Tag: holidays

December Goals | Winter 2024

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Hello everyone! Do you still remember me? It feels like it’s been a lifetime since I last shared my goals with you. I promised myself I’d write this post for December 2024, but here we are, on the 18th, and I’m just catching up with how fleeting time has become. I’m honestly shocked and a little heartbroken that Christmas is nearly upon us. There’s this tug-of-war in my heart; I’m excited for the joy of the season, yet so sad because every Christmas marks another year gone, another year older, and I’m not ready to face that reality. It’s like my biological clock is racing, and I can’t keep up.

Rebecca at her Christmas concert 😊

My daughter’s been ill this whole week, so I’ve had very little sleep. Not much has changed goal-wise since my last update, except I’ve completely given up on dieting. Surprisingly, ditching dieting altogether works better for me – my appetite naturally decreases when I eat freely. I’ve decided against fasting though; just thinking about it makes my stomach growl.

Ⓒⓗⓡⓘⓢⓣⓜⓐⓢ ⓘⓢ Ⓒⓞⓜⓘⓝⓖ

Image generated using AI ✨

Feeling Unsettled This Year

I don’t know about you, but I feel unsettled. Something seems off. Maybe its the looming future, not knowing what’s going to happen to us, and worrying too much about all the bad things happening in the world. I can’t help but worry about the Canadian dollar tanking, seeing it crashing day after day and me being angry at the Federal Government for screwing us hard-working Canadians over. I purposely leave politics out of this blog, but as of late I’ve been ranting more and more about politics to people who clearly don’t want to listen to me drag on about it. I am genuinely worried about the future and it keeps me up at night.

Also, I don’t know if my fellow American friends follow Canadian news (unlikely) but Canada Post was on strike for the last 4 weeks. They are finally off strike, but I have mail that’s still stuck in the states, which I ordered from a small business that specializes in beauty products. Also, I didn’t send out Christmas cards this year due to Canada Post being on strike, and now it seems pointless to send out Christmas cards. That being said, here is what the rest of the month looks like.

Image generated using AI (Please don’t use without asking first) ✨

DECEMBER GOALS 2024

Career Goals:

  • Plot availability for January 2025
  • Organize work backpack and drawer(s)
  • Add 2 new designs to #Redbubble
  • Promote winter designs on this blog and #Twitter

Personal Goals:

  • Publish 1-2 blog posts + monthly recap
  • Organize upstairs hallway closet
  • Organize downstairs bookshelf
  • Donate 1-2 big boxes of items to charity
  • Reschedule photos with Santa → December 24, 2024

Health Goals:

  • YMCA 2x per week minimum
  • Clear out the cupboards → Finish 3+ food items
  • Make honey lemon lozenges
  • Start using Stanley cup → start tracking water intake again

(っ◔◡◔)っ ♥ FINAL THOUGHTS ♥

I finally gave in and bought myself a Rose Quartz Stanley cup – not for Christmas, mind you, since I’m planning to start using it right away, but it’s still sitting in its original packaging, looking all brand new lol 😆 It was on sale for $38.00 CAD and who can resist a good deal? I’m really hoping this will be the push I need to get back into the habit of drinking water again. I’ve been plagued by headaches and migraines lately, and I’m not sure if it’s because I’m dehydrated or if it’s just the weather being totally rude.

On a brighter note, my husband bought me a cute pair of winter boots, which I’m absolutely thrilled about. They’re ideal for our chilly Canadian winters 🇨🇦 And my mom gave me a hoodie and some gourmet hot chocolate. I can’t wait to cocoon myself in that hoodie, savoring that rich hot chocolate, perhaps even using my new Stanley cup if I can get around to unpacking it. On another note, I treated myself to a new pair of Nike sneakers during Black Friday week. They might not be as cute as my previous ones – just plain black with white detailing – but my old sneakers with the hot pink laces have holes in them now. I’m still using them for treadmill workouts and not quite ready to say goodbye to them yet.

I am sad to let these old sneakers go 😔

(っ◔◡◔)っ FYI: If you’re not already following me on Twitter (@serene_hilz), you can get real-time updates [and rants] about my day-to-day life there. I purchased the Premium subscription to gain access to Grok 2.0, which makes the subscription completely worthwhile.

Thanks for stopping by! ♥

Classic Shortbread Cookies

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Disclaimer: This recipe was originally posted as a separate page. I changed it to reflect the direction that this blog is headed in. At this rate, I only have 2 more recipes to upload which are banana muffin recipes. These recipes don’t feel very festive but I am still planning to post them before the end of the year. Ideally, I would like to share a new recipe each week, but I know that this goal is overly ambitious. In a perfect world, there would be more recipes.

(っ◔◡◔)っ Isn’t my mom’s mini Christmas tree adorable? 🥰

Despite feeling sick during the Christmas Holidays back in 2019, I attempted to make shortbread cookies that year and failed miserably. My advice is to let the butter rest at room temperature until it is totally soft.

👉 The butter must be soft in order for this recipe to work!

I made the mistake of beating the butter while it was still partly chilled which resulted in pie crust cookies. You don’t want that.

CLASSIC SHORTBREAD COOKIES

Difficulty: medium

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 cup butter
  • 1 cup corn starch
  • 1/2 cup icing sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 cups sifted all purpose flour

DIRECTIONS

  1. Beat butter until creamy but not oily.
  2. Sift dry ingredients four times; add to creamed mixture a little at a time.
  3. Work ingredients with a spoon as long as possible, then turn mixture on floured board and knead until mixture cracks slightly.
  4. Pat to 1/3″ thickness.
  5. Cut with fancy cookie cutters and bake at 325 degrees F for 20 minutes.

Now that we are approaching the Christmas holidays, I encourage you to give this recipe a try. Feel free to let me know what you think in the comments section below ↓ I love reading your comments! 😊

Thanks for stopping by!

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‘Tis the Season to Be Sick

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Every year around the holidays, I seem to be one of the “lucky” individuals who gets sick. Last year, I caught bronchitis which started off as a head cold. Due to my crappy immune system, this nasty bronchitis refused to leave my poor lungs for several weeks which ultimately lead to an inflamed trachea. On top of that, I spent last Christmas in the ER. Thanks Santa! How thoughtful of you!

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Despite receiving the flu shot on Saturday, December 7, 2019, I wasn’t prepared for what was to come. From what I discovered over the years, the flu shot seems to work against me for some reason. However, the faculty insists that students receive their flu shots each year so that they can attend clinical practice. And this is kinda a big deal. If you don’t attend clinical practice, you automatically forfeit the entire semester. And anyone who has been following me knows why I cannot allow for this to happen.

On Sunday evening, I spent my waking hours in the bathroom puking my guts out. At one point, I didn’t make it to the bathroom on time and my poor husband volunteered to clean up the mess. I was in so much physical pain that I thought I was dying, similar to the memories from Christmas 2018. I didn’t see a magical light leading to heaven or anything, but if projectile vomiting is similar to what dying feels like, then yes, it was a near death experience for me.

Last night as I was lying in bed, I thought to myself, “This is it. I’m going to die. Pneumonia finally got me.”☠️ —Memories from Christmas 2018 

It wasn’t just me who was sick this past weekend. My husband was the first one to get sick, so I spent the weekend nursing him back to health. Hey, I want to take some of the credit for making him feel better. It’s possible that I may have caught this stomach bug from him. However, he didn’t experience any vomiting whatsoever, so could it really be the same sickness? Yesterday evening, my toddler had a fever, but she displayed no signs or symptoms of being sick. Instead, she was full of energy and bouncing off the walls like any healthy kid. This morning, she asked us to take her to the playground so she could play on the slides. Not today, Rebecca. You still have a fever. You’re supposed to be sick. Silly girl. 

The Mystery Continues

Perhaps I had food poisoning, which is a possibility. Some of the food I ate last weekend was questionable, such as a bag of stale BBQ potato chips. Dollarama, get it together! 😑 Add 3 chocolate bars to my day’s worth of calories, and that binge could have been enough to cause a puking fest. We usually don’t eat junk food at home, but I thought it would be nice to surprise my husband with some of his favourite treats. He refused to eat any of it, so I ended up stuffing my face with chips, candy, and chocolate. Now, I am swearing off junk food for good, which could just be a temporary food aversion. Yesterday, I had a long conversation with Steve in the comments section over at Steve’s Country. He is super friendly and I highly recommend checking out his blog! 😀😺

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Always find something to laugh about every day. And if you can’t find anything, you can always laugh at yourself!

I am grateful that I am able to breathe through both nostrils. Thankfully, I didn’t end up with clogged sinuses or a stuffy nose. Try to stay healthy my friends, especially since there are sickly people everywhere this time of year.

Thanks for stopping by!

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