Happy New Year!!!!

Sitting in church this morning, my Pastor said a few things that really got my attention.  First was that how you start the new year affects how the rest of the year will turn out.  It's like getting up in the morning. If you wake up pissed off and mad at the world, then you will most likely have a horrible day.  But, if you wake up happy and ready to start your day, then you are more likely to have a great day.  It has also been proven that if you wake up an hour before you "need" to, that your day will be better because you are not rushing. I, myself, have done this and it actually does help.  Yes, you lose an hour of sleep, but after you wake up and get going, you don't really notice it much. The first few days will be rough and you may not see that much of a difference but after about two weeks of getting up an hour earlier, you will notice that your stress level has gone down and you are, all around, a happier person.

The other thing my Pastor brought up is my birthday (and my friends do love to remind me of this. lol) this year, 21 Dec 2012.... yes, the "end of the world" is on my birthday this year. YAY ME! lol All I can say is, I am having a huge party this year. lol .... It just got me to thinking about how one little "note" in a calendar made hundreds of years ago can be taken and stretched/changed to where it has people freaking out. Why freak out about some people stating that world is ending at the end of the year, when.... if I'm not mistaken... it was suppose to have ended already according to what some other PEOPLE have said????  The only person who can determine when you die is God... or you but I'm not going to get into that.  What I'm saying, is why be afraid of dying in 11 months and 20 days when you could get hit by a car or choke on a potato chip and die today?  I, personally, do not believe that the world is going to end on my birthday this year, but if it does, I am going out with a bang. I am making 2012 MY year and will not have any regrets. I am going to take chances and do stuff that I was either too afraid or too proud to try before.

Another thing that my Pastor had mentioned was a "Bucket List".  I have never made a bucket list before but am going to make a "2012 Bucket List" this year (I will make it as it's own page).  I will list everything (non resolution) that I want to do this year and will "check it off" as I complete it.  My goal, at the end of 2012 (hopefully before my birthday lol), is to have my entire bucket list checked off.

As we enter 2012, we need to have a plan.  What do you want to happen for you in 2012.  You need to figure this out and you also need to figure out what you believe in.  I'm not just talking about whether or not you believe in God, but do you believe that you should live by the Golden Rule and treat others the way you want to be treated?  Do you believe that you should help someone in need... if you see a man on the corner of the street asking for food or even some work, do you believe you should help him or do what "everyone else" is doing and just ignore him?  If you see a couple and the husband (or wife, cause that does happen) is abusing his wife (remember that abuse can be both physical and emotional), should you report it or just ignore it?  What do you believe?
I believe in God and I try to live each day by the Golden Rule.  This is hard, I mean, I think I am generally a nice person... but I am stubborn and that is a problem. Because once you attack my family or my parenting, it is hard for me to be nice to you. That is something that I am going to work on in 2012... forgiving. In the past it has taken me years... and I do mean year... to forgive certain people in my life. My Dad, for example, I won't get into details about what he has put me and my siblings through over the past 24 + years, but I just fully forgave him at the end of last year... I held a grudge for over a decade. And, as a girl, holding a grudge is rather easy. lol but that grudge that I held against my Dad caused so much unnecessary stress in my life. And I'm done with all the unnecessary stress. I am "washing my hands" of it all. So yes, I forgive him.  Will I allow him back into mine and my childrens' lives, probably not. but that's not because I don't forgive him, it's because I cannot eraser the horrible memories and the pain he caused.  I will be polite when I see him at family gatherings, but that is it.
I have always been told that I have a big heart and I tend to care about people too much.   This is because I am the girl who gives money or buys food for people out on the streets. I don't do it for everyone out there. I look at the person and I go off of the "feeling" I get from them.  I was driving in Houston last year and saw a man with a sign saying he had just lost his job and I just got this feeling of "I need to help him" and I gave him a styrofoam cup I had in my truck that was overflowing with change.  Two years ago I was leaving Little Cesar's with 5 pizzas and there was a man on the corner asking for help and something "told me" to help him, so I gave him one of the pizzas.  There is a song (and I can't remember the name at the moment) that talks about how an old woman gets a flat tire in a town that she doesn't know, and a man stops to help her... she offers to pay him but instead he tells her to go and help someone else.  She drives down the road a bit and stops at a diner and is served by a very pregnant waitress.  The woman can see she needs help and leaves her a $50 tip.  I love this song because it reminds me that "I" can make a difference. Even just smiling at someone or saying "hi" can help brighten their day and help them.  You don't have to give money to someone or buy them dinner, just be nice.  And that is something that I have learned is hard for people to do.  I spent the last 4 1/2 years in the military, stationed in North Dakota.... being a Texas girl, I'm used to the Southern Hospitality and people helping you regardless of whether or not they know you or like you... It's not like that up North. I was shocked about how rude and inconsiderate folks are.  For example, my first winter in North Dakota, I was driving down the bypass and the weather was nice, I was actually going under the speed limit (shocker, I know. lol), and I hit a patch of black ice. I did about 3 or 4 360's and was freaking out.  I landed in the middle of the road. Instead of stopping to help me, people were just flying by, honking their horns, and screaming at me to get out of the road... even though they just witnessed me wipe out.  Thankfully a couple finally did stop to help me, but I had about 5 or 6 vehicles just go right by me. I have never been able to stop and help someone on the road who has a flat tire or engine trouble, but I am going to get jumper cables and tow straps to keep in the truck so that I can help others.  I've never witnessed an accident in front of me, but if I did, I would stop to help them.
Well, this is definitely long enough for now. lol  Happy New Year's!