Ringing In A New Year

As I have gotten older I have noticed that New Year's Day has been slowly becoming less of a day of recovery and more of a day of reflection.

Don't get me wrong, there is still recovery.  We enjoyed a fun evening last night with friends that included lots of food, cocktails, and staying up past our bedtime to watch the ball drop.  It's just that the evening doesn't tend to last much past midnight anymore (and we tend to have a hard time making that late) and fewer and fewer of us pass out and/or need to stay the night.

I also spent a good amount of time today cleaning the house, cleaning my closet (I think that counts as reflection - realism about things that I never wear and will never fit into), and catching up on my blog (also reflection).

But, I did actually spend some time thinking today about the last year, and what the upcoming year may bring.

2014 was a tough year.  We had a lot more happen this year than we expected - not in a million years did we expect to go to India, do an IVF cycle, and use a surrogate there.

We also had a lot less happen this year than we expected - we were convinced that we would be pregnant this year, that using a surrogate would be the cure for our infertility.

2014 was also a good year.  We traveled a lot this year.  We went to South Carolina with Mark's family, had a great weekend in San Francisco and Sonoma, saw the Taj Mahal and experienced New Delhi, and had an amazing trip to Europe (6 cities, 4 countries, 11 days).  Mark had a fantastic year with work.  I finally started working on landscaping.  We finally started to finish our downstairs.  I got a few great bonus weekends with my family this year with my sister getting married.

What will 2015 hold for us?  No one really knows.  I have decided that whatever it holds, I am going to work on being good to myself this year.

Now that does not (just) mean endless shoes, purses, champagne and mani-pedis.  That means that I am going to also work on doing things that are good FOR myself.

I turn 40 this year and I really need to start taking better and more consistently better care of myself.

I have done some good things over the years - 1-1-15 marks the 10 year anniversary of me quitting smoking, I don't eat very much fast food anymore (I slip every now and again and get a weird once-yearly Big Mac craving) and eat more (still not enough) fruits and vegetables.  I eat less processed and more fresh food.  The binge drinking has (except for vacation and halloween) pretty much fallen off - I do still like my red wine with dinner though.  I also have significantly cut back on my caffeine and only have two cups of coffee per day (I am NEVER giving up coffee completely - the world is a safer place when I have my coffee).

I could do a lot more though.  I rarely exercise, I don't always remember my vitamins, my diet isn't as healthy as it could be, and (this one hurts to admit) I don't always react to stress as well as I could.

Now I am not making any crazy resolutions.  I just decided that I will slowly start making some changes so that hopefully this time they stick.

I would say to wish me luck, but luck has nothing to do with it.  Encourage me, scold me when I need it, and sometimes just be a sympathetic ear.  That's what I really need.

Here's to a happy (and more healthy) 2015....