Welcome 2013!

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

Remove 3 trees from the backyard

Grow our own pumpkins

Repaint and redecorate the master bedroom 

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

Find a church and attend for 3-6 months

Buy a 4-wheel drive vehicle

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 Saturday Market

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 Trailblazers game

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

Visit some wineries in Oregon

See a concert in The Gorge

Oregon Symphony at the Schnitz

Go to Bend, OR

Go to San Francisco

Eat our only own veggies for a month

Get chickens

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

Sing Karaoke

Play trivia at a bar

Get pregnant (amended to: adopt a baby)

Run a 5K (KLM)

Bowl  a 200 (JSM)

Shoot a 76 or better at golf (JSM)

Read War and Peace (KLM)

Volunteer at Habitat for Humanity

Cook a meal at Ronald McDonald House

Set up a home library

Get bikes.....and ride them!

Make a batch of our own soap

Spend a weekend at Cedar Brook Lodge in Seattle

Frame KLM's Master Degree

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas....

The homemade McNally "Advent Wreath"

.....all around the house! My favorite time of year is here and this year I am determined to slow down a bit and enjoy the next 22 days. Last weekend I put out the Christmas decorations, hung the monogrammed wreath, created an advent wreath, sent out the holiday cards, and yesterday we got a tree, which, I admit, we purchased.....and not from a lot or a farm....but from a store! I know it's sacrilege especially when you live in the northwest, but for the first time the rain deterred me from going out and chopping down our own tree! When you live here rain never stops you from doing anything....but it has been raining like crazy and I just didn't want to drag a wet tree in the house, vacuum up pine needles, or remember to water it. But, it's not without guilt and the gentle reminder that I'm becoming my mother. She's had a fake tree for years (and raved about it while I've secretly cringed at the thought!) Before you know it I'll  forgo Christmas cards before I even have a child! (Not to worry....I love stationery way too much to give up on that one!) Seriously, though, I've had to remind myself all weekend that I want to enjoy the holiday time this year! Besides, I've always wanted 2 trees and next year that's what I'll have. I'm thinking ahead.... it was on sale......we'll have plenty of opportunities to make memories at a tree farm when we finally have our child....I have a fragrant REAL wreath hanging in the living room....oh, forget it, these things don't really make me feel less guilty about my fake Christmas tree, but I will say being able to put the tree up at JSM's leisure (and in 5 minutes) lets me enjoy more time looking at it and less time worrying about it and that's exactly what I want to be doing this holiday season!

In honor of slowing down and enjoying the holiday season, here are a few more things I hope to accomplish this December:

1. Make holiday cookies and drink hot chocolate

2.Attend a Christmas party (Got invited to one, but didn't make it....worked 7 days in a row!)

3. Get all my packages mailed out the week BEFORE the week before Christmas....cross-country is a long (and expensive) place to go  (Mailed 6 days before Christmas, but we got them out!!)

4. Start a new tradition for our family - the Advent Wreath

5. Spend more time reading by the Christmas tree - maybe finish 2 books? (I finished The Christmas Box and A Christmas Carol, both short, but perfect for curling up next to the tree!)

6. Watch the Charlie Brown Christmas special with my sweet JSM

7. Read A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
8. Curl up in my reading chair, next to the Christmas tree, and listen to Vivaldi's Four Seasons
9. Write a letter to an old friend
10. Make salted dark chocolate fudge for the neighbors