Broccoli, Christmas trees and cinnamon buns

Thanks for all the kind comments from my last post - you really do make my day! Today is a PD day and I managed to find some time to blog. Imagine! The kids are all playing in the basement with a friend, I've got cinnamon buns (definitely not raw but definitely yummy) in the oven and I'm slurping a delicious green smoothie. It's a little different today. I added just a smidge of broccoli and yellow pepper, as well as a clementine orange and the usual strawberries, banana, mango, spinach and kale and a few other things. It's fantastic! I'm wanting to try a recipe for a smoothie that is just broccoli, yellow pepper, banana and water, but I thought I'd work my way up to that slowly. I think next time I'll toss in 2 oranges - it makes it taste so fresh. I love all the kale that's in there as well, as I've tried kale in other forms and don't really like it. My old blender left unpleasant bits of kale in my smoothie, but my new blender pulverizes it into smooth perfection! Kale is apparently one of the best things for you, so full of disease-fighting properties, that I love loading up on it. Our family has opted against the H1N1 shot, so I'm hoping to stay healthy this way.

I was asked how I manage to find time to read all those books. The books in the Twilight series are all around 500 pages each. They're a pretty easy read, and I'm a fast reader, but it still takes some time. Usually I'm up reading pretty late at night, or I read on my breaks at work, or I find time when the kids are at school. I try not to neglect them too much, but the housework does tend to get neglected sometimes. It all does get done eventually, and we do eat on schedule. Somehow, I squeeze it all in. Priorities, right??

This week marks the milestone of one year since Stefan started his new job here in Ontario. That was an incredibly stressful time, and I'm so thankful to be on this side of it! Stefan started his job here in mid-November and spent the next month and a bit pretty much commuting from Calgary to Toronto, coming home for a couple days at a time. In the meantime, I tried to keep things normal for the kids in Calgary, which was difficult considering I had to keep the house in spotless condition for all those showings. Every time we left the house, it had to be perfect, just in case. I spent much more time yelling and stressing than was good for us. In the end, it was all for naught, as the people who ended up buying the house saw it when it was completely empty. To add to the stress, the weather in Calgary was so bitterly cold that it always felt like so much more of an ordeal every time we had to vacate the house for a showing. We often crashed at my sister-in-law's place, which was very much appreciated. We stayed with family in Calgary once our house was packed up and then lived out of our (many) suitcases for the next 2 weeks. What a relief to actually get into our new house, but then the work really began to get everything unpacked! We missed out on having a Christmas tree or doing any decorating, so I am very excited about having Christmas in our new house this year. I'm anxious to get started on decorating, but will try to hold off for a few more weeks.

The past year has raced by in such a blur, but I'm thankful to be where we are. Of course, we very much miss family and friends in Calgary and wish for more frequent visits. On the other hand, we enjoy being close to other friends and family here in Ontario. We are once again blessed to have moved into a great neighborhood (although my 2 neighbors in Calgary will never be replaced). Our kids all have good friends and classmates on our street and they are able to be outside in the nieghborhood without constant supervision. There is hardly any traffic, and there are always lots of options of kids that are available to play. On Sunday we had 8 kids playing in the backyard while I did some yard work and I loved it! I loved seeing how they all interacted and the fun things they came up with to do. I didn't even mind feeding them all a snack!

I've just taken the cinnamon buns out of the oven and I would love to share one with you! Come on over, any time!!

Must run to get everyone ready for a birthday party. Have a great weekend!