Thankful

It's been a strange week around these parts. I got some fabulous news and also had a few incidents that were not so fabulous which made me feel a nauseous kind of anxious. I definitely need to take a step back and focus on the things I'm thankful for over the past few weeks.

I am so thankful I have good studded winter tires on my car. I live out in the country and work in town at least once a week I find myself driving to/from work in snowy, icy and way less than ideal road conditions. It's not enjoyable, but I'm glad I have good tires because it makes me feel more secure and a little safer.

I'm thankful that my contract was extended by two weeks taking me to mid-April. It's perfect in that it gives me time to keep making good money before I go pack to camp pay cheques and it gives me enough time to prepare for camp. Last year I was in the office from February-May before living on site for the season. There was a rumour going around that our contracts could get extended until May, which wouldn't have given me zero time to prepare for staff training & camp.

I'm thankful that not only will I have some time to prepare for camp I also have time for a vacation. J. and I booked a trip! I got a passport two years ago and have never used it, so I'm excited to finally add a stamp. Not to mention soak up all the Vitamin D my body can hold! (While wearing  copious amounts of sunscreen because I'm not in the market for skin cancer.)

I'm thankful I have the ability to pick up the TV remote and change the channel when "Dr."Phil or "Dr."Oz come on. 

I'm thankful for the first few minutes in the morning when I stay in bed, slowly wake up and take time to pray about the day ahead. 

I'm thankful for the first hour of my day when I can sip coffee, watch morning news shows and start the day stress free.

I'm thankful for the opportunity to link up for the Thankful Thursday Party so I can share my thankful moments and read through others.

Not So Weekending

I didn't have much of a weekend this week. I work evenings so my Friday night is always a write off, last week work was especially chaotic since head office has decided to change some filing protocols. In some ways it's like learning the job all over again. And of course with any change there were some guidelines that didn't quite make sense and seemed to contradict each other. There was a lot of back and forth between co-workers and discussion and problem solving. I kind of suspect today (Monday) will be a similar situation until all the kinks are worked out and everyone gets on the same page. 

Saturday I worked overtime from 8 a.m. - 4:00 p.m., when I left work I went straight home although I was insanely tempted to go through a drive-thru and pick up fast food for supper but I refrained. Instead I went home, took a nice long hot shower got into my pyjamas and made supper at home. Which I ate while watching Friends on Netflix. I was asleep by 11 and I wouldn't have chosen to spend my Saturday night any other way.

Sunday started off snowy & stormy, but then the snow switched to rain and it was less stormy and just gross outside. I helped Mom clean out some cupboards and make a pile of old dishes and tupperware to donate. When that was finished I made a super easy lunch for us with leftover pulled pork, cheddar cheese and a little red onion wrapped up in pre-packaged crescent rolls. Sort of similar to this recipe. 

J. came over in the evening and after watching a few minutes of the Oscar red carpet we determined neither of us actually cared that much and opted for a Netflix movie. We decided on watching The Interview and to summarize that's a couple hours of my life I'll never get back. There were a few jokes that I found funny but I've laughed a lot harder and enjoyed movies a lot more. J. found it funnier than I did, but only marginally. We laughed a lot more at the two episodes of Friends we watched after the movie. Definitely not worth the hype and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone. Even if you're looking for the over the top slapstick comedy type of movie I'd rather re-watch a Will Farrell movie.

I can't believe it's the last week of February. Don't get me wrong, March is still totally winter here on the east coast, but it's a little closer to spring and it feels like the worst winter months are over. Camp is slowly creeping up on me and my mental to-do list is miles long. I need to sit down this week and write it all out. Also on my to do list this week is another trip to Target to check out this week's discounts and set some actual goals for March since I've been majorly slacking on setting any monthly goals this year. 

Linking up with B Loved Boston to share my weekend.

Friday Thoughts

{one}

I came across these prints on Etsy a few weeks ago and just had to ordered them.  They're from Water in My Paint and I am totally in love with them. I can't even pick a favourite. What I love about them is for now they fit in just fine on the gallery wall I have happening in my bedroom. And in the future I think they be totally acceptable to hang in a kitchen or pantry area. Because what's cuter than squirrels eating donuts & sipping coffee while wearing their hair bows and think rimmed glasses? I might be borderline obsessed with them. The artist has tons of quirky water colours for sale, the squirrels were my first choice but there are so many others that I love. Plus, the price was super reasonable ($10 for each 5x7) and she is a Canadian artist so shipping was also fairly cheap. 

*This woman has no idea I exist and I was in no way, shape or form compensated for my fangirl-ing. I love the product I received and love supporting Canadian and small buisness.

{two}
Maybe it's the fact I'm done with winter and longing for summer with every cell of my being. Or maybe it's just me being weird. Either way I am compelled to eat anything BBQ flavoured. Mostly chips but I won't discriminate. I would also love to eat some BBQ steak and baked potato. Or simple burgers & hot dogs with a side of potato chips. BBQ chicken and some potatoes in tin foil...that being said I'm not willing to bundle in 50 billion layers to stand outside long enough to cook meat or ruin my mittens by getting BBQ sauce all over them.

{three}
Some of you may have already read this Buzzfeed article; 25 Truly Terrifying Pictures Of The Snow in Eastern Canada Right Now. That's my neck of the woods friends, our massive quantities of snow have made Buzzfeed. And we're forecasted to get about 20-30 cm on Sunday. C'mon spring...hurry up!

{four}
I working 8 hours of overtime tomorrow. I have mixed feelings on the one hand I'm thankful that I have a good job and I'm thankful for the opportunity to earn a little extra money. Especially when I know that working at this job will allow me financially to work at camp again this summer. On the other hand I'm definitely someone who needs down time so working 6 days a week isn't exactly conductive to down time. I will figure it out though. And if we get those 30 cm of snow on Sunday I will certainly be spending the day at home in my comfy clothes watching Netflix.

{five}
I'm still so sad about Target closing. And honestly even sadder that the clearance isn't all that phenomenal. Everything did get marked down another 10% on Thursday so maybe I'll try to check it out again early next week. There are a few things I have my eye on but aren't discounted enough yet for me to justify buying. I did score a sweater for $8 when I was there this week along with packages of tea for 98 cents and a couple of treats that were discounted. I'm hoping to get some new bedding for camp and there's a bedside table that I happen to think is super cute and will totally be snatching up if/when it ever goes 50% off.

Linking up with Oh Hey, Friday & Bright on a Budget

Stuff & Things

I didn't have anything worth writing an entire post about today. It's been a weird week. I am definitely feeling the effects of a winter slump. In an attempt to connect all of the random thoughts in my head I'm linking up with Joey and Kristin. 

- I haven't done a lot of travelling (or any compared to some people) but J. really wants to plan a trip so I'm trying to squash my over abundance of travel anxieties so that when the time comes to do less talking and more actual planning I'll be prepared. Luckily, there won't be any trips until fall at the earliest because camp life is not conductive to summer holidays. 

- I am so excited to be partnered with Elizabeth from This Savy Life for the first Blogging Elite swap. I picked up a few things to send yesterday while I was browsing through Target. I can't wait to put it all together and send it off. I love sending (and receiving mail). I miss the days of pen pals! 

- 98% of the time I keep my phone on silent. I'm not entirely sure how I got into that habit but I did and I don't see anything wrong with it. Sure it means I might not answer messages 30 seconds after I receive them but I do check my phone and if I'm having a conversation with someone via text I carry on that conversation. I just don't want to be that person whose phone is constantly dinging or vibrating or being a distraction. 

- I'm way behind on TV shows. I made the effort to watch Book of Negroes as it was airing but it's been over a month since I've caught up on any of my favourites. When I do have time to watch TV I've just been rewatching Friends, How I Met Your Mother and What Not to Wear. 

- Most mornings I watch Live with Kelly & Michael while I drink my coffee and scroll though blog posts. I am almost embarrassed to admit how often I have to Google the guests to figure out who the guests are and why I'm supposed to know who they are. Celebrities don't interest me, I can't be the only one who has no concept of celebrity culture? Does this mean I'm getting old? 

Show & Tell Tuesday {Love Story}

Sticking with the spirit of Valentine's Day I'm linking up with Momfessionals today for Show & Tell Tuesday to share my love story. I'll preface this post by saying J. and I have been "official" for a little over than 3 months. We went on a few dates prior to being in a relationship which brings us up to about 4.5 months and we've been working together since October. All that to say our love story is still in the beginning chapters. I think it's still worth documenting though, we've still got a lot of dating ahead of us before any sort of engagement or wedding chapter is written but I thought I'd share the story of how we started dating, especially since it was during a blogging break.

Via

When I started the job at my current office my expectation was I would have a steady job until spring and the contract would allow me to return to camp in the summer. I wasn't interested in making friends other than what I would describe as 'work aquaintences', my priority was to do my job and once the contract ended move on. Within the first few weeks the guy whose desk was diagonally across from mine would make casual conversation with me during our breaks. We discovered we had some mutual friends and we had actually gone to the same high school but neither of us remembered the other. That may not sound like a big deal, but our high school had about 900 students from grade 10-12, even if you didn't know everyone you at least recognized them. J. was in the grade ahead of me so we were in the same school for two years, but neither one of us have any recognition of the other during high school. 

He was very consistent with making conversation with me when he had the chance but I really wasn't interested in a relationship. There was nothing about him that really stood out to me, sure he was nice and seemed like he could be interested in me but again, I wasn't looking for a relationship. And if I was looking for a relationship it would be one that had long term potential. J. didn't necessarily strike me as someone who thought about long term relationships.

That changed when one day we were chatting during break, he asked about my favourite movies and the conversation progressed in a direction that lead to me asking him if he had a favourite Disney movie. His response will go down in history as "the moment I knew". He told me that he didn't really have one (my first thought = deal breaker) because he doesn't remember them very well. At which point I must have made a disapproving face because he elaborated. He refuses to re-watch the classic Disney movies from childhood because he was waiting until he had kids of his own. He wanted to be able to watch those movies with his kids because it (re-)watching for the first time would be more special and something to share opposed to showing a future child a movie he'd already watched a million times. 

I could have melted. It was the sweetest thing I'd ever heard someone say and of course I loved that he clearly thought about the future in a meaningful way. It wasn't until a week later that he asked for my number. We texted for another week or two continuing to get to know each other, as it turned out we had quite a few similar interests, beliefs and long term goals. He finally asked me on a date mid-Novemeber. Originally we had planned on going out to eat but the day didn't go quite as planned and we ended up hanging out at his place and watching 'Cops'. The next two weekends we went on "real dates". We had previously agreed that we enjoyed hanging out with each other but didn't want to start a relationship while we were stilly working together, luckily his contract ended in December and shortly after that he asked me to be his girlfriend. 

Maybe not the most romantic or extravagant meeting that's ever happened but its ours, and I'm kind of partial to it. Now head on over to Momfessionals and link up your own love story so I can read them while I sip my coffee on this cold winter day!

Valentine's Day Weekend

My weekend started a day early with a snowstorm that hit just in time to cancel work for the day. It was a welcome day off and I celebrated by making chicken strips & fries for lunch. Followed by another attempt to watch Orange is the New Black on Netflix. Maybe I'm too old fashion or a little uptight but the show is just too much for me. I'm disappointed because I really did enjoy the book and I'm interested in a lot of the characters but so much of the 'adult content' just seems unnecessary and doesn't actually add anything to the show. 

Saturday I worked a few over time hours in the morning and then afterwards I had to get the oil changed in my car. J. has been house sitting for his parents this week so when I was finished that I headed over there where we put my car in their heated garage and got to work solving the honey garlic situation. We went out to lunch and he gave me a stuffed frog and chocolate. I thought the frog was pretty cute, I used to collect frogs when I was younger and he remembered me mentioning it once. I went home in the early evening since there was a big storm predicted for Sunday and we'd both had fairly busy weeks. When I got home Peyton was pretty interested in the frog because it smelled like J.'s cat. I thought it was kind of adorable that it looked like she was kissing her frog prince. Kittens want love too.

Sunday I was invited to supper at J.'s parents but we got hit with another snow storm. At one point in the day this was the message I saw when I looked at the weather.

I am currently very envious of all you southerners out there strolling around in hoodies, blissfully unaware of the frustrations that come with serious winter driving, temperatures of -20 and 45 cm of snow falling in one day. The snowbanks are so high right now, driving around town is awful because you can't see and the streets are so narrow. Soak up some extra sunshine for all of us on the east coast.

Since I was housebound again on Sunday I decided to try out a new cookie recipe I had pinned long ago. It was one of those pins that had a 50/50 chance of turning out great or turning into in an epic Pinterest fail. I am happy to report that these Fudgy Dark Chocolate Avocado Cookies turned out delicious! I followed the recipe almost exactly, I didn't have quite enough cocoa powder so I used a little extra (about 2 tablespoons) more flour to make up the difference in the dry ingredients. I also didn't have any dark chocolate so I used regular semi-sweet chocolate chips. The next time I make them (and there will be a next time) I'll pick up some dark chocolate and make sure I have the exact amount of cocoa. 

The cookies were so fudgy and delicious without being overly sweet! Perfectly paired with a glass of milk. I'm anticipating a fairly good week ahead, the last two weeks it seemed like I had a lot of errands to do and things that needed to be crossed off my list. This week I have a few projects I want to tackle but nothing super pressing. 

I'm looking forward to continuing last year's lent journal I never did continue with the circles after Lent finished, so I am planning on digging out the same duo tang from last year and picking up where I left off. And if for some reason I can't find the duo tang (although I'm pretty sure I know where it is...) I have lots of other notebooks that are waiting to be put to use. Anyone else doing something to celebrate Lent? I'd love to hear about it!

Linking up with Biana for Weekending and Meg for Mingle Monday.

A Blogmopolitan Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day blog friends! I hope your day is filled with a little extra love & a little extra chocolate. I'm linking up with Erin over at Two Thirds Hazel for this round of the Blogmopolitan Quiz. And then I'm off to watch some Netflix and enjoy my heart shaped Reese's Peanut Butter cups. Stop by on Monday to read about my official Valentine's Day date and maybe just to make sure I survive the enormous amount of snow that is headed my way on Sunday?