Monday, January 2, 2012

Easing into a New Year

First things first...I haven't been on my blog since sometime last week so happy new year! I feel like I should say something deep and profound in this first post of 2012, but to be honest I just don't have it in me today. I'll get back in the blog groove soon but for now I want to linger in the post Christmas haze. Or laze if you want to get all technical.


We've had a week of walks in the woods and naps on the couch. We rang in the new year with homemade fondue and movies at home. Hubs and I were both awake at midnight much to daughter2's surprise and delight. Well, surprise for sure, but I like to think she was also delighted.


We've watched football and cooking shows and spent an afternoon browsing the shelves of Barnes and Noble. Fifty degree weather on the first day of January was all the motivation hubs needed to get the outdoor lights down. He rewarded himself with a spin in the little red car which most years doesn't see the light of day in January.


Daughter2 is home for another week and we've made a few plans which include fun things like dinner in 'The Big Apple', more shopping, trying some new recipes in the kitchen, and finishing a jigsaw puzzle we started after Christmas. It also includes not so fun things like a trip to the Social Security office for a replacement card and taking down the tree decorations.


Hubs has crazy travel coming up this month and he especially needed the down time we always seem to find at the end of a year. We both needed time to lay low and enjoy the gift of very un-December like weather.


I've taken lots of pictures in an attempt to figure out my new camera. We've trekked thru the woods to the top of our backyard hill and watched the hawk fly and the wild turkeys scatter. The forest is what our bird dog likes to call her happy place.


We've stood beside the quiet calm of our little town's lake and gained a new appreciation for the phrase, 'busy as a beaver'.


I should be this industrious in the new year.


In the month leading up to Christmas my blog was a little heavy on the 'how I spent my weekend' type of postings and a little light on substance. That's okay because life was busy and I'm going to be kind to myself and let me off the hook.


There is something about a new year that fills me with hope. Hope that I'll be better disciplined and less wasteful of the gift of a single hour. Hope that I'll make fewer excuses and log more hours in the gym/pool/countryside. Hope that I'll serve more and want less. More kindness, less irritation. Hope that I'll pray more and worry less. Hope that I'll seize the moment and be more intentional about how I spend my time and live my life.


Hope is good, essential actually, but if we want the things we hope for to become the things we have, then action is required. I don't know about you but I'm hoping this new year is action-packed.

"Start by doing what is necessary; next do what's possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible." St. Francis of Assisi

15 comments:

  1. does your dog have his reindeer ears on in the convertible??

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  2. Happy New Year! i like how you start the new year relaxing and enjoying life! Your new camera is taking awesome pictures! Happy New Year!!

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  3. Nice post! I'm still in a Christmas fog. Hard to get motivated to take down the tree and lights. Love seeing the pictures of your family - and your dog! Hope you have a wonderful new year and that you enjoy your new camera!

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  4. Good post. I took a bit of a break from blogging too. The holidays got the better of me, which was good for spending time with family and friends. Blessings to you and your lovely family in this new year, SusanD

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  5. The picture of the little red car with Dixie in the front made me smile! Is she wearing the antlers? I can imagine it made a lot of people smile when they saw it!

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  6. I hope 2012 is a good year for us all. Your niece,and my grand baby. Happy healthy lives ahead for them!

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  7. I understand the feeling. I've enjoyed your posts and seeing what you've done and where you've been.

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  8. Happy New Year to You! I enjoyed the warm temps yesterday and the week before that but now it is cold and snowing. That's okay with me because I don't want to go back to school tomorrow. I just keep asking for one more day!

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  9. Happy New Year Joyce! I know what you mean about enjoying the down time at the end of the year. I think humans should really be more like bears and hibernate in midwinter, even if the weather is nice and mild and there's no snow to snuggle up and avoid!

    My blogging habit got a little tired too at the end of the year and I am looking forward to injecting it with a little more content and substance in the coming days/weeks/months.

    Looking forward to joining you on your blogging journey in 2012.

    Best wishes, Pam

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  10. Sounds like your holidays were perfect. Enjoy your week with Daughter2.

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  11. Happy New Year! Have fun with your new camera!

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  12. I was a bit "hazy/lazy" today, too. My will to be industrious isn't standing up to my body's desire to lay low thanks to this cold of mine.

    Spending more time in the country and out being "action-packed" sounds wonderful. I think I'll follow your lead in being more intentional this new year. :)

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  13. Happy New Year! I'm wanting to linger in the post-Christmas "laze", too...I'm having a hard time jumping back on the "blog wagon", but I'll get there--sooner or later!

    I love your photographs, especially the one of the lake.

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  14. I took a bit of a break from the picture a day I was posting as well. A break is good for the soul, don't you think? Your pics are great btw. :)

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