Out with the old....in with the new! Nothing says "welcome" more than a brand new front door mat!
Happy New Year!
I love January 1st! It is my favorite day of the year, full of intent, hope, and excitement for the year ahead. We welcomed in 2013 with the first snow of the year, a candlelight dinner of shrimp and grits, a fire in the fireplace, and 80's music on the stereo. Sadly, we were both in bed before the stroke of midnight, but, on the plus side we woke up refreshed and ready to take on the year :)
A snowy Arborvitae in our back yard!
Shrimp and Grits from January 2013 issue of Southern Living. This pacific northwest girl just can't let the Southern Living subscription go!
My wish for the new year and the world and the light by which we ate our New Years Eve dinner.
This year, I plan to focus on the things that are important to me: my career as a librarian, my husband, and my free time (which there isn't a lot of!) It may require that I give up some volunteer work, but it's important to me to focus on things that bring me joy and contentment (reading, spinning, church, and keeping house) and this requires a re-evaluation of how I spend my time. I am very excited to have been asked to be a small group leader in my church's new series titled "Faith Formation". I look forward to hosting this small group, getting to know more people in my congregation, and hopefully incorporating some daily contemplation. I can't make any guarantees about my ability to "lead" the group, but I promise to do my best!
I'm also looking forward to our "Year of Dates"! I gave JSM an unusual Christmas present this year which was a basket full of envelopes. Not really.....it was a year of dates! I got the idea on Pinterest, but I tailored it to our unique situation. We don't have a lot of time together given our work schedules and dinners out seem to take place because we have no other option. So I decided to make the most of it. I planned and partially (or fully) funded a date for each month of 2013. The idea is that these "dates" are one of three things: a place JSM has been wanting to go, an activity we can do together, or something free that doesn't cost any money. Since I took a lot of time to think about what would be fun and meaningful for us I am really excited for JSM to open each envelope which he will do on the first day of each month! We'll then put it on the calendar and we'll have something to look forward to each month. Yay! I'll keep you posted on our fun....
On a final note, as I was cleaning out our files in preparation for the new year, I came across a list JSM and I created back in 2011. It was a list of 50 in 50 (50 things in 50, days, months, years....whatever!) It was something we wrote down on the back of an envelope at a Mexican restaurant ( I remember that vividly!) and we promptly came home and forgot about it. As I glanced down the list I was relieved to see we had accomplished some of these things. In order to remember what's on that list, I share it here with you and look forward to crossing off a few more in 2013. It's fun to see how far we've come and how many things we have yet to do. A few of these things have been chosen for a date, but Shhhh! Don't tell JSM:
McNally Wish List
Build a home office in the den
Paint and decorate the half bath
Clean out and organize the garage
Repaint the house and/or front
door
Plan landscaping for the front
yard
Create a will
Update life insurance for KLM and JSM
Create a living will
Go on the Shanghai Tunnel Tour
Go to Peacock Lane at Christmas
Go to a square dance
Go to the Japanese Garden
Swim in a river
Ride the tram from OHSU in PDX
Go to the race track track
Gamble at a local casino
Attend a Seahawks game
See the Mariners play the Red Sox
in Seattle
Visit Mt. St. Helens on a day
trip
Go on an overnight camping trip –
maybe a yurt?
Go to Vancouver, BC for 3 days
Eat cart food from 10 different
carts
Go snow-shoeing
Go on a Central WA wine tour
See a concert in The Gorge
Oregon Symphony at the Schnitz
Eat our only own veggies for a
month
Keep bees
Adopt a sister from women for
women
Spend a wintry night at
Timberline Lodge
Plant a tribute garden (Grandma,
Ed, Noni, etc.)
Ride a roller coaster
Play trivia at a bar
Get pregnant (amended to: adopt a baby)
Run a 5K (KLM)
Bowl a 200 (JSM)
Read War and Peace (KLM)
Volunteer at Habitat for Humanity
Cook a meal at Ronald McDonald
House
Get bikes.....and ride them!
Make a batch of our own soap
Frame KLM's Master Degree
