{gratitude in january}

1. for a new year. 365 blank pages.
2. for good tunes. played loud.
3. for my David. Happy birthday love.
4. for no-work-saturdays. time to just veg.
5. for little "roadtrips". Ikea is so fun.
6. for recipe victory. finally got a favorite dish just right.
7. for inspiration. wherever it may be.
8. for laundry rooms. i really should use mine more.
9. for foggy days. they are too rare.
10. for bourbon. sometimes, you just need a glass.
11. for hindsight. and clarity. and memories.
12. for the excitement of a vacation. soon.
13. for Mondays. trying not to greet them with a bad mood.
14. for an end to a losing streak. and a hubby that folds laundry.
15. for phone calls with sister. even when they aren't for good news.
16. for nephews that need us.
17. for V
18. A
19. C
20. A
21. T
22. I
23. O
24. N
25. for a safe and smooth flight home.
26. for a long day of loving on the pups. they were soooo missed.
27. for a job that I'm happy to return to and coworkers excited that I'm back.
28. for being happy.
29. for tissues with aloe.
30. for income tax W2s. a little bonus.
31. for a lovely beginning to 2014.

{simplify.}

When did everything become so completely over-processed? So cold, so mass-produced?
Most store bought items are wrapped in several layers of plastic packaging.
Popular music spends hours or even days being "edited" on computers, the end result being catchy but without true heart and raw emotion.
Every photograph in every magazine is subjected to so much photoshop that the final image looks nothing like the beginning.
Even things that should be simple are complicated.
Clothes. Food. Beauty products.


My New Year's Resolution: strip away all of the plastic and chemicals and excessive...mess. All of the overwhelming colors and sounds.  Live more natural, simplified. Be conscious of what I am using and throwing out. What I am feeding myself. What I am reading, watching and listening to.

I want to end 2014 having embraced all of my 5 senses.

For my ears to be delighted by the sounds of nature and...life
For my tastebuds to be awakened by the flavors of the world.
For my body to know the softness of well-loved flannel, the warmth of real wool, the coolness of cotton.
For my nose to smell the natural perfumes of the earth.
For my eyes to see the wonder and beauty all around me.