Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

2012 absolutely flew by! I really can't believe it has come and gone.

Looking back, if I had to describe 2012 in three words, they would be: the unknown, change, progress. We started out the year not knowing where we would finish it, not knowing which PhD program Brett would get into and where we would live for the next 5-6 years. I didn't know what kind of job I would have, or even if I would have a job at all. Once we made the decision to move to Atlanta, we spent countless hours apartment and job searching and coordinating logistics of a big move. We left the town and school where we met and said lots of tearful goodbyes to good friends. We set off on the Blue Ridge Parkway and spent days winding through mountains without knowing exactly what the future held. Brett started a new program. I started a new job (and in some ways, a new career). We got a new puppy. And we got engaged.

It was a whirlwind of a year full of big changes. In many ways, I think I'm only beginning to stop reeling from all of them. And while it was definitely difficult, at times, to deal with so much change, it was also a great year! I got a job within two weeks of moving, which is something I'm so grateful for in this economic climate. I'm not entirely sure development is the career for me, but I'm learning so much and working with great people for a great organization. We found a gorgeous apartment. Our little puppy has brought us more joy, laughter, and cuddles than we ever thought possible. And Brett and I really grew as a couple. Somewhere along the way, we became this much stronger team and learned to work even better together.

I'm grateful for the holidays and the new year, because it gave me some time to reflect on just how big of a year 2012 was for me - and for Brett and I. It also gave me some time to stop looking backward and just spinning to keep up; to pause and look forward. And when I did, I realized that 2013 can be an absolutely fantastic year if I try and make it one. I want to use my time intentionally this year to grow as a person, to advance in my career, to pursue the things I'm passionate about, to think about what it is exactly I'm passionate about and want to spend my life doing, to get more organized, to write more, to volunteer more, and to read more. Not a small list, I know. But I want to make sure that as we settle into life here in the south that I'm really taking advantage of my talents and gifts, giving back to the world, and creating a foundation for the life that I've always dreamed of living. I want to let go of self-doubt and fear of failure and really pursue my goals. I need to start going after the ambitions that I guard closely deep down inside - ambitions that are too scary even to write down as new year's resolutions. I don't just want to get through this next year, spinning faster and faster until another year is over. I yearn to flourish.

So here is to a new year! Let's spend it being the very best version of ourselves and making the world a better place for women.

Thursday giveaway

Vine.com is an online store that carries natural and organic products for beauty, household cleaning, bath and baby, as well as organic snacks and groceries. We shop there regularly for our family, and it's such a godsend. And they deliver to your door in TWO days! (I've written about them here and here.)

Today they're offering a whopping $300 gift certificate, so you can stock up on your favorite things for a healthy year. For a chance to win, please visit Vine.com and leave a comment below with a couple of your favorite items. (Here are some good ideas, and I love everything by Method, Burt's Bees and Weleda. Also Annie's Mac & Cheese and Weetabix!)

Bonus for all readers: Get 20% off your order with the code JOANNA20, good through January 31st.

Jerry Seinfeld: How to write a joke

Did you guys read the recent New York Times Magazine interview with Jerry Seinfeld? What surprised me was how obsessive Seinfeld is when writing his jokes. His stand-up feels effortless, but actually "Seinfeld will nurse a single joke for years, amending, abridging and reworking it incrementally, to get the thing just so," writes Jonah Weiner in the article. Seinfeld looks for funny words ("chimps," "dirt, "playing" and "sticks" are all funny, he explains). The joke can't be too long or too short; he'll go so far as to shave off letters or syllables from a sentence to pare it down. Seinfeld also avoids four-letter words, which he thinks are a crutch: "Guys that can use any word they want—if I had that weapon, I’ll give you a new hour in a week," he says.

Here, Seinfeld dissects a Pop Tarts joke he's been working on for two years...It reminds you just how hard it is to make something look easy.

P.S. Have you heard of Seinfeld's online series Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee? Including Alec Baldwin!

Engaged Christmas Recap!

I head back to work today, and before I delve into my resolutions and goals for 2013 I thought I'd try and pretend I was still on vacation by sharing some of my favorite photos from the holidays. 

New Year's Resolutions

Welcome back from the holidays! Hope you had a wonderful, relaxing time. So, I'm curious: Are you making any New Year's resolutions?

Here are my five resolutions this year:
Write regular letters to my grandmother in England
Learn how to blow dry my hair well, like they do in salons
Stop biting my nails like a twelve-year-old (have you heard of this stuff?)
(Try to) get over my subway phobia at long last
Learn to tell a great joke

What about you?

Alex jokes that his resolution is to spend another year talking about starting yoga. I think he can do it!

(Photo of a snow crystal by Mike and Doug Starn)