Another holiday weekend

Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; begin it well and serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense.

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

It seems like I always make the same resolutions, probably the same ones that everyone makes. Last year's were sort of unique:

• Spend less
• Nap more
• Knit more
• Watch more movies
• Read more books
• Eat less
• Exercise more
• Moisturize more
• Wear rubber gloves when I wash dishes
• Be more assertive--stand up for myself more
• Make more art
• Listen to more music
• Take more pictures
• Waste less time

I don't think I really accomplished much on that list. Maybe "watch more movies," I guess I did that. "Exercise more?" Well, I did, until the gym closed. I did remember to "wear rubber gloves" most of the time when I washed dishes. "Make more art?" Nope, not really. I don't think I probably spent any less, or knitted any more, or ate less. I'm pretty sure I didn't waste any less time. So, maybe a list that I'm more apt to follow.

Resolutions:

1. Send birthday cards and gifts (cash or gift cards) to all nieces and nephews, and cards (or e-cards) to other relatives and friends. I used to be really good at this, but I've become lax the last couple of years.
2. Give something, no matter how small, to charity every month (my favorite charity is the City Union Mission in Kansas City)
3. Get an eye exam and new glasses
4. Instead of sitting down at the computer first thing in the morning, sit down at the table and write Morning Pages (from The Artist's Way). I enjoy this when I do it, I just have to make myself do it.
5. While at the table, pick a tarot "Card of the Day" to write about at Rarepeace.
6. Read at least 50 books (I read 60 in 2006, so this is doable)
7. Work on my tarot deck -- I don't think I worked on it at all in 2006. Create at least one card a month. Did I mention I bought a new domain name? I got a promotional email from a registrar offering $3.99 domain names, so I bought rarepeacetarot.com. Just in case I ever get to the point of actually publishing it some day.
8. Knit 6 pairs of socks -- one sock every month. Totally doable.
9. Learn a little bit of Spanish. I don't expect to be fluent, but learn some useful words and phrases (Bob and I have been working on it this week -- we have a month before we go to Mexico)

We had a nice Christmas and New Years Eve -- we spent Christmas Eve at Bob's parents' and Christmas day with my family; my sister and brother-in-law were in town, which was nice, but they live in Denver and weren't able to get out when they had planned, so their trip was cut short, unfortunately.

My sister gave me a really beautiful flowered antique teapot stand -- a ceramic piece to sit a hot teapot on -- and my other sister gave me a really cool pewter lamp that I took to work for my office. I got a gift certificate for a pair of Converse All Stars (I've been wanting some forever!) from my niece Mallory; I ordered a pair of pink ones yesterday! I can't wait 'til I get them.

Bob gave me a beautiful blue robe with moons and stars on it, and a pair of peridot earrings, and my folks gave me gold earrings, and Bob's folks gave us cash -- always appropriate! We also got Blockbuster and Best Buy gift certificates from my niece and my brother, and Bob got a couple of gift certificates for sporting goods from Barb and his brother, so we've had a lot of fun cashing them in.

Barb was in town for the week to see her family, so we got together one night for dinner with a couple of other friends, then she came out and had lunch with Bob and me on Sunday and we exchanged Christmas gifts (among other things, she gave me a pair of really cool battery operated candles. They're made out of real wax, so they have the look, feel and smell of real candles, and they flicker. I was concerned about leaving them on, figuring it would run down the battery, but the instructions say that regular batteries will last about 350 hours! Barb says she has one that she uses as a nightlight in the bathroom, so I'm doing that, too. They cast a really soft, pretty light, and you don't have to worry about blowing them out!

Afterwards, Barb took off to spend New Year's Eve with a friend; Bob and I stayed home and had our usual, quiet evening. I ran out at about 6:00 to go to the grocery store to get black eyed peas. I thought I had a can, but they turned out to be "purple hull peas," and I didn't want to take any chances.

I ended up going up to bed around 10:00, and Bob woke me up at 11:30 with a bottle of sparkling wine and our special wine glasses.

And we started the year with some good news -- Bob has a new job. He's going to work at a brand new Bass Pro Shop that's opening about ten minutes away from us. The job sounds like it will be perfect for Bob, and he's really looking forward to it. He took me out last night to show me where it is. It's still under construction, but it looks like it's close to being finished.

Even thought I don't do any kind of hunting or fishing or anything like that, I love the Bass Pro store in Springfield (which is the only one I've ever been to), so I'm excited about the new one here. Especially since Bob's going to working there!

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