The holidays are officially over. I celebrated Christmas with the family, was the good older sister on my brother's birthday and rang in the new year in Toledo.
So now that the New Year is officially here, I guess it's time to write the New Year's resolution column that I and every other columnist in the country has written in the past two weeks.
First off, I started my 2009 off a little different this year. I started it off by chopping off my hair. That's right folks, the girl who has never had her hair above her shoulders is now clearing them by an inch.
Everyone that I have seen in the past few days asked me, "What made you cut your hair?" At first, I just wanted something different. But after 4 inches of my hair went away, I realized that my haircut was more than just a haircut - it was the desire to start 2009 on the right foot, or as I've been calling it, a fresh start.
When I make my resolutions each year - which always consists of the normal dieting, taking more chances, becoming a better person, yadda, yadda, yadda - I always cheat/give up/renege on them about two weeks in. For some reason, I can't find that incentive to keep me on the right track. That, and I have the will power of a 2-year-old at Toys 'R' Us.
But this year ... this year, my friends, is different. I have incentive coming out the nose. After taking a year's hiatus on my way to my 27 dresses, I have a wedding in October that I plan to look good for. And for anyone keeping count, this will be bridesmaid's dress No. 6. But before the wedding, is the long-awaited - and gosh darn, it's going to happen - cruise.
So, with the new haircut is a new Dana. The Dana who is going to stay on her diet and lose her desired 30-40 pounds. The Dana who is going to take more chances and not be scared of rejection like a small child is scared of the flying monkeys in "The Wizard of Oz." And hopefully, the new Dana won't be writing this same column come this time next year.
So now that I have made my resolutions, I would like to take the rest of this space to offer some New Year's resolutions to the rest of Trumbull County. And please, I hope everyone stays true to these resolutions. Everyone will benefit.
First, and I know I've touched on it before, but now it's getting ridiculous. Do you want to know why traffic is so bad on route 46 heading from Niles to Cortland? Because people STILL won't use the second on-ramp that has now been built for more than five years. It's not that scary, people, and traffic will move so much better. Please resolve to not discriminate so people like me, who do use the ramp, don't have to wait 10 minutes because you refuse to disburse traffic evenly.
Secondly, another driving resolution. Now that it's going to be snowy and icy for the next few months, don't forget how to drive. All of a sudden, when half an inch of snow turns up, people freak out and act like they haven't driven in 40 years. Please, people, we've all done this before. It's not like this whole lake effect snow thing is new to us. So let's all resolve to not be stupid this winter driving season.
And last but certainly not least, let's all make the resolution to stay positive this year and to battle out whatever comes our way together. Let's be honest, 2008 wasn't so hot for a lot of us. Losing jobs, losing houses, many times losing sanity, all came as door prizes for last year. Let's all remember when struggling with our own personal problems that it's the same for everyone and the only way to get through this time is to not bite people's heads off and to stay positive. Hey, it can't get any worse right? Right? I guess only 2009 will tell.
Happy New Year everyone! Now it's time to go eat a yummy granola bar with fat free yogurt and lite orange juice instead of scrambled cheese eggs and greasy hash browns. Happy New Year to me.
Sulonen is a Tribune Chronicle sports writer. E-mail her at dsulonen@tribtoday.com