Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Some Plans for 2013

Well, now that we're more than a week into 2013, I might as well post about some of our "resolutions" for the new year. Clearly, 2012 was a big year for us - school, graduation, moves, and living apart for a semester. This year, while free of school (Hallelujah!) still holds big changes in store for us. Hooray for moving, again! Even though we do not know where we will be after June, I've found a few things that I want to start this year.

1. Eat dinner at the table: 
I think this is starting because we'd spend the semester apart. Oftentimes we end up eating in front of the TV, because we've had long days and need some time to unwind. 
Mmm... Our Christmas Day dinner.
(We don't usually take the time to take pictures of our normal meals.)

2. Brew our own kombucha: 
Kombucha is a fermented tea that is full of probiotics (good for you bacteria). I've been reading a lot about it on the paleo blogs, so we bought some from the grocery store and tried it. We love it! It's strange, because it smells like vinegar, but tastes a little like sparkling cider. Buying bottles from the store will get expensive, so we're going to make our own! Those will be some interesting blog posts. 
Kombucha!

3. Read before bed (in bed): 
This is another effort to be more "primal" this year. I need to start turning off the TV early and read before I go to sleep. So far, I'm taking the time to read before bed, but I know I need to go to sleep earlier than Amit does. (I'm old.)
Even Emma likes to watch TV.
Here she's watching Dobby from Harry Potter.

4: Start a compost bin and maybe a garden: 
This one is contingent on where we move in June, but I'd love to start composting to reduce our waste, as well as grow some Primal veggies. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I'll be able to try this goal out in 2013, but we'll see what happens.

5. Complete the 21 Day Sugar Detox
I've got a good start on this one, only one little detour (wings at Buffalo Wild Wings). I'm eating lots of meat and vegetables, but have modified the program a bit for me (I'm still eating dairy). I figure this is a good way to reset after the holidays. I promise to share a wrap-up post at the end of it, to share my thoughts. 

Well, those are the big goals I have for this year. Depending on where we move, I know I'll have more projects to accomplish, but I think these goals are a good start! I'll keep you posted on our progress, especially with the Kombucha! We've been using my dehydrator quite a bit, so once I master those recipes, I'll share our very primal, very natural snacks!

Saturday, January 5, 2013

Enjoying the Snow

Well, we've been wanting good snow the last few winters, and clearly we got it! Our first winter in NY has definitely made up for the past two years of disappointing snowfall in MA. Since we have more than a foot of powdery snow, we were so ready to take out our skis last weekend.
It was still snowing on Saturday morning,
so we went out and skied near some ponds close to home.

On Sunday, since the weather was nice,
we went skiing at Mendon Ponds Park.
There were lots of people out skiing and sledding and snowshoeing.

Since Emma doesn't come skiing with us,
we took her back to Mendon Ponds to hike on New Year's Day.
What a strange dog. She likes to sniff and stick her head under the snow.

And just for reference - 
This was the pile of snow outside our house on New Year's Eve.

 We had a low-key New Year's.
We had ribs on Christmas Day (one of our new traditions), so we decided to start another rib tradition for New Year's Day.
Only problem with this plan? We had to shovel our way to the grill!
Our ribs and Brussels Sprouts and Kale salad with bacon.
A totally primal way to start 2013!

Having all this snow on the ground was a great start to the New Year and thanks to one of my Christmas presents, I have even more awesome food projects to work on!