Holiday Highlights (and Lowlights…)

Hello & Happy New Year! I’ve been MIA for a few weeks which was not my intention. There were numerous times that I wanted to sit down and write something, but between an awful stomach flu, traveling, last minute Christmas shopping, and all the other holiday chaos, it just didn’t happen.

I had a couple of weeks off work which was awesome because it meant more time with Ryland and Parker. Unfortunately, the first few days of my holidays consisted of the worst stomach flu that I’ve had since I was a kid. I couldn’t eat or drink a thing but thankfully the worst of it only lasted about 36 hours. Even better, I was completely fine by Christmas Eve day.

We spent about 6 days at my parents house over Christmas. Visits with them always consist of lots of R&R for me since they’re obsessed with their grandson and keep him occupied pretty consistently. My grandma, uncle and little cousin came out for a few days too which was really nice. To say I indulged on turkey & sweet treats is an understatement :/.

We had a pretty relaxed NYE. A couple of our friends and their baby came over and we just hung out and rang in 2016 together (quietly due to sleeping little ones!).

Now it’s back to the grind. Ryland and I slept in lots over the holidays so it was a little rough getting up with the roosters yesterday morning. Ahhh January…everyone’s favorite month, I’m sure ;).

Work’s busy, school is busy, life is just plain busy. I don’t really make specific new years resolutions, but I do intend on always making family a priority over everything. We can get so consumed with life sometimes so it’s especially important to set aside time for the people you love everyday. I don’t ever want to look back and be disappointed with myself for not doing that. I catch myself scrolling through Instagram in front of Ryland which is personally just not something I want to be doing. I can see what’s going on in the not-so-exciting social media world when he’s in bed. I will never come across anything in the cyber world that is more important than time spent with my son.

Speaking of social media, I think it’s important to give ourselves a little reminder from time to time that we shouldn’t ever compare our lives to the lives of others as portrayed through the internet. I read a quote awhile back…”Comparison is a thief of joy.” I could not agree more. People glorify their lives and rarely post about financial, relationship or general downfalls. Myself included. I post pictures of a very happy toddler, not any of him having total meltdowns. I would never post a picture of Duncan and I in the middle of an argument.

We may look at someone’s life through social media and think “wow, everything is just so wonderfully perfect for them.” But that’s just not realistic and I personally think it’s very important to remember that, especially in a world where social media is becoming so dominant. I’m going to do my best to instill this “little reminder” into the minds of Ryland and any future child(ren) that I may have. My worst fear is to raise kids that feel inferior or inadequate in any way, especially because of what they are seeing or being told through the internet and any form of media. It terrifies me, actually.

I guess a general resolution I’ll make is to be the best version of myself that I can. Sounds cheesy, but I believe that to be a good wife, mother, daughter, friend and so on, I need to take care of myself and work hard towards living a positive life. So that’s what I’m gonna do!

I hope you’re holidays were wonderful and left you with even better memories. I also hope that your 2016 is filled with lots of health, happiness & inspiration :).

 

 

Yams, Brussel Sprouts &…Christmas!!!

How are you on this frosty Monday?? Not frozen, I hope. It was freezing but super sunny all weekend. Perfect winter weather in my books.

I’ve talked about my love of Brussel sprouts before, but lately it’s turned into more of an obsession. Of all things, hey? But roasted with some olive oil & sea salt…YUM. I love yams too. The nutritional value of both is way up there, so lots of bonus points right there.Yams are full of the antioxidants beta carotene and Vitamin C, both of which tell the cancer-loving free radicals to beat it. They’re a great source of potassium which works to prevent high blood pressure, and they’re also high in fibre and complex carbs which equals good digestion and stable blood sugar. Loooots of other benefits that i’ll tell you about at some point.

Brussel sprouts are loaded with fibre and antioxidants as well, but that’s not all. They’re rich in a compound called isothiocyanates which not only fight, but possibly even prevent certain cancers and cardiovascular disease. They’re high in lots of other vitamins and minerals that make our bodies very happy :D.

My love for these healthy eats made this happen:

It was on the side of some roasted chicken, which wasn’t really all that picture worthy. But this really does make a fantastic side dish, especially during the holiday season.

Roasted & Sea Salted Brussel Sprouts & Yams ~ serves 4 as a side dish

Ingredients

• 4-5 small to medium sized yams
• 2 cups Brussel sprouts
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• sea salt

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400°.
2. Line a baking sheet with tinfoil.
3. Wash yams and dice into bite size pieces.
4. Wash Brussel sprouts.
5. In a large bowl, toss together yams, Brussel sprouts olive oil, and as little or as much sea salt as you desire. I ground about 1 tsp into my bowl.
6. Spread evenly on baking sheet and roast for 30 minutes.
7. Dig in!

My parents are doing a turkey for Christmas so I think i’ll add this to the side. My dad and Duncan will turn their noses up at the Brussel sprouts…more for me!

I put up all of our Christmas stuff over the weekend, basically because it’s never too early for that, in my opinion. As long as it’s after Remembrance Day of course.

Our tree is small, and sadly not real, but it’s a good size for our condo. And as much as I love real trees, I don’t mind not having to sweep up pine needles every 3 minutes. Nothing beats the smell of them though. NOTHING.

I also got a ton of Christmas shopping done on Black Friday at some outlets. The deals weren’t that great, but i’m about 80% done which is kind of a relief. I looked at the calendar and I don’t even think i’ll have time to sit down between now and Santa’s visit from the North Pole ;).

On Wednesday i’m going to tell you about some fluffy, light chocolatey Chocolate Carrot (but you can’t taste the carrot) Mini Muffins that I whipped up. I hope you’ll be back for that :). Have a great day!