This week on my balcony...

Soulemama is showing us her garden every week, making me soooo longing for a piece of earth where we could grow our own vegetables and fruit. Well, at the moment, this is a dream, but still... what we do have is our little balcony. It is not very big, but we do grow vegetables here, imagine! Three tomatoes and some salad, to be exactly. And herbs. How I love my little pots with basil, Italian and Thai. I just love Thai basil, it smells wonderfull, and just looking at these pots makes me happy. You can see it in the second picture, the herbs stand in the corner, on the white chair, basil, a tomatoe and two chili plants, Jalapenos.

Another beloved plant on our balcony is the jasmine. My husband brought it here by plane, all the way from Algeria. In our cold climate it has survived for three years now. We are so proud of it! Hopefully, in a few weeks it will be in bloom. Then we will sit on our bench in the evening and the smell of the jasmine will be around us. Cannot wait! (You can see the jasmine in the first picture, at the moment it does not look very spectacular. I will show it to you, when it is in full bloom!)

Thoughts about going vegan

Groceries fresh from the organic store, still not figured out what to do exactly with those beets

Homemade sushi, not really vegan, but sooo yummy!

Tuesday marked the last day of the wonderful 30-day-vegan workshop, hosted by lovely Heather from the  blog Beauty that moves. It was the second time I took this workshop, determined to stay vegan for those   30 days.
For a long time, I have  been trying to become vegan. About three years ago, I found out that I cannot tolerate milk or any milk products. They leave me feeling sick and my skin goes crazy. I do not eat very much meat, mostly chicken or lamb, so I said to myself: Why not become vegan??
It is so much better for the environment and for my health. So what is holding me back?
Mostly, it is a  matter of time and organisation.
At the beginning of the 30 day workshop I did quite well. But my family did not want to join me, so I prepared two varieties of the same meal. This made menu planning and shopping much more complicated than I could handle it at that moment. I felt very stressed and lost my motivation.
I got two new vegan cookbooks today (as if I needed any more cookbooks...), I really need some inspiration for quick and easy vegan dinners that I can jazz up with some lamb chops on the side, or a chicken breast or so.
Any suggestions on dealing with different ways of eating in one family??

The first week with the 10 basic rules

It's Wednesday, time to check how I did stick with my basic rules! I must admit, they literally melted away... We were hit by a heat wave over here, it's far to hot, about 35 degrees, 95 degrees Fahrenheit.
I don't mind these temperatures when I am lying on the beach, feet in the sea and a cold drink in my hands. But going to work, doing the weekly shopping or ironing... no way!
I did quite well with the first rule:
Drink enough water: Wouldn't have made it without drinking...
Eat healthily: Well, at the moment I do not eat very much, mostly salads and fruit, so I did pretty well with that rule.
Menu Planning: Skipped that, no need to plan salads ;-)
Move 15 minutes and decluttering: Skipped that, too. Far too hot to move at all!
Check calendar: Completely forgot that.
Lay out clothes: I laid out clothes for Monday, then changed the outfit completely. Forgot about it yesterday, so I had to iron a shirt this morning. On my way to work I could not remember if I had unplugged the iron, so I drove back home. Took me 25 minutes. Laying out clothes now is top priority!
I did quite well with kitchen clean up, loading the iPhone and taking care of my hands, so I'll give myself 5 out of ten points. Not too bad!

If Momma ain't happy...

Can you guess what we did today? -Berry picking!!!

The last few days have been very hectic over here. Husband will leave tomorrow for a two week visit with his mother. So these last three days were filled with washing and ironing his clothes, searching for his things and shopping for presents for the family.
As usually, I was feeling cranky and overwhelmed while trying to go to work, do the shopping, trying to keep on top of the laundry (failed...) and taking care of a child with a bad cold.
Friday afternoon, while waiting for the pizza dough to rise, I poured myself a cup of tea and started thinking about those everyday problems, you know, those little things that keep the days from running smoothly.
I have been a "Flybaby" for quite some years now, and I am really "flywashed" when it comes to homework. (If you are not familiar with the Flylady-Concept, check out her website at www.flylady.net)
I came up with ten basic rules for everyday, and these are really inspired by the principles of Flylady...

These are my basic everyday rules:

1) Drink enough water, 8 glasses per day! I always forget to drink during the day...
2) Eat healthily. I will try to have the recommended five portions of fruit and veggies every day...
3) Menu plan and planned lunches. As I work all day, eating a proper lunch is so important.
4) Move for at least 15 minutes a day. Oh, this will be so hard for me...
5) Check calender every night and morning. Another thing I always forget!
6) Quick kitchen clean-up every night. I love to see a clean kitchen in the morning.
7) Lay out clothes the night before. Have tried for years, always failed.
8) Load the iPhone every evening.
9) 15 minutes decluttering every day!!
10) Use handcream every night. I am not getting younger...

I will start following these rules on Monday, let's see how it works. Now that I have written them down and put them on the blog, I really have to put them to work...
Do you have any secrets how to make your days run smoothly??


   

Starting all over

I have been following a lot of blogs during the last two or three years. Food blogs, blogs on living simply, fashion blogs, you name it. It was so easy to dream myself far away, wishing I had a lovely little house in the woods (or by the sea, depending on the season), a vegetable garden and well-raised kinds that would gobble down my freshly cooked organic vegan meals.
Slowly, reality hit me...
I realised that I had neglected my own life. My family, my son and husband and my home. Most of all, myself!
This year so far has been a very stressful one. I realised that I could have avoided many of this years' problems if I had taken care of things earlier.
I started to think about a strategy to regain control of my life and to get things back on track. I work quite well under pressure and I need structure. So I came up with the idea of starting an online blog. I mean, I cannot tell an imaginary reader about eating a healthier diet and then forget about it, right? I'll have to post menus and some pictures of the food I made. And, talking about healthy living, I'll have to tell this reader about time spend outside instead of watching TV... Right? Right!
So here we go! As summer has finally arrived in my corner of the world, the first project will be... to go outside more!! Get outside and get moving! And I need a summer wardrobe! I thing I will give myself time to tackle this task until the end of July.
Will you join me on this journey to a happier life?