog:)

First off: Five on Friday!

 1. It's candle season! I love candles, but especially at Christmas. It also helps heat up the house. And they look pretty!

 2. I am apparently getting my Canadian Living Magazines Subscription now. I got November's issue yesterday, and December's issue today. I am expecting my December issue of Chatelaine soon.

 3. Starbucks has their 2-4-1 deal going on this weekend. Buy one Christmas drink, and get another one for free. Works for me!

 4. I actually bought this a couple of weeks ago, but I kept forgetting to share this. I have been wanting to get a red throw for our bed for awhile now, and I found one at Jysk`s that was $15. I bought it. I love it. End of story.

5. I don`t have a picture, and I know this sounds silly, but I am loving my new GUM toothbrush. You know how most TB's are really hard when you first start using them? Well, not this one! I actually want to brush my teeth now. And for more than 3 seconds.

I am not sure if Nancy will do this this Friday, but I thought I would do it anyway.

1. Christmas is all around us, and I am happy. I have already spent a few hours at a few stores looking at their Christmas displays. I love going to Michael's this time of year. I haven't played any Christmas music yet (other than at work), but I am sure it will start  up soon:) I love the Christmas commercials, the Christmas movies, both of which have started coming on tv. Our cable carrier has already started playing the Christmas music on a couple of channels.

2. I have already mentioned this, but I am loving Duck Dynasty. What a bunch of funny guys!

3. I have had three interviews this week. Looking forward to seeing what's in store for me (us).

4. I watched Man of Steel last night with hubby. It was ok...nothing spectacular.

5. I am excited to make hot chocolate mix at home; similar this one. I will add artificial sweetner instead of sugar; you know, because I am so healthy like that:)

This wk on SUYL is all about connecting with bloggers from/in my area:) I dont know if I will find anyone who is from Canada, let alone, B.C, but it is fun to check out others' blogs anyway:)

Five on Friday/Random 5/SUYL-Reading Lists

Happy Friday, ya'll!

Yes, I am still around:) Just haven't been much into blogging lately. I have a few posts that I have going around in my head, which I hope to share with you this weekend, along with CYGPP, so be prepared for multiple daily posts.

So, without further ado....here is this wks 5 on Friday.

1. I cleaned out several places in our house this week, and I will be doing more. I attacked our closet, and our bookshelf, plus I gave away (and threw out) several items in our kitchen. The feeling is better than a health/cleanse detox, let me tell you!! Here are a few pictures that I took.

Our new clean bookshelf.

This doesn't look clean, but it really is better than it was.

 

I took out 5 bags of stuff to give away.

 

We each have a bin. There is junk in that bin. I don't care, since it is in there, and I can't see it.

2. I Skyped with my lil sister, my niece and nephew this week. Oh, and their parents too. Such fun! (FYI, I still have stuff embedded in my computer from downloading the "bad" Skype..eek) I have actually been connecting lots with family this week. My mom is away, and my dad is lonely, so we have chatted a few times.

3. Girls night (in)! Last Saturday, my neighbour and I had a girls night in. I didn't take any pictures, b/c I didn't feel like it. We had fun, though...Walmart run, then we came back and watched WNTW, and I introduced her to Extreme Cheapskates. Oh, and we had yummy food! Oh, and we looked at magazines, too:) I came home around 1 am (thankfully, I had an extra hour of sleep that night). Speaking of magazines, there is another Celebrity Magazine out there..called Closer. I bought it for .25. True Story. Tonight, we are celebrating a friends bday at our other friends place. I love girls get togethers!

4. I met up with my aunt and uncle for coffee the other day, and besides the great visit that we had, after they left, I spent the afternoon in/Ch@pters reading magazines, and books. SUCH FUN!!

These were only some of the magazines that I had looked through. I had looked through a few earlier by the magazine rack. I am so glad that they still have chairs.

 

5. Christmas has come to my favourite place:)

Last Saturday, I grabbed an Eggnog Lattie and a breaky Sammy!

I love their Decorations/window art/motto this year. I had to take a picture of it. I still kind of wish that they would wait until after Nov 11 to bring out the merchandise, but I have no problems with them starting their drinks early:) McD's also has their drinks. I had a Peppermint Mocha the other day, which was good.

 

5.1. Snuggle/TV dates with hubby. Yes I know TV dates aren't the best, but at least we are together:)

The other night, we watched a few episodes of The Big Bang Theory. We had fun snuggling on the couch cuddling with kitty. We also watched the BC Lions game last Friday together (I am not a huge FB fan, but I will watch when "we" play). We also had a Border Security Marathon the other night.

 

Linking up with Nancy

 

1. BIG CHANGES this happened this week! That is all that I will say for now.

2. We got snow the other day. Nice. It is early for our region.

On our car.

On the green space at our complex. At least the snow is gone now.

 

3. Having a bad/sad day? Google Rob Ford, and instantly your day will get better. True Story.

 

4. I still have problems putting on/in a poppy. They either prick my skin, or come off, or both.

 

5. I am about half way through Season Three of Downton Abbey. I am going to write the writer. I do not like him/her. LOL. It is a great show, however. I may have to ask Santa for all three seasons for Christmas:)

 

 

This week, is Reading Lists:)

 

As I think I have mentioned before, I go through time (up to months) without reading, then I will read, read and read for months. It is a very odd pattern, but I guess it is normal, right?

 

Danielle Steel-Winners. I love her books. I never buy them in hardcover, I usually get them from the library, then I usually buy them in soft cover (and usually second hand).

 

 

This was one of the last books I have read. I also read Nights in Rodanthe, and Sarah's Key.

I have shared this picture before. The left one is my mom's book, and the right one I am still half way through it. Both are excellent.

 

I also want to start on A Walk to Remember, and I have a couple of WW2 books that I may start.

 

I think that is all for today (or at least for this post). Have a great wknd.