Birthday Invitations and Egg Roll in a Bowl

If you’re going to do a job, do it right. If you’re going to throw a birthday party, make it amazing. If you’re going to do anything, do it awesome.

Jimmy John Liautaud

It’s that time of year again! The time of year that makes me sprout dozens of new grey hairs 😆.

It’s… Birthday time!

Now don’t get me wrong, I love birthdays! However, having 2 birthdays, 4 days apart right before the craziness that is Christmas is… a LOT of work!

This year we got lucky and both of the Girls picked the same birthday venue! Not surprising, they both picked their home away from home, the dance studio! SBean has chosen an LOL surprise dance party while HBear has opted for a traditional ballet themed dance party. This will be HBear’s last big hurrah! We have decided that when she goes to middle school next year, birthday parties will be a smaller affair, a few friends over for a sleepover and dinner. Because it is her last big party, she wanted to make her invitations on her own! So, I cut strips of some beautiful ballet pink and cranberry tulle that I had from years ago when I had made SweetPea a tutu for Christmas and printed up the templates for her. Over the weekend she made 10 little tutus, cut out the templates, and added jewels to each of the invitations! All I did was the glue gun part 😉.

Her invitations turned out wonderfully! She has some beautiful ideas for favours, treats, and decor! It’s going to be fabulous!

Now SBean is a different story! LOL party supplies are hard to come by! Getting things shipped right now during a rotating mail strike is kind of dicey and although I usually make invitations… I couldn’t think of anything that was LOLish so, I ordered them online from Addi Creations and they emailed me the template that I printed up myself! SBean loves them! Then we bought manila envelopes that she addressed and decorated all by herself! We are having a bit of a harder time thinking of cool LOL favours without spending ridiculous amounts of money but whatever we decide, it is going to be a blast!

This week on @HWYWHoney Ep:92 Have You Tooted? We welcome very special guests Stef and Palmer to the show! We chat American midterm elections, moving out together and songs of the week! Check it out HERE!

Last week Dad was craving Chinese food! However, our favourite Chinese food place (that is 45 minutes away BTW) was closed for vacation #SmallTownProblems So, I tried to indulge him with a new recipe that includes all his favourite Asian flavours, Egg Roll in a bowl! We all enjoyed this! It definitely hit the spot and tasted better than take-out! This is loaded with Asian flavour and is easy weeknight dinner. You can have this healthy and low-carb dinner ready in under 30 minutes!

Egg Roll in a Bowl

Adapted from Evolving Table

2 tablespoons oil divided
1 lb. ground turkey
1 sweet onion, finely diced
1 bell pepper, diced
½ teaspoon ginger, minced
3 cloves garlic, pressed
¼ cup chicken broth
1 bag coleslaw
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 teaspoon rice wine vinegar
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon sesame seeds
2 green onions, thinly sliced

In a large saute pan over medium heat drizzle 1 tablespoon olive oil and add ground turkey. Cook for 5-6 minutes, or until turkey is almost cooked through.

Push turkey to the side of the pan and add onion and other tablespoon of oil. Saute for 3-4 minutes.

Add peppers, garlic, and ginger and saute for 2 minutes. Stir the vegetables and turkey together.

Pour chicken broth in the pan and scrape the bottom of it to deglaze it.

Add coleslaw, soy sauce, vinegar, salt, and pepper. Stir well and cover with a lid. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook for 12-15 minutes, or until cabbage is to your desired tenderness.

Just before serving add sesame oil and top with green onions and sesame seeds.

So we are 2 1/2 months into our dance life and I am happy to say, not once have I had to convince the Girls to go to class. To hurry up and get ready… Yes but they are always excited for dance class! HBear especially! I don’t know how it happened but all of a sudden she looks like a cast member from Fame 🤩😂.

I also received a phone call from my Uncle this week! His retirement gift finally got there! I was very disappointed that we did not get it in time for the party but with the mail strike… Shit happens. We got him a handcrafted backgammon board! When I was younger I remember my Uncle playing backgammon with his Besty during his free time. I thought now that he is retired, he has free time again! We got his initials and his retirement date on it plus handcrafted dragons because he loves Game of Thrones! I am so happy that he will enjoy it ❤️.

This week we celebrated the bravery of all the men and women that have served our country and continue to do so in these scary times. The Girls chose their individual outfits 😆 for their school’s Remembrance Day Service. HBear had a speaking part in the poem, In Flanders Field and also sang with the Glee Club 💛.

On Thursday one of my Besty’s husband planned a surprise birthday party for her at a local wine bar! She was just getting over a terrible flu, was catching a plane to Las Vegas the next day, and preparing for her Las Vegas marathon on the weekend! It was out of my comfort zone because I didn’t know very many people but I had a fabulous time!

Friday was another Pro D day 😳 and also our first snowfall of the year! The kids had so much fun playing in the snow… While it lasted ☃️!

Because we were feeling in the Christmas mood, I took the Girls to the matinee of The Nutcracker and the Four Realms. It was visually stunning and an interesting take on the story but it had a lot of holes in it. HBear questioned everything on the way home and it reminded me of a Wrinkle in Time. Meh.

Over the weekend HBear and I did some errands together while Daddy and SBean went skating and took a walk to the park!

On Saturday we were lucky enough to celebrate my Mother and Father-in-law’s 49th anniversary! We celebrated with a lovely dinner at Theos Restaurant! Great food, great company, and a great way to celebrate 49 years of love ❤️.