City Trip - Spark Chef, Millennium Place and Chop Steak House (Jan.24, 2026)

My friend Denise from back in NS was looking through some old photo albums and came across this picture of Kody so she sent it to me for a laugh.

 

What a little cutie he was.

The girls had a bit of a sleep in this morning and Jason went out for a run so we didn't get on the road as early as I would have liked.

It was 11:30 by the time we left town.

We were going to take the girls swimming at Millennium Place in Sherwood Park.

They have a really nice pool there.

We were hungry though so our first stop in Sherwood Park was at a restaurant.

I found this place online that had a high rating and good reviews, Spark Chef.

It had a 4.9.

Freya 

Eden

As you can see, they are both more entertained by the phones than by us.

It's a good thing and a bad thing.

We don't want to rely on it too much as an entertainment source but sometimes it can be helpful.

They had this special drink and I can't remember what it was called but it had basil seeds in it and ice cream.

It sounded good so we thought we'd give it a try.

It had too strong of a rose flavor to it for me but Jason thought it was ok.

Jason ordered this dish called Devil's Pepper Chicken.

The description said it was Sri Lanka's famous devilled chicken with seared peppers, onions and mild spicy-sweet devil sauce for a fiery finish.

I tasted it and thought is was ok, Jason thought it was kind of one note and you couldn't eat a whole lot of it.

I got the Pad Thai which I did like but it had a spicy kick that built up and after a few bites, I couldn't handle the heat any more.

Freya had the chicken out of my pad thai then we also ordered her the lasagna.

she didn't eat very much of it.

I tried it and thought it was ok.

The food was just ok - I would never rate it as a 4.9.

It wasn't horrible but we will likely never go back.

After we ate, we hit up the pool.

It has waves and a lazy river and a hot tub.

It's a great place - only 31 dollars for all of us too which is a fraction of the cost of the Water Park at West Edmonton Mall.

We swam for a couple hours then called it a day.

I can never take any pictures because I don't want to take my phone in the pool area so I ordered myself a water proof pouch.

Next time we go swimming with the girls, I'll be able to take some pictures!

We went and checked into our room - we were staying at the Four Points - I love their beds and bedding.

There was a Chop across the street, we made a reservation for 7:30 and walked over with the girls for supper.

They brought the girls the little kids appetizer again and Eden ate up all of the cucumber and oranges on her.

Then she ate Freya's cucumbers too.

Miss Freya - she was really looking forward to having her steak.

Shennelle said their steak bites were good so I ordered those as an appetizer, they came with a spicy mustardy sauce and then a horseradish sauce.

Both were good.

I cut some of it up in really small pieces for Eden and she ate it all.

Jason had the Chop Salad with steak for his meal and I had the beet salad with a chicken breast.

The food was really good.

We ordered the cheesecake with raspberry coulis for Freya - she ate most of it.

I had a bite - I could have eaten more but was trying to stick to my points.

Then back to the hotel.

I still needed some steps and Jason needed to lift weights so he and Freya went to the gym so he could do that.

I stayed in the room with Eden and walked on the spot and around the room to get steps in thinking when Jason and Freya got back, I'd go down to the treadmill at the gym to finish up but managed to get all the steps in that I needed.

Then we just chilled in the room, Jason took the girls down and let them pick out snacks at the front desk.

We watched some tv then called it a night.

We had two double beds so the plan was for Jason and Eden to take one, Freya and I would have the other.

But both girls wanted to sleep with me so Jason got a bed to himself.

It was unusual because Eden normally is all about Papa but I'll take the snuggles when I can get them so I was ok with the arrangement.

Going strong - 24 days now of 12,000 steps or more.

That's all for today, until next time, be happy!

Change of Plans (Jan.23, 2026)

Our plan was to take the girls and head to the city today for the weekend so I decided to work through lunch and then just went home early.

 

I hopped on the treadmill as soon as I got home to get a bit of a workout in.

I just walked but I figured that I'd hop on the treadmill at the hotel tonight and get a bit of a run in then.

I wanted to pack and be ready to go when Freya got off school.

I packed and Jason went to pick up the girls.

I saw him pull in the driveway and leave again then when he did come back, he only had Eden with him.

He said when he got there, Freya didn't want to come because she wanted to have sleepover with her friend.

Eden did come but when they pulled inot the driveway, she started crying for Mom so he just took her back home but when they got there, she cried to come to Papa's and wouldn't get out of the car.

A bit later, Kody called and Freya wanted to come over so Jason went and got her.

She really wanted to have Theia (her little friend), come and sleep at our house so I called Theia's dad to see if she could.

He said she could and brought her over and Freya was ecstatic.

They ran around and played and so obviously, we did not go to the city.

While they played, I went down and got back on the treadmill to get the rest of my steps in.

I didn't feel like running so I just walked but I got it done.

Jason took the girls to the store to get snacks and food for tonight - they requested cheese pizza.

He cooked it up for them.

I decided to do a puzzle, I had another 500 piece one that I'd picked up on clearance after Christmas.

I finished it in a couple hours while the girls played.

I finished around 11:30 and then wrangled the girls up to get them settled into bed.

I was just going to get them set up in the living room but Theia decided right at that point that she missed her mom so I called her dad and he came and picked her up.

Freya was upset but I explained that kids sometimes missed their parents.

They got to play all evening until quite late and we would have taken her home early since we are now heading to the city in the morning so really, she didn't miss out on anything.

Plus it made sleeping for me a much nice prospect as I was going to sleep on the couch to be near them but I wasn't really looking forward to it.

Now I could have a comfy sleep in my own bed.

Everything was packed and ready to go for our city trip so hopefully we will get an early start in the morning.

Got all my steps in.

That's all for today, until next time, be happy!

Our Little Terror (Jan.22, 2026)

I had another good sleep last nigh - Yay!

I hopped on the treadmill on my lunch hour.

I did another 2 x 1 run today, 2 minutes running followed by 1 minute walking then repeat.

when I got to the 30 minute mark, I tried to push myself a little and ran for 6 minutes straight before going into my cool down.

That's the longest I've ran for in a long time.

I was proud of myself.

Little by little each day I'm improving.

I was a sweaty mess but it felt good.

After work I stopped at the hardware because I heard there were some knit slippers there that someone was selling and I got myself a pair.

I was so excited.

Jason was already home from work when I got there.

That's a new thing I'm going to have to get used to - he used to only get home after 7 pm.

Even though it was freezing cold out, he headed out for a 10k run and I headed back to the treadmill to get the rest of my steps in.

I only walked and I watched Fixer to Fabulous today.

The girls came over for a visit.

When she walked in she was in a great mood.

She was singing I'm a gummy bear and running around and dancing.

She is so funny.

Eden got into the markers and had one in her mouth so her lips turned all black.

I tried to take a picture but she curled her lips in.

She also got into some red kids toothpaste I just got for the girls and squirted a bunch of it out on the carpet in our bedroom.

Last week she submerged Jason's phone in the cat's water dish.

She is just a little terror that one but she is so cute it's hard to get upset with her.

When we do get after about something, she starts crying and then Freya gets upset with us for making her cry.

We had planned on Jason coloring my hair for me tonight.

When the girls came, I didn't think we'd be able to get it done but we did manage to get the girls occupied long enough for Jason to get the dye into my hair.

I did a chestnut color this time, it's dark and a bit reddish but there is no more grey and that's what matters most.

Jason does a really good job of putting it in for me.

The girls really didn't want to go home when Kody came to pick them up but we are taking them to the city for the weekend so Kody wanted them to stay with him tonight.

Jason is off tomorrow but he likes to get his run done first thing in the morning and that is hard to do when the girls are here.

I was scrolling Social Media today and saw this adorable t-shirt.

I love it.

This is Eden to a T!

I also came across this wallpaper mural that I LOVE!

I was thinking of putting it on the wall in my main bathroom but there is tile half way up the wall so it wouldn't have as much of an impact as if it was on a whole wall.

I still may do it though - I could also put it in the en suite bathroom off our bedroom - there is a whole wall there but I'm the only one that uses that bathroom so not sure if it's worth the effort?

Maybe I'll do both, who knows.

We are going to turn Jason's office into a room for the girls and we'd like to do a mural on one of the walls in there so I think I'll wait and order everything at the same time.

That's all for today, until next time, be happy!

Slowly Getting Back Into Running (Jan.21, 2026)

 I had a really good sleep last night.

I think reading before bed helps.

I hopped on the treadmill on my lunch hour.

Today I did a 2 and 1 workout.

So I did a 3 minute warm-up, the ran for 2 minutes, walked for 1 minute and repeated for 30 minutes and finished up with a 3 minute cool down.

It was a little harder but I was able to do it so I felt good about that.

I really need to get my hair dyed.

When Jason got home, he went out for a run and I went down and hopped on the treadmill to get the rest of my steps in.

I only walked tonight so it took a bit longer but got it done!

It was just Jason and I tonight, no kiddos.

I had though about cleaning up my craft room - it is a total mess.

But I didn't really feel like doing anything, Jason even offered to dye my hair but I didn't feel like doing that either.

Maybe tomorrow night.

Instead we had a chill night, watched some Dateline.

We did pick up some pepper steak which Jason cooked up for me and I made a refreshing salad to go with it, just iceberg lettuce, cucumber and red onion with some of Jason's oil and vinegar dressing that he makes.

It was so good.

I read some before bed again hoping for another great night of sleep.

My step count for today.

That's all for today, until next time, be happy!

Puzzling and Reading (Jan.20, 2026)

Jason started his new job today.

I hope all goes well for him - I'm sure it will.

I was looking at Instagram and Small Town Me posted this recipe for Korean Beef.

I think I might try it.

I hopped on the treadmill on my lunch hour and I wanted to do a little running today so I did a 1 and 1 run.

I did a 3 minute warm up then I ran for 1 minute and walked for 1 minute and then repeated that for 30 minutes then did a 3 minute cool down.

It felt good, it wasn't a struggle so that makes me feel like I'm making progress.

I think tomorrow and I might try running 2 minutes and walking 1 and repeating for 30 minutes.

Now that I got Christmas put away and my table is cleaned off, before I delve into the next project, I just wanted to have a chill evening of puzzling.

I did this 500 piece puzzle that I picked up on clearance after Christmas.

Haylee had to work so Jason picked the girls up after he got home from work.

He got home just after I did which is nice - I think I'm going to like his new hours.

He played downstairs with them most of the evening which was nice, allowed me to work on the puzzle.

There was a bad accident on the highway to Whitecourt and they closed it down so Kody got turned around on his way home from work and had to drive through the back roads to get home.

Both girls wanted to have a sleepover but since we both have to work in the morning it wasn't going to work.

They were so upset when they were leaving - I hate it when they get upset like that.

I think it was close to 9 before Kody finally managed to wrangle them into the car.

We were going to head to bed until I realized that I still needed about 3000 more steps so Jason headed to be alone and I went down to my trusty old treadmill.

I just walked and it took me 30 minutes to get the rest of my steps in.

Then I went upstairs and read a few chapters of this book I picked up for myself,

The Time Hop Coffee Shop.

I was drawn to it because of the design on the edges of the page.

It isn't the best book ever but I think it helps to settle my mind to read a bit before I go to bed.

I did it last night too and both nights I've been able to fall asleep easily.

It may not be the reading but I'm going to keep doing it each night and we'll see if it continues to make a difference.

I have lots of books on my bookshelf downstairs that I've not read yet that I would like to read.

Got all my steps in!

That's all for today, until next time, be happy.

Weigh In Day, Losing Streak Continues (Jan.19, 2026)

Today was weigh in day.

I had a bunch of treats on Saturday at the bonspiel then yesterday I ate a whole entire bag of trail mix so I wasn't expecting a loss.

I wasn't expecting a gain either though but that's exactly what I got.

I was 239 lbs.

That's up 1.8 lbs since last weigh in.

I really need to get my poop in a group.

It always seems like it is going to be so easy in my mind but then I just am not following through.

I think the tracking is key and I have to be diligent about it.

I'm not giving up - I'm worth it.

It was back to work today.

I thought I'd have a pile of emails to get through since I missed half of Thursday and Friday but it wasn't so bad.

The officially made one of the ladies in the St Albert office the new lead admin which I guess means our boss Becky won't be coming back which is really sad.

I really liked Becky - she has cancer and I don't think she is doing well.

It's terrible to work your whole life then when it's time to retire you end up getting sick.

I hope she recovers and gets to enjoy some of her retirement years.

On my lunch hour, it was nice out so Jason and I went for a walk.

The ice makes it treacherous and it takes longer to walk because you have to go slower but we got about a 3k walk in.

I bought a new wagon last time I was at Costco so Jason took it and went and picked Eden up for the afternoon.

Haylee had to work at 4:30 (and Kody was already working) so on my way home from work I picked Freya up.

She got a hair dye the other day when Jason took the girls to Whitecourt so Haylee had put it in for her.

It was supposed to be blue but turned green with the color of her hair.

She loves it - it does look cute and it just washes right out so no harm.

I had to curl tonight but our losing streak from the weekend continued on today.

We got 1 point in the first end but it was all downhill after that.

The got 5 points in one end then 2 then 3 so after the 5th end we were just done.

Freya had really wanted to come with me to watch - she is just such a little social butterfly and wants to see everyone.

Jason packed her up a bunch of snacks (he is so thoughtful) so she sat in the lobby area with the snacks and my phone and watched us.

She did come to the door to the rink a couple times and called me over because she said she needed a hug which I didn't mind at all.

I thought she'd be super bored and it and out of the rink the whole time but she was really very good.

If she wants to come again, I will definitely let her.

Because we quit after 5 ends, we were back home by 8:30.

Those 5 ends combined with my walk at lunch did get me to my step goal for the day.

Eden is right at the beginning stages of potty training and did use the potty several times tonight.

She's been having a hard time with poops the last few days, they are very hard and I think hurting her so she gets upset and runs around when she needs to go.

So we picked up some junior fiber gummies for her and some metamucil which Jason has been adding to her milk and it seemed to help a little.

She came and sat beside me on the couch and I could smell a little something so I wanted to check her diaper but she Hates getting her diaper changed.

So she was telling me it was just a fart so I wouldn't change her.

When we do manage to get her diaper off, she doesn't want to put another on so is often running around half naked.

It makes it easier for her to go potty so we just let her sometimes.

Plus I think it's good to let everything air out.

Just chilling on the couch watching Baby Toks as she calls them.

She is definitely not the cuddly one out of the two girls and she is totally a Papa's girl.

When I try to snuggle her she'll tell me "No" and push me away.

I do get snuggles sometimes but she wasn't giving me any tonight.

She wouldn't even let me give her a hug and a kiss good bye when Kody came to take them home.

I asked her for one and she said No then I asked if she could give Papa a hug and a kiss and she ran right over and gave him one.

Little Bugger.

She was actually very upset when they left crying for Papa - she just wants to be with him all of the time.

But Jason starts his new job in the morning and I have to work so they had to go with Dad.

We know she'll be just fine but it is so sad to listen to her sobbing and crying out to stay.

That's all for today, until next time, be happy!

The Decorations Are Finally Put Away (Jan.18, 2026)

 We had a bit of a sleep in this morning.

I think we all needed it, I know I did, it has been a long time since I went to bed that late.

Eden put Jason's phone in the cat's water dish yesterday - he put it in rice overnight but it looks like it's buggered.

He tried to take a picture today and this is what he got.

We decided that we would get ready and take the girls to Whitecourt for the day.

We thought we'd take them swimming then pick up a few groceries and go for something to eat.

Then just as we were getting ready to head out, Haylee called and said that she was going to her mom's to do hand casting later in the day and Freya decided she wanted to go that.

She'd been over for a few days and she was missing mom so we decided to take the girls home instead and promised we'd take them swimming next weekend instead.

Kim gave me these blow up horses for the girls last night - I let them take them home.

They really liked them.

Her favorite song these days.

Jason and I went ahead and went to Whitecourt anyway.

We stopped at Edo for lunch then we picked up some groceries before heading back home.

We skipped the swimming since it was just us.

After we took the groceries in, we got ready and headed out for a walk so I could get some steps in.

When we got home I was tired and I just wanted to relax but I also wanted to get the Christmas decorations put away and even though I didn't really feel like it, I made myself do it anyway.

Jason helped me carry all the totes downstairs then I put them all away.

It's kind of like a game of Tetris trying to make everything fit.

Everything looks really bare but I'm going to leave it this way for a bit.

I want to do some painting.

I'm going to paint the kitchen for sure - I still don't like the green that it is.

I'm also thinking about painting the white walls in the living room - they are peeling and it doesn't look great.

I don't think the paint I used last time was very good paint.

It is going to be a lot of work though so I'm not sure if I'm into that.

Anyway, after we got that done, we watched a bit of tv before heading to bed.

Got all my steps in again - 18 days and counting...

That's all for today, until next time, be happy!!!