Little Gifts and 2010

Happy New Year Everyone!

Hello from freezing cold Tulsa, OK. It is 11 degrees and I have never been so cold in my life. The hotel is cold, the theatre is cold, outside is unbearably cold, cold, cold, cold. Next stop is Oklahoma City so we’re expecting the same kind of weather. Norfolk (last week) was in the 20s. So the LBers are definitely experiencing the winter. ☺

But on a happy note…I hope everyone had a beautiful Holiday season and safe/fun New Years Eve! We had a 2 week break after Hershey, PA. I felt so blessed to be able to spend it with the many people I love. New York was perfect: ice skating in central park, shopping on 5th Ave, being in my NY home with my NY family. Then I was onto California where my family and I took a road trip up the Cali coast. We stopped in Pismo Beach, San Francisco, went Horse Back Riding on the beach in Half Moon Bay, made a few more fun beach city stops, visited with extended family in Aptos, then ended the trip at my grandparent’s house (mom’s side) for Christmas Eve and Day.

First update of 2010… pretty weird. It’s always surprising to get to the New Year and recap on everything that happened in the year before. 2009 brought many new challenges, struggles, victories, happiness, heartache, tough decisions, easy decisions, goodbyes, hellos, see ya soons, and many changes for me. It has been quite the whirlwind of a year: Finished college classes March 13th, moved to NY March 18th, went through some personal struggle and soul searching while living in NY for 6 months, got to go home for my graduation ceremony in June, booked High School Musical again for a quick run, and now find myself on the Legally Blonde Tour…as a swing and Elle cover of all things. Never would have thought. When Christmas came around, my family and I realized we hadn’t all 5 (6 including Bentley, our dog) been together since my graduation in June. We all have had such crazy lives that we weren’t all in the same place at once. Crazy how 6 months can fly on by that quickly. Crazy how a YEAR can fly on by that quickly.

So in honor of New Years… it’s obviously resolution time (tis the season). Last year, my resolution was one word that kind of summed up all of my goals: TRUST. Trust myself, trust in others, trust in GOD, and so on. That is still something that I am trying to live everyday. Fear likes to creep on in sometimes. And normally the time where I did not trust, I hurt myself, hurt others, and made some mistakes. But that’s life I guess. As human beings, we’re always in “progress” and every day, every mistake, every heart ache, every person, every conversation… it’s all apart of our progress and journey here on Earth. I could go on and on about this… like I said lots of soul searching. This year, for me, one of my main focuses is other people. I would really like the chance to help others, volunteer, get involved, be better at staying in contact with friends and family, being more open to others, being selfless. I had an amazing plane ride from Norfolk to Tulsa where I sat next to a sweet 90 year old man. After writing down my resolutions of being a better friend, he (not knowing anything about me and my goals) started telling me about all the people he has lost in his life and how special everyone is. He started telling me that if he could tell my generation one thing, it would be to stay close to those you love. I was tearing up the whole time as he started telling me about his wife who passed 7 years ago. They were married for 60 years and he said he still goes to bed missing her. When it was time to get off the plane, he turned to me and said “It was a pleasure riding with you” as the flight attendants helped him to his wheel chair. I looked at my friend Alex and just started crying… happy/moved tears. He was a little gift. And the people in my life are gifts. So please know, if I have been bad at staying in contact, my New Years Resolution is to change that. Thank you all for blessing my life in so many ways. I look forward to some new adventures ahead and catching up! :)

So bring on the challenges and lessons, 2010! But also bring on the joy, happiness, and love love love!

I wish lots of love love love to all you bloggers/readers/friends/family.
Happy Happy New Year!
It’s gonna be a good one!
xoxo