of garlic lemonade and other things.

I'm not feeling so hot. I think I came down with a bit of cold when I took a swig of a friend's cider. I was warned as three sick individuals had already sipped from the same rim. I boldly proclaimed that I was a nurse and we have rock solid immune systems. I was proven partially wrong as I have a persistent tickle in the back of my throat and my nose decides drip on occasion. It isn't bad, but I'd rather have no throat issues.

When I became aware of my bothersome throat upon waking I decided to visit my SIL's blog as she oft posts natural remedies and I have a night shift looming ahead of me that I want to be in tip top shape for it. I brewed me some Garlic Lemonade and I may have put in too much honey and lemon juice, but I am sipping just the same and praying that it is as soothing as Shawna promises. It is warming me up, if nothing else, and I appreciate that in and of itself.

Fall came quickly to these parts. It has been cold. And wet. And miserable. I don't mind it, but I am already contemplating turning the heat on in the house. I know it is only September, but it is currently 13 degrees in my house (55 degrees for those of you South of the border) and that is less than optimal.

I made this recipe for Roasted Butternut Baked Penne. All I can say is YUM. Erik and I both enjoyed it. I didn't even put in mascarpone or bacon and it was still delicious. And I put in a little extra milk because I don't like things too thick. Seriously though -- you should definitely try it. Yummy.

Speaking of milk. We have been drinking raw milk lately and it is delicious. Well, I don't drink milk, but I have cereal with milk and I use it in my chai tea and I bake with it and I love it.

I have a friend coming to visit on Monday! I have not seen her since my wedding day and I cannot wait!! She is out from Manitoba so I am now dreaming up fun things to do with her. I'm not even worried about the weather as I could use some time sitting on the couch, sipping on tea, and catching up. It will be so so nice to see her again. She just told me this morning that she is in the Lower Mainland -- she was hoping to surprise me, but realized it would be too difficult as she had no clue what my schedule was. As I said, I cannot wait!

Beyond that I have yet to unpack half of my house. Our living room is empty and the spare room is full of books and guitars... on the floor. One day I will be motivated to get those organized -- they are proving too overwhelming at present.

And that is that.

{this moment}

{this moment} - A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Wishing you a wonderful weekend!

*** *** *** ***

quickly

My ride is coming to pick me up any second so this will be incredibly brief. I don't have much to write but I find my desire to return to these pages lessens as I neglect them more and more. And I love looking back at what I have written in the past so I am forcing myself to take three minutes to write something.

If I had copious amounts of money I would buy myself a blanket warmer. We have one at work and it is heaven sent at 03:00 when you are shivering and slightly disoriented. I love me a warm towel when I come out of the shower (I have been known to bribe Erik into getting one fresh out of the dryer for me on occasion) and yes, a dryer is wonderful, but a warmer constantly stocked with blankets -- that would be delightful! Warm blankets on demand. Yes, please!

I'm going to a conference tomorrow. Then heading to work after to finish my shift, but that's ok. There may be some educational opportunities for me in the near future... outgoing education, not incoming. It may involve traveling IH wide to help roll out a program we have been using for the last year or so. I am nervous, but a little bit excited. It will be an experience, that's for certain. I don't have much information on what is expected of me, but I'm hoping to get some soon.

I miss Mandi and her family. Lots.

Maelle and Elinor are coming for a sleepover next week!

I hate packing lunches. And we have been re-learning how to cook. We've been home for almost three months (yoinks!) and we are still learning. I was amazed at how much I forgot about daily life while we were away.

We have one car. Our places of employment are a seven minute walk apart which would be brilliant except we both do shift work -- I work 7-7 and Erik works 7-3 or 3-11 or 8-4. This means a lot of driving, some busing, and car pooling for me the few days I can. It is only a 15-20 minute drive to work, but I was spoiled when I lived a stones throw from the hospital so that seems like clear across town (it is, in fact, clear across town).

Gotta go.

celebrating our fifth anniversary.

Erik and I went on a mini vacation to celebrate our fifth anniversary. I can hardly believe it has been five years already, but it has and we spent a couple nights at Harrison Hot Springs to celebrate. We planned it a few days before we went -- a last minute deal easily convinced us.

The holiday was all-to-brief, but it was wonderful. We only had one full day in Harrison and we decided to go on a hike. We did was is unofficially known as the "Harrison Grind". It rained a wee bit but we spent most of our time in the forest. Apparently Erik didn't get the "I'm planning on doing a hike memo" so he only had jeans to hike in. We only hiked for 4.5 hours instead of doing the full thing, but we did the hardest part and got a lovely view from where we ended so it was well worth it.

We didn't do much aside from hiking. We slept. We lounged in the pools. We swam laps. We ate delicious food. We enjoyed being just the two of us again. It has been a while and after almost seven months of constant companionship I was really missing my husband.

Can I just say that I love buffet breakfasts? Like really really love them. I always eat way too much, but how can you not with unlimited bacon?? Yummmm.

fort st john.

My dear friend, Mandi, and her family moved to Fort St. John on September 1st.

It broke my heart to see them go.

Mandi is my person. She is my go-to... my support... my encourager... my buddy. She is the one that I spent most of my time with and I sorely miss her. I have thankfully been incredibly busy since her family moved away, but I spend much of my down time wishing they were around.

We threw a farewell party for them which would have been much more enjoyable if it was a yay-you're-staying-here party. It was still fun. Our entire church showed up along with much of Kevin and Mandi's families. It was lovely to celebrate their family and what they mean to all of us. And to remind them that they have all of us rooting for them and loving them.

I am hoping to go visit in December. Woohoo! Who doesn't want to go to Fort St. John for a holiday? It seems so very far away. And it is, but it will be here before I know it.

Mandi moved up north. So that happened.

quick photo update

August began with a birthday for these two -- I can't believe they are already one! I suppose missing half of their first year made it pass by much more quickly. We had brunch and a cake smash to celebrate Peyton and Avery's first birthday.

The day after their birthday we headed down to Western Washington to visit Erik's family and attend the wedding of a friend. Little Miss was the flower girl as her uncle was getting married. She was adorable (as always).

After the wedding Maelle joined us at my in-laws and camped in the backyard with us.

Erik's grandparents were in town so we got to spend some time visiting with them. I haven't seen them in a few years so it was nice to catch up again.

On the way home from Washington we stopped to visit an old friend and to meet a new friend... his new friend. We stayed longer than anticipated but it was fun to catch up with Joel and to get to know Brianna.

And that is about as much energy as I have post-night-shift.

Erik and I are heading to Harrison Hot Springs for a couple nights -- I cannot wait!! I feel as though we have hardly seen each other lately. The weather is supposed to be terrible, but we'll have a good time anyway. 

still here.

I wasn't planning on taking a month away from this space, but August proved to be an exceptionally busy month.

We moved into a new place on August 1st and I haven't spent an entire day home yet because we have been here, there and everywhere. I have many things to unpack and organize, but setting up the house has been on the back-burner all month.

I do plan on posting a proper update soon, but here's a list of a few things August entailed:

- moving.
- a first birthday.
- a wedding and a trip to Western Washington.
- a short visit with an old friend and a new friend.
- a few sleepovers at my house with some little people.
- rock climbing.
- a visit from my newest nephew and his parents. 
- packing and cleaning a friend's house.
- a fifth anniversary.
- a pregnancy announcement or two (not mine).
- a farewell party.
- a trip to the fair.
- and a dear family moving to Fort St. John.

It has been an emotional month... I feel I haven't had two seconds to breathe. I have been trying to enjoy each moment and to be present with each individual I have spent time with.

I am still here. Still alive. And still planning on updating a bit more in a bit.

Enjoy your long weekend.