Time Flies and Meat Lovers Pizza Pasta

If you love life, don’t waste time, for time is what life is made up of.

Bruce Lee

There are some days that seem to stop. When I was a kid as soon as Halloween ended I began planning my Christmas. I would write plays, start cutting out snowflakes, peruse through the Sears catalogue and visualize my Christmas morning. Those 55 days took forever to come!

Those first few months after my Mom passed felt like that. Every day seemed to slowly tick by, another second of my life not talking to my Mom. Now here we are, in the countdown to Christmas and I no longer count the seconds, minutes, days that I haven’t seen my Mom. Maybe it’s because I’m older? Maybe it’s because there seems to be so much to do that there never seems to be time? Maybe it’s because I want to hold on to every second with my family so tightly? Whatever it is… Time seems to be flying by!

It seems like just yesterday my Mom flew into Winnipeg to help prepare for my first child. Wasn’t it just last week that I struggled to get HBear to pre school because I was so huge with SBean and it was so hard to get down into our little Elantra 😂?

This time of year always brings back so many memories for me. That insecurity I felt becoming a new Mom, how hesitant I was to have a second baby thinking that there was no possible way I could love anybody else as much as I loved HBear, and the terror I felt when I found out Mom had cancer.

Time has flown by. Now I know that becoming a Mom was the best thing I ever did, that I have more love inside me than I thought and I can love both my babies with every fibre of my being and still have enough to unconditionally love my husband. Time has erased the terror but it has been replaced with a great sadness and yet the days keep ticking by.

2 things happened this week that put time into perspective, 1 the Girl’s school photos came back. I cannot get over the fact that my Girls are in grade 5 and 1! How does that happen? When did that happen? HBear looks so grown up! I can’t believe she is going to be 10 in less than a month! Where did 10 years ago? When I go through my memories, look at my pictures, and watch the videos I know those 10 years were well spent 💛.

And then I look at SBean! Just lost her first tooth, reading like a champ, and developing the attitude of a teenager 😂 I looked at her picture and I cannot believe my Baby will be 6 in a few short weeks! She looks so stylish, and confident, not at all like a baby anymore. Slowdown Girls, Mommy wants to appreciate every moment of this beautiful life that Ninja and I have created!

The other thing that happened this week that has really made me stop and think about time is a party that I attended this past weekend, a party for my Uncle‘s retirement. My Uncle is my Mom’s youngest brother and while he was in school to become a civil engineer, he lived with his big sister and her partner, my Mom and Dad. I so clearly remember hanging out in his bedroom while he worked at his drafting table in the glow of the desk lamp.

I can hear my Mom watching Knots Landing upstairs, I can feel the motion of my Uncle’s water bed as I scramble to my knees to check out what amazing lines he is drawing and what they will come together to make. I remember my Mom dressing me up in my fanciest dress for his graduation! I remember standing on a chair and watching him get his diploma and imagining all the beautiful buildings he would create… And he sure did! I remember the heartbreaking moment he moved his family to Calgary for more career opportunities, it was on the day that I graduated from high school. They came over, took some pictures with me and then pulled out of the driveway 😞.

And now he’s a Grandpa! How does that happen? On Saturday we celebrated his achievements as he retired from the firm he built. He has a multitude of buildings that enhance the city skyline and remind him of his dedication and years well spent. Time goes by so quickly, make memories! Make your mark! Leave something of yourself that you feel proud of.

💛

This week on How Was Your Week, Honey? Ep:91 Linden-Scrooge we recap Halloween, chat about the US mid term elections, our short but sweet trip, and Ninja’s interview at our local community radio station. Check it out HERE!

I love pasta! We have pasta once a week but I have a hard time keeping it fresh and new. The Girls like white sauce and Ninja likes red sauce. It can be tricky so I found something that made everyone happy! I made everyone happy by making a pasta like everyone’s favourite, pepperoni and mushroom pizza! This pasta recipe was a hit! It was ooey gooey pizza pasta deliciousness!

Meat Lovers Pizza Pasta

Adapted from Stuck on Sweet

2, 24 ounce jars Pasta Sauce
1 pound Italian sausage
2 cloves garlic, minced
1, 16 ounce box rigatoni pasta
1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded
1 bag pepperoni

1 cup mushrooms, sliced
2 tablespoons oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Drizzle oil in a large saute pan and place over medium heat. Add sausage and cook until browned.

Next add minced garlic and mushrooms and saute for an additional minute; set aside until pasta is done.

While sausage is browning, bring a pot of water to a boil and cook the pasta according to directions. Drain pasta and put back into the large pot.

To the pot of drained pasta add the browned sausage, pasta sauce, half the pepperoni, and a 1/2 cup of cheese and stir.

Top with remaining mozzarella cheese and pepperoni slices.

Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes or until cheese is melted and pepperoni is crispy.

As I said earlier this past weekend Dad, Ninja, and I left the kids with Grandma and Grandpa and went to Calgary/Cochrane for my Uncle’s retirement party! It was an incredible drive! I love the beauty of the mountains! It’s even prettier when the Rockies are snowcapped. It was different driving that route we have done so many times before but this time without the children. I read 2 books, sat and pondered life, and barely said 2 words the entire 8 hours 😂 Nobody ask me for snacks, nobody whined about being bored, and nobody asked to go to the bathroom every half an hour 😂. While we were driving HBear was helping wrap hotdogs for hot lunch day… The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree 😂.

When we got to Cochrane my BIL had dinner waiting for us! Quite impressive considering my Sis was stuck in Edmonton waiting for her flight, he had 2 very excited children running around, and he had just gotten home from work 😳. After dinner he drove into Calgary to pick my Sis up at the airport while we got some quality time in with my 2 gorgeous nieces! We ruined SweetPea by introducing her to LOL surprises 😂 and Cabbage was not impressed that I put her diaper backwards! I tried to explain to her that I was out of practice but my almost 2-year-old niece was having none of my excuses 😂 we played with Instagram filters, cuddled a lot, read stories and I got to bath them and put them to bed ❤️.

The next day we spent hanging out and nursing our hangovers 😂 our RASBesty and his Lady Friend had given us a divine bottle of wine, Sokol Blosser Pinot Noir while we were in Portland and I had asked my favourite liquor store to order some so I could share our find with my Sis!

We took advantage of having a babysitter and the 5 of us went out for dinner at the Half Hitch Brewing Company in Cochrane! We had some amazing eats and a couple bacon and dill Caesars! Then after dinner was the party! It was so great to see everybody and to catch up on how everybody is doing 💕.

The next morning we were homeword bound. The roads were great, the views were stunning, and I was missing my girls. As soon as we entered the valley I saw the most perfect rainbow! The end was right there in front of me! I wanted to make a wish but then I realized I have everything I need right here! I just need to slow down and appreciate all the colours life has to offer 🌈.