So I celebrate my own sort of ‘holiday’ called Renewal during the Christmas holidays since I am not Christian and am not a fan of Christmas either (one reason being Christmas Eve was the last time I saw my best friend Joanna before she passed away when she was 16 and I was 17 so it is a constant reminder of that loss). Anyway, there are four pillars to Renewal which are ‘Renew Yourself, Renew Others, Renew Nature, and Renew Community’. To renew myself I do something nice for myself that makes me feel good (I dyed my hair blond), to renew others I give gifts (just like Xmas), to renew nature I usually plant a tree or clean a park of litter, to renew community I volunteer near the holidays. My celebration starts on the first day of winter because that is when the days start getting longer and a sense of needing to grow or change seems to come over me (like New Year’s resolutions. So I also set goals for myself for the coming year and I thought I would share mine. 1. Read a book a month (doesn’t sound like much but small steps when you always seem strapped for time); 2. Do not drink soda for the whole year; 3. Get more organized in my personal life; 4. Get my podcast posted by February (my friend and I have recorded 4 episodes so far which I have to edit); 5. Take small steps to improve health (mostly in regards to fitness and weight); 6. Spend more time with Todd Jr doing something other than watching TV and YouTube videos. I am trying to come up with four more realistic and measurable goals to add to the list. Anyway, I will post more about them as the year goes on but mostly I want to wish you all a Happy Renewal but needed to explain what it was first so you would understand what it means. Happy Renewal!!!

“A negative mind will never give you a positive life.”

I believe in that bit of wisdom so much that I should print it on t-shirts and hand them out like Halloween candy (mentally files that thought away for next October with a contented smile).

It’s a quote that can probably be interpreted in many ways but for me it means that if you have a positive attitude and mindset that is only dependent upon the self then you will tend to see things more positively and seemingly attract more positive events. I say seemingly because it is a matter of psychology and again interpretation. If both a negative-minded and positive-minded person experienced the same event, the positive minded person will look for the benefits, the silver-lining, the opportunity for growth and interpret the event as a positive occurrence. The negative-minded person will look for the things that went wrong, to complain about, to point out as insufficient and interpret the event as a negative occurrence. To the positive person they have more positive experiences to tally so it seems as though they are attracting positive things and experiences into their life.

Having a positive mind means you see your life with a positive view point while having a negative mind means focusing on the flaws and what is lacking.

Some people ask me how I can be so happy and bubbly all the time, well now my secret is out… I choose to have a positive mind. Choose is the operative word because it really truly is a choice. How do I do that? An expression of my own is how. ‘Even before my feet touch the floor in the morning, I choose my mood’ and I choose a positive mood every day.

I have a confession to make… (imagine that … as a bit of a hesitant and contemplative pause). I find classy people intimidating. There all kinds of classy people and classy can mean many different things to different people but for the sake of this post it means people who for all appearances ‘have their shit together’ when it comes to appearance, manners, speech, body language, etc. The ones that are often referred to as having ‘It’ or ‘It potential’. Why? Because I don’t have ‘It’. I will never have ‘It’. I sometimes say to myself and usually even mean it, that it I am okay with that. Please don’t read that as me feeling sorry for myself, because I don’t, I have a pretty darned good life, and while I may not be classy I am certainly happy with my life.

I think the intimidation was first born from having a grandmother from London, England who was ‘Classy’ which a capital C. She was beautiful, vibrant, put together, well to do, everything a young girl might aspire to be, except… she came from a generation where children were to be seen and not heard. They were to be trotted out, inspected, and dismissed because it was time for the ‘adults’ to talk now. She seriously should have been born in the Victorian age.

Anyway, back to today and the title of my post, ‘Find Your Joy’.

While I admire (sometimes even envy) those who dedicate time and money to have the right and matching ensemble, I have accepted it simply isn’t me. I am sure many if not most of the ‘classy’ people as they sit in my mind enjoy the finished product of a nice outfit, stylish hair, matching accessories, etc, etc… (impressions do matter after all) it is more of a chore to me.

Again, what does this have to do with finding your joy?

It was while attending a charity event and thinking on this topic of ‘classy’ people that I told myself I should focus more on what brings me joy than what brings me wistful thinking. Of course I find joy in things most people do like love, family, and success, but I thought I would look at something I don’t often see people write in their list of joyful things. Ready for a buzzword that has probably become so dated and will make you groan? My ‘wheelhouse’ of joy is being silly. I find I can relax, get comfortable, and really be myself when being silly. I talk to my teenage son in character voices, I volunteer as a puppeteer, I make corny jokes, I collect Funko Pop figures, I laugh at myself when I trip and fall, I make up stories for children, I create craft projects that a second grader could probably do better at, I watch anime, I participate in RPGs, I colour, and the list goes on. I am a child at heart and it makes me truly happy. Acknowledging this gives me focus and peace. Something I can call to mind to bring a smile to my face when feeling stressed or overwhelmed and living in joy is certainly a better place to be. So where do you find your joy?

Lots of exciting new things in the works. Instead of focusing on something for my YouTube channel I have a couple of new Podcasts in the works.

One with a friend and coworker called Learned Something New. We have recorded our first episode and will record our second this weekend. I want us to have a few done before posting them live.

Another will be about GISH which begins in a few days and a third I was thinking of a dear diary type with thoughts on a variety of topics but that one is a maybe and back burnered until the others go live.

Well, that’s it for now. Take care and GISH ya later!

I finally have project plans for my YouTube channel but I have been so sick for the last week. It has been incredibly frustrating because I can’t get out of bed long enough other than to take care of my basic needs and when I talk I sound like a honking goose. Gah!!!

Crimson: “Go to bed in your room not on the couch.”

Son (half asleep): “Hang on I gotta find something. I forget what it’s called… the head rester thing.”

Crimson: “You mean a pillow?”

Son: “Yeah, that.”

Car ride conversations between mother and son…

Crimson: “Dear Pizza…(dramatic pause)…The End.”

Son: “What, no plot or character development?! What the heck is going on?”

Question on Yahoo Answers: Is there a synonym for potato or tomato?

Crimson:

Potato: Dirt Fries

Tomato: Pre-Ketchup

Question on Yahoo Answers: What is your biggest regret in life?

Crimson: Having that 4th prepackaged gas station taco that was on sale because it was 3 weeks past the expiration date.

Question on Yahoo Answers: Was it a tradition as a child to write Santa a letter with a list of toys and gifts ?

Crimson: No, it was writing to Amnesty International to help free the elves.