little black journal

Yes, I’m a couple weeks late on this – I’ve spent quite a bit of time lately reflecting on the ups and downs of 2011 and am just now getting on board with 2012 and all it has to offer.  Without further ado, the list:

Read the Bible in its entirety.  Even though I’ve spent my whole life being part of various churches, I think there are still parts of the Bible I have yet to crack open.  And so when our pastor challenged us to spend the next year going through the whole, daunting, entire thing, Shane and I jumped on board.  It’s going to take some big-time commitment, especially once we hit Leviticus, but I’m all in.  Bring it, Moses.

Catch up with a friend over coffee every week or two.  My life is full of people that I want to know better, but I suppose I have some initiative issues when it comes to relationships – my homebody tendencies usually win out on a Saturday afternoon.  Wine, pie, and ice cream sundaes are also acceptable means of relationship-building.

Check out one new (to us) Seattle restaurant each month.  We still have much love for our tried-and-true neighborhood pizza joint, but every time I open our latest issue of Seattle magazine, I can’t help feeling like we’re missing out on a whole lotta culinary goodness out there.  On the list:  Spinasse, Kona Kitchen, Maekawa, and June.

Read the Economist leaders each week.  Several times, I’ve expressed a desire to be more “in-the-know” when it comes to current events, and several times, I’ve fallen short.  For months now, Shane’s been leaving his copies of the Economist under my nose, opened to stories he thinks I’ll find interesting, and this year, I’m validating his efforts.  My husband will be so happy when he can throw out words like “Gitmo” and get more than a blank stare in return.  This one’s for you, babe.

Juice at least once a week.  We invested in a nice juicer over the summer, and we were both feeling fantastic at the height of our kale/celery/carrot/apple intake, but lately the Breville isn’t getting much use – it just sits on the counter and stares me down as I grab that carton of whatever’s-on-sale OJ from the fridge.  Ideally, we’d be juicing every other day, but in the winter, I’d settle for just one tall glass of hearty green stuff each week.

Cheers, 2012 – I’ve got a good feeling about this year.