Like everyone else, the beginning of January is when I kick my healthy eating into high gear. Lately we’ve been eating a lot of salads with our supper (this kale one I posted on Instagram has been on high rotation in our kitchen) and we’ve been making a point to slowly get rid of the leftover candy and chocolate from the holidays. Baby steps is where it’s at, although I’m hoping that I can keep this up through February before the next wave of chocolate hits the shelves. (Although according to Twitter, most stores are ahead of the game!)
The hardest thing I find about eating healthy so quickly after the holidays is trying to get over my persistent chocolate craving. For a good two weeks, I had holiday parties, cookie exchanges, chocolate boxes in the break room at work, and candy in my stocking on Christmas morning. There is still chocolate in our freezer and it’s taking all my willpower not to eat it right this second. I can eat all the kale salad my heart desires, but nothing comes between me and my mint chocolate.
I can’t believe it’s the end of 2014. I feel like this was definitely a “blink-and-you’ll-miss-it” kind of year. So much happened and yet at the same time I feel like the last 12 months have just flown by, completely undetected. How is it almost 2015? Isn’t 2015 the year that Marty McFly and Doc go to visit his future self? How did this sneak up on us so quickly??? (Yes, Trevor and I re-watched the Back to the Future trilogy over Christmas break. Best movies ever).
To mark the end of another year, I’ve been re-reading posts from the beginning of 2014 and it’s been pretty fun to look back and see where my headspace was 12 months ago. In my first post of 2014, I wrote about my resolution to be more organized with my blogging and I wish I could be more optimistic about how this turned out. One thing I’m terrible at is planning ahead, especially when it comes to special themed posts for birthdays, anniversaries, etc. If you’ve been a long-time She Bakes Here reader, this is probably not news to you and I even wrote about it in length earlier this year. At this point, it seems like my vague January “She Bakes Here” blog-anniversary mention has pretty much become a joke in itself, so I’ll be sure to squish it in an upcoming blog post in the near future. Four years, hurrah!
If I had to pick something that puts me in the holiday spirit, I would have to say it’s my Grandma’s Christmas shortbread cookies. These bad boys are buttery, crumbly and the specks of red and green maraschino cherries just put me in the holiday spirit. In fact, I’m pretty sure that if you bottled up Christmas in a cookie, this would be it. Every December, like clockwork, I look forward to consuming my weight in these cookies. This year Trevor and I are spending our holidays in Toronto, so I knew that if I wanted to get my annual fill, I needed to make these cookies on my own.
In early November, I started taking hot yoga classes at a studio near our condo. Nothing too crazy, just something to help me stretch and unwind a couple nights a week. It’s been especially good because my job is very sedentary and much of my morning and afternoon is spent sitting at a computer desk. The last time I did any hot yoga was a little over two years ago, so the first few classes were a little rough to say the least. However, it’s now been a little over a month and I’m amazed at how quickly I was able to gain back some flexibility. The human body is a pretty cool thing.
Besides flexibility, I’ve also had to deal with an increased need to eat ALL the food around me. Luckily it’s a pretty great time of year for food. Between holiday parties, cookie swaps, and baking up a storm on the weekends, my hungry yoga belly has never been happier.
Happy December! Is it just me or did 2014 fly by? I know I can’t be the only one who thinks this. It also feels weird to admit that I’m now a person who says that time is flying by. I remember being in grade school and thinking that everything was moving so s-l-o-w-l-y. Summer breaks were never long enough and December and Christmas always seemed like a lifetime away.
I’m also a little freaked out about 2014 ending so quickly because the end of the year gets me thinking about personal goals, both ones I made for myself at the beginning of the year and ones to set for the upcoming year. Hopefully when I review the big ol’ list I made myself late last January, I won’t be too disappointed. Silver lining – anything that wasn’t achieved this year will definitely be on my list for 2015!
Canadian food blogger, baking and eating her way through life. Musical theatre fanatic. Personal finance nerd. Sometimes runner/yogi. Green smoothies are pretty amazing.
