This is going to be a weird one, not following my normal format of Favorite Instagram, TV/Movie, Podcast, etc. because I haven’t been consuming nearly as much digital media this week. I read 5 books, hung out with my family, threw up watching the new Spiderman movie (sorry to everyone in the 2:40 showing at Landmark Cinemas in Kanata – so sorry), ate good food, and drank a lot of coffee.
Favourite Christmas Gift:
I am so grateful for all the gifts I got this year. I am so torn as to whether the earrings or needlepoint canvas I got are my favourites. But I got a pair of pearl studs, and this fantastic needlepoint canvas that I have wanted for years and will be my out-of-office sign if we ever go back into the office. Oh and my sister knit all of her Christmas gifts this year and I am in love with the hat she knitted me!
Favorite thing I bought myself while home:
So if you don’t know, I live in a small town in Northwestern Ontario. There is no where to buy clothes in person for about a 4 hour drive (about 350kms), so I had a list of things that I was unwilling to buy online. Including bras and a new, warmer winter coat. I am in love with the winter coat that I found. It is so warm and cozy, and super comfortable. I would maybe size down? Although my whole family has told me that I’ve lost weight, so IDK, but I expected to be an XXL and bought an XL and it fits perfectly.
Favourite Book I Read Over the Break:
This is such a tough one, I read so many good books this week. I think this one is the favourite because I had such low expectations for it and it was SO GOOD. I was so pleasantly surprised by it. Also the jabs at 45 soothed my soul.
Honestly, I think my next favourite things were all the intangible things from this week. I spent time getting coffee with my best friend from high school, I spent time with my family, I sat and read without feeling like I needed to be doing 10 million other things. My screen time got below less than 6 hours a day for the first time since I had a phone capable of screen time. I used my health insurance for the first time in my life to go to the dentist and take care of some “family planning” type things and didn’t have to pay out of pocket for them. Actually,
Weird Favorite Thing: Medical Benefits
So I live in Canada, obviously, and in Ontario we have our provincial health insurance, called OHIP. But it doesn’t cover vision over age 19, dental, prescriptions (over age 25), and a bunch of other stuff. So having medical benefits provided by your employer is still a huge thing up here. I have never had it before and it is magical. I had 100% coverage on my dental checkup, cleaning, X-rays, and a filling. I had 100% coverage on my Kyleena IUD (normally nearly $300), and paid 25 cents on the pills that the nurse practitioner prescribed for in advance to the insertion. It was unbelievable for me. I didn’t grow up with benefits or insurance, my parents are self-employed and when we lived in Canada we always just had OHIP and in Tennessee I know we had some private health insurance, but I also know that expensive medical stuff happen it was BAD for their wallets. So this is so cool.
I hope you have been able to take some rest this week, and if you haven’t that you have some rest planned for the near future.
Laura
Thoughtful Millennial 