happy new year

swan
poppy and miko

i know the new year has already begun, and may be a distant memory already in the minds of some...but it really wasn't more than, what, a week and a half ago?
we went down to florida for christmas, stayed primarily with my mom and dad, who live outside orlando. also went to jacksonville for a day, to see pete's mom, dad, sister, and brother. overall, we had a great time, ate our weight in good food, did a lot of relaxing. ended up staying longer than planned because of the blizzard. saw family. saw friends. seeing said family and friends was for me the best gift of all, far surpassing any material acquisition i may have received by a thousand miles.
that said, i did get one really great gift, from pete: a 1.8f dx (auto focus) lens for my nikon d40. i'd been wanting an auto-focus lens for a couple years now, and whatdya know, he remembered. thanks, pete.
one of my resolutions for 2011 is to start taking pictures regularly again. with all the upheaval of the last couple years (moving, etc.) i kind of fell out of the habit of carrying around my camera and shooting. maybe this year i can get back in the swing? we shall see. this new lens is definitely inspiring and a step towards that goal. something to play around with, anyway.
some other loose goals for 2011:
-learn how to bake bread.
-lose weight/exercise more. (maybe this one is at odds with the first one? :P )
-take a ceramics class, maybe here.
-try to do a workshop with denyse schmidt over in bridgeport.
-plant another garden; this year i want to do as many tomato plants as possible, more chard, more lettuces, and of course, lots of cukes. if i have the room, squash (yellow, or green) would also be lovely. my garden did so well last year; i was so proud.
i've got some other bigger goals/plans i'd like to see come to fruition this year, but i'm the superstitious and private sort, so i'll keep them under lock and key for now, until things become more clear. here's hoping. :)
(crosses fingers)