Fetching Fun: New Year's Resolutions

2015

Wow it felt weird to write that...
15?!
Why do I feel like the 90's were yesterday?

Okay, so, save the fact that I am aging at an uncontrollable rate,
and I should know better at this old age to make resolutions, I am going to give it another go.

Here are this year's lies:

1. To plant a real, bad-ass, flower garden.

Yes, I know, this was last year's resolution, and 2013...I mean it this time.

2. To plant, and nurture my vegetable garden,

and to preserve/can/sauce enough for the winter

(this year was a sad flop).

3. To mentally prepare myself for the first day of kindergarten.

I am going to be a F$%^ing basket case in September.

I apologize to Elias' teachers in advance...

4. To make a 100% homemade lasagna.

Our cow, our tomatoes, our basil, our homemade pasta, our homemade cheeses.

I will name it Narcissism, and it will be delicious.

5. To run my 5th and final half marathon in Lake Placid.

After the second weekend in June, running and I will just be friends.

6. To make physical prints of every picture I cherish.

Not on the computer. Not on disk. Actual, old school photo books all the way.

7. To finish that damn quilt....

this may require me to learn how to use a sewing machine.

8. To eat more green, less white for real this year,

and do something everyday that could be considered exercise.

To be a good example for Elias.

9. To travel, explore, adventure every day;

Whether it is in a book, out our front door, locally or globally.

To make everyday richer.

10. To continue to make my family and true friends my priority;

to laugh with them, to cry with them, to love them and to foster our relationships from a new place.

To make every day, every week, every month brighter than last.

*(Yes. I try.)

I wish you all a happy, healthy, fun, fulfilling, beautiful and delicious New Year!

2014

Good Morning January!

It is so nice to see you in all of your chilliness.

The feeling of the new year, with new possibilities is always a bit daunting, yet exhilarating.

I, of course, had to reflect on my 2013 resolutions,

and create some new semi-lies.

Here were my resolutions from last year, with notes of accomplishment and failure:

1. To start searching for my prom dress. Elias will be 17 before I know it.

*(Check...the styles always change. By the time he is in high school, my high school 'Holiday Ball' dress will be back in style)

2. To eat more green, less white

*(Check...well, not really, but at least I am not eating cold Chef-boy-r-dee out of the can anymore...even though I secretly want to...)

3. To redefine "exercise" as "playtime."

*(Nope. Exercise is exercise. Play is play).

4. To try a new recipe at least once a week, and open myself to new cuisines, techniques and food combinations...and to de-bone/fillet a fish somewhere in that process... (stay tuned as I am also going to attempt to add this adventure into the blog)...

*(Check...kind of...43 "new" recipes...although I don't know if you would count Strawberry cupcakes from the box a 'new' recipe...Check on the fish, but have to really learn this skill, not just over a bottle of wine)

5. To stop lying to myself and really clean out my closet...honestly, am I ever going to wear that shit again?!

*(Nope. I just added more shit to the pile...)

6. To take as many baths and naps with Elias as possible before it is considered inappropriate.

*(Check...sadly baths are inappropriate now. Once he said I had "nice cougars" I new it was time to stop...)

7. To do one thing a day for myself; read, paint, draw, create, stretch, exercise, nap...

*(Still fighting with this. Why should I feel guilty for slinking away to paint? Read? Dammit! They are dulling my shine!)

8. To plant a flower garden

*(Nope. I planted a flower bed, and a veggie garden...but not what I was thinking.)

9. To ween myself off of my magazine/newspaper addiction. Honestly Karra, when was the last time you read any of those 'New Yorkers', cover to cover? Get real.

*(Nope. I love magazines. Sorry trees.)

10. To continue to make my family and true friends my priority; to laugh with them, to cry with them, to love them and to foster our relationships from a new place. To make every day, every week, every month brighter than last.

*(Yes. I try.)

So looking back, I feel that I did okay.

Something like 80% of people do not complete their New Year's resolutions, so even if in brevity, I touched on all of my betterments.

Here are my 2014 resolutions:

1. To continue to make my family and true friends my priority; to laugh with them, to cry with them, to love them and to foster our relationships from a new place. To make every day, every week, every month brighter than last. This deserves the #1 spot.

2. To travel more. Get out. Visit friends. Explore.

3. To clean out the junk. Closets. Drawers. Mind. Body.

4. To break up with spaghetti for real...with the disclaimer that a booty call here and there is not the end of the world... Wink.

5. To keep a visual journal, print out my pictures, and document life in paper format. For me. For Elias.

6. To continue my recipe challenge. To explore as many new recipes as possible. New cuisines. New techniques. Possibly take a knife skills class?! Sauces?!

7. To learn a new skill. Like canning/preserving so we can maximize our bounties. Or knitting. Or karate.

8. To spend the most quality time possible with Elias. Create a garden with him. Travel with him. Library with him. Lunch with him...

9. To plant a flower garden. For real this year.

10. To be kinder to myself. Carve out quality personal time so I can be more present in the rest of my life, and more available to the ones I love.

Wish me luck.

I'll see you guys in 2015!

2013
Ya, I know, I know...it is now the trend to NOT make resolutions...

But come on, have we really gotten that lazy?

We can't even muster up the energy to lie to ourselves anymore?!

Jeepers.

Well, I'm still a fan of learning defeat, so here it goes; my top ten resolutions:

1. To start searching for my prom dress. Elias will be 17 before I know it.
2. To eat more green, less white.
3. To redefine "exercise" as "playtime."
4. To try a new recipe at least once a week, and open myself to new cuisines, techniques and food combinations...and to de-bone/fillet a fish somewhere in that process... (stay tuned as I am also going to attempt to add this adventure into the blog)...
5. To stop lying to myself and really clean out my closet...honestly, am I ever going to wear that shit again?!
6. To take as many baths and naps with Elias as possible before it is considered inappropriate.
7. To do one thing a day for myself; read, paint, draw, create, stretch, exercise, nap...
8. To plant a flower garden
9. To ween myself off of my magazine/newspaper addiction. Honestly Karra, when was the last time you read any of those 'New Yorkers', cover to cover? Get real.
10. To continue to make my family and true friends my priority; to laugh with them, to cry with them, to love them and to foster our relationships from a new place. To make every day, every week, every month brighter than last.

Happy New Year's Everyone!

I hope this new year finds us, and our loved ones, all happier and healthier!

See you in January!

Cheers, k

The Fish Resolution

So, last year I made a resolution that I would learn how to fillet a fish.

I didn't....kind of on purpose...

So I remade the resolution this year.
I figure if I'm ever going to be any kind of cook, I need to learn such things.

Typically you would skin a catfish, but with a little help from my husband and friends, I gave filleting a go...

I was enthusiastic, but a surprising sissy throughout the entire process. It was disgusting, and unbeknownst to me, catfish are tough as shit.

Here is a little photo spread of the experience.