Happy New Year!

Fizz Bubble Pop! Ready to celebrate the beginning of a new, exciting, amazing year! Welcoming 2012 with tremendous optimism and grand visions of world domination ;) Love to all! See you in the new year!

Xmas break b -gone!

How odd- I am so over Christmas! Usually I like to linger in the Christmas slow-paced holiday feel for weeks after the main event. This time, I'm done. No bad feelings, nothing negative, I just want to move on with the daily rhythm. Back to birthday parties, shopping without being elbowed in the gut, visit the zoo, visit with friends and get out of the house!
I've also taken a slack break from blogging, but will ramp up again!
We've had a couple of rounds of family visits, lots of good foods and crafts to share with everyone. And, I am sure I will blog about my new discovery- Pintrest! More to come on that topic:)
New and awesome things to come on my business front as well, Shaklee will help me get my new year started right. Green and Healthy. And I will be sure to share!
Now to prepare for New Year celebrations!
Cheers!

So thankful for..

.. my Energy Chews! Just sayin' is all! If it hadn't been for these little golden gems, I would not have baked 5 different kinds of cookies, made a popcorn garland, built a two level gingerbread house, wrapped dozens of gifts, shopped, cleaned, had a dinner party, taken care of two tots and visited with friends. Just sayin'!

Lussebullar

In Sweden another unique holiday is celebrated in December. It is the celebration of the St. Lucia. It falls on December 13th every year, and is meant to celebrate the saint whom is the bringer of the light. Yes, it is curious that the secular country of Sweden celebrates a saint. It does again have to do with the love of light in the dark season. The celebration itself is curious, yet beautiful, and too involved for the to get into here, so here is a link to Wikipedia's explanation.
As with all celebration, food is an integral part. The recipe below is for the traditional Lucia roll. It is a lightly sweet, saffron spiced roll decorated with raisins.

2 cups whole milk
4 oz butter (1stick)
2 packs active dry yeast
1 tsp salt
2/3 cup sugar
5-6 cups flour
1 gram saffron

an egg for brushing and raisins for decoration

Melt butter slowly in a pan. Add the milk and stir well over slow heat while mixing in sugar and salt. Crush the saffron very well, and add to mixture. Slowly mix over low heat until mixture is yellow and fragrant.
Add yeast, and remove from heat. Empty liquid into large mixing bowl, and slowly start adding flour. You want the dough to be sticky, but forming a large ball. Let it rise in warm place for about an hour.
Turn oven on to 425 degrees.
After an hour of rising, split the dough up in three parts and knead down. Place two parts on floured surface under a towel.

The other make into 8 small balls- roll them out into long snakes, then twirl the ends in opposite directions.

Once rolled up like this, let them rest for about 5 minutes.
Then place raisins in the "eyes" , and brush with an egg whisked with 1 tablespoon of cold water.

Great toddler job- raisins in the "eyes"

Place them on cookie sheet and let them rest another 5 minutes. Then into the oven. Keep an eye on them, they will show you when they are ready. About 8 minutes.
Cool on wire rack, and enjoy!!

Gift Ideas

Wrap up some green holiday gifts this year and make sure your friend and family are cared for while caring for mother earth as well.
Check out this great list of green gift ideas!

• Organic towel set and a Get Clean Kit
• Cool glass water bottles and a Get Clean Water Kit
• Organic face towel and Enfuselle skin care
• Book: The Little Book of Stress Relief and a bottle of Stress Relief Complex
• Book: Green Goes with Everything and a Get Clean Kit
• Book: Stop Aging Now! and Vivix
• Organic baby towel and Shakleebaby Wash and Lotion

Fun Fun Fun

Today we woke up, played in the snow and came in for hot cocoa- a cozy, wintery, wonderful start to the day. Then the kids had their end-of-semester dance showcase today. So much fun! Their dance class with Integrated Rhythms and Ms. Kelly has been fantastic, and had a great end today. We, of course, signed up for another semester. We love being able to walk to such a great establishment in our neighborhood.
The dance show was held in the auditorium of a local middle school, Skinner Middle School. What a wonderful school, and the building is truly charming.
From there we ventured on to the local Starbucks for a "special treat" for our little dancers. They deserved a nice reward after their performance (cake pops.. ).

Across the street from Starbucks, we have another neighborhood gem- Ernie's Pizza. A newish, old feeling neighborhood bar and pizza restaurant with great food and ambiance. The calamari starter was yummy, as always, and our favorite food is the simple cheese pizza. Delicious. Today, since we have a visitor staying with us, we also added the Antipasto- too much to list (cheeses, roasted almonds, giant capers, olives and much more), piled high on a large plate. Yum.
What a terrific day in the neighborhood!