A New Year

 Happy New Year friends! I feel hopeful for this year, maybe it's my ever-optimistic outlook but deep down I feel hopeful for what this year will bring.  Along with a lot of other families over the world, I have been dreaming of 40 acres and some dirt, a house,  maybe a horse, a dog, just plenty of space to run and explore. 40 acres is hard to come by in California when you're ballin on a budget haha. So I will happily settle for even an acre. Laugh if you want but if you saw the size of my yard now it's less than 7,000 square feet. Someday... I really do love the little house we have now, It's been so great for us. But I am starting to itch for a bit more space. Dreaming is free right? What are you dreaming about? 

 I don't really do New Year's resolutions, but I do think about things I'd love to do better at in the coming year and one of those is soaking up time with loved ones. Life is short, be together every chance you get. Read that extra story, snuggle the baby a bit longer, and show the ones who live in your house and those who don't live in your house how much they mean to you whenever it is possible. Your home comes first, if your babies or teens are extra cranky and you feel run down with activities, take a month off and practice saying no to things that drag you down instead of lifting you up. 

One other thing I am ever so slowly working on is switching all of our household items over to things that don't mess with our overall health and wellness. Organic fruits and veggies whenever possible, clean, chemical-free body care and cleaners. I still love and use things that aren't great for the earth like plastic straws and zip lock bags but I think it's called give and take. If its stressing you out, stop. That's my theory, and right now there are some things that, for me to give up, would only cause added mental strain. Along with this, I want to learn how to do sourdough. I have tried but wasn't consistent enough and my starter died. I'm hoping to start again and learn that maybe it's not as hard as I've thought it was!

I'd love to hear from you, what are new things you want to try this year or that you are giving up?