The Party of the Year Is Here…………….Happy 2014

Happy New Year! (Photo credit: Lucy Liu.)

Happy New Year’s Eve! This is the place to be for New Year’s Eve and Day for fun and frivolity. Let the 2^nd Annual Blog New Year’s Party begin!

Date: Today and Tomorrow

Requirements: Drop by with a music pic, video, comment, and/or a resolution you plan on not keeping—and just for fun, put it in Haiku form (this is not a requirement, just a suggestion)

Be prepared to raise a glass of cheer and enjoy appetizers brought by Bloggers around the world.

Enjoy the music of Vanessa, and a promised appearance by Le Clown—a fellow Canadian extraordinaire and rabble rouser.  Mimi, Brigitte, Cindy, Audra, Darla, Peggy, Madame Weebles, Lois, Frank, Austin, David, Rosy, Julie, Sheila, Heidi, LuAnn, Diane and Diana, and hopefully Lisa and Robin, S.L., Misifusa, and a whole host of my other favourite bloggers (whose names my fuzzy brain will not produce) will be showing up—so let’s get this party started.

To get the ball rolling, the resolution that I will not be keeping is:

A LIE

I resolve and vow

To embrace tart brussel sprouts

And quit chocolate.

Here is my contribution to your New Year’s entertainment—quotes that fit almost every personality:

For the pragmatist or pessimistic optimist:

“May the New Year bring you courage to break your resolutions early! My own plan is to swear off every kind of virtue, so that I triumph even when I fall!”~  Aleister Crowley, Moonchild

For the writer:
The new year stands before us, like a chapter in a book, waiting to be written. We can help write that story by setting goals.” ~Melody Beattie

For Curmugeons:

“I would say happy new year but it’s not happy; it’s exactly the same as last year except colder. ~ Robert Clark

For novelists:

“We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year’s Day. ~ Edith Lovejoy Pierce

For those who like to parse sentences for their deeper meaning:

“A bridge of silver wings stretches from the dead ashes of an unforgiving nightmare to the jeweled vision of a life started anew.” ~  Aberjhani, The River of Winged Dreams

For the Optimist who likes Poetry:

“May Light always surround you;
Hope kindle and rebound you.
May your Hurts turn to Healing;
Your Heart embrace Feeling.
May Wounds become Wisdom;
Every Kindness a Prism.
May Laughter infect you;
Your Passion resurrect you.
May Goodness inspire
your Deepest Desires.
Through all that you Reach For,
May your arms Never Tire.”  ~ D. Simone

For those who believe that success is just a Self-Help book away:

“This is the new year the new you. You can pass through another year, coasting on cruise control. Or you can step out of your comfort zone, trying things you have never done before, & make… the (new) year that you elevate from where you are & soar high. Make it happen!”~  Pablo

For those who can understand whatever language this is:

“Quella vita ch’è una cosa bella, non è la vita che si conosce, ma quella che non si conosce; non la vita passata, ma la futura. Coll’anno nuovo, il caso incomincerà a trattar bene voi e me e tutti gli altri, e si principierà la vita felice. Non è vero?” ~ Giacomo Leopardi, Operette Morali

For those who have enough patience to read a lengthy paragraph:

“In this new year, may you have a deep understanding of your true value and worth, an absolute faith in your unlimited potential, peace of mind in the midst of uncertainty, the confidence to let go when you need to, acceptance to replace your resistance, gratitude to open your heart, the strength to meet your challenges, great love to replace your fear, forgiveness and compassion for those who offend you, clear sight to see your best and true path, hope to dispel obscurity, the conviction to make your dreams come true, meaningful and rewarding synchronicities, dear friends who truly know and love you, a childlike trust in the benevolence of the universe, the humility to remain teachable, the wisdom to fully embrace your life exactly as it is, the understanding that every soul has its own course to follow, the discernment to recognize your own unique inner voice of truth, and the courage to learn to be still.” ~ Janet Rebhan

For the touchy feely:

“Many things are thrown our way in this game of life. It’s how you deal with them that shows your true character. I want all of you to feel the hope, love & passion I feel for the upcoming year & the rest of my life. I want ALL of you to not only go for your dreams, but have a damn ass good time doing it! Love & Warmth, May ♥ ~ May Water

 For the Non-animal lover

“A cat’s New Year dream is mostly a bird! Don’t be like a cat; in New Year, dream something that you have never dreamed! Target for new things!”  ~Mehmet Muratildan

For peaceniks and dreamers:

“As we did every New Year’s Eve we made ridiculous resolutions that no one would keep, and quietly we all wondered what the coming year would hold, each of us praying for our own private miracles…This hopefulness was something hardwired into our psyches, that a new year might mean some monumental something wonderful could happen to bring us happiness at a level we had never known. A new year was a chance to start over. Maybe even, just maybe, there would be peace on earth for one entire day.” ~ Dorothea Benton Frank, The Last Original Wife

 

Another one for those who understand this—I found the way the letters and words were put together fascinating—hope Enock was not predicting the end of the world:

“Mwaka mpya ukifika watu husherehekea kwa vifijo na nderemo! Pumzi ikifika hawasherehekei. Kwa nini?”  ~  Enock Maregesi

Wishing you a Happy New Year and prosperous 2014!
http://www.jacquielawson.com/viewcard.asp?code=4612184373868&source=jl999

Farewell

Farewell Bend (Photo credit: Katherine H)

  “Just as there is no small hello, there is no small goodbye. Every goodbye holds the seed of a new and fruitful greeting….A goodbye is a meaningful and vital ritual.” – Donald Altman, Author of “one minute mindfulness”

As I prepare to say goodbye to 2013 in a couple of days, I mourn the passing of another year, but celebrate the *verity that I get a brand new one to try on. Every year is a roller coaster ride—sometimes the downs give the ups a run for their money—but that just tests our **mettle I guess. Sometimes my mettle is steadfast, sometimes it bends, and sometimes it breaks. I am looking forward to a little less mettle testing in 2014.

Read my horoscope today in the National Post and apparently I am going to be a force to contend with except in March, April and May of 2014—so watch out world. I am not a big believer in horoscopes, but neither do I ignore them. I read the horoscopes for myself and my husband and sons, and there were some pretty big coincidences in them that make me wonder if there is something to it. I never discount the magical or the mystical.

So, as I say goodbye to 2013, I remember the good moments, the lovely times, the surprises, as well as the challenges and losses. Some of challenges will follow me into 2014—I cannot just close the book on them,  but a new year presents new hope and it is that hope that will sustain me.

What are you glad to be leaving behind, what do you remember fondly, and what are you looking forward to in 2014?

*truth, fact, reality

**strength of spirit

The Tradition Continues………..

Confetti (Photo credit: ADoseofShipBoy)

Giving you a bit of a heads up—I am hosting a New Year’s Eve PARTY again this year. It was a great success last year, so I thought I would give it another whirl.  Please pretend that this is your gold embossed invitation to the party of the blog year. I am still lining up the entertainment but if this year is anything like last year, you will provide the best entertainment.

When:  New Year’s Eve and Day

Why:    Because there are no parties better than those attended by bloggers.

Attire:  Something festive

Theme:  Resolutions

What to bring:  A resolution you are not going to make or one you are definitely going to break

Food and Drink: Whatever goes with Champagne and ice wine

So get your party hats out of storage, bring an appetizer that rings in 2014, and join the party.

Holiday Bubble

A bubble. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

WordPress Krista, in her prompt today wants us to tell about a moment of clarity, when a solution appeared to a “big ol’ problem” as if we were struck by lightning.

Speaking for myself, all my moments of clarity were only clear to me and did not translate into a solution. But I am still waiting and hoping…………..

In the meantime, the holiday bubble has been temporarily broken and it is back to work for a few days—then the New Year’s bubble will take over for a couple of days. I am still in the holiday mood—but reality has knocked at the door, and I must answer. But tonight—I will return to my bubble……….

Are you still in the bubble—or has it burst for you?

September 3, 2013 ~ Myth Dispelled

…Hope… (Photo credit: ĐāżŦ {mostly absent})

A  fresh new start ~

Spirits high; hopes soar;

First day of school.

(Sometimes you can say in 13 syllables what cannot be stretched to 17. Haiku is not as rigid as we have come to believe.)

~ One ~ Happy New Year! ! ! ! ! ! ! ~ Resolution 2013 ~ Finding My Bliss

12 O’Clock – January 1, 2013 (Photo credit: ladytimeless)

What a party we had–I will do a synopsis of it soon–but the food, wine, music, and entertainment were fantastic and the hundreds and hundreds of guests incredible!  Now if I can just get Robin to come down off the table, and Vanessa to move over in the kitchen we will have breakfast. While I am waiting for the bacon to cook, I am going share my resolution and a few random thoughts with you:

In the past I have made serious resolutions; quirky resolutions; philosophically based resolutions; and finally refused to make resolutions on the grounds that doing so might incriminate me. This year I am trying a new tactic in the hopes that I will not be one of those statistics that they come out with every year saying that 92.4% of people give up on their resolutions 3.4 days after making them.

Today I resolve to find my bliss. I put it somewhere and I am sure I am going to find it again. I found my brother’s missing Christmas gift the other day (only five days after Christmas) so I am sure I am going to be able to find my bliss. So what is bliss? I figure it is something that I can probably spend the rest of my life discovering as it takes on so many guises: happiness, contentedness, serenity, delight, harmony, and in some corners blessedness. Now wouldn’t it be nice to be blessed?

The Encarta Dictionary says that bliss is “complete happiness” or a “state of spiritual joy”. I am thinking here that I may never need to make another resolution again—just finding my bliss will encompass all those things I want to accomplish. Losing those five pounds that I lost and found again? Bliss. Eating healthy? Bliss. Being content with a cup of hot chocolate and a good book? Bliss. See how it works? No more having to bother to make a resolution every year—this one encompasses all.

~Looking Back to Look Forward~

One of my favourite columnists is Mitch Albom with the Detroit Free Press. He has written some books, and from the sales figures, he is a pretty successful author. But, I find that he writes best in column form. He is succinct, pithy, and at times amusing. His column from Sunday, December 30^th is one I am saving, and I am going to share a couple of paragraphs that really spoke to me, and I hope you will find engaging as well.

He said, “When all was said and done, 2012 was completely different from years before it, yet very much the same, because certain things are true no matter how long we live.

Mitch Albom 。 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

News stories come, news stories go; nothing is as great as it sounds and nothing is as bad. Technology is replaced by more technology; celebrities replace previous celebrities; science discovers something, then searches for something else.

And the only thing that truly affects your year is how you lived within your own house, how you treated and were treated by your loved ones, and how you helped the people and community around you.”

Then he asked the question: “Judged by that, how was your 2012?”

I think that if we take his observations into account, we are equipped to handle 2013 in perhaps a more thoughtful way. I know that I am guilty sometimes of not treating the people I love most in the most loving way. They get the brunt of my frustration and they do not deserve it. They are the people who are here for me, and will continue to be in my corner. So, in addition to finding my bliss—or actually as a part of finding my bliss, I am going to try to treat my loved ones the way I want to be treated—in effect passing the bliss around a little more.

Mitch is right–the only thing that truly affects us is how we live within our own house and how we treat our loved ones and the community we live in.

Happy 2013, and may you all find your bliss, however you define it!

~ Two ~ Party On!!!!!!!

Times Square New Years Eve Ball (Photo credit: ★ SimonPix)

Let the party begin! It is New Year’s Eve–let’s party like it is 1999! (Or if I were being truly wild and crazy–1977,  but that is another story). Grab a hat from mybeautfulthings, some champagne from Chay, wish RoSy a Happy Birthday, devour some munchies that Eagle-Eyed Editor so kindly brought, and don’t bump Robin Coyle’s table–we don’t want her to fall off!!

Robin robincoyle (she is the one in the lampshade) and I are hosting this party with our rose coloured glasses perched prominently on our noses. We want to enter this new year on a positive note–so here is the invitation with instructions:

You Are Invited to a New Year’s Eve Virtual Party

Where: Here

Why: To bring in the New Year on a positive note

How: By leaving a positive comment or resolution

When:  New Year’s Eve —all day and all night and into New Year’s Day

Come one, come all, and bring your most festive smiles.

Entertainment: You, Vanessa Chapman, and Rodents & Rebels

So join us for the frivolities and add whatever you think may make the party hardy!

Vanessa Chapman is dropping by with a song she and a friend have put together for us so make sure you find her–I think she will be in the kitchen. [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDHzns7FryU&w=560&h=315%5D.

I have some mystery guests dropping by so check back every once in awhile to see what goodies they provide for us in the form of wise words, music, and even cigars!

Here is wishing all of you a wonderful New Year’s Eve and a great start to 2013–a leapless year!

Sharing my card from Mary with you:  http://www.jacquielawson.com/viewcard.asp?code=3946887033868&source=jl999

~ THREE ~ Party, party……

The New Year is fast approaching and what better way to say Goodbye to 2012 and Hello to 2013 than to have a party? Robin Coyle and I have decided to host a New Year’s Eve Party, but it will be a party with a difference.

New Year’s Fireworks  (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

There will be no cover charge, no BYOB, and no outlandish costumes (unless you have one you want to break out). Nope. You are granted access to this party with a positive comment or resolution (songs and dances will be accepted also—but they must be happy songs and dances).

So here is the formal invitation:

You Are Invited to a New Year’s Eve Virtual Party

Where: Here

Why: To bring in the New Year on a positive note

How: By leaving a positive comment or resolution

When: Why New Year’s Eve of course—all day and all night and into New Year’s Day

Come one, come all, and bring your most festive smiles.

Entertainment: You, Vanessa Chapman, and Rodents & Rebels

So join us for the frivolities and add whatever you think may make the party hardy!

~ FOUR ~

New Beginning (Photo credit: Melody Campbell)

“Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

The countdown begins. This is the fourth day before a New Year, but like Emerson I do not believe that turning the calendar over to a  new year means everything will be fresh and new. We are given that chance every day.

We  like to have deadlines and celebrations and new beginnings. I understand that. But Tuesday, despite the fact that it will be January 1, 2013 will be just another day. But it will be just another day to make it “the best day of the year.”

I am ready for something new, something exciting, some new resolutions—but I am ready today. I do not have to wait for a few more days—I can make resolutions today if I want to; and break them tomorrow. I do not need a specific date to start a new exercise regimen, lose 5 pounds, or determine to cook healthier. I can do that today. On December 29^th.

What do you think? Do we have to wait for the 1^st and a New Year to begin anew? Or do you think Emerson is right—we should make today the “best day in the year”?

Just a Christmas Thought in Passing…..

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The tree is up. The wreath is on the front door. The Christmas ham is bought. Most of the Christmas shopping is done—so, let the festivities begin! Most of us still have some things to do for the big day—but I have started to think of Christmas as a season not culminating in just one day of festivities, but many.

The season begins for many of us in late November and goes at least until New Year’s Day. We have so many tasks to do, parties to go to, and special foods to fix—that sometimes in the whirlwind we get a little lost. I had to pause and reflect on what is really important at this time of year—and it is our memories and traditions that connect us to the past, nourish our present, and make us look forward to the future.

In these last few weeks before Christmas I wish you some time to pause and think about those things that are important to you, and maybe pass a little tradition onto your children or grandchildren, or the fellow coffee aficionado sitting beside you at Tim Horton’s.

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