Real, Not Ideal

                    When I was saving the document for this blog post, I smiled when I wrote the date. I’ve been home for nearly a month. Things have felt better than they have since March. I’ve started to sink into a routine (more on that later), and I get to see all the people I’ve been missing.                There were SO MANY good things about this month that I had a hard time narrowing it down. My sticky note where I keep my list has been scribbled over and re-written so many times. For that, I am grateful. 1.       Home This is the over-arching favourite of the month. After I got my last suitcase a few days ago (it has been an absolute nightmare), I finally feel settled in. The first thing I did when I got home was shower and make tea as a homage to my now second home, but I certainly feel more comfortable here.  2. ...

At the moment of writing this, I’m suffering from a mild burn from poorly applied sunscreen. It seems silly to write about the wonders of spring when it’s so hot out but here we are. Spring was lockdown season. From my birthday weekend on, things shut down all around me. School ceased being a school. I went on a whirlwind journey of anxiousness about coming home . However, I’ve managed to make the most of it. These are some pictures from this season. As if I haven’t mentioned puzzles enough , I had to put one more picture on. I loved the amount of puzzle time I got during lockdown. I think I completed 8 puzzles? Maybe 9? Anyway, I did a lot of puzzling and drinking tea. Recognize this outfit? It’s the one I posted about bawling my eyes out for the monthly favourites when I found out I could come home . That same night, I made pizza, and it was a day of ups and downs for sure. A few times during lockdown, Matt and I played board games when we felt like doing something a little...

I've read so many books this month! It was all thanks to quarantine since I can't really do anything else. I'm grateful for the nice weather because I've been able to sit outside and read to my heart's content. Pure bliss. Enjoy! Becoming – Michelle Obama – 4 Stars          This sheer size of this book worried me. No matter what Michelle Obama wrote, people would buy it. I was concerned that the writing wouldn’t be that good. Just because someone is a fantastic speaker, it doesn’t mean they’re a good writer. My goodness, I was wrong. This book is a brilliant story. Obama puts her whole soul on the page as she tracks through her different life events. We get to know how much her family means to her. We see what she thought of Barack when she first met him. Her story is one of dedication and hope and strength. If you didn’t admire her before, you’ll admire her now. I think Obama has a personality that comes to life on the pages. There are humorous moments and ...

If you haven’t heard already (and you must be new because I haven’t shut up about it), I decided to return home in the midst of all of this chaos. For the last time, I’ve stress packed my life into three suitcases and moved across an ocean. This time, it’s in the middle of a pandemic.  I decided to document everything by picture because it’s a) the most bizarre experience I’ve ever had and b) a lot of people have been asking me about it. I flew Manchester to Amsterdam and then Amsterdam to Toronto. My friend graciously dropped me off at Manchester Airport, and we were both shocked at the empty parking lot. Manchester Airport is the third busiest airport in the UK, so it’s normally teeming with people and suitcases. Instead, it was a ghost town. There was only the few check-in desks open and they were for my actual flight. Again, the line is normally very full and you’re standing shoulder to shoulder with people. Not this time. I listened to a lot of the conversations, and it...