New Year's Resolutions 2013

Hello all,

First of all I want to say Merry belated Christmas to everyone! This season seemed to come and go quicker for some reason this year and therefore I did not have a special holiday blog post for Christmas. (Although, as a quick note, it is my favorite season.)

This leaves New Year's.

With a mere hour or so left of 2012 during the writing of this blog post, I want to say that I am VERY excited about 2013 and hope all of you are as well.

Many of you either make resolutions you don't keep, figure you won't keep them so you don't bother making them, or don't bother making them period.

First of all, a "resolution" is "a resolve or determination" (according to Dictionary.com). This means that when you make a "resolution" you are stating something that you would like to do something and are determined to accomplish it.

Most people forget by the second week of January what our resolutions are. This happens for a number of reasons but I find that many of the resolutions that are made are unrealistic, stupid, or vague. "I would like to lose 20 pounds" is a "resolution" that can be made at any point in the year, and making that resolution doesn't mean that you won't gain that weight back after you lose it. "I would like to keep in touch with family and friends more." Vague. How will you do this? What is "more?"

So I am advocating that we abolish New Year's resolutions. Yes, I said it. Instead I think we should all get together and create "New Year's pledges" instead. A "pledge" means "a solemn promise or agreement to do or refrain from doing something." Pledge to yourself to accomplish something (or somethings) this year.

How do you come up with a decent pledge? Make it short, to the point, and specific. Make it about something that's important to you. "Quit smoking" is good, but how about "I pledge to quit smoking by decreasing the amount of cigarettes I smoke weekly starting the first of the year until I am able to be smoke free?" Not that lengthy and it packs a punch because now you can see how you're going to do it and you feel obligated to yourself to accomplish it. Also make sure it's realistic. There is nothing more depressing than coming to the end of a year and realizing you never did create a robot that will paint a room to perfection and clean up after itself. I'd be sad if I promised I'd do that but didn't accomplish it.

How do you keep your pledge? Type them up (or better yet, write them!), print them out, and frame, yes frame, them and put them in a location you will see all year. If you feel they are too personal to be shared with others, put them in a spot only you will see. If you think that it will help to share them with the world, do so. This helps for two reasons: a) you will be reminded of them everyday, and b) at the end of the year, you can feel proud of what you accomplished, or critical of yourself over what you did not accomplish.

I also think making only one pledge is being lazy. Come on guys, one pledge? For the whole year? I would say make no more than four or five. You can do it. We have 365 days this year. Make each one count.

Two of Holly's 2013 New Year's Pledges:

1) To stay as organic as possible by consistently reading ingredients on packaging, choosing organic products, and researching for organic restaurants, farms, and stores where ever my travels take me.

2) To stay healthy/active by volunteering at a non-profit organization of my choosing, going on various hikes or nature related activities, and/or working a job that requires me to be on my feet for a total number of hours of a typical work week (including vacations, etc.)

I think making New Year's Pledges is an important thing to do but let's not forget that we should be keeping promises we make to ourselves and each other all the time. Too often in our culture today do we just say "I promise" and let it go like it's nothing. Keep your word. You'll feel better in the end if you do.

Aloalo Returns... And More!

Yulysta: We are very excited to welcome our friend Aloalo back into the Squishable Quintet!

Aloalo: Thank you very much. I'm honored to be here with all of you.

Peanut Butter: Tell us about your vacation, Aloalo.

A: I have to say it was quite lovely to spend time with Holly's fiance in the midwest. The trip from Maine to Missouri was pretty long but the flight from Missouri to New York was quite nice.

Lily: We hear Holly got sick while she was with her fiance, is that true?

A: Yes, she was terribly ill with what looked like a severe case of the flu. Her fiance took very good care of her and she is almost 100% today.

Julius: Yeah, we still hear her hacking from time to time.

PB: Aloalo will be joining us from now on for our Squishable posts but unfortunately will not be with us for our Costa Rica trip, unless something changes.

L: Why not? That's awful! We have to take him along, he's part of the team!

Y: I agree with you Lily, but the truth is because Aloalo's so large it's difficult to travel with him.

J: Well then how did Holly get here with him?

Y:  She set him on her lap during the flights but with her other carry-ons it was hard. Plus Holly wasn't feeling that well still.

A: I don't mind. In fact, it might be good for me to inform all of you on news that we're having here in the States.

L: I still don't think it's fair. You're one of us!

PB: We know and he still might go but it may not be practical to take him.

L: Aw.

Y: Anyhoo, that's all we have for tod-

J: Wow, that was short.

L: Yeah, I was having fun!

PB: Guys, Holly would like to say a few things. We'll have more to talk about another time.

J: Fine.

L: I guess I understand. I'm going to think of something exciting to share for next time!

A: I very much enjoyed introducing myself. I hope everyone stays healthy.

PB: Yes, everyone enjoy a nice mug of tea or hot chocolate!

Y: Bye, everyone!

J, L, & A: Bye!


So as it was mentioned above, I got extremely sick last Sunday afternoon when I was with my fiance. Body aches, headache, fever, eventually leading into a cough and some congestion. Not really sure what happened but I feel better now and I'm very happy to have Aloalo with me!

The previous blog post mentioned the newest member of my personal family and that is my kitty. I had mentioned her name being "Sagira" but that didn't stick to her because it was so harsh sounding. After going through a series of names, the longest being "Layla" (pronounced in Arabic as 'LIE-lah') which lasted for a week or so, I feel as though I've settled on a new name: "Colette" ('ko-LET'). I had been trying to do some research on names and for some reason naming her became a problem for me. I usually try to name animals based on how they look or where they come from but it didn't work with her. During my research on names, I came across Colette, which is a shortened version of the French name "Nicolette" and means "necklace" or "victory of the people." I like these meanings for her for two reasons" 1) the markings on her chest almost connect in the form of a necklace and 2) I feel as though there is some victory in her story.

Something else I've discovered is that although she has tabby markings, I'm fairly certain she contains at least a portion of the "Ocicat" cat breed. (Check out the Cats 101: Ocicat video clip from Animal Planet!) My grandma and I both noticed that her markings were very unique for a tabby and that's when I discovered she had almost spots on her instead of stripes. She fits the personality and marking description except she DOES like to be held and enjoys sitting on my lap and she is considerably smaller than the size they say most Ocicats are. In any case, I love her and she's doing fairly well; she had a bit of a "litter box" issue which cleared up and now she is having a runny eye. Giving eye drops to a cat is about as fun as jumping out of a plane... without a parachute.

In other news, Costa Rica preparations are underway and things look good for that. Stay tuned!

There is one thing I wanted to rant- I mean talk about fairly briefly to clear up some issues that people may have on the matter. Note: I am not providing any research or anything to back up what I'm saying. The reason is that most of this information is becoming common knowledge PLUS I'm trying to simplify this as much as possible.

Organic food is NOT more NUTRITIOUS than conventional food. (Necessarily.)

I'm pretty irritated at people who are against organic because they think it's hogwash. The purpose of eating organic is not because people think they are getting more out of their food necessarily, it's the fact that we're not consuming toxic pesticides, artificial flavorings, HFCS (high-fructose corn syrup), artificial dyes, artificial preservatives, etc. If you take Cheez-Its, then take the equivalent organic version, you will notice for one that it tastes better and secondly that you should feel full a bit faster and not as sick afterward. The reason for this is that per square piece, the organic version will not contain things that have no nutritional value ("fillers") and your stomach and body will not have an issue trying to figure out what it's eating. (We were not designed to take in Red #40. Our livers are amazing but it doesn't mean we should abuse it.) Technically, the organic Cheez-It will be "more nutritious" in the sense that it doesn't contain fillers/chemicals and what it does contain is more complete foods compared to the conventional brand where you'll be consuming ingredients that you've never heard of.

Okay, what about produce? Take a conventional apple, then compare it to an organic apple. Taste is definitely better, no doubt. But... what else? Nutritionally it's pretty much the same since the food itself isn't altered (yet, don't even get me started on GMO's), but there is more of a reason to eat organic. We're not consuming pesticides, which can damage our body, but another factor to consider is not just ourselves and our bodies, but the environment. Less pesticide usage means cleaner soils, which means less emissions and happier Earth. Simple as that. So before you go and judge someone who is spending slightly more money on keeping themselves and the Earth healthy, think about all the money you've poured into the fast-food industry, what exactly you're eating, and how much car exhaust you've poured into the air getting that food.

Ponder this: Why are we always so concerned about the food our infants consume, but when they get older we feel it's okay for them to start eating junk food? Here's a painfully true joke I read in the ninth-grade: "My mother always told me to finish my food because there are children starving in Africa. Thanks, Mom. The children in Africa are still starving and now the children in America are obese."

Okay that's enough of that for today. Christmas is coming up! Give $20 to a charity of your choice this year! (And please don't forget to give some change to the Salvation Army!)

¡Buenos Noches!