Ugh. The obituaries yesterday and today had the death notice of someone I went to school with. Not a good friend - just an acquaintence, but he was 37 and had kids (apparently his daughter died before him) and it made me think a lot about life.

I've made mistakes as a friend, become a hermit, and let myself go. But most of my life is going well. My husband, my kids, my career...

However, I've decided that 2008 will be the year I extend some courtesies to myself. I want to un-hermitize myself, take pride in my appearance, be more active and develop more friendships.

I've spent the last 10 years holed up and trying to figure out what mattered to me. I've discovered it isn't money, isn't fashion or gossip. It's loved ones - friends and family, and yes, even myself.

I feel like the coming year will be my best year in life yet!  If the existing things continue going well and I work on things I want to improve, then I can't imagine how happy I'll be - I'm already extremely happy with my life as it is.

I look forward to the challenges I have ahead of me.

Tiff :)