It feels amazing to step into a new year. I love the energy of turning the page and starting new chapters. You all already know that New Year’s Day is my favorite holiday, and for that reason, I’m always so happy this time of year.

I’m excited for 2023. Truthfully, I feel this way at the beginning of every year. However, the past few years – while good – were not full of the buzz and hope that I usually experience at the beginning of the year. I remember feeling happy, but not “buzzy”, at the beginning of 2020. Of course, my ongoing health concerns probably factored into that, but March 2020 changed the world, and it somewhat justified my more neutral emotions as respects the New Year.

But 2023 feels different. It feels like 2015, the year I made my first vision board. This was also the last year of my college program, and the year that my marriage ended (the divorce was finalized nearly two years later). The ending of huge commitments signaled the beginning of my next great adventure. I don’t know that any of my current big commitments will end this year, but I certainly feel that there will be some space opening up in my life, giving me room to embrace things that delight me and move me closer to my desired life.

All of that being said, this year has such a hopeful energy, and I’m looking forward to seeing what unfolds for me.

I’ve missed this blog so much, and I’m ready to start writing more regularly over here. I hope you all will continue to walk with me on this journey. Cheers to 2023, and cheers to us!

I published a new book! I’ll have more updates tomorrow: stay tuned!

Hi friends! I hope that you’re having a great holiday weekend! This will be a brief post, because I plan to go out and enjoy this beautiful day off.

I have decided to reduce the frequency of my posts on this blog. I would much rather focus on quality than quantity, and it’s difficult to maintain high integrity when I’m posting 5 times per week. I’m still undecided about how often I will post, but anywhere from 2-3 posts a week feels good right now. I’m guessing that I will occasionally have weeks where 5 posts will happen, but I can no longer commit to that level of production. I hope you all understand.

Thanks so much for your continued support! I appreciate you all. Take care, and I’ll talk to you all tomorrow!

Sorry for the premature posting: I’m still editing this list! Here’s who I have so far, and you can expect the complete list (with notes!) in the next few days. Talk to you all soon!

Authentic Plantbased Eats

Diary of a Mad Black Vegan

B Foreal

Sorry for yesterday’s premature post, friends! I hadn’t finished writing my thoughts and before I knew it, it had posted.

Anyhoo . . . Happy Tuesday! Can you believe it’s the first day of the month? This February flew by so fast, and I (for once) am sad to see the last full winter month go. Though the warmer months are my favorites by far, there’s something bittersweet about the inevitable end of wintertime. I’ve made the most of this chilly season and the forced period of rest.

I’m considering what the next few weeks hold for me, as I plan to enter this spring season. There are so many things to do, and I have to be careful to not overload myself. It’s so easy to bite more than I can chew when I’m feeling energetic and subsequently burn out because I signed up for too many tasks. This year, I’m keeping it simple and focusing only on the things that will impact my overarching goals.

That being said, here is my checklist for Spring 2022:

• Start my garden. Last year, I struggled to prep the ground and do my planting on time. This year, I have more time and I’m feeling more prepared. I also have a lot of seeds from last year as well as some ideas for maximizing my garden output, so that’s motivating me to get started and stick with it.
• Continue to work on language learning. I have an international trip lined up this year so I want to improve my Portuguese to the point of being conversationally comfortable. I’ve been studying for a few months, but I want to amp things up before I travel.
• Pour into my “secret” project. No worries: it won’t be secret for long! But, I need to continue refining the idea and gathering resources. Once that phase is done, I’ll be ready to announce what this project is and the progress that I’ve made.
• Decluttering big time! I have a great decluttering list that I got off of the Malama Life website (you can get it here) that I’ll be using as a guide. I want to clear space because having a lot of “stuff” can be a drastic energy drain. As someone that needs to preserve her energy, decluttering is basically nonnegotiable.

I have some great free resources for all of the things on my spring list. If any of these resonated with you, check out my links below (as of today’s posting, these are all free! So enjoy!)

For any sort of goal: Your Plan for Success by Ron Engeldinger, Stop Procrastinating in Six Steps by Gemma Ray

For gardening: Garden Design and Landscaping – The Beginner’s Guide to the Processes Involved with Successfully Landscaping a Garden by Rachel Matthews, Garden Potpourri: Gardening Tips from the Easy-Growing Gardening Series by Melinda R Cordell

For Portuguese language learning: A Bíblia Sagrada: Almeida Atualizada, Plantas Medicinais by Mara Zélia de Almeida, Conversational Portuguese Quick and Easy – PART 1: The Most InnovativeTechnique to Master the Brazilian-Portuguese Language by Yatir Nitzany, Portuguese Short Stories for Beginners

For my “secret” project: The Business Minded Creative: How To Live A Fulfilling Creative Life And Make Money by Diana Wink, A Handbook of Health by Woods Hutchinson, Old-Time Makers of Medicine The Story of The Students And Teachers of the Sciences Related to Medicine During the Middle Ages by James J Walsh, The Handbook of Salutogenesis by Maurice B. Mittelmark et al.

What are you doing to prepare for spring?

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