Pictures of Cohen

("shopping" at the Christmas store) 

(he insisted on this photo op) 

(hanging at the local library) 

(oh you know, just eating coconut oil straight up with rubber boots on) 

(he has mastered the spiral slide) 

(carving pumpkins) 

(reading a story to Mickey Mouse)

Notes:

- We got snow today. Like, a blanket of snow that stuck around all morning. Winter is here in Newfoundland for sure. I am in the market for a super warm winter jacket (that has no feathers due to Cohen's allergy). 

- Cohen is thrilled to be going trick or treating this weekend. Though he thinks that he will be getting apples since that's what the kids get in the books we have been reading. I am thinking apples are not a thing for trick or treating anymore. 

- Cohen's sweet little cheeks have been flared up for the past month or so. I am thinking it's the cold weather. Or allergies. Or the indoor heating. I actually have no idea. We are going for more allergy testing on Friday. 

- Christmas is only two months away. So excited. No shame. 

Library list

I have been reading a lot before bed lately, as usual. I have no picture because I have been sending my books to friends as soon as I finish them lately, thanks to this book. I have such a huge list of books I want to read right now. I need a better library, for sure.

The Circle by Dave Eggers. I read You shall know our velocity years ago and thought it was good. This one was interesting, and made me feel a little freaked out by what we are sharing of ourselves on the internet.

Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang by Chelsea Handler. I think I like her, and I want to read more. I was laughing so hard I cried a few times, which is nice.

What I talk about when I talk about running by Haruki Marakami. Oh man. This one was good. I sort of feel thrilled when I read about how someone was just sitting with a beer at a baseball game and suddenly felt that he was absolutely going to be a novelist. Out of the blue. I like those moments in life when you just have to do something. Also, the running is cool. I like to run 3 km at a time, and he runs more like 100 km at a time. He is intense. Now I have to read the rest of his work.

Why not me? by Mindy Kaling. I liked this, but it wasn't so much funny like her first book. This one was more about her getting her very own show, which is really cool, but serious. BUT she talked a lot about women and loving ourselves and I loved all that. And I loved seeing what a day in her life is= insane, 14 hours of work, crazy.

Furiously Happy by Jenny Lawson. Do I ever love this woman. I love her blog. I love her last book so much. I love how mental illness is getting so much play lately, and people are so much more open about it. I am just so sold on everything this writer represents. I am not usually a pre-order kinda girl, but I had this thing preordered the minute I could. I am a huge fan. The book was awesome, but for some reason I never seem to like second books as much as first. I would recommend anyone to read the first book for sure. But if you are struggling with depression or anxiety, get this book asap.

Hotel review: JAG hotel, St. John's, NL

We stayed at JAG hotel for a night this weekend when we were in town to pick up my mother-in-law for Thanksgiving. I have been wanting to stay here ever since it opened, and I really loved it. 

(Sunday morning cartoons and newspaper. Love these two so much)

(comfy but smallish bed) 

(nice modern bathroom) 

(the room)

Price: Around $150 plus tax per night. Not bad for downtown St. John's.
Bathroom: Really nice. The shower had a rain head and the soap was really nice and looked locally made. All good.
Pool: Nope. Why!??
Breakfast: Not included, but we did go down for breakfast. It was around $45 for the three of us, and super cute and fancy. Everything came on either pieces of slate or in copper pots. Jon and I both agreed it was the best breakfast we have had in years. The presentation alone was killer.
Wifi: Good.
TV: Very good. This is important to me. We watched House Hunters:Off the grid. And debated moving to Hawaii. The television was the type that pulls out from the wall so you can really get comfortable watching it in bed.
Location: Pretty good. It is right next to the Delta. Perfect if you want to go to an event at the Mile One Centre. Not as perfect as some other downtown hotels for shopping and eating, but good.
Parking: They have either valet parking or you have to just park on the street. In downtown St. John's, that is not ideal. We took the valet parking for $20, and it was kinda worth it.

Notes:
- At around 6 pm, they came around with chocolates from Newfoundland Chocolate Company to our room. Those kind of little details really sell me. Also, there was fancy water in the lobby. I like that.
- Overall, I would totally stay there again. I would more than recommend it to people with no kids. It's really close to George Street, and there is a nice lounge off the lobby that felt like a cool place to go for a drink.

Things to do in Clarenville: Skating at the rink

I may have mentioned this a million times before, but we live in a really small town where sometimes we struggle to find things to do. So we were happy to find one more thing last weekend, which is ice skating at the rink. They have a family skate a few times a week, and we took advantage. 

 

They had these things that the little kids could sit in while you push them around. They were awesome for us since Cohen was unwilling to actually let his skates touch the ice.

We went to the Canadian Tire to buy skates for Cohen, which was so exciting for him. Then we went to the rink, where we were the only family wearing bicycle helmets instead of hockey helmets. Also, all the other kids were wearing full hockey pads and gear. Cohen, not so much. I can barely skate in a straight line. All this to say that we definitely did not fit in. Cohen loved it, and insisted on wearing his helmet for the rest of the day.

I took him again this morning while Jon was at work. He was reluctant to put on the skates, but I did eventually get him on the ice for 20 minutes. Another mom told me she started her boys skating at one years old and she started by letting them lay on the ice. I might skip that step? Not sure.

Luck, and finding a "decent" guy

When I was getting my nails done beside the other bridesmaids for the wedding last weekend, my manicurist started talking about her love life. She has the worst luck. She has never ever dated a decent guy. So she just keeps dating losers and spends her money partying in Las Vegas and Miami with her girlfriends who are slowly getting married. She asked me about my situation. I told her about Jon, how he is definitely the most attractive guy I know, and super fun, sensitive, the works. And I'm married to him. "Lucky!", she said. Then I was reading this article about being lucky. 

And I was quick to tell her, nope. Not luck. First of all, the odds of meeting a "quality guy" (her words, not mine) in Vegas or Miami at a nightclub are maybe a lot lower than in an education program with an acceptance rate of 1:100 (or whatever). So for me to even have met Jon involved me working my ass off for 5 years after high school to get into grad school. And it involved me dating lots of not-as-great guys, and spending a long lonely year with no romantic interests at all. All the stuff I went through before meeting Jon kinda primed me to meet Jon and fall in love with him and ultimately marry him. No luck. Though I do feel lucky.

When  think about my closest friends, it's a similar story. Very few of my friends had an amazing guy fall into their laps in their early twenties. Instead, it seems like my friends have focused hard on careers and education, and ended up meeting the good guys in doing that. For my friend the nail tech, I'm thinking that all her traveling and enjoying life will slowly lead her to the right guy for her. Maybe that's called luck, or maybe not.