according.to.kim

Daily pic: 31 Dec 14

For the first time in our lives, our girls are babysitting on New Years' Eve (all together watching cousins). Neil had a gift certificate for this restaurant, Orange Izakaya, so the two of us came here for dinner. We enjoyed it! (and I learned about sweet potato starch noodles - good!)

With that, my 365 project is completed! (I considered trying to do a more creative photo to signify the changing of the year and/or the end of this project, but I just couldn't do it today. Good enough.)

Happy 2015 to all!

Daily pic: Weeks 51 & 52

The last 2 weeks included Christmas, of course. And it was good; better than expected... I really wasn't sure we could pull it off, but we did. Seriously, how do you squeeze in all that goes with Christmas when you don't have spare time? Well, it helped tremendously that I was off work for 10 days during this time. Blink. Now I need 10 days off without a significant holiday in the middle of it!

Okay, one left! This project has been so hard for me the past few weeks. I'm quite relieved to see the end of the year.

Daily pic: 30 Dec 14

Daily ritual: making a pot of tea. We're having Mint Julep spearmint herbal tea this evening. My favourites are Earl Grey de la Creme for weekdays and Vanilla Maple Cinnamon for weekends (both black teas). Neil's favourites are English Breakfast and Irish Breakfast.

Daily pic: 29 Dec 14

Chilling our turkey bone broth on the back step before putting it into the freezer. 24 cups of liquid gold! We made soup with another 9 cups. (I have to get rid of those darn styrofoam box inserts that are sitting there, too.)

Daily pic: 28 Dec 14

Sundays are ringette days, and Dec 28th was no exception. We had two practices in Lumsden and a game in Emerald Park. This was the road to Lumsden at 9 am, with a pink sky on the north-west horizon. (I used a filter in Instagram to bring out the colours and vignette.)

Daily pic: 27 Dec 14

I started gathering our decorations and new wrapping paper to put away. I wanted to include The House of Wooden Santas by Kevin Major in this picture because I enjoyed reading it to M and G this month. We finished it on Christmas day. (It has 24 chapters, meant to be read from Dec 1 to 24.)

Daily pic: 26 Dec 14

Neil on his 45th birthday. I wish I had taken a picture of him during daylight hours instead of waiting for cake and candles (cropped out of this pic). From now on, I think I'll shoot for a nice portrait on birthdays instead of the celebration picture which rarely turns out well for me.

Daily pic: 25 Dec 14

Flutterbye Flying Fairy was a favourite gift for my 8-year old. Her older sisters couldn't resist playing with it, too.

Daily pic: 24 Dec 14

Milk and cookies for Santa!

Daily pic: 23 Dec 14

We enjoyed skating on a dugout at my parents' bison ranch! (Do you see some of them in the top left corner?) Thanks to my brother for clearing the ice and inviting us.

Daily pic: 22 Dec 14

We used a local website called SparkleTour to find highly decorated homes like this one. I always enjoy Christmas lights!

Daily pic: 21 Dec 14

We had beautiful hoarfrost this weekend. The blue sky was a nice bonus, too.

Daily pic: 20 Dec 14

Saturday evening, we went to mass and then Christmas carolling in the church hall. Here's G enjoying hot chocolate.

Daily pic: 19 Dec 14

Neil received a free poinsettia for filling out a survey at Rona. Nice to have this extra splash of Christmas colour! (It's in a small 4" pot; I just set on top of a plant that's wintering over in our kitchen.)

Daily pic: 18 Dec 14

Enormous wreath at The Cooperators Centre - the rink where the girls often play ringette. We were there for a game tonight.

Daily pic: 17 Dec 14

I also went to see G in her Irish dance class during "parent watch week."

Daily pic: Weeks 49 & 50

It was a crazy 2 weeks! We managed somehow. And I took a few pictures. :)

P.S. Only 2 weeks to go in this project (daily pics)!

Daily pic: 16 Dec 14

I enjoyed watching S play ringette this evening. She and her team had a great game and beat the top team in their division. (S is #14. In this picture, her teammate shot and scored; the ring is in the middle of the picture.)

Daily pic: 15 Dec 14

It's "parent watch week" at the girls' school of Irish dance. Can't beat this view! The sound was awesome, too.

Daily pic: 14 Dec 14

We attended the Irish Club's annual Christmas party. Great time! And Santa had an excellent gift for every child there (up to age 13) - about 40 of them! Here's my 8-year old - the only time she's ever had her picture taken with Santa. (Thanks to S for getting the shot; I couldn't get a clear view.)