New Year's Resolution

It's a stunning morning here--cool, crisp and sunny. Kitchen is clean, dogs are sleeping, I 'kind of' have a plan for dinner. For the moment, I am able to ignore the growing mound of laundry upstairs and have a little writing time. Oh, and today's date rhymes. January 7, 2011. The world seems to have all its chakras balanced, and for now, I won't turn on the television or radio, both of which would prove me completely wrong.

I haven't written much over the past few weeks, and I'm feeling a little rusty. The last several days I've tried to get back into the groove, but it's taking time. It just proves that writing a tiny little bit every day, even during the hectic time of the holidays, will pay off later. Not that I did that, I'm just thinking I would be better off right now if I had. BUT when I take a few days (er weeks) off like this, I am excited to go back to my writing, and that's a good thing. Sometimes I get so caught up in the black and white of the world (cleaning the house, laundry, calling out spelling words, feeding the dogs, etc.) that I forget that we live in a beautiful, colorful place. God has blessed me with inspiration at every turn if only I will stop and notice it. Julia Cameron wrote a book about creativity called THE ARTIST'S WAY (I highly recommend it), and she spoke of the necessity for weekly art dates--a time once a week when you take a moment or an hour or half a day to do or admire something artistic. It can be as simple as walking through your neighborhood artspace or attending a concert or making music of your own. Or painting or sculpting or cooking in a creative way outside your usual routine. Sometime it's reading. That's my New Year's Resolution, to have more art dates and to have more art dates for my family.

Shhhh...keep my secret! More from Dav Pilkey

Okay, I just have to tell you my little secret. I've spent my entire parenting life searching for healthy options for breakfast for the kids. I think it's the hardest meal of the day, not to mention the fact that it's also about the time that I"m getting four kids ready and out the door for school (and two adults!). I regularly make fruit smoothies for breakfast because the kids love them and they're fast. I usually use yogurt, orange juice, and frozen bananas. Occasionally, I'll throw in some fresh strawberries or blueberries, but everyone loves those so much raw, I rarely have any left for a smoothie. Yesterday I bought some flash frozen berries, so I made a smoothie with those, just to up the nutrition, anti-oxidant thing, but then I got to thinking. If I could get a serving of veggies in at breakfast, too; they'd be golden. So I started to think...what could I put in a smoothie? I racked my brain until it finally came to me. CAULIFLOWER! It's white, so you can't see it. It's PACKED with vitamins and minerals and other beautiful things. So this morning, I did it for the first time. Nervously, I put it in the blender first and pulverized it into tiny pieces, then I added my other ingredients: frozen banana, yogurt, orange juice, frozen berries. It was beautiful. I poured it up for the kids, and they LOVED it. No one noticed anything, even Chris, so now I'm so excited. Cauliflower for breakfast. Woo hoo! Just one more way to alleviate the eternal guilt of a mom raising her kids in the age of super-processed food. But DON'T tell my kids.

You know how I've raved about my love for HALLOWEINER, one of my favorite picture books. Well, I have another book to recommend in that vein: DOG BREATH by Dav Pilkey. It's about a dog named Hally Tosis (no kidding) who has a problem with his bad breath. The family tries everything until, of course (as all good picture books go), they realize that what seems like a liability is actually a special gift. This book is just the thing for boys in their 'fart years' as an old librarian used to call it. Boys from about 5-8 are into gross, and this is right up that alley, but it's not too gross. Some of those books go too far for me (although I acknowledge that the kids love them), they just gross me out. But this one is cute and funny, and you should check it out for a good chuckle.

I hurt my back at the grocery store yesterday, so I'm walking around like an old woman. (no offense to the old women out there) I'm trying not to get in and out of my car any more than I have to. That's the worst. I think I get these psychosomatic illnesses in January, so I don't have to begin a big exercise routine. Subconsciously of course. ha ha

OM is cranking up. Pray for the team and me. These next couple of weeks will be jam-packed. (no pun intended for those of you who know I'm working on two 'jam' books) Kids are awesome with tons of cool ideas, they just have to get them to translate to the audience. And they need to track down all kinds of things for props,costumes, etc.

What are your New Year's Resolutions? My priest shared three on Sunday that I want to share here.
1. Trust God more and worry less
2. Exercise more and eat less
3. Love more and judge less
I like it! The whole 'less' thing might be a little subjective for my self-control, but the ideas are excellent. So folks, I love you, and I TRUST that you will have a great day!