New Year's Message

Galette des Rois, or "King's Cake" is eaten on the feast of the Epiphany or basically all of Jan.
Find the "feve", or small trinket (a bean or baby Jesus usually) and you're King for the day!
(Yes, I struggled with pics for this post.)

I love the new year.  People can argue that it is a superficial marker in time, but it's one of those things, like being part of a team or running a race - there is a communal feeling of being able to make a fresh start, of pushing yourself to improve yourself and seeing other people do it makes it feel like you can too.  I like that there is a moment to say goodbye to the last 365 days, the bad ones and good ones and to set yourself up for the best for the next 365.  In France, I like how the new year is celebrated.  We receive cards with new year's greetings instead of Christmas cards and though we're in the second week of January, people are still greeting me with wishes of love, success, health and adventure in the new year, when it almost seems forgotten by this time in the states.

I no longer make resolutions.  I have themes.  Writing a long checklist of things I need to do seems defeating.  I think of what weighs on me, what makes me happy and what things need to change to move me towards the person I want to be.  In 2011, my main themes were 1) to be more assertive and 2) to create.  In between, there are of course a million things I want to do but these two I needed to incorporate into my life.  The first was practiced in various forms, but consistently with taxi cab drivers and French waiters.  The latter, spurred the creation of this blog as I wanted to improve my writing, express myself and share my adventures in more depth with family and friends.  Who knew a failed truffle experiment could do so much?  :)

What about in 2012?   Again, there is a lot on the list but I've narrowed it down to these themes:

1) Move - I'm always on the move but my body needs a release.  Look for me back on the salsa dance floor, hopefully donning my knee pads in volleyball again (I hear they're thinner now so I don't look like the Michelin man), and maybe even on a hiking or sailing vacation.

2) Give Back - I have a good life.  Isn't it time to contribute to help others?  I have this nagging little voice in me that says yes.  I want to make that voice stop - I think it will be fulfilling.  Let me know if you have any good ideas, I'll be on the hunt.

The year's checklist includes some new culinary adventures, digging into the history of Paris and its surrounding areas, bringing together the people in my Parisian circle and of course - travel.  Travel is less of a resolution and more of a necessity in my opinion.  But this year I am resolving to visit all of those friends with whom I daydreamed about being in Europe and seeing on a regular basis.  No more empty promises - Oslo, Bologna, Vienna, Valladoid - here I come!  And I might even make it to Africa to visit a certain turkey neck eater while she is still there.

What does 2012 hold for you?  I hope it's wonderful - full of good memories with those you love, new discoveries and adventures, health and wealth brought in the form of whatever makes you feel rich.

<3,