Happy New Year 2014!
It's funny how we all celebrate Earth completing another trip around the sun. It is a good thing that Earth made it, and it does give all of us consistency in our lives....seasons, constellations, moon phases, to name a few. I personally enjoy knowing what to expect from day to day when it comes to these things since there are so many other parts of my life that are different every day. Knowing that the sun will rise on each new day gives me a little bit of calm, something I can focus on when meditating. My resolution for this year? To make decisions more thoughtfully: what I eat, what I buy, how I care for my family, pets, friends, and what I do everyday. If I consider the long-term impact of my choices, hopefully those choices will make a difference.  I hope your 2014 is full of purpose!

As luck would have it

Traditionally, my family has a meal this day which gets our new year off to a good start. I've never truly tested the theory that our lucky meal actually creates any luck for us, but the tradition itself feels proper, as if my year will be balanced, the "feng shui" of my days will flow smoothly from week to week. For this evening's meal, I roasted asparagus, just because I like it and had it on hand. Microwaved half a cabbage (quartered) with salt, pepper, and butter, the standard. I cut up and cooked a couple of pork chops in olive oil with garlic, salt, pepper, celery seed, and basil, then added one of those cooked bags of brown rice and about half a can of black-eyed peas (Lucks, of course!).  That was left on the eye to keep warm. I also made a pan of cornbread-just followed the recipe in my Betty Crocker cookbook. Quite often, this is normally how I cook dinner-what do I have, and what can I do to make it into a meal? This one was very tasty, and I am content that my year has started on a smooth, no doubt lucky, path.

New Year Resolutions

One of my resolutions is to move more, so I signed up for the 100 miles in 100 days club here in Roanoke, VA. Hopefully I will do more, which if Dan and I continue to bike the greenway once it warms up a bit, it will be no problem. But, I am resolved to walk the trails here at home on days I do not ride.

Another is to reduce my waste. I struggle with so much plastic and wish more of it could be recycled, so I want to reduce the amount I purchase. I have found a site that has many ideas of ways to reduce our impact on Earth, so I am sharing it for any of you who may also be so inclined. Make good decisions for your health: physical, mental, and ecological!
Earth 911