New Year, New Things

First off... thank you.  When I wrote last week's post, it was mainly because there was something I felt needed to be said.  Without a trip to some far off place, or pictures of the kids, I expected minimal viewing, but thought that if even one person read it and had a change of heart, a change of thought, it would be worth it.

The reaction we got was more than we ever could have hoped.  Thank you for the emails, the messages, the stories shared, the amazing news articles forwarded, the offers of help, donations to the cause, and most of all for the incredible outpouring of love and support.  It is our most viewed post to date, more than double any other we've done, and seen from ten countries around the world.  It's been like wrapping ourselves up in a really big, really far away blanket of niceness :-)

So, 2013!  Ours began with a bang... and then another... and then several hours more.

Devoted readers/ watchers will notice somewhere around minute 2, the camera pans down to a boring building.  A moment before, an SOS flare had been shot off and landed in between the two houses, but went out a couple seconds before we reached it :/ 

I've never been big into resolutions, but I do adore regularly scheduled honest assessments.  I determined that I want to put energy into:

• Making our lives and living spaces more organized
• Making healthy foods and products (cleaners, fragrances, etc.)
• Making our own traditions as a family 
• Blogging even when we haven't gone anywhere/ seen anything/ had some epiphany 

And, since we have a blog, it's going to be a fun journey you're all coming on with us :-)

Making our lives & living spaces more organized

•  I'm following along with a great 14 week program to de-clutter, clean, and organize the entire house, one space per week.
• Made a time management binder.  Scott just installed Windows 8 and I have no idea how to find any of my pictures, so this is going to be a very link-heavy post.  Upside: they took great pictures *and* now I don't have to awkwardly credit them somewhere!

Making healthy foods & products
...it appears it's not just our pictures, but all pictures I'm inept at finding.  This post may have to wait a few days until I can get a tutorial.  In the meantime, here are links to all of the awesome new discoveries we've made lately.

• Food:
• summer salad
• spicy chickpea soup with orzo and lemon
• healthy mozzarella sticks
• zucchini oven chips
• 5 layer Greek dip
• amazing, natural(ish) gluten-free twix bars
• Home:
• an all-purpose cleaner with tea tree oil & lavender 
• stain-destroying, laundry-saving, apparently all around miracle cleaner
• these aromatic beauties (they really do come out as pretty in real life as in the pictures, just looking at them makes me happy)

Family Traditions
So far they're all based on food, and I'm not sure that counts.  They *really* love pizza Friday & Sunday morning pancakes though.  Enough that Avalon broke into the fridge and was guzzling syrup out of the container like a drunken elf, and Kylie requested pasta with maple syrup for dinner.

More Blogging
I think this post says it all :-)

[Had I any computer skills whatsoever, this is where I'd place some fun around-the-house type photos. ] Next up: ski/ snowboard trip to the Austrian Alps!