Scenes From Home.

I'm so thankful the weekend is here. Even if I have to spend it at my house with the only human I've seen {in person} for weeks. We've basically become BFFs with our phones and laptops between work and video chats. There have been a couple of times that I swear to you my laptop almost blew up because of the number of tabs open in my browser and applications open to get my work done. That and the number of long hours spent typing away has almost lead my good ole Macbook Pro to voluntarily end its life.

I did celebrate a birthday the other week! The big 3-1 and to my surprise, I don't feel any older! Ha. I love asking people that question on their birthday, for some reason. As if we magically feel more mature or suddenly feel pain in our lower back as the clock strikes midnight. My nephew, Quinten, did tell me the other day on his birthday that he did feel older! Surprise, surprise ;)

Anywho, instead of taking you through cool adventures and epic mountain hiking views—we're not allowed to even be up in the mountains—I thought I'd give you a peek into the pieces of our home and how we've been enjoying our quarantine time.

BIRTHDAY SHENANIGANS

I LOVE celebrating birthdays. Not just my own. I enjoy planning and surprising my loved ones with gifts and parties to kick off another year around the sun. This year, I had planned to be home with my friends and family, drinking a craft beer at Harmony Hall for mine, but alas, that did not go as planned. Knowing this, my amazing husband truly went above and beyond for me. We began our day getting our asses kicked climbing Prairie Mountain, but the view from the top and the picture with the Canadian flag was so worth it.

He also paired up with my siblings to have flowers delivered, decorated the kitchen in the middle of the night so I'd wake up to festivities, and bought me fancy cake! My co-workers (Katie, Shawn, and Jennie) also schemed behind my back to have cupcakes AND a cake delivered from my favorite Calgary baker, Crave. Hence why I'm surrounded by sugar in the picture above. I wasn't mad about it. I felt the love from all over through texts, calls and video chats. THANK YOU again to all who reached out!!

MY HOME OFFICE

I hate to admit the number of hours I've spent in this room. Since I'm on mountain time, but most of my colleagues are on eastern time, I'm up and working no later than 6:30 am so I'm right on pace with everyone else. The only problem? Sometimes my workday doesn't end when others are clocking out, so I'm glad to have my own space to focus and my own Herman Miller chair to comfortably sit in.

The reality of my workspace is not clean and clutter-free. It's exactly what you see in this picture. And just like this cluttered desk, my brain is kind of all over the place. I've been working remotely since the end of December, but adding a crisis to the mix forces you to reprioritize based on the immediate need. It's been a huge learning experience for me and something I plan to add to my resume as I move forward in my career. I also want to point out that having pictures, cards, and notes from my friends and family right next to my desk is a constant reminder that I'm not alone. Yes, my calendar is v empty at the moment (except a virtual baby shower at the end of the month), I remind myself to practice yoga (because it's the only hour I truly get to myself) and to stay home because it's NOT worth it to leave right now.

FUR BABIES

Ella and Copper have grown accustomed to having both James and me at home. It's safe to say they LOVE it. I, on the other hand, not so much. With work demanding most of my time, I'm thankful for the days that James is home—he still has to go to the office and branches every now and again—so they aren't being completely ignored. Copper has made a few appearances on conference calls, and Ella seems to think that if she just sits by the door whining nonstop that I'll for sure let her out. Even if she JUST came back inside...

We haven't had too many "nice" days since we were told to stay home. We didn't mind the snow and cold so much when we were able to go hiking, but now we're all going a little stir crazy cooped up while it snows and the temperature stays at a cool thirty-some degree outside. Luckily, we had a couple of sunny days that made it feel warmer so we were able to frolic in the backyard with the dogs and take them on long walks around the neighborhood. Ella is not ready for the snow to leave. She's obsessed with snow and cold while Copper will whine to go out but then stop in the middle of the doorway, second-guessing his decisions.

With all this free time on our hands, we decided to watch all of the Marvel movies in chronological order. I will say, I've enjoyed it very much because I actually have an understanding of what's happening. It also lead to a deep dive into the full story of the Tesseract and how it moved throughout the movies. Yes, I actually spent time researching this. Do not judge me, I'm bored. With movie watching comes many nights of snacking on popcorn. Shoutout to Orville Redenbacher for holding down the Kazyak household. Even and Ella and Copper get in on that snack action.

YOGA

When we first moved here, a top priority for me was to find a new yoga studio. One of my goals was to be healthy, and I've always found yoga to be physically, mentally, and emotionally beneficial for me. When we moved into our house, I found a hot yoga studio within two miles of us, Hotshop Yoga. I started going three to four times a week and felt so good after each class. Sometimes I'd even dabble in Yoga Sculpt and let me tell you, I'd end that class with a pool of sweat on my mat. Oh, how I miss those days.

Since all gyms are closed, I've had to practice at home. I'm still trying to practice three to four times a week, but it's hard when you're mentally drained after a workday. We have a spare room in the basement that I've used to work out a few times, but I love the light and the space my home office brings. The only downfall is not separating where I work and where I disconnect. To help make me feel like I'm in the yoga studio, I leave the space heater on and sometimes light a scented soy candle to build the heat before I begin.

I'm very proud of how strong I've become from practicing yoga. To be able to hold poses, balance and focus only on your breath as you move is not easy! Especially when you're at home can easily start to think about all the work you didn't get to or the chores needing to get done around the house. I remind myself that those things will be there when I'm done. I need to take this hour to reflect and restore. I've also been able to nail some pretty challenging arm balances and binds.

PS: Yes, I’m sharing a picture of a dirty yoga mat. That’s a picture of success. Building heat and sweating out the toxins from the day.

HOME

Although the current state of the world is not what we anticipated when moving to Canada, I'm more thankful than anything to have a home. We are safe. We are healthy. We have each other. While I may not be able to leave this home very much—if at all—I'm finding comfort in the spaces within this house and taking note of how we use it. One being, the use of our fireplace. It's been so nice to have a fire going and get that cozy feeling when it's cold outside. The Eames Lounge Chair and Ottoman also helps :)

James and I are really missing home, our family and our friends but we're making the most of our time here and using video calls to our full advantage to stay connected. If you want to catch up, give me a call! We'll be around. Probably watching Marvel movies. Or Brooklyn Nine-Nine. "Cool, cool, cool, cool, cool."

xo, Stef