HNY 2026

 

Happy 2026!

Photo by Atlantic Ambience via Pexels

Happy New Year!

Look at us. We made it through 2025. I hope your year was filled with shining moments and not 365 Mondays. I hope your 2026 is full of goodness and gladness, wellness and well-being. Don’t stop chasing dreams and don’t be afraid to try something new. In fact, go DO something new, something that gets you out of your comfort zone. Drive someplace you’ve never been. Tackle that challenging recipe. Jump out of an airplane. Eat squid. Whatever that something is for you, go do it, and please let me know about it!

            Have a year of successes and core memories. Make lemonade out of lemons. Break those eggs so you can make that omelet. Be a creative potato. Have a year of sunshine days and wind-at-your-back moments. Fulfill all of your resolutions. Cheers to us and the light that we’ll all bring to 2026!

            Love and sparkles,

            Lisa

Happy 2025!

Happy New Year! Whether the previous year ended on a high note, a low note or somewhere in-between, 2024 is done. You got through it. Box it all up, brush your hands off and store it away, because you’ve got to make room for new memories. 2025, here we are! What does the top of the new year look like to you? What are your plans/goals/dreams? I wish for you a prosperous, safe and healthy new year. Knowledge is power, so keep learning every day. Do something outside of your comfort zone; you only live once. Take care of yourself, because you are worth it!!

Sending love and sparkles,

Lisa

Happy 2024!

Photo by Jill Wellington via Pexels

Happy New Year!

Maybe you’re ready to put 2023 behind you, perhaps you don’t care one way or the other, but welcome to 2024! The world is a lot these days. For anyone reading this who’s going through trauma of any kind, dealing with any sort of upheaval, feeling like they’re on an emotional rollercoaster that’s in a continual free fall, I am sorry. I don’t know your circumstances, dear reader, but I want to encourage you all to move mountains, even if that entails crafting a tiny paper mountain and blowing it off your table. I’m sending you all strength and endurance for the long road and the short road, too. If you are in need of healing, I pray healing comes your way (and do feel free to leave a comment if you’d like a prayer sent up for yourself or someone else). Know that you have worth and are amazingly, uniquely YOU! Have a wondrous year ahead and be a light unto others, for you never know when you’ll be the light in someone’s darkness.

            Love and hugs, Lisa.

Happy 2023!

Photo by Olia Danilevich via Pexels

Happy New Year! We’ve closed the doors on 2022 and are greeting 2023. Whatever 2022 brought you - the good, the bad and the in-between - I wish for you a wondrous new year ahead. If you seek a better job, may a better job come your way. If you want to travel, may your travel-bug heart traverse new roads and familiar roads to get you to your destinations. If your health has been of concern, may good health take the place of ill this year. I hope anyone reading this finds encouragement all the year round. Remember that you’re never too old to learn new things, so go ahead and try that thing you’ve been talking yourself out of or telling yourself you’ll get to when you “have more time.” Remember that the world is full of different people, those you’ll meld with and those you won’t. Be a light unto others, for you never know when you’ll be the light to someone’s darkness. And be always a work in progress, for we are all worth the time it takes to invest in ourselves!

What are your goals/dreams/hopes for 2023?

Wishing you all the best,

Lisa

Happy 2022!

Photo by Alexandr Podvalny via Pexels

      

Happy New Year! (For real-real, this year, I hope.)

It’s a strange thing for me to reflect on the year that was 2021. With COVID-19 continuing to run rampant, variants quickly became the issue of the year. Fortunately, I remained healthy, whether thanks to being fully vaccinated + boosted, my lack of needing to be often out and about, sheer luck, or any combination of two or all three. 2021 was difficult in other ways, though. Like in unexpectedly saying goodbye to my grandfather. Even when someone’s led a long life, life doesn’t tend to prepare the living for unexpected goodbyes.

            I look to 2022 with positivity. I want to be better, do better, think better. I want to be a better me today than I was yesterday and better tomorrow than I was today.

            Wherever you are in life – physically, mentally, spiritually, emotionally – my wish is that your 2022 is blessed, healthy, happy, loving, and bountiful. Dream big dreams and spread positivity. Empower others as you’d want others to empower you. Don’t be afraid to ask for help or ask questions. Try new things. Step out of your comfort zone. But most of all, live your life well!

            Love you, Lisa.

Happy 2021!

Location: Fireplace mantel of Lisa's house

Happy New Year! (For real, this year, I hope.)

If you’re at all like me, you began 2020 thinking it held such promise for a good year. After all, if you know the Chinese zodiac, you maybe knew that 2020 was a Year of the Rat. For better or for worse, that is my sign. Unfortunately, no one had a 2020 like they expected or dreamt or hoped for. Too many the world over have lost their lives to COVID, families & friends have unexpectedly had to say goodbye to too many and without the dignity and compassion of being able to be at the person’s bedside. Too many have struggled financially and are struggling to put food on the table for their families, to pay rent and other bills. So many are unemployed through no fault of their own. We’ve all struggled with things COVID-related, even just in the way we’ve all had to rearrange our lives and adapt to go get groceries. And there’s a good chance we’ve all struggled with our own personal things, because life happens.

            Throughout all of the darkness, though, we’ve seen so much positivity and so many of generous spirit. There is light always poking through the darkness, if only we can find those shafts of brilliance, those rays of hope. For anyone who reads this message, know that you are loved no matter your struggle. And if your darkness feels so great that you think you cannot find love, please reach out -- to someone you trust, to a licensed professional, just reach out. You are precious, and you are so loved. If you can, be someone else’s light. Whether you expect to receive a vaccination or feel better avoiding one at this time, the world is moving forward either way. And we will, too.

            Like a year ago, I wish you bravery, strength and courage navigating life’s potholes. I am rooting for you!

            Love, Lisa.

Happy 2020!

Happy New Year! Happy New Decade!

To family and friends and anyone wandering onto my blog by accident, Happy New Year! 2019 closed out another decade. Hopefully multiple milestones were reached like the loftiest of goals, and I hope you’re set with new goals and big dreams for 2020. I wish for everyone reading this message a happy, healthy, blessed, safe and successful new year, but I also realize these words may come across as redundant and over-used, well-meaning though they are. We all know that real life tends to set us alight with issues great and small. If you’ve lost loved ones (pets included) this past year, I pray that you have multiple pillars of support to lift you up so that you do not fall into a miasma of grief. If you or someone close to you is dealing with health issues, I pray for a favorable outcome and encourage everyone involved to stay strong and be spunky. If you feel like 2019 was an unending barrage of nitpicky negativity and you could never catch a break, I pray that 2020 is your year to shine. No matter what you go through this year, no matter how turbulent or low-key any issues are, continue to rise up. Be an overcomer. Be a champion to yourself and others.

            For those adding to their families this year: CONGRATULATIONS! For anyone headed down the wedding aisle: CONGRATULATIONS! For anyone traveling, I want to go, too! If you need a travel buddy, let’s plot!!

            Whatever winding paths you traverse this year, I wish you bravery, strength and courage when navigating life’s potholes and always support and love along what I hope is a well-lit route with a temperate breeze at your back. Godspeed through it all! And, as always, happy reading!

            Love, Lisa.

Happy 2019!

pinterest.com

Happy 2019!

Whether last year was terribly tumultuous, amazingly awesome or a riotous mix of both that lands you somewhere in the middle with the many who had an average sort of year, I hope this year is a robust concoction of all those things that will make this year your own. Although I know life cannot be full of happiness 100% of the time or without challenges 100% of your days, look toward the bright side so those happy moments can be even brighter, and in times of darkness, I pray that you have wonderful people and pets around you, for all of us need pillars of support.

2019 is a new year. Looking out at a new year full of possibilities is to look at a blank page in a bare book. Fill it up with adventures large and small, good stuff, tough stuff (because it often can’t be avoided), personal challenges (goals, in this case) and the neutral, routine stuff in our days that keep us grounded. Go write your story and do awesome things!

Peace, love, joy and happy reading,

Lisa

Happy 2014!

Happy New Year! Another year has come and gone -- another year of good things, bad things and those things in between. Another year filled with joy and sorrow, laughter and tears, moments of greatness and moments perhaps better forgotten. Another year filled with days of adventure, melancholy, happiness, routine, contentment, delight and stress. Another year of hellos and of goodbyes.

            I don’t know exactly what your days were filled with last year, but I hope you smiled more than you frowned and laughed more than you cried. As we said hello to 2014, I hope you took hold of the reins with one foot in reality and the other in dreams. Whether your dreams provide hope, momentary escape from your present, or goals for your future, I hope you keep those dreams. But don’t forget your reality, for our dreams cannot become reality if we’re not also rooted in it.

            What are you looking forward to this year? Do you already have travels set and adventures planned? Are you graduating, switching schools or returning to school? Are you getting married? Are you moving? Whatever this year brings you, please have a safe, healthy and wonderful year. Blessings and happiness to you all! --Lisa “Rutabaga”

Happy 2013!

How did you ring in 2013?

            2012 took us on another rollercoaster ride, as years tend to do -- unless you live in a cave, but if you’re reading this, surely you don’t, as I’m guessing any wireless connection would be mostly nonexistent. Whether as active participants or observers, we have seen, read and heard about the good, the bad and the ugly. People completing good works. Being bombarded by political ads in an election year. Made in America. Hurricane Sandy. Cheering on the London 2012 Summer Olympians. The Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, CT. Gangnam Style. Famous people making various headlines. Volunteer efforts of the few and the multitude.

            I could go on, but then absolutely no one would want to read this. It’s not a thesis, after all. It’s a blog post!

            And, always, we have come through a year personal to ourselves because they’re our individual lives. We’ve celebrated relatives and friends at birthday parties and wedding celebrations, but have also mourned loved ones. We’ve had successes and failures, and we have our hopes and our fears, our worries and our joys.

            What are your hopes for 2013? What are your resolutions? If you are comfortable sharing any or all of them, I’d love to read your comments.

            If you’re reading this sentence, know that I’m wishing you a happy, healthy and safe 2013 (even if we’ve never met). I hope that you move mountains, venture out from your comfort zone on occasion and strive to be better than you were yesterday or last year or ten years ago. Go hug a loved one (or a stranger, it’s your call!). Thank someone for something. Smile a lot and laugh even more. And don’t forget to love. Love not just others, but also yourself. Because you know what? You’re worth loving, too!

            Happy New Year!!! --Lisa “Rutabaga”