Ringing in 2015: Fresh starts, clean slates and all that jazz.

It's almost comical to look back on my post from last year at this time. I had grand plans to coast quietly into the New Year, create a peaceful little bubble around myself, be mindful in my daily interactions with the world, live a more "zen" life.

What's that they say ... if you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans? Yeah.

I never would have guessed I'd be where I am at the end of 2014. Early in the new year I was offered a part-time job and I've been working about 20 hours a week since early February. I love it. It's just enough for me to get out and see people, interact with adults, and feel useful. It's not a lot of money, but I can't beat a four-day work week and being close to where my kids are in school during the day. It had been six years since I worked regularly outside the home, but it was a relatively easy transition jumping back into the workforce.

At about the same time I started my new job I also started a Bible study with a great group of ladies. This was my first experience doing a group study and I can honestly say it has been life-changing. I'm excited to continue to grow my relationships with God and these godly women when we start another study in the new year.

With my heart and mind open to whatever direction God might steer me, toward the end of summer I was researching the possibility of transforming an old building down the street from our office into a new business - a farm stand where I would resurrect the city's weekend farmer's market, and sell fresh produce and maybe some other locally-made goods. Very quickly it went from "I wonder if we could make a go of this" to "holy cow, we're doing this!" So I'm looking at the first of the year looming and I am reminded that in three months I'll be mailing my first rent check and I get all tingly and excited and a little freaked out and I think if I was looking for life to slow down this was not the best avenue to travel.

HOWEVER. I have never experienced the type of happy I feel every time someone asks me to tell them about my plans for this business. There are moments of panic when I think I can never make it happen like I see it in my mind but then I remember that even if it's not perfect (and what is?) it will still be really awesome and I will be incredibly happy.

So 2015 will be an interesting year. I don't really know what to expect, except a lot of hard work. This is one of those instances when you don't know what you're capable of if you don't give it a try, so I'm going for it. It's a good time in our lives - as a couple and as a family - and I'm excited to see where this next year takes us.

Tonight we're saying goodbye to 2014 and celebrating Steve's and his brother's January 6 birthdays (same day, five years apart) with a huge bonfire, food, drinks and visiting with friends. I came in early because my toes were frozen. I might make it to midnight, but not much longer.

I asked Steve if he had any goals or resolutions for 2015. "Just more of being me," he said.

Twenty-some years together and the guy is still making me laugh. I adore him.

Here's to a healthy, happy, prosperous New Year for all of us. May you be blessed. Cheers!

And so it begins.

It's Day 1 of a New Year! Happy happy. Welcome to 2014.

Do you have plans? Resolutions? Goals? Anything of the sort?

Or are you of the mindset that any day is a good day for a fresh start?

I fall somewhere in the middle. I love the idea of folding up the previous year's wall calendar and hanging up a brand new one. I appreciate a clean slate. But I also think just like the start of a new year is a great time to make changes, so is the start of a new week, or month, or season.

With that in mind, I wasn't too hard on myself (or my family) when the house was still in a bit of holiday chaos as the four of us rang in the New Year together. Each day will be a chance to make progress toward improving myself and living a better life ... and part of that is accepting the fact that everything doesn't have to be in perfect order all around me before I can work on me.

If I were to choose a focus for myself for this year it would be this: mindfulness.

mind·ful·ness

/ˈmīndfəlnəs/

noun

noun: mindfulness

1. the quality or state of being conscious or aware of something.

   "their mindfulness of the wider cinematic tradition"
2. a mental state achieved by focusing one's awareness on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting one's feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations, used as a therapeutic technique.

This is going to take some work for me, which seems funny since as a journalist it's my job to observe and be aware of my surroundings, to take it all in without judgment. But in my personal life I often find myself overwhelmed - with information, options, responsibilities - which leads to a lot of mindless eating, anxiety (which doesn't help anything), "paralysis by analysis," and generally just feeling not as satisfied with my days as I could be ... and I think as God would want me to be. I think there are a lot of areas in my life that will benefit from me simply being more aware, acknowledging how I feel in a particular situation without automatically reciting my old standby (and often negative) self-talk.

I'm ready for some positive personal growth. Strengthened faith. Better relationships.

And yes, maybe a little less chaos around the house. But that might have to wait until the kids go back to school next week.

Let's do this.

New Year, fresh starts.

Holy smokes! It's been too long since I've posted. Certainly not because we've had nothing going on, though I can say we really did have a quiet, relaxing Christmas and New Year's Eve is shaping up the same way. Just how I like it.

Steve got home the afternoon of the 23rd and left again yesterday morning. He will be settled back in at his apartment in Colorado tonight. In the week he was home we packed in about as much good stuff as we could: visiting with friends, celebrating Christmas with family, relaxing at home - playing video games, target shooting, wrestling with the dogs, watching movies, cooking - and even attending a cousin's wedding reception.

If there is one thing this crazy life has taught me it is to embrace each day, especially during the times Steve and I and the kids are together as a family. Where once I had to force myself to live in the moment and not dwell on the fact that my sweetheart would be leaving again soon, it's not such a big deal to me anymore. I can enjoy myself for whatever time we have together, and while I might get a little down when he leaves it doesn't take long for me to fall back into the groove of everyday life. As we often say to each other ... it is what it is. This is our life and we live it the best way we know how.

Well, we try to. I guess there is always room for improvement. That's one of the exciting things about the start of a new year - the idea that we can say goodbye to the baggage we're still carrying from 2012 and improve on things that need improving in 2013.

I am not a fan of resolutions, though I do periodically set goals for myself. As I sit here on New Year's Eve, kids next door at Nana's and Papa's house, Steve back to work, and even the dogs doing their own thing, I might reflect a bit on the previous year but mostly I am looking ahead to 2013. I am hopeful. Confident. Happy. Thankful. The Pipe Lifers have been blessed with a good life, and I look forward to spending another year of it with the people I love.

Happy New Year.

Hello 2012! We're glad to see ya'.

 

On our way out to meet our friends for New Year's Eve dinner and whatever festivities awaited.

(Uhhh, maybe I should work on losing that double chin this year? Yeesh.)

 Our pals Jason and Amy, me and Steve.

And in a nod to small towns everywhere: our buddy the police chief took this picture for us.

The Countdown Clock.

 My sweet hubby.

 

 The Ball. 

It hung from a crane over the main intersection, all lit up and changing colors all night - pretty cool, until they started lowering it and then the lights went out ... which was a bit anti-climactic. Malfunction, I'm guessing.

The good news, though, is the fireworks display following the Ball Drop was fantastic. I got a little cramp in my neck from looking up so long because they were right above us over the street, but it was so worth it.

Me and Amy, all bundled up!

We had such a great time last night - and honestly, though the Light Up The Lake celebration and the sense of community were awesome, my favorite part of the night was talking and laughing over dinner with great friends, and then chillin' at their house for a while before we headed home. It was probably one of the more memorable NYE celebrations we've had in a long time.

Despite some struggles, the past year has been fairly good to us. I can't say I'm sorry to see 2011 go ... I'm just looking forward to a great year ahead. Steve is headed back to work this week to a new job with a new company (new to us, anyway). The kids are scheduled to go back to school this week, and Sam will be hitting the slopes with the school ski club for the first time. I'm excited about getting back into our routines and making some changes for the better around here. No New Year's resolutions, mind you; I don't do those anymore. But I do try to keep steering my life in a positive direction - spiritually, physically, financially - yes, all those areas where others do make resolutions. Better habits over time is what I'm working toward. God willing, we'll look back on 2012 as a great year, too.

Happy New Year!

How's it goin'?

Remember back at the beginning of the year when folks were talking about goals and resolutions and all that we would accomplish in The Year 2011?

Remember?

Take all the time you need. *wink*

We are already nearly one-third of the way through the year.

What did you contribute to that New Year's conversation? Did you decide to make 2011 the year for finishing all those projects around the house? Or would this be the year you finally dump the plump? Would you read through the Bible this year? Be kinder to people? More engaged in your everyday life?

I said I was going to make 2011 the year of grace. I wanted to change my reaction to specific situations in my life and instead of responding with anger or frustration or hurt feelings, I would try to respond with love and grace. Not just toward others, but toward myself, too.

I have found that I sometimes have to perform a delicate balancing act when life calls for grace. Sometimes I need to remind myself that granting grace to my children does not equal allowing them to walk all over me. Other times I need to remember that offering grace to a person who has said or done something hurtful can be a stepping stone to forgiveness.

This process has caused me to become very intimate with my inner voice.

As if I didn't have enough talking going on in my head already.

There are days when I repeat "grace" to myself all day long. "Grace ... grace ... grace." I smile in the face of discouragement. I take a deep breath when I really want to scream. I overlook the dirty socks on the floor (this time) and the less-than-stellar job done on sweeping the kitchen. I remind myself how freely grace is given to me.

I work on accepting it ... graciously.

It's pretty amazing the number of times the topic of grace - or just the word - has come up in my life over the course of the past few months. Sure, maybe I look for it because it has become a focus for me, but even in unexpected ways I am provided all kinds of reminders.

If I had to give myself a grade today on working on my 2011 goal I'd probably give a solid B. I'm doing pretty good on the grace front, but there is always room for improvement.

We are one-third through 2011. What did you aspire to this year?

How's it going?

2011: The year of grace.

I quit making New Year's resolutions a long time ago. I am totally the type of person who would set myself up for failure by choosing lofty goals and promising to create new habits that I knew I'd likely not stick to. After a while it seemed pretty pointless, so I started taking a different approach.

While I have written down a few smaller, attainable goals the last couple of years, what I've really focused on is the general direction my life is going, and doing things that slowly add momentum in the positive areas and gently begin to turn the not-so-positive things in a better direction.

It's like navigating a cruise ship. Those babies don't go anywhere in a hurry, right?

Generally, such is life. You can't lose 100 pounds in a month. Most people don't become millionaires overnight. Your house won't be organized if it never has been and you won't have a perfect routine in place by next weekend. It's unlikely you'll be successful if you go cold turkey when you quit drinking Mountain Dew or quit smoking.

But we can move toward something better. We can make small changes over time. We can strive for progress, not perfection, and (my apologies to Martha) that's a good thing.

I like the idea of closing the books - literally and figuratively - on one year and starting a fresh chapter on January 1. New beginnings ... clean slates ... it's all about learning from, but then moving on from the mistakes we made last year and building on all the good we did.

I am aiming to make 2011 the year of grace. In the year ahead, I will make it my goal to grant grace to others at times when in the past I might have reacted quite differently. Grace toward my children as they continue to learn about life and what it means to be good people. Grace toward my spouse as he balances the demands of his job and the challenges of being away from his family. Grace toward my friends who all have their own families and schedules and issues that cause them to express emotions that have nothing to do with me.

Grace for myself as I work on being the best wife, mother, daughter, sister, in-law, friend ... the best woman I can be. And most important of all, I will work on humbly accepting God's grace which is given so freely. Occasionally He reminds me that my focus is a little askew - I am much harder on myself in some areas than I should be, and I don't work enough on the things that I should. In those moments I will choose grace, not guilt.

So I might not make the typical resolutions anymore, but in my own way I resolve to make good use of the clean slate we've been given. Another year, another chance to improve.

How about you?

Happy New Year.