Welcome, Welcome 2021

I am a lover of fresh starts. I have always loved the first day of school or of a new semester, I love the first day of a new job, I love moving to a new city (if you subtract the actual logistics of packing and unloading a moving van), and I am a big fan of New Year's Day. Although I always love New Year's Day, I'm even more excited this year. I am walking in to 2021 with unbridled optimism. I mean, it must be a better year than 2020! So I am looking forward to it.

My word of the year for 2021

A couple days ago, I thought my word of the year for 2021 would be 'savor,' but as I've contemplated it a bit more, I'm tempted to go with 'fearless'. I think over the last couple of years, I have let fear be in the driver's seat far more than it has any right to be. A previous therapist of mine would say of course we feel fear, and we are welcome to acknowledge it, but we do not let it make our decisions for us. So maybe the real sentiment is 'fearless decisions'... but then that would be a two-word word of the year.

Moreover, when I consider some of the pain of 2020, it was really all wrapped up in fear. Fear of the unpredictability, fear of a loss of control, fear of the virus of course. Fear that normalcy would never return. 

So as 2021 comes, I am going to be consciously seeking out a fearless attitude. Who is joining me? Do you select a word of the year?

Intentions and Goals for 2021

Some intentions for the year are to be more kind to myself, to be protective of my mental and physical health, to be present with my loved ones in every way I can. I intend to look for new opportunities--professional, educational--and accept good ones gratefully. To also be discerning in where I put my energy, e.g., spend less time on social media. And finally, I intend to be more focused in nurturing my spiritual health. I am a religious person, and 2020 took away many opportunities for community-based worship. So, this year, as soon as I am able, I will welcome that back into my life eagerly and in the meantime, work on my spiritual health in solitude by increasing prayer.

Some goals for the year are more along the lines of things I want to do rather than the intention. I would like to get to a point where I meditate daily. I would like to put on makeup even if I am just working from home. I would like to lose some of the quarantine weight I have gained. I would like to read 35 books, even if some are re-reads. I would like to continue blogging as long as it is a fruitful practice for me. If it becomes a chore, I hope I will allow myself to let it go. I anticipate that we will move in 2021, likely to a new city. When we move, I hope to find a dentist, a doctor (GP and ob-gyn), a hair stylist and colorist, a nail place, and a tailor by the end of the year in our new city. 

Final baking adventure of 2020

Two nights ago, I prepared a batch of dough to make coffee-cardamom cookies. I heard the coffee-cardamom flavor combination mentioned on the Great British Baking Show and thought it sounded so warm and slightly unusual. So I found a recipe on the James Beard Foundation website. The dough was easy enough to mix up, but I started it late in the evening and put the dough in the fridge overnight rather than start baking right before bed.

So the dough was in the refrigerator overnight, and yesterday on my lunch hour, I cut out and baked the cookies. The smell as they baked was absolutely lovely. They came out slightly dense, because there is no raising agent in the recipe other than the whipped butter and eggs. But I think they are great coffee hour cookies. And they did not end up overly sweet. The next time I make them, I might use slightly more cardamom, and instant espresso powder would likely give a slightly stronger punch than just ground coffee beans. 

Today's Delights:

• A three-day weekend;
• my husband made us breakfast this morning;
• I have a New Year's tradition of writing in birthdays and anniversaries on our wall calendar on New Year's Day, it's a sweet thing to do and reminds you of loved ones;
• we are going to have some lucky foods for dinner to set the year on the right foot; and
• yesterday's Peloton workout was challenging and so fun!

Delight in something today, A