Spicy Black Eye Pea Salad

Here in the south we like to eat a "mess" of beans from time to time.  That's
the way the old timers say it. Since today's my Nana's birthday and I often
heard her say she was going to pick and cook a "mess" of beans, I thought
I would post this recipe in her memory.  You can read more about her here.
She was an amazing woman and I miss her.

In January it's a tradition to have black eye peas, especially on New Year's
Day, when it's supposed to bring good luck for the year ahead.  We followed
tradition with our black eye peas and collard greens (another traditional
food) on the first and it was a delicious meal.  Simple and earthy, it's country
food at it's finest.  But, I think black eye peas should be enjoyed year round
and I'm doing my part.  I should have lots of good luck this year!

I've been making this salad regularly and I'm not getting tired of it yet!
It's healthy, so I feel good about eating it and it's helping me with my goal
to incorporate more beans into my diet.  You can read more about that here.
The recipe calls for canned peas, but I've been cooking my own.  The most
annoying thing about cooking dried beans is remembering to soak them
ahead of time.  You can do a quick soak method using boiling water and
let them sit for about an hour if you forget to put them in to soak the night
before. I've done that plenty of times.  Dry beans are very inexpensive and
I think they taste better than canned beans.  They are also great to have in
your food storage (you do have your food storage, right?).

I've been soaking a big bowl of peas overnight and then the next day, after
rinsing, I put part of them in the freezer and cook the rest for the salad.  It's
nice to pull the presoaked beans out of the freezer at a later date and cook
without  having to take the time to soak them first.

 So here's how to make this yummy salad.  Start by chopping fresh
green pepper and red pepper, red onions and a jalapeno pepper.  I  seed
and cut out most of the membrane from the jalapeno.  If you're not an
onion and pepper fan, this salad is not for you.

Put chopped vegetables in a bowl with drained peas.  Add crushed garlic.

Mix up the dressing from these ingredients.  This is what makes the salad.

Whisk the dressing together and add to bowl with peas and veggies.

Stir everything together and add chunks of fresh avocado.  Stir gently.

The lemon juice in the dressing keeps the avocado from turning brown.

The salad is best when it sits in the fridge for a few hours, but I always have

to eat some immediately upon adding that avocado.  It's so good.  I love

the fresh crunch of the veggies and the spicy dressing.  It is spicy.  But not

too spicy.  One warning - you will need breath mints the rest of the day.

Cook a "mess" of beans today and enjoy!

Spicy Black Eye Pea Salad

1 can black eye peas, rinsed and drained

1/2 medium green bell pepper, chopped

     * use a mix of red and green for best taste

1/4 cup chopped red onion

1/2 to 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely minced

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 avocado, cubed

1/4 cup olive oil

3 T. red wine vinegar

1 T. San-J Szechuan sauce

2 t. sugar or stevia equivalent

2 T. lemon juice

Whisk together the last five ingredients.  Pour over beans and veggies. 

Add salt and pepper to taste.

Daybook

I like to journal, as is evidenced by this blog.  I have quite the  collection of
journals from over the years, of all shapes and sizes.  I made a journal jar once
(anyone else do that?) , with journaling prompts and that was kind of fun.
A few years ago, while reading some of my favorite blogs, I ran across a new
way to journal that I really liked.   It's called Daybook and this is the way it
works.  You have a number of prompts that you complete each week.  You
can have as many as you want and tailor them to your own interests. They
can be quickly filled in ( a bonus for those who don't have time to journal),
and over a period of time they provide a snippet into your  "world".  They
begin to tell a story of who you are at that time.  It's fun to go back a few
years and reread some of the entries and see how you've changed, or in
some cases see how you are exactly the same!  I like to include these in
my regular journal, but even if this was all the journaling I did, I know
there would come a time when I would really appreciate putting forth that
effort once a week.   Time has a way of erasing some memories, even the
ones we think we would never forget. And even though I don't think there
is anything particularly exciting and interesting about my day to day life,
someday my great, great grandchildren (I am optimistic I will have some),
just might want to know what my life was like.  What a gift it would be for
me to read something like this from my mom and grandmothers.

So, I thought I would start including some of my daybook entries on the blog,
maybe one or two a month.  Here is an entry from my journal two years ago.
As a little background information,  I was living in Atlanta with Kenzie at the
time and sorely missing my husband and my NC home.

Daybook- March 2010
Outside my window...sunshine, glorious sunshine!
I am listening to... the washing machine.
I am wearing...black yoga pants, light blue long sleeve 
     tshirt
I am thankful for... good friends and people who love me.
I am pondering... downsizing - having fewer possessions
     and a smaller home
I am reading... Breaking Free by Beth Moore and The Iliad
     by Homer
From the kitchen...I plan to make menus and use up all the 
     fresh food in the refrigerator
I am thinking... I feel so tired and don't feel like
     exercising, but I need to.
I am creating... working on April scrapbook pages and 
     knitting a brown scarf.
Music I'm enjoying...Cheri Call - so cheerful and positive.
I'm learning... how to take better care of my body.
Towards living the gospel... trying to judge less and love
    more.
I'm hoping and praying for...Mark. A full recovery from his
    recent illness.
In the garden...the tulips bloomed and were magnificent.
    What a treat to have a box full of red tulips.  I 
    enjoyed them all weekend.
Around the apartment...vacuum and keep things tidy. It's 
    so easy in this little apartment!
One of my favorite things...3year olds.  I loved seeing 
    Mason, Kelly, Felicity and Eba yesterday.
A few plans for this week... 
    Work on scrapbooks.
    Help Mekenzie develop a workable budget.
    Finish scarf.
Picture thought...

Some things haven't changed.  I'm still learning how to take better care
of my body, have to talk myself into exercising and need to judge less
and love more.  I think these will be lifelong pursuits. I did finish the brown
scarf, but didn't finish the scrapbook.  The box with all that scrapbooking
stuff in it, is now sitting in my basement, making me feel guilty every time
I see it. Getting all my pictures organized has been a goal for the past, I don't
know maybe ten years, and if you've noticed it's on My Year of Fifty goals
as well.  It's an overwhelming project and I just can't get seem to make
headway on it.  And what about that box of tulips? Weren't they beautiful?
That was a gift from my husband.  There were some advantages of
temporarily living in different cities.  I got some nice gifts. :)

Two years later...
Daybook - Monday January 16, 2012
Outside my window...a cold, cloudy day.
I am thinking...I may reward myself with a massage at the
   end of the month,if I can keep up with my healthy eating
   plan.
I am thankful for...a warm house, bowls of hot soup and a
   son who keeps bringing in wood for the woodstove.
I am wearing...white cords and a light brown sweater.
I am reading...A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry and 
   Divine Signatures by Gerald Lund
I am listening to...the sound of the woodstove fan, the 
  dryer and John Mayer Trio on Pandora.
I am creating...another scarf, the one I started when I 
  took the knitting class months ago.  I've waited too long
  and am having to relearn the stitches with help from 
  books and utube. I could do it the easy way and simply 
  use the garter stitch for the whole thing(I'm really good
  at that),but I'm trying to learn new stitches.
From the kitchen...I'm trying to make menus again.  Life
  is so much easier when I have menus for the week and 
  don't have to think about what to cook. I know this.
  Why do I stop doing it?
I am learning...about bees and what makes them die.
I am pondering...

 "He does not believe that does not live

  according to his belief."    Thomas Fuller

Around the house...Starting an organizing project that I 
  found on pinterest. Planning my preparedness goals for 
  2012.
Around the farm...hope to get some pruning done this week.
  Found out the chickens like leftover couscous...a lot.
Living my faith...visit teach this week.  Prepare for 
  Hendersonville ward conference. Started a new online
  bible study of Ephesians. 
I am loving...tomato lentil soup.  I've made this recipe 
  three times in the past month.
I am praying for...Kenzie, Brooke and her family, my dear
  friend, Carol.
A few plans for the rest of the week...clean out the 
  chicken coop,start working on garden plans, reread
  "Who moved my Cheese" for book club, go to the dentist
  and get my hair done - the gray is showing! 
A picture thought:

Trials and Blessings

Beginning today, I'd like to take time on Sundays to post some ideas
I've been pondering throughout the week.  As I read and study the 
scriptures there are certain phrases or passages that seem to pop out
and demand extra thought.  The scriptures come alive for me when I
apply them to myself and ask the Lord what he wants me to learn, 
things that speak to my situation at that given time.
I study from different books and scriptures simultaneously, so I'll 
be moving around  in the standard works from week to week.  This 
week's thoughts come from my reading in the Book of Mormon.


Trials, afflictions, adversity- not happy subjects.  We all have them, but
none of us really want them.  I used to hear people share their testimonies
about how grateful they were for their trials and I thought, "are you crazy?
I'm not grateful for my trials." And I wasn't.  I just wanted to get through
whatever hard thing I was facing and then enjoy peace.  I wanted things to
be easy.  I deserved that, right?  I was working hard, trying to be a good
girl, so I was sure that I should be spared some adversity.  I had a lot
to learn.

Maybe it's because I'm getting older, I'd love to think it's because I'm
getting wiser, but I'm beginning to see life's situations a little differently.  I
no longer expect things to be easy.  Ease doesn't usually bring growth.
The trials I face have a purpose.  They cause me to stretch, learn new things,
let go of habits of behavior and see through a different lens.  But most
importantly, they bring me closer to God.  As I was reading this week, I
came across these verses.

"I Nephi,....having seen many afflictions in the course of my days; 

nevertheless having been highly favored of the Lord..."

1 Nephi 1:1

"...the tender mercies of the Lord are over all those 

whom he hath chosen."

1 Nephi 1:20

Being "highly favored" means blessed and as I thought about that phrase,

I wondered if Nephi felt that his blessings had come as a direct result of his

afflictions.  And believe me, he had plenty of those.  This train of thought

led me to reflect over my life in the past few years.  I realized that worship, 

study and service all bring me closer to God, but nothing brings me as close

as my trials.  I've had a few, so I feel like I can speak from some experience.

When life is really hard, I cry unto God like no other time.  I know that he

is the only one who gives me peace.  No other person or thing can give me

that peace that passeth all understanding.  He knows exactly how I feel and

can bring comfort when I need it most. 

Sometimes we think, if the Lord loved me, he would spare me from all

these trials, but I've learned it's just the opposite.  It is because he loves

us that he allows these things in our lives.  We are here to become more

like him.  The things we experience in this life are our teachers- the exact

lessons we need.  Patience, mercy, forgiveness, unconditional love...how

can we learn these godly virtues unless we have situations that call for

these actions?  When we are patient, it means something or someone 

is testing us past the comfort level.  When we love unconditionally, it 

means we are faced with a decision to judge or to love.  It's somehow

easier to judge.  We like things and people to be the way we "like" them

and when they aren't, we tend to judge.  When we are called to forgive

it's usually because someone has hurt us- sometimes very deeply.

Extending mercy and grace means we have to reign in our own desires

to speak or act in a certain way and think of the other person instead.

Controlling our tongue can be so hard.  We can't grow in these 

attributes unless we have circumstances that give us opportunities for

practice and that's where the trials and adversity come in.  It would be

easier if these were lessons that could be learned from reading a book.

And actually, we can read all about them in the scriptures, but reading

about them isn't sufficient.  These lessons come through "hands on'

application and as we know require lots of practice.  

So we have trials. 

And we get to practice .

And we pray for grace a lot.

We won't succeed on our own.  But we can do all things through Christ

who strengthens us, every day, every hour, every minute.   I cling to 

that scripture.  It has helped me through some dark days.  And when we

come out on the other side of our "trial", if we look, we can see how that

horrible, awful thing that we've just gone through has somehow turned into

a blessing.  Because, surely anything that brings us closer to God is a blessing.

That's what Nephi knew and that's what I'm learning.   But to be perfectly 

honest...I still don't like those trials very much...but I love the blessing.

*MYOF Goal #14 - Begin each day with scripture study and prayer.

Eating the Mediterranean Way

One of my New Year's resolutions is to eat the Mediterranean way.  You
might be wondering what that means.  The Mediterranean region includes
Greece, Italy, France, Turkey, Spain, the Middle East and North Africa.
And the native people who continue to eat the traditional diet are some
of the healthiest in the world.  I have to say the "traditional diet" because
like most every place in the world, these areas have become westernized
and many more people are beginning to carry extra weight and suffer from
food related diseases.   The American diet is pretty awful.  Tasty, no doubt,
but, reeks havoc on our health.  We need to make some changes.

I've had the great privilege of traveling to all the areas in the Mediterranean
and the one thing that I always notice is how wonderful the food is.  I like
to travel with "my stomach" and seek out the local foods wherever I am.
When I was in Greece, I was amazed at the wooden barrels of feta cheese
in almost every food related store I entered.  Olive oil was on every table
in the restaurants, much like salt and pepper here.  Italy is a food lovers
dream and I couldn't get enough of walking in the stores and looking at
the variety of pastas and huge wheels of cheese.  The lemons hanging
from the trees on the Amalfi coast were as large as navel oranges and
watching the locals harvest the olives was a highlight of the trip.  One of
the most amazing experiences I had was on the tip of the boot in Italy.
I was traveling on a bus with a group and we had stopped at what would
compare to a convenience store in America.  There was gas, shelf items
and a section for dining.  In America that would probably be a Subway
or McDonalds.  But here, it was a made to order pasta bar.  I stood with
dropped mouth as the cook whipped up Orecchiette with bacon and peas
in a light sauce with fresh parmesan cheese grated on top.  I kid you not.
And this folks is the kind of food you get in a convenience store in Italy!
I could go on and on, but you get the idea.  I'm crazy for good food.

When I returned from my Holy Land trip in November, I remember
talking about how much I enjoyed the food in Israel.  Fresh vegetables
and fruits were everywhere.  I made the comment to a friend, "I could
eat like that all the time."  Later, I started thinking, "why don't I eat
like that all the time?"  Granted, I may not be able to get freshly squeezed
pomegranate juice in NC or eat mangos fresh from the trees, but I can eat
many of the same foods and follow the principles of the Mediterranean diet
right here at home.  As I started looking through my cookbook collection, I
was surprised how many cookbooks I already had that focused on this
type of cuisine.  I checked one out of the library that I've used nonstop.
When I started dripping food on the pages, I decided to just go ahead and
order the darn thing for myself.   These are the books I've been cooking
from lately.  And we've had some good eating!

Cecil was so curious when I was taking these pictures.  He wanted to
get in on the action.  Silly cat.

This is what the diet pyramid looks like

and these are the guiding principles of the 

Mediterranean Prescription.

1- Eat lots of fruits.

2- Eat lots of vegetables.

3- Eat lots of legumes (beans, peas, and lentils)

4- Eat lots of nuts and seeds.

5- Eat lots of whole grains, especially whole grain bread

6- Use olive oil liberally, both in salads and in cooking.

7- Consume a moderate amount of low fat dairy products.

8- Eat fish.

9- Eat the right fats.

10- Engage in regular physical activity.

11- Eat only small amounts of red meat and meat products.

Following this prescription the past few weeks, has given me more energy,
helped me shed that extra holiday weight and put my blood sugar readings
in the double digit range.   I've not been hungry at all and I've enjoyed some
delicious food.  I think I'm on to something here.

Some of my favorite meals have been:

*Tomato- Lentil Soup

*Swiss Chard with Tomatoes

* Roasted Vegetables ( all kinds)

*Tuna with Cannellini Beans

*Spicy Black Eye Pea Salad 

*Salmon with Orange and Lemon

*Seasoned Grilled Shrimp

*Sweet and Sour Tilapia (this was to die for!)

*Baked Chicken with Garlic and Lime

*Grilled Chicken Greek Salad

I plan to post some recipes soon along with focusing on each point in 

the Mediterranean prescription.

The Mediterranean Diet is just part of a healthy lifestyle that would be a good

idea for us all to emulate.  It includes daily physical activity, a slower pace of

living, spending time with friends and family and less stress.  Food is treated

with respect.  The people take the time to eat and share good food with

people they love.  The food eaten is fresh, local and in season.  Mealtimes are 

an event, not something consumed in the car or in front of the tv. 

Sounds like a dream, doesn't it?  A lovely way to live.  But I think the 

principles can be followed anywhere you live.  I'm trying to make dinner

something special, cook fresh, local, in season foods and eat it with the people

I love, which is usually just my husband, but hey, I just might invite you over

for dinner soon! 

*MYOF Goal # 10 - Eat three meatless meals a week

                         # 23 - Try 50 new recipes.

2012 Resolution - Eat the Mediterranean way.

Farm Business

I love to say I live on a farm.  I'm sure some wouldn't consider it a real farm,
but we have acreage, a pasture, gardens and chickens (used to have horses),
so to me it's a farm.  It's a hobby farm and it's a hobby that can take up a lot
of time and energy.  Two precious commodities that fluctuate depending on
other things that are going on in my life.  I can get frustrated when the "to do"
list keeps getting longer and longer and we aren't making progress.
Sometimes I don't know how to do what needs to be done and then I have to
find someone who does and try to enlist their help.  At other times I know
how to do it, but it's more work than I can handle on my own. My husband
works a full time job and isn't interested in filling up every weekend with farm
chores.  I don't blame him.  I dream of having a farm manager who would
oversee the work and help get it done.  You know, like Martha Stewart has.
But that is totally a dream.  So for now, we plug along and do the best we can.
And try to enjoy it in the process.

We've been taking advantage of the mild weather to get some farm chores
accomplished.  At the top of the list was taking care of the bees.  We mixed
up a honey solution to put in the feeders, because bees need a little help in
the cold months.   On a day when the temperature was above 45, we took
it to the hives and pulled the tops off to see how things were going.  What
we saw was disheartening.

 

All the bees had died. There was still plenty of honey on the frames, so
we know it wasn't for lack of food.  We think it was a disease or some type
of mites that killed them.  This was one of the things we feared when we
undertook this beekeeping project.  We've heard the rumblings of how the
bees are under attack and how many hives collapse.  But I really wanted to
give it a try.

I'm going to spend a lot of time the next few months reading up on this and
trying to educate myself a little more.  Then we will decide in the spring if
we want to give it another shot.  I keep thinking of that honey that we robbed
in the summer and how delicious it tasted.  I like having my own honey!
But it's not an inexpensive endeavor, so we will see....

On a happier note, the fall garden has just kept on giving.  I've had spinach,
collard greens, kale and brussel sprouts. The garlic seems to be growing well,
from what I can tell.  I'm dying to see what's going on under the ground, but
I'm patiently waiting.  The greens are starting to slow down a little and I
decided to clean out beds over the weekend.

I cleaned out the lettuce,spinach, cabbage and broccoli beds.  I left a
few brussels sprout plants waiting for the little babies at the top to mature.
I think they will.  We will probably eat the rest of the collards this week.
Anything green that we don't want, I toss into the chickens and they have
a party.  They love green food.

Over in the tilled area, we mixed things up a little.  I've been throwing
chicken manure on top and we wanted to get it tilled in, along with the
green growth.   Now it will lie dormant for a few months, while I continue
to enrich the soil with compost and more manure.  I hope to have some good
soil when it's time to put in beans and tomatoes.  Wouldn't a garden
tomato taste so nice right now?

I had my first lessons in operating our rototiller.  I need to be able to do this
when Mark's not around to help.  It sure is a lot easier when he is though!
Thanks dear for your help this weekend.  You were speaking my love language!

Things "To Do" Around 

the Farm in January

* Move two Contender Peach trees to new location.

* Prune grape vines and complete trellis.

*Prune berries

*Clean out chicken coop.

*Browse seed and nursery catalogues.

*Design vegetable gardens on paper.

*Study bee books.

*MYOF Goals - #5 Learn to prune berries and fruit trees

                             #18  Work on monthly storage and preparedness goals

                             # 34 Start beekeeping

                             #43  Expand my vegetable gardens

                            # 49  Have 50 romantic interludes with my husband ( I think a man behind

                                             a rototiller is totally HOT! :)

Focusing On A Word

It seems to be the thing to do to pick a word for the year.  I kinda like
the whole idea of looking for a word that focuses you in a direction that
you would like to go in the days ahead.  In 2011, my word for the year
was grow.  I even bought this cute little necklace to wear as a reminder.

As I look back over the year, I realize how many opportunities I had to
grow. At the top of the list was spiritual growth.  Spending lots of time
in the scriptures, learning how to serve in a new church calling, traveling
to the Holy Land and most importantly, spending time in prayer are all
things that have helped me move a little closer to my Heavenly Father.

These things (especially prayer) have helped me grow in my relationships
with my family and friends.  I have one relationship in particular which has
improved dramatically.  And for that I'm so thankful!  I've made lots of
new friendships and my life is richer as a result.

I feel like I've grown stronger physically as I've tried to make exercise
a habit.   Hiking, walking on the treadmill and my mountain road, and
trying to eat a healthier diet have helped with this.  This one isn't the easiest
for me, but I am getting there, one baby step at a time.

I've grown by learning new things.  I've become a better gardener.  I've
learned about beekeeping ( oh, I have sad news about the bees which  I'll
share soon).  I've learned that I'm not a good knitter (but I'm not giving up!).
I've learned how to make pasta and play the piano (a little better).  I've
learned more about the countries in the middle east, that I love
Mediterranean food and that I have a passion for travel.  I already kind
of knew that, but it's been reinforced in a big way.  I've learned that I
love to hike and that finding people to hike with me is a difficult task.
I've learned that remodeling projects move very slowly and I probably
will never get my house completely organized.  I've learned to look for
beauty all around me and how to be grateful even in the"hard things",
and I've learned that I will always have to work on this one, because
it's not my natural tendency.

So, it's been a growing year and I'm happy about that.  As I move into
2012, I've decided my word for the year will be

I had someone close to me tell me recently that I could work a little harder 

on extending grace to others.  Ouch!!!  That was hard to hear, but he was

right.  Type A's, like myself,  can be a little, shall we say, driven at times.

I can be demanding of myself and sometimes that can carry over into my 

relationships with other people.  Especially those closest to me. I receive 

grace every day from my Savior (thank goodness for it), and I know he

would have me be the dispenser of grace to others.  After all, this is part 

of being Christlike and I want more than any thing to be like him. 

So this year, I will try to be a more "grace filled" person.  I want to allow

myself grace, move through each day at a pace of grace and most 

importantly, lovingly extend it to those around me. 

And lest I think I can accomplish any of this on my own, I will remember

these wise words.

"I am the vine, ye are the branches;  He

that abideth in me, and I in him, the same

bringeth forth much fruit; for without me

ye can do nothing."

John 15:5

and my all time favorite scripture-

"I can do all things through Christ who 

strengthens me."

Phillipians 4:13

Yes, I need His grace in a big way.

And here are a few other things I resolve to work on in 2012.  You 

knew I would have a list, didn't you? 

* Take a picture everyday with my camera 

and get off the automatic setting.

*  Eat the Mediterranean way.

*  Stop cracking my knuckles 

(a pesky little habit that makes me

 happy  and drives everyone around me crazy)

* Spend some time outside everyday

(except when it's 15 degrees, like it was today.

 I'm already making excuses.  Good grief.)

* Judge less, love more.

That's it.  Shouldn't be too hard, right?  Um, yeah, I'll let you know how 

it's working out for me and I will try not to be too hard on myself, because

remember my word for the year is GRACE and I'm starting with myself.

Now,  I'm off to look for a new necklace.

So how about you?  Do you have a word for the year?

Holiday Blessings

First Monday counting.....

                   when I share entries from my Gratitude Journal

December's Blessings

1466- friends who take care of things for me when I travel

1467- apple pies from Tara

1468- quiet time by the warmth of the fire

1469- peppermint hot chocolate with whipped cream

1470- forgiveness

1471- dinner by candlelight

1472- a new phone - an unexpected gift

1473- the scent of roses on clean skin

1474- Dad's cheese ball

1475- family gathered from near and far

1476- baking with Kenzie

1477- carving Christmas ham with Dad

1478- shiny Christmas ornaments

1479- toffee from our home teachers

1480- listening to my favorite Christmas music,

over and over

1481- decorating the tree with Travis

1482- candy houses lined up on the table

1483- mailbox filled with Christmas greetings

1484- fresh garland

1485- shopping with Cindy

1486- soup mix in a jar

1487- hugs and kisses from nieces and nephews

1488- guest rooms- redecorated and ready for guests

1489- online shopping

1490- relaxing by the fireplace

1491- shades of brown in an egg carton

1492- stockings hung by the fireplace

1493- a wildly successful night for young musicians

1494- a visit from Leslie and Sarah

1495- Broadcast of Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols

1496-clean sheets

1497- hospitals

1498- black eye peas and collard greens

1499- eternal families

1500 - Whitney's beautiful smile

1501- remaining calm in a stressful situation

1502- agency

1503- beginnings

1504- kind, encouraging words

1505- colored sugars

Goodbye, Christmas.

Goodbye, 2011.

A year of bountiful blessings.

*MYOF Goals #35 - Keep a gratitude journal

                                                                                                  #26 - Improve photography skills