Eat Well, Be Well, Live Well

I must apologize… It’s been ages–well at least a few weeks, since I last posted something. A recipe. A product recommendation. Anything.

The holidays descended heavily upon me last month, and while the exact reasons are still a mystery to me, I just couldn’t seem to find an hour to do anything other than shopping, stirring, baking, cleaning and entertaining. You might be thinking, well why couldn’t you snap off a few photos during all that stirring and baking? But honestly, I just couldn’t. The whole situation was aggravated by the fact that it’s winter, and even though we’re experiencing bizarrely warm weather here in Northern California (we went to the beach twice during the holiday break!), the sun still goes down quite early, and so by the time I was making dinner, the light was gone and with it, the chance to (decently) photograph my cooking.

But enough of the excuses.

What I wanted to say is “thank you.” Thank you for reading my blog. Thank you for being open to trying new recipes. Thank you for wanting to eat in a more healthy and wholesome way. I hope you stick with me this year, and that you find many delicious dishes, informative tidbits on improving your health, and good recommendations on products that are affordable and effective.

I always welcome the new year with an open mind and heart. There’s something about packing up the holiday decorations, putting the tree out to be composted, and taking down the holiday cards that reminds me to honor the past year while looking forward with great anticipation to the new one. I’m horrifically sentimental, so I also take this brief window of time to cherish each member of my family and each new person who entered my life in a significant way in the year we have just said farewell to.

People regularly label me “jaded,” devil’s advocate, glass is half-empty kind of person. But each January, I eagerly anticipate the great joy and wonder I hope to experience some time in the new year. Yeah, sure… By June it may all be lost, and I may have found a dozen things to complain or feel remorseful about, but in this relatively brief period of the year I am completely and utterly optimistic.

Make your new year’s resolutions. Make many. Make specific ones like losing x-number of inches from your waist or exercising x-number of times a week. Make fun ones that expand your world and prevent you from getting stagnant, like learning a new language or taking up a new craft or hobby, changing your look in a noticeable way or changing a room in your home that gives you new perspective. But also make some big broad resolutions like being kinder and gentler with yourself or others, being more mindful, more grateful. Resolutions you know you can obtain, but that you need to consciously work on all year–all your life. And perhaps more importantly, find ways to be inspired. Inspired people are innately happier. Inspiration lives everywhere–in art, in nature, in people you meet nearly every day. It’s not just found in the heavily-published, well-spoken professor you had last semester or the start-up genius who’s made millions. It’s also found in the warmth of the grocery store clerk who will never drive a fancy car or stay at a 5-star hotel–a person who simply has a good heart. Inspiration also lies in the wonder of something unexpected on your way to work, or in the incredible devotion of a family pet. It truly exists all around us, and our only challenge is to stay open to it and look for it in unexpected places.

Thanks, again, and may this year bring you great joy, health and purpose!