52 Pick Up: Weeks 1 + 2 Gallop In

No I’m not talking about a car or a card game when I say 2014 is the year of 52 Pick Up.

I mean that after two years of grad school, and last year’s “Year of the Snake” which required shedding some skin (read about that here), I’m picking up what I dropped and I’m picking up speed and getting a move on–after all, 2014 is the “Year of the Horse”!

Refugio State Beach, CA January 2014 by Art Predator

Being in grad school full time and teaching 2/3 time required a lot of sacrifices: I didn’t have as much time for my family, I didn’t have as much time for my garden, and I didn’t have as much time for my house either. Needless to say, I had less time for myself which meant I didn’t exercise or eat as well as I should (can anyone else relate to stress eating?)

And since I was doing so much writing for grad school, I just didn’t have time for blogging.

So here in 2014, I’m playing 52 Pickup. Last week was week one. This week is week two.

I’m going to try to post at least once a week here on Art Predator, on Wine Predator, on Compassionate Rebel, and Whisper Down the Write Alley. I’ve got some other creative projects in the works also, specifically with four festivals: Earth Day, Lucidity, Wine Bloggers Conference, and Burning Man. We’re going to start our preparations for hiking the Pacific Crest Trail too.

do you see the dove on the clouds?

Reading articles like this from the New York Times motivate me even more to get off the couch, to get offline, to close the book I’m reading, and get moving! (In fact, I think I’ll go for a quick walk right now to the beach!)

The article reports that not only does exercise “remodel the brain by prompting the creation of new brain cells and inducing other changes” but “inactivity, too, can remodel the brain” –and not in the best ways!In fact, the article says, there is enough of a difference between the brain of an active person and ain inactive one that Dr. Mueller “plans to show slides of the different rat neurons and, echoing the old anti-drug message, point out that

“‘this is your brain.’ And this is your brain on the couch.””

eagle in the clouds

According to Dr. Mueller’s research, neurons in inactive brains, for example, likely overstimulate the sympathetic nervous system, potentially increasing blood pressure and contributing to the development of heart disease.

So you might see my year of 52 Pick up as my New Year’s Resolution.

But really, it’s a new me resolution. Because this is partly being spurred by my birthday January 11–that started week one which was heralded with a party. Week two started with an overnight camping trip to Refugio State Beach where we listened to the waves, walked for hours along the shore at low tide, enjoyed a great meal, and sat around the campfire.

What are you hoping to pick up this year as you ride the “Year of the Wooden Horse”? What are your “new year’s resolutions”?

PS The Chinese New Year “Year of the Horse” begins January 31, 2014–the new moon day of the first lunar month which is also a “Black Moon”–the second new moon in a month! I’ll be blogging more about this next week. Subscribe now –it’s free and easy and you won’t miss out!