A very Happy New Year to you friends. We've been on the Outer Banks for the holidays and think I will have a hard time returning to reality when we drive back to Asheville at the end of the week. The time we've spent with my parents, my sisters and nieces and nephews has been hugely inspirational and uplifting - I'm feeling very blessed right now - a wonderful way to ring in 2012. 

I used to have a tradition of writing down goals for the new year - resolutions if you will - but they tend to fall flat. This year, I thought maybe sharing some of them with you would help me keep them...

~ We start home schooling this semester and have chosen a language.... Irish Gaelic. We've started with simple phrases we use everyday and I've been calling the girls by their Gaelic names (using their middle names: Adie Fey is Sidhe pronounced shee; Ayle Eve is Aiofe pronounced ee-fa; and Ari Rose is Roisin pronounced ro-sheen). The goal is to be able to have simple conversations by the end of the year...

~ On that note - I want - need - to get back to Ireland.

~ I want to stop thinking of my iphone as an extension of my hand.

~ I want to get back into the pool. My body needs it. My mind needs it. I need to stop beating myself up over my body and take control again.

~ I need to find a way to relax. Could be yoga - or more hot baths - but I need something. 2011 was exceptionally stressful. I almost lost my mother, Den spent too much time on the road working, we moved unexpectedly, it was difficult financially - I need coping mechanisms. Badly.

~ I want to continue on the path of a life less ordinary - and bask in the brilliance of the moments - not the destination.

What do you hope for in 2012?