I have always collected Christmas ornaments, since I was born my Mom has given me a Christmas ornament every year (well now she gets my kids one 😂). I continued the same tradition with my kids. I still have the ornament my Mom got for my first Christmas, and they go on the tree right next to my kids First Christmas Ornament.
It's so fun picking out their ornament each year based on their personal interests and things they have accomplished that year. Also finding a memorable souvenir when you travel is often challenging but I love collecting ornaments from places we go. Then each year as we decorate the tree we tell stories about each of the ornaments.
It has been a special tradition to carry on that's not centered around food, and decorating the tree is one of my favorite moments of the Holiday season. Our Christmas tree has no specific theme or color scheme, it's just full of memories.
This year it was fun to pull out the new ornaments we had found in Spain and Portugal etc during our travels earlier this year and remembering what an amazing experience that whole trip was.
What is your favorite holiday tradition?
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I don't typically love cooking with cast iron, despite the excellent results they can bring. It's messy and smells up the house. Add to that, the one we have is super old and not very good. We were recently gifted a really good one from Lancaster Cast Iron so today I decided to give it a try. We have a side burner on our Weber so I could do it outside. I sous vide a steak, then seared it in tallow on the new pan. Man it was incredible. What a difference it made from our old one. Super easy clean up too. Below is the pan, of course I forgot to take a picture of the steak haha.
Do you love using cast iron? What are some favorites you make in them?
Yesterday we surprised the kids and brought home a puppy!! They have been begging for one for years and we felt like the time was right to bring one home.
Meet Angus 🐕 He's a Golden Retriever/King Charles Cavalier Spaniel mix. He's 11 weeks old and currently weighs about 8 pounds, he should be around 35 pounds fully grown. I know it will be an adjustment for a while as he gets potty trained etc but we are so excited. 😂 Wish us luck! 🤪
Cheese is good! I ate a block of chipotle oven baked cheese with lunch yesterday and it was divine. I love it, but know that it halts any progress I'm making, and will even trigger eating in excess to where I'll gain weight. It's sad but I have accepted it. If I eat it in small quantities with a meal, it's ok, but I really have to work to keep it in check.
What's your favorite cheese? How do you incorporate it? Do you see negative results when eating it?
Happy Halloween! Hope you are having some fun today. Passing out treats to anyone? The first picture is the costumes my kids have for this year. (Penelope's was just to help at Jiu-Jitsu).
Here are some my favorite costumes my kids have had over the years. Share below any costumes you have had from this year or previous years.
I’ve been ignoring this pork belly in my freezer for while. Last time I tried to make it I did NOT like it. The small pieces that were crispy were good. I did not like the bigger pieces so I’ve cut them smaller and they’re back in the air fryer…
Good Evening Y'all!! WOOHOO I DID IT!! Day 31 of dairy free except butter and egg free. I'm gonna continue dairy free until I can get my hands on some raw dairy to try. But it will be a while longer on dairy free. I'm going to try an egg one day next week. I'm so Thankful to God for helping me through this month. I had a few rough craving days but i made it. I'm thankful for the support of our tribe here also. Thanks Y'all for all the encouragement. I'm on Day 21 of no coffee.
I think I'm doing my eating correctly. On days that I don't do a lot I notice I don't eat a lot but on days that I do a lot I eat quite a bit more.
Here's my stats. BLESSINGS!!
