Sparkling Hill Resort; the weekend getaway that started with a life lesson

Barney: "What is my second word that begins with B-O-N?"
Ted: "Bon Jovi"
Barney: "What's my third favourite word that begins with B-O-N? BONUS! As in end of the year bonus."

This HIMYM episode is still one of my favourite standalone episodes. It makes me laugh every time.

I started getting bonuses from a company I worked for a long time in my early twenties. Before that the concept of a bonus was a little odd to me. You work, you get paid, that's the deal. The idea that someone would hand you extra money on top of that felt like a glitch in the system.

In Winter 2021 I had been wanting to visit Sparkling Hill Resort for a couple years. They always have this local special on in the winter; the kind of deal where you know you should just book it but somehow two years go by and you haven't. I got a surprising bonus that year. Surprising because the company I worked for was having a hell of a time because of covid. I opened the deposit notification and just sat there for a second like ok. That actually happened.

Now I could have paid off my credit card. That's the practical thing to do. That's what most people would tell you to do. But my dad was always adamant about not being a slave to the people you owe money to.

I have such a vivid memory sitting in the rec room of our Lavington house settling my "finances" with my dad. I was young. I owed him some money and he owed me some money for working for him. Since my debt was higher I suggested he just keep the cash and put it towards what I owed him. Made sense to me. Clean and simple.

He instantly rejected the idea.

As a kid I didn't really understand it right away. But he was trying to teach me that when you make money you need to receive it. Pay yourself. Pay your savings. Pay your tithe. After you have taken care of yourself then you use the rest to pay off debt. The order matters. You come first. Not the debt. Valuable life lesson.

Anyways this is how I treated my bonus and because of that we were able to do something fun and restful regardless of the money we did owe. I'm not saying don't pay off your debt as soon as possible; just be wise enough to pay yourself first and not be a slave to your debt.

Without further ado. Sparkling Hill Resort weekend getaway. Thousands of Swarovski crystals adorn this wellness resort.

After we checked in the valet parked our car. Another first for me. I've never had someone take my keys and just handle it while I walked inside like I belonged there. We explored the room and then went straight to the pools. Unfortunately because of covid we couldn't go into the sauna and steam rooms which was a bummer; but we enjoyed the other pools and honestly just floating in the outdoor pool while big fluffy snowflakes fell on us was more than enough. Felt like we were far away from our hometown even though we were barely an hour up the road. There's something about being in warm water while it's snowing that tricks your brain into thinking you've actually gone somewhere far.

Everyone walks around in big white housecoats and slippers; which were way too small for my husband. Watching him shuffle around in tiny slippers trying to look relaxed was its own entertainment for the weekend. And what's a treat yourself night without room service? We ate in our housecoats and in bed while binging good old cable. No streaming apps. No scrolling for forty minutes trying to pick something. Just whatever was on. It felt very early 2000s and I loved every second of it.

In the morning we went to the Peakfine restaurant for the complimentary breakfast. I have never had a three course complimentary breakfast before. Normally when I think complimentary I think old baked goods and soggy waffles; but not at Sparkling Hill. This was a full sit down experience. A proper menu. Courses arriving at your table like you'd paid separately for them.

And the restaurant itself. They have these floor to ceiling windows throughout and you have views of the lake and are as high as the other mountains around. While we were eating the clouds came in and the windows turned into slightly moving white walls instead. You couldn't see the lake anymore. You couldn't see the mountains. Just white. And it gave you this feeling of being inside the clouds while you eat your breakfast which sounds ridiculous when I type it out but it was genuinely one of the coolest things I've experienced at a restaurant.

The whole weekend cost less than what most people spend on a random weekend of errands and takeout. And I still talk about it years later. My dad's lesson held up. Pay yourself first. The debt will still be there on Monday. But the memory of floating in a pool while snowflakes land on your face and your husband is shuffling around in tiny slippers; that stays with you way longer than a credit card statement.

Thanks for the bonus, Barney.