Three things I'm thankful for in January

I must say, once Christmas is over, and the first few weeks of January are past, I have this overwhelming "what now?" feeling. There's no more Christmas carols, the snow doesn't seem as fresh (and in my opinion is not as welcome either), and all of a sudden my flip flop days seem further away than ever because from now until spring there's not much to distract from the mundane. But rather than wallow in my self-pity, bemoaning the fact that my parents did not choose to raise me in the Bahamas, I have constructed a list of three things about January that make me smile. 

1. NFL football playoffs! Yes, it's true: I'm a huge football fan. This past weekend was mostly spent (much to my shame- no, that's not entirely true... a little to my shame) on the couch watching football and eating my weight in nachos. Kudos to my team though- Aaron Rogers of the Green Bay Packers was a ball throwing beast on Saturday! I love it when the team I'm rooting for not only wins, but completely dominates! 48 to 21 Go Packers!!!

2. Unexpected beauty. I think because of the bleakness of this month, the beauty that is found is treasured even more. The blues and pinks in the sky this morning were so lovely and very unexpected. 

The way today has become warm and sun-shiny was beauty unlooked for. The fact that the barista at Starbucks knew not only my name, but my drink and the type of milk I prefer was unexpected and definitely a beautiful thing my friends! (Actually, it really shouldn't be unexpected I suppose- I'm in there way too often...)

3. Fresh beginnings. I love that in January everyone gets a new start. Sure, maybe the gym memberships and lists of resolutions are a little cliche, but I think it's nice to have an official "let's begin again" time. January is a great month to schedule some hard-core self-evaluation. It's such a relief that no matter what happened last year, the coming of January is almost an official order to set the past aside and move on. *Sigh* It's like a breath of fresh air. A new year of growing, stretching, goals, dreams, laughing and living awaits us in 2011! I think there's going to be more to come on my goals and aspirations for this lovely year, but one of the things I'm changing is that my to-do lists are turning into my "TA-DA!" lists because that's what I get to say when I complete something. "TA-DA!!!" (And no, I didn't come up with this idea, although I would love to take credit for it. I'm borrowing it from singer Jason Mraz.)

So yay for football, and surprise gifts of beauty, and fresh starts! Thank you January!

And now that this post is finished- TA-DA! 

~Jazzy