This New Year's Eve, we hid out at home and let a serious party animal entertain us:
(Pip is modeling the past three years of New Year's chapeaus from St-Germain... they're the best)
We made a stop to our favorite cheese shop, goat. sheep. cow., and got a bevy of treats to snack on till midnight.
(Maya brought a lot of hope into 2013... hope that we'd step away from the table and not miss a slice or three of soppressata.)
(Our few guests looked great for the occasion but didn't add much to the conversation.)
We downed our champagne, lit off a few fireworks and called it a night. Besides the fireworks, it wasn't much different than many other nights we've spent at home, but over breakfast, we talked about our resolutions and they've geared us up for taking on 2013, head first.
(New Year's Day calls for a port-infused French toast brunch with Bloody Marys and lots of bacon.)
One of my resolutions was to writewritewrite just for myself and also a little more in this blog, and so I am haltingly, falteringly starting again.
And tomorrow (or, in about four hours, rather), Steven and I will be taking on another of my resolutions!
Ah, resolutions. I, like most people, make these lofty goals each year with the full knowledge that they'll be left by the wayside around early March.
However, this set of resolutions is different. My resolutions are more a celebration of the past year being behind me, with a new one right on the horizon. Of course, I still have those standard resolutions that most people have, because 2009 became a year of excess...eating, going out and drinking, other things...I want to hit the reset button on my life and enjoy the coming year as much as possible, because I can feel in my bones that it's going to be a darn good one.
* I resolve to cook more delicious meals--every time I make something delicious, I'm happier all-around. I love the process of cooking, I love tasting what I've made, and my wallet likes grocery stores more than restaurants. And I like showing off.
* I resolve to make my UK trip before the end of 2009. For being a self-proclaimed Anglophile, it's tragic that I've never been to the land of Jane Austen, Henry Cavill, and Radiohead.
* I resolve to replace Tuesday night trivia with Tuesday night yoga. This is also because yoga would have me back home in time for Lost and trivia wouldn't.
* I resolve to see my family more. Driving home on Christmas Eve, I realized I hadn't been back to old Matthews, NC in six months. Six months! I am an awful daughter. My parents supported me when I was neck-deep in self-pity and sniffling and then I pull a half-year disappearing act. Not going to happen again.
* I resolve to thoroughly embarrass my sister. She turns 16 this year, so all those boys who have been waiting in the wings to take her out may finally have their chance. And I resolve to be there with awkward questions and bad jokes. Who says my Dad should get to have all the fun?
Also on the resolutions list:
* Take more pictures. * OPEN MY ETSY SHOP. * Make a Chicago trip. * Finish the pile of books in my room before buying more.
What about you, my three readers in Internetland? Do you have any resolutions to share?
Edited to add a song for the New Year. This song gives me goosebumps and makes me dance:
I know that the Western New Year falls on January 1st, but if it were up to me, New Year's would fall somewhere in the Spring. Springtime stirs something in me. It makes me want to clean out my closet, be more environmentally conscious, start art projects, eat healthier, and so much more. Trying to eat healthier in January is almost impossible. It's the grayest, chilliest month of the year, when all I feel like doing is curling up on the couch and watching 19th century British miniseries.
In the Spring, I revel outdoors. Now, with Maya in my life, I'm more than content to ramble down to Hampton Park and sit under the angel oaks while my pup digs in the dirt. I people and duck-watch. I write in my journal. I become more content to just be with myself.
New Spring Resolutions:
1. Yoga. Yoga. Yoga. (I'm totally copying my boss, Nikki, here.) 2. Eat healthy, locally, and as organically as possible. (But not totally cut out sweets from my life. I could never say goodbye to Cupcake.) 3. As a tie to the above, grocery shop at the Farmers Market and transport there with the entry below. 3. Ride my bike and walk as much as possible before it gets swelteringly hot. 4. Read books that are beautiful and inspiring, like what I'm reading now: The Shadow of the Wind. 5. Try to buy less trendy clothing, and only things that I love (especially if it's recycled clothing from thrift stores. 6. Same with home decor stuffs. 7. Write in my paper journal more. 8. Stop using plastic bags, once and for all, in favor of Baggus. 9. Find a place to volunteer in the community. 10. Be more social.
If you're curious as to all of the eco-themed resolutions, I've had "environmental guilt" for a while (thanks to my Dad, who would pack my lunch in the empty bags that loaves of bread came in) and the fact that I was bombarded with Earth Day was yesterday was quite the impetus to do more than feel guilty, but actually do more about it.
Here's what I'm doing environmentally, so far:
* Recycling everything I can. * Keeping appliances turned off and/or unplugged when not in use. * Buying predominantly recycled clothing, furniture, etc. * Composting * Cutting down on packaging (plastic, cardboard, etc.) * Trying to avoid bags at the store (and reusing the ones I do take). * Not printing out paper at home. * Avoiding using unnecessary electricity (lights, heating/AC, etc.). * Limiting water usage: showers, washing dishes, laundry, etc.
Here's what I need to work on:
* Everything. * Stop driving to work (unless it's pouring). * Replace all bulbs with compact fluorescents. * Replace all paper products with recycled paper products. * Stop printing out unnecessary pages on the computer at work. * Buying locally, organically. * As mentioned in resolutions, completely stop accepting bags at stores and using cloth bags.
However, in order to be really, really socially concious, I think you need to be pretty wealthy! Buying clothes not made outside the US (i.e., in sweatshops) is expensive, clothing made from recycled or environmentally-friendly materials like bamboo is expensive! Paraben-free, environmentally-friendly makeup and body products are expensive!
Leave me more ideas on how I can further limit my environmental waste.
I leave you with a song that (no matter how played out) always makes me feel like Spring, and I will love it forever:
