cheese and other goals

A few weeks ago, I told a friend of mine that my only goal for the new year was to eat more cheese.

I was munching on a slice of cheddar at the time and my comment was more of a joke than a serious reflection of what I wanted to do in 2011 ... but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that it really would be fun to eat more cheese. After all, I like eating cheese and I live in a city full of gourmet cheese shops. It wouldn't hurt anyone (except, perhaps, my waist line) to get into the habit of eating cheese on a regular basis. As I pondered this, I began to realize that I really don't know much about cheese other than the basics: you put mozzarella on pizza, cream cheese on bagels and feta cheese in Greek salad. If I was going to eat more cheese, then I might as well invest some time learning about cheese, right? Being the kind of girl who enjoys approaching things with a "go big or go home" attitude, I decided that if I was going to eat more cheese and learn about cheese, then I might as well learn everything and anything there is to know about cheese. And, with that, my goal of becoming a cheese connoisseur was born.

Earlier this week, I used some of my Christmas gift money to buy a book on cheese (Laura Werlin's Cheese Essentials) and have been happily reading about fresh cheeses, semi-soft cheeses, wash-rind cheeses and the like ever since. In fact, I'm getting into this whole cheese thing so much that I think I'll take myself on a little weekend trip to a dairy farm in the Okanagan Valley this spring. Maybe I'll host a few wine & cheese nights or, better yet, start my own cheese tasting club! The options are endless here people and I do believe there may be a tiny cheese obsession brewing.

I know becoming a cheese connoisseur is a completely random goal to have and I'm well aware that you probably won't find "eat more cheese" on many resolution lists. But you know what? It makes me happy. The idea of eating lots of yummy cheese and learning all about it, as crazy as that sounds, makes me deliriously happy. And, at the end of the day, isn't the whole point of a resolution to make the new year a happier one than the year gone by?

I'd love to know what resolutions you all have - especially if they are as random as mine! And if your list is full of oh so boring traditional resolutions like "lose 10 pounds" and "pay off debts" then I hereby challenge you to add one crazy, just-for-fun, makes me happy resolution to your list. I guarantee it will end up being the first one you cross off as successfully accomplished! :)

xo