Categories
Writing Prompt Wednesdays

April Journal #3

Describe a time you cared for someone who is sick, or someone cared for you.

Three moments stick out for me…

-The first time I was in grade 4 and my grandmother had a major stroke, she was paralyzed on her left side. She was in the hospital for over 9 months. My dad went every night for 3 hours to see her; I think he may have missed two times when he was sick. I also went with him most times. She lived with us for a few years until she moved into a care home. I cooked for her, helped her do basic tasks, I showered and dressed and toileted her. It was a lot for an 11-year-old.

-The second time. It was actually the hardest. My dad had lots of surgeries following an industrial accident before I was born. He eventually died of cancer. I helped to look after him post-surgeries. I gave him injections during his drug trials when his treatments weren’t working and I often went and sat with him while he did his chemotherapy at the cancer clinic.

-The most recent time was when my family had to care for me. It was the summer of 2021 and I broke my ankle really bad and had to have emergency surgery while on vacation to get a plate and five screws installed. Of course I broke my right ankle; my dominant leg. My mother-in-law, my mom, my best friend, my husband, my nieces, my father-in-law, my aunt and my uncle all took turns looking after me because I couldn’t manage on my own and especially looking after our dog.

What about you?

Prompt from: Piccadilly‘s 200 Writing Prompt

Categories
Food & Drink

Stepping into Spring: Salad Edition


The weather has been amazing lately; almost summer-like at times. I am itching to get gardening so I can eat fresh fruits and veggies that I grew myself. Which makes sense that I have been having a real hankering for refreshing salads. Here are a few salads I have been devouring lately! And thinking about it now, each of these would have been a fantastic side dish to bring to Easter dinner with the family, had I been thinking.

1.  Watermelon Salad with Feta and Cucumber

2. Bright Spring Salad

3. Barbecue Chicken Salad

4. Beet Salad with Quinoa, Carrot & Spinach

5. Vegan Pasta Salad

I’d love to hear from you all about your favourite salad recipes! Comment below!

Categories
Fashion

OOTD: Easter Edition (Recap)

It sort of seems like I have been making a lot of excuses lately (not going to lie I feel a little guilty); but I had a nasty cold at the end of March / start of April so I took some time off which meant my blogging sort of got the shaft. Ideally, I wanted to do this at the start of last week but –now this has become a RECAP post instead. 

Dress: Ruched Sleeve Shift Dress -Maxine Strip in Indigo
Shoes: Hannah Woven Sandal in Indigo
Bag: Denim Crossbody Bag
Earrings: Ombre Dot Studs in Blue Sky/Gold
Bracelet: Tonal Beads Stretch Bracelet in Blue Aqua/Gold

Categories
Writing Prompt Wednesdays

April Journal #2

Write about the most recent gift you gave someone.

We have a lot of January / February birthdays in our family so the most recent gift was a birthday gift. Sometimes the celebrations are combined so the line is a little blurred in terms of what gift was MOST recently given. But… one of the last gifts I gave was to my best friend of 19 years. I gave her these ridiculously soft and cozy chromatic mid-rise reading socks in blush from Indigo; you know in case you wanted to pick up a pair. (Advertisement over haha). and I also got her a copy of 101 Essays That Will Change The Way You Think by the incredible Brianna Weist. I actually gave this book as gifts to two other friends at Christmas. It made my heart happy when I was over at her house last week and I saw the book on her desk; it looked “well loved;” you know how a book looks when you read it and go back and re-read sections –with dog-earred pages. She has highlighted stories in our conversations, so I am going to say that this gift was successful.

What about you?

Prompt from: Piccadilly‘s 200 Writing Prompts

Categories
Gifts

Easter Basket Extravaganza –Recap Post

It sort of seems like I have been making a lot of excuses lately (not going to lie I feel a little guilty); but I had a nasty cold at the end of March / start of April so I took some time off which meant my blogging sort of got the shaft. Ideally, I wanted to do this at the start of last week but –now this has become a RECAP post instead. And, I forgot to take photos of the finished baskets #smh!

Lindt Gold Bunny with Lindor Chocolate Eggs Easter Set
-Card Game
*For example: Trash Pandas OR Pete the Cat OR Blink; I try to give each kid a different game and of course they are different due to age as well
-Favourite Junk Food X2 
*A gummy treat like Fuzzy Peaches AND a salty treat like Cheez-It crackers
-Cosmetic
*Lip balm for the nieces OR sunscreen for the nephews
-Accessory
*Claw clip for the nieces OR funky laces for the nephews
-Fidget
*The “Rubix style fidgets” are a real hit right now and come in a variety of age appropriate products
Socks
-School Supply
*Flair Pens OR Pencils OR Crayons
Seed Packet
Iced Tea
*For the older kids

Categories
Health & Beauty Reflections & Lifestyle

April Goals: “Finish What I Started”

If you are new to my blog; I have been setting three small goals each month. In January I focused on my physical health. In February I focused on my mental health. And then I really tried to have fun and “make the most” of March.  April is going to be a reset for me; I am feeling like I am starting to get a little lax with somethings and I spent a lot of time in March going out, traveling and having fun so it was tough to be as consistent as I would have liked. Getting sick really knocked the wind out of my sails as well; normally I give up, but I am going to persevere and give myself grace. I guess “Finishing What I Started,” is the theme for this month.

  1. I didn’t manage to make it through all the yoga workouts on the NTC; so I have 46 more to go. My goal last month wasn’t very realistic and I recognize that. I know I won’t get through all of the remaining workouts but I am going to keep going.
  2. I have noticed that I am drinking coffee everyday but I am not really enjoying it and I am just drinking it because others are. I am going to make the switch to tea; I really fell in love with the Lady Londonderry tea we had at The Empress.
  3. I need to re-visit my sleep routine; lately I am finding that I am TIRED in the mornings. So I am going to spend time looking into this and trying out different things.
Categories
Writing Prompt Wednesdays

April Journal #1

Write about a time you said no.

Recently actually. My boss was redoing job assignments; he asked if I would be willing to teach something I had never taught before and at a very high level with minimal time to plan and zero training. If I took this assignment I would have to give up a part of my job that I love immensely. A part that really “fills my bucket” at work. It should have been a very easy NO, but I felt like I was being given a chance for career growth and I also felt compelled to say yes so that I would be seen as a “team player.” I stressed on the decision for over 24 hours. Ultimately, I said NO! Because I had to put myself first rather than the team to continue doing what I was living for at work and doing my job to the best of my ability. However, I still have pangs of guilt. And to some extent I feel like he views me differently, or truly doesn’t understand my rationale. I hope my decision is not held against me.

What about you?

From Piccadilly‘s 200 Writing Prompts

Categories
Travel

Victoria: Photo Dump

Day One
-A walk through downtown and ChinaTown (the oldest in Canada)
-Breakfast at Jam Cafe
-Thunderbird Park
-Wandering around the beautiful Fairmont Empress Hotel; then to the Q Bar to enjoy our “Welcome Drinks”
-Swimming
-Food Tour with Off the Eaten Track; where we tasted food & drink from: Artisan Wine, Crust Bakery, L’Apero, La Taquisa, Yalla, Chocolat & Co and Bon Macaron Patisserie
-Perogies at Sult

Day Two
-A walk through James Bay Village to see the old homes
-Holland Park & Ogden Point Breakwater
-Fisherman’s Wharf
-High Tea at the Empress
Castle Craigdarroche
-Our own food tour to experience the happy hours at Wind Cries Mary, Parks Kitchen and Sizzling Tandoor
-Swimming

Day Three
-Breakfast at The Ruby on Johnson
Royal BC Museum
Emily Carr House
Legislative Assembly of British Columbia
-Back to Fisherman’s Wharf to catch the water taxi
-Sushi at Gozen Izakaya
-Macarons from Bon Macaron
-Swimming
-Late night walk to see the city lit up and to grab come chicken nuggets (which has become our tradition)

Categories
Reflections & Lifestyle

March 2023 Goals: Accountability Post

I can’t believe how fast March flew by!  I have been setting three goals each month since the New Year; I focused on physical health and then mental health. For March, I decided on the theme of “Making the Most of…” To keep myself accountable I’m checking in monthly with you all. As a refresher, my goals were…

1. Do all the yoga workouts on my Nike Training Club app
2. Decluttering
3. Having High Tea at the Empress

How did I do?

In terms of the yoga workouts; I wasn’t able to complete all 109 yoga workouts on NTC. One was a handstand tutorial which I wasn’t comfortable doing considering I’ve had neck issues. I did complete 63 and I’m still working through them. I even do the pregnancy ones. I just modify the movements/positions as needed. I ended up combining shorter workouts/routines. So I will have to continue this goal into April. I have been able to continue on with my January and February goals too!

In terms of decluttering; I managed to do one space. Which is still good! This may sound like an excuse but normally I do a hard core decluttering in the summer… It is easier to pile up donated stuff in the garage or porch when there isn’t a ton of snow on the ground and very cold temps. Doing a declutter in the summer means I have more time to make donation runs or go to the dump with truly worn out things. I think this is a great goal but it was scheduled poorly. Three other factors that interfered were that I also got really into a new book series and I spent a lot of time with friends; birthday parties, going to the theater twice and shopping. And teaching in March is a bit of a nightmare… I definitely needed to set a goal that was more in line with restoration of energy rather than another hard arduous task.

In terms of my third goal; High Tea was amazing! so I successfully accomplished that goal! We also said YES to a lot of other fun activities: food & drink tour of Victoria, forever jewelry and so much more!

Categories
Writing Prompt Wednesdays

March Journal #4

What date do you have circled on your calendar? that is, what upcoming date or event are you looking forward to?

I have a few dates circled on my calendar…

 1. Annual Convention
-This is where a girlfriend and I stay at a swanky hotel in the heart of the city and live our most fancy lives while learning and networking. This year is super exciting because it’s the first time since the pandemic that it’s been in-person.

 2. Victoria trip
– I am finally going on a girls’ trip to the coast with my best friend of 19 years after many delays.

 3. Dinner Theater
– I mean come on who wouldn’t be excited about seeing The Office on stage with two great friends.

 4.My birthday
-My husband is going to be home this year and I didn’t celebrate last year so I really want to let my hair down

 5. The end of the school year
– I mean I’ll miss the kids but I’m just looking forward to summertime. I just want to be outside and be carefree.

6. Unofficial “Summer Convention”
-This is basically the same as the first event but the weather is better!

What about you?

From Piccadilly‘s 200 Writing Prompts