Oh, Hello 2013. Welcome.

Happy New Year, Friends!  I hope you had a fabulous and eventful (or pleasantly uneventful) evening.  There's something very special about the new year, and the new beginning we get at this time each year.  Now, we are faced with the hard part: what will we do to make the most of our year?  That said, what are some of your resolutions for the New Year?  And more importantly, why is it your resolution?  I think the one we most often hear is "I will lose weight this year!" but why do you want to lose weight?  Perhaps if we had a great reason for our resolution, it would help us keep focused on our goal.  So here's a few of mine:

1. Cut down on sugar so my poor teeth don't suffer.  My goal is to achieve this by not adding sugar to my already coconut creamer filled brew, and to not indulge in candy just because its in front of me.  I'm terrible about this. 

2. Take time for ME.  It has recently occurred to me that even when I'm sitting, I'm doing something.  We all are.  Our culture these days can't seem to just sit and do nothing (what a concept) and this fast paced lifestyle can wear us down!  My goal is to take 5-10 minutes a day to something I want to do, rather than something I need to do.  Sure, much of my day is spent working on orders for my Etsy shop, and I love doing this, but it's work none-the-less.  Now, what will my 5-10 minutes be today? 

3. My father suffered a heart attack a week ago, and it really made us stop and evaluate how we are treating our bodies.  So one of my resolutions is to eat healthier (not for weight related reasons) in order to keep my body strong.  And for crying out loud, we need to stop stressing over everything (I'm preaching to myself here)! 

4. My husband inspired this one, when he said we need to embrace life and take the time to explore our areas of interest.  He, for example, has always had an interest in woodworking, but has never gone anywhere with it.  After attending a dinner party recently where the food was all native to Northern India, it inspired me to learn new cooking techniques and experiment with cooking. 

5. And last, but perhaps most important, I vow to SLOW DOWN this year.  I was bred to always be moving and doing something.  Flashback to me as a kid, summer vacation, lounging and enjoying my television programming only to have my dad tell me to get outside and "find something to do." (Didn't he know that I HAD to watch Saved By the Bell?)  But this year, we all need to slow down and not multi task with a hundred things at once.