Avoiding New

This week I started my new job so it will be interesting to see how my blog evolves - and if I can even keep up with it.

Since one of my goals is to buy no new clothes, I thought this blog post would be helpful to those who are embarking on a similar journey. The blogger shares some very simple but effective tips on avoiding temptation when it comes to buying.

Monday Morning Amusement

Something many women can relate to:

Seen on Facebook

Quote for the Day

I found this article in Christian Century that introduced me to a new poem. It's a beautiful way to think about our relationship to our creator and a good thought to begin the year:

As swimmers dare

to lie face to the sky

and water bears them,

as hawks rest upon air

and air sustains them,

so would I learn to attain

freefall, and float

into Creator Spirit’s deep embrace,

knowing no effort earns

that all-surrounding grace. 

Denise Levertov

Goals for 2016

Source

I try not to be a resolutions person. Instead, I try to set goals that I break down by month or by quarter. This year, my beginning goals are:

• Only buy used clothes over the next quarter (with a few exceptions). I've been doing this for the last few months and I've gotten some really nice things at thrift and consignment shops. In fact, when I buy from a thrift store run by a nonprofit, I feel like I'm doing doubly good - refusing to participate in the international garment industry that enslaves its workers and providing funds to worthy causes.
• Eliminate my nightly wine for 31 days, beginning on Monday. This article from MindBodyGreen convinced me to give it a try:  better health, youthful looks, restful sleep, more money - what's not to like. This is something I usually do for Lent but have decided to move it to the start of the new year.
• Reduce some of the clutter around the house by doing a daily "toss" - find one thing a day that I don't need or want and get it out of the house. At the end of the month, I'll have reduced the amount of clutter by 31 items. Less clutter means less distraction and more room to breathe. When it comes to decluttering, PopSugar shares 12 helpful rules here. 

If you're looking for inspiration for the new year, another article on MindBodyGreen has a great list of intentions - rather than resolutions - to help you refocus your life and priorities.

Farm Friday and Happy New Year

Happy 2016! Once again, the year seemed to have flown by and I'm grateful that we've made yet another trip around the sun. I've been trying to wrap up some loose ends this week. I finished some of my annual reading and have selected some new books for my morning reading in 2016:

Morning reading

I didn't do "Farm Friday" last week due to the Christmas holiday. These past weeks have been full, with family visits, homesteading chores, and future planning taking up a good chunk of time. I was able to get some serious down time Christmas Day, even taking a mid-morning nap with the cat joining me (so very unlike him). Here are a few updates:

• Had to take my car in for service. Had some kind of oil leak that turned out to be a loose line from when the transmission was rebuilt. Yay for work under a warranty!
• Cooked up a storm. We had to harvest the last of the cauliflower and a lot of the broccoli, plus some of the cabbage so I: blanched and froze some; made broccoli soup (froze some of that, too); made a new cauliflower casserole with green olives, pine nuts, roasted red peppers, and other yummy goodness; made more of the faux oyster po' boy sandwiches using cauliflower; and made a big batch of vegetarian minestrone using some of the cabbage.
• Picked up our granddaughter on Christmas day so she could spend some time with us and her aunt who was visiting for the weekend.

Enjoyed spending time with my "girls"

• Picked up the pork we had processed. I managed to clean out our second large freezer so we barely had enough room to store it all between the two freezers.
• Met with our handyman and talked to him about some repairs and upgrades that need to be done to both our house and the farm house.
• Had last minute guests at the farm stay over the weekend - a homeschooling family of six that wanted to spend some time on the farm. They opted out of the farm tour and instead walked the loop that goes to our pound, into the woods, and then back out onto the road just a short ways from the farm house.
• Had our last "date" of the year. We had an order to drop off at our farm-to-table restaurant so took advantage of being in town by going to a Thai restaurant then heading to the movie theater to see the latest Star Wars movie.
• Made a big decision for 2016. Out of the blue I was presented with a job opportunity that was an offer I really couldn't refuse. It's an amazing opportunity for me, doing the kind of work that suits me, working with someone I've worked with in the past, and telecommuting most of the time. Bill and I have talked about how much need there is in the world and he believes that you just need to pick one passion and work on that. Although I'm all about food issues - I did get my master's degree with a focus on health and wellness after all - but I also am passionate about other issues:  lack of clean drinking water, human trafficking, disaster relief, the refugee crisis, and of course food insecurity (my list can go on and on). With this new position, I can work in all those areas.

Wishing you a healthy and happy New Year!

Wellness Wednesday

Source

With the new year almost here, the resolutions are also just around the corner. The most popular resolution is to lose weight. Health magazine offer some suggestions to avoid mistakes we often make when setting that particular resolution. 

When you set goals or make resolutions, they need to be SMART - Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time-Bound. Take some time to think through and map out your goals. There are lots of worksheets on the internet that can help you set your goal. Another good tool is a vision board, which is a collage that visually depicts your goals. You can put your vision board on a large posterboard and place it in a prominent place or, if you prefer to make it more private, on a simple manila file folder that you can tuck away with other paperwork and refer to when you need a reminder of your plan. 

Monday Morning Amusement

Cute but no, we don't do this. Although early on when we only had a few goats we had collars on them. My favorite and first girl, Esmeralda, had a pink rhinestone collar. She lost it in the bushes and I never found it (nor did I replace it). We've also had bottle-fed babies wear diapers while in the house. But no, no pajamas.