End of January

Well, I guess that's it eh? We've made it through January. Hallelujah!

Superbowl time and Valentine's around the corner. One event I look forward to, the other I don't.

January is a ridiculously challenging month. It's cold. It's depressing. Bills are on the table and the produce in the fridge tastes like plastic. Ever eat a strawberry in January? Yuck. Don't bother.

I guess I should look forward to planting a garden and eating real fruit and vegetables again, but that's going to take another 6 months. There was a time that each January I would look forward to the seed catalogues and even start my own plants. I always found petunia seeds frustrating... so small, so fussy and so incredibly long a process to start them yourself. I guess that's why I don't do it anymore. That, and you can buy a 6 pack of petunias on any corner stand for $2, when May rolls around.

Tomatoes... that's a better use of energy. You only have to start them 10 weeks ahead of time and even a couple plants can give you a garden full of fresh tomatoes. I start them myself (or I did) because I like off beat varieties like Lemon Boy and Cherokee Purple, things you don't find at the Home Depot.

Gardening used to really be my thing. Heck, I used to write a gardening column for the newspaper. And then, I had kids. And then they took all my time and energy. Now they use that time and energy to support their hobbies. Mine are just a memory. I guess you could say my hobby now is writing.  Travel isn't a hobby... it's what saves my sanity.

So anyway, good riddens to January. And, go 9ers!

I Will Try Harder

Each January 1st people around the globe make resolutions. They start fresh, quit bad habits and try to make changes.

It frightens me at how intense the diet push is this time of year. It seems that every second TV commercial is regarding weight loss, or fitness. Now of course I understand marketing and timing... strike while the iron is hot, but still, I take offence to these messages capitalizing on people's personal insecurities. I do think that there are things that everyone can do to be more healthy. I support that fully. But emotional marketing and intense commercial pressure is what I object to.

I do my very best to only make promises I can keep. Not everything works out, but that's life. I try not to rationalize my way out of something that is difficult, but accept that things change and other things still are beyond your control. You can not control the actions of others, but only how YOU react to it.

In regards to New Year's Resolutions, I don't do anything formal or life changing.  Instead I make vows to work harder and stick to the things I already believe in. As in... "I will try harder" because these acts are important to me and how I run my life.

Here's what I want to work on in 2013. I will try harder...

1) to make sure we (my family) take more vitamins and drink more water.

2) to keep walking and skating regularly.

3) focus more on quality rather than quantity.

4) give more compliments.

5) continue to support charities that support people, not corporations.

6) to purge the house and recycle as much as possible.

7) to sleep more.

8) to use what we have before we buy more. (groceries, gifts, shampoo etc)

9) to moisturize more.

10) to stress less.


Is there anything on your personal list?  What will be important to you in 2013?