ANOTHER YEAR STARTS WITH HIGH HOPES

A new year seems like a made-to-order topic for blogging. A new year, resolutions, forecasts , expectations, and predictions are appearing in blogs all over the place, so I figure I might as well have my say as well.

I've never been into New Year's resolutions, but I did make one last year. I resolved to lose a pound a month during 2010. Well, I did it. I lost twelve pounds, but unfortunately I put four back on. I think I'll try it again. At least I'll be starting from eight pounds less than last year. I'm resolving to finish the two books I'm currently working on too. That doesn't include If I should Die which is already written
and waiting for the editing process to begin later this year.

Forecasts? I'm only going to forecast that Spring will come. I'm so sick of snow and cold, I have to believe better days are coming.

Expectations? I expect to be happy this year, not for any particular reason, but because I believe being happy is a decision we're each free to make. Circumstances can cause sadness and hurt, but we decide for ourselves whether or not we'll take the lumps life hands us and be happy anyway.

Predictions? Here's the fun part. I got to play a gypsy fortune teller with a crystal ball at a carnival once; it was a blast. And I have an ancestress who barely escaped Wales with her life when all of her neighbors decided she was a witch. And who knows? My predictions have just as much chance of coming true as those of anyone else.

1. I predict the tea party candidates will make a valiant effort when they get to Washington, but will be out-maneuvered in most instances by more savvy politicians who have been playing the game for a longer time.

2. I predict the reading and movie going public will get their fill of vampires and paranormal creatures and look for literature with more substance. Actually that's more wishful thinking than prediction.

3. Half the world, at least the Western half, will go gaga over Prince William's marriage to his live-in girlfriend.

4. Most television programs will continue to be boring.

5. BYU football's jump to a new market will be more lucrative than the U's switch to the Pack 12, but no matter how successful either or both may be on the field, the national sports broadcasters will still look down their noses at them.

6. North Korea and Iran will continue to be obnoxious to the rest of the world and the rest of the world will continue to threaten them with stiffer sanctions.

7. Mexican drug lords and US gunrunners will manage to blow up themselves and each other --I wish.

8. Political correctness will continue to censor books, speech, and make a strong attempt to control thought.

9. My grandkids will continue to be adorable and smart.

10. I'll forget before next December where I put the Christmas wrapping paper I just bought.