Happy New Year

It’s 2016 and everyone, it seems, is trying to start fresh.

I talked with a girlfriend yesterday and we both were looking at meal planning websites to kickstart dinner time.

I hate routine when it comes to meals.

My palette needs variety.

And my eyes need color.

I can’t eat a plate of all brown.

Monte has no problem with that.

In fact, an all-brown plate is something 

he’d order a plate of right now.

With a side of meat on a stick.

So far, my meal planning has produced only two recipes.

I just can’t get my mouth around quinoa, bulgar and flax seed.

Why do SO MANY recipes include them?

Oddly enough, I also have a mild curiosity about making green smoothies.

Then I looked at the possible ingredients.

IF I take this green smoothie step,

there will be substitutions.

On top of wanting to add some variety to our meals,

I’m desiring to clean out all the things 

from all the areas of our house.

I talked with my neighbor about just this topic this morning.

There’s always that one room in the house 

where everything gets stashed.

For her, it’s a guest bedroom.

For me, it’s our master bedroom and the basement.

The master bedroom is the room in our house 

that has been neglected the longest.

Which is sad since it’s the room where I should feel relaxed, 

like a retreat

and not just the room that holds the unfolded laundry,

a library-sized stack of books

and luggage in between trips.

I started looking for master bedroom design ideas online and I don’t think it would be that hard/expensive to get the look I’m after.

But then again, I’m the one who willingly typed in “green smoothie recipes” into a Pinterest search.

With that caveat, 

and very poor transition,

I’m going to recommend a few things 

to add to your new year list making.

Things I think you’d love mainly because I do.

Monte and I saw the above dinosaur t-shirt in New York and I thought it was funny. 

How many times did our girls tell us they didn’t eat something 

when it was smeared all over their face?

I guess this is more of a funny than a recommendation.

Although, if you aren’t owning up to something you know you need to own up to 

because others have caught you in the middle of it, 

 maybe 2016 is your year to do that.

How's that for trying to get back on track 

from the rabbit trail?!

1.  Grandma Gatewood’s Walk:  The Inspiring Story of the Woman Who Save the Appalachian Trail by Ben Montgomery.

I bought this book for my dad last year and he couldn’t say enough about it. He gave it to me and it took me awhile to pick it up and start it. I can’t believe I waited so long to read it. It’s fantastic!!

Grandma Gatewood is a 67-year-old woman who decided to “take a walk” one day in the 1950s and ended up walking from Georgia to Maine. She had little supplies but a love for the forest and a great survivor spirit.

It should be a movie.

Instead of all those horror movies that keep getting released 

and anything Quentin Tarantino directs.

Speaking of movies…

2. War Room

Monte and I intended to see this movie in the theaters but didn’t. We got the DVD after Christmas and I’m so glad we own it! It’s such a great movie about forgiveness and the power of prayer.

This is not a chick flick. It should be seen by men as well as women.

3. My Southern Journey:  True Stories from the Heart of the South by Rick Bragg

My girlfriend Beth got this for me for my birthday. Rick Bragg writes a column for Southern Living magazine and Beth would often tear them out for me to read. He writes in such a way that you feel as if you’ve just HEARD him tell you the story from his own mouth.

He writes a whole chapter on dirt. 

And it’s fantastic.

This is a collection of some of his columns and other essays. It’s easy to pick up and read a few chapters before bed.

4. Pie Face

You’ve probably seen videos of people playing this game circulating around online. 

Monte did.

And he decided that we had to have this for Christmas.

But it was sold out most places.

Monte decided to buy from two different places to ensure a Christmas delivery.

One came within a few days.

The other came after Christmas with Chinese writing all over the box.

It didn’t disappoint.

It’s a game of chance where you risk getting a face full of whipped cream.

It really was random who’d get it and who didn’t.

The game also comes with a small sponge that you wet so you get soaked if the hand decides to do so.

I found the wet sponge to the face refreshing 

after the sticky whipped cream.

5.  Card ’n’ Go Seek

I saw this game at our grocery store in the Christmas aisle. I’m not sure why I picked it up but I’m glad I did.

This is so fun!!

You place one card less than people playing that have words of things you must collect to represent that word.

Things around the house.

Things like “sweet” or “transparent”.

We played at my parents’ house and my mom had a clear advantage (and intense competitive spirit).

Once an item is used, it can not be used again which increased the difficulty.   

6. Restoration Hardware’s No-Crack Hand Cream

Beth introduced me to this a few years ago. I’m a sucker for hand cream. And the fact that it’s called “No-Crack Hand Cream.”

We’ve shortened it to “Crack Cream” around here.

Of course we did.

Monte LOVES this stuff. It has no perfumey smell and it isn’t greasy. Monte’s hands bleed they get so chapped and, well, cracky.

Enter “No-Crack Hand Cream” to save the day!

I have no idea if Restoration Hardware sells this all year or just at Christmas. It’s $5 for this little jar but it lasts forever.

I hope you enjoy any or all of the above things as much as I have.

I’m off to clean out all the non-essential things from the master bedroom.

Or, in other words, 90% of its contents.

Happy New Year!!