Have you ever manifested something? I don’t even actually know what that means but I hear it on reality shows all the time 😂 maybe it’s a millennial thing? I guess the belief is that if you make a vision board and truly visualize the way you want your future to be… It will happen!
Well call me a millennial because I manifested my ass off and it is finally happening, my Sis and her family are officially moving to the Okanagan Valley!
Even as I type that I can’t believe it! It is something that I have always wanted but honestly never in a million years did I believe it would actually happen.
You see, my Sis and BIL are rare, rare in the fact that they both love their jobs. My Sis especially! For as long as I can remember my Sis has worked the front lines in her quest to help at risk youth. When she found a job in Alberta that provided a bursary to youth that have been in the child intervention system, she was all in. She has helped build the Advancing Futures Bursary Program from the ground up. I remember when she first started her caseload was manageable, even though she had around 250 youth 😬. These days her team hasn’t expanded but the expectations have. On date night she tells me a little bit about her daily workload, not much because the majority is confidential but enough to know that her caseload has expanded to travelling across Alberta to meet with her youths, much more paperwork and half of her team are out on stress leave which adds to her caseload too PLUS since Covid, her youths are struggling.
We are all struggling! Can you imagine if your only support system was a case worker with over 250 kids? I have watched her walk the fine line between absolutely loving her job and the toll it has taken on her physical and mental health. I say this because there are x-rays to prove it. My Sister is very active. She loves lifting weights and working on her health and nutrition but over the past year that was taken away from her. She has been experiencing terrible pain in her back and working from home wasn’t helping. On the second or third time Alberta schools were shut down my BIL was teaching from home while SweetPea was doing online classes and my Sis hit her tipping point. As I have been saying for months, it is all just so much. She went to the doctor, the chiropractor, had an MRI and was put on medical leave from work. She was absolutely shocked when the MRI results came back and there wasn’t anything physically wrong with her! She then explained to one of her doctors that she was feeling a little bit better lately and he asked her, “what has changed?”
“Well, I haven’t worked in 2 weeks, my husband got his dream job, and I am moving closer to family!” She said. He explained that each stress in her life was a giant rock that she was carrying in her backpack of life. Each time she took a rock out, her pain lessened. The stress had been building up and was actually PHYSICALLY hurting her?!?!? Who knew! After finding this out it became clear to her, moving to a new province with her family would be best for her health, she was ready to ditch the backpack of rocks and begin to live her best life!
My BIL is a teacher! Yeah I know they are both martyrs 😂 that work their asses off to help raise our next generation of leaders, I am impressed by them every single day. Over the past few years he has been working very hard to obtain his Masters. My BIL is a Francophone from New Brunswick and living in western Canada, surrounded by Anglophones has allowed him to see the future of language and what part it plays in teaching Canadian students when it comes to our 2 national languages. I am so proud to say that he received his Masters of Education in Teaching and Second Languages this week and we are all so VERY proud of him. Throughout a pandemic, dealing with home schooling, teaching from home, and a wife that was dealing with massive amounts of physical and mental pain, he managed to be the BEST father, husband AND found time to fit in a Masters Degree throughout it all! He constantly amazes me and I am so proud that he is my Brother 💛.
My Sis and BIL are good people. The best actually. Over the past year their government support has been slashed in all ways. This has added to my Sister’s stress and date night consists of many discussions about their future, her job, his job, the girl’s future education and what it is like to raise a family under a conservative government that isn’t working towards the same goals that they are. My BIL decided to put his Masters to good use and began applying at all different places. When he had his presentation for a vice principal position in Kelowna, he killed it! They were so excited about his passion and his vision that he was offered the job within days!
So within the last month they began packing, listed their house, gave their notices, and have officially begun the process of becoming British Columbians!
BC is so lucky to have them, the children at my brother-in-law’s new school, are incredibly fortunate to have him and his vision leading their school! My Sis will take her time finding the perfect job that will allow her to continue helping her community but hopefully won’t trample her kind and giving spirit in the process. And my nieces, oh my God! Tears literally fill my eyes every time I think about our kids growing up together.
That’s what I manifested.
I never thought that our lives would take us in such different directions that our kids would only see each other once or twice a year. During the pandemic, it’s been really hard to not see them. Having a mountain range, a border, and a pandemic between us has left me with a hole in my heart that was instantly filled when she said those magic words, “we are moving to Kelowna.” 💛
I know my Mom would be so incredibly happy to know that her daughters, although not in the same city, will be close enough to see each other whenever we need each other. On all those times that my Sis was having a rough day I will now be able to get into my car and go give her a hug. Just knowing that we can be there for each other physically has been such a relief to me. I just can’t wait to be able to go to my niece’s Christmas concerts, watch their T-ball games, and get HBear to babysit them all while the 4 of us go out for dinner! That has literally only happened once in our whole married lives!!
I am just so happy. Beyond happy! There aren’t words to express how happy I am! I am also SO excited to see what this next chapter will bring my Sis and her family. I am so fortunate that I now have a front row seat to watch them do amazing things for my own community! I am so happy and SO grateful.
Now I’m going to work on manifesting my OTHER nieces and my nephew out here too 😂.
Check out How Was Your Week, Honey? Episode #228: Start With the Balls HERE! This week we welcome a special guest, Matt! Topics: platforms, gaming, hockey, injuries, parenting, handy men, neighbours, dating, riddles, the Junos & accents.
There is a blog I have been reading for years called Half Baked Harvest. Her pictures are drool worthy, her recipes are absolutely delicious, and her food consists of flavours that don’t come naturally to me. What I mean to say is, she is a bit more adventurous than I am in the kitchen 😂. So, while I was making my monthly menu plan I thought her blog would be a great place to look for new vegetarian dinners! I’m so glad I did because this meal was absolutely freaking fantastic! It was still the flavours that my family enjoys but without the meat! With the vegetables and the nuts and the delicious sauce, nobody even noticed that the meat was missing! I cannot rave about this noodle dish enough, it was absolutely to die for! HBear asked for the leftovers for dinner the next night and I have happily obliged… as long as she shared with me 😂 Enjoy, we certainly did!
Stir Fried Honey Ginger Sesame Noodles
Adapted from Half Baked Harvest
1/2 cup cashews
2 teaspoons garlic chilli sauce
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon soy sauce
4 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon peanut butter
1 tablespoon molasses
black pepper
8 ounces ramen noodles
2 tablespoons sesame oil
3 cups mixed stir fry vegetables
2 tablespoons ginger, grated
1-2 tablespoons garlic chilli sauce**optional
1 tablespoon sesame seeds
2 green onions, chopped
Preheat the oven to 400° F.
In a measuring cup, whisk together 1/2 cup soy sauce. 3 tablespoons honey, the rice vinegar, peanut butter, molasses, and a big pinch of black pepper.
Heat the sesame oil in a large skillet/wok over medium-high heat. Add the vegetables and stir-fry until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the ginger, cook another minute, then pour in the sauce and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Stir in the noodles and chilli garlic sauce. Toss to combine, cooking another 3-5 minutes until the sauce coats the noodles.
Top with cashews and green onions.
