I like the recap Door Dash gave me. Sadly, I know I ordered more take outs this year that is not in the count. Nonetheless, it’s nice to know that I helped by ordering local.

On Monday, after I worked enough hours to send reports to the leadership team, I signed off. No more working the rest of the week other than to answer emails as needed!

I went to Costco, Hobby Lobby, and Kroger with Sammi and Emmy. Then it was Banana Leaf Thai for lunch, a nap, and a walk with Emmy and Rizzo around the neighborhood.

SIL brought home dinner from Kicking Crab. I opted out of ordering the lobster even though it’s what I’ve been craving. Eating this meal made me realize how much smaller my appetite has become which isn’t a bad thing. Now to continue working out so I can shed some pounds!

Tuesday morning I took Emmy to Starbucks where I used my 400 points to get something nice for “free”.

I then gave her a choice on where to go. I tried hard convincing her togo to Target but she opted for Walgreens. WALGREENS?! Okay, baby girl. Whatever you want.

When we got back, we decorated for Ethan’s birthday. Emmy had fun with all the balloons that were blown up.

My parents and June arrived and a little before 5 pm, Jenny and Le came over to pick me and Emmy up to meet up with SIL. We had plans to check out Eataly, the new Italian market at the mall. Super duper fancy.

We made reservations for one of the three restaurants they had. I went with SIL and Emmy to North Face and Disney to shop around before heading back to Eataly.

Emmy got very hungry and started whining so we got her a yogurt drink. She was super cute drinking it and kept joking that me and SIL can have some but Jenny and Le could not.

When our table was ready, we chowed down on some bread and oil and ate our pasta. The bread came wrapped two in each bag. When I asked for more, they did not deliver. They were also horrible at ensuring we got water at our table.

The pasta itself was nothing to write home about. We ordered three different dishes and our conclusion was that with the price, you’d think that it’ll taste amazing or even have meat or seafood in it. But nope. The portion is super small as well.

We all agreed the top left pasta was the worst and it cost the most. I believe it’s the Mafaldine Carbonara. The best one out of the three different pastas was the Trenette Pesto Genovese.

In the end, we agreed Il Pastaio is essentially the food court of Eataly. To have a better pasta experience, the other two restaurants there might be better choices, but I doubt I’ll ever come back other than to buy things and even try making my own cannoli.

On Wednesday, Mum, June, Emmy, and I went to Walmart and Target, picking up Subway and Raising Cane’s for lunch. Emmy was our product tester. She tested out the new year hats and held a pinata taco for my own amusement.

Later that night, June, Mum and I went to Whole Foods to buy some greens since we were not eating enough vegetables, then headed to Marugame Udon to pick up dinner.

The Nikutama and Curry Nikutama Udon bowls were greatly flavoured. Between the two, I’d probably choose the non-curry so that I can use the broth for another meal since it was THAT good and flavourful.

My favourites overall had to be the Wagyu Cheeseburger and the BBQ Pork Belly Skewers. I would love to go back and try the other Katsu Sandos but I feel like the wagyu will win out regardless.

On Thursday, parents and Brudda went to the store. June watched Emmy and Ethan while I watched Castle and did a puzzle in less than an hour. It’s been a while since I did one and I forgot how relaxing it was.

When they got home, we made lunch. Then it was time to put Emmy down for a nap.

When we woke up, baths for the kids, then it was time to get ready for Ethan’s 1st birthday slash New Years Eve party.

It was only immediate family. Everyone else was on a Zoom call. SIL ordered way too much food for just us so we had a lot of leftovers. We hung up the call around ten or so hung out with Jenny and Le a bit more before they left, then when it hit midnight, with Emmy still awake, we toasted to the new year. It was our first doing so with SIL and Emmy and first in a long time since Brudda was in college. It was nice to make these memories.

The theme for Ethan’s party was new years eve garb so I dressed the part. It was weird for me to wear such a loud dress but I did it mostly knowing that it was just us there.

We were able to snap some photos which was nice. I like that we all wore different shades of sparkles and Emmy’s dress essentially pulled all of our colours together. I’m sad I didn’t get one with Mum though.

Friday we packed and headed home with Ethan. I listened to some crime podcasts with June and we stopped at Bucees for a pee break. I opened my truffle chips from Eataly to snack on. Super strong truffle flavour but once you have it in your mouth, the pungent smell and taste kind of dissipates. The second half of the drive was filled with War of the Roses where some of the stories were ridiculous.

The first meal I cooked for the new year would obviously be one of my favourites: crab stuffed salmon and Brussel sprouts. It was so good I ate the same thing the next night.

Saturday morning, we went and picked up breakfast from Los Balitos and coffee from Starbucks. In exchange, Sissy and BIL came over with Koffeteria pastries. Beef Pho Kolache, Ham and Cheese Croissant with Everything Spice, Pickle Croissant, Cranberry Ginger Muffin Top, and a Sticky Coffee Roll with Hazelnuts. My favourite out of it all was surprisingly the pickle croissant.

Later that day, I was tasked to watch Ethan. I did what I did best. Surrounded him with random objects and continued watching Bridgerton. Binged the 8 episodes they had and must say that they are horrible to not have more!

Today has been a bummy day. I’ve been binging on The Queen’s Gambit and studying for my certification. I forgot to eat and made Sopa de Fideo for the week. Yum.

I’ve also started using the rain straws I received for Christmas and I must report, they are prefect so far. I’m not sure how they will hold up though. Getchu some if you want easy access to clean the inside.

My goal is to finish The Queen’s Gambit and go to bed early since it’s back to work tomorrow morning!