Happy New Year!
After a wonderful Christmas with Katie here, we are winding down and ready to ring in the New Year. So many wonderful things have happened this past year, and I am thinking it can only get better.
The next year will be a year of firsts:
- My first time as a working mom (Wesley goes to day care on January 2nd, and I will be back full-time on January 16th.)
- The first time I will be in not one but two weddings! (Super excited about this, Kelley and Crystal).
- First time we take big family vacations. (Canary Islands in March. Me likey.)
That only covers the first part of the year. : )
I have been thinking about New Years resolutions, and while I won't set any real goals, I want to keep the following things in mind next year:
1. I want to eat in moderation and never go on a diet again. I can have anything I want, but just a little of it if it is naughty.
2. With Wesley, dining out is a rare occasion, so I want to continue to be adventurous in the kitchen and try out new recipes. (You are always welcome to send good idiot proof recipes my way.)
2. I plan to add a few more cross training sessions into my weekly running. Running is easy logistically, but 4 days in a row, and I start remembering I am, um, in my 30s.
3. I plan to treasure every moment I have with Wesley, and really be in the present. Before I know it he will be grown up, so I must make the most of our time everyday. I also want to be better about this with the DH.
4. I want to be sure I am thankful everyday for all of my blessings.
We are planning a quiet evening tomorrow to ring in the New Year. The DH and I will cook dinner, drink some wine, talk, and probably watch a couple episodes of Modern Family.
Do you make resolutions? If so, good luck, and have a happy and safe New Year everyone!
Friday, December 30, 2011
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Our First Danish Christmas
The last 3 years we have lived in Denmark, we have always traveled and spent Christmas away from home. The first year was London, the second year was Prague, and last year was Berlin. With Wesley here, it made more sense to stay here, and create our own Christmas traditions.
The Danes do things a little different than we do. For example, they celebrate on the 24th with a big dinner and opening of gifts. The meal is usually duck, brown sugared potatoes, sausages....what else did I forget? Oh the dessert is "ris a la monde" which is rice pudding with an almond in it. If you get the almond, you win or you are lucky or something like that. The Danes also drink lots of mulled spiced wine and schnapps. Another thing we find here at this time of year, is the song by Wham "Last Christmas" is played on the radio all.the.time.
This year, we have Aunt Katie coming to visit! We are going to attempt to make a Danish Christmas dinner on the 25th. We have a beautiful tree (I insisted), and will open presents the morning of the 25th after Santa comes the night before.
I try to sing Christmas hymns to Wesley to make sure we are teaching him the "reason for the season". I am pretty bad where if I cant remember the words, I just make some up. Little Drummer Boy is his favorite. : )
There is something about having a child, that makes you see things for the first time. I will always remember the way his eyes lit up when we turned the lights on the Christmas tree. Makes you realize how simple and beautiful things are.
What are some of your favorite traditions?
The Danes do things a little different than we do. For example, they celebrate on the 24th with a big dinner and opening of gifts. The meal is usually duck, brown sugared potatoes, sausages....what else did I forget? Oh the dessert is "ris a la monde" which is rice pudding with an almond in it. If you get the almond, you win or you are lucky or something like that. The Danes also drink lots of mulled spiced wine and schnapps. Another thing we find here at this time of year, is the song by Wham "Last Christmas" is played on the radio all.the.time.
This year, we have Aunt Katie coming to visit! We are going to attempt to make a Danish Christmas dinner on the 25th. We have a beautiful tree (I insisted), and will open presents the morning of the 25th after Santa comes the night before.
I try to sing Christmas hymns to Wesley to make sure we are teaching him the "reason for the season". I am pretty bad where if I cant remember the words, I just make some up. Little Drummer Boy is his favorite. : )
There is something about having a child, that makes you see things for the first time. I will always remember the way his eyes lit up when we turned the lights on the Christmas tree. Makes you realize how simple and beautiful things are.
What are some of your favorite traditions?
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Bath time = Fun time
Oh he is growing up so fast! He loves to sit up in the bathtub now and play with his duckies.
Friday, December 9, 2011
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Sometimes you just need pizza.
Pizza. It is yummy, it is good, but it is not always healthy, so tonight the hubby and I decided to have a make your own pizza night. We do this about once a week, and usually do a Hawaiian with ham and pineapple or a BBQ chicken pizza or just a classic mozzarella and basil. Tonight it was a Tuesday so we went wild, we went crazy, we got creative:
My "homemade" pizza (ok, so we don't make the crust, but close enough) consisted of pizza dough, olive oil, apple slices, gorgonzola cheese, a little mozzarella, honey, and walnuts. It was so delish. It could have definitely been a dessert pizza too, but since it had fruit on it, bam, healthy, right?
What are your favorite pizza toppings?
My "homemade" pizza (ok, so we don't make the crust, but close enough) consisted of pizza dough, olive oil, apple slices, gorgonzola cheese, a little mozzarella, honey, and walnuts. It was so delish. It could have definitely been a dessert pizza too, but since it had fruit on it, bam, healthy, right?
What are your favorite pizza toppings?
Friday, December 2, 2011
Winter Running
Winter in Denmark is dark and gray. The sun shines about once a week. I will not complain though because it is not that cold, yet. In fact, it usually will stay above freezing for most of the winter. How do the Danes cope? They light their candles, drink lots of Christmas beer, and just stay in with family and friends. Not a bad way to spend the next few weeks. Go google the word "hygge". This is a good description of this time of year.
I have written in the past how running is really the best workout for me as a mom. I can do it right from my door, anytime of day, in any type of weather. There is only one time this year I did not go run because of the weather and that was my 16 mile run in the pouring rain. I just kept thinking of my shoes getting wet, the chafing I would get, the chill that would set in, and I postponed that run.
This morning, the plan was for me to get up and run at 5:30. Crazy, I know, but I am so much better at working out in the morning then in the afternoon/evening. By the end of the day, I am tired, wanting to start dinner, talk with the family, spend time with the hubby, that I can think of many reasons not to go. In the morning, the only thing in my way is 30 more minutes of sleep. That I can live without.
My run this morning was 6 miles in a light drizzle. I like running when no one else is around. I go as slow as I want without people judging me. I can run through lights if I feel like it since there are no cars out yet, and there is something really peaceful about seeing the world in the resting state. Me likey.
Hope you have a fit weekend, and have scheduled some workouts in there along with some Christmas fun. We are taking Wesley to see Santa on Sunday. I am crossing my fingers the old man doesn't scare him. Have a good one.
I have written in the past how running is really the best workout for me as a mom. I can do it right from my door, anytime of day, in any type of weather. There is only one time this year I did not go run because of the weather and that was my 16 mile run in the pouring rain. I just kept thinking of my shoes getting wet, the chafing I would get, the chill that would set in, and I postponed that run.
This morning, the plan was for me to get up and run at 5:30. Crazy, I know, but I am so much better at working out in the morning then in the afternoon/evening. By the end of the day, I am tired, wanting to start dinner, talk with the family, spend time with the hubby, that I can think of many reasons not to go. In the morning, the only thing in my way is 30 more minutes of sleep. That I can live without.
My run this morning was 6 miles in a light drizzle. I like running when no one else is around. I go as slow as I want without people judging me. I can run through lights if I feel like it since there are no cars out yet, and there is something really peaceful about seeing the world in the resting state. Me likey.
Hope you have a fit weekend, and have scheduled some workouts in there along with some Christmas fun. We are taking Wesley to see Santa on Sunday. I am crossing my fingers the old man doesn't scare him. Have a good one.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)