A few favourites

It's cold now. Last Friday fall fought the good fight, and fought right alongside it in my ballet flats with no tights, but winter has bested the both of us. It is here now, the snow clouds are beginning to appear, and I've reluctantly pulled out my boots. I'm reluctant not because I dislike winter (because I love winter), but I hate wearing boots because I hate wearing socks. It's complicated. Maybe I just haven't found the right pair of socks.

The rest of these photos were taken yesterday on the way home from school. Our usual walk home was interrupted by hunting down a mailbox to send a card to Nana (why can't I ever find a mailbox?) and a stop for a victory hot chocolate once we finally tracked one down. This week I hope you, too, can find a moment for a victory hot chocolate. You could even put whipped cream on it, as Alyce and Shira did. I would not put whipped cream on my hot chocolate because not only do I not like socks, I also do not like whipped cream.

Here are some things that I do like:

If you celebrate Christmas with children and you're looking for an advent calendar, check out this homemade one from The Knitty Gritty Homestead. I adore the idea of spreading out all the fun over 25 days.

I sometimes (only sometimes) complain about waking up at 5:00 am with Shira. Helen Jane starts her day at 4:00 am on purpose. What I like the most is how she makes use of her day, even if her rhythm is a little different than most 9-5ers.

I don't know how to crochet, but I am going to make this for my girls. Just you watch me. P.S. Please send help. I really don't know how to crochet.

Vegetarians may want to avert their eyes!  Whole Larder Love had me reading for hours. I have no interest in living this particular off-the-land life, but I'm encouraged that there are such people in the world. I also wouldn't mind an invitation to dinner.

I love learning how other people find the time to make food in their kitchen. I also love it when they snack on a potato chip or two after baking their homemade bread. We can't all be perfect. Life is far more interesting when things are a little complicated. (I sound like a broken record.)


And speaking of eating, heaven is brussel sprouts and pecorino cheese.

I would like to make dinner in these.

Grilled cheese with pesto and applesauce.

And this grilled cheese, too. Brie and cranberries, you had me at grilled cheese.

It's not always about cheese, you know. This roasted squash salad also includes creme fraiche.

I must have squash on the brain, because I also need to share with you this squash and apple salad. Read for the recipe or just read to enjoy one my favourite blogs. I could read Molly's words all day long, and when her latest blog post pops up in my reader I save it for last, so I can savour it just that little bit longer.

I'm going to try this new pumpkin bread recipe tomorrow. I have fresh pumpkin in the fridge just waiting to become bread.

 P.S. Matt took Alyce to the her first ballet this weekend, the National Ballet of Canada's performance of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. I'm not posting any photos from their date because he promises a guest post all about it. Let's hope he's not just all talk. But this last photo was taken last night as Alyce tried to recreate the ballet in drawings. She's been taking the photos torn out of the ballet program with her everywhere she goes, so I think they had a good time.

A good week

 

This photo here about sums up why I have children. Because you can stuff them up in a snowsuit, throw them into a snowbank, and this is the face you get. She couldn't have had more fun in the ten minutes we were able to play outside before the below freezing temperatures got the better of her.

Speaking of cold children. Even though we spent twenty minutes searching for snow pants that have clearly been left at school (admit defeat, Matt), Alyce still managed to enjoy herself in the snow. Here she is telling me that she's not even cold. Raise your hand if you believe her.

It's Friday afternoon and I'm home with The Children before I go into work for a couple of hours (I'm still helping out at the restaurant I mentioned before).  Alyce and Shira are making things out of Play-Doh, we're all dancing around to Tegan and Sara, and I'm settling into quite a good mood.

This week the world opened up a bit and said, Relax, just for a moment or two. We few financial stresses are gone (thank you, government of Canada for reassessing last year's taxes in my favour), Matt is *so* close to his permanent residency, and I was rehired to teach part-time for a university I used to work for. The work doesn't begin until summer, but it was a pleasant surprise, with a capital Pleasant. I am grateful for so many things, but let's face it, the past nine months have been hard. We were all eager for some positive news and I think our shoulders have collectively dropped a few inches.

The hard work of this year isn't over. We still have a lot to do. But I'm relishing a bit in this change of mood. It's an awfully nice way to begin the weekend.

And your weekend? What are you plans? Mine include lots of work on the course design I've got underway, making a cake for my stepfather's birthday tomorrow, a long walk in the snow, and with any luck, a date night with a certain snowpants-at-school denying husband. Oh, and I'm working on a certain school application, details to come!

Sometimes I only win some days

Winter has finally arrived. There isn't much snow yet, but the cold is more than making up for it, just in case people were wondering if the seasons had indeed changed. Message received, hats placed on heads, and I better get to finishing that scarf for my husband who does not like feeling cold. It's no wonder that I've fallen for knitting this year, as though my stitching fingers knew that we'd be returning to the land of very cold winters.

But isn't it beautiful? The crispness and the brightness of the snow makes me so happy. And today I need this kind of happy.

I didn't get a job today. I guess that in the past eight months I didn't get jobs most of those days either, but today I didn't get a specific job, a job that I wanted. I was excited by the possibility of this specific job, and my excitement was fueled by two good interviews. But this morning I heard that they went with someone else, and that's not what I wanted to hear. One day soon, I hope, I'll get a different job, but today I wanted this one. So today I welcomed the sight of my family playing outside on this beautiful day in winter. 

What's that I said earlier about big girl panties? So back to the grind it is. I've already applied for another job this morning, and I'm re-brainstorming some new approaches to my job search. I'm setting some new goals (which I hope to share with you very soon), and trying to absorb as much wisdom as I can from people who have done this before. I'm also finding great comfort in my community of friends who I know want me to get a job almost as much as I do! Thank you, everyone, you have made today a lot easier already.

If you are working on your own job search, or just looking for some new ways to frame your own goal brainstorming, you might find these helpful:

• Penelope Trunk has a lot to offer when it comes to building resumes, telling your story to a future employer, and some other ideas to get you going. She is also the author of this, one of the most helpful suggestions I've ever come across in my job search: 

  You’re going to need to show you’ve done the new job before you can get the new job. It’s not fair, I know. But it’s how the world works. So just make up a job, do it, and then put it on your resume. You don’t need pay or permission to do the job you want. Just start doing it. And if you already have the job you want on your resume, you’re much more likely to get hired for the job you want. (Find the rest here.)

• I've always been a fan of the Biz Ladies posts over at Design Sponge, but this week's post was especially helpful. I'm using this model right now for my 2012 planning. I'm staring with choosing my five goals and trying to determine the scope of all the little projects that fit into these goals.
• I'm also a fan of this worksheet for reflecting on the previous year's goals and outcomes. (I would love to sign up for one of her courses, but that will need to wait for now. Job first, then funds to take wonderful courses second.)

Ok, that's enough for now. Back to work. If you are looking for work, too, please know that you are not the only one struggling. And.it.will.happen!

A declaration

Winter is coming, and I'm ready to declare, unpopular as I may be, that I'm excited for it. Bring it on.* I know, I know, it's cold in winter, and everyone would rather be warm and sunny, but let's take a moment to think about just a few of the wonderful things that winter brings us:

-snow to play in
-warm houses from which to watch snow falling
-open season on hot chocolate
-ice skating
-twinkly lights
-soup season
-kids in snowsuits
-the change to regroup, to get ready for next spring

I think you'll all admit that I'm right about this one. What are your favourite things about winter?

*With the exception of winter driving. I could do without that.