At a Good Place

Hello Hello!  Merry Christmas (Belated) and Happy New Year!

It has been too long since I posted.  I know I don't have to apologize to you ladies, but I do want to post more.  I always do things and think that I need to post about it, and then I don't...but now I am. Finally. :)

We had a great Christmas.  I had the whole week off of work, and I really needed the break.   I was starting to feel burned out.  My sister came for Christmas week, I hadn't seen her since last Christmas.  We had fun catching up and spending the holidays together.  I'm working this week, but only 2 and a half days.  Today we're just hanging out at home, cleaning up and watching the Hockey Winter Classic game (I'm not really watching, Justin is, but I look up when they score).

I have no desire to go outside (although I might venture out to get our mail-they no longer deliver to our house, we have to walk a few blocks to get it).  Right now it's 10 F, but with the wind chill, it's at -6 F!  I can feel the cold seeping into our house.

I was trying to think about what to post about, and I decided to just look around my house and take a few pictures.  I have my IPad from work here, so I can make a collage this time!

I've been enjoying some loose leaf tea from my mother-in-law, she gave me a box with teas from around the world.  This afternoon I enjoyed some cinnamon tea from China.  I got inspired by my students and have been keeping my nails painted for about three weeks now.  It helps me feel a bit more cheery in winter.  I also hung up a new photo calendar I made for 2014, this month has pictures from Justin's family photo shoot from last February.  I love have a warm snuggly dog on winter days! Beatrix is like a little heater.

My latest project is this faux fur cowl.  It took me about 15 minutes to make, and it so nice to have outside in this weather!  I wear it over my regular scarf, and it's great because it blocks out the wind and covers up my chin.  I had seen one at a Christmas fair, but it was $20.  I went to a fabric store and bought a metre (about a yard) of faux fur for $15 (it was half off), and I've made four.  One for myself, one for my sister and sister-in-law, and then I made a small one for my 16 month old niece.  

I'm so thankful for the rest and relaxation I got over the holidays.  For the past month and a half I've been feeling a lot more content with life.  I've always struggled with contentment.  Most of my life I've moved and things always changed, so if I didn't like something, I knew that it would change sooner or later.  I've lived in Canada for 6 and half years now, and I feel like I'm finally making my peace with living here.  I've struggled a lot with loneliness and wanting to find friendships and family similar to ones that I left in the Philippines and Seattle.  I'm not sure exactly what changed (I think it's been small things over the last few months), but I'm actually grateful for the people I have in my life now and family that I have here.  I've realized that I can't keep on looking for the same things that I used to have, but that what I have now is different, but still good.  I also needed to realize that I haven't lost the relationships I used to have, they have just become something different and are still treasured because I'm able to maintain this relationships even though I'm far away.  It has been a long journey, but I'm praying that this contentment will stick (I'm sure I'll still have times of loneliness but I don't think it'll feel as hopeless as before). 

Thank you ladies for being my friends and for sharing your lives with me.  Here's to another great year of blogging in 2014!