New Year, New Happy Thoughts

Wow. December was the month that wouldn't quit, apparently :) I feel like it would be too long to tell you everything I've been through since then, but the highlights have been:

• Thanksgiving dinner did indeed go off without a hitch. In fact, everything came together and hit the table at the same time, which impressed my mother (YES!) and all my other guests said all the food was wonderful which makes me really happy and proud of myself.
• Work was hell for most of the month. The project I was in charge of had an insane schedule and it made me stressed and unhappy. It's best if we don't talk about that, really. The upside is, everything got done and most of it got done on time and none of the problems were my fault.
• We had a couple of happy visits with our niece who can now sit up on her own. She turned 5 months old yesterday. Hard to believe, it goes by so fast. But I continue to love her more every day.
• While every minute up until Christmas was packed to the brim with stuff to get done, the holidays were relaxing and enjoyable. A lot of good quality time was spent with both of my families and I was able to relax and act like a normal human being once again.
• Work, outside of my  project, has been REALLY nice. I didn't expect anything for the holiday because of the economy and the constraints its put on small businesses (one of which I work for). However, the company was able to provide bonuses and small raises (which is more generous than anything I've experienced in my professional career). This financial boost has enabled me to quit my part-time job at the bookstore which was beginning to take a heavy toll on my body and my psyche. In addition, I've been invited to go to a conference with my boss and will going to Florida in two weeks to schmooze clients, learn about new facets of our business and be somewhere WARM. So that's going quite well as you can imagine.
• The band's been having a decent amount of success. But since this is my blog, not their's, I'll just tell you to go check them out if your curious.
• My little sister got engaged! This makes me very happy and excited for her. It naturally brings up the question of when it will happen to me, to which I answer, it will when it does and if I'm not worried about it then you shouldn't be either. So YAY for my sis and her hubby to be, I'm so thrilled for them!

So now it's a new year and there's lots to do. I have my life back from the clutches of the bookstore and it's time to do something worthwhile with it. While I don't believe in New Year's resolutions really, it is a natural time to renew your commitment to your goals, and in my case that means insisting on good things for myself. My new focus is to improve my physical condition as well as my mental and emotional ones and I'm optimistic that I'll be able to do that. 

Also the house I'm living in is now officially on the market which means strangers traipsing through and judging my living space. The timing of it is inconvenient in that I have things I'd rather do with my time than make sure my home is suitable for visitors at all times. But it is pushing us to move forward with our own home-buying plans, so that's something to look forward to news on as the weeks pass. Stay tuned.

I hope all you out there in reader-land have had great and restful holidays and have a hopeful outlook on the new year. Stay positive and keep thinking happy thoughts!