a new year's eve post

In the process of changing the look around here. I know it's stark. There is something about the New Year, I begin to crave simple. Less is more. Maybe it's the blessings and abundance of Christmas. I go into overload and start to look around my small family's bungalow wondering what I can donate to Good Will. I wasted no time this year. I've already gotten rid of one bag of used items. I always hope the theme of simplicity will carry throughout the year. Inevitably, I end up doing major cleaning each season getting rid of those things that seemed to be a good idea at the time...but never got used.

I've been talking about changing the look of my blog for some time now. Well start with the bare minimum and see how I build. At the end of every year I find myself reflecting on the year past and what's to come. This year I've taken notice of this fabulous blogger and am choosing some words to carry me into 2009. The words (because despite myself I couldn't choose just one) are Vitality and Balance. I've also decided to share more here from my personal writings... so I promise there's more to come.

Here are some things I'm planning to share:
-my list of things I'd like to do in 2009
-my list from 2008 (a reflection)
-writing on my words for 2009

How do you clear space and prepare for the New Year?

Cheers!

post christmas post

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. Our little family spent time with friends and had time to snuggle in together. What more could someone ask for? We also got some great gifts. The little boy is only going to get more and more excited about this time of year. I enjoyed getting to wrap presents in front of him, only to give to him later...love that short memory.

I've been an absent blogger as of late. I'm thinking about remodeling. I'm hoping for the New Year I can pull something together. We'll see how it goes. I'm really crummy with that sort of thing. Or rather, I get great ideas...it's making them a reality I struggle with.

blogger blahs

After a few weeks hiatus, I'm back...for now. I can't make any promises about how long it will last. Or what my new pattern of blogging will be. But I thought I should get something in for the month of December. So here is what's up with the joyful ordinary: I'm working on removing the words "I'm sorry" from my vocabulary. Not because the phrase isn't sometimes useful but because after a brief self survey I've found that I say I'm sorry way too much. If something goes wrong, I'm sorry. If I didn't catch everything, I'm sorry. If something doesn't turn out the way I planned, I'm sorry. I apologize for things out of my control. I apologize for other people's feelings. I need to increase my vocabulary and learn to speak to what it is I really want to communicate because one person cannot possibly be sorry as often as I am.

In other news, yesterday I had some sense knocked into me...or rather some gratitude. I was cleaning our bedroom when the large mirror that has sat on our dresser for years fell over on top of me and hit me in the back of the head. It took me a few moments to realize what happened and then determine that I wasn't going to be knocked unconscious. It took me even longer to realize I wasn't bleeding. Even later after that I realized I was covered in little slivers of glass that I had now scattered throughout our house as I wandered around in a daze. I immediately called my hubby who rushed home. Once the shock wore off the gratitude snuck in. I was immediately grateful the little boy who is sometimes attached to my hip wasn't in the room when it happened. I was glad to have such a wonderful husband who rushed home to dote on my and make sure I was okay. Then I started thinking about the crappy mood I was in before it happened. It only takes an escape from the emergency room to realize all of the things that are going right in my life.

So there you have it. No apologies, a broken mirror and a grateful heart.