New Year

I have found it difficult to blog lately and I am not sure if it is because my life has become boring and predictable, or that I am not paying attention to the little things that happen to me. If it is the latter, I will try harder, if it is the first, I will work on that!

Christmas was great and I had a great time visiting with my family! Although I could have done without having to get out the snow blower every day I was there! I can't believe how fast my niece and nephew are growing and they bring such joy to our lives.

Yes, I made the hats and scarf, and you can see how much Trenters loves it! So cute! For a good laugh, click on Stephs link and watch the video of my nephew!






If you don't know this about me, I am really into totem animals. Totem animals comes from Native American cultures and traditions. These animals, it is believed, accompany us in both physical and spiritual worlds. Totem animals can come to you in different ways. Mine have tended to just show up in places that I have not been expecting, or just recently, in a book I was reading that struck me in just a certain way. For the past few years, mine has been the dragonfly. Dargonflies represent 2 year periods of change and they beckon you to seek out the parts of you that may need changing. I rarely see dragonflies, but when I was in Hawaii, I saw them everywhere. I had a moment in which the BIGGEST dragonfly I have ever seen landed right in front of me, hence the dragonfly tattoo came into existence.

I have recently been doing a lot of self reflecting and the other day I had a praying mantis show up. I again, rarely see praying mantis', in fact it has probably been years since I have seen one, so it struck me a little bit. Then, in a book I have been reading, the praying mantis kept showing up throughout the story. So I took notice. The praying mantis symbolizes patience, stillness, and calm. It teaches us to still the outer part of ourselves, so that when the time comes to act, we can do so with surety. I am pretty good at hiding this, but my family definitely knows, I have NO patience. There are often times that I may appear calm on the outside, but on the inside I am going a million miles a minute. So this totem has come at an interesting time. Things at work are really crazy and as I have been learning my new job, I have really felt unsettled and unsure. My move has had alot of pros but it has also brought up alot of feelings that I am not sure how to work out.

To make a long story, longer, I spent New Years Eve alone. I know that sounds sad and depressing but it actually wasn't. I had offers to go out, but I just didn't want to. I was able to sit and reflect on the new year up ahead and think about the things I want to accomplish. I also thought about how lucky I am. I may have spent my new year alone, but I thought about others who were alone not by choice, whether their loved ones were gone or they had no loved ones. At least I was warm and have a roof over my head and food to eat. There are a lot of people in this world who do not even have close to what I have.

So I treated myself to Sushi, surf and turf, yummy salmon, and Octopus!









I wrapped myself in blankets, cranked up the heat (because I can afford it), and watched scary movies all night.
I went to bed feeling content.

Last year my word was Live and I think I have done well with that. This year my word is Still.
I don't want to just appear calm on the outside, I want to still things on the inside as well. I want to have patience and calm in my heart. I want to stop being angry at bad drivers, and getting worked up at work. I want to be patient with dumb people, and let things go that I cannot control. I want to be still.

Apparently I will also be getting a new tattoo.