Easy Old Fashion Recipe

Other than a glass of champagne I do not drink. Never really have. But Tim, at the ripe age of 52, is just starting to enjoy sitting with a glass of whisky or some kind of mixed drink. He got a really nice whisky kit from my brother for Christmas and has been learning new drink recipes. But his go to will probably always be an Old Fashion. He was first introduced to it a couple of years ago when we were in Disneyworld and it has been his drink of choice ever sense.

Simple Old Fashion Recipe:

Check out my video on YouTube and see how they make this simple easy drink: HERE

• Large ice ball
• Squirt of simple syrup
• 2-3 dashes of Orange Bitters
• 2 oz of Bulleit Whisky or use a jigger (which is 1.5 oz)
• Stir and add an orange slice peel (we didn’t have an orange and skipped this)

Here are some supplies you may want for your Old Fashion

Ice Ball Maker – This one from Amazon makes 4 beautiful ice balls.

Jigger – I love the look of this one. It looks sharp and classy

Whisky – There are a lot of different whisky available. They all seemed to enjoy Bulleit

Classy Whisky Glasses – Sure you can drink out of any glass but why would you when you can drink out of these

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20 Family Reflection Questions for the New Year

Happy New YEAR!!! We just finished watching Pixar’s Soul on Disney+. Bring on the water works!!

I think most would agree we are all a little relieved to see 2020 leave and to start a new year. Even if it technically is just a date. It’s always good to take a step back and reflect to see where you can make improvements and identify moments that made you happy!!

In what feels like endless scrolling of Pinterest, I came across 20 Family Reflection Questions to discuss for the New Year, from Kiddie Matters. I have a hard time with reflecting on my own. I can’t think of it out of my head in that way but they list ways on how to use this list, so I would check it out https://www.kiddiematters.com/20-family-reflection-questions-discuss-new-year/.

Here is the list of 20 questions and my answers.

1. What was an important lesson you learned from your family this year? I think because we all had to spend more time away from families this year, I realized how each moment you did get was that much more important. I’m going to try and cherish each moment I have with family whether that is FaceTime or getting a card.
2. What did your family accomplish this year that you are most proud of? We started a YouTube Channel. I really struggle putting myself out there. It can be scary and sometimes it is easy to get caught being overly critical of yourself. This coming year I decided to vlog every day. I’m hoping it will allow me to be more self accepting.
3. What was the biggest disappointment for your family this year? Learning a complete new routine for myself and for my daughter. Although she actually preferred distance learning, having to be available for all her school needs and still trying to work was not easy. I had to put myself on timeouts a few times during the day just to get my breath.
4. What do you wish you had done more of as a family this past year? I wish I had taken the time I was stressed and actually done something with it. Maybe baked more (even though I burn most of my stuff) or played more board games with her. She loves board games so I will try to be more present.
5. What are you most grateful for this past year? There are a handful of people that were a constant in my life during this year. My cousin and her husband really took care of me and Vanessa. They made sure we had good food and was always checking in on us. I love them dearly.
6. Pick three words to describe this past year with your family. Tough, Faith, Learning
7. What was your favorite family vacation? Went to LegoLand Southern California the week before everything shut down. We got really lucky but we had so much fun. We had an amazing lego room and had a really fun experience.
8. What do you want your family to do differently next year? I want to focus more on goal setting and making sure we follow through with our plans to make those goals happen.
9. What are some things your family did right that you want to continue in the New Year? We reached out more to friends and family when things got hard. I usually kind of shut myself in and hide from the world when I’m upset.
10. What obstacles did your family face this year? This is a no brainer
11. What is your favorite memory from this past yer of spending time with your family? I really got a chance to get closer to my cousin. She’s really become more like a sister.
12. What did your family do this year that they have never done before? Starting the YouTube channel was sort of a big deal for us.
13. How was your family supportive this past year? I think we all learned how supportive our families are. My aunt made sure I had toilet paper, my grandma called often.
14. Howe can your family be more supportive in the New Year? Sometimes I forget not everyone operates the way I do, so I need to learn to handle Vanessa in a way she understands.
15. What does your family need to do more of in the New Year? Not be distracted. If we have goals set, we need to everything we can to accomplish those.
16. What does your family need to do less of in the New Year? Be inside the house. Vanessa got rollerblades this year so I hope we can try and be more active outside.
17. How did you treat family members this last year? I’m not proud how I have treated my SO and my daughter. My anxiety got the best of me and I reacted in ways I didn’t like. I will work to remove myself during this time and work through my anxiety rather than react.
18. How can you improve your relationships with family members in the New Year? To have more faith and believe in each other more. I could be more encouraging, too.
19. What did you do this year with your family that you will remember for the rest of your life? The year feels like a blur, but LegoLand was pretty great.
20. What did you love most about being in your family this past year? When things get hard you learn who really is important and the family that loves and cares for you.

Let’s Get Honest. An Honest Post about Depression

It has been awhile since I posted, and I’m learning to not get on myself for not following through with everyone I make plans for. Just tell yourself it is okay. It is okay that you got McDonalds instead of a salad. It is okay that we spent a little more time watching the Disney channel. And it is definitely okay I wasn’t able to workout.

2020 was not the year I was planning for, and I know it wasn’t for anyone else either. I kept hearing how depression rates were up and people were really struggling with being home or not working or not getting a break from their spouses or kids. I felt all those things, and realized a couple months ago I was depressed.

Now I wasn’t diagnosed as such, but when you don’t eat for days and refuse to shower it is pretty obvious something isn’t right. I have been having to work really, really hard at improving my mood naturally. We been making lists of things I can do when I notice a change.

So, I’m back and hopefully we can all help each other learn techniques that improve how we feel. Not every day is perfect, but I am feeling much better than a few months ago. And I hope I can share with you what has helped me.

I would love to hear what you do when you feel like the blues are coming!