Happy freaking New Year everyone!

Consider this your official welcome to
the YEAR OF HAPPY.

I have a friend who doesn't get it.
She wants me to lay out the "rules," so here goes...

Rule #1 --- Figure out what makes you happy.
Rule #2 --- Do those things.
(Or figure out a way to make them happen!)

SO...

• If you love to read... then take the time to read.
• If you aren't happy with what you do for a living, or where you do it... revise your resume and send it out.
• If you really want to be living life and working in Denver, CO, Australia, or NY City... start looking for jobs and places to live. Make it happen.
• If you spend too much time at work... fix your life balance.
• If you really want to be in better shape.. there's no time like the present.
• If you really need to forget about football until August because the Bengals blew it... then do it.
• If Tivo is what really makes you happy, get Tivo.

So yes, there is restrictions on what you can do. Obviously if a huge mansion with servants would make you happy, then your going to have to work your ass off this year (and the next couple.. err 50) to make that happen. You probably can't just quit your job to stay home and watch Oprah either. Telling off your boss, not going to be the best idea.

But, my point is this... When I was 12 years old and my brother died, I decided that life was short and we needed to find our niche, live life without regrets, and just be happy. I was serious. Ask anyone who knew me back then. I became an all new, fun, energized person.

This past year or two particularly, I found myself working too much, smiling too little, being snippy, seeing friends only on "occasions," and just being relieved when the week was over.

Yes, the idea of the "YEAR OF HAPPY" arose one night at dinner, and my friends think its because of them. But it's really because I saw all this happening in me, and very similar things in a few of them. We were all kinda "just getting by," instead of, to be cliche', "taking life by the horns."

So, for me, this isn't a resolution, persay. It's life, and I am choosing to grab some freaking horns... Here's a few ways.

1. First, I have a new job. It's what I have spent years working toward... and I plan to work my ass off to make everything I can from it. That includes taking full advantage of my 13 weeks of training at Miami Ad School (Minneapolis) this summer.
   
2. Second, I am a happier me, when I am a healthier me... so WW continues. Minneapolis in July will be brand new swimsuit time.
3. Third, I will have ONE, if not TWO, of my Mom's houses SOLD by the time I leave town. And if it is only one, the other will be up for sale. We will move, and she will have less stress and more time to enjoy the kids and life. I guess that means she would buy a new place too.
   

That is not an exhaustive list, but just a few examples. So it's what I called a "challenge" a few months back to anyone who reads this. Just remember life is short, people are everything, and, for me, "it's JUST advertising."