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I know it’s January 4th. I’m finally sharing my resolutions for the new year. I’m late as usual. If you’re wondering, working on my tardiness is not one of my New Year’s resolutions. I find it to be one of my endearing qualities.

I always think of a new year as a new opportunity. A chance to start fresh. A time to look within and make improvements. Right the wrongs. Change for the better.

Preparing resolutions can be tough. It forces you to focus on all the negative things about yourself. If you aren’t careful you can get yourself awful depressed.

This year I didn’t want to focus on my negative qualities. I’ve done that for way to many years. I wanted to focus on improving my quality of life. How to have more quality time with my family and friends. How to be healthier. How to be a better giver. A better human.

Here are 2013 goals for the new year. Some general, some specific.

1. Organize. Without mastering this, I cannot accomplish any other goals on this list
2. Clean out the clutter at home and at work
3. Eat healthier
4. Write more
5. Worry less
6. Try yoga
7. Mail cookies to a soldier
8. Accept a compliment
9. Stop being so hard on myself
10. Actually make some of the thinks I “Pin”
11. Start Christmas in July
12. Kayak foliage tour on the river
13. Create character in our home

Each of these will have a plan. A road map to success, if you will.

I’m glad you are along for the ride. Journeys are no fun alone.

Happy New Year!

Well, another year has gone by. I hate to say “Woo Hoo” but I’m going to

“WOO HOO!”

Ok. That being said, 2012 was not a great year. As I wrap up 2012 and head full throttle into 2013, I am trying to focus on the positive things that happned. Unfortunately, if I were to try to balance the good and the bad, the bad would win.

2012 was a year of heartbreak, stress, confusion and fear. I lost people I loved, I watched my little boy suffer with pain and I dealt with my own health issues.

But, when life hands you lemons…pucker up.

Those I lost were no longer in pain. Although I miss them, for that I can be grateful.

My son’s arthritis is in complete remission and he is a healthy, happy, wonderful 10 (soon to be 11) year old boy.

My own health issues were brought on by stress. I truly never realized what stress and anxiety can physically do to your body and what a scary and uncontrollable feeling it is. I have a new appreciation for those who suffer from anxiety disorders.

As hard as it was, I had to admit to myself that I am not superwoman. I cannot do everything. We all need to ask for help sometimes. Not only that, but I had to realize that I was not selfish by having some “me time”. I still fight the guilt feelings, but I now know it is essential for my well-being and better for those I love and care for.

I take care of those around me better, I think more clearly, I am happier and most importantly, healthier.

I started running. I hate running. Sorry, hated running. I may not be fast, but I don’t care. I leave it all behind when I run. My head clears. I feel empowered, strong, even sexy.

Yes, I lost some weight, almost 20 pounds so far. Although Santa did leave me some extra pounds under the tree, bastard. But the weight loss was just an added bonus to how it made me feel emotionally. I will continue to run. Maybe even do a charity race or two this year (I’ll be posting my 2013 Bucket List on New Year’s Day).

Thank you all for hanging around this past year and I really hope to hear from you throughout 2013. You’re the best!

Looking for something besides the trusty old pumpkin pie this year? These are so delicious and so super easy to make. They look adorable in those cute little glasses too. There is something about little servings that I find so appealing. I got these glasses from Pier 1 and I tote them out as often as humanly possible. I made these last year because I didn’t feel like making pie. Yep, there’s the lazy in me coming out again. They were such a huge hit, I am absolutely making them again. We have a tradition of sitting around the table early in the morning, drinking coffee and putting together “pickies” and this is something that I can include Nina in. She loves to help and feel a part of something. That’s such a huge part of making the holiday special.

Pumpkin Biscoff Cheesecake Parfaits
12 Biscoff Cookies, crushed into crumbs
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
1 container Philadelphia Ready to Eat Cheescake Filling
1 cup pure pumpkin puree
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 large tub (12 oz.) whipped topping (Cool Whip), thawed, divided

Directions:
1. In a medium bowl, combine Biscoff Cookie crumbs and butter. Divide the crumbs into the bottoms of your trifle glasses. Gently press crumbs to form an even layer of crust.

2. In a large bowl with an electric mixer, combine pumpkin, vanilla, sugar and pumpkin pie spice. Beat until well combined and creamy.

3. Use a spatula to fold in half of the whipped topping until there are no streaks.

4. To Assemble the Trifles: Pipe or spoon a layer of cheesecake filling onto the Biscoff crust followed by a layer of pumpkin. Repeat layers until your trifle reaches the top of your glass or jar.

5. Store trifles in the refrigerator until ready to serve. If desired, garnish with Biscoff cookie crumbs and an extra cookie for scooping.

Enjoy! Happy Thanksgiving!

Adapted from the amazing Jamie at My Baking Addiction

In traditional “ME” style, I thought I posted the last of the three pumpkin recipes, but alas, this one was left in the draft box. So, last but not least, here is the remainder of my humble little Baby Bear pumpkin. Not only does pumpkin taste amazing but it is so nutritious. High in Vitamin A (skin healing), C (anti-oxidant) and Zinc, it also is soothing and moisturizing and toning.

Here are the ingredients I used as well as some other ingredients for different skin types. Enjoy!

Ingredients
2 teaspoons pumpkin puree
1/2 teaspoon honey (humectant, antisceptic)
1 tsp ground almonds (exfolient)
1/4 teaspoon milk (or soymilk)(alpha hydroxy acid)

For Dry Skin
1/4 teaspoon heavy whipping cream (moisturizing; alpha hydroxy acid)
-or-
1/2 teaspoon brown sugar (exfoliates, moisturizes, alpha hydroxy acid)

For Oily Skin
1/4 teaspoon apple cider (tonic action promotes skin circulation; alpha hydroxy acid; regulates pH).
-or-
1/4 teaspoon cranberry juice (high in antioxidants)

If you’ve been reading my past reveals, you’ll already know how much I love this program. I love meeting new people and enjoy finding treats to send and truly enjoy getting a package in the mail every month. Who doesn’t love getting mail? Nina and I look forward to tearing into it and seeing what wonderful goodies are in there. I do have to say each month after we open the package, Nina will tell me I have the best pen pal ever.

This month was funny. Not really funny haha, but funny odd. I was paired with Catherine from Pursuing Domestic Goddess-ness. She has some wonderful recipes on her blog. Go check her out, she’s great. She asked me if I would like some local New England favorites. Funny, it turns out we live within an hour of each other. So, she nixed the local faves and sent me some amazing goodies from the winery where she works. Also funny, a winery I have frequented on several occasions. I plan on letting her know next time I go so maybe we can meet in person.

Well, let me get to the goodies. I couldn’t take a picture because, well I forgot until it was too late and all the yumminess was mauled.

The box contained:
Raspberry Salsa and Sea Salt crackers from Stonewall Kitchen (the factory is aobut 40 minutes from my house, we go there often)…Love Stonewall Kitchen
Homemade Spice Beer Cookies. These were so spicy and sweet and just delicious
Pumpkin Spice Caramel Corn. This was my favorite. OMG it was amazing. The spice was perfect, subtle pumpkin and very buttery. Luckily, the bag was not huge, because I ate the whole thing. I even told my kids they wouldn’t like it so I could keep it all to myself.

If you’d like to see what I sent to my match, check out her amazing blog The Reluctant Weight Watcher Foodie and see what goodies she got from me. Hi Angela!

If you are interested in the foodie pen pal program, here are the details:

On the 5th of every month, you will receive your penpal pairing via email. It will be your responsibility to contact your penpal and get their mailing address and any other information you might need like allergies or dietary restrictions.

You will have until the 15th of the month to put your box of goodies in the mail. On the last day of the month, you will post about the goodies you received from your penpal!

The boxes are to be filled with fun foodie things, local food items or even homemade treats! The spending limit is $15. The box must also include something written. This can be anything from a note explaining what’s in the box, to a fun recipe…use your imagination!

Foodie Penpals is open to blog readers as well as bloggers. If you’re a reader and you get paired with a blogger, you are to write a short guest post for your penpal to post on their blog about what you received. If two readers are paired together, neither needs to worry about writing a post for that month.

Foodie Penplas is open to US & Canadian residents. Please note, Canadian Residents will be paired with other Canadians only. We’ve determined things might get too slow and backed up if we’re trying to send foods through customs across the border from US to Canada and vice versa.

Go here or click on the button at the top if you want to sign up. It’s great fun.

I can’t stress enough the difference in taste between fresh raosted pumpkin and canned pumpkin. They are like homemade marshmallow and bagged marshmallows. Night and day. Fresh pumpkin has a deep, rich pumpkin flavor and is so velvety and smooth when pureed. Canned pumpkin will serve in a pinch, but why settle when you can make a bunch of pumpkins and keep them in the freezer.

It’s so easy too. Slice in half, remove the seeds and place cut side down on a foil lined baking sheet and bake at 400F for approximately 30 minutes or until fragrant and slightly soft when pressed with your finger. When they cool, scoop ot the flesh and puree in a food processor until smooth. I usually measure them out and make packets of 1 cup puree and freeze flat. I just take them out when I need them.

You might think that if you get a big pumpkin, you can make a lot all at once. Don’t. Big jack o’ lantern type pumpkins are less flavorful and their texture is grainy and stringy. The small ones are best, trust me.

If you haven’t tried it before, give it a try. You will totally taste the difference.

Saturday was a gorgeous, crisp, sunny Fall day.

I woke up at the buttcrack of dawn to drive my son 45 minutes away to be on the ice for a hockey game at 7:10. It was cold. Like, break out the winter jackets, cold. And really I just wanted to stay snuggled in my warm bed. I was tired from the morning before, when he had practice at 6:20 a.m. before school. Hockey moms out there, I know you feel my pain. My Visine couldn’t even get the red out this morning.

But, on a positive note, we were home by 9:15 after a 6-2 victory, so even I couldn’t keep bitching about it.

I decided it was time to use some of my baby bear pumpkins, which I stock up on as soon as they show their cute little selves at the farm.

I love everything about these little guys. I love the color of their roasted skin, the taste, the nutrition and all their beauty benefits.

So, today I thought I’d share with you what I do with my pumpkin.

1. I knock off the stem, cut them in half and scoop out the seeds.

2. I separate all the seeds from the stringy flesh.

3. The seeds get rinsed and the flesh gets pureed in the food processor and refrigerated until ready to use (I’ll let you know what to do with that later.

4. The halves get placed, cut side down, on a large cookie sheet covered with foil and baked at 400F for 25-35 minutes, or until fragrant and slightly soft if pressed with your finger. (I’ll let you know what I do with them later too)

For the Spicy Roasted Seeds

1 c. cleaned pumpkin seeds
2 Tbls. Butter, salted
1 tsp. Smoked Paprika
1 tsp. cayenne ( reduce if you don’t want them too spicy)
1 tsp. salt
1 Tbls. brown sugar

1. Preheat oven to 400F.

2. Soak cleaned seeds in a bowl of water with 1 tsp. salt for an hour (you can skip this step, but I find it makes them more flavorful…aka salty and delicious)

3. Drain and pat dry and set aside

4. In a bowl (big enough to fit seeds) melt 2 Tbls. butter and add spices. Mix together then toss in seeds and toss to coat.

5. Pour onto a greased cookie sheet and bake for approximately 1/2 hour stirring and tossing during cooking.

6. When fragrant and crunchy, remove and enjoy!

Warning! These are spicy and AWESOME! You won’t be able to keep away.

Hi!
Jut thought I’d share some of my favorite Fall photos. I love this time of year. Enjoy!

It’s that time again. Time for my Foodie Pen Pal reveal. I am really loving this program. I have got to meet such great people from all over the country. I really look forward to getting my assignment each month. And I really look forward to getting my package in the mail. It’s like a little Christmas each month. If you haven’t signed up, I really encourage you to try it.

This month I had the privilege of meeting Debra from Eliots Eats. Take some time to check out her blog. She has a lot of great things on there. Please stop by and let her know I sent you.

I told her I was a sweet person and she didn’t dissappoint with her package. It was loaded with sweet treats and some printed recipes from her website. I haven’t tried them yet, but I will soon. I promise.

There were Red Vines, Sour Beans, Charleston Chews, Natural Vines Strawberry Licorice and Hot Honeys (amazing chipotle honey roasted peanuts). I let Nina help me open it and she made me promise to have a “candy taste test” after school. Not the healthiest of after school snacks, but oh well. Charleston Chews were the clear winner for her. The Hot Honeys were my faves. As you all know, I’m a sweet/salty freak.

If you haven’t checked out the Foodie Pen Pal Program, hop over to The Lean Green Bean and sign up.