Happy New Year and a New Month

Roasting in the New Year
(c) 2017 P. Lynne Designs

Happy New Year Everyone.

As usual, I had a different post for December 31, 2016, but got caught up in the festivities of the celebration.  So, I am turning this into something different.

2017, The Year of Making a Difference…

I mean it.  2016 had its charms, but let’s face it, for some, it was a difficult year.  There have been some surprise deaths in the celebrity world.  We lost a Prince, a Princess (Carrie Fisher), A lovely lady (Florence Henderson), and a Legion (Debbie Reynolds).  We lost singers (George Michael), a Droid (the person inside R2D2), and a whole host of others.  Some were unexpected, some were not.  All of them are not forgotten.  My lasting request is I hope they do not treat Prince’s massive music collection the way they have treated Michael Jackson’s and Elvis’s massive collection, but they will, after they get past the legal red tape, and they will say that he would want it that way. (As of this writing, Disney is trying to figure out how to deal with the Princess Leia character for the 2019 release of the last Star Wars movie-it’s complicated)

In addition to the celebrity world of surprised deaths in 2016, in the normal world (everyone else), we dealt with 5-year old’s who became president, ISIS finally admitting to the number of deaths around the world, and congress and the Republican Party having a tantrum every time President Obama wanted to pass or veto a bill.  At least Cuba is finally free of Fidel Castro. 

For some, it was a smooth year.  Everything they ever wanted worked out.  New homes, new cars, and new jobs.  Some got married or engaged.  Some opened businesses or reinvented their business.  Some people had one baby, two, or more.  Everything has been real smooth.

Most of us had a so-so year.  I am not going to recap what I have gone through, but I have lost some things, found out about some things, and some things remained the same.  For the most part, I just wanted 2016 to be over with.

What’s so good about 2017?

In case you have not noticed, 2017 is the beginning of something new, fresh, and wonderful.  It all depends on how you make it.   This is the year of change.  Change of habit, change of venue, and change of attitude.  I do not like the word resolution.  To me, resolution means I am going to do that new thing or change for only a few days, weeks, or months, then I am going to go back to the same old thing.  Resolutions are rituals.  Everyone does it, so I have to do it too.  Try the word “goal” or “change”. Don’t announce it, if you are not going to do it.  Just lose the weight, just organize, and just spend less.  You do not need the new year to do this. 

What is an Accountability Partner?

If you must announce it, announce it so you can have an accountability partner.  An accountability partner is someone who is going to hold you to a goal.  They are going to ask you if you are on target of reaching that goal.  For instance, I am going to use losing weight as a goal.  You want to lose 40 lbs., and it is December 31^st.  you cannot squeeze into your favorite pants, and you scream, “THAT’S IT, MY RESOLUTION IS TO LOSE 40 LBS.”  You tell everyone at the party, and January 1, 2017, you start.   As you gaze at your leftover Christmas sweets, the leftover New Year’s Eve party food, and the dinner you so perfectly prepared, you decide that you will start…. Next week.  That food looks too good to waste.  You said you would start that day, but can’t.  Start anyway.  

Now if you had said your goal is to lose 40lbs. during the course of the year, you can tell one or two people who you trust to be your partners, and they can check on you from time to time on your goal of losing weight.  They may even suggest ways on how to do it. 

Conclusion:

2016 is gone.  Do not try to figure out what went wrong.  Sometimes things happen to teach you something that you never knew.  My health has taught me that, just like my car accident taught me things in 2015.  The point is to move forward with your life.  Make a difference in someone else’s year, and yours will feel brighter.  My overall goal and I have said it in many of my past posts are to try something new this year.  Not just one thing, but many things.  Try a new cuisine, a new culture, a new adventure, a new hobby, and help somebody.  Notice I did not say or in that statement. 

I am going on a cruise this year.  My first one ever.  My parents have been on two.  I have tried and eaten the following cuisines (outside the American norm):  Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese.  I have never been too keen on Indian, but I am willing to try again, as well as trying other cuisines.  I know many have been Americanized, but maybe the cruise will allow me to try much more.  For the rest, you will have to stay tuned, because I have lots to write about.  Many of the reviews and other stuff will be noted on an unnamed blog.  I will be finalizing and start in the next couple of week, and it will not be on Blogger.  It will piggyback from this blog, but I urge you to subscribe to it as well.

Well, all I can say from this point is Happy New Year.  Stay warm, especially in the states that receive the most frigid temps this side of the North Pole.  (Does anything ever happen in the South Pole?) I heard that it is supposed to be 18°F tomorrow in Columbus, so I guess I will not be going anywhere. (Oops, there is matter of the laundry, darn).  This year is just beginning, make it a good one.