more gingerbread cookies, lists and resolutions

Now is the time of Lists... Lists of favorites, lists of worsts, lists of all the superlatives you can think of. And lists of resolutions, of course.

Here is a very small list of the things that I highly recommend from 2013:

FIVE books my son read and loved (I am omitting the dinosaur themed ones due to their copiousness, and because there isn't a dinosaur book my son doesn't love):

The Mitten by Jan Brett
A House is A House for Me by Mary Ann Hoberman
Bear's Dreams by Janet Slingsby
Winnie-the-Pooh by A.A. Milne
Poky Little Puppy by Janette Sebring Lowrey

FOUR (yes, FOUR!!) ways I used this amazing gingerbread recipe by Deb:
House, Holiday Cookies, Number Cookies, Linzer Tortes.

THREE ways I enjoyed eating Kale:
In salad. In this dish by Joanne. In this dish by me (a very simple dish - you have no excuse not to make it):

Kale and Mushrooms over Rice
2 tablespoons oil (I suggest sesame oil)
1 large onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, sliced
1 inch long fresh ginger piece, peeled and minced
1/2 bunch kale, stemmed and ripped into small pieces
1 cup sliced mushrooms (any variety)
1/4 -1/2 cup tamari sauce

1. Heat oil, onion in a large skillet until onion is translucent. Add garlic and ginger and cook until fragrant. Add mushrooms, kale and tamari and cover, stirring occasionally. Cook until kale is wilted and mushrooms are soft. Serve over rice.

TWO books I read and loved:
State of Wonder by Ann Patchett may be my new favorite novel, replacing History of Love by Nicole Krauss. It is about a pharmaceutical researcher/doctor who is sent to the Amazon to find and bring back the results of a study being done on a tribe of people whose women are fertile way past the usual time of menopause. I brings up questions about how we are treating our bodies, having children so late in life, something very pertinent to my life.

The Tiger's Wife by Tea Obreht. I started this in 2013 but am still reading it so I don't have the entire plot worked out. Suffice it to say that I am having trouble keeping my eyes off it. Oddly enough the protagonist is also a female doctor.

ONE Television series I completed and was obsessed with for the last few months: Breaking Bad.

So, resolutions? Do you guys have some? My husband doesn't believe in them. He's the tortoise. He knows the value of slow and steady. I am definitely the hare. Quick, quick and run into a wall. This may well be why we work so well together.

Any way, back to resolutions. I have two. Lose the cheese from my diet again - even if it is not as bad as I thought, it is still not making me feel good. And get into shape... I know, I know, not very original. Ah well... what can I tell you?

One - Do some bit of exercise once every day
Two - Eat only two kinds of cheese - feta and parmesan
Three - Complete three creative projects - draw, paint, write... make jewelry?
Four - Do something just for myself 4 times a week
Five - Make 5 soups