Happy New Year! Show us what you got 2015

Happy New Year! Bye Bye 2014! Hello 2015!

Happy New Year everyone!  

I hope everyone had a great New Years Eve with family or friends, at home or away and continuing traditions or creating new ones.  However you celebrated, I hope it was memorable:) This year we started a new tradition for New Years Eve, ice bowls.  I will show you how to make them in this post. As a family we wanted to watch the sunrise this morning at Duxbury Beach and start that as a new tradition but 1 out of 3 made it.  I went and met a friend while my husband and son stayed in bed sleeping.  Next year we will all go.  The sun rose at 7:10 am today which in my book is a perfect time.  Talk to my this summer and see how many times I see the sunrise!

Every New Years day people set resolutions, "quit" something or join a gym.  That's my favorite one.  The gym owners love January because their membership increases by 50% , it's busy for 2 weeks then it's back to normal.  They still collect your monthly fee and you are home on the couch telling yourself you will cancel that membership tomorrow and still forget.  The gym wins every time.    That is why a few years ago I started writing down a few goals that I wanted to achieve that coming year.  These goals can be anything you want.  I found my 2013 Goals which I attached to our calendar in our kitchen.  These made me laugh, proud and sad.  Laughing at myself and my unrealistic weight goal, proud of goals I did make and sad about a goal that I can never have again.  This reminds me that we all need to slow down.  SLOW IT DOWN.  Enjoy what is around you.  Maybe this year you don't rvsp to every party and every event.  Maybe this year you set aside Sunday mornings just for you or family time.  I personally will be setting time aside for me as well as time with my family alone and unplugged.  As for goals, I have some I try to do every year like cooking a meal for the senior center, write as many hand written letters as I can ( yes, mail them with a stamp) learn a new hobby/craft and so on.  So with those goals, living a healthy lifestyle, exercising and cooking with real food I think 2015 will be amazing.

New Years Eve was fun!  

I started the day meeting my best friend for a walk on the beach. This would be my last walk of 2014 and it was perfect.  It was a chilly walk but I found some great sea glass and a sea glass marble!  

Here is my marble!  It has a red and white swirl in it.

I was excited about my marble!

Amy and I also found a pocket full of sea glass.  When I got home I formed it out in a heart shape.  There is a tiny cornflower blue piece that is a heart shape and a large coke bottle piece which I love.  Not a bad last walk.  Looking forward to what 2015 sea glass walks will bring:)

On Tuesday night we were so happy it was so cold outside,we could finally try our ice bowls!  We put a few drops of food coloring in a balloon then filled it with water.  We put them out on the lawn overnight and the next morning we took the balloon off and found this!

 I rinsed them all off and placed them on table on my tiny deck.

 

We used our ice bowls as candle holders, the weather was perfect!

Then we decided what better way to enjoy our ice cream than in a ice bowl!  So hopefully every years it is cold enough for Ice Bowls!

What a great way to enjoy ice cream or sundaes with the kids!  I think this will be a great weekend craft this winter it's not only cool but educational:)

Chinese food is the go to for New Years Eve for most families.  Every year my parents come over for dinner.  We used to order take out as well but the past few years we have made our own or some to add to our dinner.   This year we decided to cook steak tips and pork tenderloin on the grill and make homemade Egg Rolls.  I just looked online and used this recipe: Egg Roll Recipe 

They were very easy and quick to make.  I think we will be trying this again with different fillings:)

Kurt and Da being funny 12/31/14

 Fast, easy and delicious!  I highly suggest trying them:)

I hope everyone is having a relaxing New Years Day and if you are hungover try this:
a cup of fruit juice
a cooked egg, any way
a banana or kiwi
and a few big glasses of water!

Sunrise on 1/1/15 and a snowy owl on Duxbury Beach
Took me 20 minutes to get close enough this morning to get a picture this close before he flew away.  He was beautiful.


Love, health and much gratitude in 2015!

xoxo
erica