A Clean, Fresh Start - Welcome 2013!!

Hello friends! It's a whole new year, bright and clean and fresh, ready to be filled with lots of wonderful things!

Up here in the wilds of State College our pre-2013 weekend began with a plethora of snow which was enjoyed by not only the mister and me, but by my mom and sister as well! It was a lovely weekend full of snow hikes, homemade pizza, killer bunnies, batman, and a huge Sunday lunch that was inhaled by all.

Our New Year's Eve was a quiet one. We went downtown to see the ice sculptures and grab a bite to eat. It was fun to get a few appetizers and drinks instead of a whole meal - more variety made it more interesting!

Pineapple margaritas accompanied our countdown, although we watched more of the food network than any of the countdown shows - they're just not the same without Dick Clark :(

Ben heads down to Orlando to present one of his papers at a political science conference today, which means it's girl's week in! I've got the Pioneer Woman recorded on the dvr, plenty of soup recipes to cook up and store for chilly January nights ahead, and a whole batch of ideas from blogs and Pinterest about organizing our space more efficiently. Who knows? Ben may not recognize the apartment when he comes back!

I read something a few days ago about not having New Year's resolutions, but instead, intentions. So in no particular order, my intentions for this year include...

1. Eating right and staying healthy. Using even more fresh produce in cooking and especially snacking. And eat bigger breakfasts full of protein!
2. Listening to my body instead of looking at the scale. Our scale only stresses me out anyways.
3. Paint my nails! (so I don't pick them when I get nervous)
4. Exercise in a fun way more than just once or twice a week. Maybe as part of a morning routine?
5. Sleep. More.
6. Channel surf less. Actually, watch tv less. (this is a lofty goal)
7. Take time to smell the coffee (and not just pour it blindly into my mug each morning)

As Anne Shirley says, tomorrow is always fresh, with no mistakes in it. I'm looking forward to enjoying each morning as a wonderful, bright start. Hooray for 2013!

Love,

~A