Blogtober: Day 10.

Key Lime Pie! No reason. Dh wanted

to treat me after a busy week. Love!!

Do you get treated at times?

~ Chy

Hot Treat.

Life is so different now. We don't have to drive in to town each day and right now, with the deep freeze surrounding us, we are staying home even more. The other day, I innocently mentioned I was missed going out and especially grabbing a Timmie's hot chocolate ~ my favorite is their very yummy white hot chocolate. And then look what showed up in my face a short time later! I wasn't asking for a treat, just ruminating that it had been a while since we had driven in to town. Feeling extra loved by my guy when he treats me!

The weather is starting to turn. It's still cold but definitely an improvement since the weekend. We're now in the low teens vs. the low 40's. It is such a relief to not have to worry as much about our little cottage in the snow filled forest. Frozen pipes is not something we've had to deal with BUT it takes a lot of work to ensure that doesn't happen. Our furnace issue on the weekend was not related to the cold, just the timing sucked. Ironically, we opened our bank account on Monday morning and the Government of Canada was kind enough to deposit our quarterly Carbon Tax Rebate. Not quite the amount to cover the repair but between that and dh's recent rebate from WestJet for his delay in his last flight, we didn't have to touch our savings for this repair. We have an account for things like this but always hope to not use it. Thankfully, we were lucky this time. 

Rest of the week is not too bad. By next Monday, we'll be back to single digits. Much easier to deal with the Winter driving and shovelling, etc. when the air is not bitter. Hoping this was the one and only deep freeze this season but we'll see what happens as we go. The good thing is I'm getting a few things ticked off my ongoing task list. Two things that were tackled were a thorough purge of our closet, right down to the baseboards. It's so lovely now and someone will be excited when they visit the charity shop, and find some still lovely clothes hanging on the racks. I also re~organized the guest room closet, the linen closet and the laundry room. The last item is purging the Art Studio again. I did a light purge in the Fall but think it's time for a deeper one. With a new dollhouse to work on, I'm starting to run out of room for all my items. So, a deep clean it is, and another trip to the charity shop. It may even take more than one trip.

If you're still living in the deep freeze,

how are you coping being stuck inside?

~ Chy

Swiss Gift.

My favorite white chocolate will always

be Purdy's but this bar, from a little shop

in the mountains and gifted to me from

dd1, is made with Swiss chocolate. Yum!

~ Chy

Sweet Strawberries.

My favorite way to eat sweet strawberries.

With yogurt and chia seeds mixed in. So

tart and creamy. I hope we can try to grow

berries this year now that we have a spot.

~ Chy

Fundraising Cookies.

My family was out today to get some

groceries and stopped to get me a treat.

A white hot chocolate and a special

cookie to support charities in our area.

Yummy!

~ Chy

Favorite Treat.

This is now officially my new favorite

treat. If we hadn't been snowed in, I

probably would have driven in to town

to the store to buy more packs. Next year!

~ Chy

Confetti Treat.

One of our favorite Christmas treats

is a popular one here called "Confetti."

My aunt used to make a lot. Every

single time we'd go over to visit, a

new pan would be sitting on the table,

waiting for all of us to dive in to and

enjoy. She gave me the recipe when

we got married and now it's a staple

for holidays and special days. This

year, our girls made the treat for our

family to enjoy over the holidays. I

know we'll have to make more as this

treat will not last long at all. So very 

thankful that it's super easy to make.

Do you have a favorite Christmas treat?

Or one you can make all thru the year?

~ Chy

New Treat.

Have you come across this new chocolate

treat yet? I've had one and immediately it

became my new favorite treat! I'm sure I

will find some of these in my stocking ....

~ Chy

Lemony Treat.

My family and I are all actively involved in an Intermittent Fasting Program. It is not exclusively a weight loss option but in fact, it has multiple benefits. For myself, I will be having surgery at some point in the next few months (hopefully, as long as it doesn't get canceled again) and would like to be in top form as the recovery will take time and I may lose some muscle mass. I'm also trying to reverse the "pre~diabetic" concern I have from my last blood draws. As I've spent most of my life to ensure I won't develop adult onset diabetes as my relatives have all had, I've been proud to get to this point without this life long illness. Those in our family who have developed it have all been in their 40's, including my dad. I'm well past that and was hoping to get to the end, so the idea of being "pre~diabetic" was not on my radar. However, I do have a chance now to get this under control. So far, I've lost 3.4 pounds and have managed to decrease my cravings. I'm liking this path we've all embarked on and happy that we've all gotten thru the difficult first week and it's easy to follow. To celebrate our successes so far, we were treated by our daughter to a mini cupcake the other day. I chose this Lemon Cheesecake and it was soooo good! And just the right size for a treat. A new way to eat, a new path in life. Wish us luck as we continue to work hard and still have space and time for a treat here and there! 

~ Chy

Surprise Treat.

After all our hard work getting ready

for Christmas, both inside and outside

the house, in town and at work, with

family and friends, a treat on the Eve.

A favorite quick dinner that is filling

but not stuffed! Fresh veggies stir

fried in a teriyaki sauce, with chicken

and shrimp and extra breaded shrimp

on the side. So delicious and though it's

fast food, it's good food and such a treat.

~ Chy

Enjoy!

And I did. Cause if you tell me to, I

will do my best. A treat from my dd.

~ Chy

Caramel Treat.

A treat from my dd the other day after

a long and tedious work day. Yummy!

~ Chy

Christmas Oranges.

One of my early childhood memories is

being so excited when my dad would

bring home "Christmas oranges" in the

little wooden box, with Japanese words

on the side. They were truly a delicacy,

expensive and only were available, if

you were lucky to get any, the week

before Christmas. We were allowed to

have one each night after dinner and

the rest were saved for our stockings

and Christmas dinner. Now these same

oranges are in the stores in October

and we can eat as many as we wish.

But I still get a thrill opening my

stocking on Christmas morning and

finding a sweet orange in the bottom.

Dill Ranch Chex Mix.

I've never made Chex Mix before but

found this easy recipe and had to try

it. Pretty straightforward and made a

large amount that we're still munching

on 2 weeks later. Very happy with the

taste and looking forward to making more.

That's Talent.

My dd brought a treat home for me today

from her Halloween Party at her preschool.

Whoever made this has brilliant ideas and

tons of talent. I'm creative but would never

have come up with this sweet treat idea.

I almost don't want to eat it! But, I will.

Christmas Breakfast.

Hi everyone!

I rarely eat breakfast on a daily basis but Christmas morning is one time I will truly indulge, especially when I am presented with wonderful creations like this:

What does your Christmas breakfast look like?

Yum!

Grampa made dill dip for our nachos

to munch on while we ring in 2014.

Yum! A favorite treat that we don't 

get to eat often. But when we do, it

doesn't last very long around here!