I don’t really remember my Graduation. It was all a blur of excitement and getting dressed up and frankly caring more about my friends and boyfriend, then the actual diploma of it all. I don’t remember the details but I remember having a GREAT time. I’m looking at HBear’s graduation, which is next week, through completely different eyes. The eyes of a Mother. And honestly, I can’t believe my Mom‘s not here to see this major milestone.
I’m having a lot of anxiety around graduation. Not HBear actually graduating, I’m really proud of her and excited to see what her future will bring. SBean is going into grade 9 next year so I have the whole high school experience to go through again, so it’s not that. It’s all the loss.
When I started going to PAC meetings when HBear was in kindergarten, the goal was grad, specifically grad committee. Never the chair, but definitely a big role, probably secretary haha. It turned out that because of my MS fatigue, I wasn’t able to take a role. Not even a small one. Ninja is on the grad committee. He’s in charge of security and has been at every event. When we received the email about actual dry grad volunteering, I was so excited and then reality hit me. I would have to rest for a full day before, which would mean I would have to miss HBear’s actual graduation ceremony. If I did set up in the morning, there’s no way I would be able to go watch her march in the grad parade at the Japanese Gardens. If I go to her grad AND the march, I won’t have the energy to chaperone that night. Everything! Everything is a trade-off! It breaks my heart not to be involved. I feel like I’m failing at the one thing I was good at. Volunteering and scheduling!
There have been a few miscommunications with appointments, photo shoots, dress fittings, and ummm where are the shoes again? It’s funny, but it’s really not because this is all supposed to be smooth sailing and it’s not, because of me. So, I have anxiety about having a flare and not being able to be there. Not being there enough. Not saying the right thing because my words are jumbled. Not having energy to put into the full celebratory experience, that I won’t be able to full show all the love that I have in this moment, for her.
So obviously, I booked an extra counselling session this month!
HBear’s school, Princess Margaret Secondary, home of the Mighty Mustangs, held their Award Ceremony this week. We got a call saying HBear was getting an award. She has received the Top Percussion Certificate every year, so we didn’t invite anyone. My mistake. HBear received the Top Concert Band Certificate, the Top Theatre Tech Certificate AND she won the Mustang Inspirational Award! I am SO proud off her. I feel like this award is so much better than an award for academics or sports because this award is for inspiring others and being a leader. I’m SO happy that her name is engraved on that trophy and will be there forever. I’m so glad that over her 13 years of schooling that they recognized her perseverance and her school spirit.
HBear had her final dance performance this weekend. Through all the ups and downs, dance has been there for HBear. Her very first dance performance was on June 21, 2013. The day after my Mom died. The curtain rose at 7 PM, exactly 24 hours after my Mom took her last breath. Dance was there for HBear and we all had something to focus on and enjoy, so in a way, dance was there for all of us.
During Covid dance was a real lifesaver for us. The Kids did dance online with their teachers and HBear took private ballet classes, and worked towards her Royal Conservatory of Dance examination. She tried out for the Royal Winnipeg Ballet summer camp and was accepted! I was shocked lol I remember taking her into the audition and hearing the lady ask her to do things in a different language and I thought to myself, “oh no this was a mistake. She is going to be embarrassed because she doesn’t know what the woman is saying!“ I was wrong. HBear knew exactly what she was saying and did everything so beautifully, I was left AWESTRUCK! Being that it was her first year of ballet, lol she did not get accepted into the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School, however, she did get accepted into the Kelowna Ballet summer camp the next summer which was a fun challenge for her.
Over the last few years, as she got older, drumming, curling, work, and her boyfriend/friends have taken a bigger role in her life, but her dedication to her artistic sport has never waned. Watching her on stage has been a joy and watching her perform for the last time, well I was just so proud of her. It was emotional. As I went through pictures of dance from the last 13 years, I was emotional. HBear has been very emotional this weekend. This week she had her last high school band concert, her last dance performance… And next week she graduates. I think it’s all getting VERY real!
I miss strawberries so much. With our boycott on American goods, strawberries are one of the items that we have missed the most. Every once in a while we get them from local greenhouses, Peru, or Mexico, but not as often as we’re used to. Strawberries are our thing lol. Honestly, we live in the fruit belt, but we’re not huge fruit eaters, we eat a lot of vegetables, but we are very picky about our fruits, strawberries, and most berries in general are our go to fruits. These recipes were a treat because while strawberries are in season, we are getting our strawberry ON!
I realized 2 things with this Strawberry Basil Chicken recipe. 1, this chicken dish tastes amazing and 2, this chicken dish does NOT photograph well lol. Seriously there’s nothing that will make strawberry dyed pink chicken look pretty. So, we just ate it instead! Yummmm. This dish tasted 100% better than it looks.
These Strawberry Waffles were light, fluffy, pretty and delicious! They tasted like, strawberries! I was worried that these would be super sweet but there was just a hint of sweetness with the fresh fruit flavour. These didn’t taste heavy or artificial at all but like a yummy strawberry shortcake, but for dinner!
I stopped following JH a while ago because, well, lots of reasons actually but for the sake of keeping this out of rant levels, lol, let’s just say because, Hawaii. Actually, I’ve stopped following a lot of influencers and have gone back to what I love, blogs. I like stories, recipes, and pictures and when I saw this recipe that her cousin and co-author of their cookbooks, Tori from Fraîche Nutrition made on her blog, I knew we had to try these Strawberry Breakfast Popsicles. I used HBear‘s favourite granola and fresh local strawberries, my Kids were very, very happy!
Gin is my favourite spirit. It’s clean and fresh and mixes well with bright flavours. This Strawberry Gin Fizz was my kind drink. Bubbly, sweet, tart and fresh! This drink is super easy to make and doesn’t require extra steps, just add, shake and enjoy!
I can’t wait for our cucumbers to start growing because I just love the freshness of cucumbers. As a kid, I hated them but these days, I love them! This Strawberry Cucumber Salad was exactly what I wanted to eat to welcome summer. This salad tastes like sunshine. It’s bright, fresh, and a little sweet, this salad is the perfect side dish for June!
The Strawberry Patch Pancake House by Laurie Gilmore A book that features a map or family tree. Ok so to be honest I have seen this series around and I knew I had to give one a try, this is the 4th book in the Dream Harbor series but strawberries are in season lol so I picked this one to start with. It starts with a map and a playlist, it’s feeling Hallmarky, I kinda like this vibe already. Archer is a big time chef in Paris that finds out he has a five year-old daughter when her mom is tragically killed in an accident. When Archer comes back to America to settle things, he ends up in Dream Harbor, a small town full of nosy neighbours, and Iris. Iris is struggling to make ends meat and reluctantly agrees to work for the grumpiest man alive, Archer, as his new live in nanny while he learns the ropes as the new cook at The diner aka The Strawberry Patch Pancake House. And the rest is history lol just joking, but not really, this is ALL the tropes enemies to lovers, close proximity, you name it lol but it’s cute and fun. The setting feels like a Stars Hollow kind of town and I enjoyed how Archer learned how to be a line cook lol and a dad. I also liked Iris‘s friends, and I am assuming that they all coupled up in the 3 books prior to this one and Annie and Mac must be next. I read this in one sitting. It was comfortable, cozy and cute.
Strawberry Basil Chicken
4
servings25
minutes30-35
minutesIngredients
3-4 chicken breasts
2 cups strawberries, sliced
1/4 cup basil, chopped
2 tablespoons oil
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon garlic powder
salt and pepper, to taste
Directions
Preheat oven to 375°F.
In a bowl, combine oil, vinegar, honey, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Mix well.
Place the chicken breasts in a zip-top bag or shallow dish. Pour marinade over the chicken and marinate for at least 15 minutes.
Spray a baking dish with oil. Place chicken in the baking dish. Reserve the marinade. Bake the chicken for 20 minutes.
After 20 minutes, remove the chicken from the oven and scatter the strawberries over the top. Drizzle the reserved marinade over the chicken.
Return to the oven and bake for 10-15 minutes more, or until the chicken is cooked through (internal temperature should reach 165°F).
Allow the chicken to rest for 5 minutes, garnish with fresh basil.
Strawberry Waffles
4
servings20
minutes5
minutesIngredients
1 ½ cups flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
2 eggs
¼ cup butter, melted
1 cup strawberries, pureed
1 teaspoon vanilla
Garnish: whipped cream, maple syrup and strawberries
Directions
Heat waffle iron according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
In a medium bowl, whisk together milk, eggs, melted butter, strawberry puree, and vanilla.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until just combined. The batter should be slightly lumpy.
Spray the waffle iron with non-stick cooking spray. Pour the recommended amount of batter onto the hot waffle iron.
Cook until the waffles are golden brown. Garnish with fresh strawberries, maple syrup and whipped cream.
Strawberry Breakfast Popsicles
6
servings15
minutes7
hoursIngredients
1 cup vanilla Greek yogurt
1 cup strawberries, sliced
1/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon lemon juice
3/4 cup granola
Directions
In a blender, combine 2/3 cup of the yogurt, strawberries, milk, and lemon juice. Blend for approximately 1 minute or until thoroughly combined.
Divide the mixture into popsicle moulds, filling each about 1/2 full, then place in the freezer for 1 hour.
Remove the popsicles from the freezer and add a layer of granola to each popsicle, leaving room at the top. Add yogurt to fill the remaining space in each of the popsicle forms. Place sticks in each mould and place in freezer for a minimum of 6 hours or until completely frozen.
Strawberry Gin Fizz
1
servings5
minutesIngredients
4-5 strawberries, sliced
2 oz gin
1 oz elderflower liqueur
Garnish: soda water and mint leaves
Directions
In a cocktail shaker, muddle the strawberries until they are well mashed.
Add the gin and elderflower liqueur to the shaker. Fill the shaker with ice and shake well until chilled.
Strain the mixture into a glass filled with ice.
Pour the chilled soda water into the glass and give it a gentle stir to combine. Garnish with fresh mint leaves.
Strawberry Cucumber Salad
4-6
servings15
minutesIngredients
1 cup strawberries, sliced
1 cucumber, thinly sliced
1/4 cup feta cheese, crumbled
2 tablespoons basil, chopped
- Dressing
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon honey
2 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste
Directions
In a small bowl or jar, whisk together dressing ingredients. Adjust to taste.
In a large bowl, combine cucumbers, strawberries, herbs, and feta cheese.Drizzle with half the dressing and gently toss to coat. Sprinkle with nuts and additional herbs. Drizzle with remaining dressing and serve.
Drizzle with half the dressing and gently toss to coat. Sprinkle with nuts and additional herbs. Drizzle with remaining dressing and serve.
Another busy week in the our household! Still pacing, but not as well 🫠🤪. We had HBear’s award ceremony, a little treat afterwards at Lickity Splitz, rest and recharge cuddles, SBean performed with her concert band at the Penticton Secondary School Graduation and HBear danced in 4 shows this weekend for her LAST dance finale. While she was dancing, Ninja and I had went to Kelowna, where we took a morning walk on the beach, did a little shopping, and then dropped SBean off for SPea’s 13th birthday party at the Starlight Drive In! Then we headed to Sandhill Winery for a barrel room tasting and then a stop on the way home at Observatory Wines for a glass and some live music. We finished off the weekend cheering HBear and the rest of the Balance dance team on! 2 more weeks of excitement and then summer holidays begin!
2 thoughts on “June Anxiety & Strawberry Season”
Congrats to your daughter on her awards! I know it must be so tough not to be able to volunteer for all the things like you’d like and it really sucks that you have to think in terms of trade offs. But wow! What a fun time to celebrate your daughter and all her achievements.
These strawberry recipes all sound so amazing and I’m kind of wishing I had some of our freshly picked berries left from last week but we’ve eaten them all at this point. I will definitely have to add that strawberry basil chicken recipe to our menu.
Thank you so much! It is absolutely an exciting time! I’m so glad that you said that about the chicken because it photographed so poorly but tasted so good. I’m glad you can see through my photography skills, or lack there of lol.