Rolling in the New Year...

...on a fail!

Well...I would say so. You see, I've been wanting to update my blog template and in the mean time, I was just going to revert it back to some random, unoriginal blogger template.

So I started up a TESTER blog. One where I could leave my actual blog untouched, all the while seeing what the templates actually look like. Because let's face it: I'm a planner with some things, and when it comes to this blog, well, I like to know what it's gonna look like to someone else before I project it out to the WWW.

And you wanna know what happened?

Those three measly posts I made, on a whim, brought in 42 hits to the hours old testing site. HA!

While this lil' ol' blog: 17.

Yes, please, hold your applause! I might just start asking for sponsors!

(All joking aside, I'm seriously NOT asking for pity. I'm LITERALLY laughing at the irony of it all. Especially because the following, after this said rabbit trail, is what I had planned to come on here to write and just had to type out my thoughts about the irony of a baby, testing blog getting more hits than where I actually come to hash out thoughts.)

Ahem.

Now that I've recomposed myself...

With the new year brings myself reading many posts of reflections, new year's resolutions, and thoughts/hopes/dreams of what this future year might hold.

I don't know why, but I've never been one to write, make or hold to new year's resolutions. If I make a "resolution" I am usually being stared in the face by my own demon(s) and begging God to help this weak, desperately in need of His strength, broken person and asking He help my heart remain in a posture of praise and thanks for His unconditional love, unfailing grace, and never-ending mercies.

I struggle to sit, purposefully, and reflect on my life because I know I will be digging up graves of just how depraved I am. And yet, God, in His infinite wisdom and grace, is helping me to do so more and more so I might lean on Him more and more.

Because let's face it: being reminded of how weak you are, will either drive you to your knees or make them stiff like the worst case of arthritis seen by any physician on this fallen planet; I'd rather be the first.

And dreaming about this coming year; well, I've learned that my plans, they are not God's plan. (Funny that even though I've known Jeremiah 29:11 since childhood, I still get caught off guard when what I wanted/"planned" to have happen, becomes a completely 180 of reality.) Oh and by the way, now He has me dreaming of children relatively close in age. (By close, I mean around 2 years apart. HA! Time does change a lot. Not to mention, my sweet pea is quite the blessing!)

No, we're not trying yet. But I do mention that I hope our kids will be somewhat close in age. Only time will tell if that is God's desire for our little family of three.

And though the stats I posted at the beginning of this blog don't make me feel like a failure, what does make me feel like a failure is the only time in the past year I have been able to force myself to blog consistently was during the 15 Day Challenge. For whatever reason, I wonder how so many moms out there can blog on a consistent basis. Because I for one, with what I perceive to be pressure to be a "good blog mom", feel I'm supposed to blog daily, and if I don't...well, I might as well not.

I know this isn't true.

But I feel that pressure. From where, or whom, I'm honestly not sure.

It's more than likely myself. I am my own worst enemy. (Aren't we all?)

And so no matter where it does come from, I just wanted to let you guys know, that I may or may not post every day. And there may be some days that I crank out more than one post.

I don't know what the new year brings, but I do know that I'm ok with whatever it ends up looking like. (On this blog and in my real life.) Because that is how I need to think to give myself relief to live a life that is only for His glory with the enjoyment of this little, tiny space of the interweb just for me to babble and grapple and rejoice and hash out thoughts He has graciously allowed me to continue. And that is how I want to live daily knowing that I don't know what today brings exactly but I do know that He is in control, asks me to rely on Him, and I am far too weak to do life without Him.

*WHEW*

Felt good sharing that with you.

And now for something upbeat :)

Because the hubs and I haven't started any, I literally mean ANY, traditions of our own in regards to holidays, birthdays, etc, we decided we would bring in the new year with two new traditions.

Of course, being the good Louisianians that we are, they are centered around the food we will eat on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day.

Food is essential to being someone from Louisiana. I mean, we do have the best :)

So, we were sitting around yesterday when I mentioned that I would like to start our own tradition for New Year's Day.

We immediately remenisced the age old cabbage and blackeye peas meal. I'm not in love with it, but my mom does make some pretty mean cabbage. Probably the only cabbage I will ever eat. Ben, however, completely turned his nose up to it. And that, my friends, says a lot because he hardly ever I'm pretty sure I have yet to hear him actually complain about something he's eating. Even if it's not his favorite.

Long story short, considering I've now sufficiently typed your eyes off with the rest of this post, we couldn't competely whiddle it down to just a singular meal.

Thus our New Year's Eve/New Year's Day tradition has begun:

1. We kicked it off last night with good ol' homemade guacamole and velveeta cheese dip. And let me tell you, it was YUMMY!!
2. Today, we will be enjoying black eye peas, maybe one day homemade, but I just didn't have it in me this year to do home made so canned will have to do. And I'm hoping they're good because Wal-Mart was out of my favorite: Trappey's. Along with the peas, we will have some sort of chicken, this year it's chicken nuggets (Healthy. I know!), and salad. As beverage with said meal, we bought sparkling grape juice and for dessert we're making good ol' Root Beer Floats!

Ahh!! Sounds so good I can hardly wait.

And that get's me excited. That we're starting to form our own traditions. Because, we haven't had a holiday to ourselves yet to do such a thing. And thinking about that kind of makes me sad.

Funny I should say it, but it makes me hope that we're jump starting the new year by turning over a new leaf in our marriage/family and that this will be the first of many, many traditions over the years.

If you've stuck with me until now, bless you!

May your new year be one filled with memories and opportunities to praise the One who has given you life. 

No matter the circumstances.

Happy New Year!