gingerbread

just  before christmas i made a gingerbread house.

i was only going to make gingerbread men but everyone else wanted a house. we all love gingerbread here.

it has been many years since i had made one and the recipe i was using for the gingerbread men was very easy so i thought why not.

in the past we have decorated the house with far more lollies but we needed a little restraint this year with jess being so little and never having exprienced lollies before. so i used chocolate freckles for the roof tiles and the rest was decorated with royal icing. 

daisy finished it off by colouring the icing and doing the vines which really made it look beautiful.

whole food

whole food kitchen online course

i am considering taking part in this online course. 

i think it will give me quite a bit of inspiration to eat healthily again and give me some new ways of incorporating more whole foods into our everyday meals.

we eat quite well most of the time, rarely eating out or having take away food but i tend to snack on all the wrong things. i want jess to grow up with healthy eating habits so i need to really start watching what and when i eat.

i have made it through 3 days now with no sugar. 

tomatoes

we have been picking quite a few cherry tomatoes from our five plants.

sometimes there are too many to eat that day and we freeze some.

i love being able to pull them out of the freezer months later when the tomato season has finished and pop them into a pasta sauce, no thawing required.

jess has been enjoying taking all the little tops of and putting them into the bags.

book list

i always seem to have a few books on the go at once.

currently i have been delving into 

you are what you eat cookbook

dr. gillian mckeith

the natural health book

dorothy hall

for inspiration for healthy meals and eating healthier foods

the aware baby

aletha j. solter

great parenting book that i pick up and read a chapter or two every so often

and one that i found at the library called

tomorrow's garden

stephen orr

lovely photos of gardens just because i like looking at garden design.

the happiness project

i know i said i intend to have less computer time this year but...

this morning i found 'the happiness project'. i wasn't looking for it, i just happened upon it.

sounds just like what i need. we can all use a little more happiness in our lives, can't we?

the happiness project began with a book by Gretchen Rubin and is a number one best seller. it is an account of the year she spent test driving theories and studies on how to be happier. i have joined up for the 2012 happiness project but it has been running for a number of years now. 

 check it our further here

it shouldn't take up too much internet time but just provide inspiration and i can just participate how i wish with the blog posts and group discussions etc.

so i ordered the book and i got started straight away on my happiness project and thought about what would make me happier today and that was having clean windows. i know sounds a little strange but i stopped procrastinating and went out and cleaned the windows... lovely, happy.

oh and having a cup of tea made in my new teapot with my favourite earl grey tea also made me happy.

juice

the new year has started out hot.

watermelon and orange juice were on the menu.

i managed to get through the day with no sugar. i haven't missed it but it is only the first day. 

we have been staying inside mostly and having a few swims in the pool. jess had fun with the toys that can be pulled, trying to do them all at the same time.

i hope it cools down tomorrow.

more resolutions

i have thought of another new years resolution.

9. less computer time.

might be hard to stick to now that i have started this blog and signed up for the project 366 . i have flickr and pinterest accounts at the ready!

project 366 is a project where you take one photograph each day for a year (i am guessing its a leap year this year?) and you can keep it personal or post them as part of the group on flickr.

i am looking forward to the challenge and looking forward to seeing what everyone else photographs.

i just need to remember to take a photo each day which i intended to do as part of this blog anyway. i am not much of a photographer but i hope to improve my skills along the way.

i think i will try to upload photos once a week though, so i don't get bogged down at the computer everyday.

and maybe once a week i will catch up on all the blogs i read.

and once a week check in with what has been happening on pinterest.