Happy New Year!  I hope that everyone had a wonderful holiday season!  I was very blessed to be able to take a week and a half off from work and spend most of that time with family and friends.  I was also very blessed, and very excited, to lift many of my dietary restrictions in time for the holidays.  I was able to lift my restrictions on the number of servings of gluten-free whole grains, add back legumes (beans and peas, including chick peas which means hummus!), and add back dairy in moderation.  It made for a much more relaxed and enjoyable Christmas and New Years.  

You would think that having nearly two weeks off would have given me time to update my blog and make some posts, but here's the thing you might not know about me... I am horrible at keeping a journal.  I always have been, but it is something that I am working on.  So please forgive me for the two month hiatus in posts.  My goal is to do at least one post per month.  It sounds exceedingly simple, but for me it will be something I have to focus on and work to accomplish.  

Which brings me to another point, I am making it my goal to blog more regularly, not my resolution.  Every year people make "New Year's Resolutions," and every year, it seems, we fail to follow through.  (This is especially unfortunate given that most of our New Year's resolutions revolve around becoming better, healthier human beings!)  So why a goal and not a resolution?  A goal is "the end toward which effort is directed," whereas a resolution is "the act or process of resolving."  One of the definitions of resolve, according to Merriam-Webster, is to "reach a firm decision about something."  A New Year's "resolution," then, is the act or process of reaching firm decision about something.  If I get stuck in that process of reaching that firm decision to make a change, I'm not really going anywhere.  

A goal also has an end to work towards, it has focus and purpose.  Having a goal gives you something to work towards and therefore allows you to know when you have accomplished what you have set out to do. Instead of a  resolution to "eat better," make a goal to have at least one serving of fruit or vegetables with every meal.  Instead of a resolution to "exercise more," make a goal to start taking the stairs at work and park at the back of the parking lot at the grocery store.  Be realistic in what you can accomplish.  Small successes encourage us to try more; major "failures" (not making it to the gym 3 times/week after the first week, anyone?) cause us to give up and go back to our old way of doing (or not doing) things.  Have someone to help keep you accountable, it makes the journey easier and you are more likely to stick to your goals.  In the case of this blog, I have my Post list and all of you to help keep me accountable.  Wish me luck!