Happy New Year!

I am not really one for New Year’s resolutions.  I generally take stock of the more serious stuff at Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. I am constantly trying to keep on track with Weight Watchers and the gym so there’s really no resolution to be had in that department either, I just keep on keepin’ on.  Last year, my goal for the secular new year was to try one new recipe a week and give my neglected cookbook collection a workout.  I tracked this for a while and then slowly stopped writing it down but did keep some of the momentum going throughout the year so overall I’d say it was a success.

As 2012 came to a close and I filled in my new birthday calendar (I printed out an awesome 11×17 one from Lemon Squeezy), I was originally thinking my goal for 2013 was simply to mail old-fashioned snail mail cards for people’s birthdays and anniversaries.  It’d definitely be an improvement to the Facebook birthday wishes that everyone seems to have defaulted to these days but still, it’s sort of expected.  So, I am upping the ante – not only will I remember these special days but I will also commit more simply random acts of kindness this year since the best cards or treats are the ones that are completely unexpected.  A couple of months ago my friend Samantha sent me the cutest card just to say thanks for being her workout buddy and give me some encouragement – it made my day if not my week.  So, for 2013, I want to spread some of that kindness and cheer.

For my first random act, I decided it was the perfect excuse to pull out my brand-new Cup of Wishes stamps by Mama Elephant.

I stamped the cup and tea bag on some animal print paper using my Versafine Onyx Black and then carefully cut it out.  Then I stamped the Warm and Thoughts using VersaMagic Cloud White to get that steamy effect on a plum-colored A Muse notecard and rounded the corners.  Then I attached the cup using foam squares and tied a little ribbon on the top.  Now all I need to do is throw in a little Starbucks card  (I still have a few of the Mini Moments cards that are perfect for this endeavor) and I am all set to commit random act #1.  Now the only question is who will be the recipient…

What about you?  Any resolutions or fun endeavors for 2013?