Family Favourites – Thank You, Valentine’s Day & Ice Sculptures

Happy Friday! Thank you sooo much for all your kind comments on Wednesday’s post. After a scary couple of months, I feel like I’ve come out on the other side of this surgery with an even greater appreciation of all the wonderful people in my life, and my good fortune. I’ve been spending most of my time this week on our sofa bed resting up, but I thought I’d pop in this afternoon with a little Friday Favourite posts, for some of my favourite things that happened in the past week.

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A Big Thank You to all the family, friends and readers who have reached out to me while I’ve been recovering. All your messages, phone calls and visits have been keeping me very upbeat and positive! I attempted to take the dogs outside today and get a little fresh air, but it didn’t go so well. I’m very thankful for in-laws who live 10 minutes away and could pop in to take the dogs out (and bring peppermint tea and a muffin too!). I got another surprise later in the afternoon when my mom and brother stopped in with a pizza to catch up for a bit. Being laid up isn’t so bad when you get lots of company and yummy food!

Side Note: The last thing I remember from the operating room before I started to go under was Taylor Swift’s “Style“. The doctors turned up the radio when it came on – ha! It was the first thing I had in my head when I came to after the surgery, and the chorus has been in my head every since. For THREE days.

Valentine’s Day: We kept the holiday low key this year by planning a quiet dinner in (chicken fajitas!) and a movie. Garrett surprised me with flowers at work on Friday and I decorated up the house with cheesy dollar store decorations for when he got home too. The only thing that I had really planned out was making pancakes and I even remembered to buy new maple syrup…but I forgot milk AND eggs. I was all set to go to the grocery store when I woke up on Saturday, but Garrett suggested that we treat ourselves to a Valentine’s Day brunch out.

I know that some people are just really not into the whole Valentine’s Day thing, but I’ve always loved it. Strip away all the commercialism and greeting card nonsense that gets people worked up – and you’ve got an excuse to celebrate the friends and family that you love, during one of the otherwise coldest and more boring months of the year…and you get to eat chocolate.

The week before Valentine’s Day, Garrett and I went on the Vermont Nut Free Chocolates website together and picked our favourite things to share, rather than buying each other chocolates. They seriously have the best truffles…and don’t even get me started on those raisin clusters. We only get stuff from them a few times a year, but it’s seriously the best splurge.

Ice Sculptures: Monday was my last day of being able to truly walk around (or more like hobble), so I made the most of it by going to a couple of outdoor Family Day activities put on by our town. It was ridiculously cold out, but it felt nice to get some fresh air and feel the sun on my face. My favourite display was the ice sculptures. I’m so impressed by artists who can do this!

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It’s comforting to know that there is nothing on the agenda this weekend and that my only job is to give myself time to rest and heal. I’m starting to walk around the apartment more already and even the pain feels good, knowing that it all is leading me back down the road to walking outside with the dogs again and hiking through the woods with Garrett. Little by little, every day! I hope that you all have a lovely weekend that gives you the time to rest too!