New Year - grace grits and gardening

January Focus

January 5, 2015 By Talya Tate Boerner

January is the month to focus on starting projects, new beginnings, planning, cleaning, organizing. It’s a great month to buy a steam mop—yes it is—because Lucy and Annabelle constantly track up the kitchen floor. Since my My One Little Word for 2015 is Focus, I’m focusing on specific January goals.

In January, I plan to focus on my health. For whatever reason, the last three months of 2014 were a bit sickly for me. A constant cough drained my energy. Bronchitis held on for weeks. Now I’m headed back to yoga. My goal is 4-5 times per week. Help me stick to it—ask me if I’ve done my yoga. Please. And I plan to eat more mindfully and drink more water and green tea. And take a multi-vitamin. I’m not very disciplined about taking vitamins.

In January, I plan to focus on our yard. We have a new fence to contain the curious schnauzers. The fence was a Christmas gift to ourselves. Although it will be too cold and wet to plant much of anything, I can dream and read and plan. I want to build a compost too. Maybe behind the garage.

In January, I will focus on editing my manuscript (as soon as I receive it back from my editor). This may be more of a February goal, but my mind is forever thinking about this. I’m editing a few short stories that need attention too.

In January, I will focus on organizing photos. My friend, Beth, shared her photo solution using thislife.com, and I plan to explore it further. My photos are out of control.

What will you focus on in January?

Grace Grits and Gardening

Farm. Food. Garden. Life.

Musical Pairing:

Van Morrison – Brand New Day

My One Little Word for 2015

January 1, 2015 By Talya Tate Boerner

After considering three possibilities for my 2015 One Little Word, I focused in on one. Focus.

2015 will be my year of focus.

The new year brings a clean slate, and oh how I love clean. An ending. A fresh beginning. A chance to continue the progress already made. A new year where amazing things can and often happen.

2014 was a year of change. A year of believing things could change and making purposeful, positive change happen.

Now I plan to focus.

Primarily on my writing.

I’m ready. I can taste it. I want to sit at my desk and write for weeks and weeks uninterrupted. Guzzling coffee. Forgetting to eat. Totally absorbed. That’s the focus I can feel building beneath my skin.

Soon I’ll be making final-final edits on my manuscript (fingers crossed and knock-on-wood). I’m dreaming of that last mile, a completed project. Visualizing a book in my hands.

And I have other unfinished manuscripts hidden in the cloud. Short stories that need attention.

In 2015, I will focus on the craft of writing. Words I’ve yet to write. Stories untold.

I want to be present. Attentive. Mindful.

I want to absorb my surroundings, the sights and sounds that translate into words.

Sense the organic.

Listen to the voice.

My voice.

And there are other things I plan to focus on in 2015. Like our yard. We have a new fence, and that’s a huge start.

Of course, I’ll still blog. But posts may be less frequent. After my daily writing.

I’m excited about 2015. Happy New Year!

Grace Grits and Gardening

Farm. Food. Garden. Life.

[tweetthis]Focus. My #onelittleword for #2015. What’s yours?[/tweetthis]

Musical Pairing:

Kings of Leon- Last Mile Home

2014: Top Ten Blog Posts

December 30, 2014 By Talya Tate Boerner

As we approach the end of 2014—wha?—I’m looking back and recapping my top ten blog posts from the past twelve months. I did this last year too. You can see top posts from 2013 HERE.

While these posts are considered top ten based on page views, they may not necessarily be your favorites. Or mine. But I will say, these top ten blog posts make me believe people love to eat while cheering for the underdog. And apparently someone out there must enjoy decorating for fall. Or porches. Or both.

And by the way, if you make it to the end of this post, I have included a few of my favorites that apparently flew beneath the blog statistic radar. It happens.

No. 10

Spicy Baked Okra

“a more slender version of fried”