On the tenth day...

...I wish I could say I had slept ten hours. Haha. Not likely. Though Faith has and she's not yet awake. She often sleeps 12 and is almost there right now. Lucky girl.

The duct cleaning man is coming today. We've been in this house for 13 years and it's not been done by us. The house is almost 30 years old and I don't know if it's ever been done. Could be a really big job. I don't know what to expect, but I keep hoping he won't make a mess.

School started back today for Noah, and the big boys at Ohio State (and will for Faith when her sleepy head wakes up). I don't wish to be them walking in the snow from building to building. Brrrr. I love winter but mostly because I stay home, a lot. My little chick and I will be tucked away, snug and warm in our house. In the winter, I find myself thanking God frequently for a roof, and furnace, and warm clothes.

Speaking of furnace, that's the reason we are having the ducts cleaned...we are getting a new furnace and air conditioner installed very soon. Though I admit I hate spending money on stuff like that -- a new roof, new tires -- I am grateful we can do it. Unlike last year's list of home improvement projects, I truly hope this is the only thing we do this year. I'd like a year off projects. No ten projects this year.

I'm running out of numbered topics (at least those that are readily available in my head) but I thought I'd talk about food goals this year. I feel like by Christmas every year I have absolutely no energy left for 1) cooking and 2) setting limits for the kids in regard to food, and by New Year's Eve we are all about eating junk, something I hate. But besides eating healthier this year (at least until December when it all falls apart) I have some other food goals, and we'll see if I can come up with ten.

1) bake more bread. I did already mention that as part of my "resolutions" but I'd like to try more kinds of bread and really make an effort to buy a lot less bread. A lot less. I'd like to work my way through the Five Minute Artisan Bread book because I think it's a great resource for truly good bread. I'd also like to get my self a sandwich bread pan and try to perfect the old-fashioned white bread my kids love, while also encouraging them to eat more whole grains.

2) Try to really limit ingredients to whole foods -- less purchased sauce and condiments and more cooking with herbs, lemon and lime juice, extra virgin olive oil. Really just more simple. Simple but better.

3) Try my hand at Indian food. I've never been a big fan of curry, but it could be something that needs more trying. There is also more to Indian food than curry. My college boy (who used to be the pickiest kid) encouraged me to try some Indian food, and I am on the hunt for some good recipes.

4) More ethnic food in general. My family loves to be adventurous with food and so I'd like to work on some truly ethnic dishes -- more than Mexican/American and Italian/American.

5) More grains less wheat. I need to experiment with some grains other than what we normally eat, rice, oat and wheat. I like corn but don't use it a lot in baking, and I'd like to try some grains we've never tried. Our G/I doctor told us earlier last year that less wheat is good for everyone, but wheat, like soy, is rather pervasive. I always say "everything in moderation," but sometimes you have to cut in order to even be moderate.

6) in the same ilk but not food, I am trying to cut plastic from our food use. Not that we eat plastic, but then, maybe we do. Did you ever notice how much food is stored in plastic? Yuk. I read some articles recently (dangerous, I know) that really creeped me out about how much plastic we ingest. I switched to all glass storage containers, and even bought wax papers lunch bags (how's that for a blast from the past?) and now I'm keeping an eye out on the products I purchase. If I can buy plastic-free I will. I need to find a way to store bread that's not in plastic -- any suggestions?

7) more fruit, different fruit. It's hard to get away from just apples, oranges and grapes, but I'd like to have more fruit every day and not just the same-old same-old. It's expensive though, isn't it? Geoffrey wanted to try a pomegranate while he was home and one pomegranate was $1.50. And all he got was a handful of seeds. Not a big bang for our buck. A lot of canned fruit is made in China, so that's not a good route either. I think making smoothies might be a good route, because I can buy frozen berries when they are out of season or pricey. Hmmm, need to experiment.

8) the same goes for veggies, but I am hopeful that branching out into different ethnic dishes will help us consume different veggies. And maybe I can start throwing some spinach into a smoothie.

9) less dessert. My family will be so sad if I tell them they are getting less dessert, so I'll have to just stop buying as many treats and make the ones they have healthier.

10) less time spent cooking. That seems rather contrary to the above goals, but I think, with the right recipes and state of mind, and simple ingredients, I can spend less time in the kitchen. That's a good thing.