Happy New Year to you all! I don’t think the only time people should try and better themselves or make goals is at the turn of the year, but sometimes it’s a good place to start. I was listening to Taylor Swift earlier today, and I thought that a part of her song “Innocent” sums up my thoughts on this rather nicely:
“Time turns flames to embers, you’ll have new Septembers. Everyone of us has messed up too. Lives change like the weather, I hope you remember today is never too late to be brand new.”
Nonetheless, I like to make new goals every year. (I like to use the word goal instead of resolution; I think it makes me feel less cliché. :P) But I also like to keep my goals simple and realistic, something that can prove as a guideline, I suppose:
- Keep Writing. Whether it’s blogging or novels or mindless rambles, I want to continue writing. It’s always been a favorite past time, but I want to improve as well. And improvement comes through practice.
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Read More. I love reading, and for some silly reason, I often tend to forget that. My goal this year is to read all the books that I currently own that I have not read yet. That may sound like a simple task, but I own twenty-eight books that I have not read yet. Twenty-eight! I blame it on Border’s going out of business and having excellent sales on books.
- To remember what’s important. I don’t ever want to lose sight of the things that mean the most to me. I think I can easily some that up with family, friends, and education at the moment. I just don’t want to lose sight of where I prioritize these things.
I hope you all had a wonderful and fun new year so far. I had a small little celebration where I had a few friends over and we made junk food (I seem to have junk food quite a bit :P) and watched movies and played board games. Nothing fancy really, but it was fun.
Today was also my mom’s birthday. She’s a New Year baby. 
My dad BBQ’d since the weather here has been absolutely crazy–as in it’s the middle of December and it’s around 60 degrees instead of below 0. 
Afterwards we were planning on doing something as a family since everyone was home again. My mom wanted to either play a board game or watch a movie. And then those dumb, stupid bickers that seem to happen all to often between family members happened. My mom kept trying to please everybody by constantly asking what we wanted to play or watch, but everyone kept insisting that she choose; afterall, it’s her birthday.
Somehow, my mom got all offended because some of us were getting frustrated that she wouldn’t choose and we all just sort of went our different ways. As in, my mom went to watch a movie by herself–in the kitchen, which has only one stool so no one could join her– and my sister stormed off to her room, slamming the door behind her. It’s so silly really. I mean, how hard is it to watch a movie together or play a board game together? But that’s family for you.
My goals are pretty similar to yours, especially the reading one! I love to buy books in bulk, too and sometimes I just don’t get the chance to read them right away
I always like to talk about goals rather than resolutions, too. Probably because any resolutions i came up with in the past never stuck, but I’m always motivated to work on goals
I call my goals aims. I aim for things because sometimes it’s just not possible to achieve them. My sister is a New Years baby too. She spent it in Sydney on the harbour while we spent back at home in Melbourne …
Good luck with your goals! I’m call mine resolutions because this year I am resolving to do these things, no matter what.
Happy birthday to your mom!
Ugh, where I am it is hot all. Year. Long. It was probably 60 on Christmas, lol. xD
Thank you! ^^ I only know a few Latin phrase, to be honest, but lunae lumen and fiat lux (let there be light) are my favorites.
I couldn’t live without my calenders. xD I mean, on the day before New Year’s eve, I thought it was two days before. xD But if you don’t need one, using a calender for posters is a good idea.
I think keeping your goals simple took out some of the cliche-ness too.
But it is definitely important to remember.
I know what you mean about reading and writing. It is also one of my favorite things to do but somehow I just lose touch with it. It’s like every time I put my pen down it might be the last time for awhile.
I think I need gentle nudges to remind me what’s important. Or give me a big guilt trip, whichever!
Sorry to hear your family didn’t have a good evening. Hopefully it won’t happen next time.
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I’m totally saving your comment on my layout for when I’m feeling down.
I’m very pleased that you liked my layout. 
I do like traffic direction. I don’t really know why but it is one of those things I can do really well.
Families will always bicker but they love and care about each other. I’m sure your mum just cared… a little too much. At least it wasn’t a huge fight, I hope everyone is okay now. I hope she had a good birthday otherwise!
I also want to write. I have been blogging really regularly since… since forever, but I really want to work on my novel as well. I doubt I’ll be able to.
But, I can relate to you with reading as well. Borders obviously shut down here too, and I took the opportunity to buy books for ridiculously cheap prices. I didn’t have much money on me at the time I stumbled across a sale so I only got about 12 books. Only, right?! Nah, but you’re a bookworm like me, you know that’s really quite a lot. I want to finish reading them too. I dislike having books in my bookshelf that remain unread. I also have a lot of e-books, so I’m with you on that reading one, girl!
I hope you have a good start to the month and the year.
Get around to reading a book this weekend, haha! Also, it took a really long time to look back on my posts so I would recommend noting things down in a notebook every month so at the end of the year you really don’t have to look back. LOL.
Happy New Year to you, Becca! I hope for the best year 2012 can bring to you ;D!
I’m not much of a Taylor Swift fan, but she can be pretty catchy sometimes.
Good luck with all of your goals for this year! It’s realistic and it’s not extreme ;D! I love it! I’ll be looking forward to more blogging from you this year :P.
Simple celebrations are just enough for the New Years. Happy belated birthday to your mother! :)! Ooh another New Year baby ;D! And wow! The weather here has been dry in the 70’s. It’s too hot for the winter!! D:! I even have a face tan!
But things happen within the family. There’s not much to be done but sleep it off I suppose.
I hate rides that gets stuck! It’s been 3 years since I went to that ride and it’s just my luck it got stuck :t. But it’s just that :P..
Thank you :D! I worked hard, and now- I just have like 5 days of winter break. :O!
Take care(:
Glad to hear you had a good new year. I think your resolutions are the most realistic out there, which is good because then you can keep them. I haven’t made any myself but I may try and do the ones you have. :3 Its cool how your mom was born on New Years.
Happy new year and late birthday to your mum!
Ah that sucks, it happens to my family as well, we all try to do something together but something goes bad and everyone gets angry. But like you said, it’s family!
Good luck with your resolutions, all the best for 2012!
Happy new year!
I think I should make one of my goals to be more active online. I’ve been so not motivated! My blog have been dying in lack of interestingness! As for reading more I don’t think I can ever get back into reading like I used to. The Borders here went out of business such a long time ago, before I gave up reading back in the summer, so I have read every book I bought haha.
Of course never forget what’s important. Be hopeful too, that’s what moves me along.
I think I would’ve rather had your type of celebration. The ball drop was … boring. I don’t think you could’ve looked for me because I wasn’t close enough to the cameras, haha. There are SOOOOOOO many people!
The weather here is absolutely crazy too, it was 50 degrees as I was watching the ball drop rather than the usual 30s! Happy birthday to your mom! It’s pretty hard for my family to watch a movie together or play a board game together. Last Christmas even though we were all here for once we all had our own things to do so the most was having a dinner together.
I realized that too when I learned Spanish! English is quite difficult! My boyfriend has trouble with some pronounciations because they don’t follow general rules! And there’s no rule really to tenses of verbs.
That still doesn’t sound warm enough to wear short sleeves though! I start wearing short sleeves after 85 degrees! So basically I hate the whole summer because I’d have to wear short sleeves!
Those sound like good goals! I especially like the last one.
And yay for reading more! As you know, I want to read more as well (it seems like a lot of people do). You’re planning to read more than twice as many books as me, though. It shouldn’t be TOO hard; you only have to read two books a month for nine months and three books a month for three months.
It’s pretty awesome that the weather was nice enough that your dad was able to barbecue for your mom’s birthday. It’s been abnormally warm here, too. I don’t think it’s fallen below the 30s much so far this winter, and it’s barely snowed. I am definitely loving it.
It’s too bad you all couldn’t want a movie together as a family, but I’m with you on not understanding why your mom was so reluctant to choose given it was HER birthday. There tend to be a lot of fights on the birthdays in my family, too, but that’s usually more because the person whose birthday it is (myself included) gets a bit high-and-mighty about how it’s THEIR day. Bit opposite of your mom. I hope she enjoyed her birthday even if it didn’t go exactly as planned.
Happy new year!
Yea I went MIA for a while, well like the whole fall of my senior year lol But I am back for now. I had personal issues that made me not up to blogging and everything. Also I did not find the time to juggle everything, but I am getting better now.
For new years I like how you used goals. For my goals, I want to be a better person (cliche? probably). I also want to do better in school (I have senioritis), I want to enjoy life more (not so much planning everything out) and to stop feeling sorry for myself (when I get low, I feel sorry about myself a lot). I want to be happy and make 2012 the best year that it can be. 2011 was one of my best years until this fall, so I want 2012 to be just as awesome! I need to read more too, I fallen so behind. The last book I read for fun (fully) was the Hunger Games (have you read those) and that wasn’t since the summer.
Happy Birthday to your mom! That seems like a common family bickerness, that my family also expresses. lol For New Years I went to my friends house fro a sleepover so that was fun.
Anyway it’s sweet that you still remember me haha, I thought most people forgot about me or that I dropped off the face of the earth. So thank you!
I wish I had gone to Borders when it was going out of business… I completely regret it now, missing the huge 90% sale.
I have no goals for the New Year; I’m just going to wing it, haha. Whenever I make a goal that’s supposed to last for the whole year, I end up forgetting about it.
I think it’s so cool that your mom’s birthday is on New Year’s. It’s just too bad that this year you guys ended up fighting, but I guess that’s what a loving family is, since my family fights all the time.
Beautiful lyrics from a beautiful artist. I never actually “really” listened to Innocent. I mean I have Taylor Swift’s album but innocent just hasn’t been my fav. song so I haven’t payed attention to the lyrics (english is not my 1st language so sometimes the lyrics just..go by..)
Becca thanks for visiting! I am sorry I am late in replying back because I was away for a long while XD. Happy belated new year!
I love lyrics like that…quite true and inspiring in a way :). I don’t exactly make goals or resolutions but I try to better myself whenever I can. New year just gives you a new start off point like you said XD.
I should pick up on my reading…I have books just sitting there waiting to be read ^_^; Good to know I am not alone lol.
Sounds like a great new year plan…I end up eating junk food a lot of times >_>. Wow nice birth-date your mom has! The weather here is comparatively warmer than it usually is…and not much snow either.
That doesn’t surprise me…I kind of feel bad for your mom but it has happened to my family before too…I guess that’s how families can be…kind of silly *shrugs*
I agree that people shouldn’t feel like they have to wait for a specific event like a new year to make changes in their lives, but you’re also right that sometimes, it’s a good time to start. This year, I truly feel like the new year is a fresh start for me. Wipe away last year’s dirt and kick off 2012 all bright and shiny.
I like your goals. They’re attainable, and they improve upon what you already like and do. It seems like lots of the cliche resolutions involve ridding yourself of something you’re ashamed of, e.g. stop smoking/drinking or lose weight, instead of focusing on the positives to be gained from changing. (Maybe that’s not altogether bad, maybe this is kind of a tangent, but anyway…)