Encouragement for All

It may be cliche, but this e-mail forward that was sent to me today by a co-worker has some good nuggets of truth to it! Though I am feeling quite blessed and thankful for my life right now, there are always times, even moments that creep into our lives that make us feel dissatisfied or think that we are lacking something...these words challenge us to think differently!

Woman to Woman Encouragement

(really Person to Person...it applies to us all!)

Someone will always be smarter. Their house will be bigger. They willdrive a better car. Their children will do better in school. And theirpartners will fix more things around the house. So let it go and loveyou and your circumstances. Think about it. The prettiest woman in theworld can have hell in her heart. And the most highly favored woman onyour job may be unable to have children. The richest woman you know -she's got the car, the house, the clothes - might be heartbreakinglylonely. So, love you. Love who you are right now. Tell yourself, "I amtoo blessed to be stressed." Be blessed ladies and pass this on toencourage another woman. "To the world you might be one person, but toone person you just might be the world."

New Year's Eve 2005

This year we celebrated the midnight chime at a party at the home of our friends Becky and Dave Hawkinson. Here are a few photos as proof!

The girls!!! Too many to list, but somehow we all piled onto that couch! :)
The crazy peeps! (Robert, Amy, Mike and Becky in the background!)

The silly goofy Dressels

New Years GOALS (not resolutions...)

The whole idea of New Years Resolutions gets a bad rap. People make fun of the fact that no one ever truly keeps their New Years Resolutions...that it is just folly thinking...hopeful dreams that we don't have the willpower to make come true. So to avoid that negative mentality, I did NOT make New Years Resolutions this year. I made New Years GOALS instead.

In business, we often choose to (or are required to) make business goals for the upcoming year or quarter, however your job works. Those goals are to help us gain focus on what we hope to accomplish that year. Sometimes those goals are revisited and revised along the way, but they are to help guide as the year goes along.

Such is the case with my New Years Goals!!! So here is a sampling of my 2006 GOALS!

**Drop down 80** That is my new mantra as I rejoin the weight loss bandwagon! I got a great start this summer...and after a sabbatical this fall (and a bit of a gain!) I'm back in the saddle! I'm going with what worked before...the complicated regime of...eating healthy and working out! After years of trying all sorts of systems and book plans it comes down to eating what my body needs, and exercising my body on a regular basis that really works! So this is my 'being vulnerable to you all' 2006 goal! Now don't tempt me with M&M's or ice cream!

**Writing**Many of you know that I love to write! I wouldn't say that I'm a brilliant writer, but I think I do pretty good (don't use my blog as an indication!)...and with practice hopefully I can be great! (Oprah Book Club...here I come!!) I've been slowly preparing a novel over the last year and a half. It has a ways to go but my goal is to complete the book before the end of 2006 and have it edited and manuscript printed to start sending to publishers! Along with that book, my goal is the complete the children's book that I got the idea for as Robert and I ate at a bayside restaurant on our honeymoon in Sausalito, CA! You'll learn more about the kids book, but for now all I'm saying is that it involved a seagull and a blue heron! To keep my writing sharp, my goal is to enter 4 writing contests this year...one per quarter. I'm also doing a search for a good Writer's Group to join that will help motivate me, provide me with insight and critique my work.

**Natural Living**I anticipate that someday not TOO far down the road I may be carrying a child to term. I'd like to do that in the healthiest way possible! So in addition to *drop down 80* I will focus on choosing healthy natural options when I eat, being active, taking my vitamins EVERY DAY and refraining from unhealthy activities. In addition to preparing my body for potential future mother-hood, this goal will leave me healthier all-around!

**Spiritual Growth**The spiritual goals are always hard ones to measure! But I have missed spending time with God on a regular basis. It's crazy how busy life edges Him out time and time again! This morning I had some extra time in my 'getting ready' routine, and I settled into our chair in front of the fireplace with a little chai tea and my Bible. I read randomly, and some was stuff I had read many times before...but it settled my heart and spoke to me in a new way this morning. Spending some special time in His presence started my day out right. My 2006 goal is to make spending time with Him every day a natural part of my day...whether its in the morning, at night, 2:00 in the afternoon, whenever and in whatever format!

Hope you all had a wonderful New Year! I will follow up this post with some pics from the New Year's Party that we attended. Love you all!!