I'm going to write these facts down, dag nabbit

2013, the year of 25, was so gosh darn eye-opening it almost feels like I'll pop if I try to describe every new thing it taught me. It's so cliche: girl has what she thinks are life-changing epiphanies and ponders very deeply about them, but dag nabbit is it true. I learned that if I'm interested in something, dangit I'll be me the most dedicated and excited person on the planet while pursuing it. I also learned that I have a very lazy part of my personality and if I open that door, it will be like trudging through the snow for months to stuff all that laziness back into where it came from.

I learned that sometimes stuff takes effort, not everything is effortless. Relationships have generally been easy for me, but that's not always true when you think the world begins and ends with MY life, MY kids, MY business and MY husband. (Not necessarily in that order, haha.) I learned that relaxing and letting things flow is okay here and there - none of those aforementioned faucets of life will tank if I chill out. Real, person-to-person connections are the most gratifying (another epiphany), so spending "the time" became a necessity, not a (sometimes) burden. 2013 was also the year of learning that hard, hard work makes me very happy and fulfilled. If I let the lazy monster thrive, I become cynical and annoyed and basically take an all around down-on-myself U-turn. 

I learned I want grace to rule me when it comes to child raising and husband-taking-care-of. 

2013 was also the year of some fierce faith. In 2012, I prayed for a job that would allow me to use the gifts God gave me and he delivered big time (the next day, might I add!). After realizing that if your heart is true God will answer, sometimes in very subtle ways only noticeable in hindsight, 2013 became the year of "hands off the wheel." Life is simple when you let God do what he's there to do and dag nabbit it's more enjoyable that way. 

I re-realized that I'm creative, ruled by emotion most of the time and one of those people who are "in need of outlets" - once realized, business became better. If I don't have some fun, let-me-express-myself time, I start to feel dead. It's like rejecting who I am! I never felt like I overly denied that I'm a right brainer, but I definitely spent the better part of 2013 trying to master the left side of the brain - there's no need to do that, the right side is good enough! And more fun.

Anyhoo, here are my hopes for 2014. They're pretty general and broad, but if taken to heart, I think will have quite an impact:

1. Work hard. Nose to the grindstone. It makes for a happier, well-rounded attitude. And when it gets tough to work hard, take it week by week, or day by day or hour by hour.

2. Don't let the lazy monster rule.

3. Not to forget that Jesus has this. And to teach my family that fact.

^All in all, remember what I learned about myself in 2013 and go for 2014 with ferocity! 

Woohoo!