Hello 2015!

How is it possible that it's 2015?  Can you believe that the Y2K kerfluffle was 15 years ago?  Do you feel old?  Welcome to the club! 

2014 was a mixed year for me and while I'm happy to put it to bed, there were definitely some highlights.  Instead of re-capping all the ups and downs, I'd rather share ten things that I learned this year.  My grand-father used to ask me what I learned every time I saw him.  Well, Gramp, this year, I learned a lot.  And as an extra special bonus, I share my goals for 2015 at the end of this post.

1. I will never underestimate the importance of having a good pair of winter boots.  Last winter was super painful - we got like 40' of snow and the average temperature was -20 everyday (only slight exaggerations).  In my previous New England winters I didn't have the right boots.  I think one year I even bought a cheap-o pair from Target that disintegrated in about 30 seconds of snow and turned my jeans black from the dye.  Last year, I bought a pair of good quality boots and my feet were warm and toasty, despite miserable conditions.  Warm feet = slightly better feelings about New England winters.

2. I need to do something creative every day.  At the end of the day, when I get home from work, there is nothing that erases the day's events better than doing some sewing for just 15 minutes.  I took a little break from quilting this fall and discovered that I felt antsy and agitated and carried a lot of work stress into my sleep and dreams.  Fifteen minutes of daily sewing helps me organize my head and elevates my mood better than chocolate.  Well, maybe not that well!

3. I can't work for an organization whose mission I don't support 300%.  Period. 

4. Travel rejuvenates me.  I went to Iceland last year.  I loved Iceland and think/talk about it all the time.  It had been a while (6 years?) since I got on a plane to go somewhere new just for fun.  I forgot how much I love it and how much it re-sets me.  More travel in 2015, please!

5.  I carry a lot of ghosts of past relationships around with me.  This needs to stop; recognizing that I do this is the first step, I guess?

6.  Cheap haircuts look cheap.  There's not much you can do with my hair.  It's flat and dry in winter and frizzy and bushy in summer.  For years (my whole life?) I went to my local $12/haircut salon "chain" and got the predictable results - my hair looked awful.  Last year I started going to a "real" salon and getting a "real" haircut by a "real" stylist and I have been infinitely happier with my hair.  I'll never have the hair of Gisele Bundchen, but I feel a lot better about myself (and my hair) now that I have a haircut that suits my face and what's left of my hair. 

7.  I'm not 20 anymore.  I turned 40 this year and I totally feel it.  It's not the grey hairs that I notice so much as that my body doesn't recover from things as well as it used to.  I get a bruise and it's still lingering weeks later.  I stay up past 9pm and it takes me a week to recover.  Running injuries linger longer and I'd swear I was starting to shrink in height.  And 25+ years after going through puberty, I'm still getting zits (seriously, WTF is up with this!?!).  Getting old is no fun.  On the other hand . . .

8.  I am not 20 anymore!  As I get older, I like myself more and who I've become.  I don't let as many things upset me as I did in my 20s or 30s.  Not everyone is going to like me and I'm fine with that.  And if I want to sit around knitting all day, I'm not going to feel guilty for not doing something else.  I'm not perfect, but then no one else is either (or seems to care), so whatever.  40 = freedom from myself?

9.  I will never cure cancer.  You're probably thinking "Well, duh".  What I mean by this is that I am probably never going to solve world peace, cure cancer, become president, invent the next iPhone or travel to the moon.  I used to think that I was a giant failure because I had never done anything "big".  That doesn't mean that I can't have my own small victories and successes and just because they're personal, doesn't mean that they aren't as meaningful or have as much impact as one of these "huge" milestones.  I would still like to win an Academy Award though :-)

10. Instead of avoiding mean people, I need to be nicer.  Last year's re-cap included this phrase: "I have no room for snarky/mean people in my life."  While this is absolutely true, living in the New England are means I am surrounded by people who take pride in their meanness (seriously - why do people here brag about acting like a dick?!).  If I were to avoid all of these mean or snarky people, there would be no one left to talk with.  I need to be better about spreading the nice instead. 

Goals for 2015:
1. Find a new job. 
2. Sell my condo and move somewhere else
These goals are intertwined - I can't move until I find a new job - but I am not messing around when I say that I will have a different job by the end of 2015!

Happy New Year!