Monthly chai date

If we were having chai together, I would hug and welcome you to 2013! Yesterday was a wonderful mix of friends, relaxation, food, and celebration. I am typically overly sentimental on NYE, but this year I felt incredibly content. I hope you have feelings of happiness and excitement as the new year begins.If we were having chai together, my eyes would be wide in telling you of my love of the movie Les Misérables. I recognize that I am way behind on popular culture, but I knew nothing of the storyline or even the actors in the movie beyond Anne Hathaway and Hugh Jackman. They both had stellar performances, and I was also blown away by Helena Bonham Carter, Sacha Baron Cohen, and Russell Crowe.If we were having chai together, I would share frustrations with this month's limited showing of "big" blog posts, where I would have time to flush out ideas and really process some things going on. This has not been possible with the busier work schedule and family time in December, but now that I have completed orientation, I have time to work on my list of posts, including topics like yeast, international work, the hymenal ring, and recent media coverage of sexual assault.If we were having chai together, I would share excitement about starting to guest blog over at the ACNM later this month. More info on this to come soon!If we were having chai together, I'd gush about the beauty of Anita Shreve's The Weight of Water. A wonderful story about women and their relationships to one another, including feeling connected despite differences in time. Halfway through and loving it.If we were having chai together, I would share my and my significant other's work over the past year to organize, strategize and pay off my student loans in a rational and timely fashion, while feeling empowered and living life. A project between us both that will share some of our lessons learned and ways forward. Again, more info to come soon!I have a love of resolutions, and this year divided my personal plans from the professional. This morning I started out one of my resolutions by reading through some of the professional journals that have piled up on my desk. Did you catch the Sept/Oct JMWH? I might point you to my first midwifery publication on page 454, as I take a sip of my chai, and share a second professional goal to be published again before 2014.If we were having chai together, I would ask you about your resolutions, what you are looking forward to this year, and how we might join forces to keep progress moving forward for women. I would send you lots of positive vibes for the upcoming year, and run off energized on this new day of 2013.All the best to you and yours!