Welcome 2012!!

Happy New Year to you!!

I hope you all had a fantabulous holiday season and that you rang in 2012 with family and/or friends that you love. As is archaically traditional, it's time for the New Year's Resolutions. Many people vow to drop those extra pounds they gained during the last half of the previous year, to save more money, do more charitable activities, etc. and I am not much different than those people. With all the changes that occurred in my life in the latter part of 2011, I have had to step back and evaluate my life a little more than some might. I am 31 years old, and not quite where I thought I'd be at this point in my life. It happens to the best of us, and only we can inflict change in our own life, so that's what I'm setting out to do.

Yes, losing weight is a part of my goal, but it isn't the only goal I have. My New Year's resolutions are:

1. Go to the gym at least 4 days every.single.week. Without exception, in an effort to drop 20 pounds - preferably by the time warm weather starts to peek it's head out again. This also means evaluting and modifying my eating habits.
2. Floss 2 times a day, every day, for the rest of my life. Seems like a silly goal right? Should be an easy habit to be in, especially after having braces for 2 1/2 years!! However, when I am tired at night, it's all I can do to make myself brush my teeth before falling into bed, and flossing often gets tossed aside. I need to make it a priority. I would like to keep all my pretty, straight teeth after all!! Which brings me to my next goal.
3. Suck it up and get a gum graft. What's that, you ask? Well it's a dental procedure similar to a skin graft, to repair a section of my gums that has receded well below a normal gum line. I can partially thank my time in braces for the need of this procedure. And not flossing enough. ::sigh:: OH, and I can't forget to mention that this little procedure will affect what I can eat for EIGHT WEEKS. Just like having braces again. Oh the joy.
4. Pay off all my credit cards/debt (other than student loans, because that will take forever).
5. Get a new car (sort of contradicts the previous goal I know...but I needs a new car people!)
6. Spend more time outside!! Since moving into my apartment I've become more of a hermit...I barely leave if it's not for work or to get groceries. My poor Bubba-dog must be miserable!
7. Save, save, save, save, save my money so I can buy a house and get out of this damn apartment.
8. Spend more time with family and friends.
9. Save up for a DSLR camera and improve on my food photography and styling (regardless of what camera I'm using!)
10. Re-design this blog!! I want a cleaner, more stream-lined template :) I have big plans for this little blog o' mine...now I just have to follow through ;) Seems I got lucky on this one and got the re-design just before the new year!! Woohoo!!

With all of these goals there are conditions, sacrafices, and the need for absolute will-power in some cases, that come along with each one. I am one of those people who spends her life planning things, making lists, and having the best of intentions to follow through - but the best of intentions don't always pan out. Maybe I should make that one of my goals too...to work harder to follow through on all my plans and good intentions ;)

You may wonder why I'm posting this here, on my food blog. Well, it's because many of these goals will also affect my cooking and eating habits, so you may (or may not) notice some changes in the menus coming up. I try to cook pretty healthy most of the time anyway, so I doubt the changes will be drastic...but in case you too, are looking to drop some pounds, I will have recipes available to help you out with that journey. We can do it together!! That doesn't mean that my sugary delights will vanish, but I won't be indulging quite so much in them myself. I'll leave that for my work friends :)