Weekender

Posted on May 16, 2016 by Jen @nutcaseinpoint

This was a weekend I could definitely repeat. I did so much- and all such different things that I feel happy and fulfilled. Only thing that would have made it better was if I could have had some more time with Tyler.

Friday: Pancakes. Duh.

During Wes’s nap, I made a batch of protein balls that are SO YUMMY. I’ll be sharing the recipe this week, so stay tuned 🙂

We headed out to the mall to grab some groceries and also pick up a stick of body butter from Rocky Mountain Soap Company. They were having their Toxin Free Days- where members get a free gift when they stop by a store, so I had to take advantage!

While Wes was down for his second nap, I whipped up this delicious AND EASY Moo Shu Chicken for dinner. I hate when I work nights, because I usually start at 5pm and need to eat dinner beforehand which a) sucks, because I have to have something ready to eat EARLY, and b) sucks because I’m usually hungry again afterwards and by then it’s too late to eat.

It was a great night at work, so no complaints from this end!

Saturday: Wes and I headed to the library after breakfast for the Baby Bookworm program. There were about a dozen other babies and Wes was really entertained by the singing and reading and….other babies. One little boy sat on the blanket next to him and even held his hand! My heart melted and I desperately wanted to take a picture, but I didn’t want to freak the other mother out. haha

There are 4 more ‘classes’ in this session and I’m excited to see him interact! PS: I’m a terrible mom and hardly have Wes in situations where he is around other kids his age. Part of it is because I’m a germaphobe, part of it is because I don’t want to pay to participate in activities, and part of it is because I just don’t want to put up with a crank monster if any activity throws off his schedule!

After the library, we walked back home and I quickly got ready and headed back out to meet up with some of the BLOG SQUAD for a tour at Tool Shed Brewery. You guys…I have been on a ton of beer tours. And this one was by far the best I’ve ever been on. They are just so damn passionate about beer. From how it’s made to interacting with others involved in the process, to interacting with the local community. I was just blown away by the enthusiasm and ingenuity the Tool Shed guys have.

Plus, the beer is pretty damn tasty.

We got to sample each of their 3 core beers plus a limited edition brew. AND THEN….once the tour was over, we got another beer of our choosing! I mean, yeah the perk of a brewery tour is getting to sample their product, but I really gotta say that the information on the tour- and how it was presented- was the highlight of the afternoon.

The space is pretty neat too! (My kinda decor!!)

I ended up leaving with 3 6-packs of the Gose and a 6-pack of their People Skills Cream Ale. YUM.

PS: If anyone in Calgary ever wants to go on this tour, I WILL GO WITH YOU. I loved it that much. Seriously.

After the tour, I headed home and quickly changed to head off to work. I felt like I was super busy for my shift but didn’t make as much as I thought. Ok, ok, so I’ll tell you where I work now. Brewster’s! They have a location close to my house and I get 3 serving shifts a week. The staff is all incredibly friendly and it’s such a nice atmosphere that I find time flies. Plus, the social interaction is nice. So are the tips 😉

When I got home, Tyler and I watched Deadpool and drank some Tool Shed. The movie is so funny-one of the best ones I’ve seen in a while. Ryan Reynolds. That is all.

Sunday: I met up with the BLOG SQUAD at Illume Hot Yoga for a private Surf Set class (more on that later this week, I promise). It was a fun workout! I still did my 22 Minute Hard Corps Workout earlier in the day, and the added core strength required for SurfSet was no joke. Obviously because of the name they also offer Hot Yoga which I’m hoping to try in the near future.

Later in the afternoon, I headed off to National Westhills with Wes to attend the Beer Master BBQ co-hosted by Phillips Brewing. I love this National location because it is family friendly and I could bring Wes with me to a beer event. Never mind that I was pretty much the only one there with a kid, but who cares!

Phillips had some amazing beers for us to sample and National provided a delicious BBQ spread that I was able to share with the kiddo.

YES the food was great. And YES the beer was great. But what really stuck out to me was the customer service. I can’t stress enough how friendly the staff was to me throughout the event. They were always checking up on me, asking if there was anything I needed, and even brought an extra umbrella out to keep Wes in the shade. Plus, they actually got my food and beers for me so that I didn’t have to keep getting up and down with Wes in tow.

I’m pretty sure they’ve made a customer for life out of me. Insane craft beer selection + yummy food + exceptional customer service= mother BLEEPING bliss. HIGH FIVES TO YOU, NATIONAL WESTHILLS.

The BBQ had live music, games and prizes and I would have LOVED to have had Tyler or friends accompany, but it was so last minute. Oops. There was even a candy table and balloon decorations (some event goers and staff cut the balloons down to give to Wes. And they gave him stickers. LIKE SERIOUSLY- WHAT CRAFT BEER ESTABLISHMENT LOVES KIDS SO MUCH?!!! I wanted to stay there forever.)

Ack, back to the beer. I was able to sample the Pilsner, Sax in the Dark (Dark Sour Ale…MY FAVE), Electric Unicorn White IPA, and the Short Wave West Coast Pale Ale. I was told by the Phillips rep that the Pilsner was a newer beer that was ‘extremely crushable’. In lay mans terms: it’s easy to drink a lot of. Lay-er mans terms: you’ll get drunk off this beer. Ha! So true, it was crisp and clean and delicious.

Wes fell asleep on the way home and I rounded out the weekend with a quadruple decker Oreo. Because, YUP. Oh, and I walked the dogs. But that’s not exciting to read about.

Weekender

Posted on January 11, 2016 by Jen @nutcaseinpoint

How is the weekend over already? I swear to God it was only two seconds ago that I woke up and was excited to eat pancakes! Another low-key weekend for us..dang cold weather is keeping us indoors more than I’d like.

Friday: Pancakes in peace. Wes didn’t wake up until almost 8:30 so I was able to clean up the kitchen, make breakfast AND eat it in peace and quiet.

I took a peak out the blinds and noticed how frosty white everything was! I opened the patio door to snap a pic and WHOA- it was pretty but FRIGIDLY cold out. Brr

Wes’s first tooth even poked through! It’s very tough to see, but it’s there. So of course, photos were taken to celebrate. Love this sweet little boy!

We braved the cold to run some errands- Co-op had a great sale on Vega so I had to make sure to pick some up. Wes wore his dino hat- I really need to take a pic of him in it because it’s so cute and I can’t help but laugh when he’s in it.

I was able to watch more Making A Murderer while Wes went down for a nap. BONUS: I had a Wild Rose Brewery Cowbell to enjoy while I watched! Tyler spent a good chunk of the evening painting all the trim we had picked up last weekend. Do home renos ever end? The guy is seriously busting his butt ALL THE TIME with something around the house! (PS: Thankful for that. I’ll stick to doing laundry and cleaning the bathrooms, tyvm)

Dinner was super simple: Chicken roasted in Mums (<—SO GOOD), potatoes and broccoli. We watched a few episodes of Homeland then went to sleep.

Saturday: Did I mention Tyler’s the best? He pretty much TOLD me to take a bath before Wes went down for his nap and to take as long as I wanted. I used one of the bath bombs he got me for Christmas and abused some me time for a whole hour. It was glorious.

Meh- I just realized I took practically ZERO photos on Saturday.

During the afternoon, Tyler did more work on cutting and installing some of the trim while I took Wes grocery shopping. We played around for a bit when we got home, then I took the dogs for a walk while Wes napped.

Tyler made lasagna for dinner- we stuffed our faces- then plopped on the couch downstairs to watch The Intern.

Sunday: The lasagna didn’t agree with me so well, and I wound up getting sick during the night (could’ve been the mix of that plus the prosecco I drank during the movie?) Yuck. I took a SUPER LONG nap in the morning then made myself a delicious brunch plate.

The extra sleep + tons of water + food = much better feeling Jen.

We had the games on downstairs while Tyler was in/out of the garage cutting more trim. We’re a split household–> I’m a Seahawks fan and he’s a Vikings fan, so the game was pretty intense to watch. Not gonna lie though, I was sorta rooting for the Vikes because they have been having a pretty great season. Bummer ending…but my team’s still in it!

During halftime, I decided to throw together my first ever batch of baked doughnuts! I chose to use this recipe– it was so simple to put together and they turned out GREAT. Like….super.freaking.delicious. Dare I say better than Tim Hortons? Yup.

I will definitely be making this again in the VERY near future. And then all different kinds. I’m predicting a donut phase. Any flavor suggestions? Recipes to share? Send them my way, please!

After these were done, I exercised extreme self-control by heading downstairs to workout BEFORE enjoying one…or two…of them.

We had Mucho Burrito for dinner (I’d much rather make food, but we were both STARVING and didn’t want to wait for meat to thaw. And we didn’t really want to cook either). Wes had dinner, his bath, then continued his weekend adventure of attempting to get on his knees to crawl but mostly managing to only roll all over the place.

The dogs got a walk before bed, but we sort of jogged it since I wasn’t much in the mood to be outside. Poll: Is anyone else guilty of keeping their PJs on under warm layers? I do it almost every time I walk the dogs.

Time to hit the sheets, I’m pooped!

How was your weekend?

In My Microcosm

Posted on May 28, 2015 by Jen @nutcaseinpoint

Having a newborn can really have you live in your own little microcosm. I feel like we’ve been in this bubble for the past few weeks and ‘real’ life has been put on hold. Except, this is ‘real’ life! We’re still adjusting to our new family dynamic. (And just when we think we’ve got it, he changes the game and we’ve got more to learn.)

Wes turned 6 weeks yesterday, so here’s to hoping he gets more on a schedule so that this mama doesn’t go all bat shit. PS: He’s now 12 pounds and solely on breastmilk. #FATBOY

In an effort to NOT always talk about my baby Note: I’m still in my baby microcosm, remember? So bear with me I wanted to chat about some of my favorite things lately!

1. Twizzlers

Gross, right? My mom bought some when they were here last month and I haven’t been able to stop eating it. I also found out (don’t ask how) that Layla is obsessed with it too. I’m not even going to mention the peanut butter Magnum ice cream bars…

2. Rocky Mountain Soap

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My all-time favorites are the Cinnamon and Lemongrass soaps, but I recently bought the geranium soap (because it contained calendula) and I love how gentle it is on my skin. This is where I won’t mention that I’ve been buying products with calendula for Wes because one of the teachers from our childbirth class told us the benefits of the ingredient. Apparently, there’s no scientific proof on it so she couldn’t officially tell us so I won’t officially tell you about it. Google it. Anyhoo– I love it on my skin and I’ve found the baby cream with it has helped Wes’s hiney.

3. Sonoma Cider

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Tyler and I are always on the hunt for new products at our local liquor store (have we really tried all of the beers/ciders in the walk in fridge? Yeah, just about.) and we recently came across Sonoma Cider. We’ve purchased the apple and the pear- both are pretty good and they’ve been nice to have a sip or two when Wes is sleeping (which is RARE y’all).

4. Giro Apeckx Cycling Shoes

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Tyler bought these for me for Mother’s Day and I cannot WAIT to use them. The spin studio I go to uses these shoes, so I was pretty familiar with them already and I love the fit. I’m thinking of getting back into spin in the next couple of weeks..gotta take it easy you know– natural childbirth + narrow bike seats = no bueno.

5. Another You- Armin van Buuren ft. Mr. Probz

Music like this gets me all excited for summer. I’ve hardly been listening to music lately..NO TIME.. but I fully anticipate making playlists with this type of music in hopes of squeezing in some outdoor runs in the next few months. We. Shall. See.

What have you been loving lately?

Snow and Soap

Posted on September 8, 2014 by Jen @nutcaseinpoint

Guys, I’ve already whipped out the winter bathrobe and I’ve been wearing it around the house LIKE A CHAMP. Guess what else I had to get out tonight? All my winter clothes. WOMP

Why? Because it’s freaking snowing here and I can’t even stand it.

It’s probably up to about 7 inches on the patio now. We’re almost to the point where we have to put a flag on the beagle so we don’t lose him in the backyard.

Guess what? I’ve watched all the NFL games so far this season! Aren’t I the best wife?! Ok, so I napped in and out of Sunday, whatever. Tyler also dragged out the lazy boy for me to recline and watch the games. I’m so spoiled. Go blue team! (joke)

Funny story: Tyler and I took the pups for a walk together the other day and we were noticing quite a few different smells. First, it was barbecue, then apple pie, yadda yadda, then I go: “Oof, now it smells like skunk” and Tyler goes “Yeah, it’s weed” And about 5 minutes later I go “OOOH.. Like the DRUG?!!” See, I’m stupid. But I laughed about it a lot when we got home.

I hate the elliptical.

I scrubbed the bath mat this weekend. THOSE THINGS ARE GROSS. And yes, that requires all caps because um…..go pull up the mat in your tub and find out.

I then left said mat out on the patio railing to dry in the 80 degree heat we had yesterday. It’s currently frozen under a foot of snow.

My latest favorite thing in the world: All the Rocky Mountain Soap Company soaps. I just recently picked up a bar of Minty Tea Tree and Cinnamon. I also got the Bamboo scrub because it’s like…heaven.