See ya never 2012: The best is yet to be.

Happy new year everyone! Best wishes, health and happiness, beauty and wonder, all the best, yata yata yata.

For all of you who had an absolutely earth-shaterringly magnificent 2012, this post might not be for you.

BUT, for those of you who wouldn't mind stealing 2012's lunch money and shoving it in a locker, join the club.

The wonderful thing about celebrating the "New Year", which is simply celebrating the fact that 365 days have passed, is that we can make it whatever we want to make it. For me, I like to see it as an anniversary of "firsts". Some of my firsts, such as my first jagerbomb or my first d-floor make out, are inconsequential in the great scheme of things ... I mean they were great, but let's think big picture here. Some firsts though, can and have been monumental moments. First steps in a new direction. Many years in my life have come and gone without much acknowledgement, sometimes because I've been a few sodas deep by the time midnight hit and sometimes because, well, I didn't need a reason to give the previous year a swirly and hope for a better one to come. But, my friends, this year I did. And I'm here to tell you that if you did too, this is our chance to take back what is ours. Our chance for a "first" ... our chance for a first step in the right direction.

I truly believe that once in a while, the universe decides that you need to make an epic change... That you need a personal TSN turning point. Now, we know that in order for a sports team to warrant said turning point, they basically need to hit rock bottom and then, like an ice cold Gatorade waiting in the fridge after a big night out, something saves them. I believe that these are the big monumental moments in our lives - the firsts that we'll tell our grand-kids about when we're old and have nothing else to say that they'll find interesting. These are the times when the universe has knocked us down, kicked us in the kidneys and yelled 'Yo Mama' jokes at us until we couldn't take it any more. And then, December 31st arrives and we have the beautiful opportunity to stand up, look the past year right in the face, turn our back on it, and move ON.

So, my friends, this is it - this is your chance to dramatically walk away from a year that may have bullied you a little more than you planned for. Stand up, muster up whatever energy you have, turn on your heel, and start marching. Left, right, left, right.

Let's not pass up this amazing chance to regain control ... the new year truly can bring you hope, wonder and beauty, you just have to get off your ass and take the first step towards it.

"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." - Lao-Tzu

"This too shall pass": the power of positivity.

As some of you may know, my fortune in the health department over the past month or so has been, well, unhealthy. Due to my inability to do anything active and my complete lack of hobbies that aren't sports, I spent an unnerving amount of time inside my head. In this seeming eternity, I discovered a few things about a few things.

First, it is absolutely impossible to do completely nothing and keep your mind blank... and can someone please explain this to my doctor? It CANNOT BE DONE.

Secondly, it is absolutely impossible to be positive all of the time. Even if you are the kind of person who eats rainbows and sunshine for breakfast.

Lastly, you cannot even attempt to be positive without a little help. This, my friends, is where your friends come in. Your support network. What is that? You might ask. It is comprised of the people who are there to believe in you when you can't believe in yourself.

"A friend is someone who knows the song in your heart and can sing it back to you when you have forgotten the words." - Bernard Meltzer

 These people are your "phone a friend" lifeline in Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?: Life Edition. Don't worry, I'm not going to rhyme off a bunch of stupid clichés about friendship (except the quote that I just rhymed off... and the one right before that).

The moral of the story is that sometimes life makes you eat a big sh*t sandwich, maybe even several of them. Sometimes life's bad, AND it sucks. On those days, above all, lean on the people who are either going to a) tell you to stop being a baby and change out of the big underpants that you've worn for 5 days, b) split the sh*t sandwich in half and help you eat it, or c) sit in the life ER with you after you've eaten the sh*t sandwich and wait by your side until you've been seen by the doctor.

For example, an awesome note from Dad last week.

With this, I encourage everyone to think about a few things ... Who is on your "phone a friend" list? Do they know that they are? If not, let them know. It will make their day AND it will prepare them for the inevitable shi*t burger that they'll have to eat with you at some point down the road. Who's list are you on? If you aren't sure, are there a few people that you should reach out to and say, "HEY, when the golden arches of life hand you a McSh*t, I'll share it with you"? 

Take a moment inside your head and do a few loads of life laundry. In the long run, it will pay off for you and for the people you love.

Getting lost: navigating our stress-induced alter egos

Last weekend, I travelled to Boston with my wonderful family... in a car. Now, if you've never been to Boston you're probably thinking "Wow, lucky girl ... that sounds like it was full of rainbows and candycanes!" But, if you have ever been anywhere near Boston or listened to someone's colour commentary about their experience, you're probably thinking "Is Kath blogging from the grave? Is Long Island Medium writing this post for Kath?".

Well, friends ... don't worry, it's actually me ... not that wild Medium who's big blonde hair is definitely full of secrets.

BUT, it was a close call once we started getting lost.

So, after the epic screaming/crying/arguing match that my darling family had for approximately 45 straight minutes in our car in the middle of Boston, I got to thinking about why I turn into the female version of angry George Costanza when things get stressful. And, moreover, why we all experience a Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde roller coaster of emotions in these situations.

Well, we all know that stress makes us do very weird things and act in ways that are often opposite to our regular selves. In order to combat this, I've thought up some ways to avoid turning into our bizzarro selves when faced with stress ...

1. Find your hot button (get your minds OUT OF THE GUTTER...you know what I mean). Take a step back from the situation and try to identify exactly what triggered your unfamiliar emotion. For example, the woman's voice (I call her B*#&HFACE) on the GPS machine is officially my kryptonite.

2. Try to decrease the impact of the aforementioned trigger. If it is a certain person that's aggravating you, gently try to decrease the impact on your emotions ... Luckily, when we were in Boston, I was able to mute the god damn GPS before I lit it on fire and threw it out the window.

3. It sounds cliche, but BREATHE. Just breathe. It is amazing how closely related our emotions are to our physiological state. By simply paying attention to our breathing, our heart rate slows and, as a result, we become more relaxed. Try to sit more comfortably, relax your shoulders, listen to your breathing.

4. Last, but certainly not least, check your attitude! As the old saying goes, "We cannot direct the wind, but we can always adjust our sails". Take a moment ... take stock of your perspective and try to find a different way to look at things. If I had just sat back and appreciated the fact that I was spending time with three of the most important people in my life, we would have shared a lot more laughs and a lot less "OH WOULD YOU JUST SHUT UP?"s.

So, as you go through the ridiculous ups and downs that life throws your way, remember your hot buttons (even the dirty ones - if your mind is still in the gutter), be action-oriented, take control of your physiological state and, most importantly, lose the tude and find a silver lining.
"If you don't like something, change it; If you can't change it, change the way you think about it." - Mary Engelbreit