Well, look at that. It's a new year. 2014.

Speaking of, I never acknowledged the 8th birthday of my blog back on November 30. It's been more than eight years since I wrote my very first blog post. I just reread it, by the way. Woof. Also, my sister was just 25 years old then. TWENTY-FIVE. I hardly remember when I was 25.

This blog is old.

We're old.

We're all old, you guys.

The new year, as always, has me reflecting and looking ahead to fresh starts and continued magic. I neglected the hell out of my blog last year. And the year before, if I may confess. I stopped taking the time to write significant thoughts and instead poured all my ramblings into other outlets -- Twitter, Facebook, Instagram. Don't get me wrong, I love all of those social mediums, but what I miss is writing real thoughts. Using more than 140 characters.

So, my first goal of 2014 is to take time to write here. Do people even blog anymore? Is this a thing that happens? If all of the world jumped ship, and no one's even hanging out here anymore, at least I'll still have it for myself. I let too many moments pass in the last year without taking the time to put them into words. There's something to be said about simply enjoying the memory as it is, but I like words. I like sharing them. I like telling stories. And, most importantly, I like to go back and relive moments on any given day, years later, like I have for the last eight years.

Every day of 2013, I wrote down one happy thought and collected them in a jar. My intention is to gather them all and put them into a small scrapbook. But I also think with each blog post, I'll include a random happiness note from the last year.

The first one I pulled from the batch tonight is from March 6: "Finished reading Me Before You," which is funny because I was just discussing this book with someone earlier today. For the record, I didn't like the book that much. But reading makes me so happy, which brings me to another goal -- read more.

Last year's project also made me cognizant of one very important part of life that's too often overlooked: being thankful for the little moments. On the crappiest days, I still took the effort to find one happy moment to put in the jar. It's too easy to wallow sometimes. Don't get me wrong, I love a good wallow. But it's nice to have a big, old jar of happiness sitting in front of me, too.

Another reminder from the last year: appreciate. Specifically, appreciate people. This one's a little more personal to me, but I don't want to realize one day I don't remember the last time I told my parents I loved them. Or my sister. Or any of the important people in my life. I'm not going to go all Tim McGraw, live-like-you-were-dying here, but really. It's important. It's important to me. Hug more. Don't go to bed angry. Forgive more easily. Be more rational. Smile more often. Seems simple enough, but I know it'll take some effort.

Aside from the big picture goals for the year, I want to cook more. Spend less money on frivolous meals like lunch just because I'm too lazy to head home and make something during the lunch hour. Travis and I have been making some pretty phenomenal meals lately, and hopefully we'll keep that up. Turns out I like cooking much more than I thought.

I also want to drink more water, floss my teeth more regularly, do more push-ups. Little, daily things I can focus on that make me feel better. Running, too. You know, I think I'll probably keep that up. I'd really like to keep up the momentum I built in the last half of the year. I became a stronger runner, and that felt good.

So that's about it. I've considered giving up soda for the year, which I've done before, but I'm currently weighing the pros and cons of removing root beer from my life, and it feels like a pretty big life decision. I'm not quite ready to make it yet. Some decisions you can't make lightly, you know.

Here's to a happier and healthier year with plenty of running, cleaner teeth, more money and extra love.

Cheers, internet.

krittabug