Brain Food

Happy New Year, all! It's only the second so I figure I can still say that without being one of those middle of February Happy-New-Year-ers. Hopefully the weather is warmer where you are, and hopefully the post-holiday salads are as yummy as the one I just had (romaine, cranberries, parm, Granny Smith apples and blush wine vinaigrette) but then again, I just love salad anyway. They're gluten-free-friendly.

For possibly the first time ever, I'm starting the new year without any resolutions. I finished out 2012 in a way I hadn't even anticipated, so I decided not to box this year in. Let the creativity flow and let inspiration take me where it will, I'll figure it out as I go along.

At least, that's what I'm telling myself. Really, every new year begins with hesitancy and anxiety on my part. There's the sense that something has come to an end. That maybe the chances of the year past are no longer there for the taking. That I'm starting all over.This is all in my head, but I think it's in a lot of other people's heads too...right? Don't you all feel a tad bit of pressure to make 2013 better than 2012?

Today, while I was eating lunch, I took a mental step back and reminded myself that, while my head can be a creative sanctuary, it can be a trap too. I'm not, in fact, starting over. I'm still in the middle of my new beginning as an author. I've only just started to hope that it might be possible for my dreams to become my real life. I've only just learned how to run a blog - sad, but true.

So as we begin a new year, I hope all you lovely readers will stick with me and feel welcome. If you have a Google account, I'd love for you to join! (But I won't press) I thank all of you, so sincerely, for giving me the opportunity to tell my stories.