The Creative Salad – Page 46 – Crafty fun and homeschool adventures in Sonoma County, California.

Happy New Year

2012 is here. Out with the old, in with the new…

January has arrived… and so we took down our beautiful Christmas tree,

packed away our handmade ornaments,

and said goodbye to 2011.

(Oh, how glad I was to reclaim those 25 square feet of the living room that the tree had occupied. Don’t Christmas trees always look so much smaller outside than they turn out to be once they enter your house?!)

May you and your family have a wonderful 2012! We’re so glad you’re here, following along with our blog, and joining us for the ride!

Looking back on 2011

2011 had it’s ups and downs, though perhaps not in ways that one might expect.

In all honesty, spraining my ankle and not having been able to run for the past six months has been much more devastating to me than my inability to stay pregnant.

Those daily runs have been my solace over the past few years. A moment of quiet time to focus my mind and have time to myself. In the meantime I’ve tried to make do with frequent walks listening to books on tape, but it’s not the same. I miss those runs.

David too has been plagued with injuries this year. His back sprain over the past few months have kept him from progressing in his yoga practice as he tries to strengthen and heal his back. (That being said, his yoga practice is phenomenal and he was recently called “a pillar of the [local ashtanga yoga] community.”)

Our health issues aside, I do believe that 2011 has been one of my very favorite years ever. We have a wonderful group of friends here and truly love where we live. After toying with the idea of pursuing a life elseware, both David and I arrived at the same conclusion: We’re not going anywhere. Sonoma County is home and neither of us can imagine living anywhere else.

While every year with David has truly been wonderful, this year I feel like we’ve really hit our stride. We’ve watched our respect and love for each other continue to grow, and after nine years together I awed by our love for each other. I could never have imagined loving anyone so fully. I feel very, very blessed.

Our daughter is such a joy. The craziness of three and a half definitely threw us for a loop (I could pull my hair out just thinking about it!), but we’ve hit our stride and love every day together. She forces us to grow on a seemingly daily basis and for that I am truly grateful.

David and I both thrive in this ever changing, constantly challenging yet incredibly rewarding environment. Thankfully life is never boring around here.

People ask what we’re busy doing and I always have to pause before I explain: life! Between the cooking, cleaning, homeschooling, lessons and playdates, we don’t have a free moment. My to-do list is pages long. The sink is full of dishes. Laundry is overflowing everywhere. Our life is full. A beautiful, crazy mess, I wouldn’t have it any other way.

May 2012 be as wonderful.

Best of 2011: Gluten-Free Living

After years of occasionally eating gluten, this year marked a turning point for me. I realized that I can’t eat any — ANY! — gluten. The moment of truth happened while making playdough with our daughter; I breathed in the flour while we were mixing and got very, very sick… So, goodbye to gluten and hello to many months of feeling better!

Here are some of the yummy gluten-free recipes we shared via the blog this year. These particular recipes are the ones we make over (and over!) again, most on a weekly basis. Enjoy!

Our Go-To Dressing (original post)

Brazilian Cheese Bread and Chickpea Pancakes (original post)

Tasty Gluten-Free Granola Recipe (original post)

Coconut Date Rolls (original post)

Easy Kale Chips Recipe (original post)

Kale Salad with Lemon Tahini Dressing Redux (original post)

We’ve eaten so well this year! Plus, our daughter now voluntarily eats kale! Try those kale chips; I swear they are a (surprise!) hit with everyone. If our daughter loves them, I’m pretty sure you’ll like them too.

Best of 2011: Everyday Learning

We had so much fun this past year in our everyday learning activities: exploring the natural world and helping support our three year old daughter as she gains skills and confidence in the kitchen, with reading, writing, and riding around on her scooter, dancing, photographing, making music and transforming every experience into a learning opportunity (both for her and for us!).

Working in Bed (original post)

Here are some of the more special experiences we blogged about — just a small snippet of our homeschooling activities — over the past year that touch about our everyday learning and exploration activities.

Yoga Game Time (original post)

Inspired by The Very Hungry Caterpillar (original post)

Building a Computer with Daddy (original post)

Leaf Exploration With Stencils (original post)

Copious Amounts of Poppy Seeds (original post)

The Nest in our Wind Chimes (original post),
A Peak in the Nest (original post),
More Baby Birds Coming Our Way Soon (original post), and
Saying Farewell, a Sad Nest Update (original post)

Leaf Rubbings and Characteristics Activity (original post)

What a busy, fun time we’ve had!

Best of 2011: Crafty Projects

We’ve done so many fun crafty projects over the past year. Here are some of our family’s favorites, with links to the original posts.

Toddler Art Napkins (original post)

Picture Frame Decoupage Project (original post)

Sweet Dreams Felt Banner (original post)

Embroidered Portrait Fun (original post)

Felt Salad Greens, Spinach and Mushrooms (original post)

Decoupage Paper Mache Eggs (original post)

Make Your Own Literary Magnets (original post)

Poppy Flower Inspired Tissue Paper Art (original post)

Mod Podged Trays (original post)

Colorful Scrabble Letter Magnets (original post)

Handmade Watercolor Postcards (original post)

Red Glitter Clothespins Tutorial (original post)

Gratitude Leaf Rubbings Garland (original post)

Picture Bottle-Cap Magnets (original post)

Believe it or not, we’ve written about even more kid-friendly arts and craft projects. Click here to see the whole shebang — all of the crafty projects we’ve made this year!