Meatless Monday {2020

So here we are: week 51 of Meatless Monday 2020… Christmas week – and probably the most surreal on of those of our lives to date, including the one the kids were born, well maybe that one is on par but just so weird not being able to see everyone, heartbreaking, but then this is the year where the boys have got it all for the first time, so that side has been lovely.

Here’s what we wore:

JamJarGill: Meatless Monday {2020 – week 51}

Me: Deer Jumper = Etsy, Trousers = FatFace {thrifted}, Long Sleeve Top = GAP {thrifted}, Sheepskin Slippers = eBay {new}

Boys: Fire Engine Top = Next {thrifted}, Bear on a Moped Top = Joules {thrifted}, vests and socks – supermarkets, trousers – various 2nd hand sources.

What’s in my ears:

I went back to one of my favourite Podcasts this week: Elizabeth Gilbert’s Magic Lessons and specifically this episode in which she helps a dancer to create a piece of expression dance to celebrate her 60th Birthday and the mentor who she brings in is a lady by the name of Amy Purdy; not someone who I had heard of before listening to the episode, but someone who I am now quite in awe of, and I have added her book to my wish list on audible 🙂

This week on Magic Lessons, Elizabeth Gilbert advises Penelope, a dance teacher in New Jersey, who wants to create a dance performance to mark her 60th birthday. Even though she’s been dancing her whole life, she’s having trouble finding the courage to pull this off. For expert guidance, Liz calls up one of the most courageous dancers she knows: Amy Purdy — a Paralympian snowboarder and semifinalist on Dancing With the Stars. Special Guest: Amy Purdy is a snowboarder, Paralympian, dancer, model, actor, and speaker. Her memoir On My Own Two Feet: From Losing My Legs To Learning The Dance Of Life is published by HarperCollins. You can find out more about her at amypurdy.com
Magic Lessons

Here’s a little about Amy:

Amelia Michelle “Amy” Purdy (born November 7, 1979) is an American actress, model, para-snowboarder, motivational speaker, clothing designer and author. Purdy is a 2014 Paralympic bronze medalist, 2018 Paralympics silver medalist, and co-founder of Adaptive Action Sports.
Purdy was born in Las Vegas. At age 19, she contracted Neisseria meningitidis, a form of bacterial meningitis.^[1] The disease affected her circulatory system when the infection led to septic shock;^[2] both of her legs had to be amputated below the knee, she lost both kidneys,^[3] and her spleen had to be removed.^[1] Doctors gave Purdy a 2% chance of survival.^[4] Two years later, she received a kidney transplant from her father.^[1]
Purdy began snowboarding seven months after she received her prosthetic legs. About a year after her legs were amputated, she finished third in a snowboarding competition at Mammoth Mountain. Subsequently, she received a grant from the Challenged Athletes Foundation (CAF), a non-profit organization. Through this grant, she was able to compete in several snowboarding competitions in the U.S.
Wikipedia

What an incredible way to move forward from such a challenging life event – AMAZING!

Here’s my week in 4:

The 1st year they got Christmas! – This has been the absolutely wonderful and joyful thing about this Christmas, the boys really have got it all for the first time, Santa, presents, all the excitement of being a kid at Christmas and it has taken us both right back to being kids ourselves. We made fresh family traditions, like unwrapping all the presents on our bed, and Christmas eve box the night before and carrot and mince pie for Santa – its been truly lovely to behold. It is a shame that it has been without being able to see family and friends throughout, but at least the boys were in nursery and school till the end of term so got to spend that time with their friends with the lead up to it all :).
Doorstep presents: All our plans changed as we entered this week in the UK, and so we were not allowed to see anyone other than our household which was really really hard, the first time which I had had Christmas without my parents in 37 years, I was so sad about it, I was teary eyed all week. The best day ended up as Christmas day as the boys excitement took us through in a wave of childhood happiness and love and joy, and I drove to Milton Keynes and dropped off my sisters and parents presents at their doors with my mask on – how surreal – but we will always remember this yr when we look back.
Zoom Christmas: When we got home we logged on to zoom, where we stayed all day eating and talking and sharing, my wonderful mother-in-law, who had already bought all the food before they made a u-turn on restrictions, cooked and delivered Christmas dinner, and it was wonderful to share it together. And there were some advantages, like not having to drive all over the country and just be able to pop the kids to bed and relax at the end of the day, but it was such a shame not to be together and I do look forward to being able to get back all together again in 2021
Walks to keep us sane: As ever walks have kept us sane through the roughest of days, getting back out in nature and realising all over again that it continues along its natural path with or without covid is always really grounding. I’m glad that the kids have been so young through this year, as I do feel that has made them more resiliant to all the wider problems, but then it has been an awful lot to take on as a parent, here’s to a happier and healthier 2021.

Video(s) of the week:

The boys got the Frozen box-set for Christmas, so we have watched both this week. I’d seen the first one once before the boys and never seen the second one. They really are uplifting and brilliant kids films, I can definitely see why they are so popular, and they really have some great life lessons in there too – it’s just world’s apart from traditional Disney, which watching as an adult often makes me cringe, with what was part of the culture we were brought up on.

What we ate this week…

Breakfast:

I started my day with this lovely fresh leaf tea I’ve been gifted to test by Mystic Brew Teas (well worth checking out if you haven’t already – the tea and packaging is eco all the way through). Then the boys had their milk downstairs whilst I went up to the quiet nursery to do my meditation and yoga and drink my tea (this is my winter alternative to tea in the garden), and works well as the boys can happily watch some TV and have some milk whilst I have a little me time to start the day – which I always feel better for. Then I made them yoghurt, banana and berries and cooked us all some panettone to eat together and I served my own with a portion of berries, as I hadn’t had the yoghurt.

Lunch:

I had a pack of cheese and onion crisps and the boys had a couple o fruit rice cakes as their mid morning snack. Then I decided to get a bit inventive at lunch as I hadn’t cooked any fresh bread, so I added a spoonful of marmite to my usual crepe batter in order to create a cheese and marmite crepe, which was pretty tasty 🙂 I just did them plain for the boys and served with a clementine each. For me I fried up some mushrooms in garlic and butter to go inside, which was yummy, I also had a clementine for afters. Then throughout the afternoon I had a pick-up bar and mini roll.

Dinner:

For dinner the boys shared a pack of three cheese tortellini and red pesto and I had some leftover squash and goats cheese pasta, then we all had clementines for afters, and I finished with a couple of warmed up mini mince pieces with rum and raisin ice-cream.