New Year, New YOU...and other cliched things

Three days into 2012 and things are going pretty well. The fact that today is a SNOW DAY really* helps my happy mood. I mean, really, who DOESN'T love a snow day? Since there is a new year and a snow day on the day school was supposed to begin, I have spent a lot of time today on reflection. I want a LOT of things this year. Like silly, serious things. But more than anything else I want to BE HAPPY. I want to be overwhelmed with joy and happiness. There are some dark times in my future, and I want to be able to face them with a positive outlook. I want to reject the negativity that I could easily succumb to and celebrate the good things in my life. There are SO MANY good things to look at. I am going to spend the year seeking them out. When I first started this new job** I worked in an elementary school with 1st graders. This led to MANY hilarious tweets and stories. But I also did a thing where when I had a bad day or a difficult day or just felt off in some way I would find A GOOD THING, no matter how small it was and tweet about it with the tag #silverlining. This was an amazing thing and would generally help lift my mood. It also allowed for interaction with other Twitter users, because someone had a similar story. I am going to try to implement this tag into my daily life. Less focusing on the bad things, and more of the good. Not to say that there won't be times full of moaning and crying and just pouring out the bad things, but I want to make the effort to BE HAPPY.

A few other resolutions*** to focus on this year. I want to exercise more/be healthier this year. Mainly because anxiety is difficult enough without worrying that you may actually be having a heart related issue. And also because buying clothes can be miserable if you are full-figured. I want to read at least 55 books this year. That's how many I managed last year, and I'm determined to meet the same goal this year. But more than reading a set number of books, I want to ENJOY the books I read, and that goal allows me to take my time reading a book. True there will always be books that I can devour in a day, but there are also books that need to be savored. Sometimes I forget to savor. Just like I sometimes feel guilty for rereading old favorites instead of reading a SHINY NEW BOOK. Which is just ridiculous, because a book is a book is a book, and books that we love are like old friends that we should embrace frequently. I am also planning to tell the people I love that I love them. I am open and affectionate and I have no problems expressing myself, but there are times that I don't take the opportunity to tell people that I love them, and I may not always have that chance. So I plan to make it count. I'd like to blog more...but I always resolve to do this without actually succeeding. I am an avid Twitter user and I interact with a variety of people there and I've been inspired by my friend Megan I'll be tracking the books I read this year using the tag #ChelleReads2012. Recently I've been utilizing my tumblr account to save quotes from books that I'm reading or lyrics that I like or poems that I dig...random things like that. I used to be more active in the internet world, and I'd like to get some of that back. I miss interacting with people I've met online. With that in mind I'm going to attempt BEDA again this year at least once. I'm planning now so that I can be READY when the time comes!

I hope that all of you enjoy the upcoming year****. If you made resolutions I hope you are successful. If you enjoyed this blog find me somewhere listed above so we can be friends! <3

*REALLY

**Which is stressful and hard and overwhelming and HARD, but so VERY rewarding and worthwhile.

***I hate that word, really these are just goals I have for myself to work toward this year.

****As the old adage goes you should begin the year as you mean to continue it. I spent the first reading, watching some good TV, hanging out with the family, and having a sleepover with The Clone. As far as I can see there can be no better way to continue this year. =]