.: The New Year :.

I do not think that I have ever had so much excitement for a New Year in my life. I feel like a brand new person, so happy to be alive and patiently waiting to see what the New Year will bring to me. Joy at its best!

January is going to be full of growth. I am participating in WoYoPracMo. I will do yoga and write about it each day. I know this will bring me to a new level of awareness and insight with my practice. This will also bring a new level of dedication to my writing. I want to write more and this is the perfect opportunity.

January also is the start of a year long program I did 2 years ago and am so excited to do again. It's called A Year of Living Compassionately. I cannot wait to see the new level of compassion and joy I will reach this year. Check it out - there is a pre-assignment on the website. I will also be contributing to the Compassion Club blog with my friends Laura and Marya. More writing!

This is also the year of the MOVE! I know we will find our perfect house this year.

Are you ready for your New Year??

PS - The insurance form is still sitting on my kitchen table. I guess I'm still not inspired to complete it :-)

Anything but...

Maybe you have this issue too. As I wrote about in the last post, I got into a little fender-bender. For the insurance, I have to fill out their 9 million question form about who, what, where, when and how if I want the insurance to pay for the bumper repair. I do want the insurance to pay, but I don't want to fill out the form! So, what have I been doing today instead of filling out the form? ANYTHING I can think of or find to do.

I told myself yesterday that I would do it today and mail it off. Then it would be complete and no more avoiding it. It is sitting in plain sight on my kitchen table. Every time I look at it, it's time to put in a new load of laundry, or iron the cloth napkins, or water the plants, or wash the dishes, or sort through the huge pile of catalogs, or clean the foot of snow off the roof - you see my issue? What's a girl to do?

Oh yes, now it's time for my yoga practice! Maybe that will inspire me - I'll let you know :-)

Crash Onto My Mat AKA Yoga Appreciation

My car got rear-ended (with me in it). I sing it in my head, like a catchy song. Although it was not fun (or catchy for that matter) and my body is sure to tell me about it all day long, it has been inspiring.

Why this, why now? I'm not sure I know the answer yet. One thing I do know is that I have never had such an appreciation for my yoga practice. The mat has been occupied everyday - many days more than once. And each time a tremendous wave of gratitude / appreciation for this practice came over me.

Rampage of Appreciation - YOGA:

1. Asana!
2. I know how to move my body in a way that will protect it and also nurture it
3. I know which asanas will gently bring my body back
4. I am able to modify asanas to give my body exactly what it needs in this moment
5. I can do yoga anywhere, at any time

Does it get any better than that?

I'm in!

WoYoPracMo - What a wonderful way to start out the New Year.

I've been thinking about what my practice will look like for January. Should I set an intention for it now? Will I bring in breathing and meditation everyday too? Which poses do I want to focus on?

Then this quote appeared...

"Live your questions now, and perhaps even without knowing it, you will live along some distant day into your answers." ~ Rainer Maria Rilke

I'm going to live the questions for a little while... :-)

The TV Broke

I have asked for this many, many times. While I'm all for a night of watching GOOD TV, I really do not like to have it on much. My husband on the other hand, loves to have it on whether he is watching it or not. I have been asking for quiet, peaceful evenings where we read together, talk or listen to music. In other words, "I want the TV to break and we will put a big, beautiful plant in its place".

Now, for him this is a wonderful opportunity to purchase that big, flat screened monstrosity he has been ASKING FOR and waiting for so patiently for a couple of years now. He has consulted all of the big box stores to learn about all of the options. The kind for a room that receives a lot of sun light. The size that works best for the size of the room. All of the options for cable and high definition TV.

Talk about manifesting at its finest. We both asked for a reason to get rid of the old TV. I should have asked for a big plant instead.

Be careful what you ask for :-)

Linzertorte Cookies & Celebration

Linzertorte Cookies
Originally uploaded by kbethiep

I'm always looking for good, healthy and easy cookie recipes - this is one of those! It is in the December Issue of Namaste Magazine. They are so easy and taste delicious.

I have been enrolled in a 500 hour Yoga Teacher Training progam and tomorrow is the last day. I am officially a Yoga Alliance 500 Hour Registered Yoga Teacher. We are having a party tomorrow night to celebrate and the cookies are going with me. I don't think they will last long.

Enjoy and Namaste

Juicy Juicy

Healthy Winter Skin Manifesto
As I invite in healthy, glowing skin, I promise to:

• Always cover my face when I go out in the cold and wind
• Take warm (not hot) showers
  
• Moisturize
• Essential fatty acids with each meal
  
• Eat lots of salmon
• Add a juice specifically for the skin with my breakfast oatmeal
  

Healthy Winter Skin Juice
3-4 carrots
1/2 apple
1/4 inch slice of fresh ginger
Cut up and carefully push through juicer. Enjoy!

What do you do for healthy winter skin?

As a side note, the Oatmeal recipe has gone through a few changes :-)

Winter Oatmeal

1/2 cup Organic Oats from my favorite Health Food Store
1 1/4 cups water
dash salt
Splash of REAL MAPLE SYRUP
Spoonful of Wheat Germ
Splash of Horchata

Bring to boil and then simmer for 10 minutes, stirring a lot :-)
Transfer to bowl and add maple syrup, wheat germ and a splash of Horchata.

Enjoy!

Inspiring!

Have you heard of Charlie the Coyote? That's him in the video - isn't he precious? He was found by a woman in Wyoming when he was 10 days old and she has been raising him with her tomcat (Eli) in her one room log cabin.

She also has a blog with his baby pictures - so precious!

I am so inspired by her and what she is doing.

I love animals, I love log cabins and I love Wyoming.

I wonder if Charlie would like to have 2 beagle dogs as neighbors?

Happy December!

December arrived with the most wonderful gift of all - SNOW! All day snow. It was beautiful.

We made homemade minestrone and popovers with honey butter.

It was perfect! What did you do on December 1st?