2012, A Year of Firsts

Today I took the first steps to trying new things in the new year. These are things I have never done before and will be good for my health and my family. Ready to see my exciting purchases??

ZUMBA BABY!!!

I am really looking forward to starting this fun activity. The guy at the store asked me today if I wanted Zumba 1 or Zumba 2 and my response was, I want the one that is on sale. Hopefully I didn't need to know 1 before jumping into 2. Guess I will find out! I figure that I can get started on doing Zumba without having to worry about overcrowded classes at the gym and learn some of the steps so I don't look like a complete boob when I do attend my first class. I hope it is as much fun as everyone says it is! I will just have to kick the husband and son out of the family room while I do it, at least until I look cute doing it. I told my hubby that he should do it with me and that suggestion was met with the "are you effing kidding me?" look.

Pressure Canner & Cooker!!

Most of those who know me know that I am very much into food storage. It's not just for Mormons ;-) We started doing food storage about 2 1/2 yrs ago when I was doing my business solely and we had to watch our spending while I did my parties and played domestic goddess. Now that I have gotten the band, I want to be more proactive in what we have to eat when times get tough. A lot of food storage consists of potatoes, pasta, rice and beans (which is very difficult if not impossible for me to eat) so I need to ensure that I can actually consume what we have without getting stuck every 20 seconds. I cannot WAIT to try canning for the first time. Oh the possibilities. My MIL usually has to do our canning for us but now I will be able to do it myself. We can meats (lots of chicken and now fish) and I am really excited to be able to can fresh veggies. I am signing up for Bountiful.Baskets Co-op for produce, veggies and other goodies that they offer each week. Not only will we be helping out local farmers, but I will be able to have healthy options available for us that I can eat. There are so many things to learn to make now....salsa & jam are going to be fun! While I used to make fun of those who had food storage in their homes, I am very grateful that we had ours when my husband was discharged from the AF back in Sept. He didn't receive his final paycheck for 5 weeks so we relied upon that when there wasn't extra money to be spent on food. I'm not one to lecture, but it is something to consider doing for yourself, just in case! With him still being out of work, we still use it every now and then. We have gotten creative with meal planning, that's for sure!

If you are familiar with canning, please share your favorite recipes and websites that you use for your own items! I can use all the help I can get. Before I know it I will be Zumbaing in my kitchen while canning. Ha! That will be a sight to see!