12

Although I don't really know what the 12 days of xmas stand for, I thought I'd write up a little list of 12....in honor of the 12 things I've learned in the month of December

1. Family is more important to me than I ever thought it would be...SO, tonight is my first annual Family Festivus party...minus the negativity. Lord knows, my family needs more optimism and less negativity

2. Hosting an event is a lot of work! Especially when you are like me, and don't regularly clean.

3. Snow can be awesome. I took little man sledding for the first time, and was reminded of what it felt like to act carefree and enjoy the snow.

4. Snow can suck.at.life. MN (as well as other parts of the country) has received above average snow storms this December. This translates to horrible traffic conditions, and doubling commute times to and from work. (don't be jealous, really)

5. Friends truly are the family you get to choose. I may not be married, heck, I may not even be dating someone...but I honestly have some great friends...both in real life, and those I've met through the blog world. It's pretty sweet, and I'm more thankful that I could ever put into words.

6. Kids can be so simple, it's completely mind blowing. For example, two 12 cent goldfish were THE BEST THING THAT HAS EVER HAPPENED to little man in 2008. I haven't introduced them to the net yet...since the last time I introduced fish, they died the next day...stay tuned for the introduction of David and Goliath (said gowiath...and yes, little man ACTUALLY NAMED THEM...haha)

7. Burning the candle at both ends always ends up burning me. With the holiday hustle and bustle, combined with a heavy workload this past week..I would up with a sight impaired migraine. I only get migraines when my body tells me "SLOW DOWN LADY". This time, I only appeased my body in the smallest way possible...by taking a four hour nap. Did I get a goods night rest last night? Of course not! I had too much to do to get ready for today. Do I have a nap in my future today? Of course I do!

8. Keeping a line drawn between your personal and professional life is important..no matter how cool you think your coworkers are. I recently experienced some drama with a coworker...it snowballed into a pile of nastiness.. Thanks to a Christmas gift, the ugliness was squashed. I learned my lesson, albeit the tough way...co-workers and personal lives do not mix....nor should they mix.

9. As much as I love and yearn for mantention, I don't need it to be happy. I have my health, a job, a warm place to sleep at night, little man and the list could go on. I agree with those out there, who believe a man should add to your life, and not complete it. It's taken me a while to get there...and I'll never forget my journey to get this far...

10. Communication can be extremely powerful. I recently reconnected with an elementary school friend. Well, in elementary school we didn't get along with each other, come to find out our dislike for one another was because of poor communication on both of our parts. I'm so happy that we've become friends, and it makes me wonder

11. As fun as splurging on yourself can be, all of the money in the world cannot buy happiness. I tend to overspend in general. I function with the believe that you can't take money with you when you die, so you might as well spend it while you have it. However, I've come to realize that if you aren't happy with yourself before you buy something nice to share with others...you probably aren't going to be happy with yourself AFTER your big splurge. This is a lesson I'm really going to focus on in 2009.

12. My most favorite quote, and words that everyone should live by: Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift...that is why it is called the present. I heard this saying on a Disney cartoon...no lie. It struck a deep chord with me, and although I've heard variations of this quote, I like this one the best. It is simple advice, and extremely powerful.

Happy Christmahaunikwanzika!