Its easy to get carried away picking seeds in the middle of winter. You’re dreaming of a warm spring sun. You swear this is the year your carbon footprint will get even smaller. And you’re riding on the delusional fumes that you’ll actually make time to tend your garden. As with any new venture, I suggest starting out small and this year I say you should start on Pinterest.

There are several scrumptious recipes floating around on Pinterest–and some are looking very appealing to me. So tasty that I’m going to try to grow the vegetables to make these recipes. Here are a few of my favorite:

Click on images for more information.

Roasted Parmesan Green Beans

I’ve never been much of a fan of straight-from-the-garden green beans. Their texture was something I couldn’t get past. However, I’ve recently found certain cooking methods alleviate the tongue-abrasive shell giving way to a delicious snack.

Butternut Squash with Browned Butter and Thyme

I used to eat squash almost every week when working for my grandparents. It’s time to get back on track by growing my own and putting a new twist on the recipe.

How could anyone go a summer without snacking on a strawberry or two. I found three recipes that look so good, I wish I had a flourishing patch of berries right now!

Dried Strawberries

Supposedly these strawberries are delightfully chewy. Sounds scrumptious.

Strawberry Bruschetta

Ummm….does this even need an explanation? I think not.

And of course you need to top this all off with a drink. Or can I recommend a shot?

Strawberry Margarita Jell-O Shots

I’m not sure yet where the liquor goes and how much strawberry I’ll have to scoop out but I’m looking forward to trying this recipe.

If you’ve got a veggie recipe to share–I’d love to try it! I’m a novice at cooking…baking…eating in general. And some might say even Hannah needs some pointers, after she spoon-fed me a nasty meringue. My teeth still hurt.

He is truly a blessing, as all babies are. We’ve been looking forward having a baby for a long time. {scratch that} I’VE been looking forward to being a mother for a long time {not that my husband hasn’t…….let me explain}.

For the last 8-10 years, I’ve manipulated every minute of every day with work, social and a little bit of play — make that a LOT of play. I was getting burned out but didn’t have the heart {or cojones} to slow down, take a breath and relish in those manipulated minutes. Now I want to – NEED to slow down, cut the crap from my life and really start enjoying the simple things.

I know. You’ve heard that phrase before. It’s probably overused and under appreciated. But it’s not just me I’m living for.

I’ve got more important things to think about now.

Hannah’s recent posts about celebrating life are really hitting home with me, particularly The digital hope chest. I love this idea and have already started sending emails to Landry.

I’ve also starting reading One Bite at a Time — 52 Projects for Making Life Simpler by Tsh Oxenreider. Some people can simplify on their own, others like me, need a guide or sometimes army-like orders. So far one of my favorite “projects” is one to start your day. Here is Tsh’s suggestion:

1. Create a to-do list
2. Pick 3 most important tasks
3. From those 3, pick the worst task and do that first

I’m a constant procrastinator for the things I don’t want to do. In fact, I can see myself procrastinating on making a list of what I procrastinate about {thus the worst tasks}. Tsh has several good ideas on simplifying life. I’m anxious to tackle them all, but we’ll start with baby steps.

How do you simplify your life? Cherish the little moments? I’d love to hear your thoughts and ideas as I could use all the help I can get.

And a quick plug for my gal Amber Salmon {aka our sponsor Mimi & T Photography}. She took these wonderful pictures of our family…and many others. Check her out, and if you’re in the Des Moines metro area, book her to create your next family memory.

But as life gets increasingly digital, it becomes increasingly difficult to capture and pass on all those digital memories.  Things like facebook and vineme attempt to help you do these things with photos and personal posts.  But there is still more to capture.

On Pinterest (if I only had a dollar for everytime I say that phase), I had run across an idea to create an email address for your child.  Genius!  How much easier could it be?  You add your child to your contacts and email photos, videos and notes to your child.  The account keeps it in chronological order, and you can use your subject line to describe things like “Video of you crawling” of “photo of your first snow” or  just “I love you”.  Graduation slide shows just got a lot easier!

Imagine the day you tell your child about this account and give her the password. With one password, she comes across an entire inbox of her life documented narrated with your thoughts.

Helpful Tips:

• In the subject line describe what’s contained in the email.  For example: “Video of you crawling, 8 months”, “Photo of sibling love”, “Life lessons from mom”, “Your favorite things to eat at age 6″.
• If you have multiple children, considering sending them some of the same emails.  It creates something for them to bond over when they are older.
• Give your partner, grandparents, god parents, aunts and uncles the email address so they can add notes to your child.
• Make note of the account and the password somewhere that your child can access it, god forbid something happens to you.  And also so you can remember what it is!
• When setting up the account, use your  date of birth, as children under a certain age cannot set up an email account per certain email platforms

I found this tutorial on Pinterest.  Whether it’s a great dentist visit or a beautiful day, this board reminds you to take the time to relish the small victories in life.

With every celebration, you must set the stage.  This felt “celebrate” banner from Von Maur is colorful and long lasting.  Putting this up when a great progress report comes home signals a great party is coming up.And every celebration needs a special drink to toast with.  These are perfect for the kids.  They’re so darn cute, mom may partake too.

Whether you’re celebrating a made bed, clean room, completed project or Tuesday, recognizing and giving thanks for the event will provide a smile to your face and a memory in your heart.

(I really did just write that last line.  I know it’s so cheesy, but seriously, the more I do this, the cheesier I get – and it’s in a good way.  I promise.)