New Year’s Resolutions

Happy 2014!!  I’ve been in a reflective mood as I tend to be during this time of the year, and I’ve been diligently jotting down New Year’s resolutions as they cross my mind.  The list had become quite extensive, which is typical for my overambitious self.  -After much consideration, though, I was able to come up with a much truncated version.  While it tends to be forgotten or ignored come April, I’m really going to make a conscious effort to stick to my goals this year.  As for the ones that didn’t make it to the final list this year, no worries.  I simply moved them to my list of “inspirations” rather than resolutions.  Can you tell I am a list maker with a type A personality? 😉

1. Be more spontaneous.  Embrace change.  I’m such a creature of habit with an old soul.  I go to bed at 10pm sharp every night and wake up at 4:30am every morning.  Even the slightest deviation from my everyday routine and the schedule I set for myself makes me nervous.  However, Tim is the polar opposite.  He wishes we could live for the moment especially since we don’t have any children yet.  Looking back on the year, we really didn’t take any vacations or do things out of the norm.  We stuck to our usual schedule with much predictability.

However, I got a rude wake up call last week when Tim had a sudden seizure.  He’s fainted in front of me due to his heart condition, but this was nothing like anything I had witnessed before.  It made me, more than ever, want to live in the moment as I have no control over the future.  I honestly don’t know where to start with this one, but I’m going to work really hard on “going with the flow.”  If Tim wants to watch a late night movie and eat popcorn, gosh darn it, I shall be his partner in crime ;).

2. Call my family more often.  With all the technology out there (iPhone, FaceTime, apps like KakaoTalk) that lets me talk to my parents in Korea for free, I really have no excuse.

3. Experiment more with Asian spices.  As you may know already, I’m very conservative with the use of salt and am always looking to flavor dishes with various herbs and spices instead.  Apart from Korean spices, the flavors of other Asian countries are rarely explored in my kitchen.  My spice cabinet is more than ready for this new adventure thanks to our friends at Season with Spice!

4. Pray more for others.  I’m embarrassed to admit it, but my prayers this past year were totally self-focused.  Specifically, I prayed ceaselessly for God to bless us with a baby.  This holiday season was especially hard for me as I couldn’t face the fact that my one prayer was unanswered.  I know that it’s about His perfect timing, not mine, but I still struggle with it.  In the meanwhile, my prayers for others took a backseat.  I want to be less self-absorbed and more compassionate and in tune with the needs of others this year.

5. Practice more yoga.  I’ve been falling more in love with yoga with every practice.  After I finish my dietetic internship and graduate school (yay, December ’14!), I plan on going through yoga instructor training.  However, this is wayy in the future so I won’t plan that far in advance.  Note to self…be more spontaneous.  For right now, I’m going to focus on mastering one pose at a time.  Yoga makes me feel empowered and strong.

6. Continue to improve my food photography and styling skills.  I had the opportunity to shoot several photos for a project (and get paid! what? yup..I’m still in disbelief), and I had a blast!  I want to continue to study and practice…experiment with various angles, lighting, props, etc.

Speaking of photography, I would also like to take more pictures of nature and people.  Taking pictures of moving objects is so different from my usual motionless subjects.  My friend and mentor, Joyce Kang, is a phenomenal photographer, and I have a feeling I’ll be picking her brain a bit more this coming year.  That is, if she has time for me ;).  Be sure to check out her DSLR tutorials and tips along with much inspiration on her website.

7. Make cooking videos.  At this year’s FNCE, I had the privilege of sitting in on a session titled “The Power of Visual Food Storytelling to Promote Healthier Eating” led by Regan Jones and Holley Grainger.  I left feeling motivated to jump onto the next trend – video.  I’m so awkward in front of the camera, but there are many ways to get around this.  Perhaps I can have my voice recorded and then played in the background as I film my hands.  When I feel more comfortable, I can add an intro and so on.  The key is to take a leap of faith and dive in head first just like I did with this whole blogging thing.  Who knows what doors may open up?  This will be a fun collaboration between the Hungryman and me.  I sure can’t do this one on my own.

I look forward to the new year and wait in anticipation of what God has in store for me and my family.  Last but not least, I can’t thank you guys enough for following MJ and Hungryman and for your constant support and encouragement.  Our adventures shall continue, and we sincerely hope to continue growing our blog and building even more friendships!