[su_heading size=”18″]What are Your New Year’s Resolutions?[/su_heading]
I slowly opened my eyes yesterday. They felt as though a cement blanket was covering them thanks to the locally brewed Pommeau Apple Brandy I had been drinking by the bonfire the night before. “Rabbit, Rabbit,” I said aloud and smiled. The new year had finally arrived and I was ready for it. Good-bye and good riddance to 2011.
Touching my foot to the floor I repeated to myself my New Years Resolutions:
1. Wake up and meditate instead of rushing to the computer to pack in an hour of work before the hellions wake up.
2. Make a healthy breakfast with flaxseed smoothies, home-made granola and fresh eggs from the Farmers Market.
3. Wake up boys with a kiss and a positive word for the day.
4. Pack up a lunch and load the car so that the clock never ticks to 11:00 to find us still at home.
5. Have a patient and fun-filled day with boys.
6. Come home, make healthy dinner, do laundry, clean house, make calls, pack for tomorrow.
7. Force kids to shower and get them ready for bed. Read to them & lights out by 9pm.
8. Read for an hour without little hellions.
9. Pay attention to Wade
10. Reduce carbon footprint
I failed.
Instead, I thought about meditating, picked up the New Yorker to read, put it down again and got on the computer. Better, but not perfect.
In my excitement to find the brandy at the Farmer’s Market I had forgotten to get the fresh eggs so instead of making breakfast, I hit the road to pick up the pieces left behind on New Years Eve. Got home by noon.
To make up for being gone I consented to play football with Wade and the boys and we walked over to the park together with Muki. It was a beautiful day but the cement blanket had seeped into my brain and limbs and I wasn’t functioning very well. The boys grew impatient. Should have put that on my list, “Train boys to be more patient and respectful of their mommy.” They yelled at me for not understanding the rules of football and messing up the plays.
Angry that the day wasn’t going on as planned and fed up with the kids I tackled and conquered and made everybody cry.
“That’s it,” I announced “I’m out of here,” and like my alter-ego, Mayzie, flew away to go for a well needed hike and attend an Academy Screening movie with a good friend.
I’ll start again today.
What about you? What are your Resolutions?
Jillian's Real Life 
Been so nutty here in December, I didn’t even realize I hadn’t made resolutions until I was asked about them last night (chuckle)
Do spill more about resolution number 2. I’m interested in the recipe. Again about the food, I know. I’ll try to stop 😉
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Winston, I’ll share my food secrets with you anytime.
SMOOTHIE RECIPE:
1 cup apple juice, almond milk, pure pomegranite juice or any other pure juice not from concentrate. You can also replace juice with almond milk. 1/2 oz. of flaxseed oil or ground seeds, 1 cup of frozen strawberries, tablespoon of chia seeds, 1 banana, cup of ice. Mix until the center of the smoothie caves in.
FLAXSEEED OIL FACTS:
Besides being the best source of omega 3’s, flax oil is a good source of omega 6, or linoleic acid (LA). Sunflower, safflower, and sesame oil are greater sources of omega 6 fatty acids but they don’t contain any omega-3 fatty acids. Flax oil is 45 to 60 percent the omega-3 fatty acid alphalinolenic acid (ALA).
In addition to nutritious fats, flax seeds contain other nutrients which make eating the whole seed superior to consuming just the extracted oil:
Flax seeds contain a high quality protein.
Flax seeds are rich in soluble fiber. The combination of the oil and the fiber makes flaxseeds an ideal laxative.
Flax seeds contain vitamins B-1, B-2, C, E, and carotene. These seeds also contain iron, zinc, and trace amounts of potassium, magnesium, phosphorus, calcium, and vitamin E and carotene, two nutrients which aid the metabolism of the oil.
Flax seeds contain over a hundred times more of a phytonutrient, known as lignin, than any of its closest competitors, such as wheat bran, buckwheat, rye, millet, oats, and soybeans. Lignins have received a lot of attention lately because of possible anti-cancer properties, especially in relation to breast and colon cancer. Lignins seem to flush excess estrogen out of the body, thereby reducing the incidence of estrogen-linked cancers, such as breast cancer. Besides anti-tumor properties, lignins also seem to have antibacterial, antifungal, and antiviral properties.
Flax seeds, because they contain some protein, fiber, vitamins and minerals, and lignins, are more nutritious than their oil. Yet, for practical purposes, most consumers prefer simply using the oil for its omega-3 fatty acids and not having to bother with grinding the seeds. But nutritionally speaking, it’s worth the trouble to grind fresh flax seeds (say, in a coffee grinder) and sprinkle them as a seasoning on salads or cereals, or mix them into muffins. When buying seeds, be sure they are whole, not split; splitting exposes the inner seed to light and heat and decreases the nutritional value. Or, buy pre-ground flax seeds, available as flaxseed meal. One ounce of flaxseed meal (approximately 4 tbsp.) will yield about 6 grams of protein, and 8 grams of fiber.
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Hi Jillian and Happy New Year! Hey the trick is to just pick ONE thing, not a whole schedule of things as resolutions. ONE. Count them – one! haha! You know about my 4 times a yr. resolutions, right? That’s another program that works well – solstice and equinox – roughly a 90-day assignment. Still I only put a thing or two on the list.
BTW, hemp seeds do leaps and bounds over flax in terms of protein, omegas and other nutrients. Hemp and chia seeds are my fav’s now – I put them in everything. Like to think I have more energy and stamina since it’s hard keeping up with monkey mind! 🙂
All the best of 2012 to you and your family!
Hugs
suZen
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Very funny. I thought you really were doing the new year resolutions and was gape mouthed with admiration.
Then came the disclaimer
I will lose 40 pounds and had toast and butter and honey for breakfast. Hopeless
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And with you, my dear mum, I too would be hopeless!
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Happy New Year, Jillian! I don’t do formal resolutions anymore, either. I do mine quarterly these days. And I only pick ONE or TWO to work on. A whole list is overwhelming and recipe for failure. 🙂
Be gentle with yourself! And if you find yourself “failing,” just pick up where you find yourself and start over. It’s like any other exercise – it takes practice to build any kind of muscle or endurance.
Sending you Blessings for a happy, healthy, prosperous 2012!!
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Every Year, I wake up on January 1st and think to myself…this is the year I will become perfect at everything. Perfect mother. Perfect daughter. Perfect sister. Perfect friend. Perfect weight. Have a perfect boyfriend. Have perfect career and make perfect (if not more!) amount of money…and i swear to this perfectness……well…its January 5th and NOTHING is perfect at all.
There is always tomorrow.
Love you
Melanie
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Mouse, I don’t think I’d like you very much if you were perfect!
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