NYE | Blissfulbritt

Tag: NYE

The Last Post

Posted at 5:00 AM by Brittany, on December 30, 2016

…..of 2016

Another holiday down, with one more to wrap up 2016. I don’t know why, but it really grinds my gears when people complain every.single NYE about how terrible the past year was. Were you alive? Were you breathing? Were you employed? Unless you were literally struggling to survive (in which I will pray for you) then I don’t want to hear it.

Be thankful, and quit whining about it. #saltyoldwoman

Christmas in my house was magical, per usual. Calm, quiet, and casual. I went for a nice run, made some pancakes, and added a few more items to my collection of things.

Seen on my run.

In a previous post I discussed how I don’t really like receiving items for Christmas, but because I’m blessed with gracious family members the items come regardless. So I make things easy and list out what I could use. Let’s see if my list made a difference.

#1 REI Gift Card – Success, thanks mom.
#2 Mountain Ring – No success. Womp
#3 Wood iWatch Band – Success, patiently waiting for its arrival
#4 Glamping – SUCCESS
#5 Whole Foods Gift Card – No success. I will starve.
#6 Subaru Outback – No success. Toyota Camry prevails!
#7 New Birkenstocks – No success, I was hopeful for this one.
#8 A new iPhone – Success…almost. Working on this one.
#9 Mountain Earrings – Success.
#10 Trip to Ireland – SUCCESS!!!!

I was totally blowing smoke into the air when I wrote Ireland as a wish list item, and then decided it was time to stop talking about it and just DO it. So I bought myself a trip to Ireland. Santa ain’t got shit on me. May 2017 my friend and I will embark on a 10 day Irish road trip (pray for us, opposite side of the road driving) starting in Dublin, and driving a makeshift circle throughout the country.

I can’t contain myself.

Me.

2016 was the year I discovered life is much too short to settle for what you don’t enjoy. I haven’t been living my “truth” (you know, those times when your gut tells you it doesn’t want to do something and you ignore it and do it anyway) and the universe has a way of slapping you in the face as many times as possible until you wake up and realize it.

2017 will be the year where my gut, my head, and my heart all become very close. No more ignoring the inner voice, no more doing what others think is right, and no more waiting for the perfect moment. The perfect moment is now. So do that thing you’ve always wanted to do. Eat the damn cookie already.

I don’t know what 2017 holds, but that’s the beauty of life. Instead of trying to figure it all out I’ve become comfortable sitting back and letting the universe take me where it wants to. Apparently that means a trip to Ireland, and I’m OK with that. Maybe it means a new job, maybe it means more travel, maybe it means meeting new friends.

I’m open, and trusting.

I need more exploring in 2017 than I had in 2016. More mountains, more cities, more life. The highest peak I’ve hit the last month was a mere 520′ atop the Space Needle. Starbucks gifted me a free trip to the top, but nothing compares to the top of a mountain.

I’m ready to say goodbye to 2016, but I don’t dare talk ill of it. Every single moment we are given is an opportunity to learn and to grow. Without the hard times we would have no contrast for all the good times. Without the pain we would not know pleasure. Without the failures we would not have success, and without 2016 we would not have another year of life.

Each NYE for the last few years I’ve made it a point to volunteer somewhere. Typically my Arizona family and I help package meals for children in other countries, but I didn’t make it to Arizona this year. Instead I’ll be hanging out with some of my Starbucks family members making meals at a local food bank. It doesn’t matter what you do, big or small, but I find doing something for someone else is a great way to ring in the new year.

I’m too old for that disco ball drunken dancing nonsense kids do at midnight.

See you all in 2017. Go do something nice for someone else.

Q: What was the best part of your holiday?

| 68 Comments Tagged Christmas, New Year, NYE, Running

57 Children

Posted at 8:05 AM by Brittany, on January 1, 2014

The older I get, the less interested I am in staying out late and partying with my friends. Don’t get me wrong..I love to go out with my friends, but it’s rare for me to want to stay out past 10PM. I like my sleep, and I like waking up feeling refreshed, not dead. Last year on NYE I went to my first hot yoga class, played bingo with some fellow old souls, and was back home by 9:45PM. All I was missing was some prune juice and pants up to my waist.

I thought that was great, until this year.

This year I went with my dad, and my two younger siblings to help package enough food to feed 57 children for an entire year in the Philippians. As Ron Weasley would say, that’s pretty wicked.

A non-profit organization called Feed My Starving Children has multiple locations, with one location out of Tempe, AZ. I had never done this before, but my copilots had and said it was a lot of fun. For two hours we swapped stations and packaged around 20,000 meals.

How’s my hair?

I started with the rice and soy station, then moved to the bagging station, then found my way to the packaging station. We were tucked into a warehouse with music blasting and laughter all around. It was quite an experience and I would love to do it again.

This experience challenged me to step outside of myself and think about other people. I’ve never been one for resolutions, and the last two years I only set small goals (2012 was the year I would run my first half marathon, and 2013 I wanted to run four. I ran three in 2013 and I am so pleased with that) that I knew were attainable.

This year I want to not only continue to better myself in my fitness/nutrition endeavors, but I want to put my focus onto those around me. I started to focus on others throughout December and it was very rewarding..the perfect way to end one year and start another. My goal for 2014 is to adapt a lifestyle where I am more selfless, helping others whenever I can. The range for this is endless, anything from helping a family in need of Christmas dinner, to helping my mom clean the dishes when she feels tired. Anything that helps.

2013 was the year I started to discover who I am, it was a roller-coaster of emotions for me and I was challenged to persevere when I felt like I was falling down a black hole. 2013 opened the door to many new adventures I have yet to discover, and I learned how to find peace withing myself when my mind felt like a stormy sea.

I have a lot more to learn about myself, but 2013 was the push I needed to start thinking about how I want to live my life. I want to better myself as a person, and to accomplish this I want to take the focus off of me. I don’t mean putting my needs, desires, or goals to the side, but when I feel the internal “me, me, me” monster flaring up at any moment I want to handle myself better and think about those around me too.

The more I take myself out of the center, the happier I feel. The less I worry, the happier I feel. The more I give, the richer I feel. Cheers to 2014.

Q: What’s ONE big goal you have for 2014?