New Beginnings

I don't plan to do much reflecting on last year, but instead just look forward to the coming one.

While in Florida for the Christmas holiday, we took an unplanned side-trip up to Gainesville, where several of my college friends are now living. We had less than 24 hours there, but we made the most of it. Citra Super hosted an amazing barbecue on such short notice with grilled steak, chicken, portabello mushrooms, and vegetable kabobs. We watched members of Holopaw and Elephant Parade duke it out on the ping pong table which sits prominently in the front yard. I saw Shena and Estelle's dad smile once again since losing Leila. In fact, we all smiled and laughed again, gathered together for happier times.

We were invited to stay the night with Sarah and Don and their new baby Dylan. Don made the fluffiest scrambled eggs I have ever eaten and served them with fruit and freshly baked biscuits for breakfast the next morning. He says you can learn alot about cooking from watching The Sopranos. Sour cream is the secret mafia ingredient.

We rounded out the visit with a stop at Burrito Brothers for an epic meal.

We said goodbye yesterday to our first Boise friends, Mike and Roxanne. They are off to try their lots in the big city of San Francisco. Jon and I met some new friends on New Year's Eve and we are excited about kindling new relationships in Boise.

After I wrapped up work yesterday, we drove up to our local Bogus Basin resort and I got to test out what I learned in my pre-Christmas snowboarding lessons. I was really nervous going up the lift the first few times, but I was starting to get the hang of the lift and the bunny slope by the end of the evening. I'm looking forward to staying active this winter.

As far as resolutions go, Jon and I are both trying to be more conscientious about our diets. I am adding more fruit to mine and we are both in general trying to curb our natural tendencies towards expansion by eating less and exercising more. One of the best things I have learned from Jon is that exercise doesn't have to be drudgery; it can be an excuse to get outside.

Personally, I am trying to reinvigorate my daily yoga practice. I forgot an important birthday this year and so I am also working on being mindful of important dates. And finally, we can all learn to practice more tolerance towards ourselves and others and I am no exception.