Bring It, 2015!!

Darlings, I'll admit it. I am one of those New Year, New Me people. I'll wait while you roll your eyes. I have always been a firm believer in using benchmark days -- New Year's Day, my birthday -- as the start of a journey to a better me. I'm such a benchmark addict, I remember making a list of changes I was going to make ON MY MOTHER'S FORTIETH BIRTHDAY!! The list was entitled, "Because I Have a Forty-Year-Old Mother". It contained things like organization and weight loss -- all the usual suspects. And lo, these many years later, I'm still a disorganized plus-sized model!!

But this year is going to be DIFFERENT! (Again, I'll wait for the eye-roll.) This year, my resolution is simple: to Just Be Happy. And most of the things that make me Happy are really good for me. Meditation, swimming, yoga, biking, eating relatively healthy foods, journaling, crocheting, making music, making art, hanging out with kids, hanging out with positive and creative people, reading, going to the beach, dancing.... I assume that a heightened level of organization and time management would also make me Happy, and I'm enough of a fan of the scientific method to try that out. I'll report back on my progress in a month or so. Pizza, ice cream, and bourbon also make me Happy, but sometimes a gal needs to fall off the wagon -- and take pride in getting back on said wagon -- in order to be truly Happy!

In the past few years, I've been creeping toward Happy. I guess when I was younger, I never really felt I deserved True Happiness. But I learned something important once I started moving toward Happiness. The Happier I am, the more productive I am. The more productive I am, the bigger impact I'm able to make. And guess what! That impact makes me Happy!

So this year's New Year's Resolution is simply that: to Just Be Happy. If what it takes to make me Happy changes, so be it. I am a work in progress.

That's about all the news for now, darlings! Stitch 'n' Bitch starts at Rogers Park Social on Monday, January 5, at 7:00pm and at R Public House on Wednesday, January 14, at 7:00pm. Toddler Music Jam at The Common Cup starts at 10:00am on Friday, Jaminary 9. Wishing you a Happy and prosperous new year, and as always, until next time, Peace, (Radical) Love, and Yarn!