new year ... new look ... new goals

so, with the new year, comes the push to make things new, clean the slate, find the peace .. all that shiny and fresh stuff. i have mentioned in a previous post how much i love the 'idea' of the new year - the new-NESS that it gives to us as humans.

i am all for that.

2006 was a good year for me. a very good year. even for the family, and for s, a very good year, indeed. i seemed to hit a groove, a stride, so to speak. i am pleased with the direction of life right now, and i am at peace (read: no stress) about my work/career. 2005 was the first year with this new company, and this past year i became very comfortable with the learning curve, and also the work load - now, truth be told, my kidlets are getting a little older, and life seems to be grooving with them as well, so i had the opportunity to work more easily, i know - however, bigger kids always means bigger activities with a busier schedule to keep for the family, so that was a change to contend with. albeit a lovely change, and yes, easily managed.

with the new year, also comes the fierce desire, as a woman that is, to make a change in "looks". no, i haven't dyed my hair green (although that would be a fun thing to try someday) and no, i haven't had any cosmetic surgery (hmmmmm ....) but i have commited even more to the daily gym routine that i have going. it is a drug of sorts. an addiction. a deposit in the bank of health. s and i are really working hard to get to the gym 5-6 days a week. i feel better than i have in 5 years (ahem) and my clothes are fitting quite differently. it's true, everything they say about exercising, and the fact that it has inumerable benefits - it's true. my skin looks better, my hair is shinier (and longer - a little change there, too!) i have more confidence, i feel happier, i have far less stress, i have far more energy (dear god, right? as if i need any more!) and i want to be at the gym to get these feelings i have. i am also having some fun with my style. i am trying some new things with my clothes, and my choice of dressing. it's fun, and easier with a body that feels more like mine.

so, with all of these new things going on (although the working out isn't new, but my commitment to continue it is) i needed to change some other things in my 'world'. i have a new digital camera ~ i am taking a photography course to learn how to use the heck out of it. i am signing up for a yoga class ~ once a week to change the routine up a wee bit. and i gussied up the blog here with some new colors and new design. {okay, so not huge major things, but still, good clean the slate things .....}

i have consciously made some decisions with regards to work, and the amount of time i dedicate to it versus the time with the family. that was a goal for 2005, and i made it happen that year ~ then i even refined it for 2006, 'focus on the task at hand, whatever the task may be: be it kid time, playtime, be it work, be it working out, be it a date with hubby ... focus on that "thing" for that time'. check, did it. focused, and relaxed about the other *things* that were not being done while focusing (and really, isn't that the hard part??)

that was a success story for me - and i am proud of that. now, I am refining it again. i am extrapulating (i love that word - did i spell it correctly?) each of the 'tasks' and working with them. for instance, numero uno on my list for this new year - find more time to have couple time. another is focusing on cooking more in my own kitchen, versus pick up, or take out, or even eating out. i'd like to take a cooking class, too, to learn some new tricks, and perhaps find some magic in the kitchen.

new.

a chance.

a change.

all of this i am so grateful for, and so excited to begin.

i read some other bogs and one of them asked folks to think of a word, one word that you can work into everything you do in your day to day life. a word that can change everything you do.

my word for the year is enjoy.

what's your word?