2012 - Let's do this thing.

Welcome.
“The soul should always stand ajar, ready to welcome the ecstatic experience.” ~Emily Dickinson

Happy New Year!   Here’s to 2012 surpassing 2011!  I’ve seen too many family and friends going through rough times.  Friends were lost, jobs were lost, and homes were lost.  Not a very good year at all.  Good riddance to 2011.
We all need to start off the year on a positive note and hope for the best for the next year.  That’s why I’m not watching the moving 2012 anytime soon.  Who needs the doom and gloom?  It just isn’t the positive vibe I’m looking for.  The next movie I want to see is We Bought a Zoo.  This movie is based on a true story of a widowed father that buys a zoo in hopes of making a fresh start.  The zoo isn’t in good shape but with a small loyal staff and hard work he hopes to reopen it and start a new life for his family.  Now that’s my kind of story.  One with some hard work and hope.

Exercise.
“Strength does not come from physical capacity.  It comes from indomitable will.” ~Mahatma Gandhi

Strong – Feminine 

Those are my focus words for 2012.  I’m not going to obsess about losing weight.  I’m going to focus on getting stronger.   I don’t mean ‘weight lifter’ stronger…just stronger than I am.  I still want the curves of a woman.  I figure a little weight lifting each day will get me to where I want to be.  A little each day is better than trying to overdo it a couple of times a week.  I’ve got all year to get where I want to be so I’m not going to rush it.  Slow and steady – I’ll get there.

And, well, what woman doesn’t want to be pretty-pretty at times?  I’ve seen some beautifully romantic feminine styles on the internet lately that I really like.  The combinations of pink & black with lace, teal and black with swirls, girly pink & white, oh my.  The shoes – I’ve seen some beautiful shoes.  But, I’ve got to strengthen up my legs and ankles before wearing the heels.  I’m bookmarking the ones I like the most for motivation.  Oh, and did I mention the snakeskin bags?  I love the Michael Kors snakeskin bags that I’ve see.  I need to save up some money for one of those!

Have Fun.

“For every Way there’s a way of following that Way that’s fun.” ~the Oaqui

My feminine side has been doing her nails.  A lot.  I bought a Konad nail stamping kit and a bunch of the stamping wheels right before Christmas.   The pictures show a few of the manicures I’ve done with the stamps. It takes a bit of time and patience but I find it fun.  I

 enjoy spending the time on something so frivolous and female.   And I’ve noticed that the more time I spend on doing my nails, the less time I spend doing things that aren’t good for me.  I can’t each junk food with wet nails.  And I’m reading more while I wait for them to dry.

Eat.

“Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you who you are. ~Brillat-Savarin

I’m going to commit to eating seasonally this year.  We’ll be eating foods that are at their best for the month and as local as possible.  January may seem like a barren month when it comes to eating fresh and local but there are some wonderful surprises on the list for this month.   Leeks, Carrots, Kale, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Potatoes, Oranges, Clementines, Pears, Pomegranate, Pineapple, Artichokes, Chicory, Rhubarb, Rutabaga, Walnuts, Scallops and Mussels are at their prime right now.  Some of these are already favorites of ours.  I know my hubby has been craving mussels lately.  And we love scallops.  Rutabaga, Chicory, Artichokes & Rhubarb aren’t a staple for us but I’m game to try them.