Surprise! It's a New Year

2011 couldn't end quick enough for me and it was probably  one of the longest. It was the year that tested my strength and sanity and I've only recently begun to feel somewhat like my old self.

It was one of those years that I found out who I can really count on and there aren't enough words & thank you's in the world to show my appreciation. Laughter is sometimes the best medicine and those people have not lacked with the humor.

It was the year I realized that some people in your life are so self-centered they can't even grasp that other people in the world exsist or have their own things going on in life. It was also the year I decided I don't want them in my life anymore.

It was the year I knew that you can't ever take life for granted and you never know how quickly life can change. You appreciate the little things in your life, like jumping in puddles with your baby.

But 2012 is already off to a promising start. I get to spend the first day of the new year with the most important person in my life. One of my best friend is getting married and another is having a baby, so I get to be an auntie again!! :)

I've decided to make 2 very small resolutions this year: to live for myself and make my mom & daughter proud of me.

I have plenty of things I want to accomplish this year and they're all goals I hope to achieve:
- B & I are signed up for the Race For the Cure this May; it's something that's pretty important to us
- blog weekly and finish my book
- read as many books as possible because my bookshelves have been screaming at me
- catch up on all my shows, starting with Sons of Anarchy. My goal last year did not happen!

I have a feeling 2012 is going to be a pretty interesting year for the most part and it's going to be a good year.  Happy New Year, everybody!!

New Year, New Stuff

The house is clean and quiet. I'm ready.

It’s time to ring in 2011, and I’m looking forward to it. Most people do, just because it’s a new year and it means a new, fresh start. I always like the beginning of the year much better than the end, but I’m just weird like that.

2011 is going to be completely different, though. January 1st marks the beginning of the end of my long military career. By August 1st, I'll no longer be in the Air Force. It's been a long industrious time, but it's time for a change. I thought I would be in for the long haul, but circumstances and issues have made it pretty much necessary for me to depart. I don't regret it, but it's time.

I’m pretty excited, it’s the start of another adventure, one that’s completely different than any I’ve been on in many years.

I've also decided that 2011 is the year I'm not doing the whole resolution thing. It never ends well anyways because I seem to forget all about them within a week. I think I'm allergic to things called resolutions. Now goals? I can deal with that. Here are a few of them

- finish up my work in progress, because it's high time to do it

- get started on the book that's been running around in my head

- get caught up on my shows because I'm so far behind it's ridiculous

- blog at least twice a week and write an hour every day

- READ. I've even signed up for a few reading challenges to motivate myself.

2010 was kind of a crappy year for me, but I'm hoping 2011 will have a brighter outlook. Happy New Year!!

Here's to a better year

Of all the years in the almost 3 decades since I was born, 2009 is ranked one of the worst that I can remember. Pretty much everything went wrong this year. But the good news is the year is almost over! I've never been more enthusiatic about a new year coming into the picture before. Hopefully this means 2010 will be a much better year.

I already have my resolutions list all set and ready to start breaking. Well, possibly not (and hopefully) breaking during the incoming year. I'll start with the possible and then head to the "will probably never happen in a million years, much less 2010".

1. Read more books, like all the ones I've bought that I never have time to read. Ever
2. Write everyday, even if it's just 30 minutes
3. Post on my blog more than I did this year
4. Finish writing my book so I can finally send it in
5. Get in shape so I don't feel so blah about myself
6. Work on my finances so I will have NO bills when I get out of the Air Force next year
7. I will no longer speak ill of Twilight, because I'm trying to teach my 7 year old "If you can't say anything nice, than don't say anything at all". And I choose not to have an opinion about the movies and books
8. Become more organized and less cynical
9. Finish a good portion of my Bachelor's
10. Catch up on my shows on DVD (which is a whole LOT, so maybe I should make a list I can cross off)
11. Take better care of myself than I have in the past, like getting actual sleep and eat better
12. Take more time to enjoy life and take nothing for granted
13. Keep in better contact with my closest friends than I have been

These are just a few that I've come up with and I'm sure there will be plenty more in the next couple of days, but it is a start for now. And I'm so ready for the new year, I've already started some of my resolutions.

So what do I have to say about 2010? Bring it on!

A Decade Come and Gone

It's hard to believe that 10 years have gone by so fast. Ok, it hasn't exactly flown by, but it doesn't feel like I was 18 THAT long ago. 10 years ago, I had graduated high school and joined the military less than two months later. In the last ten years, I've done plenty. I've lived in Colorado, Italy, and Ohio, all places I never thought I'd visit, much less live. I had my beautiful daughter, Brynn, in 2002, so I spent most of the decade being a mom, my most fulfilling role in life to date. I had a great job that I really loved that was essentially outsourced, forcing me to find new employment in the Air Force. I've dreamed of becoming a writer, but have yet to finish a book to my liking. Sad, but true. I've put a lot of things on hold during the last decade, including going to school.

Many things have happened over the years, but these are the few that have stuck out the most that impacted me the most. My hope and goal for the next ten years is to do the things I've put off and things I've been too afraid to do in the past.

I have a good feeling about the new year and the coming decade.