Last week was emotional. Feels like that is just the way it is nowadays. An emotional beating at every turn. I finally got my first vaccination last week! Just typing those words out makes me well up. The last 15 months has been such an ass kicker that getting my first shot has really opened the floodgates. Just like I always get sick after the Christmas rush, I feel emotionally spent and the slightest thing makes me ball my eyes out.
I can compartmentalize pretty well. But I think all the filing cabinets in my brain are full. I know I’ve been saying it for over a year now but… It’s all so much! Even in the midst of what looks to be the last hurdle of this pandemic, there is still so much sadness and grief all around us.
We had three grade 12 students in Kelowna die tragically in a car accident this past week. My heart breaks for the families, their classmates, and the community. To have some thing so tragic happen just weeks before graduation and the beginning of their… Lives! Every time I think about it I feel sick to my stomach.
And then there was the mass grave site dug up at a Kamloops residential school this past weekend. 215 Indigenous children’s remains were found. There are no words to express my horror and sadness. I can only do better. I can only teach my children the past so that we never ever allow such injustices to ever occur in our future. We can’t just pick and choose our history! We need to learn it in order to break the cycle. When I was a kid I was never taught about residential schools! My 8-year-old and 12-year-old are teaching me about Canadian history… And I have a degree in history from the University of Manitoba! This is beyond awful it is unacceptable and we, I, need to change this. We ARE history and we need to change our story right now.
It is such a small step but one that is needed. 1 step and then 2 and then 3 and so on. When you know better… do better.
As we move into June my memories are filled with images of my Mom and her final days. With all this sadness of death surrounding me, guilt from my ancestors history, shame in my willingness to close my eyes to the atrocities that are STILL happening in my country and overwhelming joy as our province’s COVID numbers go down and vaccination numbers go up… it has been a week. I just really miss my family. I miss us all being together. I miss my friends. I am thankful that we are getting closer everyday to being able to see each other again. I will NEVER ever take that for granted ever again.
Check out How Was Your Week, Honey? Episode #226 Who’s a Geek HERE! This week we catch up after a busy week. Topics: scary movies, feet, favourite colours, school groups, peer pressure, round-about reprise, minors, eyebrows, Pink & Letterkenny.
HBear is very interested in world issues. She listens to the Rachel Maddow podcast while she showers 😂. If you ask her what she wants to be when she grows up she will say a journalist and/or a dance teacher. Lately she has been very interested in what she can do to help our environment. She is learning about climate change in science class and the future has been weighing on her a lot lately. One way to be proactive in her climate crusade is to eat less meat. So, that’s what we have been trying to do! This week we tried a vegetarian pasta that replaced meat with mushrooms! It was fantastic! Ninja usually likes red sauce, HBear likes white sauce and SBean and I prefer white but will have red to make Daddy happy. This pasta is perfect because it’s not creamy and it’s not tomatoey! It is white wine, garlic, and Parmesan cheese! 3 things our whole family loves! This pasta made us feel good about our eating choices and was delicious so that’s a win-win in my books!
Garlic Mushroom Fettuccine
Adapted from For the Love of Cooking
1 package fresh fettuccine noodles
3 tablespoons butter, divided
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 small yellow onion, diced
3 oz white mushrooms, sliced
3 oz cremini mushrooms, sliced
2 tablespoons dry white wine
3 cloves of garlic, minced
¼ cup vegetable broth
½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons lemon juice
½ cup parmesan, freshly grated + more for serving
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped + more for serving
Sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste
Cook the pasta al dente in salted boiling water per the package instructions. Drain and reserve 1/4 cup of the cooking water.
Meanwhile, heat the butter and olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once the pan is hot, add the mushrooms and onion. Cook, stirring occasionally until the onions and mushrooms are browned and becoming caramelized, about 10 minutes.
Add the broth and lemon juice, let it cook for 2 minutes.
Remove the skillet from the heat and stir in the parmesan cheese and parsley and stir until well combined.
Add the pasta along with some of the reserved cooking water and toss to coat. Allow the pasta to sit in the mushroom sauce for a minute or two, tossing occasionally.
Covid has allowed us to connect with our family on a different level of these days. Because dance recitals aren’t in person, our family from across the country has been able to share in on these special moments and this week we got to return the favour! We we’re lucky enough to watch SweetPea drum and ukulele recital on Zoom and she was incredible! I had my second last DPAC meeting last week where our superintendent brought a little meme to our meeting that really spoke to me. I actually turned off my camera for a moment to brush my emotions away.
This week the Girls also got to attend the Young Collectors Club at the Penticton Art Gallery! It was a wonderful initiative that allows children to exchange their tickets for a piece of artwork. Even better, no parents are allowed in the gallery so the kids get to choose their very own artwork to begin there collection and passion for art moving forward. The Girls picked completely different pieces and I love them both! HBear had another Ortho appointment and we no longer have to tighten her expander on a nightly basis. In just 2 weeks she went from crowded front teeth to having a gap between her 2 front teeth!
Spring is moving into summer and the weather is preparing us for the heat wave we have headed into. I finally got my first
vaccination and had bloodwork for my thyroid scheduled for the same day. My arms were hurting units by the end of the night! Ninja and I watched the Facebook live question and answer for the special by-election coming up later this June and we treated Ninja with a variety of Craft beer after a long hard week if work. We had yummy dinners, Freezie Friday, and Saturday morning coffee and some much needed reading in the sunshine!
On Saturday while Ninja was at work, us Girls went shopping! HBear is growing so fast that she had no summer clothes or summer shoes! After shopping we dropped HBear off at her GiftedBesty’s house for a play date and SBean and I went to Tickleberries and for a walk on the beach. We ended up running into HBear and her Besty there which was so weird to me 😂. On Sunday Ninja and I finished the fence and HBear participated in her end of the year Acting Showcase! She was in 2 skits and her love of performing really stood out… At least to me 💛. I finished the week with a 45 minute Yoga session which absolutely felt great and prepared me perfectly for the long and hot work week coming up!
