12/31: made new New Year’s Resolutions December 31, 2008

I am normally not so successful in keeping my resolutions, so perhaps posting them here will hold me accountable.  Here’s what I plan to do for 2009:

-take Spanish classes to keep up my Spanish
-exercise at least 3x/week
-drink V8 every single day
-go someplace new
-read 52 books

I spent a decent amount of time in Spain to learn Spanish and I’ll be damned if I don’t keep it up.  I am currently watching movies and listening to Berlitz  cds, but I need to step it up a notch.

I was on a roll running a few times a week, but with the New England weather in winter, it is hard to keep up.  So I am joining a gym that I literally drive through the parking lot on the way home from work.  I am hopeful that this will guilt me into going at least 3x a week.

I am not the best eater.  I don’t eat a ton of healthy things.  One small feat for me will be chugging a glass of V8 every morning to start the day off with some nutrients in liquid form (albeit very thick liquid.)

Each year I go somewhere new, so I will definitely stick to this one.  At the moment, I am planning to attend a wedding of some friends in Cabo San Lucas in a few weeks.  That will do it because I’ve never been.  (Bonus- I can practice my Spanish!)

And finally, I am going to read one book a week for the next year.  Reading is one of my favorite hobbies and I haven’t been giving myself too much time to do it recently.  I would appreciate any book recommendations.  I am particularly interested in biographies, chick lit, religion (all religions), and humor.

I wish you a happy and healthy 2009!

12/30: went to a drive-thru Starbucks December 30, 2008

I didn’t even know these existed!  Though I love Starbucks, and the service was friendly, it took about 15 minutes and I was the third car.  All I got was a coffee.

12/29: read about Dewey the library cat December 29, 2008

I read this book today: Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World by Vicki Myron with Bret Witter

It was cute and touching, but I don’t recommend it if you have recently lost a pet yourself.  My cat Barney passed away two weeks ago and it is breaking my heart.  I miss him a ton. I had him since he was a baby and I love him so so so much.   Anyway, the book is good, but I should have let more time pass before I picked it up.  It made me miss my boy even more than I already did.

Some people say that it is dumb to cry over an animal, but I think that is crap because he was part of my family for just about 17 years and I adored him.  There is a huge hole in my life right now.  Yes, I can get another cat but the whole point is that it wouldn’t be him.

B, you were one of a kind and you ruled.

This is me and Barney on Christmas in 2005.  He was always dazzled by catnip.

12/28: played Wii Music and Rock Band December 29, 2008

Wow- I have no musical talent at all.  Both of these games were fun, but I wouldn’t want to own them.  My brother in law and sister in law were really good, but us, not so much.

12/27: went to Nantucket for the first time since I came home December 29, 2008

I had a brief stint in Nantucket, but haven’t been back since because it ended badly.  I had always wanted to see what it looks like at Christmas, but never went back (its been about eight years.)  So instead of giving each other gifts, Brian and I decided to go to Nantucket for the day.  It was awesome.  We walked to my old house, went to the Rose and Crown and Brotherhood of Theives, saw the Christmas decorations, and just had a lovely day.  We took the 9:15 ferry there and the 5:30 back.  It was nice to go and have a happy day to cancel out the bad memories I had of leaving.

12/26: read Are You There Vodka? It’s Me, Chelsea. December 29, 2008

I think Chelsea Handler is a riot.  I watch Chelsea Lately almost every night.  I got this book on sale and I laughed so hard I was crying.

12/25: fed whipped cream to a dog December 29, 2008

It was my sister’s dog, and he apparently eats whipped cream every chance he gets.  That said, he is very healthy and he doesn’t get the chance too often.  In other news, we had a nice Christmas and we did a Secret Santa with Brian’s family which was quite successful.  My family opted to go the no gifts route this year, which was fabulous aside from the fact that both of my parents completely ignored it and got us stuff anyway so I felt like a schmoe.

12/24: skipped church December 29, 2008

I know, I know- this is horrible.  Brian and I went to Portsmouth, NH for the day to hang out.  We had a few drinks (hooray for Circus Boy!) and shopped a bit (but didn’t actually buy anything.  We did almost wreck ourselves on the sidewalks, which were ice covered with a sheet of water.  Hilarity almost ensued, but we managed to stay upright.  We didn’t get home until about 7:30 and the church I usually go to with my dad on Christmas Eve has only a 7 o’clock service (not a late night one, which I would have definitely attended.)  I feel like a jerk, but it was a really fun day.

Also, thanks to Chris for helping me figure out the blogroll thing!

12/23: played trivia with Brian, my mom, my sister, and my brother December 29, 2008

My mom has a group of friends she plays trivia with on Tuesdays.  Since it is so close to the holidays, she brought us for backup in case no one came.  It was really fun.  We were doing great until the very end when we completely blew it.  But we did eat pizza and onion rings.  I believe we came in fourth (out of like six- terrible.)

12/22: mailed a Christmas card but forgot to enclose the card December 29, 2008

Kim and Bryan (and possibly others, but I haven’t heard) received a Christmas envelope from us this year.  For some reason, this destroys me.  I was cracking up for hours.

Maybe next year we will just do ECards.  www.someecards.com

PS:  Happy Birthday, Mel!  And also happy birthday, Alicia!