Contentment was a good choice as my word for 2012. Even though I have accomplished very little of what I had planned for January, the month seems to be ending up well, with most of the issues that caused stress throughout the month finding their way to a good resolution. And by remembering my word, contentment, I was able to keep moving forward, look for the bright spots, and not dwell on what isn’t or can’t be. That is major progress compared to the last two months of 2011.
Last weekend Bill and I had a little getaway and attended the Tucson Area Square Dance Festival. We had great fun dancing to some excellent callers. Anytime we can dance to Nasser Shukayr, we will be there!
My first Amore Arizona post earlier this month highlighted Arizona’s sunsets, and we have certainly had some beautiful ones this month. Here are two pictures taken outside our house on different evenings this past week, the first from the backyard and the second from the front yard.
Putting contentment into practice, I have purchased several plants this month, including 5 African violets! As soon as I get them all in their new pots, I will be posting pictures. There is just something about African violets that makes a house feel like a home to me.
And here is another self-care step towards contentment:
Pink and red tulips
The pink tulips were barely open when I put them in water yesterday, and they are all drooping more than I like, but they are still lovely.
Here is the newest addition to my Santa collection.
Frohe Weihnachten” German Santa, designed by Jim Shore.
We were walking the mall in Tucson after the New Year when I spotted a collection of international Santas on sale. I just happened to have tucked away in my purse the money my mom sent to Bill & I for Christmas. And now this wonderful German Santa sits in my living room! Thanks, Mom!
Here it is the 18th of January and I have only posted four times this month, and all of those were in the first week. Can you hear the big sigh of dismay? So far I have accomplished very little that I had planned for January. My time, energy and focus have all been centered on replacing a vehicle that was lost in a traffic accident on January 3rd, a situation complicated by the distance of 1800 miles. But finally, this morning, it sounds like we may have resolved all the issues and now we just need another several days to let progress continue.
I signed up for the January Doodle that the Kelly and Tracy at The Dao of Doing are coordinating this month and, as with everything else this month, my commitment and progress has been sporadic at best. You would think 15 minutes of exercise each day would be easy to accomplish, but so far I have only managed about half the days of January. I did get signed up for a yoga class and actually made one (yes, one!) class last week. Tomorrow I will make it to my second class, as I don’t see why I should have to put it off while waiting for insurance adjustors or bankers or anyone else to call me!
One of the highlights of the month was been visiting son David last Saturday in Phoenix. It was a spur of the moment trip to visit a car dealership (that was not so pleasant!) and we took advantage of being in town to take David and his roommates out to supper. We let David choose where to go and we ended up at a Japanese restaurant that specializes in sushi. I think next time I’ll choose where we go – I learned I am definitely not a sushi-lover!
I took this picture of the Huachuca Mountains last week, on one of our many cloudy days this month (we even had rain!).
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