I’m not really a New Year’s Resolution kind of person. I’m not really sure why, but I’ve never entirely bought into the whole "New Year, New Me" thing. A date on the calendar isn’t going to suddenly take me from being a temperamental caffeine addict with a frighteningly disorganized purse to being a calm, only drinks water girl with a perfectly organized purse. It would be nice, but it’s just not realistic. In my opinion and experiences with attempting New Year’s Resolutions.
That being said, I love the chance (and encouragement) to look back on the previous year that a new year brings. It’s a great time to reflect on what you did, didn’t do, wanted to do, etc.
The beginning of a new year does also bring a blank slate of sorts. Literally, if you’re like me and don’t have the best relationship with technology. I’ve been using this calendar for about seven years now, (it works really well for keeping up with Nick’s rotating schedule), and getting the new one for the year always makes me really happy. It has that new book smell, and I love all of the blank pages. It’s a whole year waiting to be filled up.
This, of course, begs the question of what’s going to be written on the blank pages of 2015. Work, obviously, represents a huge chunk of time for most of us. But what about the rest of the time? The beginning of the year seems to be a great time to think about how you want to fill the pages of the year ahead.
For me, a few things come to mind. I haven’t given up on writing. I’m still working on a cookbook and a novel (my inability to commit to one project at a time could be part of my problem). I still need to work on exercising, losing weight, and making better food choices. And there are a few house and yard projects we’re hoping to tackle this year.
Then there are the more intangible things like spending more time with family and friends, being more mindful of how time is filled, and doing something good. Those are the things that are a little harder to measure, but that certainly doesn’t make them any less important.
The pages fill up really, really fast. It never fails to amaze me how quickly a week can go from being a blank slate to being a constant rush to get everything done. I think that just makes it even more important to work on filling the pages, as much as possible, with the things that really matter to us.
So what about you? How are you planning to fill the blank pages of 2015?
2015. It sounds a little weird doesn’t it? I’ve been writing and typing it for a while now at work, but it still just doesn’t sound quite right. In a few weeks, though, 2014 will sound a little weird. Time flies.
I hope everyone had a fun and safe New Year’s Eve celebration. We had a quiet, relaxing evening at home, which is our favorite way to welcome the new year. We’re both still recovering from the flu, so quiet and low-key is about all we’re interested in right now. We grilled burgers and hot dogs, and spent the evening on the couch watching Frasier on Netflix, going to bed well before midnight.
The end of 2014 got away from me, even more than the end of the year usually does. I had lots of ideas and plans for posts during and about the holidays, but time got away from me. We did our usual Christmas baking for neighbors, vets, co-workers, etc. It’s something we enjoy doing, and people seem to enjoy the goodies.
Nick had to work on Thanksgiving, and we left the day after to go visit my sister, so for the first time in years I didn’t cook at all on Thanksgiving. I did, finally, manage to do something I’ve been talking about for years, though. I volunteered on Thanksgiving. Nick has had to work on almost every holiday since we’ve been together, and I’ve always said that I’d like to spend one of those days volunteering somewhere.
Well, I finally did it! The no-kill shelter sent out a plea on Facebook for help with the laundry. The shelter was at maximum capacity, and we had a cold snap right around the week of Thanksgiving, so they had laundry piling up faster than anyone could keep up with it. I went and spent a few hours helping out with the laundry on Thanksgiving.
It was an incredible experience! I actually kind of like doing laundry, and the commercial washers and dryers there sort of intrigued me. There were actually quite a few people there doing various chores and working with the dogs, so I also met a lot of really nice people. It was a really feel-good kind of day.
On a side note; if you ever find yourself faced with spending a holiday alone, or you just don’t like the plans available to you, I highly recommend going and volunteering somewhere, even just for an hour or two, to help with something you really care about. You’ll feel amazing!
Nick is a Christmas Eve baby, so we also have a birthday celebration for him as close to Christmas Eve as scheduling will allow. Last year (it still sounds weird to say that) we had it on Saturday, December 20th. The usual chili dinner - that’s a tradition that I’m a little afraid to mess with - people expect to eat chili at his birthday! It was a fun time. We had a good turn out, and people got to see people they hadn’t seen in a while.
Unfortunately, that was pretty much the end of the festivities for us. We both came down with the flu shortly afterward. So much for getting flu shots! Christmas feels like it flew by in a blur, and also like it didn’t really happen. Nick had to work on Christmas Day, and I spent the day in a cough-syrup fog.
The Christmas tree and decorations are still up, which I’m glad about. Nick likes to leave them up until after January 6th; it’s part of what he grew up with. Not having grown up with any Christmas traditions of my own, I’m very happy to go along with that one.
Overall, 2014 was an okay year, even if it was the year of the appliances. We officially adopted Duke, I had three interviews on my blog (here, here, and here ), which was a new blogging experience for me, and we did a little more gardening than the year before. There was probably more, but that’s what comes to mind when I mentally review 2014.
On the health front, the last MRI showed that the liver tumors are stable. They’re all below five centimeters, and nothing has really changed in the past year. I now only have to go once a year for an MRI to have them checked. That makes me really happy! It may sound strange, but I feel less fragile somehow; every six months seems to indicate cause for concern, once a year feels more normal somehow, that’s just like a check-up. It probably doesn’t make any sense, but it’s really good for my mental health, which has to count for something, right?
I hope 2014 was good for all of you, and I hope 2015 is a great year for everyone. Happy New Year!
