You Can Change Any Time You Want

There’s a lot of pressure at this time of year to make sweeping and drastic changes to your life because of the ringing in of the new year. 

I’m here to tell you that not only do you not need to do that but also that you can change any time you want to. Just because a New Year is approaching doesn't mean you have to have everything suddenly figured out or accomplish everything on your to-do list for 2023.  

You don’t need to do it January 1st 2024 either. You can do it today. You can do it Jan 15 or July 15 for that matter. 

Here's something else that might blow your mind.  If you do decide to start, you can re-start too.

And you can do that as many times as you want or need.

You can make and re-make the to-do list.  We change and our priorities change and it can all happen in a split second.

In a blog post I wrote last year, called Diet is NOT a Christmas Word, I talked about letting go of diet hang ups and enjoying all the season has to offer, within reason of course.  I'm not going to preach about healthy eating habits or joining gyms instead I think these words sum it up well.  "It's all right letting yourself go as long as you can let yourself back."  Mick Jagger said that.  I have no idea what it's in reference to but I'm fine not knowing because it serves me well just thinking about it.  I even have it as a quote in the sidebar of this blog page.

You have to give yourself permission to let yourself back.

We've all indulged over the holiday.  Sugar cookies, fudge, extra handfuls of M&M's while baking etc etc.....  I made the personal choice to just not worry over the holidays.  Do I want to be the miserable one wishing I could have the Nanaimo bar?  No.  However, just like I made that decision to not worry, I've also given myself the timeline to stop too.  Because in the same way that I don't want to be unhappy by having to decline Christmas goodies, I also don't want the feeling of how snug my pants feel.  The day I'm stopping?  That's the day my Christmas vacation is over and I go back to work.

We know that memories and food are tied together.  I remember one Christmas Eve we had a large family meal at my In-Laws and then went to the Christmas Eve church service.  We were so full!  We had to stand and sing and I recall looking over to my Father in Law because he too was struggling to sing and breath just like I was!  We decided to not do that again - the service not the food. Ha!

I also recall another Christmas where I had gotten pants as a gift and they didn't fit.  I went to the store in January and the size bigger didn't fit either.  Nor did the size bigger than that.  I felt so awful.  I was also unaware of how retailers are sneaky with their sizing.  Since then and working a stint in women's clothing retail I've realized the letters and numbers on the tag don't really mean a lot from store to store or within the same building!

Another friend, no not Mick Jagger, but Denny said to me many times ago, but I paraphrase... Christmas is 1 day out of 365 and not 365 itself.

Trying is the important part.  Will it be easy to have one snack instead of two?  Stop having the cream in my coffee or tea? Making sure I eat a fruit and a vegetable everyday?  You better believe I'm going to try though and try and try again.

In the autumn of 2020 I made the choice to try and be healthier.  T R Y.  I've made a lot of lifestyle changes since then which I'm very pleased with.  Times change and our bodies change and I am deciding to once again make health a priority.  I know that I have to exercise for my mental health as well as bodily health.  I know I need to keep track of my sugar, fat and fibre intake.  These are the things that have gotten me to 2023.

You can bet that I will restart many times.  It's fine if you do too. Starting or re-starting doesn't mean you've failed.  It means that you care enough to keep going.  Remember, failure is how the diet industry wants to make you feel and it's how they make money.  Words like "on track" or

"cheating" are words that fit into that category too.  Don't let them have power over your feelings.  Give yourself the power instead.

Fuel your body and mind. Nourish your soul. Make memories.  

Here's to all of us in 2024 and the changes we want to make or don't want to make.  We are all pretty amazing the way we are but I know, for my own self, that I can be an even better version and that's what I want to strive to be.

Don’t Buy Me Anything

My husband and I agreed to not exchange gifts this year.  It's one of the best decisions we've ever made.  It took the stress away of shopping when neither of us had the time to shop or find gift ideas.  As a result, we both enjoyed the lead up to Christmas so much more.

This idea isn’t for everyone likely. We just figured we buy whatever we want anyway so let’s do away with the secrets and subliminal hints and chances of disappointment. 

I remember one Christmas when my parents were supposed to do the same thing. 

Mom said, “Don’t buy me anything.”  But Dad knew he should and always wanted to treat my Mom to some kind of extravagant gift. 

In the 1980’s there was a local business that was advertising these new amazing coats from Norway or Sweden. LUDA coats. They were warm and very nice looking. Every evening after the news that store would do a fashion show on tv. It was a precursor to the infomercial. Dad had been into the store and arranged to have them model the couple of coats that he thought Mom would like. He watched for her reaction and then decided which one to give her for Christmas. 

Unbeknownst to Dad, the owner of the store knew that Dad liked a coat too. So he contacted mom and she bought dad a coat. 

I knew Dad bought Mom a coat. I knew Mom bought Dad a coat. No one else knew. 

Come Christmas morning there were two identically wrapped boxes underneath the tree. 

“What the heck is going on here” I’m sure my dad said. 

Well, they each got their coats and I was glad to not have to keep that secret any more. They wore those fancy coats for years and years.

Neither my husband nor I caved and we stuck to the agreement of not buying gifts. Now, if only we could agree to stay away from the leftover Christmas baking!

A Recipe & Midnight Madness

In what feels like another lifetime, I worked for one year as Assistant Manager of Warehouse One, which is a Canadian clothing retailer.  The shopping mall was a destination back than and big box retailers weren't yet where we all demanded to shop and we definitely weren't choosing online shopping either.  It was the mid 2000's and at Christmas time the mall was a fun and festive place even though I'd not wish working retail at that time of year or any really on anyone.  One big event leading up to Christmas was Midnight Madness.

Midnight Madness happened on a few weekend evenings in the month of December leading up to Christmas.  Each store would stay open well passed the regular 9pm...until 1am instead and many would have special deals for that time period.  It was nowhere near as hectic as Boxing Day was but still a stressful time for anyone having to work in a store.

At the far end of the mall was a Starbucks.  Myself and a coworker were working this late night shift and we were both concerned for staying awake and alert.  For some oddball reason we both thought it would be a good idea to buy chocolate covered coffee beans.

You probably see where I'm going with this.

Starbucks used to have little boxes of these coffee beans right by the cash register along with mints and biscotti.  I don't think they have this anymore and if they do I haven't noticed.  These were obviously nice little add ons if you were purchasing a latte or cranberry bliss bar.

The chocolate covered coffee beans did indeed keep us awake and alert...not only for the Midnight Madness but for the entire night.  We both vowed to never do THAT again and told the legend to all our others coworkers.  It's a story I found myself telling a few students last week which they all found highly amusing.

Even though I will likely never have chocolate covered coffee beans again, I did love those cranberry bliss bars and still do.  Starbucks has changed the recipe so a few years ago I scoured the interweb for a copycat recipe.  What you'll find below has become a staple in my holiday baking every year.  I've tweaked it several times but decided to finally write it out instead of deciphering my cryptic notes in my home made family cookbook binder.

I'm sharing it all with you.  Feel free to click on the recipe photo and save it to your devices.  Let me know if you make it as well!

* If * you do try it make certain to not skip 2 important steps.

1) Make absolutely sure you coat the baking pan with cooking spray and coat with flour.  If you don't you wont ever get it out of the pan.

2) You most definitely will need to coat your hands with cooking spray to pat it down and stretch it into the pan.  The batter is EXTREMELY sticky so if you don't you'll be covered in it.

The original recipe was in an 11X17 baking pan but I don't have one that size and I'm pretty sure it's not a standard size either.  My recipe is 9X13 which is a size we all own.  This makes the bars a little thicker and the Starbucks version.

My oven runs hot so regardless of what I think they get removed at 20 minutes.  I'm going to caution you as well...they may not look cooked but trust that they are.  If they are over baked they become very crumbly.

Enjoy and happy baking!

Kick Off Weekend

We always made sure to decorate our home for Christmas the last weekend in November.  That weekend also just usually happened to be CFL Grey Cup weekend.  It became a tradition that we still hold fast to.

For several years in a row we'd host my husband's parents for the first weekend of December, the weekend following Grey Cup and what we eventually coined "Kick Off Weekend".  

It had nothing to do with football.

What it was, was a festive filled weekend of shopping, sight seeing and other festivities to rev us up for the month of December.  

D & D would arrive Friday evening for visiting and catching up.  Sometimes they'd arrive early as to beat the rush to the city.  I remember one time they did that exact thing and we'd decided to go to the mall downtown.  All was fine until I remembered that school was out that day for an in-service and we came to a fast realization that going to the mall was not going to be for us.  The above ground parking was filled and so was the underground parking.  Folks were driving in and turning around and driving out.  We didn't really need to go to the mall anyway...  

Our meals during the weekend would include a mixture of homemade, Starbucks coffee, Venice House pizza or Montana's for ribs but it was breakfast we enjoyed most.  We'd get up early on the Saturday and hit up the breakfast buffet at the the Flying J.  They had the best breakfast buffet.  There was anything you'd ever want, but my favourite was the strawberry stuffed French toast.  Sadly, this buffet is no longer offered and it's now a Denny's.  I still remember how special those morning meals were.

After we were adequately nourished and caffeinated, we'd go to the Sundog Craft Faire.  This was a juried craft sale on two levels of an entertainment complex.  One level would be all the wares that people made and the second level was all the food stuffs complete with many free samples.  My Father In Law loved a free sample.

Conveniently, next door, was Costco.  That was always another stop on Kick Off Weekend.  Costco always puts out the best things at Christmastime and has unique goodies in their bakery as well as gift items.  It's a huge bonus if they hand out Lindt truffles!

Sometimes we were lucky enough that The Festival of Trees landed during that same weekend and we'd get to take that in as well.  Hubby and I went last year and wandered the streets of historical Boomtown gazing at the trees and the historical memorabilia.  The Christmas trees are so different from how we decorate our own.  They all have themes.  Some would make us ooh and ahh while we'd agree others were not for us.  There were gingerbread houses on display too that had been in a contest and we'd marvel at how intricate they were.  

One thing that we always made sure to do was drive through the Enchanted Forest.  This is an event at the Forestry Farm aka Zoo.  Different sponsors decorate a meandering drive through trees and displays of everything Christmas.  Every couple of years a new attraction is added which keeps it all fresh.  Sometimes, we'd have hot cocoa from Tim Hortons as we drove and sometimes they'd hand out candy canes.  The radio would be tuned in to a special station to narrate the tour.  One memorable time was when my Father In Law decided he wanted to see more (one trip through was all they'd allow) but he swerved/drove around a barricade in determination to see it all again!

Things have changed a lot in the last few years.  The Sundog Faire was cancelled last year and isn't offered anymore.  A local greenhouse did a similar event one year but so far I haven't seen anything advertised.  My Father in Law passed last year and my Mother in Law has moved.  The kick off weekend is a thing of the past but the first weekend of December will always hold wonderful fond memories and no matter what our house will be ready for company on Grey Cup weekend.

1980 - Something

Picture it.

The Christmas mixed tape is playing on the home stereo with the same songs I enjoy to this day; Jim Reeves, Buck Owens and The Chipmunks. Dad is bringing all the decoration boxes from the basement. In the box there’d be some miscellaneous newspapers from Christmases past which always mystified me. We assemble the Christmas tree and Dad strings the full size string of lights carefully on each branch.  The sky is a rose gold in the setting sun, the snow outside is light and sparkly and there’s the faint smell of the heat from the lights touching the plastic branches.  They don’t make candles to recreate that festive smell do they.

It’s nineteen-eighty-something and completely magical.

There were some Christmases that we had two Christmas trees.  We had the artificial one in the basement and a real tree upstairs.  Dad’s brilliant trick to filling in the bare spots on the real tree was to take a branch from the bottom, drill a hole where the bare spot was and attach the branch.  It’s a trick I think he got from my Grandpa.

The decorations were a mixture of shiny baubles, felt ornaments and things we made. One decoration was always a small bell with a blue ribbon that I think had something to do with my brother (his birthday is Christmas Day) but I don’t know what.  There was silver garland and not tinsel because that was too messy.  The tree topper was a multi coloured star.  At the bottom of the tree rested a small plastic manger scene.

Some years Dad would want to hang streamers and foil stars from the ceiling. Mom would protest…”what are you doing that for?”…but often let him get his way.  There’d be a wreath that hung on the back door window that made the curtain puff out kind of funny.

My fuzzy Christmas stocking would rest on the arm of the couch. We didn’t have a fireplace or chimney. I hoped Santa had a key.  

It was probably a Sunday evening in December and when we were done we’d sit in the dark with just the retro glow of the Christmas tree and soft music playing. The next morning, getting ready to go to school, the tree would be lit up in its comforting glow in the coolness of winter. 

Everything would be ready and waiting for Mr Claus’ annual visit.

Advent Adventures 2023

Every company seems to have an Advent Christmas Countdown Calendar of some kind these days. I really enjoy finding out what little present lies behind each window leading up to the big day. So what calendars did I purchase for this years holidays? Read on!

The first calendar I purchased was from The Body Shop. I had gotten one last year and it helped me to relearn how to relax and take care of myself. As with everything the prices have gone up and this year I purchased the smaller version. It’s called The Advent of Change and comes in lovely blue packaging. The display isn’t as stunning as the larger version but the smaller rings in at $95 CAD. I purchased it back at the end of September and used my birthday rewards coupon for it. It says it’s a value of $181 so we will see when I get to start opening on December 1st. 

The second countdown calendar I got was from Bird and Blend. I TOTALLY splurged on this and for those reasons I’m not going to include all the extra fees I paid. As well I had ordered the Halloween countdown at the same time so charges were a bit more. I LOVED this one from a few years ago. The packaging is 100% recyclable and very festive. The main Tea Advent Calendar is priced at $49 USD. However, the one I purchased was specially curated for the tea lover and Bird and Blend customer. It’s called the Ultimate Tea Lover’s Advent Calendar and lucky comes in at the same price of $49 USD. They also have a Matcha calendar!

That was going to be it, but just this afternoon I found a coffee 12 Days of Christmas. I purchased the Grove Place Market keurig cup coffee countdown at Peavey Mart for $18.99 CAD. It does not appear on the Peavey Mart website but similar boxes seem to be available elsewhere. The cashier said they were also waiting on a hot chocolate one. 

Okay, but what about your husband? You can’t forget your husband! 

Right you are. I have found 2 calendars for him this year. The first is the Walkers Shortbread calendar which is a 24 day countdown. I originally ordered from Tea At The White House but they sold out twice. Since I’ve been informed it can be found at London Drugs and a few other retailers. I spent $40 but apparently they can range in price. 

The other countdown I got for my husband I stumbled upon. I bought it at Canadian Tire for $24.99 CAD.  It’s the National Lampoons 12 Days of Jelly Advent Calendar.  We had the Bonne Maman calendar last year and really enjoyed it. This quirky calendar has repeats, comes with a knife and I’d say the packaging is a real “beaut”. 

There you have it. My countdown extravaganza. 

Only 6 days to go!

T.Kettle Tea : Advent Calendar Review

I know what you're saying...

It's not Christmas.

True!  While I'm sitting here anxiously awaiting to open the first door on my Bird & Blend Halloween calendar I thought I should offer an update for the future holiday season!  I've pretty much been mute on this blog page for several months and really enjoy sharing in a new/old way what I've been up to.  I really loved catching up with everyone in this format last Christmas so maybe this is a hint as to what's to come... 

T.Kettle is a Canadian "born and owned" tea company.  Their website states their priority is wellness combined with flavour and great tea.

T.Kettle opened in several of the abandoned David's Tea locations and I was pleased to have another Canadian tea retailer easily accessible.  That was until September when I discovered the location I often visited had closed up shop and the only location still open in my city is in a shopping mall I rarely visit.

I've never found their website very current or easily navigable.  I think this company could be more popular if this was updated and had a more user friendly layout.  I don't have a background in this.  I'm just a girl who likes tea and occasionally shops online.  

This Advent Calendar was the 2022 version.  I don't see one available for this year but like I said above, their website isn't 'great'.  It originally retailed for $49.99 but I purchased it in March of 2023 on clearance for $29.99.  The design is very similar to other calendars.  It has 24 days of tea in each drawer.  Each day consists of a small metal container which has a portion of loose tea for about 2 cups.  What I liked most was that each drawer had not only the name of the tea, but the ingredients as well as brewing instructions and caffeine level.

I was very pleased that there was a large amount of caffeine free options in this Advent Calendar.

My favourite flavour was the Fruit Cake because to me those are the flavours which sum up the holiday season.  In September which is when I decided to indulge in this calendar I was sad to find out that a lot...and I mean, A LOT of flavours in this sampler were discontinued so I couldn't find them again even if I wanted to.  That's not terribly unusual but if this was your first connection to the T.Kettle company it would be nice to be able to stock up on your favourites.  How long before I drank them had they been discontinued?  There's no way to tell.

Previous to this, their Gingerbread Cookie tea is the BEST, hands down, that I've ever tasted.

The over all appearance and design of the T.Kettle Advent was very nice and it sat in my kitchen easily and didn't take up a lot of space.  The construction was cardboard or thick paper with a magnetic door.  I'm sure my first David's Tea calendar was similar.  I recycled the whole thing including the small metal cups which held the tea.

Would I buy this again?  Yes I would.  If it were available.  At this time in October when many of the companies have posted their upcoming Advent Calendars you'd think if it was available for this season it would be out there too, but I don't see a mention of it anywhere.  Maybe keep your eyes peeled on their social media for such an announcement.

Advent Calendar Reviews

This is a comprehensive table of contents or appendix of all the Christmas Advent Calendars and Countdowns in one easy to find place.

The Body Shop

Tea at the White House

Bonne Maman

President's Choice

Ilchester Cheese

T.Kettle Tea

The Body Shop 2023

Bird & Blend

Christmas Vacation Jelly of the Month Club

Walkers Shortbread

Grove Place Market 12 Cups of Joy

Merry Christmas

Before we all get super busy with our Christmas celebrations, I wanted to take a moment and thank everyone who has followed and read along with my posts over the last month or more. I’ve received some very nice comments and appreciate the conversations. 

I had wanted to share a few more things, but our schedules get so jam packed this time of year so those memories and stories will have to wait for another time. I will do some follow up posts about my advent calendars, which I loved and which I thought were the best for my money so stay tuned for those.

I plan on keeping up this blog now that I’ve attracted you all here but if you’ve found yourself here from ABC Football and wonder where that talk is, don’t fret, I fully intend on getting back to that site as the CFL season ramps up for 2023. 

I hope you have a fantastic Christmas shared with those you love and you get a moment to rejoice and marvel in the glow of the lights, bask in the sounds and immerse yourself in the delicious smells of the season. 

Let It In

I had wanted to write a blog about our 30th anniversary and the Christmas that followed our wedding.  Truth be told I don't remember lot's about the Christmas at Fredlund's house and feel like I should because most people in Hubby's family recall that as THE Christmas.  Maybe it was because I was so new to the family and it was just all overwhelming.  I'm not sure but when I think about it I also think about all the family members who aren't with us anymore and that reminds me that even though I've been trying to share all kinds of heartfelt things on this blog, the holidays are not full of happy memories for everyone and some people are living with celebrating a first Christmas without their loved ones.  We are also that family.

It's been a year.  That's all I can say.  2020 was a cakewalk compared to 2022.  Stay at home and bake brownies all the time while working from home?  Sign me up because back then everyone was well in my family and safe.  2022 was a year where I didn't dare ask 'what next' and kept saying over and over God will not give us more than we can bare.  

It's been a test of Faith.  When the pandemic hit, we stopped attending church like most people.  We keep saying we need to go back but haven't.  We've watched like many do on YouTube.  I know attending church is important but I also think praying in the quiet stillness of home is what's helped me endure.  I'm reminded that no matter how messy our life is, God is there to help us pick up the pieces.  And man, 2022 has been messy.

I've had to lean on a lot of people.  Of course my family and friends were there for us but it was my coworkers who probably should get an award for the amount of venting they've endured!  At the same time, wow, what special people they are.  They listened without judgement and it really meant a lot.  The ice cream cake for my 50th birthday, which should have been a fun day, was amazing but happened during a time of grief and misunderstanding.  The Moderators on ABC Rider Fans just took over when things got really tough and they listened and listened and listened some more.  It's because of all of these people that when the holiday sparkle was slightly ignited back in November, I decided to let it all in.

Kicking Up Their Heals

At some point during the Christmas season, my parents would attend my Dad's work Christmas party and I would get to go spend the night at Grandma and Grandpa's house.  I was young and it was a long long time ago now and I don't remember specifics but I know spending time with them was always special.

We'd sit at the dining room table and play card games.  Grandma and I would play Go Fish and Grandpa would play Solitaire.  We'd drink tea but Grandma would always call it "coffee/tea" and laughed about the time she poured tea into Grandpa's coffee making it real CoffeeTea.  Grandma would also say things like "heavens" when I'd tell a far fetched story and reply with "they're busy kicking up their heals" when I'd inquire as to what my parents might be doing.

I remember cousin Kim being there once and teaching me how to draw Snoopy and I remember Grandpa carefully teaching me how to make an origami bowtie.  It's something I can still remember how to make today.  However, one very special thing stands out first and foremost.  One time Grandpa got out the Consumers Distributing Christmas book and it very well could have been the Sears Wish Book or both.  I was writing my letter to Santa Claus.  Grandpa told me it was very very important to tell Santa all the page numbers, product numbers and prices of everything I wanted.  I wanted a lot.  This was the year the new Barbie-like doll Sindy came out.  She had an elaborate house with incredibly detailed furnishings.  There were tiny dishes and cutlery and just amazing things that tickled my fancy.  I carefully wrote it all down for Santa.

In those days, Christmas Eve was spent at Grandma and Grandpa's house.  We would exchange gifts with them and have snacks.  This particular time there were many gifts with my name on them.  When I got to open my presents they were all the items I had so carefully listed for Santa Claus making my wildest childhood wishes coming true.

It would take hours to set up that Sindy house and it took up lots of space but it was so special.  It would stay set up forever because it took so much work but as I grew up and was less and less interested it all got packed away.  I'm pretty sure its still in storage at my parents.  I don't know if there's anything like it for kids these days.  I don't know if today's kids would even want to play with such things, but I sure did, and for a while it was the best gift ever.

Mocha Sugar Cookie Latte Bites (Recipe Included)

This is not my recipe although the adaptation is 100% mine.  I can't tell you where the actual recipe originated but I did have it printed out and tucked into my Tried & True Recipe Binder.  The trouble is, the original name "Cappuccino Love Bites" doesn't exactly scream Christmas baking, now does it.

No.

Nor does it sound festive for Hubby or anyone else for that matter to take to their work potluck or cookie swap.  It also doesn't help one cook use up not one bag of Hershey's kisses, but two which she bought on sale at Costco.

Cookies cooling

The original recipe uses shortening but I use butter or margarine with the same results.  I can't remember the last time I bought actual shortening.  It also says to use coffee liqueur or milk but I think Kahlua would be great.  What I thought was a small bottle in our refrigerator door turned out to be Irish Cream and I don't think that would work with my flavour combination.  It uses instant coffee but be aware if you are sensitive to caffeine that may be an issue.  I didn't want a whole container of instant coffee so I bought a tin of Maxwell House Café Suisse Mocha.  I'd also think it would be interesting to play around with tea flavours in this recipe but I'll save that for another season.  You don't have to fret over what flavour of Hershey's Kisses to pick up.  I used the Sugar Cookie flavour and I think the Candy Cane flavour would be excellent as well.  Just stay away from the ones that have the soft centers.

I won't regale you with how I baked these while the snow was gently falling and the Christmas tree was twinkling away.  Instead, it was a regular Saturday evening two weeks before Christmas and my back was sore from a rather hectic shopping trip to Costco.

Double Dog Dare (A Cookie Review)

On Saturday night I poised a question over my social media pages.  I simply said, which do you prefer - Dare Viva Puffs Candy Cane Holiday Edition or Dare Whippet Mint Holiday Edition cookies?  Is there a difference?

I just stood in my walk in pantry examining the ingredient lists on both boxes of cookies.  The ingredients are nearly identical although some are not in the same order which would usually mean its a lesser ingredient since they are listed from biggest to smallest.  The Viva Puffs say "Chocolatey Coating" and the Whippets say "Sweet Chocolate".  Both cookies are peanut free although it's only the Viva Puffs that have it boldly printed on the box while the Whippets only have it on the side so it's not very noticeable.  The same can be said for being Canadian. Both are probably manufactured in the same plant and say they may contain wheat, soya and milk.  

Yes, Sandra, but what do they taste like?

This is my opinion remember and you have to decide for yourself.  I personally enjoyed the Viva Puffs more.  The coating is more of a milk chocolate flavour and the cookie base is more tender.  The candy cane flavour is minty but reminds me more of the more expensive candy canes which have a lighter more candy flavour rather than in your face cool mint.  The Whippet Mint cookies have a firm base and the sweet chocolate coating is a darker and harder chocolate.  The mint flavour is really minty.  The Whippet cookies also have bolder coloured marshmallows.  They are nice as well and unless comparing them side by side you'd likely not realize a difference although the difference of coloured chocolate is apparent.

That is until you are in the grocery store gazing and drooling over the cookie aisle.  A 300g box of Viva Puffs are $4.19 and the Whippets are $4.79 for a 285g box.  The Whippets cost more!  Each box contains 15 cookies but the Viva Puffs are a slightly larger cookie.  

A serving of each is 2 cookies so each box contains 7.5 servings. Who gets that 1/2 cookie?  Viva  Puffs (40g) are 170 calories and Whippets (39g) 160 calories, but remember Whippets are a smaller cookie.  So you are paying more for a smaller cookie.

If you are concerned about your pocketbook then the Viva Puffs are the better product to buy.  A box of Viva Puffs are 60 cents cheaper and a slightly larger cookie.

Which do you like best?  Which would you purchase?

I'm going to throw one more kink into the review.  If you want a more decadent treat, then look for a product by Tunnock's called Tea Cakes or Snowballs.  They are delicious and have real fresh marshmallow and no flavouring mint or otherwise.  The Snowballs do have coconut.  They are imported from Europe so harder to find and will be more costly however, one wrapped serving (6 in a box) comes in at 100 calories but a great way to enjoy a seasonal special favourite.  I found mine at a local store called Churchills British Café.

No matter what you decide, have fun with your own taste test and enjoy all with your favourite seasonal tea or coffee as you watch the Christmas lights twinkle this holiday season.

Christmas Beans to Eat (Swedish Brown Beans Recipe)

At Christmastime 1999, I got the Hanson Snowed In CD.  It's still one of my very favourites to listen to for getting into the holiday spirit.  There's one song titled "Christmas Means to Me (My Love) but my husband has changed the words to be Christmas Beans to Eat.  We had just moved into our new house and had Brother In Law and family as our first house guests.  I remember how hectic it was to get the house finished for their arrival.  When we moved in the kitchen wasn't even finished!  The best memory though, is our Nieces singing and making up dance routines to that Hanson CD.

Sunday Roast Supper

I am not Scandinavian.  Well, unless you count my Grandfathers sister (I think it was) married a 

Norwegian man...but that doesn't have an actual impact on me.  What does have an impact is that apparently when you marry someone who is Norwegian and Swedish you yourself adopt lot's of their traditions.

One of us!  One of us!

My favourite Christmas item on the big festive meal is Swedish Brown Beans.  The odd thing is that those who grew up in the family prefer other items, but for those of us who married in we love and look forward to the brown beans.

My Mother In Law grows Swedish beans in her garden.  She has a fantastic garden and even when she says things haven't turned out you can guarantee they're more prolific there than anywhere else.  A good number of years ago she gave me a cool whip container of beans.  I'm going to say it was at least 5 years ago.  I put them in the back of the pantry with the intention of one day cooking them.

One day finally came last Saturday morning where I awoke with the idea to cook them in the instant pot.  I got out the "Cooking Favorites of Covenant Women" cookbook from my treasure trove of cookbooks and quickly searched for the recipe.  It had been submitted by Mrs. Doris Anderson.  See all good recipes worth making come from this cookbook and I have one which was passed down to us.  The inscription in perfect handwriting says "To Aunt Emma From Evelyn" with my name and Hubby's added below.

The photos and instructions below are my account of cooking these Swedish Brown Beans in my Instant Pot in about an hour.  The original recipe states 4 hours.  You should be able to 'right click and save' if you're so inclined to try it out and please let me know if you do!

 

My Dad Knew Santa

Faint jingling bells could be heard from the other end of the hallway that led to the Bridge Room on the top floor of the Prince Albert Daily Herald.  The room was filled with little kids dressed in their Christmas finery and bursting with excitement.  I was one of those kids and what made it even more special was that my dad actually knew Santa Claus himself.

You see, my dad was the Press Room Foreman at the Daily Herald and co-chaired the Social Club.  He was in charge of organizing the children's Christmas party.  A few days before the big event, Dad would bring presents home, on Mr. Clauses behalf, to hand out to the kids.  They'd be from The Bay and would be wrapped in festive wrapping and bows.  Ice cream cups would be picked up...you know the kind, with those little wooden spoons that even as an adult leave you with a dry taste in your mouth.  The entertainment would be planned, and hamburgers ordered.

There was wild anticipation but there would always be a movie or two.  The movies would be rented from the library and were the real kind of movies using a film projector.  Every year, we'd watch the one about the Maple Leaf hockey sweater.

Then...

"I think I hear Santa coming!" Dad would say and sure enough the Big Man himself would start the jingling and Ho Ho Ho-ing as he entered the room.  Santa would greet the kids and do the customary questions like whether we'd been good or not.  Of course, we'd been good!  Treat bags would be handed out containing bridge mixture, those little foiled bell chocolates and balls and of course candy canes.  The most important would be the gifts because it was always something we really wanted.  One of the last gifts I received was a large plush stuffed pink and white teddy bear.  The kids would rip into their gifts and paper would fly as holiday chaos ensued.  

Santa would make another round of greetings and he'd be gone.

We'd eat our burgers, fries and ice cream.  Families would start leaving and after tidying up the Bridge Room we'd leave for home too.  It was the best afternoon ever.

Ye Olde Photo Camera

I was watching the Hallmark movie Haul Out the Holly last week and there was a part of the story where the main character had a Polaroid camera.  It was a flashback to when she was young and took photos of the Christmas celebrations in her town.  It got me to thinking that I also have a Polaroid camera.

It was very late and possibly midnight, but in a fit of nostalgia I dug through the cabinet doors of the hallway built in, to find my Polaroid camera.  There it was in its carrying case as pristine as ever.  I knew there was film left in it because a number of years ago I took it to work with me as part of my tourist Halloween costume.  I stood in the corner in my pajamas and lined up my camera in hopes it might still work and snapped a photo of our Christmas tree.

Nope.  It didn't work.  Well, it did take a photo but because the film cartridge has its own battery power it was likely so old that it just didn't want to work to its potential.  So, the two photos which were left didn't want to pop out nor were pictures visible.

Bummer.

A quick perusal of Amazon, London Drugs, and the Polaroid website told me that yes, indeed you can still buy Polaroid film in a vast array...for $29.99 which I suppose isn't that bad for some thing so retro.  But hold the train, that only buys 8, yes, EIGHT, photos.

Yikes.

I have 1000 photos saved on my iPad alone.

The difference is that besides sharing them on Facebook or Instagram, no one really sees them.  Gone are the days we'd take a roll of film to be developed only to find out weeks later how the pictures turned out.  We'd save them into photo albums and haul them out to show family members and guests.  One of the favorite activities at my In-Laws is to look through old photos and hear the stories connected to them.  I don't remember a Christmas as a little kid at my Grandparents where there wasn't at least one or two pictures resting on the coffee table waiting for the images to appear.  Now we post, share, like and maybe comment before moving on and it's all forgotten.

It's not all bad.  If it weren't for social media helping us to see what is going on in each other's lives I wouldn't get to see my friend who lives in Edmonton on the beach in Mexico.  I wouldn't get to see my Nieces share photos of their little one's meeting Santa.  This last year, when we wanted to gather photos of loved one's remembrance, I dove into the photo albums though.

The last time I had photos printed was in 2019 and at Costco.  Now they don't even have a photo department.  I made my Husband a collage shadow box of our trip to Utah and Nevada for Christmas that year.  It now hangs in our living room.

At work, I take photos of my students and print them myself to post on my classroom wall.  They love to see themselves and others who have completed the same music books they have.

Some of you still take special Christmas family photos for the annual Christmas card.  Are you planning on taking pictures this year?  How will you share them?  Maybe this is the year to set them out on the coffee table for the family to enjoy.

Cookies! (Recipe Included)

 

From "Christmas Cookies" by George Strait

I saw a meme last week that says every recipe blog starts off with how the blogger was out for a wintery walk and it reminded them of tobogganing as a child and yadda yadda yadda and the poster just wanted to hurry up and get to the recipe and who cares about the other stuff.  While I do feel the pain of having to navigate all that nonsense to get to the real information, I think we all want to share our warm fuzzy memories of the season with our readers, family and friends.

There's a Roughrider fan in every crowd!

Some of my fondest Christmas memories are of my Mom and me baking cookies. I remember having to kneel on a kitchen chair at the cupboard and watching with wild anticipation as Mom would roll out the dough and then we'd choose just the exactly right cookie cutters.  I was really blessed to have a childhood which contains sweet memories like these.  I was equally fortunate to have a niece and nephew who I was close to, so when I was older and married, I'd invite them to my house to make cookies.  One year in particular, my niece was sick and couldn't come for cookie decorating so my nephew and I did it but put some aside in a special care package to take to her.  She proclaimed that the Christmas cookies held special healing powers because upon eating them she immediately was feeling better.

Jingling Rider Fan Medicine Woman.

Flash forward to when I became a more enthusiastic Saskatchewan Roughrider fan.  I purchased a set of Wilton Football Themed cookie cutters.  The set includes shapes for pennants, footballs, jerseys and helmets.  I only used the jerseys and helmets pictured below, although the recipe, which is coming up soon, makes enough cookies for the whole neighbourhood and then some so you can use your whole array of cookie cutters.  I do have a very extensive collection from all the obvious Christmas shapes to Snoopy and that cute truck with a tree in the back.  Of course, you may already have your own favourite sugar cookie recipe, or you might not have the time to make it and in that case the cookie dough in the cooler section will do just fine.

Makes 5 dozen cookies

Without dragging it out farther... here is the recipe for Mom's Sugar Cookies.  There aren't any special instructions except throw it all in a mixer to combine.  Form it into a roll, wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.  If you don't refrigerate the dough, it will be pretty much disastrous and frustrating as the dough won't be able to be worked with.  Roll out the dough and cut into shapes, football themed or otherwise and bake at 350 degrees for approximately 8 minutes.  I use silicon mats on my baking sheets, so the cookies don't get overly brown and so cleanup is a snap.  One substitution you can make is the butter/shortening.  You can use margarine instead and the recipe still turns out wonderfully.

Once the cookies are completely cooled you can frost them with your favourite method.  Back as a kid we'd just use your regular butter cream homemade frosting with a myriad of sprinkles.  These days because my Hubby calls sprinkles "gravel" I bypass that method.  One year I purchased Cakemate Cookie Icing in various colours and although it didn't turn out to be my favourite product the cookies turned out pretty and tasty.

Go Riders!

Another year, I coated the cookies in white frosting and then used food markers to decorate.  These turned out to be my favourite cookies although the process was very time consuming because the markers had to dry completely, or they'd smudge.  That was also the year, where Hubby didn't know of how I'd toiled over the cookies and a good portion of them had "disappeared" before I'd found out.  

The table display for New Years Eve 2019

Maybe you want to make a batch of these for your favourite Riders fan or just make some sweet memories with some close family members.  I hope this blog was enjoyable to read and if it was, please share it with others on your Christmas list.  Nothing says love like a homemade gift-wrapped stack of sugar cookies shared with your family and friends.

Oh Snap! Looks pretty happy for a guy who just lost a leg!

Christmas Cards

Do you send Christmas cards?

I had stopped for a really long time.  Before that, I was the person who had the letter written in October and had all my cards addressed and stamped to go out in the post December first. We would receive so many cards that we had a specially designed wreath just to display them all. Then over the years, we stopped getting a lot of cards in the mail and friends and family chose to send virtual greetings or not to send at all, so it seemed like there was less meaning in putting in all the time and effort and expense into sending cards.  

One year, I quipped, "sure would be nice to get something in the mail other than flyers and bills." and I even mentioned to Hubby how much joy it brought me to receive something in the mail that was personal and didn't require payment.  He simply responded with, "why don't you give that feeling to other people?"

He was right.  

So, I set out to reform my card list.  That was a chore.  Some people on the list had passed, lot's moved and some had grown up to have families of their own.  Just making sure I wasn't leaving anyone out or spelling names wrong was another adventure.  I had once had a really cool adobe type list where I could add the date and whether I'd sent or received cards.  Surely there must be something similar for this new tech world.  I mean, there must be an app for that right.  Well sort of.  I found an app for my iPad simply called The Christmas Card List.  For me this works perfectly.

I remember being a kid and sitting with my mom at the dining room table as she addressed cards.  There seemed to be an art to choosing just the right design and poem to send to each person. It took what seemed like hours just choosing and writing.  When I was in a store this past weekend, there was a couple picking out Christmas cards.  I overheard their conversation about who they needed cards for as they looked and selected.  It was very sweet.  I tend to buy a box of cards that are all one design so then everyone gets the same card.  That's kind of like wrapping all your gifts with the same paper.

I've done that too.

Sunday night after all the hustle and bustle of the shopping day I sat down with the box of cards and my card list app.  I had bought more than enough Santa stamps and I even had some American stamps left.  Sometimes the thought of the task takes more time than the actual task, but I felt good at the end of it.  It's a part of the season we seem to have forgotten about and it's important to continue to let our loved ones know we are thinking about them. Addressing the cards helped me reminisce about friends and family over this last year, which has been a hard one for not only me, but many others.  Maybe a joyous Christmas card will be winging its way into your happy mailbox soon! 

CFL Advent Calendar

Fridays around here are either for football or flashbacks and sometimes it's both!  I've had a flood of ideas recently and I was thinking about a post I wrote called CFL Subscription Club on ABC Football.  The entire blog is talking about how you can subscribe to all kinds of services to bring you monthly boxes of anything from food to underwear and my argument was why doesn't one exist for the CFL?  Well, since it's Christmas, this got me thinking, (by the time you read this I'll already be into my advent calendars) why doesn't a football, a CFL in particular, advent calendar exist?

Well, likely because no one in marketing has thought of it.

* crickets * - CFL marketing department probably.

Imagine, as Grey Cup hysteria winds down, that you could purchase a CFL advent calendar.  24 days of CFL football items behind little doors of some kind of football themed box.  Hey, I can't have allll the ideas now, can I?  I'm not talking about big ticket items, but I know for a fact that the Roughrider Store has pins, stickers, tattoos, earrings, keychains, Christmas ornaments and likely other small items which would tuck very nicely into a decorative box.  December 1st you scramble over to your CFL advent, peel back the door and reveal...

With my luck it would be a Blue Bomber pin.

Every person who purchased an advent calendar would end up with a nice collection of memorabilia from all 9 CFL teams.  The items could be traded on social media and Facebook groups.  Fans could wear their items to events for the upcoming season. 

"Hey, where did you get that cool Gainer pin?" 

"Oh, it was in my CFL advent calendar!"  

The entire Christmas Countdown calendar would culminate in day 24 where there could be a coupon to be redeemed in team stores!  Then every fan could flock to their local team CFL store on Boxing Day to purchase an item of their wildest dreams.

* sigh *

My little green Roughrider heart swells with the thought of it.  Let's face it, there hasn't been much for us Rider fans to be excited about this last year.  It's too late for this year of course with Christmas already a couple weeks away, but hey, CFL get with it - get with the times.

Something like this could be marketed for the countdown to the 2023 CFL season and debuted during training camp and then the 24th door of the calendar would coincide with the home opening weekends...

...but I'm just the ideas person.  Just a fan.  Just a girl writing little ol blogs - wishing there was something football related to go with her tea and jam Advent Calendars.

Diet is NOT a Christmas Word

Every day on my way to work I pass by a Tim Horton's.  I've noticed a sign advertising a new seasonal promotion but can't quite make out the phrasing.  So today I looked up the slogan online.  "There's Snowplace like Tims"  Cute.  Then I saw some of their holiday items...

Gingerbread Oat Latte 280 calories.

Candy Cane Hot Chocolate 390 calories

Gingerbread Chocolate Dream Donut 480 calories.

Holy smokes Batman.

Don't get me wrong - they look amazing, and you know what?  If you want one, then go for it.

It's coming on December, and this is the season where we are once again gathering and celebrating together.  There may be some pressure to look better than you have in a while.  I mean, during the whole pandemic some of us got a little loosy goosy with our dress codes.  Is Christmas really the time to decide to go on a diet?

No.  Absolutely not.  I am giving you permission to let yourself off the hook this holiday. 

This is the time of year where we bake all the cookies and family favourites and yes, I'm the weirdo scoping out all the shops for the best mince pies and while we are on that subject, why doesn't fruitcake have marzipan on it anymore?  Anyhow, when we're doing and making these things, why on earth would we tell ourselves we shouldn't have one or two?  We love them so much we only have them once a year?

Just because I'm giving myself permission and you as well, doesn't mean we can go hog wild and eat the box of chocolates stashed on the top shelf of the pantry which your husband probably doesn't know about.  What I am saying is that when we associate so many happy memories with food and especially Christmas food why would we not only restrict ourselves but make ourselves feel guilt over it.  The diet industry makes a load of money by telling us we should feel guilty over food, punish ourselves and that we should make resolutions and join whatever fad is happening.  Don't give them that power.

Me, taken December 2019

In case you don't know, and I'm assuming many do not, during the pandemic and summer of 2020 I decided to better myself.  I started with the app MyFitnessPal and recorded all my food choices in an effort to be healthier.  Within a month I'd lost 15 pounds.  When I realized what I was doing was working I wanted to make life long manageable changes, but I also knew that if I told myself I could never eat another cookie or brownie or whatever again then there was no point.  So, I gave myself permission to have those things but only if I stuck to the recommended servings.  So almost every evening since then I've had tea and 2 cookies.  Guess what?  I'm satisfied with those 2 cookies.  To date I've lost just under 90 pounds.

Me, taken November 28 2022

I'm not saying that works for everyone because it doesn't.  Boundaries are also important during this holiday season.  You stuffing yourself with your families cooking doesn't mean you love that family member more or less.  It's okay to say no, thank you.  We joke around about wearing our stretchy pants to Christmas dinner but it's so uncomfortable and many like me end up with bloated stomach aches afterwards too.  I once said something to the effect of, "yes I can let my pants out, but I can't let my stomach out" Everything in moderation but knowing when enough is enough is important too.

So don't start the diet now.  Remove that word from your life.  Who needs that negativity?  Spend the holidays making happy memories and by golly eat the donut and don't give it a second thought.