The New Year is All About Growing Stronger

Welcome 2015!

Wow, the years just seem to be zooming by faster and faster don't they? It felt like 2014 was over in a blink of an eye. This may be in part that we were so busy and at times it felt there wasn't even time to breathe. But I am all about looking forward and a new year means renewal and awakening, goal setting and getting organized and I'm ready for a fresh start.


I have been tossing around several concepts for how I want to approach the new year and finally settled on two words that I want to encompass in all areas of my life.

G.R.O.W     S.T.R.O.N.G

Last year our calendar was chock-a-block full of activities, commitments, daily happenings and there was very little down time. I was in survival mode most of the time and some core values got pushed aside or overlooked. It left me physically and mentally exhausted and frankly being on overload didn't leave time for reflection, inspiration or peace of mind. Last year I only wrote 16 blog posts. And, worst of all I found very little time to visit my blogger friends and read about their gardens and life experiences. I have missed you all more than words can say! So, this year I am going to refocus on some of my principal ideals and grow stronger in these four areas...

Mind
Working on strengthening my mental endurance so that I effectively handle all the challenges that I am faced with on a daily basis. Building my inner strength through physical and mental exercises so that I remain focused on the beautiful people in my life while reducing stress levels. Standing tall like these flowers and stretching toward the heavens with purpose and strength.


Body
We are aiming to eat clean. When schedules are busy and we are running the kids here, there and everywhere we end up eating dinner late, skipping meals or not making the healthiest choices. Now I am planning ahead so that we have homemade, healthy meals and snacks. We are eliminating processed sugars and artificial dyes from our repertoire and eating more vegetables, especially greens.

We are exploring the world of essential oils to incorporate into our wellness scheme. I am really excited about learning how to make homemade products such as cleaning supplies, soaps, and natural alternatives to pharmaceutical medicines to keep us healthy and strong.


Soul
There are times when we need to be still. This is critical for me to lead a healthy life and was very lacking last year. I am going to make sure that I give myself this time for reflection and spiritual growth. Outer changes begin inside so looking inward to be authentic to my core beliefs and letting the light shine in to rejuvenate and grow stronger will be vital.


Garden
Saving the best for last. Without a strong mind, body, soul the garden won't happen. Likewise the garden is the fourth element that ties it all together.

I am still committed to building a healthy ecosystem which supports the wildlife in our garden. My goal is to continue to add more native plants which serve an important purpose in this mission. I hope to see more species of bees, butterflies, birds and insects this year because of our efforts.

Growing our kitchen garden with a new herb garden that will be used for culinary and medicinal purposes. Exploring new heirloom seeds to grow in the garden so that we can add them into our clean eating menu be it harvesting fresh fruits and vegetables for canning, dehydrating, or eating raw.

As our garden is going on six years young, I would like to add some areas in our garden where I can spend time relaxing, reflecting and observing. I'm thinking benches, chairs, rocks, water, vignettes.


Lots of ambitious goals here but I am determined to grow stronger this year and get back to these areas of my life that are so vital to me. I will be incorporating my progress into my blog posts throughout the year.  I am looking forward to reconnecting with my gardening friends and growing and supporting you in the gardening journey. 

Reflect * Think * Solve * Create * Grow

Comments

  1. Thanks for the inspiration. Just what I needed this morning. I loved what you wrote so much I'm going to read it twice!

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    1. Lisa it warms my heart that you found inspiration in my words. Now that I have my resolutions out there I will definitely be held accountable!

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  2. Bravo Karin...what a wonderful plan and 2 words to help you move forward with your goals. Four essential elements that I too worked on last year in my year of Thriving, and will continue this year in the year of Soaring. I look forward to reading about how you progress and maybe if I find time, I might ask you and a few others to do a guest post on my new blog. That is where I have moved my life lessons. Pop over and visit if you get a chance, Living From Happiness.

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    1. Love the new blog Donna! I would be honored to write a guest post. Just let me know when you want me to contribute. I am really looking forward to the challenges this year and sharing my experiences. Happy New Year!

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  3. Karin: I'm so impressed with all that you do. I know how crazy life can be while raising kids. When I look back, I scratch my head, thinking how did I work full-time, cart the kids around, garden, blog, and everything else? Your goal to include reflection time is so important. Cheers!

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    1. So true Beth! And, since we began homeschooling our schedule has gotten even busier. It is so rewarding yet overwhelming at the same time. I do think reflection time will help keep me focused on the core values and block all the noise that tends to trickle in.

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  4. I look forward to reading more of your posts this year. I feel quite energized by this one!

    Karen

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  5. Very ambitious and lofty Karin. I find it so amazing that gardeners attribute such "strong" attributes to enabling them to garden. I was just reading one post where the author was to,"find the understanding of themselves through gardening by expanding their knowledge of the physical world" and found "enlightenment" through gardening. I guess because designing them has been my job for many years, all this is beyond me understanding or feeling it. Job equals loss of the loftier aspects of the activity. I look at it as fun, so the greater value misses me. I do think your eating well is a great goal. Health reasons is why it became my goal as well.

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    1. I agree Donna, that often one's work clouds our outlook. Maybe "cloud" isn't the right word but professionals do see things differently than amateurs. I find the garden a place of rejuvenation and relaxation when I have the time to get out there at my leisure. Too often it is just getting chores done in the garden between my other scheduled activities and then I don't find it so fun and I loose the passion for creating my garden. Sometimes it can be overwhelming too since we have 5 acres and lots of things we want to see happen here.

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  6. I wish you success in achieving your 2015 goals!

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  7. Some great goals! Sometimes it's just so hard to find time to sit and reflect and find peace. Life seems to be a big balancing act. What a great thing to prioritize. Keeping yourself healthy and strong will make the rest of it easier! Good luck, and I hope this year will be a calmer and healthier one for you and your family!

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    1. Thanks Indie! I'm not sure if it will be calmer but hopefully a healthier one and thus we can handle the craziness a little better. We started homeschooling and we have gotten busier because there are just so many educational opportunities that we get excited about. But, that's all a good thing!

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  8. Goodness, reading the first two paragraphs of this post, it almost sounds as if we were leading parallel lives! 2014 did zip by, and I can empathize with being so incredibily busy that you feel like you're just trying to survive from one day to the next. Kudos to you though, I think I only managed to eek out 13 posts last year. I really missed keeping up with everyone else's blogs though :(

    I agree, being still, stealing even a few minutes each day is vital to one's general well-being. I utterly failed at that last year, and the garden suffered according. I hope we can both reclaim some of what was lost in 2014, and find balance, and more still moments in the coming year. Happy New Year, Karin!

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    1. Clare I don't know how you do it! You have such a busy life and seem to do it so effortlessly. I am sure that your adorable goats bring you so much joy and purpose. I don't think I would get anything done with them around. I'd want to hang out and play with them. Hopefully this year we will both be more productive on our blogs.

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  9. Hi Karin! Best wishes and happy gardening in 2015! You do have some wonderful goals. Work toward them but don't expect to accomplish them fully. Enjoy the small pleasures each day brings.

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  10. Thank you Deb! Very good advice...finding joy in the garden each day is very important and something I shouldn't loose sight of.

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One of my favorite things about blogging is the conversation with readers. Leave a comment and let's get talking. ~Karin

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