What NOT to do in 2014

Let’s take a quick break from the food, shall we?

I know, I know. You’re not here to listen to my 2014 plans-you came expecting a healthy recipe to start the new year or maybe a look back at my most popular dishes from 2013. But my blog is my blog, so you can stick around and reflect with me, or just wait til tomorrow for a new, insanely yummy homemade gnocchi recipe. Either way, thank you for reading. For reading today, for reading last week and for reading all year. As I approach my three year vegetarian anniversary, it also means this site turns tres. And I am still in awe of how far it’s come. How much I love posting, hearing from readers and other veg bloggers, how much I enjoy connecting with so many like-minded people through social media. This blog has been an amazing personal outlet, a virtual food diary, a cookbook and a means to gain new clients, classes and opportunities. It’s incredible that this spur-of-the-moment blog that started with my best friend, once included my ex-boyfriend and is now completely my own, has come as far as it has.

So thank all of you. Who have listened to my good days, my bad and everything in between. To the amazing recipes, to the epic fails. To the three ingredient snacks, to the elaborate three hour recipes. This page wouldn’t be what it is without the people who read and comment, so I am eternally grateful to all of you!

NOW-onto my anti-resolutions. If I hear one more person say they want to lose weight, eat better or “just be an overall better person” this year, I’m going to scream. I am not unsupportive of those goals, I just think we could all dig a little deeper. And since I generally like to do the opposite of what everyone else is doing, I am all for deciding what I am NOT going to do for the next year, and hopefully, for years to come.

1.) Don’t apologize. I am no longer going to apologize for who I am, what I say and what I truly enjoy. Don’t like me blasting NSYNC or Taylor Swift as loud as possible? I don’t care. Don’t like that I aim to use F*CK in almost every sentence? Sorry, I’m not sorry. Yes I like One Direction, am passionate about animal rights, am adamant about organic food, love eating ice cream for breakfast, don’t wear sunscreen and am overly obsessed with Justin Timberlake. I’m a flirt, I like Jack Daniels a little to much and my grandma still does my laundry. I accept all of me, and if you don’t…well then I don’t give a flying fuck.

2.) Don’t waste my money. I don’t NEED a new outfit for every occasion, every night out. I don’t NEED to go out to eat with friends when I’ve always got tons of food at home. I can’t be blowing money everywhere, and buying shit I don’t need to impress people I don’t even like. Clothes, shoes, make-up, a new cell phone. These things don’t matter and have no real impact on my life. If there’s one thing I’ve always avoided and will continue to avoid for all time, it’s materialism. Am I right?!

3.) Don’t stay in one place. Staying stagnant is not an option. Whether it’s a one day road trip, a weekend vacation with the girls or a return to Italy, I need to go as many places as possible, see as many new landscapes I can and of course, meet lots of new people. Moving back to my hometown has been great, but it also feels like I’m suffocating. Staying in this comfort zone, in this little bubble of familiar family, friends and faces, is not ideal for growth. I can’t move on to bigger and better things if I’m always in the same place, with the same people, doing the same things. I’ve grown alot recently, but in order to continue that upward trend, I’m gonna have to get out of this city as often as possible. I can’t get the idea of moving across country or somewhere completely opposite of New England out of my head. I fantasize about picking up and moving, randomly choosing a spot on a map and just heading out. Starting over, meeting strangers and completely being self-sufficient and dependent on only me and what I want to do.

4.) Don’t alter myself for others. Have you seen “Runaway Bride”? The main character jumps from relationship to relationship and alters herself completely for each one. Because she didn’t truly know who she was and what she wanted, she adapted to whatever guy she happened to be with. And I am totally THAT girl. I look back at all my boyfriends and guys I’ve dated and none of them have had a single thing in common. And I have been a different version of myself with each, because I’ve always been so busy trying to please them, that I continually forgot to take care of myself. This year, I’m all about staying true to me and not adjusting for a guy.

5.) Don’t let my life get cluttered. My apartment, my car, all types of paperwork…everything seems to be a mess right now. It’s filled with junk and instead of sorting through, I just let it pile up. The dishes, the bills, the laundry, the junk in my trunk (literally, not figuratively) all tend to get completely overwhelming because I don’t make it a priority to clean it up regularly. I’m really not a slob, I just have a million things going on all over the place. But it’s really distracting and makes for a less than comfy existence, so I need to keep everything clear. I’m a big believer in energy flow and I’m probably blocking alot of it with all the crap floating around in my life.

6.) Don’t deal with shitty people. There’s alot of people in my life who are no longer worthy of my time. I invest in them, and get nothing but negativity in return. I am all about positivity, in creating a happy life, and can’t  spend time with those who don’t feel the same. Do certain people in my life make me feel better when I’m with them? Am I a greater person because they are in my life? What do they bring to my life? If all they’re bringing is a bad attitude, then I’m all set with them.

7.) Don’t spend so much time drinking. Drinking is fun. Drinking with friends is fun. Being hungover and wasting a whole day on the couch or skipping yoga to nurse a hangover is not fun. I think of all the hours I’ve spent enjoying beers with friends and it makes me happy. I just wish it didn’t mean that I would spend the same amount of time the next day, alone and miserable. I’m pushing 30 now. Time to find other things to do, outside of alcohol.

8.) Don’t ignore the bucket list. I love my brother to death. Especially because he has a bucket list for every season. A list of new activities to try, new places to go, different challenges. This past year we went ziplining and skiing, two things I had never done and wouldn’t have done if it weren’t for him. I’d like to aim to do something every week that scares me, pushes me or is just outside of the norm.

9.) Don’t skip the green juice. Or the road race. Or any other healthy trend I always tell myself I’ll stick too. I need to stay firm in nourishing my body, and juicing is the most important. Running every day, entering as many races as possible and getting into a normal yoga routine is insanely important to me right now. I feel my best when I do all of these things, and my worst when I don’t. Simple math!

10.) Don’t be a shitty human being. This is open-ended really. I want to volunteer more. Listen more. Be more grateful. Volunteer more. Donate when I can. Do the little things. Send cards for no reason to the people I cherish. Say I love you more. Hug more. Smile more. Laugh all the time, even when it’s not appropriate. Just be happy.