Ano Domini Two Thousand Ten

There's something surreal about considering the year 2010 - it doesn't even look real to me. I wonder if it's a reflection of my age or do younger people feel the same sense of marveling at this particular New Year's appearance?

I have always loved the turning of the year. The two faces of Janus appealed to me in my Calvert fourth grade studies of world history, not for any basis in reality of this deity, but the thoughtfulness he spoke to. Taking time to look backward at lessons learned, gifts begotten, experiences gained, and looking ahead with anticipation for what was mysteriously possible.

That said, I must confess, I am also lovingly forgiving and understanding towards myself in the area of goals. ;D I don't totally let myself completely slide, but I am gracious towards my blunders on the whole. Me think the Lady doth protest too much. My rational is that if I put my New Year's Goals out there for anyone to see, I increase my follow-through by at least 5%.

So, here are a few that I can share with the world:
1) I will make a dish with beets. I apologize for this rather rude revealing, but beets were almost guaranteed to make me gag as a child, and so I have resolutely avoided them as an adult. I did have them in a dish in Colombia where they were combined with tomatoes - they weren't bad, but they still tasted like dirt to me. I wish I loved them because I know they are good for me. So, my goal is to try to cook them myself and I am very open to enjoying them. I have found that my personal pleasure in cooking increases my appreciation for the dish itself. I have eaten meals at my table quite worthy of 5 stars - so I think my missing beet ingredient might just be - Me.

2) I will make Kombucha. For those of you who have done this and for whom it is old hat, I must remind you how foreignly weird it is for those of us who have never ventured to make something with a mushroom - beyond sauteeing them in butter. I read an article not long ago on how to do this. I recall things like sugar, water, mushrooms, fermenting, bubbles, a "mother" that is created (or is it the mother who creates?) I will step out into this realm of odd kitchen creativity and make my own bottle of Kombucha tea - and I will drink it - if it seems to be safe.

3) I will derive whey from both milk and yogurt, and I will make my own sauerkraut and kimchee with them. Once again, this is like Chemistry for me - and I never took Chemistry in school. And I intend to eat it. Somehow, this is just not the same as the chemistry that goes into making chocolate cake.

4) I will strive to make our family budget work even still. Our family is a bit over-stretched these days, but I commit to doing my best to make what we have work so that we are good stewards and my husband does not feel alone in this.

5) I will walk or use my recumbent 10 minutes a day 5 days a week. I believe in attainable goals. Whenever my husband has suggested exercise over the past year, I have felt that my days are so chock-full I simply have no room for consistent exercise. Therefore, I am choosing something that seems so small and insignificant to most, but it will be meaningful to me. And that's what my resolutions and goals should be about, after all.

6) This last one was just too perfectly worded, I felt it was best if I simply copied and pasted it here: "I shall open my eyes and ears. Once every day I shall simply stare at a tree, a flower, a cloud, or a person. I shall not then be concerned at all to ask what they are but simply be glad that they are. I shall joyfully allow them the mystery of what C.S. Lewis calls their "divine, magical, terrifying and ecstatic" existence." Today I stopped a moment before coming in from our family walk and just tilted my head back and looked up at the SKY.... I never get tired of the gift it is. Our Creator provides us with myriads of these beauties; for me to spend time each day doing this is a gift He gives me and I will not waste it. This one is truly easy - and simplistically beautiful.

I think 2010 will be a year of Rejoicing! Join me today - Rejoice!