And a Happy New Year

CHRISTMAS LUNCH:

And now I'm going to tell you what I ate for Christmas:

escargot (snails! Did you know they keep the shells from meal to meal, like dishes, and they just buy the snails separately, marinate them, and stuff them into the shells? Kinda funny/ingenious.)

foie gras (force-fed-goose liver. bleh. sorry France.)

raw salmon

and

(drumroll)

froglegs!!! poor things. not bad though, with a little parsley sauce.

NEW YEARS PHOTOS AND STUFF:

We helped out the young adults of France with their new year's party. It was Venice themed. In between hanging masks from the ceiling, wrapping smoked salmon around crunchy breadsticks, and unfolding and refolding napkins, we took a boat picture.

We saw mega lines outside of every boulangerie on New Year's Eve, as people were buying their baguettes with which to bring in the new year. 

I decided New Year's Eve to cut my own hair. Nothing like starting off the new year with a bad decision. Ha. But that is not what is being displayed in this picture. There is, in fact, a tiny lion sitting atop my head. Hence the look on my face. He he

RESOLUTIONS FOR THE NEW YEAR:

And resolutions for the new year? I am realizing how not much matters more than how close we are to God. We can do a million things and be busy all the day long, but if we aren't going slowly and quietly enough to hear little nudges and ideas from Him, all our best efforts just exhaust us and bear little fruit. And the great thing is that what God nudges us towards is how to love people better, how to be happier, how to think about ourselves and others in a way that is productive and healthful and joyful. Thus, resolutions? Learning to cultivate this spirit of divine quiet. Being quieter and stiller and calmer, instead of hastier and more rushed and more finicky. I'm trading in panic for peace.