Looking Forward

Another Thanksgiving come and gone. Sorry there are no pictures of the PIES (I only got two made the night before) or the deep-fried turkey -- I guess I'm a bad blogger because when I'm in production mode, I don't think too much about blogging. Well, actually, I think about it but I dismiss it so I can keep my focus on what I'm doing. Suffice it to say that everything came out pretty well. There are still a few leftovers -- including pie! Yesterday we changed things up an had pizza. Not just any old pizza: homemade pizza!!! Yummo.

Now, it's time to focus on the next round of holidays. And, at the same time, it occurs to me that January is only a month away. Last year I went on a major tear in December to get read for 2009. I had my car detailed, house deep-cleaned, windows washed, etc. As I look around this year, there's not that much heavy-lifting to do in regards to my house. Now, I have the pleasure of thinking about things like "what do I want to learn next year? Where do I want to go?"

So, here's a draft list of the things I want to learn/explore in 2010:

1. Work diligently on my cookbook -- this will be slow going because I want it to be fun. If put myself on some kind of schedule or deadline, it will just be work. If I pick it up and put it down as it feels good, it will stay playful and fun.

2. Replace some of the junky food habits I have with some better ones such as swapping out chocolate for fresh dates (my five pound box of dates from The Date People came last week -- Yum!).

3. Be more creative with my farm share next year. For starters, I wished I had recorded what I got each week so that I could better plan next year. I remember the week I got about 8 cucumbers. It's good to be prepared for something like that.

4. Fall in love with my Green Star Juicer. I've had it for about two years now. These things are not cheap! It's supposed to be the best. I have to make time to get comfortable with it. My attempts thus far have been disappointing.

5. Cut back on accumulating cookbooks and dig into what I have.

6. Relax.

Before I go this morning, here's a question for you: Who inspires you?"

Sir Winston Churchill inspires me. Often this quote comes to my mind:

"Never give in -- never, never, never in nothing great or small, large or petty, never give in except to convictions of honour & good sense. Never yield to force; Never yield to the apparently overwhelming insight of the enemy."