My New Year Resolutions for 2017

2017 has already started and I'm super delayed in writing this post...go figure.

I'm currently working at my second work practice, going to the gym 5-6x a week and I have continued running!
(Yeah I'm shocked too.  Trust me.)
I mean - running/walking/jogging - henceforth known as 'wogging'! in the MORNING with the dogs....

Anyway, here's my NY Resolutions:

• A new recipe a week - this is manageable and realistic! - although, blogging about it - seems impossible.  Hence I have Instagram! Give me a follow! :D
• BLOG more!  Vlogging has gone down the wayside thanks to my phone microphone not working well - at least no guarantee when filming with the front facing camera...
• Get abs - by END of 2017! - They don't need to be a 20-pack.  I'd be happy with a 4-pack...who am I kidding - a 2-pack would be a dream...because I HATE ab exercises!
• Keep fit: I've taken up "Wogging" with the dogs and V-Man...2 days in the row (as of me writing this) I've woken up early and gone out the door around 6am...successfully.  In the cold.  
• Eat well but smaller portions and chug that water back!
• Speak Finnish more: I apparently annoy my teachers with my English a lot...ah well.
• Reduce waste in the home: I'm bringing my resuable bags to the grocery store more and if I forget or need more bags - I opt for paper bags so I can use them for compost!
• I also turned my veggie scraps into frozen veggie stock!
• Using and feeding leftovers to the family whether they like it or not.  
• Knit myself a sweater: it's started.  It's in roving (which means it falls and breaks apart easily as I knit - which causes me to curse the wooly gods....) - but the pattern can be found here and I love how simple it is.  
• I've told myself for YEARS to make myself one...it's about time I get on it.  I'm using the #BIMUKnits - so you can follow along my journey and my sweater's journey of wherever I may knit it!  It's pretty new - like 24-hours old...so - give me some time! :D
• Embrace myself as I am and try to better myself as much as I can - mentally, physically and as a parent: self-explanatory.
• Teach the V-Man basic kitchen skills: actually - all the kids.  But especially him.  I have big plans for his future and I'm confident he can do it with a lot of practice and repetition. 
• Learn something new every month and push myself: Not just recipes but new exercises, new things to do with the kids and so on.
• Take better care of my skin: I have super dry skin and live in a fairly dry climate.
  Dry skin + dry climate + cooking student life = eczema, cracked grandma heels, nasty scaly dragon-looking skin...(*cue a joke about being the Mother of Dragons....*)

I think these are all fairly reasonable and necessary for me.
My older resolutions used to be about not cracking my knuckles...guess what? I still do it.  It's my equivalent to smoking or drinking...I just have to!

Do you stick to your resolutions for a long period of time or do they go to the wayside after a week or two? :)

BIMU

New Year's Resolution Recipe #6: Princess Cake

Last weekend I had the joy of celebrating my daughter's 2nd birthday party.
I love prepping for birthday parties - I actually don't find it stressful but find it really fun!

Anyway, the theme was cupcakes...kids decorate their own cupcake and that saves me a bucket load of time! :) And because she's so young, she doesn't care about games-they all just run around and wear themselves out!

Well, super last minute - like 2 days before the party itself and I'm in the grocery store- I decided I wanted to try making one of those Disney princess Barbie cakes.

You know the kind - maybe you had one as a kid - where you bake a cake, shove a Barbie doll in the top of the cake and frost the heck out of it.
Instead of doing a layered cake and shaving it to a dress-shape - I used my favourite cupcake cake pan from Tiger and figured it looked alright!

I used Martha Stewart's Buttermilk cake recipe from her book, "Cakes" (Book Depository Affiliate link) and regular buttercream frosting with Wilton's colourings in teal green and leaf green.

First of all - did you know Ariel is super tall without her fins?

I had to cover up her bottom with some extra frosting...

And if you're wondering about how to pack your Princess Cake - I put her in an Ikea food container with a bottle of maple syrup to support her.  A foil tent on top  - both in front and behind.

Ariel showing off her leg...so scandalous!

Anyway, the birthday girl was pleased as punch about the cake and for my first one - I'm impressed too.

Sure, I could've smoothed the frosting better and used a much lighter green frosting but anyhow, I used this video tutorial and it was a huge help!

Our friends liked the taste and flavour of everything and the vanilla buttercream went great with the buttermilk cake inside (a first for me!).
We can't buy actual buttermilk here - in Finland there's an equivalent called "Piimä" but we don't drink it so instead I just saved the money and used regular milk with a hefty splash of vinegar!

In the treat bags I stuck in a mini Kit Kat bar or mini Smarties and a glow in the dark shape that can be stuck on a child's wall with sticky tack.  And on the side a mini play-dough.

I think it may be my daugher's new thing as she got a plushy version of Princess Ariel as well (we already have the movie) and was ecstatic.

That and Barbies are hella expensive!  But anyway, it was fun and I'll practice frosting more :).

BIMU

PS originally posted on 2 Hookers 2 Kitchens

New Year Resolution Recipe #2: Moose Burgers

Again, copied from a blog I'm co-writing with a friend - should you wish to follow that blog.

I am on a roll with new recipes!  Today's Sunday which is for me, the beginning of a new week although most people in Finland consider the beginning of a week to start on a Monday.

Anyways, last week - I made moose burgers!

This was one of the larger patties...so delicious.

I bought minced moose meat frozen and took it out to thaw the morning of.

I started my bread machine to help me make the hamburger buns for me too.  Recipe can be found here.

I mixed 2 eggs (because I used a kilo of meat as we had guests over), various spices and the meat and formed them into patties.  I thought I had bread crumbs but apparently not - they still held their shape. I only flipped them once the meat was half-way cooked so they wouldn't crumble on me.

Fried in a pre-oiled pan (cooked the bacon first - bacon fat is lovely for everything!)  and also had the buns baked before I made the patties and served them with condiments like pickles, lettuce, ketchup, mustard and bacon.

I also had made hand-cut potato wedges which were simple enough.  I rinsed potatoes, sliced them as evenly as possible, tossed them in olive oil with salt and pepper and baked them at 225*C in my oven for 45 minutes while stirring them every 10-15 minutes.

Moose meat - is nice and light tasting to me - not super greasy and doesn't give me cramps or digestive issues like beef or pork can sometimes or that "heavy gut" feeling.

It didn't taste very "game-y" either - I suspect, as a friend suggested - that it was cooked properly because over-cooking can lead to very game-y flavoured meat.  Of course some meat just has that taste but I found this moose didn't!
Neither did the roast I did in the previous post!

Until next time! :)
BIMU

Good-Bye 2015

2015 is nearly coming to an end and I have finally sorted out what my resolutions will be for next year!

First of all, let's quickly review last year's resolutions:

1. Don't buy yarn for a whole year.  I allowed myself to buy yarn for someone else as a gift for them to use (which I didn't at all!) and I allowed myself to use a gift card that I had received last Christmas as a gift (that and it had a 6-months expiry date).  I even poked at the yarn devil side of me and went to the yarn store multiple times (often leaving completely empty handed) 
2. Try a new recipe a week.  I was so sick and tired of predictable meals for each day of the week and for repeatedly having the same meal multiple times during the week for the sake of convenience, making everyone eat something and due to our busy schedules.
3. Here's a list of more - turns out I did make a post!

Now, 2016's resolutions are as follows for myself:

1. Only buy yarn for the project I have planned.  I'll try to reduce splurging at sales and when travelling!  Hubster requested I don't make up for 12 months of no yarn-shopping in a span of a couple of days. ;)
1. Only crochet/knit one project at a time.  I'm allowing myself to only start a new project once a previous one has been complete.  I'm going to try and clean up my WIP's (work in progresses) and make more items instead of just hoard a ton of yarn.
2. Try a new recipe a week.  It's fun, it gets the kids involved, different tastes and flavours, spices up our palate - oh and I will be blogging about it by posting links of recipes (and any changes made to our versions) up top in the Recipe Links! tab.
3. Clean more.  Especially now that I'll be a student full time - yeah.  Need to jump on the clean and organize wagon!
4. Be a nicer, more patient/calm parent.  Easier said than done.  I have no problem admitting I have a temper and I am the Momster from Hell sometimes (sometimes too often!).
5. Lose some weight.  I don't own a scale and average from 130 pounds to 147 pounds (58-67 kg).  I'd like to see the lower end of the numbers - not necessarily 130 lbs but I have found myself out of breath lately, lacking energy, not fitting into clothing and I simply cannot afford and cannot justify buying new clothes because I'm getting continuously bigger in the belly/hips area - and no, it's not pregnancy.

So those are my goals along with the basics of overall, trying to be a nice person, help someone else when I can - even simple gestures like holding open a door for a stranger, maintaining my blog and videos regularly and so on!

I hope you have a fantastic new year and a wonderful holiday season!

BIMU

See ya 2014

Well, it's officially 2015 around most of the world by now...Finnish time - it's 1:21pm.
So happy new year to you!

I know I've read a lot of people (via Facebook) say that New Year Resolutions don't work.
If they're not realistic or too grand - of course they don't.  I agree!
But I'm hoping and trying hard to make mine stick.

I should probably add some more common-sense resolutions (not necessarily New Year ones but general overall...) in there - such as:

• Say what I really mean.  It'll lose me a few friends for sure and I've been told repeatedly throughout my life that I'm "too nice".  Blame the Canadian in me.
• Isolate myself a bit more.  Trying to back away from Facebook and the internet in general and spend more time in the real world.  How else will my resolutions be complete otherwise?!
• Clean up my Facebook friends.  I do this about 2-3 times a year.  If I don't speak to a person in about 6 months (and it's not because they passed away or went into FB hiding - aka the real world) - I usually remove them.  "Oh how mean of you!" - yeah well - there are worse things I can do in life than "un-friend" someone.  
• I wouldn't be offended if someone un-friended me if we didn't talk.  But that's just me. 
• I also don't understand why people I un-friend throw a fit 3-6-12 months after the fact I un-friend them.  If it takes 3,6 or 12 months for you to realize it...
• By some un-spoken law - of course the family members and the ones I see the most in person have to stay on my friends list...or else shit hits the fan otherwise - right?

Anyways - loads of people are playing "My Year in Facebook" videos.  Something FB created so you can see what has happened in the past 12 months.  Generally, it's the most popular posts and photos.
I see no point in sharing mine because if we're friends on FB - then I have probably seen your year in Facebook on Facebook and you've seen mine.
Still it's a neat idea and reminds you of all the stuff that happened 12 months ago.

Well, here's my year:

• Had a baby.
• Surprised FB friends with said baby news. 
• Found out there were some crap blogs IN MY NAME made about me with various racial slurs and so on.
• Been to the hospital with the kids for various infections, appointments, tube surgery, split forehead...
• Dealt with several fist fights among my boys.
• Went to parent/teacher meetings galore this past year.
• Paid bills.
• My friend got a puppy.
• Had my whole computer hacked, blogs erased (funny enough someone took up the Learning About Finland blog URL pretty fast), e-mails broken into and the cops couldn't do anything about it.
• Started a new blog.  This one! :) 
• Became friends with the neighbours beneath us (this took two years).
• Lost my wallet and had it returned.
• Saw Fröbelin Palikat in concert with all 3 kids.
• Fell down a bunch of times.
• Bought a fuckton of yarn.  Didn't knit it all.
• Went to Helsinki a couple times. 
• Dealt with: hand-foot-mouth disease x3, Norovirus x3, chicken pox x3...
• Went to Tampere's Ikea.
• Threw a double kids' birthday party.
• Got a spot to learn Finnish again starting in about a week.
• Hosted Christmas and New Year's Eve dinner.

Aims for 2015?

• Less trips to the hospital with the kids.
• Not get pregnant.
• Not give birth.
• Not get my blog hacked (yay 2-step verification this round) by jealous ding-dongs (again - too nice to say something worse).
• Not buy yarn. #UseMyStash is my hashtag I've been using on Instagram whenever I complete a project.  So far there's only one.
• Go to Helsinki on a Saturday or Friday even...instead of Sunday - when nothing's open.
• Read more.
• Stop wasting time on idiots of all levels.

Fairly straight forward - some might say blunt - but here's to 2015 and whatever could possibly happen this year!
BIMU

New Year Resolutions

I guess, like anyone else, I have NY Resolutions that I try to stick to longer than two weeks.
Also, if I write them down and publicly - surely it helps me be responsible.

It's something I start thinking and planning around November, when I should be writing out Christmas cards and knitting/crocheting/sewing.

1. Don't buy ANY yarn this year.  Originally this was supposed to be "Don't buy yarn I don't need"...I do  have a gift card that needs to be used by the end of June.  That's my only exception - and I just might use it for needles or hooks instead.  Not sure.  Anyways, that's all I'll allow myself to buy.  Or if I absolutely need it to finish a project...but I really do have too much yarn in storage...and in my bedroom...in the closet...everywhere.
1. Minor exception: I can buy yarn for others as gifts.
2. Don't shop as much for anything.  It'd be nice to see the savings account go up instead of down...right?
3. Eat healthier.  While I might not go to the gym (not worth the money if I can't guarantee the time alone), I do try and hike, take the kids out and walk the dogs etc.
4. Try at least 1 new recipe a week.  - This is the same resolution I had last year with great results.  The reason for this is because I was so tired of having the same meals on the same days, week after week.  We were able to try new things and I was able to better budget and plan meals better - and the new dishes added new flavour and variety! :)
1. This also forces SH and my kids to try new things too...they are the pickier eaters.
5. Be a calmer parent.  Easier said than done.
6. Blog & craft more.  I didn't do enough this past year - based on the number of WIP (work in progress) I have laying about...Sure I have knitting meetings every week - but I am usually spending that time entertaining A-Man and helping him use the bathroom it seems.  I also read recently that knitting an hour a day is very calming and good for your health and so on...
7. Be better organized/Clean more.   I usually remember all the appointments and birthdays and so on.  But this past Christmas I was terrible at getting cards out on time...or ordering photos.  At this point, with the kids screeching - I'm probably going to have to skip it.  Sorry folks.

I try to make them realistic.
We'll see how this goes.
BIMU