This is My Life

A couple years ago I challenged myself to stop stocking up on food and eat only what was already in my freezer and/or pantry. I allowed myself to only buy milk, bread, eggs, and fresh produce...stuff like that. If I needed one small item to complete a recipe, I could purchase that...but no more. I was pretty strict and it worked out quite well. I mean, I called it a win since I didn't end up on Hoarders. Ryan finally called the challenge to a halt when we only had a few packs of fish and breast milk left in our 15 cubic foot freezer. It's a new year and I've decided to do it again (for a few reasons I'll explain later). While I don't have the same types of foods in my freezer(s) and pantry now that we've cleaned up our eating, I do have it stockpiled fairly well. Annnnddd....last year I sort of developed cooking as another hobby (imagine that!). Ryan gave me a set of ceramic knives for Christmas and ( somehow) they have re-inspired me to start cooking again...

I've watched everyone's 'cliff notes' versions of 2011. I've seen numerous people's hopes for 2012. Here are my own. 2011 was pretty rough (though not as bad as 2010), but it was also a huge year of change for us. This was the first year I made 'goals' (I refuse to call them resolutions because it takes a lot longer than a year to really resolve something...a pastor once told me that...and he was fairly smart) and this was the first year I can actually say I met a few of them. I started eating and cooking better. At the end of 2010, Ryan and I were struggling on the health-front. He was having a few health issues and I was tired of feeling like a fat tub o' lard so I started doing some research on foods, ingredients, and...yes, I'm going to say it...the effects of highly processed foods on our bodies (Warning! Granola Mom Alert!). What I learned was pretty shocking so we started making small changes. NO, we aren't eating completely 'cl...