Vida. Risa. Amor.

So I just took down half of the Christmas decorations, and I'll admit I have mixed feelings about how "empty" my home feels when it all gets tucked away.  I did leave the tree up, (though the ornaments are off), and the garland above the TV with the white lights wrapped around it because I can't imagine celebrating New Years with my kids without a little sparkle in the background.  I love my little tree in the kitchen, and I don't think I want to put it away at all...the red bows are off and I wrapped a beaded snowflake garland wrapped around it....all ready for January.

I also decided this was the week to say good-bye to my "grape-themed" kitchen.  Sometimes I don't "see things" until I just see them.  The fake grape-vine arrangements above my cabinets were literally caked in dust and a few random items up there were embarrassingly dated.  I really don't think my kitchen has ever known another theme.  When it comes to decorating, I'm a big fan of using what you have, and trying to "finish" a room all in one day makes things feel staged & cold...it takes time to build a personality in a home.  I also have found that a "one color" theme doesn't work for me either; I like variety, and I'm finally giving myself permission to just go with that.  So now, with a little arranging, some cheap deals at Big Lots, everything just looks clean, sparkly, & fresh.  (The best improvement was the stainless steel garbage can....I can finally feel we are moving up in the world.)

This week brought Arizona some snow and I love that I can see some dusted on top of the mountains nearby.  I'm trying to bring myself to have a positive outlook on to the new year for 2011, but I feel that if January was a day of the week, it would be a Monday.  Back to school, back to routine; cold, gray skies.  Holidays over.  Also:  time to lose the chub.  ugh.

But what I do like about January is that it feels like a new start.  Though the holidays this year had some great family moments, I will sadly admit there's been a bunch of garbage going on in my marriage.  Nothing unfixable...just a bunch of junk that should go.  We have been together for 14 years, 7 years in Illinois, and 7 here in Arizona.  I've heard it said in marriage that your spouse is the one person you love the most, and is also the one person you hate most.  Hate is a strong word for me, but it's not too far from the truth.  I vowed to live the rest of my life with this man, and so it will go better for us if we were better at loving each other instead.  So in the spirit of making new years resolutions, it is my hope that I would keep these words at the top of my mind and heart and marriage all year long:

1 Corinthians 13:4-8.  Love is patient, love is kind.  It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.  Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.  Love never fails. 

January is a new start.  A reset button. 
A cleaned-out kitchen:  sparkly and fresh.