52 weeks of personal history: New Year’s traditions

I wrote this post a few weeks ago but trouble with the internet preventing me from posting.

My family has never been super big on New Year’s traditions. When my sister and I were younger, right after midnight we would run around the house like mad fools trying to be the first to touch, use, or kiss this or that item in the new year, but that is pretty much the extent of our traditions. In one of the more recent years I got out pots and pans and banged on them inside the house and out in the streets to ring in the year with my little brother and sister. This year we did something completely new. My little sister, Taytum, and I made popcorn balls and bread together (using my brand new stand mixer). Afterward we all played the new WII that we got for Christmas. Then around 11:55 we turned on the TV to watch the ball drop. Once the clock struck midnight, we called family while we drank sparkling cider and ate black-eyed peas. We had so much fun! I look forward to following that tradition every year. Normally we eat the black-eyed peas on New Year’s Day, but I think I enjoy doing it at midnight. I suppose it doesn’t matter when we get to eat them as long as it happens at some point. The Black eyed peas are supposed to bring luck and money in the New Year, so we put some in our tummy and 3 dried beans in our wallets.

This New Year Ben and I decided to set some goals for the year. We made a couple goals last year and really enjoyed the results, so we have decided to expand on that general idea. Basically we picked several categories to set goals in. Our categories: financial, spiritual, relationship, physical, and individual.
There are a few that I will probably post more about than others. One of our relationship goals is to have at least two active dates a month. By active, we mean dates where we can actually take pictures and record the event with our brand spanking new camcorder. We are hoping to capture, record, and further document these dates so that we can have specific memories to draw upon when Ben deploys. We want to create a sort of date memory book for each of us before he leaves. I also want to share one of our goals in the spiritual category since I will probably be posting recipes/ pictures for this one. We have decided that I will cook at least one fully nutritional yet vegetarian/vegan meal a week. This is in the spiritual category because we want to follow the Word of Wisdom more fully by eating meat sparingly.

What goals and resolutions did you come up with this year?

Happy New Year!!!