Day 1: January 1, 2011

Welcome 2011! Until last year, I never liked New Year’s Resolutions. Like so many others, I made obligatory resolutions each January 1^st and promptly forgot them by January 2^nd. Something about 2010 made me want to do better.  Maybe it was the start of the new decade that inspired me, or the thought that it was my first full year as Mrs. Rose. Whatever the motivation, I was determined to start anew and set my resolutions and keep them. And coming into 2011 I felt a sense of pride and accomplishment because I, the non-resolution-keeper, had kept not one, but TWO New Year’s resolutions!

As 2010 came to a close I thought a lot about what I wanted out of the New Year and how I could translate that into attainable resolutions. The first two were pretty easy to come up with.

Resolution 1: Read at least one book each month.

I love reading, but aside from when I blow through books on vacation, I don’t read as often as I would like to. This resolution should be fairly easy to keep because it is something I like to do, and hopefully I’ll exceed the one book minimum!

Resolution 2: Cook/Bake one new recipe each week.

 Another relatively easy one, since I also really enjoy cooking. I love cookbooks and cooking magazines and have so many recipes that I want to try, so hopefully this resolution will give me the push I need (and justify my yearly Bon Apetit subscription!)

I’m excited for what 2011 has in store for me and for my last resolution I want to take the time to appreciate how lucky I am in my life to have amazing family and friends, two perfect orange pets, and a life that is pretty darn close to how I always dreamed it would be. So, my third resolution comes in the form of this blog.

Resolution 3: Record one thing that I am thankful for everyday.

Today I am thankful for rainy days. Sometimes a girl’s gotta relax and today the chilly rain provided me with a convenient excuse to start the year off hunkering down at home with the best husband I could wish for. And it also helped me kick start those resolutions! One chapter read, 2 loaves of pumpkin-cranberry bread baked, and one day of thanks blogged. 2011 is off to a good start!