It’s tradition, y’all. And in the South we’re all about tradition. Black-eyed peas and greens can be found in some form or another on just about every Southern table on New Year’s Day ensuring wealth and good luck.
Legend has it that the tradition dates back to the Civil War era (what doesn’t in the South?) when Union soldiers stripped the fields bare except for peas and greens which they left thinking they were animal feed. That was a win-win for those poor Southerners. This recipe can be found on Riceland Foods blog: READ MORE
When I first began to think about this last post as Miss December, I thought about just general ways to welcome in the New Year; and that could be fun. After thinking about it a little more, though, I thought it’d be even better to put a blogging spin on the New Year. So, without further adieu, here are 5 ways to welcome in the New Year as a blogger:
1) Step away from your computer (and other oh so handy electronics). Put down the mouse, take out the ear buds, shut it all down. Take some time to really enjoy this last part of the holiday season with the ones you love.
2) Take time to re-evaluate where you’re going and what you’re doing. Get a fresh perspective on things. Step away long enough to get a grasp on where you’re headed with your blog in 2015. Think about what you want to accomplish and how you want to grow. What is most important to you? What is most important to your readers? What are you most passionate about? What are you doing right now that you would drop in a heartbeat, and what would you replace it with, if anything? If given the opportunity, what’s the one thing you would like to accomplish in 2015? What do you want to learn, and how can you learn it? Can you take a course, attend a conference, network? Write it all down…this is where you pick up pen and paper and write it all out the old-fashioned way.
3) Begin to formulate a plan. Once you’ve written everything down, begin to create a plan that is both doable and actionable. Whether you set goals, resolutions, or just take baby steps…set your sights on the plan before you and don’t waver. Small steps lead to big successes in life. Taking enough time to take those steps, and not hurry through just to get to your end goal, leads to more quality work, more quality relationships. As a wise woman once said at AWBU (Alli Worthington), “Learn to say no, so you can say yes.”
4) It may seem cliché, but get organized. Organize your blog and business just as you would any other professional entity. If you want to be taken seriously, as a professional, then you have to be professional. Get your finances in order and create documents to help you stay on top of accounting, client work, payments due, writing assignments, and more. Google Drive is FREE(https://www.google.com/drive/), as is Wave(https://www.waveapps.com/) for finances. I’m also loving the Shake app for contracts. These are just a few options within the multitude of options available. Looking for a planner? I recommend Plum Paper; I heart my planner!
5) Take time to take care of you. I get it…as a busy mom who homeschools and works at home, there’s barely enough time in the day to figure out which end is going which some days. Get up a few minutes earlier, and enjoy a cup of coffee before the kids are awake. If you’re not an early riser (the older I get, the more of a night owl I’m becoming), take advantage of that time after the kids go to bed. Or maybe it’s just stopping at your local coffee shop for a treat…or starting a good book (and finishing it, even if it takes a month or two)… Take time to take care of you because you are so worth it, my friend. Doing something you enjoy, even if just a few minutes a day, makes a world of difference in how you feel, how you respond, how you live.
Happy New Year to you and yours! May 2015 be a beautiful, wonderful year!
Intentional Resolutions {New Year, New You} Written by Heidi Clark of The Busy Nothings.
I hate New Years Resolutions.
I took a personalty test last fall and discovered my driving force is passion… followed closely by rebellion. Wait- what? Rebellion? How is that… good? SO… I’m passionately… rebellious at times and one of said times is around New Years when everyone around me is cheerily listing all the things that they are going to do better at in the New Year. Exercise, eating, you name it. I rolled my eyes at them. It seems so cheesy and like everyone puts off doing what they know is right until January 1st, then are overwhelmed with all the change at once and when they stumble or fail, feel bad then scrap the whole deal. It always seemed silly and I have obnoxiously told people in the past I made a resolution to never make a resolution.
But then, I realized I HAD been making New Years Resolutions, hypocrite that I am, just subconsciously over the year and in my own passively rebellious way:
– I started the Couch to 5K in November. I am not a runner and always spouted off that people who liked to run were probably running from some major issues in their lives. The fact is that I like to challenge myself and I wanted to see if I could ever run again and actually enjoy it too. I don’t really enjoy it yet, but I love the feeling of accomplishment that I have gotten from this fairly easy program. It’s amazing! Part of the reason that I started it in November was because my 61-year-old father told me he was training for a 5K. I was like- “Ummm- NO way my old dad will be in better shape than me!” and now we have a playful competition in which he’s totally smoking me… The other reason I decided to start running in November was to be ahead of all the people who were going to start in January. Wow. My lack of maturity staggers me at times. There’s that little rebellion with equal parts a competitive nature.
-I have not purchased new clothing from a store in MONTHS and have decided not to as long as I can, which is a part of a lot of people’s Resolution- to spend less. This has been partly because my husband lost his job last summer so I couldn’t afford to and partly because I thought it’d be a challenge to scour garage sales, local thrift and goodwill stores and see if I could still look trendy. Plus- I can buy MORE clothes for less money! Yes, an obvious fact to many! It’s a lot more fun of a challenge now that my husband has a job again! This has become a regular series on my blog as I find new ways to re-use old clothes, upcycle and accessorize cheaply.
-I have gone Gluten Free. OK, that is not a new thing actually. I cheat occasionally, but overall I’ve been Gluten Free for over a year now. What IS a new thing is trying recipes that involve some “from scratch” cooking. Don’t get me wrong- I cook from scratch a lot but when it comes to *baking* Gluten Free I’ve been a ‘from the box’ kind of girl. I baked some things from scratch that were horrible and some (a few) that were great and this year is about trying new things and experimenting in the effort to be healthier and save money. Failure is OK, I’m not perfect, (is what I keep telling myself).
-and speaking of FAILURE, I’ve started counting calories. This year. This could be viewed as some as a New Years Resolution… but it isn’t. It’s simply a decision that I made the first week of the New Year. Weird coincidence, huh? 🙂 This is hard for me- once again my rebellious nature growls at the shackles of restriction, especially in an area that I love: FOOD. But what I’ve found out almost 2 weeks in and 4 lbs less, is that it WORKS. There is freedom in self control that I have found more liberating than a bag of chips and spinach dip ever did. Barely, and not every day, but I’ve realized that I actually enjoy food more now! My goal is to be at the place where I’ve learned portion control, but in my busy, emotional eating world, counting is helping me a lot right now.
The last few year I’ve felt reactionary to everything. My husband, my little boys, and LIFE. This year I want to be more intentional- and it starts with taking care of myself. This list may seem a little selfish to some but it’s when I’m whole and healthy that I can pour out to others in a good way and my family benefits the most. I am rebellious and committing to change can be hard for me. I may joke around a lot, but the fact is that I passionately love life and want to live it in the fullest possible way and that does start with change. Which I’m making in a very non- New Year’s Resolution kind of way. 🙂
I’m Heidi, I’m a thirty-something wife and mom. I’m passionate about my boys, one of who has a rare genetic disorder which led me to cook much healthier and gluten free. I love being real and writing about my couch to 5k journey, finding fashion from thrift stores and garage sales and occasionally picking up a good DIY project. I decorate and free-lance write in my spare time. You can read more about me on my blog The Busy Nothings.
Whether you make or break your resolutions or resolve not to make any in the first place, these bloggers will certainly give you pause for thought as they share their hopes, goals, dreams and intentions for the New Year.
Did you have a 2011 Review Post or a Resolution post that we missed? Send us a link to julie@arkansaswomenbloggers and we will add it later this month.
Do you have a post on your blog that you would love to share with our readers? Each Wednesday we are featuring several posts from our archives as well as your archives. If you would like to submit a post for our Retro Wednesday feature please email a short excerpt (300 characters or less) along with a link to the post, your name, and blog title to Julie@arkansaswomenbloggers.com with “Retro Wednesday” in the subject line. Please note that we will keep an ongoing list of Retro Wednesday posts and may not be able to notify you regarding the specific day on which your link will appear. Additionally, if you are interested in submitting original content for our site, check out our Posting Guidelines.
Looking for a great Cabernet Sauvignon? The Louis M. Martini Cabernet Sauvignon pairs wonderfully with steak and warm winter foods and has flavors of dark berries and fruits. Recommended by Macadoodle’s wine tasting bar experts! Sonia writes Freya’s Keeper – a blog all about great wines!
Most of us make New Year’s resolutions. Some we stick with and some we don’t. In 2010, Melissa of Melissa Runs, set out to make the Best Resolutions Ever. At the end of the year she reflected on those resolutions in her post 2010 Resolution Round Up. Go see how she did!
Do you have a post on your blog that you would love to share with our readers? Each Wednesday we are featuring several posts from our archives as well as your archives. If you would like to submit a post for our Retro Wednesday feature please email a short excerpt (300 characters or less) along with a link to the post, your name, and blog title to Julie@arkansaswomenbloggers.com with “Retro Wednesday” in the subject line. Please note that we will keep an ongoing list of Retro Wednesday posts and may not be able to notify you regarding the specific day on which your link will appear. Additionally, if you are interested in submitting original content for our site, check out our Posting Guidelines.
