I had such high hopes for 2020. On my last post I discussed my top 10 recipes of 2019. It was the end of the year and I was refreshed and ready for the new year! My next post was going to be my New Year’s resolutions. I started it but… 2020 got busy early on. The last month of our new home build really took a toll on my extra time. Although we had a wonderful contractor, to help save money, Ninja and I took on a lot of the finishes ourselves. Between painting, hanging wallpaper, cleaning, packing, and regular life, my blog slipped to the back burner.
We moved into our new home on March 2! The week before our move in, I came down with the worst stomach flu I have ever had in my life. For the next 3 weeks we hustled! We had the majority of our boxes unpacked and we were feeling somewhat settled by March 13 so I began preparing my next post! The Girls were celebrating their last day of school before 2 weeks of spring break and I knew I would have some time to pick up where I left off! I realized it was too late to do resolutions and it came to somewhat of a surprise to me that we were already 3 months into the new year. Things had been so topsy-turvy that I was excited for some sort of normalcy again. My first post back was going to be an introduction to our new home!
And then the world had a different plan.
I don’t know what to say. The life we are living right now is so surreal. I can’t believe this is where we are at. Our small business has shut down to protect our clients, our employees and ourselves. Our schools have been closed indefinitely. We live in a retirement town, Ninja’s parents are in their 70’s, we live above my Dad who is in his mid 60’s and the majority of our clients are senior citizens so we have been self isolating to help plank the curve.
Over the past 11 days of social distancing and self isolation I have had a lot of time to think. Think about the past, what is going on right now and what our future holds. My thoughts are ALWAYS changing. As new information gets to us, I see things in different ways. My poli-sci prof told us to always look at a situation through different lenses. Try to see the bigger picture. It is impossible to predict what may come next but here are my take aways from this reality we have found ourselves living in right now.
My 5 BIG thoughts of the past 2 weeks:
1. Maybe the universe is telling us to slow down. As a family, we are very busy. Our lives are very scheduled and we go hard. My children never complain and in fact thrive on their dedication to school and dance. However, in the past 2 weeks instead of complaining about not doing something they have been content to just be. It is so nice not to check the calendar. I don’t feel anxious when I wake up in the morning about everything I need to get done. Slowing down and enjoying the laughter has been eye opening. I stood on the deck and the only thing I could hear was the spinning thing whirling around in the wind on my neighbour’s roof. No traffic, no animals, no city buzz at all. It wasn’t eerie. It was calming. It was like I could take a deep breath for the first time in a long time.
Over the past 2 months, even though I haven’t been blogging, Ninja and I have still been releasing updates on our weekly couples podcast, How Was Your Week, Honey? I have posted links to episodes 154-163 below!
Check out ep 154: Nailed It! HERE We discuss: cocktails, pedis, word work, snow day, house, the kitchen, L.A.T, CBC questions, & 90’s Canadian Music.
Check out ep 155: Just DO Your Job! HERE We discuss: impeachment, criminal checks, volunteering, spas, ear issues, IKEA, the house, painting, wallpaper, All Stars, McDavid, & the Mooch.
Check out ep. 156: We’ll Get There HERE We discuss: early crushes, the house, painter reprise, wallpaper, budgets, carpet guy, appliance delivery, impeachment & the Super Bowl.
Check out ep. 157: Calling All Trades HERE We discuss: sibling fights, pink pillows, snow, the house, smart homes, history, karaoke, trades, Netflix, tools & Instastory.
Check out ep.158: Rom or Com? HERE Topics: Corona virus, pot lights, tiling, Valogram dimensions, Wayfair, wallpaper, resting heart rate, & RomCom bracket.
Check out ep.160 Not Our Favourite Week HERE Topics: Snowflake Ball, meeting from hell, flu, no water, Edmonton, beer with our BIL, brunch, Oilers vs Jets, Biscoffs vs Oreos, & the house.
Check out ep.161 Movin’ In HERE This week we finally moved into our new home! Topics: $ store diagnosis, unpacking, purging, smart home, first night, punk beat & guitar heroes.
Check out ep.162 Quarantinis HERE This week we discuss effects COVID-19 has on 🇨🇦, BC & our small mountain city. Topics: Family Feud, shopping, liquor supplies, reality, red face, and Grey’s Anatomy.
I had planned on releasing a dinner recipe today buuuut while being home this past week, my Girls had a massive cookie craving! I looked through our pantry which is relatively bare because we just moved in 3 weeks ago. I have flour but not as much as I usually have and I definitely don’t have a bulk amount of butter or chocolate chips! So, I found this recipe! It was perfect! We doubled it and each Girl got to make their own Giant Monster Cookie and we barely had to use any ingredients! They tasted great, didn’t use up all my reserves, and the Girl’s had fun making them! I didn’t take pictures because I wasn’t planning on posting but after I put the 1 picture I DID take up on social media, I realized that people out there might have a cookie craving too. So, change of plans, in hard times, we share cookie recipes!
Giant Monster Cookie
2 tablespoons margarine, softened to room temperature
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons beaten egg (crack an egg, beat it, then use 2 Tbsp)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons peanut butter
6 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons quick oats
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup M&Ms (we opened Halloween packages! Yes we still have a ton of Halloween candy lol)
2 tablespoons chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 325°F.
Using a mixer fitted with whisk attachment, beat the margarine, sugar, and brown sugar together on medium-high speed until combined and creamy. Add egg, vanilla, and peanut butter then beat on medium-high until combined.
2 months. That’s a long time and a LOT of pictures! Here we go, pull up a couch and enjoy!
For the Family Day break my Sis brought the family out for a week long visit! It was wonderful! BIL and CabbagePatch were only able to stay for the weekend but we had SweetPea and Sis for a full week! In the short time that our BIL was here, he helped Ninja put together a TON of furniture and my Sis helped out with the last of painting and cleaning. We tried to do fun things but a wicked stomach flu ravaged our house. It was nice to have my Sis there while we just chilled out. Felt safe and comfortable. We did manage to go see a local musical, Matilda, my Sis and I went to a Chili Mug fundraiser at the Art Gallery, Dad took the Girls to the park and out for ice cream, and Ninja took the Girls out for dinner and to a Vees hockey game. The Girls spent a lot of time cuddling, SweetPea lost 2 teeth, and Ninja and SBean attended the 4th annual Father Daughter Snowflake Ball.
