reading list for this year
- on: January 07, 2016
- By Gabi
- theme: everyday life, one little word, self care
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As a part of my wholehearted year I want to finally go through the books which have been collecting dust on the shelves at home for quite some time. In the past I’ve always started reading a book and rarely finished it because I got distracted by something else. This year I want to change it and do it my wholehearted (completely and sincerely devoted) way. Finishing these books will also help me to transform my way of thinking and doing things. Like coming up with healthier and more fulfilling meals for my little athletes and super athletic husband.
The photo above isn’t showing all the books I want to read this year but those should be enough as a starting point (the two bottom ones are from a library).
Here is my list:
- Whole 30 – by Mellisa Hartwig and Dallas Hartwig
- Everyday Super Foods – by Jamie Oliver
- Essential Oils Natural Remedies – The Complete A-Z Reference of Essential Oils for Health and Healing – by Althea Press
- Essential Oils and Aromatherapy – An Introductory Guide – by Sonoma Press
- Whole Foods to Thrive – by Brendan Brazier
- Rising Strong – by Brene Brown
- Secrets to a Heathy Metabolism – by Maria Emmerich
- Clean Gut – by Alejandro Junger
You’ve probably noticed a pattern going on in this list. Yes, those books are mostly about food and essential oils. About the good healthy stuff. And that’s what I plan on improving this year – to become more aware of what we eat, and what we use in our everyday life. Our kids are very active in competitive sports and Ivo’s goals are getting bigger as well (e.g. long distance ultra marathons, off-road triathlons) so it’s up to me to come up with nutritious meal plans. And there is no better way how to start than educate myself.
This year I’m using Elise’s Get to Work Book as a planner/goal tracker to sort of push myself to commit to these “tasks”. I absolutely love the concept of this Work book, it is amazing tool how to stay on track. And it is visually appealing to me as well which helps me to focus on the important stuff.
So, tell me, what are your plans in the reading department for this year? Please don’t be afraid to comment here. It is always such a reward for me to read your comments, and I appreciate one and each of them.
Leave a comment...one little word in 2016 | the year of wholehearted
- on: January 01, 2016
- By Gabi
- theme: one little word
- 0
I’ve been choosing my One little word for several years now. For 2016 I’m going with wholehearted.
Wholehearted: showing or characterized by complete sincerity and commitment.
Completely and sincerely devoted, determined, or enthusiastic.
Every year my chosen word guides me through the challenges of everyday life. It helps me to focus on my goals and pushes me through difficult times. This time my word didn’t come easily as in the previous years and I still wasn’t sure a few days ago what it’s going to be. But one thing I knew for sure was that I want to commit to my life with my whole heart, stop doing things half way and stop stressing about things which are not important. Reading Brene Brown‘s books have had a huge impact on me while trying to figure out how I want to live my life. This quote from her book The gifts of Imperfection really speaks to me:
Wholehearted living is about engaging in our lives from a place of worthiness. It means cultivating the courage, compassion and connection to wake up in the morning and think, ‘No matter what gets done and how much is left undone, I am enough. It’s going to bed at night thinking, Yes, I am imperfect and vulnerable and sometimes afraid, but that doesn’t change the truth that I am also brave and worthy of love and belonging.’
So that’s the plan – to live and love with my whole heart.
2015 was a crazy year full of challenges, highs and lows, lots of personal excuses which lead to failures and not finishing what I’ve started and then feeling guilty about it.
2016 is going to be a year of fully committing, being conscious of my goals and working on them, and enjoying the whole process.
This year is going to be lived more wholeheartedly mostly because:
I will make sure that there will be more family trips, night games and fun together.
I want to commit to advanced meal planning – to finally go through my cookbooks and creating more variety in our menu, introducing one new meal at least once a month.
I will make time for yoga and build more core strength and flexibility.
I want to learn how to cycle more efficiently and get faster on the bike.
I plan on taking more photos, especially the family ones – I plan on returning to our Four people & one dog | Twelve times project.
So that’s the plan. I know it will take a lot of self consciousness to fully commit with my whole heart but I think I’m ready.
Bring it on, twenty-sixteen!
Happy 2016!
You can read about my previous words here: 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009.
Leave a comment...reflections | fifteen unforgettable moments of twenty-fifteen
- on: December 30, 2015
- By Gabi
- theme: everyday life, family life
- 0
In just a little bit over a day we will say goodbye to twenty-fifteen.
It’s crazy how fast this year has passed by. I usually don’t reflect on stuff but this year has seemed like a rollercoaster ride and I think it deserves a recap. There were lots of firsts and ups and downs and I know in a few years I might forget them if I don’t write them down.
So here are our unforgettable moments of twenty-fifteen (in a random order):
- becoming Canadian Citizens
- first parents’ weekend without kids
- job changes for both adults
- walking Patrik to a surgery room and helping to put him into sleep
- being a single parent while Ivo went to Vietnam and Denver
- watching Katrin become a Provincial Champion in cyclocross
- developing stronger relationships with my friends and making new ones
- experiencing first earthquake
- girls trip with Marjo to Whistler + first visit to spa
- cheering on Ivo on his first ultra-marathons
- picking up our car from a deserted parking lot after park hours in a wind storm in pitch black darkness in a local provincial park
- bonding with Ace (can’t imagine our family without him anymore)
- learning about essential oils and switching to more natural ways of living
- seeing black bears just down our street
- re-discovering the benefits of yoga once again
Quite a mix, isn’t it?
I’m ready for new adventures and experiences. Looking forward to twenty-sixteen!
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around here | december
- on: December 10, 2015
- By Gabi
- theme: aromatherapy | essential oils, around here, family life, photography
- 0
Getting into the Christmas mood over here. I love love this time of the year!
Improvising during challenging times. This year the weather has been crazy and we are getting one storm after another followed by power outages. The longest power outage so far lasted over 15 hours. We were ready to prepare dough for our gingerbread cookies when the power went out so we put running head lamps on and did it anyway. One has to think outside the box sometimes.
Celebrating that our Christmas cactus has blooms! Last year we didn’t get any so it makes me double happy that it has decided to bloom this year.
Switching to a greener way of living. I’m on a journey to transform our household to greener and more healthier one. Last week I said goodbye to dryer sheets and said hello to these wool balls. I put a few drops of an essential oil on them and add them to the laundry. Simple and effective. These balls should also shorten the drying cycle.
I also made homemade foam soaps and air sprays using essential oils. I’m loving the smell and also the fact that there are no chemicals in them and those are safe to use every single day. We are also diffusing the oils daily using this diffuser from Young Living. I grabbed it when it was on sale two weeks ago and loving it! I can’t wait to get the second one with my starter kit for Christmas. Kids are already fighting over who is going to have it in their room overnight. Once we get the second one, this problem will be over.
Baking my grandma’s gingerbread cookies. We use the same recipe every single year and they always turn out so delicious!
Opening our advent calendars every day. Kids can’t wait each morning to discover what’s hidden in their Lego calendars and I love tasting new teas every day.
Getting excited about my next professional step. Only four more sleeps until my new job starts. Can’t wait!
Soaking up the little moments this beautiful season is bringing to us. Taking it slowly one day at the time. Enjoying the little stuff. Making new friends, reconnecting with the “old” ones.
Bring on the magic!
Leave a comment...for the love of photography | iPhone edition
- on: November 27, 2015
- By Gabi
- theme: everyday life, life with vizsla, photography
- 0
You guys, if you wanna explore nature, get a dog. I mean a “real” dog. Not a little “pillow” one, but an active breed kinda dog which needs to spend at least an hour a day of physical activity outside. Seriously. You won’t be disappointed.
Of course there are moments when it’s raining and it’s cold outside and all I want to do is to crawl under a blanket with a hot cup of tea but I know Ace has to go outside to get the energy out of his system every single day, so off we go. Honestly, who would say no to that little face?! He always comes to me, puts his chin on my knee or elbow and starts the staring contest. It’s his way of telling me it’s time to go outside. And so we go. We are so fortunate to live in such a beautiful corner of the world, surrounded by mountains, forests and lakes. And ocean, of course. There is always something new to discover.
The last couple of days have been absolutely amazing!! It’s cold and freezing but the sun is out! The sun! And the light!! Oh my, the amazing light! There is nothing like chasing the sun rays on days like these. Soon we will be back in gray rainy days but while these sunny days last, we need to get the best out of them.
So I grab the leash, put my phone into a pocket and off we go. To explore. To admire the beauty of nature.
To just be outside and notice it all. Because sometimes we are all too “busy” and might miss the beautiful sunset or stunning light coming through the trees.
Even if you don’t have a dog, go outside and capture all of it. It’s totally worth it.
Leave a comment...homemade epic hot chocolate
- on: November 22, 2015
- By Gabi
- theme: family life, from our kitchen, handmade
- 0
Who doesn’t love hot chocolate, right? Since we tried Jamie Oliver’s homemade epic hot chocolate recipe, we haven’t looked back. I would not go for the store bought anymore. This is the one and only recipe we use at home and everyone in our family loves it. It’s fun to make it from scratch too, kids love to help with grating the chocolate and eating the little pieces left. It’s thick and simply amazing.
We just did ours yesterday and put the mix in a large glass jar. We multiplied the recipe by 4 so it will last for a while.
Jamie Oliver’s Epic Hot Chocolate
- 2 tablespoons Horlicks
- 2 tablespoons cornflour
- 3 tablespoons icing sugar
- 4 tablespoons quality organic cocoa
- 100 g good-quality dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids) , finely grated
- 1 pinch ground cinnamon
- 1 pinch sea salt
- 2 pints (1 pint = 2 cups) semi-skimmed milk
Pour the milk into a large pan, and bring almost to the boil over a medium heat.
Meanwhile, add all the chocolate mix ingredients to a large jar and give it a good shake to combine. You need around 10 heaped tablespoons of the chocolate mix for this amount of milk. Simply spoon the chocolate mix into the hot milk, give it a good whisk and leave to bubble away for a few minutes before serving. You’re looking for that gorgeous, thick, almost claggy, knockout texture.
homemade lip balm
- on: November 21, 2015
- By Gabi
- theme: aromatherapy | essential oils, creative living, handmade, natural, self care
- 2
I finally did it.
After pinning a lot of recipes on my essential oils pinterest board and reading through some awesome websites, I took a leap and made my first homemade skin care product. A lip balm. Ms. K has always dry lips during the fall and winter months and because it’s getting cold outside, this was the perfect project and introduction into making homemade goodies. I found several great recipes for lip balms and at the end decided to combine them. So this is what I used:
Homemade lip balm
Ingredients:
- 1 tablespoon of organic coconut oil
- 1 tablespoon of organic beeswax pastilles
- 1 tablespoon of organic cocoa butter (shea butter can be also used)
- 1 teaspoon of sweet almond oil (different carrier oils can be used as well, such as grapeseed, avocado, olive etc)
- few drops of vitamin E (I think I did about 5)
- 5 or so drops of lavender essential oil
- Using a double boiler (two pots of different sizes), combine the coconut oil, beeswax pastilles and cocoa butter and heat up until melted.
- Once fully melted, remove from the heat and stir in the almond oil, vitamin E and essential oil of your choice. Stir the mix until everything is completely combined together.
- Pour the mix into lip balm containers of your choice (we used tins but you can use also tubes) and let it cool down. Once the balm has hardened, it’s ready to use.
This batch made 4 lip balms which we put into 0.5 oz tins. You can multiply the amount of ingredients accordingly.
Note for next time – instead of using two pots I will use pot and glass measuring cup which will be easier to pour the mix from. I used 1/2 tablespoon “cup” for pouring my mix into the tins.
The beauty of homemade stuff is that you can experiment with ingredients of your liking. I’ve noticed that a lot of people are using peppermint essential oil in their balms, but I don’t like the taste/flavour of it so I didn’t include it in ours. Katrin likes vanilla so we added a few drops of vanilla extract (regular for baking) just for the taste. Next time we will experiment with honey as well. The balms turned out well. I love the smell and taste of it and so does Katrin. Guys don’t use lip balms too often but I bet when they will need them, they will be using them as well.
It was such a fun, easy and very quick to do project. If you have any favourite homemade goodies recipes, please share.
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