And now let us welcome the New Year

At the end of last year I wrote about the things I aspired to do in 2013. Rather than mark them as formal resolutions, I concluded my list would be more like a manifesto, or mission statement, for my life. My hope was to repeat these intentions year after year, and hopefully a few of them rub off on the people around me.

2013 was pretty amazing. I've become a lot more comfortable in my own skin and that includes voicing my opinion. I mean, have you heard of Jennifer Lawrence? Women with opinions are awesome. I've grown less vulnerable by sharing these opinions through my writing. That means this thing I'm doing right now, sharing with you, is a big deal to me, and I'm very glad you're reading. For the sake of the new year, I'm repeating my manifesto of ideas for 2014. If nothing else, it's good reminder for me to keep striving to be the best version of myself and be happy.

Travel to new places. I nailed this one by traveling to Hawaii this summer with my parents. With a few short trips to Baltimore, Philadelphia and New York City sprinkled in between, I'd say I was fortunate enough to have a wonderful year of travel. What's brewing for 2014? Hopefully more short trips here and there as well as a possible trip to the west coast. Stay tuned!

Exercise often and stay motivated. So, this was "run at least two 5Ks," but I think I only squeezed in one last year. I signed up for the Yuengling Light Lager Jogger 5K on April 12, but I haven't been very diligent in running lately. This dark, cold weather is not the best motivator for post-work runs. For 2014, I'm on the hunt for some safe trails to run in the Lancaster area, and I hope to get back into my morning yoga flow.

Get more sleep. I did A LOT better with this in 2013, and have enjoyed more restful sleeping patterns. I minimized my caffeine intake and listened to my body when I was stressed out. Sometimes that meant tucking myself into bed with a cup of tea and a book at 8 p.m. Hopefully this habit continues into 2014.

Cook or bake something new every month. This statement also changed from last year. I realize now cooking something NEW every week is just not realistic. It requires a lot of effort and patience. Once a month is much more doable. When I was at my parents' house over Thanksgiving, I copied down a lot of my grandmother's old recipes. I'm looking forward to reviving some of her delicious treats in 2014.

Give more warm greetings and farewells to the people I love. This is probably my favorite of all of my ideas. My family is the hugging kind, and I love it. What better way to stay happy and remind people you love them than a giant hug? Sometimes it's all we need to change our whole outlook on the day.

My wish for in the new year is to be happy. Embrace the people you love. Enjoy the things you are most passionate about. Stay beautiful. Be thankful for what you have. Help others. Achieve your dreams. Life is short to be anything other than happy. Cheers!

So this is the new year

There were some awesome moments in 2012. And then there were the not-so-awesome moments in 2012. But one without the other would transform into a rather unbalanced life. Don't you think? I embrace all the moments of the year, accentuate the positive and try my best (although my best varies from day to day) to be a better person. As I reflect on the richness of 2012 and look toward the wild unknown of 2013, here are few things I aspire to do in the new year. I won't call them resolutions, per se, but more of my ever-evolving manifesto for life.

Travel to new places. I was blessed to have the opportunity to travel to so many wonderful places this year: Minnesota, Boston, Belgium, France and Germany. I can't help but wonder where will 2013 take me. Maybe Greece, Ireland, England, China or Vietnam? I'm looking forward to meeting up with my friend Cindy in her travels around the world.

Run at least two 5Ks. This year I ran my first 5K, and I had so much fun doing it. Rather than just saying I will run more this year, I am committed to run at least two 5Ks. For me, this is a better assurance that I stay in shape. Just to be clear, this does not mean I'll be joining a gym. It means more Bikram yoga classes, sprints on the F&M track and intrepid trail runs. Who's with me?

Get more sleep. I generally operate on five hours of sleep or less. It's unhealthy, I know. We'll blame insomnia and overabundance of horror movies. Because of my unhealthy sleeping habits, this forced me into other bad habits like drinking lots of caffeine, working at odd hours and zombie-like stupors. Here's to conquering insomnia and moving mountains.

Cook or bake something new every week. I have acquired a lot of cookbooks lately. My most recent favorite is Smitten Kitchen for its drool-worthy photography. The joy of being single and living alone means one meal or recipe can last for an entire week (or even longer if frozen). And then, when I can't stomach another bite of cinnamon sugar pull-apart bread, my co-workers offer excellent assistance.

Give more warm greetings and farewells to the people I love. I love receiving hugs from my friend Matt. They're the most sincere, squeeze-the-stuffing-out-of-you, glad-you-are-my-friend, bear hugs. Even my aunt Gigi does the best greetings. Her smile and arms wrap you up in her joy to see you. If I can muster up at least half of this happiness in my acknowledgement of others, I will be happy.

My wish for you in the new year is to fully embrace the things you love. Travel. Not matter how outlandish, achieve your dreams. Feel beautiful. Act with kindness and brighten the world around you. Find inspiration in unexpected places. I'm closing the year with some joy in my heart and dance in my shoes. Here's hoping you are too. Salud!