Happy Leap Day!! A “holiday” you can only celebrate every 4 years!

Leap year occurs in years evenly divisible by 4, except years that are evenly divisible by 100, with the exception of years evenly divisible by 400! Wow. Leap Day traditions include the famous Irish female marriage proposal, which if refused by the man warrants money, gowns, or 12 pairs of gloves (to hide the shame of no ring) to the asker. Also included is the Scottish superstition that marriage on a leap day is bad luck! Leap Day is necessary because it actually takes the Earth 365.2422 days to circle the sun thus the extra day every 4th year.

A Recipe I just tried that I totally love:

Grapefruit, Lime & Ginger Juice from Lottie & Doof

This juice was perfect for Sunday brunch! So clever. Mom & Stephen both loved it.

So after being sick for nearly the entire month of February, I finally feel GREAT. I came home on Friday with a lot of great produce from the “Amish Market” and decided I absolutely had to clean out the refrigerator. I started to throw out all the old food & condiments we’d managed to hoard over the days, months, yeaaars. Then I rearranged everything & cleaned off all the shelves with a white vinegar & baking soda mixture. I organized the whole fridge (except the meat/cheese drawer)! It made me feel like all the food I put into it was that much healthier… living in my clean fridge. Now I just need to clean out the freezers.

Then comes the big one… I cleaned my room. It started with washing my sheets, pillowcases & duvet cover (which I do on a regular basis, be reassured) and then I moved on to some major straightening. I folded every piece of clothing, recycled paper from high school!, threw away random receipts I found, and for the first time in what was probably years I vacuumed! Yes, I still have papers (and probably dirt) from high school! How ridiculous. I swear, I’m not that gross. I do shower. I wash my laundry. I don’t have bugs (except the occasional spider) in my room or old moldy food sitting around. I’m just really messy : ) In the kitchen too!

I also finally get to work out this year! I clocked in 25 minutes on the elliptical for my first (technically second if you count gentle yoga) workout since feeling well again.  I cannot wait to get re-immersed in yoga so I can do a thorough vinyasa routine at home.

Recipes I want to try really badly:

Asian Slaw by Once Upon a Chef

Topped with a peanut ginger dressing. This looks absolutely incredible. And perfect for Spring.

Lemony Saffron CousCous from The Shiksa in the Kitchen

So light & full of flavor. Another dish perfect for spring!

Jam-filled Scones from The Teaspoon

I’ve wanted to make these for weeks. The messy picture makes them look warm & perfectly wonderful.

Raw Macaroons from Simple Medicine

Grown-up, vegan macaroons? Yes, please, and thank you. I’ll take a baker’s dozen.

Sticky Toffee Pudding from Oh She Glows

I love how simple this dessert is. Only a few ingredients and voila – warmth & yum.

Vegan French Toast by Epicurean Vegan

I love the easy ingredients & this just looks killer. Cannot wait to try!

Also, I’ve just noticed in posting these recipes that nearly everything I want to make has sugar in it. Is that just because I have a craving as I write or is that an everyday thing? Oh dear, I better watch myself. I can smell the maple syrup wafting off of the computer screen.