healthy eating in 3…2…1

 

You know that post-Christmas feeling you get when you’ve spent too much time with your family, watched too many movies, and you’ve got the gluttony blues? Well I sure do. We’ve got cabin fever and expanding waistlines, so it’s time to wrangle this bronco and get us back on track! Don’t worry, I haven’t completely lost my mind. I’ll still make sure we’re indulgent and excessive on New Year’s Eve! Even if it kills me.

I’m making a big pot of delicious Pioneer Woman Chicken Tortilla Soup. It was a hit with my girlfriends a few weeks ago, so why not force it down my kids’ throats tonight? Seriously. I think it’s the only way I’ll get them to eat vegetables. Right now, they’re existing on a diet of Lifesavers and Frosted Flakes, so I went a little “crazy-ass mother” on the household today and threw out everything that even remotely contains sugar. It’s going to be the annual Findlays’ Christmas meltdown tonight, when all of us go looking for something sweet. There might be gunfire.

 

 

 

boxing day sales…

Last night, a wave of generosity washed over me–the kind that only happens during the dreamy fog of a prime rib and raspberry tiramisu hangover–and I offered to drive my daughter “downtown” to hit the Boxing Day sales today. What the what?!?! I wasn’t impressed when I woke up this morning, and the reality of the situation hit me. There was no feigning an illness, no strained muscle, and no family emergency. I was forced to succumb and we headed to Vancouver. Surprisingly, we found amazing parking spots, the crowds weren’t cranky, and the champagne mimosas at the bar I planted myself in were delicious (it also helps when your darling husband offers to drive)!

red hot christmas glamor…

Va va va voom! This is what you get when you’re 15 and you do lots of chores for your mom! It was my girl’s turn to get her Christmas nails today. Ironically, my nails are horrendous and should be hidden from public view. Sigh.

award winning…

If National Geographic knew how uncooperative and jittery this dog is, I’d be getting an award for being a photographic genius! Stella, my poodle-bijon-swamp-water-mix dog, really doesn’t want anything to do with the black contraption that I put up to my face. And, she is particularly peeved that my husband decided to wrap her up as my Christmas present (That’s worse than giving me a book called “101 Hikes Around the Lower Mainland”–true story!) She’s got some insanity-inducing, distastefully-rotten house manners, but she can melt your heart in a New York second, and make you fall madly in love.

christmas oranges…

If you’re my vintage, you got one of these juicy gifts in your Christmas stocking. The arrival of the wooden orange crates in the grocery stores harkened the arrival of the best time of the year.

christmas nativity…

This is my most treasured Christmas collection. It’s a tiny–seriously it’s only 4 inches across in this scene–pewter nativity scene that was hand-crafted in Nova Scotia. It means a lot to me, because I grew up in the United Church, and the real meaning of Christmas for me is the celebration of Jesus’ birth. Although we don’t attend church any more, it still has a place in my heart and it’s woven into my very fibre.

christmas addiction…

Believe it or not, Scotch mints are probably one of the top selling Christmas candies in Canada–at least they used to be. A million years ago, I was a sales rep for Dare Foods, and these little sweeties were my bread and butter. I used to get all my Christmas candy samples in August, and you could usually spot me with a candy cane hanging out of my mouth like a cigarette while I was driving around my sales territory! Good times.

aboriginal christmas treasure…

We have the awesomest (yeah, yeah, I can hear my english 12 teacher gasping) investment advisor, EVER!!! Each Christmas, Gord Mason from Hollis Wealth, sends us a beautiful hand-painted glass Christmas ornament featuring BC aboriginal artwork. Apparently, each ornament is painted on the inside (holy moly) with special curved brushes. I just can’t imagine how long it would take to make them! Crazy. Thanks, Gord…you’re the bestest!

christmas nesting…

What can I say? I’m a sucker for Christmas. I spotted this sweet little nest tucked into a white Christmas tree at my favourite home decor boutique, Romancing the Home. Shhhhhhhh…don’t tell my husband that I was shopping in a home decor boutique! I used to have an online home decor boutique and I kept more stuff than I sold, so my house is bursting at the seams with DECOR!!!!

everywhere except where i want it…

I just got a new Nikon 50mm f1.4 lens and I’m trying to make friends with it, but it just won’t cooperate! It’s a manual focus lens–because I’m the world’s worst researcher– and no matter what I do, it never focuses on the point I want it to focus on. So, adios bitchacho!!! Back it goes. I don’t care if it looks all shiny and new with seductive settings and abilities. It’s driving me bonkers! If anyone has any other ideas, please share. I need all the help I can get!!!