janice's mash-up

balance in january

So January has come to an end and I'm feeling like my one little word for this year has not made a good start. I've been overwhelmed by things at work which is especially frustrating because the things are not really within the scope of my position but I can't help but take them on. There's something about colleagues and children in need that grabs my heart. 

I've been out on my bike once and have yet to make a yoga class. I've been sick twice which is a clear indicator that my body is not so happy!

My one little word necklace from The Vintage Pearl arrived. Here's hoping it has some effect on me!

If you're interested in 'balancing' work and pleasure, stop trying to balance them. Instead make your work more pleasurable. ~Donald Trump

i love being a spectator

After a busy day at work, I went on a bit of a wild goose chase trying to find Colin's first basketball game of the season. I got lucky at the third school gym I made it to and was lucky to catch Colin's last shift.

Lousy gym photo.

I loved playing basketball in high school and keep hoping that one of our boys is going to develop a passion for the sport. Colin plays basketball like he plays soccer...runs hard, works hard, defends hard. So although I'd love to be playing myself, I love being a spectator and watching Colin play with such heart and intensity.

After a quick stopover at home, we headed to the Oval for Adam's hockey game. I love being in the Oval but Adam doesn't like playing there. It is so warm for hockey and he gets so dehydrated and hot.

Notice the white mouthguard hanging out his mouth all the time? We go through a lot of mouthguards. Adam chews on them and fiddles with them in his mouth while he's playing. I love that even at 15, Adam skates by and smiles, makes eye contact, shares frustration with us, etc as we watch him play. I love being there for his games.

weekend wrap-up

This was a photo-less weekend. Shocking, I know.

We're all not feeling great. Colin missed his soccer game on Saturday, Adam missed his hockey practice on Sunday and there was a lot of just hanging around the house. Adam did have a game out in Burnaby on Saturday morning and got two goals. He came home and said, "Hockey is just so fun!" I'm so glad he still loves the sport the way he does. The boys saw some old friends Saturday afternoon and I got caught up with an old friend as well. Colin did manage his guitar lesson on Sunday and Adam worked a lot on his Enex project for school. Neil spent a lot of time at school for basketball games and I went over on Saturday to watch Emma play. So it was kind of hit and miss for us but way more low key than a usual weekend for us. If we were feeling better, I'm sure there would have been some hot chocolate outings! Instead, I've been enjoying Throat Soother tea from David's Tea all day, hoping that my voice doesn't disappear completely!

 

1000 pins!

This morning I pinnned my 1000th pin on Pinterest. Crazy. I love Pinterest and keep adding new boards. I use it for work, I use it for home and I use it for working on me. I love my little collection of quotes that I've pinned as well as the visual stimulation and inspiration of all the amazing ideas out there is web and blogland.

 

For example, this was my 1000th pin...Rice Krispie hearts for Valentine's Day from Family Fun. Not rocket science or mind-blowing in any way. Just a simple twist on a favourite family treat. I made a tray of regular RK squares last week and they were gone in a day. I hadn't made them in ages and I had forgotten how much we all liked them ;) Now, I have this fun little twist posted on my pinboard so when I am scanning for ideas to make for treats for family and friends, I will remember this one! It will also likely inspire other twists on RK squares. That's what using Pinterest is all about for me.

I check Pinterest a couple times a day so I don't miss anything. I am always finding new recipes to try. In honour of my 1000th post, I made three recipes today that were found on Pinterest.

Coconut Banana Bread from HERE. So so good for this coconut lover!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Muffins from HERE. Yum.

Lighter Chicken Enchilidas for dinner from HERE. Yummy, but I would hold back on the chipoltes for three of us next time!

 

So it was a Pinterest kind of day...amongst two meetings at schools, grocery shopping, one sick at home son and one son stressed out making cold calls for a school project.

I'll be enjoying some coconut banana bread with a cup of tea later this evening to celebrate my epic pinning!

 

weekend wrap-up

Colin headed off to a fitness practice for soccer on Saturday morning...all the fields were closed for regular games and practices because of snow, melting snow and the resulting puddles. When he came home, the much anticipated creme brulee adventure begun. Colin is getting so comfortable in the kitchen and loves learning new techniques.

    
Adam had a hockey game...

After Adam's game (and a shower) the boys and I drove into Kits to visit our first venue for the Vancouver Hot Chocolate Festival. It takes place until February 14th and all the info is HERE. The site lists the locations and you can see the list of flavours as well as see what flavours at which sites are available each day as many of the locations rotate their flavours. Proceeds are going to the Downtown Eastside Women's Shelter.

We visited Cocoa Nymph and Adam and I enjoyed the Maple Cinnamon Drinking Chocolate while Colin had some milk chocolate with artisanal orange marshmallows.

So yum. A box of marshmallows came home with us. We went over to Kidsbooks and the boys got some new novels. Such a nice afternoon with the boys.

After dinner, Colin completed his favourite part of the creme brulee adventure and torched the sugar crusts.

Sunday morning was blustery, cold and rainy and Colin had a soccer game. Brrr. Colin plays so hard and plays with all his heart. 

    
While Adam was at practice I dealt with some computer updates, work stuff, groceries and making blueberry cinnamon buns. Adam's on semester break this week so at least I know he'll have breakfast taken care of when I'm at work. The recipe is a blend of Pioneer Woman's cinnamon rolls and a recipe I saw on Pinterest.

We had a lovely dinner out with my sister's family at Campagnolo to celebrate Adam's birthday with them. It is still his birthday month after all!

Happy birthday again Adam...I think that's it for this year buddy!

simple things: our first creme brulee

We had a delish vanilla creme brulee at a restaurant for Adam's birthday dinner and Colin has been talking about making it ever since. It's been on my list of "desserts to try making" for years but I just haven't got around to it. Colin's desire and a kitchen torch gift from my brother-in-law made the timing right for our first attempt. Colin steeped a cut vanilla bean in heavy cream, made a custard with sugar and egg yolks and baked the filled ramekins in a hot water bath. This evening after dinner came the much anticipated torching of the sugar crust.

We all loved cracking into the creamy custard through a sugary crust. So delicious and as Colin said, "Not bad for a first attempt!"

I love being able to fuel the boys' interests and seeing them proud of what they've done.

This is a The Simple Things photo for 2012.

Check out other "simple things" photographs on Rebecca's blog.

 

the windshield story

On Thursday morning, it was about minus 9 degrees C outside as I pulled out of our garage into the dark icy stillness just before 7am. Within seconds, I heard a little splitting sound and noticed a crack about 6 cm long in my front windshield. I had a tiny little chip at the bottom of my windshield from one of our roadtrips this past summer. Yikes. About 3 minutes later, the crack spread and went almost across the entire length of my windshield.

I've never had a cracked windshield before but realized it must be due to the crazy cold temperatures. I later learned from the kind man at Speedy Glass that the internal pressure between the layers in the windshield was affected by the extreme temperature change from our warmish garage to the freezing cold outside.

I drove out to my committee meeting at UBC hoping that the whole thing wouldn't shatter or collapse or something...I really wasn't sure what might happen. I phoned Adam, he found a phone number for me and I got an appointment to get my windshield replaced in the afternoon.

When Adam got home from school, I thanked him for his help in the morning and then we had the following converation:

Adam: So did you take a picture?

Me: Oh, ah, no. I guess I should have.

Adam: Geesh mom, pull yourself together!

Adam thought it would have been so cool to see...he loves stuff like that and figuring out how things work and why they happen the way that they do. He was so surprised that I didn't take a picture...it's just what the boys expect of me I guess.

So no photo but now we have a story to capture the event!

wordless wednesday: a dark, cold winter afternoon

   

weekend wrap-up: the weather edition

What a crazy weather weekend! Adam and I drove down to Bremerton on Friday in bright sunlight. Cold but beautiful. Colin played a soccer game Friday night in the dark, clear coldness (they won 4-0) but Saturday morning was another story. Neil was driving south on I5 through rain and snow and I was heading north. When I left Bremerton, it was grey, cold and drizzly. 

The rain became torrential as I headed onto the I5 up through Tacoma. On the other side of Seattle, it started with a mixture of rain and snow and then coming into Lynnwood, white out conditions. 

I arrived home to sunshine and Colin out longboarding! Colin and I had a quiet evening and Adam had two more hockey games. The first one Adam scored two goals and got an assist (he's got my vote for MVP) but his team lost 5-3. The second game wasn't until 9:30 at night and his team lost again. Up here, the weather was definitely changing. Some of my friends saw a funnel cloud over Steveston! There was lightening and thunder and then a huge hailstorm. Colin headed outside around midnight to check it out.

We realized when we went to bed that his 9am soccer game was in jeopardy and sure enough, when I got up in the morning, there was an email saying it was cancelled. Colin was quite bummed that Adam wasn't here to play in the snow with him. In the bright sunshine, he cleared the walkway and driveway all on his own and then headed out to build a snowfort at the school with Jonah.

  


Adam and Neil arrived home safely this evening with no weather issues. There is more snow in the forecast for this week which the boys love and have been waiting all winter for!

simple things: the gift of friendship

This has been a tough week for me for a variety of reasons. Deadlines, pressure, stress...a lot going on. It is during times like these when the gift of friendship is especially appreciated. It is amazing how much a simple thing like a phone call or a drive-by with tulips can really make a difference.

 This is my first The Simple Things photo for 2012.

Check out other "simple things" photographs on Rebecca's blog.