forget not to be happy now

I continue to think every day about how I can accomplish each of my goals for this year. .  I stumbled across the book by President Uchtdorf called Forget Me Not on my Kindle Fire and it was free so I, of course,  downloaded it.  In chapter 3 titled "forget not to be happy now," President Uchtdorf talks about living in the moment and not putting our happiness on hold as we wait for some future event- our golden ticket, as he called it, - to appear.  He said it better than I can paraphrase it:

"If we spend our days waiting for fabulous roses, we could miss the beauty and wonder of the tiny forget-me-nots that are all around us.  This is not to say that we should abandon hope or temper  our goals.  Never stop striving for the best that is within you.  Never stop hoping for all of the righteous desires of your heart.  But don't close your eyes and hearts to the simple and elegant beauties of each day's ordinary moments that make up a rich, well-lived life.  The happiest people I know are not those who find their golden ticket; they are those who, while in pursuit of worthy goals, discover and treasure the beauty and sweetness of the everyday moments.  They are the ones who, thread by daily thread, weave a tapestry of gratitude and wonder throughout their lives.  These are they who are truly happy." 

I love this.  It is something I need to live by and remember as I begin this new year.  I have wasted days thinking things like "I'll be truly happy when this happens" or if only I had this then I'd really be happy, etc.  It is all about living in the moment and that is what spontaneity is all about. 

Cheesy grin with my cupcake earrings :)

2013

I know it's not quite New Years yet but I'm preparing for it by writing this. :) I have made resolutions and have set goals in the past but like you can relate I end up forgetting about them or sadly I end up quitting them before accomplishing them. I always have them in my mind but I often wouldn't share them with others or write them down and therefore my attempts at acting on them failed. I decided that this time would be different. I have been thinking quite a bit for a while now about making a new start and making goals and really working to accomplish them. There are so many things I want to do with my life but I've merely been too lazy to do anything about those wants and dreams. So here they are. My goals for 2013. Read them. Support me. Encourage me. Remind me. And thank you. 

1. Be more spontaneous and take more fun, random pictures. 
2. Go to the temple and receive my endowments. 
 3. Buy a new car. 
4. Run a half marathon.
 5. Take a class of some sort. (I haven't quite decided what this is going to be. I'm thinking some kind of dance class, or flute lessons, or an American sign language class. Still have to research this more. Suggestions are welcome.) 

I have tried to keep these specific. Obviously these are large goals and there are specific and small goals I have to do to reach the big ones except number 1 maybe. I'm going to use this blog as a journal to these goals and share what I'm doing to reach those goals. I'll be sharing pictures on instagram, facebook, and here of course. Note: I don't have a good camera so they won't be the best quality but hey they're pictures. Anyway, here's to goals and dreams!