Happy New Year - 2004

January 1, 2004

January 1, 2004
Wow. 2004. The first time I've written (well typed) it. It's stormy outside and inside. My husband chose to go to an extravagant new years' eve party without me. Too pricey. I'm not a bit happy about it either. He's sleeping it off in the other room which means we have to drive down to Santa Clara in this muckity muck weather to retrieve his car later. My sister came over, we had sushi, and then watched DVDs. She woke me up at midnight to have champagne and say happy new year, etc.

To me, New Years/New Years Eve is the most overrated holiday there is. Unless it's the turn of the century or something, who cares? Putting up a new calendar, big whoop. I seem to have a surplus of calendars this year - the first of which was the annual calendar giveaway at the 49er game in early December. The next was a calendar from my church, and numerous calendars have come in the mail-and my mom got me a funny cat calendar for Christmas. I guess there will be a calendar in every room, and maybe one in each vehicle...

New Years' Resolutions? I really don't have any. Continue with my weight loss and exercise regime which brought me into One-Der-Land (I was over 200 lbs - WAY too much for a 5'5" small boned person like myself). My blood pressure was bordering 'high' and I'm happy to say that is down to a nice, normal range again. I guess I can make some goals for myself regarding my martial arts and business. The photo there was taken in October right after we opened the Karate School. I had not yet begun training but I look pretty good with a large stick in my hands. I am now a yellow/white belt and I find that the workout is very strenuous and is finding muscles I had forgotten about. As far as other resolutions, I'd like to keep my house cleaner, but that has been a struggle for my entire life. I'm just not a neat person. My office looks like a bomb went off in it most days but you know what--I know where everything is! Right now some of my work in progress is under a sleeping cat (furry paperweight), but it works...It seems like I will clean the house, and the next day you can't tell. If George goes camping for a few days, I clean the house when he leaves and it actually stays that way...until his return. Then back down the tubes...I found the sign pictured above at last year's Fremont Festival of the Arts. Appropriate...

I guess I can resolve to write some news here more often. It's been a quiet couple of weeks but this week, I heard from some of my clients and even a potentially new one, so I think 2004 is going to be a good year around here.

This year's holiday season was quiet around here, as I mentioned in my mega-depressing December 22nd entry. Losing 3 of our cats was heartwrenching - especially since 2 of them were our major cats! We didn't put up a Christmas tree, or a single colored light. Nada. Do I feel a sense of longing about not 'participating in Christmas decorating?' No. Not this past season. It didn't feel right. This coming Christmas? If it is a joyous year and I think it is going to be, that's a different story. Besides, it'll be here before you know it. I just hope that the FM stations don't do what they did in 2003 - right after HALLOWEEN they started playing holiday music - nothing BUT holiday music. (I see a future 'rant' topic coming...for the fall I think...)

So, as the rain continues to come down outside, I wonder where I'll be a year from now. Will we still be in our little tiny house with too much furniture and feelings of claustrophobia? Or will I be writing from a den in a spacious house somewhere?

The holidays are finished, the menudo is bubbling on the stove, the cat continues to sleep on my desk...so for now....as long as I have a roof over my head and a few cats to pet, I'm good to go!