Happy New Year!

Wow - 2008 just went by in a blur and now the new year is upon us. To an obsessed list- and resolution-maker like me, there are two times during the year that give me that tingly, "renewal is possible" kind of feeling. One is the back-to-school season in September (nothing like newly sharpened pencils and pristine white erasers to give me that anything-is-possible feeling!). The other is, of course, New Year's.

So out of curiosity, I went back in time on this blog and read my first couple of 2008 posts. Wow, I really lost sight of those resolutions in no time flat! The good news is, I really don't have to invent any new goals for 2009. I can just recycle all those unmet 2008 goals, lol! Actually, I am going to be realistic and pick just one to work on. This year I will put a greater focus on my health. I will eat well, I will be active, I will take care of my body and soul (and hopefully in the process lose a dress size or maybe even two). I would just love to lose 20 pounds between now and bathingsuit season (and firm up the jigglies that will surely be there even if 20 pounds are lost). And in order to keep the goal in focus, I will blog about my progress once a month. Consider yourselves forewarned, lol.

So we rang in the new year at home with a few friends and a huge prime rib. I love dinner parties although they are lots of work before, during and after. My favorite part of hosting has got to be setting the table. I decided to go with a gold theme this year, and here is how it turned out:


Our guests left around 1:30 a.m. and I was up until 3:00 cleaning up, because I'm one of those people who just can't go to bed until all is clean. Just like my mother. So on New Year's day, I mostly napped, read, and watched tv, and while I changed out of my nightie, I changed into some pajama pants, so I think that counts as spending the day in my jammies! I didn't even do any scrapbooking; although I did finish 3 layouts a couple of days before. Here are two of them (still have to scan the third):

Relax


For some reason I just LOVE this picture of my husband and our friend Akis. Even though all we see is the back of their heads and they could be any two guys at random! I shot this with the zoom on my camera ... Akis had his wife's hat on to protect his head from the sun and from this angle, our guys look like two old Greek men gossiping on a park bench. Come to think of it, they ARE two old Greek men gossiping on a park bench! Lol. Supplies include Bohemian patterned paper from My Mind's Eye.

Good Friends


Another picture that I love. These are our best friends Carrie and Akis. Really simple layout! One of the patterned papers is Daisy D, but I have no idea about the other one (yay, I used some scraps in my stash!). The rub-on letters and bird are Bohemian from My Mind's Eye. The flowers are I think Basic Grey and Prima and hide a lovely garbage bag that was captured in this picture!

I just get SO MUCH HAPPINESS out of scrapbooking. Just sitting there in my little room creating a layout clears my mind and soothes my soul. As part of my "taking care of my body and soul" resolution (see above), I'm going to be sure to scrapbook more often than I did in 2008. Last year, weeks and sometimes months went by between scrap sessions. Can't let that happen again.

In other news ... I think I had written here about damaging my car in a parking garage on the first day of the bus strike? Well, it's been at the body shop for repair since Dec 22 and praise the lord, I just found out it will be ready for pick-up tomorrow morning. I am so looking forward to having a car again!!! Not to mention, that the strike is still on and I had no idea how I was going to make it to work without a car next week!

And in other, other news ... I think I forgot to mention that the daughter has already received offers of admission from Carleton (Bachelor of Humanities) and from Ottawa U (Bachelor with Major in English and Minor in History). And both universities are offering the maximum entrance scholarship of $4,000/year (renewable with A- average). We are a long way from a decision though - more research needs to be done - stay tuned!

Gotta go - we're off to dinner at C&A's house. Ciao!