Happy 2016 in One Word

First of all Happy New Year!  Each year I pick one word that will be a theme or reflection point for the year.  So, as I was thinking about what that one word would be I was rather frustrated that one word felt so limiting.  Then I decided to check out the thesaurus, and realized that any word that I chose would have a number of meanings.  One of my favorite movies is The Holiday.  It has become a tradition for our family to watch it each year when we are in California for Christmas.  I kept flashing to one scene in the movie and decided that my word for the year would be...

Gumption

noun nerve, initiative

• acumenstar
• clevernessstar
• good sensestar
• resourcefulnessstar
• savvystar

• shrewdnessstar
• abilitystar
• astutenessstar
• discernmentstar
• enterprisestar

• get-up-and-gostar
• industrystar
• judgmentstar
• perspicaciousnessstar

• perspicacitystar
• sagaciousnessstar
• sagacitystar
• sensestar
• spiritstar

• wisdomstar
• wit
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ddstarp

As you can see a single word can encompass a number of meanings.  For me the energy, sense of spirit and strength that the word Gumption possesses is perfect for the first page of a brand new 365 page book.  What one word will you pick for 2016?

Pace

 Blood Orange Tart with a Brandy Glaze 

I think it fitting that my first post of 2013 is on the second of January, rather than the first.  Yesterday, as with each January 1st of the last three years, our dinner club got together for a New Year's brunch. We celebrate our friendship and the amazing way that eight people can waltz around a kitchen anticipating each others moves to create beautiful slow food.  The day was full of lively conversation, laughter, kids playing in the snow, and lots and lots of cooking.  Dish after dish of culinary love, the best way we know how to show our appreciation for life and each other.

The last couple of years, I have chosen a word(s) that is a theme for the year.  In 2011 it was cultivate, and in 2012 it was blank pages.   I like choosing a word to focus on, much like a mantra to help maintain focus throughout the year on what is important. When I began to think about what to choose for this year, there was one word that I couldn't shake.  Pace.

Pace:

   rate of movement

   rate of progress

   an example to be emulated

   rate of performance or delivery

   an exhibition or test of skills or capabilities

   with due deference to (from the Latin for pax, peace)

With life as busy as ever, and many goals to be accomplished, it will be an important mantra for me to maintain pace in a way that is productive, yet not so accelerated that I forget to savor each moment. So posting this on January 2nd instead of the 1st is a conscious effort to begin this year on the right pace.

To get your year off to an amazing start,  you must try this simple and delicious tart!

Blood Orange Tart with Brandy Glaze 

Shortbread Crust:

1 C all-purpose flour

2 Tbsp. confectioners sugar

1/2 C butter

Place all ingredients into a bowl and cut in the butter with a pastry cutter until the mixture resembles a crumble.  Chill for 30 minutes then press into a tart pan (I used a 10")

Filling:

6 med. oranges

1 (10 oz) jar of sweet orange marmalade

4 tsp. lemon zest

3/4 C lt. brown sugar

6 Tbsp. brandy

Peel oranges, removing all of the pith.  Slice into thin slices and then line the tart pan with them in a curricular pattern.  Mix all remaining ingredients to form a glaze and spoon glaze over oranges (reserving some additional glaze for serving).  Slice and serve.

Blank Pages

 My word for 2011 was Cultivate.  A word that has many diverse meanings and reflects much about my life.  It is something that I have done, and will continue to do.  It is inspiring to read so many words of affirmation and hope as we close the old and anticipate the new.  I was reading Miss Buckles's post this morning, that she closed with a Norwegian saying,  Blank Pages.

I picture entering the new year with a fresh moleskin, opening it up for the first time tomorrow to fill with dreams and accomplishments.  It will sketch the steps toward a new business. We will plot the growth of our homestead. It will be peppered with snap shots of light capturing the growth and laughter of our children. B & I will chart our way through a year of hard work and focus, coupled with love and joy.

Yet the pages are still blank, itching with anticipation to be filled with illustrations of the growth, risk, challenge, uncertainty and reward that will come from jumping in wholeheartedly to the next chapter of our book.  

A very happy 2012 to you, may your blank pages be filled with new adventures!