January 2007 Archives

The catagory for this entry should really be entitled, "Dumb Stuff"!

I have a subscription for the magazine Women's Health. Love it. It is very real. So many magazines that feature articles about health, nutrition, and fitness often seem too fantastic. "Get that 6 pack is 6 weeks!"

Okay, whatever.

Women's Health is obviously written by real women for real women who desire health and fitness and have real challenges getting there. The January issues is sporting (sorry for the pun) a new workout plan. I know this doesn't seem unusual but their plan is. It appears to be well-balanced and doable. The plan on their website offers a fitness test that you can print out along with suggested exercises for each level of fitness covering an array of fitness elements such as cardio, flexibility, strength, balance, and agility.

What do you think of Dan Brown's DaVinci Code? When it was released several years back I reacted with annoyance and refused to buy the book or read it. I wasn't going to put money in Brown's pocket for such a scandalous and outrageous assault on what I believed. I figured this would go the way of many a pop culture sensation. . . at least in time.

Then months before the movie was released, I figured it was time to read it and then see the movie. It seemed that people kept asking me what I thought of the book. (I love to read and considering the fact that I'm a language arts teacher, people must have assumed that I would have read this when it first came out.) My ultimate decision to read it came as a result of the fact that I find it maddening when people pontificate about something they really don't know anything about.

My New Year has brought about its usual activity. I'm so predictable. I like to have a clean slate when I begin something and a new year is no different. Okay, so you probably know about my cleaning frenzy on New Year's Eve. As is custom in my family, I waited until Epiphany to remove my Christmas decorations, pack them away, and clean my house again readying it for my "winter decorations". I'm not Catholic and honestly, I don't think Epiphany has ever been mentioned in my church, but it is on the calendar and it gives me a reason to allow decorations to linger a bit longer in my house.

Epiphany is a day some cultures recognize the coming of the Wise Men to see the baby Jesus. Some recognize it as the day Jesus was baptized; still other celebrate this day as the true Christmas. It is also the day after the 12th day of Christmas. We usually reserve this day to remove the decorations from the tree and haul it to the burn pile for a magnificent pyre.

My house is down to simple decorations and clean surfaces. I'm a snowman fanatic, so they appear in various places in the house along with gilded pinecones and red candles. I love the KISS philospophy of decorating at this time of year.

Another thing that I've done is to renew my commitment to fitness.

This should have been listed under "Are you Kidding" . . .

The last few New Year's Eve celebrations have been hosting teens. This year our teen daughters opted to celebrate with friends, leaving us alone. (We celebrated the night before with friends.)

Now, how many of you cleaned house last night? I'm mean, really gutted a room and cleared junk? I had a great time! So did my husband and he hit more areas than I did! He cleaned off his desk and the workbench in the garage. (He was motivated to create space to do taxes as well as to set up a new drill.)

I have a large utility room that serves as laundry, craft, storage and "office" area. I gutted the closet, went through every box and cabinet, dusted and mopped and ran three loads of laundry. When I was finished I had taken three large bags to the garbage can, six bags to the garage for The Annual Garage Sale, and sent two boxes to my daughter, the artist's room.

Okay, I'm wierd, but I can't think of a better way to begin the new year than cleaning and organizing the core of your home from which all your energy, dreaming, creativity, and effective momentum orginates.

For my wierd way of starting the new year, I have created clarity. From clarity, I have hope and vision for 2007. I wish the same for you!

Happy New Year!