Happy New Year’s Eve!
I received word today that my CTV Interview is tentatively scheduled to air this Saturday Jan 2nd at 6pm EST in Ontario.
I am hoping it actually airs this time and does not set me up for disappointment again. Let’s hope for a slow news day!

Did you know that eating Black Eyed Peas on New Year’s Day is supposed to bring good luck?
Well, I hope to get an extra dose because we’re having it for tonight’s NYE dinner and we will likely be eating it throughout the week, including tomorrow!
Given that I really want my interview to air, I’m hoping the Black Eyed Peas are going to work their magic! ;)
By the way, I’m obsessed with this 4 O’Clock Chocolate Spice tea. OMG.
New Year’s Black Eyed Pea Soup

Ingredients:
- 1 heaping cup uncooked black eyed peas
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 1 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt
- 1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
- 2 cups water
- 3 cups of a big leafy green (chard, kale, etc), rinsed well OR SPINACH (I used spinach)
- 1/2 t – 1 t Lime juice (optional)
- Glug of white wine (optional)
Saffron Yogurt
a pinch of saffron (30-40 threads)
1 tablespoon boiling water
two pinches of salt
1/2 cup unsweetened soy yogurt OR 2% Greek Yogurt
Note: Not to worry if you don’t have the Saffron. You can just dollop regular yogurt over top!
Directions: Cook black eyed peas according to package directions. I brought mine to a boil and then cooked on low-med heat for about 1 hour. Drain and set aside.
While the lentils are cooking, make the saffron yogurt by combining the saffron threads and boiling water in a tiny cup. Let the saffron steep for a few minutes. Now stir the saffron along with the liquid into the yogurt. Mix in the salt and set aside. Or skip this step if you do not have Saffron.
Heat the oil in a heavy soup pot over medium heat, then add the onion and salt and sauté until tender, a couple minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, black eyed peas, and water and continue cooking for a few more minutes, letting the soup come back up to a simmer. Stir in the chopped greens, and wait another minute. Adjust seasonings to taste.
[Recipe adapted from 101 Cookbooks]

The soup was pretty good, not the best soup I have had though! The yogurt is key!!

with crackers…

and wine of course!
A Decade in Review
It dawned on Eric and I that we have been together a whole decade now! Eeps! We had some fun looking through old pictures this past week, so I thought I would share a few.
2000/2001
We met in our last year of high school, shortly after I moved from NB to Ontario in September. We started dating in October.

I was 17 and he was 18 in these pictures. We read over some of our old love letters and they are hilarious!
The best was before we started saying ‘I love you’- we used to write, ‘I LIKE YOU SOOOOOO MUCH.’
Prom:

2002 2003
2004 2005
My hair went through a brown layered look. I hated it and went back to blonde.
2006
Another hair dying mistake (I don’t learn the first time!)

We finished our undergraduate degrees and then we moved to Toronto. I started grad school. This is when I started to ditch my disordered eating and get healthy!!! I stopped counting calories and eventually stopped weighing myself. Things began to balance out and I was much happier.
2007
7 year anniversary + got engaged in Mexico
2008
Wedding
Mediterranean Honeymoon

2009
It was a great decade and I am really excited to see what the next one brings!
What is your best memory of the past decade?
Mine is definitely Aug 31, 2008- the day we got married.
What do you hope for in the next decade?
My biggest wish is that we will bring a child (or two!) into the world during the next decade. I can’t wait to be a mother and experience that kind of love.
~~~~
Check back tomorrow morning for Whittle My Middle 2– it will be posted on the abs page once again!
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!
Wishing you a year filled with opportunity, happiness, health, and good fortune!

Wow, you had a great decade! I hope you have a Happy New Year! As for the black eyed peas…I love them. They are my favorite part of the New Year. The soup looks delicious and I hope the luck really kicks in!
That’s so awesome you and your husband have been together that long! My husband and I met when I was 17 and he was 18 (1997) and we’ve been married nearly 8 years now. Good stuff!
Have a wonderful New Year—I’m planning on whittling my middle!
You an Eric are sooo cute together- your babies are gonna be HOTTT!
Those pics are so fun! Thanks for sharing. My biggest wish for 2010 is to start LIVING! I really want to ditch my ED and embrace my potential. Here’s to hoping. :D
I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again: you do a great job with this blog, Angela, and I love reading it. You have really inspired me! Thank you!!!
I hope all your wishes for the new year come true. Best of luck!
What a fun post! Love the pictures :) As for CTV, I live in Minnesota so I won’t be able to catch the interview – can you upload the official airing to OSG? Funny about the black-eye peas – I never knew! And I was shopping at Whole Foods today – they had containers of black-eyed peas nestled in with the greens in the produce section. I thought it was odd but now I know why! Happy New Year!
Cute post! My husband and I have been together a decade as well – we met at the end of 1999 (just after I had finished high school) and started dating around the beginning of 2000 – so 10 years for us as well :-) I reckon my highlight is our wedding day in 2007 :-)
This decade I also hope to have children at some stage, travel around Europe, ride a bicycle around China, do a volunteer project in a developing country and finally move out of Sydney!
That soup looks yummy and healthy! I might add making that that to the list of things to do this decade ;-)
Love the pictures! You two are so adorable!!
Happy New Year!
Happy New Year Angela! What a year you have had. I wish you all the best in 2010. You are a lovely person and I enjoy following along in your life so much :)
I have enjoyed reading your blog over the last year! Here is to a healthy and happy 2010! You inspire me!!
Dana
Congrats on being together for a whole decade. My best from this past was meeting a great guy and getting married and I hope in the next decade we will also expand our family. Not sure I am ready right now, but certainly within the next 10 years.
OMG, I love your hair dark in the bottom picture, very flattering !!
I’ll be keeping my fingers crossed for your interview to air!
We are having black eyed pea soup today too! Hopefully it looks as yummy as yours ;)
Loved the decade recap of your relationship, I can tell that you guys have a great time together! And wow, everytime I see your wedding pics, I am blown away, you look gorgeous!
happy new year Angela!
It is so fun that you guys are high school sweethearts. I think it is such a gift to have that history with your spouse. My parents met in high school and it is such fun for my brother and sister and I to see their prom picture and hear their stories. Great pics! You guys look so cute in all of them.
loved all the pics! fun to see you from 10 years ago!
The recipe sounds delicious. I will definately be trying it. Thanks!
Loved the retrospective. It’s always so interesting to look back at our lives and see how far we’ve come.
All the best in the new year.
I hope you listened to the Black Eyed Peas while making them!!! Extra good luck and fortune.
That’s (maybe) good news about your interview!!!
Love the pics! You guys are too cute.
This would be my 11th New Year’s Day with my husband except I was on vacation (I can’t even remember where – a tropical Club Med somewhere) the first one because I’d only met him the week before.
Definitely our wedding day was the best day of the last decade. I couldn’t agree more!
Here’s to a great 2010 to you both! Glo baby glo!
Hi, I also love the chocolate spice tea…makes you feel like you’re having hot chocolate without the guilt!
You asked a while back if there were any Maritimers out there…well, I’m from Northern New-Brunswick and now live in Rimouski Québec. I started my university in Moncton.
Happy New Year to all!
Happy New Year to you!! Thank you for all the inspiration in 2009!! :)
Happy New Year Love!!! 2010 is going to be the bestest – I can feel it in my bones ;)
Have a great day!
I’m getting ready to have my New Year’s black eyed peas too! We’re also have collard greens and cabbage- I think they stand for wealth and health or something similar. Your soup looks great!