A New Beginning

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A New Beginning

I was able to get away to the beach with some friends for a few days this week. We went there to take some steps away from everyday life and re-center ourselves for the New Year. It was quite helpful. We spent quite a bit of time talking and walking on the beach. The weather was perfect; I like the beach when it is cooler, not when it is hot. Who would have thought that we would have such lovely weather at the beginning of January!

One of my favorite parts of the weekend was watching the sunset. How beautiful it was. As I watched it go down I had thought, “There has to be an end for there to be a new beginning.” Take some time, even if it is a 'staycation', and think about your new beginning. What needs to go down and set like the sun so that you can have a new start? Consider the beauty of that end and brightness of a new beginning. Hope you enjoy these pictures of the sun setting over the beach.

By the way, I promised to tell you which journal I selected for 2019. It is the black leather one with the tree on the front. (It, of course, went with me to the beach.)

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 Dancing with the Stars LIVE

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Dancing with the Stars LIVE

A week before Christmas our youngest daughter, Carmen, called and asked what my husband, Steven, and I would be doing for New Year Eve. I asked her what was up and she said she was trying to get her plans together for the night. It set me back that she was interested in spending that evening with us. When we had our family Christmas together, Carmen handed Steven and I an envelope and inside were tickets to go see Dancing With the Stars Live on New Year’s Eve. It was such a lovely surprise.

As Steven and I watched the dancers coming on and off the stage with different costumes, different music, and set images I took note of the stories that were being told. Some were dramatic, some a little silly, others romantic. The ease and flow between transitions were striking to me and before we knew it 2 hours had gone by and the dancers were taking their final bow.

To me, the night was lovely and so joyful. I got a little dressed up and was able to sit back and enjoy the date hand in hand with Steven. To appreciate the love and generous hearts of our children, and to be thankful for the artists of the world. I took a few pictures, they might not be perfect, but they hold a memory for me.

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 The Journal Dilemma

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The Journal Dilemma

I have an end of the year ritual that usually happens every December 31. I must select a new journal for the coming year. It is a dilemma! I have several empty ones on my shelf right now. I have some that I love, and I have others that I like. It may not sound like a big deal, but I will have a relationship with this book for the year. It will meet me every night when I go to bed, and it will travel with me wherever I go. This book will hold my thoughts, my wishes, as well as my hurts and disappointments. It will be my companion. My new journal needs to feel good in my hands, and it needs to be beautiful; worthy of the secrets I will tell it.

Here are some of my choices. My daughter and her husband gave me two new journals for Christmas, and they are lovely books. They both have sweet sayings on the cover. One says “Brilliant ideas,” and the other says “Leave a little kindness wherever you go.” Perhaps one of these would be my secret keeper for the year. Another one from my shelf is black leather with a tree carved into the cover. I have great admiration for trees and leaves (that’s another blog for another day), maybe this should be it. Then yet another, light brown leather with a Celtic tree of life on the front and Celtic knots surrounding the border. It has the rustic paper with no lines on the inside; this would be sweet to write in with fountain pens. Another lovely journal to consider is one that is a deep purple color with lovely delicate flowers. I love to garden and plant flowers. There is another that a friend gave me. It says, “A gardener’s journal” on the cover and it has a vintage look and appeal about it. This takes much pondering because I genuinely love them all.

As I write this, it is December 31, 2018, and I have made my decision … but I will very likely change my mind come the evening of January 1, 2019. I’ll let you know what I decide. In the meantime here are pictures of them. Do you have a favorite?

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Wishes – Goals – Action Plan

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Wishes – Goals – Action Plan

Here we are, December 26, the day after Christmas. It seems to me that the next 5 days are when we hear a lot about New Year resolutions; you may be making some of your own. Many times we are not making resolutions as much as we are making wishes. We state things like, “I want to lose 20 lbs this year”, or “I want to be more organized or make better use of my time.” I think a wish is a good place to start, but an action plan is needed to achieve our wishes, breaking things down into smaller bits so we can get there. This turns a wish into a goal. I’ve got a composition book and at the top of a page I write down what I want; the next step is to create a plan of action to get there. It looks a little like this:


GOAL: Make better use of my time this year.

ACTION PLAN:

  • Use a timer and set limits so I am aware of how I am spending my time. This will also help me keep focused on the task at hand.

  • Get my clothes ready the night before, so I am ready for the next day.

  • Go to bed 5 minutes earlier each week until I reach 10:00 pm. (I have been going to bed way too late this year.)


I can adjust these at any time, but right now this is my action plan.

I have found that the weight loss plan doesn’t work for me. So instead I have decided my real wish is to be healthy. To make it a goal, I examined what healthy meant to me. I’ve heard the proclamations of, “I will not eat sugar for the 2019 year!” Nope, that will not work for me because healthy (to me) also means happy mind, body, and spirit. I like cake, cookies—and I adore chocolate— so now what? It would make me sad not being able to enjoy a cookie with my great nieces and nephew; however, I can eat fewer. I can slow down and savor what I am eating. I can also move more. I started this plan about 18 months ago and have become more aware of what I am eating. I also bought a Fitbit to help stay on track with how much I am moving. I’ve shed about 20 pounds in those 18 months. It is very slow, but I continue to progress. Slow progress is still progress!!

I have stories that I want to write this year, too. I got out a second composition book for stories. Once I set up my action plan steps, then I will chart it on my calendar with sticky notes. This way if I run into a life situation I can easily reschedule the plan.

I expect that this plan will work and I can tweak it at any time. The only cost to get started is two composition books and the time to write down my wishes, goals, and action plan.

What wishes are you turning into goals this year? Make sure you set up an action plan to get there.

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Ernestine L. Walden's Peanut Butter Cookie Recipe

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Ernestine L. Walden's Peanut Butter Cookie Recipe

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I have spent the past week craving peanut butter cookies; I am not sure why. I did my very best to ignore the desire, but alas, I gave in today. I went to my cookbooks and pulled out one of my favorites. It was one of those fundraiser cookbooks that have recipes from lots of people. I am sure you’ve seen them before or have even participated in being a contributor to one. The recipes in those books are usually contributors’ favorites, tried and true. This one was put out by the New York Farm Bureau in 1983 and given to me by my husband’s Aunt Maureen in that same year.

Over the years many of the pages have become stained, proof that I use this cookbook quite a bit. I turned to one of the most heavily stained pages, the one with the Peanut Butter Cookie recipe. Ernestine L. Walden submitted it. I don’t know her at all. I began wondering about who she might be. I called Aunt Maureen and asked her if she, by chance, knew Ernestine. She didn’t. We chatted for a while, and I hung up the phone. Just a few minutes later Aunt Maureen called me again, she had done some research on Earnestine and gave me some details.

Ernestine L. Walden was born Jan 20, 1924, to Ernest and Mary Swartz Kenyon, I am guessing she was named after her father. She died January 21, 2017, one day after her 93rd birthday. She married in 1941, and her first husband died in 1971, she remarried a year later to William J. Walden, and he died in 1996.

Her obituary stated, “Mrs. Walden was a proud homemaker who raised five children. She was a member of the Christian & Missionary Alliance Church in Franklinville and the Farm Bureau, and she delivered Meals on Wheels”. She sounds to me like she was a lively woman — someone you’d want to get to know.

I enjoyed learning a little bit of her story. I wonder how many people out there have adopted her cookie recipe and have made them part of their stories. I know it is part of mine. So, here you go! Here is Ernestine’s Peanut Butter Cookie recipe. Give it a try, tell me what you think. Will it become part of your family story?

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