2011... Fast Approaching

Yes it's close to the end of 2010 and 2011 is fast approaching, in fact it's only a little over 24 hours away.  It promises to be a great year, after all the lessons, trials and tribulations of 2010 one can only expect 2011 to be on fire!

All the Christmas stuff is over, done and dusted, and I thank the Universe for making it quick and relatively painless this year.  I hope that is a sign that next year will be better than ever, I think sometimes how Christmas goes can indicate how the new year will be...

New Years Eve is something of a non event for me, really I have a better time on any other night of the year!  It used to be a big deal, with lots of planning in advance: where to go, who was coming, what to wear, what to book in advance, where to stay, how to get home etc.  But for the last 5 or more years, I haven't really given it any thought at all.  This year it's a play it by ear scenario, but to be honest I'd rather stay home and watch some old movies haha.

So, what will the new year bring?  I am not one for making resolutions.  In my case, resolutions only lead to disappointment!  I do make plans and I do have things I want to accomplish but I keep them to myself and in my head and therefore if there is a disappointment, only I know about it!  However in general, next year I plan to get ahead at work and finally get a pay rise which is like the impossible dream after all the silly events at my work this year, I'm hoping things will stabilise next year...   Also I want to give the online business thing another go, Lord knows how I have given it a go over the past 10 years and have gotten nowhere really fast, however, I would like to do it again and see where it goes this time, yet again!

I plan to do a little travelling, maybe not Europe as originally thought, but at least something, somewhere, it's been too long and I'm getting itchy to travel.

And apart from that I hope to grow as a person even more, apply the lessons learnt, enjoy life each and every day more and more, keep a better outlook on things and focus on the good stuff.  I think that's always a good start to any year :)

So to all of you who are kind enough to give this blog the time of day, I wish you a very Happy New Year and hope that you celebrate New Years Eve in style!  

Happy New Year, all the very best and see you in 2011!!!

Christmas, a time for giving?

Or wanting?  Or demanding?  I remember Christmas when I was a child.  It was probably as crazy as it is now, however I remember that I knew I would only get one present, so I did not make demands.  I did not ask for a present.  I accepted that Santa would bring one present, and that's it.  There was no point in demanding, as nothing would change. 

Being an only child, I certainly was not a spoilt one.  That said, I do however tend to spoil my only child... But I try to keep it in perspective.  Yes I may go overboard sometimes in giving her something nice, but I don't see it as spoiling.  I think you spoil them if they come to expect it, and never appreciate the reality of what it takes to earn the money to be able to afford to buy something.  I think mine values that, well I would hope so!  However she still makes demands.  I tend to stop her in her tracks and say that she should be grateful for what she's got and that she's lucky compared to a lot of other kids.  I try not to go down the road of "in my day, when I was your age yadda yadda yadda" but seriously, we were lucky to get one present in those days.

And when Christmas morning came, and the present was under the tree, I was so happy and excited.  It was the best feeling ever, and I was ever so grateful for that one present.  This year I decided to pose the question to my daughter "what if you only got one present for Christmas?" and she gave me a really strange look.  I guess she's got expectations and her wish list was rather long too, but I think there is some understanding that you get what you get and you need to focus on being happy with that.

Why has Christmas become such a shitfight?  Seriously.  I never remember my parents stressing over Christmas.  I think they'd go out and buy some presents and that's it.  We'd have roast chicken for dinner, which is what we had on Sundays anyway.  We would go to the beach if it was hot.  We'd go visit relatives and they'd have a few drinks and a BBQ.  Pretty simple really.  Not now.  Now it seems we have to attend this function and that function, we have to buy this and that for this person and that person.  We have to get excited and feign interest in the silly season.  I guess because I'm older the interest is just so not there.  However, it does make me happy to see the excitement kids get out of it and sometimes I get a feint recollection of my own excitement as a kid.  But I really do dislike the way Christmas has just become a buy fest.  Buy this, buy that. Spend money on all sorts of crap you don't want to spend money on.

Thankfully this year most of my friends and family and I have made a pact: we are not buying presents for everyone.  It's just not feasible in this day and age to spend that much money and I am relieved that I do not have anyone who demands that in my life!  OK except for a certain child, but that's OK... she's allowed to make demands as long as she understands that she must be grateful and remember that things aren't important.  What's important is family and the love and support you get from them all year, not just during the crazy season!

Blogging Again

It's been a long time but thanks to a dear friend's idea, I'm going to try and update this on a somewhat regular basis...

This is just to write comments on life in general, nothing special just stuff that is on my mind at the time and observations that I choose to make and share here.

Since this is the first one here for a long time (I deleted the old one as it was business related and this one will not be) I will not over do it much haha.

This year has gone by way too fast for my liking.  As my father used to say, time goes by as fast as lightening and the older you get the faster it goes by.  I laughed at him at the time.  He was right.  It's scary how fast it actually does fly by and how time slips through your fingers without any awareness whatsoever until one day you wake up and go "Oh My God" and ask yourself where did the year go?  This is what I'm feeling at the moment.  This year was a full one, full of great things, not so great things, milestones and mistakes but life goes on and I choose to embrace it regardless and learn the lessons that must be learned to continue to grow as a person.

So what now?  Now we say goodbye to 2010 and look ahead to 2011.  I have plans for the new year, but they are vague.  I'm not a planner or a goal setter, even though I have those in my head they are not set in stone. I  tend to go with the flow in most cases and see what happens even though I do want to achieve my own milestones and objectives I don't let them take over my life.

This year there were upheavals in family, job, social life and private life.  But it's all good and I have taken it all in stride... I don't see any other way to do it!  I have learned that patience has its limits and nothing is forever, I've also learned that when something good goes your way, you don't question it, you thank the Universe and know that you deserve it.  When it's something negative, you learn the lesson (which annoyingly is not always apparent), and move on to bigger and better things and focus on what's coming - not the past.

So in summary, I've learned a lot this year, had some incredible life experiences, felt wonderful feelings and great moments that will always remain with me.  After all, that's what matters isn't it?