Man, It's a Brand New Year!

Okay, I pilfered that quote from Better Off Dead. It is a brand new year, though, and with it comes the usual round of "what is your new year's resolution" questions. I don't have one. I never have one anymore.

You see, I have often tried to resolve to do something for a whole year, but, like so many others, I find it rarely works. Making a resolution of something has almost the same effect as saying "I would never __________ ." The minute you say it, you find yourself doing whatever ___________ is. I know this a) because everything I said I could never do I have done as a nurse, and b) last year I resolved to spend 30 minutes outside, every day. Umm, yeah. Not so much. It doesn't seem to matter if I trumpet said goal from the rooftops or write it quietly in my journal. The moment I commit to it, I fail.

My approach now is very similar to what I used to teach patients about managing their diabetes. You've got a lot to do: don't panic! Let's break this down into small, manageable steps. Oooh -- another take-away from Better Off Dead : Monique tells Lane, "I think you need a small taste of success and you will find it suits you." So, instead of yearlong commitments, I do little "projects." Project homemade bread started out as a "let's see how long this will go on" activity, and it lasted more than a year! Project snotrag (or sno-trag, as Grandma called it, and now we do, too) is a permanent fixture. Project make-your-own-laundry soap has lasted more than six months. Baby steps.

I don't have a new project in mind yet. I've got some ideas, though. I was showing sister Sarah and brother-in-law Justin how to make laundry soap yesterday. In the process, Justin pointed out how similar it is to making bar soap. A-ha! So today I shredded up a couple bars of castile soap and melted it down to combine with homegrown peppermint and rosemary. Mmmm! Smells good! It remains to be seen if it was a successful trial yet, but I could see myself getting hooked on making specialty bar soap.

So there. What is my new year's resolution? Dunno. It will find me soon enough.