Hello 2009

I normally never make resolutions for the new year. Whenever I did in the past, I would always break them, or not even try. Having looked back over my life for 2008, I thought that maybe this year I should try. It has been a hard year for me. There were definitely some great things that happened, like the birth of my nephew, and my taking the plunge on getting over my fear of flying and taking a whole 4 flights! :) I must admit that I'm proud of myself for that. I always told myself I would never fly. Now I can actually see my dream of going to Paris becoming a possibility. I may even get to Australia to see my wonderful friend Kath someday. :)

So with 2009, I'm hoping to start fresh. It's a new year, with new possibilities. So this year I'm making a few resolutions. Not many, but the basics, and I plan to work on them. I'm not calling them resolutions though, I'm calling them goals.

1. Lose weight. Yes, we all make that one, but I've already lost over 50 pounds, and I AM going to continue this weight loss in the new year. I am focused on getting healthy, and losing weight will help get my health back in order.

2. Read more. I love to read, and do read quite a bit, but I'd like to read a lot more. I get in moods where I just want to read and read, but other times I just don't read at all. So I'm setting a goal of reading at least 2 books per month. That may not seem like very much, but it is more for the months that I wouldn't read at all.

3. Spend more time with friends and family. I see my family once a week, but rarely see my friends. I'm going to make more of an effort to make sure that I don't let time go by so long between visits. I love my friends and family, and love to spend time with them. I don't really know how to set a concrete goal with this one, but maybe a goal of seeing them all at least once a month? That may not always work with some schedules, but I will try.

I am very optimistic and hopeful that 2009 will be a good year. The last 2 have been very hard, so it can only get better. Here's to a very happy and healthy 2009! :)

I didn't know.

I just found out today that one of my uncles, my Uncle Richard, passed away 6 months ago. It's very sad and heartbreaking, but it seems even worse to me because I wasn't told, and wasn't given the chance to say goodbye. He was an uncle by marriage. He married my aunt, and then she passed away 3 months later. It was very tragic, and it only got worse when my aunt's sister made it all about money. She hadn't changed the will after she was married, so everything was left to her sister. Well, my "aunt" saw nothing wrong with taking the money that she thought was hers, even though my new uncle's name was attached to it. She emptied their bank account, and took his house. It was very sad, and we don't speak to this aunt because of it.

Even though he was only my uncle for a short time, he was loved and was always an uncle in my heart. He was a wonderful man. I'm sad for his passing, and wishing that I had a chance to say goodbye. I didn't even know he was sick.

He didn't have family of his own, just some friends in northern Michigan. He was staying with them when he got sick, and eventually passed away. They didn't have any of our numbers, or even know who to contact. We only found out of his passing because a Christmas card that one of my aunts sent to him was returned with a note letting us know that he passed away in June. That's how we found out. No details, just that he was gone, and we weren't told. We didn't know.

Goodbye, Uncle Richard. I'll miss you.

Merry Christmas!

I can't believe that it's Christmas Eve already!! I'm really looking forward to Christmas this year, but there are some people in my life that will be greatly missed! It just will not be the same without them. So yes it may be rambling, but that's what this blog is for! Here's a list of some of the changes this year.

1. My mom... She was still living here in Michigan last year, and it was the first Christmas that I was able to spend with her in years. It was such a happy time, and I'm really sad that I won't see her this year.

2. Kath... my wonderful friend from Australia. It was so wonderful having her here with us for Christmas last year! She fit right in and became one of the family. She will be greatly missed this year! It was so special having her here, and getting to see Christmas through her eyes. It was so easy to include her with our family. She's definitely a part of my family now, and always will be.

3. Tina... my best friend in Tennessee. I miss her so much, and would really love to spend the holidays with her. It's so hard not being able to see someone that is so important in your life. I hope to see her in a few months. Maybe one day we can live closer to each other, like we did years ago. Oh how fun that would be, but oh the trouble we would get into! :)

4. My grandparents. This will be the first year that they are both gone, and this is also the first Christmas without Dan's grandma. They were all such special people in my life, and they are going to be so greatly missed. It will be a hard Christmas without them, but I know they will be there in spirit.

I know there are many other reasons, but I'm stopping there. I think I need to include some things I am looking forward to this Christmas, just to cheer this thing up. :)

1. Getting to see my nephew's first Christmas. He loves grabbing at papers and tearing them up, so I know he's going to love ripping open his gifts. He may not care too much about his gifts, or pay much attention to them, but I'm sure he will love tearing of the paper.

2. Wrapping paper fights, and Christmas bows. My family puts bows on our presents, and before we open the present, we have to take the bow off and put it somewhere on ourselves. Some of us choose some pretty funny places, and we always get some great pictures. We also have a wrapping paper fight. When we're opening gifts, we ball up our wrapping paper, and just toss it around the room. Then once all the gifts are open, we just go crazy. It's a lot of fun! :)

3. Getting to see my family. Of course there are those that I'd rather not have to spend too much time with. I think every family has one or two of those, but it's still great spending time with family. Many of them I'll only get to see once or twice a year. I definitely enjoy that time.

So I am excited about Christmas. It will be hard in many ways, but I'm going to try and focus on the people I do get to see, and the joy on people's faces.

Merry Christmas Everyone!! :)

Such an appropriate holiday song.

I'm a big fan of Lady Antebellum, and I love their version of this song. With how COLD it's been lately, I think it's very appropriate.

What to be when I grow up...

At what age are we supposed to know what we want to be when we grow up? As kids, we're always asked that question, and we also always have a quick an easy answer to that question. Why is it that when the time comes to really make that decision, it becomes so much harder?

I have been a college student for several years. Over the course of my studies, I have changed my major several times. I thought that my last chosen career path was the one that would stick, but plans have changed. Just for an example, here is a quick list of my choices: vet, teacher, accountant, teacher, nursing. I'm sure I've had others, but I can't think of them right now. I would let a current job, or a suggestion from someone affect my career decision.

This time around, I think fate (or something else) has stepped in and changed my career path, again. I can no longer afford my current college. At $13,600 per semester, even financial aid and student loans can't help me. Also, after an injury and years of over-exertion, I am no longer physically able to work as a nurse. It's very hard to accept, but that the same time I'm relieved. I always questioned my choice. I never fully convinced myself that I wanted to be a nurse, but the thought of a nice salary when finished with school helped me stay on that path. I also loved that I could work with people, and be able to help. I love helping people, and doing anything I can to help someone.

So now with two reasons to change my course of study again, I went back to the drawing board. I made myself sit down and really think over the times that I've been the happiest. I worked many jobs, and volunteered at several places, and I thought back on all of them. I wanted to be able to help somehow, but while combining the things that I love. When I was thinking and looking back, I came to a strong realization of what I should do. I call it my, "Duh!" moment. One of my friends told me that Oprah would call it an "A Ha!" moment.

Here's what I came up with, and it's pretty simple... I love animals. I love the joy that they bring me and those around them. I've volunteered and worked with them, and always enjoyed it. The thing that held me back from being a vet all those years ago was my fear of having to see hurt animals. While I do understand that it may be part of the job, I know that it would be a small part, and there are even opportunities out there for me where it wouldn't even be a factor.

I'm going to look into programs to be a Veterinary Technician. As some call it, a dog nurse. Having that degree would give me many choices, and not just working at a vet's office. I could work with large animals, or at a zoo, or an animal shelter. There was quite a list of choices, and as long as I could work with animals and find a way to help, I'll be happy.

There are very few programs in Michigan for becoming a vet tech, and the space is limited. I may have missed my chance for this coming semester, but I'm not giving up. Unlike all the other career choices I've made, this one feels right. I don't have that nagging feeling that is questioning my decision. I love working with animals, and could spend hours and hours with them.

I'm really happy and excited about my decision. So if someone were to ask me right now what I want to be when I grow up, I'm going to answer the same way I did when I was a little girl. I'm going to say, "I want to be a vet!"

First Blog!

Since I love to fill my blog on myspace with my random ramblings, I though I would create a real blog site. My wonderful friend Kath inspired me with her blog. :)

So this is a little mini blog to start. I'll post more later.