HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Thank goodness 2009 is now just a piece of history and hello 2010! The year of the Tiger was brought in by a blue moon -- hopefully this all means a better year for the world.

As I reflect on 2009, it has been a sad and frustrating year, but my sense of 2010 is a much more positive one. Maybe it is because I like the even number, it is the beginning of a new decade, or it is due to a new zen sense of living I want to incorporate into my life this year. Whatever it is, I hope it will be a great year, not only for my family but for all.

Ten things I want to change in my life in 2010:

1) Become more focused in all I do.
2) Be a better mother and wife.
3) Live richer.
4) Live life with the mind set that less is more rather than more is better.
5) Practice my spirituality.
6) Step away from the computer and spend time outdoors.
7) Take on a new hobby.
8) Continue my education.
9) Create stronger friendship bonds.
10)Think first then react instead of reacting immediately.

I am not going to say these are new year's resolutions but rather life changes which I want to bring into my life in 2010.

Celebrating the New Year

My husband and I have celebrated New Year's Eve in so many different ways over the years. Once kids came along it became a bit more of a challenge to really celebrate all that much, but we have always managed to keep the entrance of a new year interesting. Early in our marriage we would enjoy a prime rib dinner. When kids came along we continued that tradition, but didn't stay up to see midnight. The 4th of July and New Year's Eve are my two very favorite holidays. I am terrible at creating traditions for my children since I am such a creature of change and keeping life interesting. BUT, these two holidays are definitely about tradition for me, and I have found ways to keep New Year's Eve interesting all while keeping with my traditions.

Although my favorite New Year's Eves have included parties with friends either at their home or my home, the last couple years have brought us back to early traditions of food and family. For the past two years, we have decided to stay in and just relax with our kids, and make a fantastic surf and turf dinner. And last evening, this is what we did....relaxed and had a grand dinner. As my husband stated, "dear, you out did yourself this year", and I must say, I did.

My husband works extremely hard, harder than anyone I know, even harder than my father did. And New Year's Eve, and even today, he is working. And he will be working all weekend too. So I decided I needed to give him a great meal, better than anything we have ever done before, and a way to celebrate a year of hard work -- for our whole family. I guess we kind of celebrated the fact he is also one of few employees that can say they actually are still working in our difficult economy, and although we are blessed to be able to celebrate, we are definitely without struggles like any other middle-class family today.

Ringing in a New Year has always been a spiritual experience for me in that I reflect on the year behind me and then refresh myself for the journey into the year ahead. Happy New Year!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I cannot believe 2008 is about to come to an end in a matter of a few hours. This has definitely been a year of change for me, completing my college degree, and then starting my own business in a very crazy economy. The coming year promises to bring many changes in my life once again, and one of which is going to be this blog. My new Kramer Creatives, LLC website will launch very soon, and with my site, will be a blog for my business. Since I have a dedicated business blog with the site, I have decided to change my Pam's World blog over to my personal blog. Please feel free to continue to visit to keep up on what my family is doing, what I am reading, things I love, and who knows what else.

Thank you for keeping up with me and I look forward to more posts this coming year. Have a safe and happy new year!