Friday, 1 February 2013

Big plans...

I didn't make any New Years Resolutions this year which is very unlike me. I love a fresh start, writing lists and dreaming up big plans...

This year though, like this blog, I wanted to focus on the little things.

I gave myself one word instead which was: Simplify.

Simplify in my home.
Less TV, more imaginative play with the boys.
Less clutter, more space.
To take the time to enjoy the simple things in the ordinary everyday stuff.
Just enjoy being me rather than trying to be what other people think I should be.
These sound suspiciously like New Years Resolutions now I write them all out...

I am working on embracing all this but it's like my New Years resolutions went ahead and did it without me. Recently I have caught myself dreaming about things I wanted to do this year. Certain things I wanted to get better at. That tendency to dream is just stronger than I am.

Big dreams AND little things baby! It's what I do.

So what things am I dreaming about you ask?...

As much as I have loved the snow this winter I have found my thoughts drifting off to the delights of Spring. Like I can't wait... I keep thinking about vegetables I'd like to grow... And what the heck I'm going to do with our front driveway. Ooh I could put some rocks here and grow a tree there kind of thing...

So I guess I want to really get into gardening this year. Each year I do a little more and I love it a little more. But I'm pretty clueless at it. Maybe it's time I actually put some effort into learning and doing rather than just making it up as I go along.

Since I couldn't wait to get started with actual garden the first most obvious thing for me to do was get a fancy gardening notebook. See I'm already a Pro. I used Photobox to create a notebook with my photo on the front. In it I shall make inspired notes and plan my garden like a genius. Mostly though it's because I cannot for the life of me remember what anything is called or how to take care of it.

I was so pleased how it came out.
(I'm not being paid to say all this, they just happen to be who I used). It's so nice I almost don't want to write in it, but that would be ridiculous... Okay I have a notebook what now? The next natural thing to do is Google Gardening jobs for January

Which led me to this list:

Top 10 jobs this month

Well that was easy.

So what did I actually do?

I organised my disaster of a shed. This involved coming face to face with many big hairy spiders so quite frankly I deserve a medal. So I'll be writing about how I do gardening wise on here, you lucky things.

The soil is calling to me... And my fingers are turning green as I type...

Another thing I keep thinking about is cooking. Hubby is AMAZING at cooking so over the years I have left it to him and lost any confidence I had in my own skills in the kitchen. I bake a couple of sweet things since he doesn't do puddings. But boil and egg, make some toast, burn a frozen pizza that's where I'm at people. But actually before I met hubby I quite enjoyed cooking. And while he was away on his ski trip I had a go. I found it very satisfying. Therefore I have decided to learn how to do it properly. And when I post recipes please know I'm not trying to teach you how to cook *snort* that would like the blind leading the blind, it's just me teaching myself.

That said I have started with soups. Nice and simple. So recently I made a Roasted Butternut Squash soup because that was the only thing left in the fridge.

I got the recipe here. If you aren't making rude jokes in your head right about now you are a better person than me! I didn't have any cream so I improvised with the cream
that you get at the top of milk bottles. It was really tasty but could have been a tad thicker (probably due to lack of cream). Just to be really frugal I even roasted the seeds as a snack. Yum. Instructions to roast the seeds

So I guess I subconsciously made some resolutions after all, in fact I was just thinking about running and bike riding again after being so wussy over the winter...

You get the idea, I'm excited about 2013!
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