hello monday|one

**Edited to add: This post was originally posted on Monday night.  When I didn't see it post to my fb wall, I went back to check it and it was gone.  Ugh. After some work, I think I finally have it fixed.  Hopefully it's here to stay. =)  Anybody else having glitches with Blogger?

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I've been enjoying the "hello monday" posts that have been out in the blog-o-sphere and wanted to try it out! I have been waiting for the new year to roll around so that I could start fresh.  Then I almost missed it! Ha!  Not going to let the late start throw me off already.  So, better late than never.  By the way, I've mostly read the posts on Lee's blog, but I believe it may have originated on Lisa Leonard's blog.

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hello first monday of the year.  I am truly looking forward to new beginnings this year like never before.
hello Olivia's Mexican Restaurant. My husband and I went out for a quick lunch and when he asked where I wanted to go, I responded "Somewhere yummy and fun."  This made us both laugh so much. I don't know why in the world I said it like that, but now it's going to stick. I just know it. Anyway, he took me to a little Mexican cuisine place that was recommended to him.  It turned out to be very good.  I enjoyed the Chile Relleno and Taco combo plate.  It was yummy AND we had fun. We always do. :)
hello normal routine.  The kids all returned to school today and are back on regular schedule.  Hannah has a water polo game at least 4 days out of the 7 this week. Taryn has different club meetings and the little ones were already loaded down with lots of reading and homework for the week. Marco and I have all of our regular responsibilities too. Yep. Back to "normal".
hello new OneLittleWord. My new word to focus on this year is minimize. I've already found myself conscientiously saying "no" to all the To Do lists in my head.  I have found that when I can say no to it "all", I can start truly saying YES to what's really important.

hello to real joy.  It's high time I got back to doing things that bring me real joy. Not just that feeling of satisfaction because I didn't disappoint someone or knowing I met others' expectations.  That's too much.  A very good friend of mine recently shared this statement with me, "I keep trying to remind myself that if something is making me feel anxiety, it probably needs to not be given any of my time or energy. "
Normally, I would not allow myself the LUXURY of feeling that way about something - but the new me is going to accept it 'cause I know I need to change my thinking.

So there you go. hello monday and new beginnings.

“I used to dream about escaping my ordinary life, but my life was never ordinary. I had simply failed to notice how extraordinary it was. Likewise, I never imagined that home might be something I would miss.” 

― Ransom Riggs, Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children