Welcome To The New Year!

Happy New Year!

I realize that this New Year blog post is a few days as the new year has already begun, but better late than never. I also realize that I have not been a very good blogger and for this year I fully plan on remedying that problem. I promise to make an attempt at being a better blogger. at having things to say and at holding your attention. In the spirit of the new year, I would like to start by saying that I don't make new years resolutions, let me explain:

I don’t usually make resolutions. I don’t believe in making resolutions at the beginning of the year, when normally they are only setting people up for failure. While I’m not in the habit of making and breaking goals I make for myself, I feel like a resolution is just that, a goal which is meant to be broken. So I don’t make them. Instead I make goals for myself throughout the year, instead of one big goal at the top of the year to fail. I make goals on a monthly, or weekly and sometimes even daily basis. Goals that are achievable, attainable. Goals which I can easily accomplish, goals that make me a better person, goals that enrich my life. Sometimes the goals are just there to help me make it through the day. Sometimes the goals are there to make it through the moment, or the task at hand.

So join me. Instead of making another New Year resolution that you are so much more likely to disappoint yourself by not achieving, create a list, and I mean take a pen and paper and make an actual physical list detailing the smaller goals you want to start with that lead to the bigger picture. Give your self a reasonable time limit for each one.

New Years is and always has been my Grandma's birthday, this year she turned 75 and I threw her a party. I think 75 is a party worthy age, don't you? So I put on my party planners hat and put one together. Let me start by saying that when I do things like plan parties, I can tend to go overboard, and I can also put too much energy into the planning and preparation stages, and it almost always turns out spectacular if I do say so myself.

My first decision in party planning, was to combine new years with birthday and make a big event that would rival all others. I chose a theme (Old Hollywood seemed prefect for the occasion), planned a perfect party, and began creating my costume. It was turning into a monster of a party. At first, I had tried to keep this party a secret. It was going to be the biggest, best surprise party ever. I was going to max out my credit card, and make the most of the occasion. Somehow, she got wind of my huge party plans and told me she'd rather not have a party. I think I was scaring her and truth be told, I was scaring myself. By now it was mid November. I had not made and concrete plans, and we changed the event to a simple home party that was focused solely on her birthday.

So instead of the monstrosity of a party I had been planning, we had a pared down family event that included plenty of good food (I continued to make a house full of food, and prepare for a week. This house was spotless, the food was perfect, I was exhausted.)

This is a French Vanilla cake with Swiss Buttercream, It was delicious and worth the extra time and energy it too to make the Swiss Buttercream.

In the interest of keeping this entry at a minimum, I'll just say that the party went well, we played games, had conversations, ate. everyone was grateful to me for throwing it, it gave an excuse for people to come who hadn't been by in awhile, it gave reason for family to visit from far away. It was a positive experience, until it came time to clean up after the party. You will remember me saying that I prepared for this party the whole week before, afterwards, when family had gone home, or to the motel in which they stayed the night, and my sisters and grandma had all gone to bed, this house was a disaster. the kitchen looked like the A-bomb had been detonated.

This house was a mess, and I decided that instead of leaving the mess, I would clean it then. It was by the way 1:30 am. So I began the new year by cleaning up after a party. On the upside, it was snowing outside. The snow always fills me with excitement and childish abandon. I love the snow. It is peaceful, calming, it covers the world in a peaceful white blanket. It covers the mess we humans have made of the world. It is like a fresh canvas, a sparkling white canvas with which we are given a new outlook on the wonder and beauty of the world.

Snow for me is the one thing that can make any bad day better. It changes my mood. So while I was frustrated at the mess, and at being left alone by my sisters to clean it, I was happy about the snow. It took three hours to get the house back into the shape it had been in when the party began. And when the ground was covered in snow in the morning, my grandma got excited and woke me up at seven thirty.

With little sleep I began the New Year. (With little sleep, I am not a happy person.) So far the year has been looking much brighter though, and I look forward to the excitement the New Year will bring. (Hopefully I haven't bored you away.)