Final Thoughts on 2016

Hello all!
I decided that I was going to do one last blog post for 2016 and I finally decided that I was going to give my final thoughts on 2016 in general. This is going to include my own personal experiences of 2016 and what I think of 2016 in general. I also am going to include some goals that I want to achieve in 2017.

My personal experiences of 2016 have 3 major events that occurred. Two of them where amazing beyond belief and one almost spiraled me into a depression so let's start with the two happy events first.

First I finally opened up an Etsy shop where I began selling planner supplies. It's still a small Etsy shop but I have got big plans for it in 2017 so I'm really excited to see how much I can make it grow.

And even more amazing event that happened was that I became an aunt! My sister gave birth to a happy bouncing baby boy at the end of June and I am so in love with my little nephew! He's so cute and already has the entire family wrapped around his fingers.

The event that almost spiraled me into a depression took a toll on not only myself but my entire family. My father passed away on Nov. 14 and it hit us all very hard. He had been in ICU for almost an entire month due to liver failure from years of drinking alcohol to excess. For the last 2 months before he was administered into the hospital, he lived with me and I became his main caregiver along with my grandfather and uncle who has down-syndrome. It was hard, I'm not going to lie but it was worth it. Over the years, we've grown apart because he was a man of harsh actions and even harsher words. But in the end, we did make up and bury the hatchet. I was able to tell him that even though I will never forget anything he has said over the years but that I could forgive him. And in fact, I forgave him the moment he said those hurtful things and even forgave him for things he never said out loud; but spoke with this eyes.

Okay that's enough of that because emotions are still raw on that one.

Sadly this year has been horrible when it comes to not only deaths of close family but also of celebrities. I cannot believe that some of my favorite actors, musicians and authors are no long with us. And we seem to be losing more and more every day and I just want 2016 to be over with.

I am so excited for 2017 to come and I can't wait to see what I accomplish in the coming months. I have several goals that I want to achieve and if I'm honest some of the goals aren't just a want but a need. I'll list them below but keep in mind I change my mind like the wind changes direction. But I do want to keep these this year.

My Goals for 2017
1. Lose weight!
2. Expand my Etsy Shop
3. Finish writing at least one book, if not more.
4. Budget better
5. Grow my blogs
6. Spend more time with friends
7. Do things that I say I'm going to do and don't go back on my word.

And that really is all that I have in mind for goals next year. I'm pretty sure that I will add more to my list and that it will grow as the year progresses. But I really do want to achieve all of my goals this year. I just hope that I can cross off a few of these by the end of next year.

Thank you for reading my blog(s). I will list my other blogs below so feel free to check them out!

Until next time!
Here is a list of my other blogs! Check them out!
Reviews & First Impressions Blog
http://reviews-and-impressions.blogspot.com/

My Experience as a Caregiver
http://my-experience-as-a-caregiver.blogspot.com/

A Southern Girl's Weight-Loss Journey
http://southern-girl-weight-loss-journey.blogspot.com/

Daily Zen Quote - December 31, 2016

You will not be punished for your anger,
you will be punished by your anger.
~ Buddha

Daily Zen Quote - December 30, 2016

There is nothing more dreadful than the habit of doubt. Doubt separates people. It is a poison that disintegrates friendships and breaks up pleasant relations. It is a thorn that irritates and hurts; it is a sword that kills.
~ Buddha

Daily Zen Quote - December 29, 2016

One is meant to forgive and be compassionate.
~ Unknown

Daily Zen Quote - December 28, 2016

May all beings be well and happy.
~ Sabbe Satta Bhavantu Sukhitata

Daily Zen Quote - December 27, 2016

The thought manifests as the word;
The word manifests as the deed;
The deed develops into a habit;
The habit hardens into character;
So watch the thoughts and it's ways with care;
And let it spring from love
Born out of concern for all human beings...
As the shadows follows the body,
As we think, so we become.
~ Buddha

Daily Zen Quote - December 26, 2016

Happiness does not depend on what you have or who you are. It solely replies on what you think.
~ Buddha

Daily Zen Quote - December 25, 2016

A friend is someone who knows all about you and still loves you.
~ Elbert Hubbard

Daily Zen Quote - December 24, 2016

Sometimes we need someone to simply be there. Not to fix anything, or to do anything in particular, but just to let us feel that we are card for and supported.
~ Unknown

Daily Zen Quote - December 23, 2016

Every girl needs a best friend to help her laugh when she thinks she'll never smile again.
~ Unknown

Daily Zen Quote - December 22, 2016

The most beautiful discovery true friends make is that they can grow separately without growing apart.
~ Unknown

Daily Zen Quote - December 21, 2016

The golden moments in the stream of life rush past us and we see nothing but sand; the angels come to visit us, and we only know them when they are gone.
~ Unknown

Daily Zen Quote - December 20, 2016

When you realize how perfect everything is, you will tilt your head and laugh at the sky.
~ Buddha

Daily Zen Quote - December 19, 2016

The stream of life will not be stayed in its course for man's convenience, and water dammed and stilled in its flow becomes increasingly impure.
~ Christmas Humphreys from Studies in the Middle Way

Daily Zen Quote - December 18, 2016

Better than a thousand hollow words, is the one that brings peace.
~ Buddha

Daily Zen Quote - December 17, 2016

Serenity comes when you trade expectations for acceptance.
~ Zen Proverb

Daily Zen Quote - December 16, 2016

Adopt the pace of nature;
her secret is patience.
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Daily Zen Quote - December 15, 2016

Let us rise up and be thankful,
for if we didn't learn a lot today,
at least we learned a little.
And if we didn't learn a little,
at least we didn't get sick.
And if we got sick, at least we didn't die;
So, let us all be thankful
~ Buddha

Daily Zen Quote - December 14, 2016

Patience is the calm acceptance that things can happen in a different order than the one you have in mind.
~ Buddha

Daily Zen Quote - December 13, 2016

There is no error greater than hatred. And nothing mightier than patience.
So I strive in every way to learn,
PATIENCE
~ Buddha

Daily Zen Quote - December 12, 2016

Simplicity, Patience, Compassion.
These three are your greatest treasures.
Simple in action and thoughts, you return to the source of being.
Patient with both friends and enemies, you accord with the way things are.
Compassionate toward yourself, you reconcile all beings in the world.
~ Lazo Tzu, Tao Te Ching

Daily Zen Quote - December 11, 2016

The secret to having it all...
is knowing you already do.
~ Zen Proverb

Daily Zen Quote - December 10, 2016

No matter how hard the past, you can always begin again.
~ Buddha

Daily Zen Quote - December 9, 2016

Before you talk, listen.
Before you react, think.
Before you spend, earn.
Before you criticize, wait.
Before you pray, forgive.
Before you quit, try.
~ Ernest Hemingway

Daily Zen Quote - December 8, 2016

Nature does not hurry. Yet everything is accomplished.
~ Lao Tsu

Daily Zen Quote - December 7, 2016

Zen is a journey toward enlightenment; a journey of spirit.
Living Zen is the understanding that I can experience emotion, feeling, or adversity - without letting it consume me.
~ Zen Proverb

Daily Zen Quote - December 6, 2016

When I was 5 years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down 'happy'. They told me I didn't understand the assignment, and I told them they didn't understand life.
~ John Lennon

Daily Zen Quote - December 5, 2016

The Paradox of Our Age
We have bigger houses, but smaller families;
More conveniences, but less time;
We have more degrees, but less sense;
More knowledge, but less judgement;
More experts, but more problems;
More medicines, but less healthiness;
We've been all the way to the moon and back.
But have trouble crossing the street to meet the new neighbor.
We built more computers to hold more information, to product more copies then ever, but have less communication.
We have become long on quantity, but short on quality.
These are times of fast food but slow digestion;
Tall man but short character;
Steep profits but shall relationships.
It is a time when there is much in the window, but nothing in the room.
~ Dalai Lama

Daily Zen Quote - December 4, 2016

Quiet the mind and the soul will speak.
~ Ma Jaya Sati

Daily Zen Quote - December 3, 2016

If you want to change the world, go home and love your family.
~ Mother Teresa

Daily Zen Quote - December 2, 2016

10 to Zen
1. Let go of comparing.
2. Let go of competing.
3. Let go of judgments.
4. Let go of anger.
5. Let go of regrets.
6. Let go of worrying.
7. Let go of blame.
8. Let go of guilt.
9. Let go of fear.
10. Have a proper belly laugh at least once a day (especially if it's about your inability to let go of any or all of the above)
~ Unknown

Daily Zen Quote - December 1, 2016

Be glad for this moment...
for this moment is your life.
~ Unknown