Hello 2013!!! If the New Year is here that means that the old year has passed and is gone. There is always excitement and frivolity on December 31st waiting with anticipation for the new year to arrive.  Then somehow on January 1st there seems to be a bit of a let down a more somber or should I say Sober feeling.  I think on this Day, Day one of sorts is a day that we reflect on the past 365 and see what did we do? What did we learn? How did we grow? What will we do to make it better? Day one, Today…. Today is a good day.  Today is a fresh day, a clean slate day, a day of new beginnings.

Goodbye 2012 What did we do, what did we learn, how did we grow, what will we do to make it better.  2012 was not a very good year for us in some ways and in other ways it was a great year! We spent more time in and spent more money in Dr’s offices than I thought would ever be possible.  I was poked, prodded, studied  medicated, scanned, x-rayed, bones cracked, stretched on a rack, all to same result. They have no idea why my spine is angled incorrectly and why my brain is misfiring electrical currents.  Both of these things are causing me extreme and constant pain.  I learned that Pain can control your life. Pain can control your loved ones life.  Pain is all consuming and it drains you of any joy in your life.  Pain will change you.  There is no escaping the change that pain will bring you.  It’s how you let the pain change you that matters.  You can curl up in a ball and give up and give in.  That’s easy, that’s seductive, that is what you want to do when the pain hits. But you wont’ do that, no you won’t let the pain win. You want to know why? Because you want the Pain to end. You want to get back to living your life with your loved ones you want the change to be a positive one.  So you fight back! Pain fights dirty. It hits below the belt so you have to hit back and hit it harder! It’s not easy, it’s not fun, it’s not seductive, and it certainly is not what your body wants to do. So you push and you push and you push. Then one day you find what works. You find either a cure or a fix. You get a new Dr you try new Therapy you do whatever it takes but you take your life back. Then one day you win and the pain is gone! That is a very good day!

We are not the same people that started 2012. 2012 was a long hard year for all 3 of us. If you knew us in 2011 and didn’t see us in 2012 you won’t know us in 2013.  Change. We have grown together as a family, as a marriage, as individuals.  We are stronger, yet I think we are also softer.  We are wiser, yet we are open to more learning.  Our interests  hobbies, activities, general attitudes are all different.  We are not the same yet we are more ourselves than we have ever been. So 2012 was also one of the Best years we have seen!

2013 Where are we going? Well I tell you one thing we are growing this blog!!! I am in love with blogging and all of you and this my passion and my lifeline! Every free moment I have is dedicated to The Plaid and Paisley Kitchen! I never stop thinking about recipes, photo styling, what I am going to say on a post, props I want to buy.  I want to learn and grow and make friends along the way. I have already made so many new connections and great friendships! I honestly think that Blogging is quite possibly the best thing I have ever done! I know not a lot of my non blogging friends and family quite understand but this is the most rewarding and creative outlet that I have ever had the pleasure to be a part of! My goals this year are to grow 20% in readership, 30% on social media and to gain some sponsorship.  OK now that I have written that down for all to see I have to achieve those goals! We can do it! You will all help me because you are amazing readers and I am so proud to have you all in my life!

Thank you everyone and Have a Wonderful 2013!!!!

Today I don’t have a recipe to share with you.  Actually it was very hard to decide what to write today. There are so many emotions and so many topics that can be brought up.  We could talk about the Evil that exists in the world, I would love to champion for much stricter gun control, to show gratitude to the strength of the heroes in our lives, to bemoan the long and difficult road to recovery that the surviving children and the families of the departed have ahead of them.  These are all very timely and important topics and that need to be discussed and often. Today though for my tribute to honor the Departed and to Support the Survivors I don’t want revisit the tragedy but to Celebrate those that we Cherish and Love above all else.  Family is the most important aspect to all our lives.  Even though there are 26 families in Sandy Hook CT today missing some of their beloved Family Members, they as we all still have many other family to lean on and to bring in closer to us.

As many of my readers know I do not have children of my own.  I do have two step sons that I have had in my life since they were 4 and 6 years old.  Over the years I have watched these boys grow up and I have been proud and honored to have been a part of their lives and I could not love them anymore even if they were my very own.  As I find my self using the word step less and less and just saying my son.  That would be the tall goofy guy standing next to me in the photo above. = )  I know that it has been hard on my Mom and Dad that Steve and I move so often and that we always live so far away.  We always try to make the most of all our visits together and get as much shopping and cooking in as we can!  This picture was taken on a vacation to San Antonio last May.

We always make jokes that I love my dogs more than anyone and anything else in the world.  Well that is true…. Almost.  There truly is no one or nothing more in this world that matters more to me or that I love more than my Husband Steve.  He is my whole world, my everything, my rock, my partner, my lobster. (any one a ‘Friends’ Fan?) For every bad guy, boogeyman, evil no good so and so out there; I know that I can sleep soundly and safely because this man is my Husband. If everyone in the world was  more like him there would never have been the tragedy in Sandy Hook or Aurora or the countless other senseless massacres.

You want to talk about Joy? Then these two munchkins are it!  There is a third Component to this crowd that was in school the day this was taken and he couldn’t be here.  So when that Uber Cool Thirteen Year Old reads this he knows that I love him so much also! Oh and by the way “He knew Me First”  Oldest Sibling and all that….. = )  So the three Children that belong to my Best Friend are the absolute Joy and Light of my Life! The honesty, the insight and the hilarity that these children provide is a true blessing!

So while this is indeed a horrendously sad time for our country that something like Sand Hook could happen I think it is also important to stop, take time and really assess what is important in our lives.  Keep our Traditions going this Holiday Season.  Keep the Love and the Joy Alive.  Don’t let those 26 tragic deaths continue to be a tragedy by doing nothing. Uplift your hearts and sing those Christmas Carols, even though Hanukkah is over, keep the lights burning, the best thing you can do to ward off the evil is to truly have Goodwill Towards Men no matter their color of skin, their religion, their politics, the country they live in, the person they choose to love, the clothes they wear or the color of their hair. This more than about pay it forward this is about what is truly in your heart all the year long.

If you feel that you would like to do more than just have a peaceful heart and spread goodwill then please consider donating to the Sandy Hook Foundation.

To all my dear and faithful followers, thank you so much for being patient with me this Summer while  I have been away from the wonderful world of food blogging.  Not to worry I have lots of great and fun recipes in store for you this Fall and Holiday Season!  Apples, Pumkins, Ghoolies, Turkey’s, Candies and Cookies and lots of yummies in between.  It was a scorcher of a summer here in Kansas City and just in the past week the temperatures have decided to give us a break and head down the mercury.  This means that Fall is truly just around the corner!  Football is up and going with a roar. (Even if my home team is not doing well) The Halloween decorations are in the stores, and amazingly so are some Christmas decorations!!!  Just enough to get me all excited and hit Pintrest like crazy!! I have amassed a whole new slew of cookbooks and magazines over the Summer and I am rearing and ready to go!!!

I hope you all had a fun and safe Summer and that my preppy little followers are ready for a Plaid filled Fall wardrobe and tasty treats and savory meals for Tailgating and assorted fun!  I know I am ready and after the longest, hottest and not fun Summer I am ready to get this Party going!!!!!

Meet you all back here real soon!!!

Thanks for all your love and support,

Chandra the preppy girl that can always be found in plaid!