To the New Year

Well, the blissful days of laziness, snow, sleeping, food and hanging out with family has come to an end. James and I are now back in full force at Princeton - James is working very hard on two different papers this month, and I am immersed in an intense and 3-week J-term course. But it does feel good to be back into a productive mode. And we have made some good changes in our life as part of our New Year's resolutions. Neither of us our religious about these New Year's resolutions...some years I do them, some I don't. But this year I felt beckoned to bring more discipline and order back into my life, and so we decided that the New Year marked a good time to make these changes. Here are some of the more important ones we are working at:

1. No TV.

Yes, we have unplugged our cable connection and I literally haven't watched one ounce of TV since we've been back...in our house, anyways. I have allowed myself to watch a bit if I'm with other people, but no more TV at our place for the month of January. James and I both feel pretty happy with this change for now - we always sit at the table and talk during dinner, I'm reading a fun book about a vintner in Tuscany when I need some mental fluff, and James is reading a novel. So it's good...no late night senseless hours lost to a cable abyss.

2. Better food - better workouts.

December was a tumultuous month for our stomachs. James is now engaged in a work-out program called "Belly-off '09." And I'm just tyring to make sure I work out regularly. I occasionally work out with my friend Sara, who does this crazy military-like program called cross-fit. It leaves me crawling the next two days, but it's very good. Also, we have a fridge stocked full of veggies and other healthy foods, and we're trying not to buy any junk at all. We haven't managed to alleviate it completely, but then again - dessert is one of the greatest pleasures in life!

3. Organized home and house.

I am quite pleased with our progress in keeping our house better organized and put together. If your home should be your sanctuary, we've allowed our sanctuary to be a tornado on far too many occasions. The day after we got home, both James and I completely re-organized all our closets and drawers, sorted through clutter, and did a thorough house clean. Still a few things to work through, but for the most part I'm feeling good.

So here's to the New Year! Although our resolutions are somewhat standard and mundane, my philosophy is that they will allow our lives to be more vivid and exciting. (in the long term, I guess this is true.)

And families....I know you have some of the same health goals as us. We hope you're working at them - we need your good health for years to come!