A Dedication

Yesterday, B sent me my 2010 hororscope which included some interesting predictions:
*As a whole the 2010 year of white Tiger is a favorable time for exchanging experience, ideas and plans.
*The relations with your friends will be affable and stable.
*This year Leos may start an affair with a person senior than you and/or public, authoritative, even with a famous one.  (huh???)

Aside from the last one, I don't think this horoscope could be any more appropriate for what we have embarked on this year.  I came up with the idea of this blog a couple of months ago as a personal journey I wanted to take and document in the new year.  As I started working out the particulars, I realized that this was a project way better suited for a group of friends.  When I moved to NYC over 10 years ago, I was blessed to befriend an amazing group of talented girls.  Over the years some of us have moved away, gotten married, had kids, etc, BUT we have still remained very close.  I thought this would be the perfect outlet for us to unite despite our distance.  I am so grateful for having these girls in my life.  They are the inspiration of this Blog and are a huge part of making it a reality.  Since leaving NY and moving back to Austin, I have made some new friends and reconnected with old ones that I find inspiring.  Friendship between women is not something to be taken for granted and I am so fortunate to have made these new friends and I wanted them to be a part of this project as well.  So here we are: 1 month, 1 change.  Just from the posts that have gone up in the last few days, I can tell this is going to exceed everything I had hoped it would achieve.  I am beyond insprired.  I am rethinking and revamping my own goals for this month, as I think we all are. 
We have an exciting road ahead of us...

Dedicated to:
MBM, Jen*, Shelly, Jen, Liz and (not pictured) LA

The Master Cleanse a/k/a The Lemonade Diet

Hello 2010! (pronouced twenty ten)

First off let me say how grateful I am to be included in this terrific blog idea to help us support one another and achieve our goals throughout the year; some goals we may not even know we had and others we can create as the year goes along. In the past, I've been pretty good about making my resolutions, but this year I was sort of feeling like I didn't have anything I needed to change, but I kept going back to "yeah right" and thinking harder and longer. When the theme of Detox was named for January, I immediately thought I'd cut out alcohol for the month (mama loves her Mama Juice when the kid goes to bed), but I decided to take it a step further. I'm going to attempt the Master Cleanse, also known as the Lemonade Diet (made popular by Beyonce before dropping a stone for Dream Girls). This is done primarily to rid the body of toxins, but of course can be a reduction diet as well. In most overweight people a significant amount can be lost, but in people such as myself, a vegetarian with regulated body weight, the weight loss should be minimal and only the bad stuff goes, not the good (although I do hope to lose the post-holiday bloat). This is my first ever cleanse and this particular one lasts 10 days, not including the ease-in phase and most important easing out. I plan to begin on January 8th after two days of "easing in" beginning tomorrow by eating only raw fruits and vegetables, salad and nuts and the next day only fruit and vegetable juices. I have purchased the Master Cleanser by Stanley Burroughs and am going "by the book" and have been reading from the official online site where much discussion and support is available. I will check in as the week progresses and let you know how I'm feeling, or who i've flipped out on and maybe even snap a few pics of my waisteline ;-) Wish me luck!

xo Shelly

New Year, New You?

Every year it is the same.  I make resolutions and then I break resolutions.  And then I forget that I made them all together and go on living life as I had the year previous. 
*Sigh*
Well, this year is going to be different. 
1.  I am going to be a bit more realistic in regards to my goals.  I am putting an end to "All or Nothing" thinking.
2.  I have wrangled in a few of my friends to go on this journey with me.  Power in numbers! Plus it keeps me in better touch with my amazingly, lovely friends that live all over the country.
3.  We are making this open to the public.  Scrutiny is a good motivator (as is encouragement).

Why 1 Month, 1 Change?
I recently read that if you break down your goals into smaller, manageable steps, you are more likely to achieve said goals.  So... instead of listing out our grandiose goals for the year (that are destined to fail under "the pressure"), my friends and I are going to choose one resolution "theme" every month.  From this theme, we will define our own goal for that month. Throughout the month, we will keep each other posted on our progress via our posts.  How our goal is effecting us personally, our loved ones and/or our community.  The Themes will range from BODY to SPIRIT to PHILANTHROPY.  My own hope is that by making these goals more manageable, I will break my old habit and adopt this new way of living into my every day life, long past the end of my month.  That, and also to remember that occasional lapses are just temporary setbacks.  Human behavior is rarely so absolute, so why should resolutions be?

Wish us luck...