Even though the new year begins on a Friday this time, I always like to remember “Short Monday Poem” by Ellen Grace Olinger on Poems From Oostburg, Wisconsin when January 1 rolls around:
Monday
and planning
the week
what will grow
what should rest
By replacing a couple of words, it’s also the perfect way to frame the new year. What needs to grow in 2016? What needs to rest? Thank you once again for the inspiration, Ellen! ♥
As writers, we know all about the “magic of three” . . . beginning, middle, end, The Three Bears, three adjectives, three wishes, three clues. Three items create a pattern but don’t produce a mundane list. Comedians set up jokes with two scenarios and use the third for the punch line. Decorators use three candles on a mantel, and chefs use three garnishes on a plate. Even military officials use the “Rule of Three.” According to neuroscientist Tina Sellig, “The military has found that people can only track three things at once . . . when they experimented with a ‘Rule of Four,’ effectiveness dropped precipitously.”
Based on this real-life evidence, I decided I should stick to three New Year’s resolutions this year:
(1) Walk 10,000 steps a day. This may be a bit of a challenge since I work at a desk now instead of an elementary classroom, but check out my new pedometer! 
(2) Start a “Year of Homemade Gifts” project, with photos, links, and tutorials posted on PILLOWS A-LA-MODE. (Hopefully those are cheers I hear, not groans! :))
(3) Host a resource-sharing gathering for women sometime this year . . . more on this to come.
These, along with time spent with my family and friends and writing projects fill me with anticipation for 2012. Happy New Year, and may God bless you and yours! ♥
PILLOWS A-LA-MODE 