Shabbat Dinner

I'm not one to make too many New Year's resolutions, mostly because I feel as though I'm setting myself up for disappointment when I inevitably don't keep them.  Many years ago my friend Kim told me that instead of making resolutions she chooses a theme for the year to focus on and I really loved that idea.  This year my theme is self-care.  I am going to take good care of myself so that I can be there for the people who love and depend on me.  This will hopefully mean buckling down to a consistent exercise regime, eating well, spending time doing things I love and trying new things.


Since we were in the air coming home from Hawaii on New Year's Eve I didn't get the chance to toast the new year in, so I popped a bottle of bubbly on New Year's Day and toasted in all that 2014 will bring.  I am excited to see the year unfold.

One of my resolutions from last year was to start having Shabbat dinners on Friday night, something that Sydney had long asked me to do and that I knew would be good for us as a family.  I always had good intentions of doing it but never did get around to it.

So last night, on the first Friday of 2014 we made it happen.  I made a challah, Syd and I baked a pudding cake and Paul made some amazing steaks on the grill for us and we lit the candles, said the blessing and shared a glass of wine (not kiddush but we're working on it!)

What a lovely tradition this is going to be, I love how it marks the end of a week and the beginning of a new one and gives us some time to slow down and spend an evening around the table together as a family.

Sydney was thrilled that we finally had the chance to use the challah cover and kiddush cup that she had made at preschool for our Shabbat dinner.

She even made place cards for each of our settings at the table!

My friend Andrea stopped by today with a lovely little surprise gift to say happy new year, a gorgeous succulent plant in a beautiful planter.  What fun to come home after running errands to find it waiting on our front porch.

Sydney has been keeping herself busy painting some new masterpieces, here's her first of 2014:

It was another beautiful, sunny cold day in Vancouver today so we took advantage of the weather and went to the park for a little play time this afternoon.

What a nice start to a new year!