They say that the way you start the year is the way you’ll live it. If that’s true, then DF and I are up for plenty of luck, love and frugality in 2015.
Plenty of sleep, too: The only way we knew it was midnight was that some of our neighbors started setting off illegal fireworks.
Here’s how those four things shook down:
Luck. Our main meal today was hoppin’ john and cornbread, since DF believes it will bring good fortune in the year ahead. This is a habit he adopted in adulthood, incidentally; although his mom has Missouri roots and was raised in Texas, she never cooked black-eyed peas on Jan. 1.
Love. Both last night and today we made it a point to express gratitude for the year just finished. This is part of our resolve to recognize happiness vs. assuming that some grander joy lies just around the corner. We said out loud things like, “This was a wonderful year because you were in it” and “Thanks for sharing your life with me” – and we didn’t feel the least bit self-conscious doing so. (We said mushier stuff, too, but TMI is TMI.)
Sleep. We were stacking Zs long before 12 o’clock, in part because we’re both still getting over an ugly virus. The other reason is that we don’t often stay up until midnight even when we’re healthy. Yep, we’re old.
Frugality. Our biggest splurge on the meal was precooked peas. DF couldn’t find dried ones in the closest supermarket so, thanks to that virus, he took the path of least resistance and bought a can of Bush’s Best black-eyes. “If I’d checked over near (the military) base I bet I’d have found dried ones,” he observed.
The rest of the dish was made up a bit of diced ham and a couple of ham bones from the freezer, broth from the latest boiling bag, dried turnip greens and kale from our garden, and rice that he buys in bulk from Costco. We seasoned it with our homemade mustard vinegar.
(I just learned that leftover hoppin’ john is called “skipping jenny,” and that its being served the next day indicates true frugality and a great wish for prosperity. Guilty as charged.)
Big doings ahead?
Some bloggers pick a word or more than one word to live by in the next 12 months. I did this one year, choosing the word “permission.” But I’ve decided not to try to entice a particular attribute from 2015. Instead I’m going to watch what happens and see what I can do with it when it does.
Somehow I think that big doings are in store. Yes, we all like to think each year will be a Big Year. But this is a different feeling: the intuition that major changes are afoot.
Could be I’m full of it – that if swell things happen it’ll just be a lucky coincidence. But lately I’ve been feeling a sense of what Mihály Csíkszentmihályi calls “flow,” and the accompanying sense that more of it is on the way.
As I said: Possibly I’m just projecting, aka whistling past a graveyard. Hope not.
One thing I am sure of is my gratitude. I’m grateful to be in love, to be able to work a job that’s fulfilling, and to be able to write for and interact with readers on a personal website. So thanks to everyone who stops by, and here’s hoping for a great 2015 for us all.
Related reading:
- Midlife love rocks! (Ask me how I know.)
- The opposite of obligation
- Living in the quieter spots of life
A very happy, healthy, and prosperous New Year to you and yours, Donna!
We did leftovers last night but stayed up late accidentally because we were puttering around doing chores as has been the norm the last few months, preparing for LB. I don’t imagine the sleep deprivation will abate in the next few months, so I won’t hold my breath for that to change right off but I do hope for a relatively smooth 2015 for everyone. A few Good Big Changes wouldn’t go amiss either!
I give! What is “LB”?
It stands for “Little Bean”. She’s expecting a baby.
Hah thanks Anne! I get lazy and forget to type it out sometimes 🙂
Happy New Year Donna 🙂
Backatcha, newf.
I love that you are grateful to be in love. That is such a precious gift. Good luck with your goals this year and I look forward to following your story.
Happy New Year Donna & DF!
Yes, we had the traditional blackeyed peas cornbread,ham, yellow rice, I went rogue this year with the hopping John. Also collards and sweet potato casserole..
I joked that this New Years Day menu was practically written in my wedding vows.
I Amen what you said, life is good for us too. We moved back south to prepare/save for retirement in the next few years, we speak gratitude, take walks and dream together. And count our blessings. I keep a separate journal for gift counting. It’s life changing. Wishing you a very wonderful year. From one skipping Jenny to another.
I started this year peacefully, so I hope that is the way it goes. However, I still don’t have hot water, well, only enough to wash my hair. My meal–blackeyed peas, turnip greens, sweet potato.
Happy New Year!
Happy New Year, Donna, DF, and everyone on this blog. I’ve gotten so much out of it this year. Thank you, and may God be gracious to you all.
Enjoyed reading your post and to hear you so full of joy, gratitude and hope. I too am feeling hopeful. For the first time in a long long time I am positive about my finances and I have some new ideas for further improvement in the New Year including a roommate, something you suggested last year. Happy New Year and thank you for inspiring me to greater frugality and happier living.
So glad to inspire, but remember that you were the one who did the work. Here’s to a prosperous 2015 for us all.
Happy New Year, Donna and DF!
I was going to make a lasagne with spinach (greens) for our New Year’s Day dinner and make a salad with black-eyed peas, red onion and green pepper. Sadly, I fell asleep in the middle of the day and accomplished none of those things, so my husband made grilled cheese sandwiches and we ate them with leftover chili. Ah, well-it was a lovely meal and we enjoyed it together, and lasagne will taste just as good tonight or tomorrow.
I haven’t tried Hoppin’ John (or Skippin’ Jenny-love that!), but my husband likes black-eyed peas, so maybe I’ll have to give them a try.
Yes! And I hope and believe your good intuition will include Abby!
I’ve started the New Year independent of employment, and we will see how all this unfolds. I, too, have good vibes about this year.
May those vibes prove fruitful. Good luck!
Happy New Year and with the New Year a new fortune (a Slavic saying). Our meals were more ethnic. We took Kolbasy and poppy seed strudel for New Years Eve festivities at a friends home. Pelmini and warm beets with sautéed onions for New Years Day. We stayed up to watch the ball drop in Times Square NYC on TV and promptly went to sleep.
Happy New Year to one and all. I bought the dried black-eyed peas and we ended up having spaghetti and meatballs. I’ve read (in the ubiquitous articles on New Year’s traditions) that anything round brings prosperity. So the meatballs will have to do.
Happy, Healthy, and Prosperous New Year to us all!
I live in Texas. Here, they eat blackeyed peas for luck, and cabbage for prosperity. I don’t eat either one, and am doing alright. 😀
I hope we all have an even better year than last year.
My daughter came up with the idea of a midnight tea party- devilled eggs, homemade cinnamon rolls, cocoa, non alcoholic wine, tiny sandwiches. This is our third year, we have a good time, she takes lots of selfies to send for the new year. All the best to all of you.
What a nice idea! I may borrow it.