Monday, December 31

PROMISES, PROMISES, PROMISES...

Greetings, dear readers! Here I am on the threshold of another year gone by and feeling quite...well...UNCERTAIN of what it might bring forth. I am not much one for New Years Resolutions because I am really lousy at keeping them. Truly. I mean REALLY lousy. It's like the minute my body "HEARS" the mutterings of diet...weight loss, etc. it goes into IMMEDIATE rebellion.

However, my hubby is insistent that we do SOMETHING, so I've signed up for eDiet (mostly because it will allow me to kick out menus and shopping lists...the part of DIETING that I detest and despise). And now comes the challenge of finding foods that a)we both like and b)that our local market carries. One accomplishment (whether or not to be proud I have not yet discerned) of 2007 was that I won the title "Food Diva" by my sisters. Truly I didn't MEAN to be a food diva, and Lord knows I am not terribly picky when it comes to the WHAT of my eating...but apparently I'm a bit more of a stickler on the "HOW". Textures are a big deal (I can not eat shrimp because of the "chewy" textures of the wretched things) and temperatures are a big deal (for example, I find I am more likely to drink my drinks in their entirety if they are REEEEEEEALLY cold...thus, I order drinks with extra ice. Yes, it may be a bit of a PAIN at the drive thru, but isn't the "customer always right" anyway???) AND then there's the aesthetic of food...it HAS to look good. It has to look PRETTY. If I learned nothing else in home ec cooking class it was that there needed to be a variety of COLOR and TEXTURES in a meal. I heartily concur. Maybe it's the artist in me...maybe I AM a food diva. All I know is that I have had near "spiritual experiences" when food is done right ...
I REFUSE, however, to make the new year all about food...and weight...and...well, my BODY. (OH MY GOSH...I watched with HORROR as I saw the previews for a
new reality show on television about "plus size women" learning to "love their bodies". Their first exercise is to look at themselves in a full length mirror in only their underwear. Yikes. Double yikes. I will be the first to admit I am unhappy with my body...however, looking at myself in a mirror in my home and looking at myself on national television are two ENTIRELY DIFFERENT things. At the tender age of 50 (THANKS TO EVERYONE for all the well wishes, by the way!) I would have hoped to have made PEACE with this body-o-mine. It DOES, after all, for the most part, function well. BUT peace or not, I am going to appreciate this body and NOT obsess about it. Really.

SOOOOOOOO, rather than make
resolutions I will never in a million years keep, how about this...how about I agree before YOU, my readers, that I will embrace the GOOD in both myself and the world, and will seek to bring Love, Light and Creativity wherever and with whomever I come in contact! (I realize these are not "measurable and obtainable" and therefore are not goals in the "official sense", however, in my abstract world and abstract mind they are as close as I am going to come)

So what say you? What are YOUR goals, dreams
and ambitions? Leave comments HERE and I will pick two souls at random and send an amazing FREE goodie box of AltAred Art materials! Woohoo!

DING! DING! DING! NEW INFO! Included in the AltAred Art Goodie Box will be:

An Art Journal
A Blank Wooden Box to AltAr any way you wish!
A Groovy Felt Magnet...bird, dog or mushroom
Lots of cool-ish papers, rub ons, ephemera, stickers, and "weird stuff"

I look forward to hearing from you! Pe
ace, Light and Joy in the New Year!


xoxoxo

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Paula,
I thought I'd tell you my goal for 2008. I want to spend more time taking care of me. I want to pamper myself with foot baths, take myself on "artist dates" (as described in the book, Artist's Way). I have already started by spending time with the horses.
It's short, but one thing is enough for me!
Mindy

Anonymous said...

Loved this post!!! Oh, the new show you were talking about...is it the one with Carson Kresley from "Queer Eye"?? I SO want to see that...he is such a riot!! And hooray for him helping these women to find a feeling of self worth that doesn't start and stop with the size of their waistline!!!! Thus with this comment comes my first "goal" for the new year...which is, in fact, to be content with WHO I am..no matter what SIZE I am! To continue to rid myself of that nagging need to "impress" others. To want to "measure up" to some insane worldly idea of "attractive". I've been married for nigh unto 17 years...my hubby doesn't seem to be to terribly revolted by my looks...(after all we DO have 5 kids!)....so who cares what others think???? (sadly at times....I do!?!?) OK...that's a rather lengthy number one goal. As with every year, I strive to become more of the woman, wife & mother God wants me to be. (which I am finding more and more is NOTHING that I believed it to be in the beginning....go figure?)Since my top 2 goals are rather lengthy in written form I will stop with those.

Love,
Ang.

P.S.~ Contestant #1 for the goodie box!!!! YIPPIE SKIPPIE!!!

Anonymous said...

hey Aunty!
Ok, my "goals" for 2008...hmm.
1. I want to be bolder for God at school than ever before in telling people about him and showing his love to them!
2. I want to not just read the Bible, but STUDY it, and soak it in, and apply it to my life.
3. Learn how to think before i speak, and not say the first thing that pops into my mind!
4. I would like to work harder in Algebra, so i can maybe actually understand the formulas...or even, remember them...
great post, aunt paula!
you rock and i'll catchya later!
-Aria

Anonymous said...

Well Paula, we haven't "talked" in a while but let's just say one of my goals for 2008 is to live a more healthy life style. ( I need to eat on MORE of a schedule... I can not believe I said that.) And also I have a goal of getting my applications out A.S.A.P. so I can get a teaching job before August!
Dannah

Anonymous said...

Ohhhhh put me in for the goodie box!!!! This year is going to be ALL about simplicity, in mind, body and spirit. My number one goal is integrating taking care of myself with taking care of the needs of others. Looking back at 07 made it abundantly clear I was out of balance, particularly since Fall.

Anonymous said...

I have very similar goals, sis. That won't surprise you. We're two peas in a pod. I definitely want to live more arfully and green. I need socially conscious beauty and creativity in my life. So, closer to nature and art, which to me, means closer to God.

I didn't tell you but I'm thinking of starting a local Franciscan community. I am feeling mighty isolated and want to reach out as a neomonastic locally. I need people I can see and touch! But I'll welcome cyber friends, too. I just have a local focus for now. I may ask you to join my board.

I want to live out my Franciscan charism in a special way. My trip to Africa this month may kick-start that process in a big way, but not without building that habit of prayer. I really feel the need to live the gospel and the call.

Next, I have to lose weight. I peaked at 190 and I'm waaaay too short to be so obese. I want to eat more whole foods, and cut portions and move this big gal body.

That's about it. May God grant us mercy and peace!
claudia-mair

Anonymous said...

p.s. Loved the Christmas mailing. Did you get the Anglican rosary I sent you yet??

Tell Dusty I haven't forgotten hers. I just can't find enough orange beads!

Funky Finds said...

My goals include taking Funky Finds to the next level. I'd love to be self-employed by this time next year! Cheers to you in '08. Jessica

Candy said...

I just came over from Ragamuffin Diva's blog and I love this place!! Where have I been and why haven't I found you sooner?? I was immediately blown away by the color and creativity I found here. Each year I ask God for a word for the year. This year it is undoubtedly "wisdom". I first thought I would be spending a lot of time in Proverbs but then I realized it is Spiritual Wisdom I crave. So, my first place to plop is in 1 Corinthians 2:6-16. Verse 7 says this: "...God's secret wisdom, a wisdom that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began.." That's the wisdom I crave. I am excited where it will take me.

Kelly said...

Hi Paula -

My goal for the new year is to try to walk at least 3 days a week. It's good for me and my cute but lazy dog, so hopefully we stick to it. (so far, so good.) Thanks for offering the blog candy - how fun! Best of luck to you on your resolution.
Kelly