Happy, Healthy, Prosperous New Year!

I cannot believe another year has passed.  What the heck?!  Today Alex said to me, "I'll turn nine in a few months".  Nine!!!

"Spring is just around the corner", I told him.  And it's true!  The days are already getting longer.  This year, in only it's first day, is already slipping away.   I think, therefore, it is a good idea to resolve to live each day as it's own special blessing.  Think, "one day at a time", or "living in the moment".

That doesn't mean I'm not gonna keep a calendar up upcoming events, it just means I am going to focus on the here and now.  If I find myself stressing about things that are coming up, or the long list of things I have to do, I'm going to stop, take a breath, and focus on the task at hand.  I'm going to really enjoy the walk to the store, without worrying about all the things I have to get when I get there.  I'm going to focus on the joy of cooking and not on the pile of dishes I'll have to clean later. And later, when I'm washing those dishes, I'm going to try and think about how nice the dish soap smells, how well my micro-fiber cloth rings out and how good the music on the kitchen radio is. I can get into a very zen place folding laundry.

Since I can sense the seasons slipping by already, I have also resolved to try and do more things to enjoy this winter.  It's a very special season.  Half the world never even gets to experience it!  When I think about people who really enjoy winter, I think skiers, skaters, hockey players.  I am none of those things.  Especially after last years skiing calamity.  But I love seeing other people's excitement about winter.  I've been reading my friend Mike's posts on Facebook.  Here is a man who seriously loves his job, taking skiers on helicopter trips up into the Rockies and guiding them down.  His excitement about his job is infectious.

There's also my own children.  They absolutely love winter.  Thanks to our location on a cul de sac, every year the snowplow makes a monstrous mountain of snow in the center of our street.  Kid paradise!  They happily spend half the day climbing, sliding and building on this heaping mountain if snow!

The Boys on the Snow Mountain

My favorite winter activity?  I'm doing it right now.  Snuggling up in front of a roaring wood fire, sipping some leftover New Years Champagne and writing.  I can hear the boys upstairs running around and giving Jake a hard time about brushing their teeth.  It makes me smile.

I do have some other resolutions this year.  I want to improve my health and fitness, of course.  I want to get a few big projects done around the house.  And I'm going to be throwing myself into my new Arbonne business full tilt. I want to volunteer more.  It's a great way to get out and meet people.

I also want to sit a whole lot less.  Oh my gosh, I spend so much time on my kiester, and I don't even have a desk job.  I watch a little bit of tv, but not much by average standards.  All of my hobbies though are done sitting down.  Cross stitch, knitting, scrap-booking, puzzles, reading, writing.  All sitting.   I absolutely must move more!!  I have no excuse!

So, that ought to be enough to keep me busy for the next 12 months.  I wish everyone out there in the blog-o-sphere a happy, healthy, prosperous new year!

Michy