Quotes 12/12/18

So as you all know I have not been posting a lot this past month. The holidays, family, and me revaluating me. I refuse to make New Year’s resolutions because…let’s be honest…no one ever keeps their New Year’s resolution. So instead of doing that I am reiterating the goal I intend to achieve: I am going to improve my eating habits, continue to do the exercising that I have been doing, and I am going to lose the weight I have left to lose.

In the last month I have discovered that when I made a decision not to allow people to control what I do or how I choose to live…I have started to live what really seems to be a better life. And as much as I hate to admit it because I hate to see people care about unhappy, I am actually happier and a lot calmer. I am glad that I no longer ( or at least most of the time) allow certain people to get under my skin. My holidays went a lot smoother then in years past. Does that mean I don’t go around my family or want to talk to them? No it just means I know how to manage myself and not worry about what everyone thinks or says.Thank goodness I made the choice I did 11 years ago.

A few things I want to accomplish this year…more goals then resolutions…just have to put my best foot forward:

continue to improve my health with my fitness goals
continue to pay down any debt we have (extra on house payment)
manage myself better
be a better parent especially now that my kids are teenagers
be a better wife 🙂

Overall, I think this year is going to be a great one. I think it will be a little challenging in some areas but I know we will be able to do it. I know I will be doing more for myself to improve me and help my kids and husband do well for themselves. WE will accomplish what we set our minds to do. So here is to the first step…we will be great!!

Ahhh…first day of Spring!!!

Finally!!! It’s spring!!! It is a wonderful feeling to hear the birds sing and the temperatures change. It’s time to get out and do things that have been put off since it started to get cold. I love spring and all the fresh new changes it brings.

With spring comes a special time of year for my family…Norouz or the Iranian New Year!! Here is a very basic definition as well as some history from Wiki if any of you would like some info about it. As of 11:30 pm cst it is officially the Iranian New Year!! I hope each of you will have a bright healthy spring and a wonderful year.

There is a lot of history for this as you can read about in the above Wiki article but what it means for me is time spent with family and friends. We get talk about all that has happened in the last year and hear stories of years past. We get be around those who mean so much to us and enjoy delicious amazing foods like:

Aash Reshteh

Sabzi Polo Mahi

Kookoo Sabzi

As well as all sorts of other goodies that actually are not good for you but what can I say they are so good 🙂

We also set up a table with what is called Haft Seen:

right to left clockwise

Sabzi (green) – symbolizing rebirth
Sekkeh (coins) – symbolizing wealth
Seeb (apples) – symbolizing beauty and love
Serkeh (vinegar) – symbolizing development and evolution.
Somagh (sumac) – symbolizing patience
Seer (garlic)- symbolizing the medicine and health
Saa’at (clock) – symbolizing patience

These are all placed on a sofra along with a Holy Book and/or a book of poetry either by the Divan Hafez or Shahnameh. The one I have included has very special meaning for me. My husband gave it to me before we were married (yeah he’s an old romantic at heart 🙂 ). There are other things that are included as is seen above but can vary from person to person. These are a few things that are part of it but there are a lot more to this and like all holidays it is meant to be enjoyed!! I hope it will be an amazing fresh start for everyone.

All this aside, it means a fresh start to me. It means a chance to kick off all the dust of the past and start new. I intend to enjoy every moment. I intend to enjoy spring as it is meant to be. I hope you each have an amazing spring with all sorts of new possibilities 😀