Happy New Year, Ya’ll! I hope that you had a wonderful, albeit different, holiday season. Like most of you, I missed out on some traditions and gatherings. I was not able to take my annual Christmas trip to North Carolina to see my sister and my Dad and to share in some amazing Southern cooking. Instead, I had a quiet Christmas and New Year at home with Matt and the boys, but it was still amazing. We watched all of our favorite holiday movies, cooked together, laughed together and just enjoyed our blessings. It was very peaceful and relaxed, and for that, I am thankful.
Now that 2020 is behind us, I’m thinking about all of the things ahead in the new year. The last 9 months or so have been pretty stressful, unpredictable and sometimes, downright awful. With that said, I do feel like I am prepared to handle whatever comes my way. Instead of dwelling on the past, I’m looking straight ahead and making plans for the future. Personally, I have set a few goals for the year ahead:
- Getting my health back on track. I was on a roll with diet and exercise until things came to a screeching halt on March 13th. All schedules were out the window and I became occupied with keeping my family healthy and safe, and ensuring that we had toilet paper (LOL). I gained a significant amount of weight and got complacent. Now that we are well-into the new normal of COVID-19, I need to adapt and move forward. This means incorporating exercise back into my daily routine and taking a healthier approach to eating. You know I love food, so I can’t cut out all of the stuff that tastes good, but may not be so good for me. I’m all about the 80/20 rule and treating myself now and then instead of depriving myself.
- Another priority for me this year is to expand my knowledge and experience. Prior to COVID, I was looking forward to enrolling in the Home Cooks program at our community college. This is the same school where I got my Wine Specialist certificate. Since that is now on hold, I’d love to spend some time expanding my horizons with sous vide cooking (I’ve yet to venture into really fun things like infused spirits, cheesecakes and other cool applications). I’d also like to delve into home wine making, which is how many of the great local wineries got their start. Also along those lines, I can’t wait to travel to some new vineyards and breweries in the region.
- I’m also looking ahead to bigger and better things with Cow & Wine. My hope is to continue to bring some fun, virtual interaction with you all, but I can’t wait to have a live launch event to break bread, toast some champagne glasses and laugh with my people. One of my visions for this blog is to experience food and drink together and to hang out and learn from the experts. I’m also planning to conduct a series of tastings and food/wine tours, both virtual and in-person with mixology partners and restaurateurs. And as always, I’m open to suggestions and feedback on what you’d like to see here.
Now let me ask you, what are your goals for 2021? If you haven’t thought about it, take a few minutes to think about 1 or 2 things you’d like to accomplish. Write them down, no matter how big or small. Revisit those goals every now and then and make sure that you are making steps to get closer to achieving what you want. This is part of self-care and ensuring that you are leading a fulfilling life. And remember, no matter what this year brings, let’s make it memorable, let’s learn from our mistakes, celebrate our victories and have fun doing it. Until then…
