My journey to simplicity

This summer, we had a little weekend getaway in Kingston, Ontario. During our last day, we visited Fort Henry and stopped in at their gift shop. Like a typical kid, my daughter kept asking for this and that. There was no real rhyme or reason for her requests other than she just wanted something. Anything. At one point, I got a little impatient with her and said that I wasn't about to waste money on junk, something that she'll just discard in a few months, or maybe even in just a few days. (The item in question was a small plush toy goat.) Well that's when she freaked out and yelled at me "I'm so sick of you saying these things are junk. They may be junk to you, but they're not junk to me!" In all fairness, my daughter has a greater challenge controlling her emotions than the average kid and tends to overreact at first when things don't go her way. She's working on it. And although these reactions are often very unpleasant, I really admire the fact ...

As I was writing my other post about my second Whole30, I realized that some of you may just want my thoughts and feelings about going through another Whole30, while others might want the bite by bite of this journey. So for the bite by bite people, this is for you. The follow-up to Doing a second round of Whole30... again: Day 1 Breakfast: 2 hardboiled eggs, mixed nuts, a banana and a black coffee Lunch: leftover steak, potatoes and broccoli, and a few pieces of orange bell pepper and four cherry tomatoes from our garden that were sitting on the counter, all fried up in ghee and topped with an egg over easy, an apple and water Supper: barbecued chicken with homemade ranch mayonnaise for dipping, roasted vegetables, olives, grapes, and water with leftover juice from the lemon that I used to make the mayonnaise.  Day 2 Breakfast: omelet made with leftover roasted vegetables cooked in ghee, cucumber, two clementines and a black coffee Lunch: leftover barbecued chicken with spagh...

Sorry for not posting at my usual time. It was a busy week this week and I didn't get around to finishing my post until now. This is going to be a fairly long post. A diet consisting of simple foods totally falls in with a minimalist lifestyle. At least, in my opinion. Simple healthy ingredients lead to a healthy body and mind, which helps in living a simple life. Truly living life. I’ve been a little quiet about it, but I’ve started another Whole30. So far I haven’t been able to successfully complete a second round. But this time is going to be different... I hope! Why do I want to do another Whole30? Because I want to be healthier. I’m (was) in constant pain. Some days are (were) worse than others. It’s tiring! And I know it’s all food related because many of these issues were gone during my first Whole30, and for a few months after that. But now that my habits and weight are pretty much where they were before my first Whole30, all of these issues are back. Heartburn. J...

I've moved! Yep, you read that right. I haven't been enjoying the condo. Although I love the commute, the things I don't like about the condo couldn't easily be changed. I did what I could with the space I had. Like when I added the island to give me more prep space in the kitchen. That was working out well. And the noisy-in-the-middle-of-the-night neighbour had quieted down after a couple of complaints to the superintendent. However, there's nothing I could do about the extremely loud and inefficient furnace/air conditioning unit (which I blame, along with the old windows and patio doors, for the unreasonably high hydro bills for such a small apartment), the poorly designed bathroom, and the noisy city neighbourhood. I tried to live with it, but found that the combination of all these issues frustrated me too much. I want to feel calm and happy in my home. But really, the best reason for moving was that Mr. Romantic and I decided to live together. So it's back ...

It's easy to get caught up in acquiring things when you get into a new activity. Especially when it's one you really enjoy. I've recently discovered that I love camping! I love being out in the woods with Mr. Romantic. That being said, I also like convenience and comfort, as most people do I'm sure. While on our first camping trip in July, I made a list of things we should have while camping (such as particular items of clothing, kitchen utensils, etc.), and a list of nice-to-haves for camping that we might acquire over time (you know, luxuries, like a bigger tent). Then, Mr. Romantic and I planned a second camping trip at the end of August. This time, it was with my daughter and her friend. So a couple of weekends before the trip, we went to look at camping gear that we might want for a more comfortable experience, especially since it would be with more people. Have you ever walked through a camping equipment section of sport-supplies retailers? They have thin...

Hi! I hope you've been enjoying your summer! I must say, it was nice taking a couple of months off from blogging. Even though I love writing, I haven't taken much time to write during the summer. I've spent most of my time living and preparing. It's been somewhat of a busy time for me. We had family barbecues. We took a family day-trip to Upper Canada Village, another to the MacKenzie King Estate, and one to Britannia Beach. My mom, my daughter, Mr. Romantic and I had a weekend in Kingston where we visited Fort Henry, took a boat cruise, and visited Boldt Castle. I painted my daughter's new closet and changed the flooring. Mr. Romantic and I went to see movies, spent time out on patios, took walks and hikes, and had a last minute camping trip to Kearney Lake in Algonquin Park in July. It was my first time camping since I was a kid. I loved it! In fact, I loved it so much that we went on a second camping trip last weekend to end off summer and we invited my dau...