New year's resolutions - part 1

Woohoo there, or coucou, as we French say *lol*
So, our lovely landlady was here today to sign the inventory. I was a bit nervous about how she would react on the fact that we had already taken some of the art down and replaced the carpet in the livingroom with a cowhide. I didn't know how close to her heart the things in the flat are (which used to be her mothers - the first thing we did was take down the family pictures from above the sofa... it's just a bit weird having strangers looking down on you when you have tea.)
But she was completely cool with it. In fact, one of the first things she said when she arrived was that we should feel free to change anything we want. She also said that all the things in here are really old and she just doesn't have the time to get rid of them, so we shouldn't worry if something breaks. Well, good to know, I would say.
So we went to work and put away the last of the things that we didn't like and put up some of our pictures. Not all of them yet, but it feels more 'us' now around here. That also has a lot to do with the fact that I put up the altary. I think I should write a blogpost about all the different altarys I've had in my life... that would be quite funny. This time, I found an old shelf meant for plants on the balcony. It works really well.

Well now, back to topic: Have you made any new year's resolutions? Many people tell me they don't because nothing comes out of it anyways. But I love making plans for the new year and thinking of great things that I can do with myself and my life in the coming time. Some time between Christmas and new year I always sit down and make a list of things that I have achieved this year, an then I draw up a plan of things I want to change in the coming year. It's great to look at the plans from the last year and see how much further I've come since then.

So, for this year there are a few things that I have cooking and I will set aside at least one more blogpost to talk about them. For now, I would like to link you to two interesting challenges that will start soon and that might interest you. I'm definitely participating and it would be nice if some of you came along on the journey.

The first one is the 21-day yoga challenge from yogajournal.com that starts this coming Monday. You can choose either a beginner or intermediate program and you'll receive daily emails with asana practice, recipes and tips. There's three goals involved in this challenge: 15 minutes of meditation a day, one vegetarian meal a day and one session of asana practice (that means the actual gymnastic thing) a day. You can choose to follow all three of those goals or only one or two, just as you like. I haven't exercised since we got back from Britain and I really miss challenging my body, so I'm absolutely grateful for this little boost of motivation. I know that once I've got my body moving with some yoga positions in the morning, it will be easier to exercise, because it'll want more.

And then there's the Simple Living Pledge, by Kanelstrand. It starts in February and there's nothing in there that I haven't been working on for a while, but I always like to get inputs from somebody, and it's great to share the experience with a group. So if you are interested in making your live a little simpler, more frugal and sustainable, calm down a bit, spend more times with activities and people you enjoy, you should go and have a look at this.

Thanks for checking in here, and have fun making your own plans! :o)