Knitting vs. Sleeping

I have GOT to get to bed at a more reasonable hour.

But lately I've been playing with new yarn, starting new projects (well, with the new yarn, you kind of have to knit something – and a swatch just doesn't cut it for me), and pulling out my stash and looking at it, trying to think of what to do with it.

And that leads to being inspired to do NEW projects.

And that's great and all, except I have a bunch of unfinished projects that are taking up space in this one bedroom apartment of mine. A baby blanket for a child that is now 2 years old (and she was a coworker from an old job, and we don't really talk), an afghan made out of HomeSpun (which sounded good at the time, but it's a bit of a pain to crochet with), and an afghan that I intended to make for a dude I liked, but he turned out to be a complete bastard.

The baby blanket is barely started – I can use that yarn (it's cotton) for something else. The HomeSpun afghan – I think I'll finish it and see how it goes. There's not a whole lot you can do with HomeSpun. And the afghan for my Intended – luckily I hadn't gotten too far, and my technique was horrendous, so it's going to be frogged.

I'll probably use that stuff for a blanket for charity or something.

The main goal here is to keep me busy and free up some room. I have a whole lot of acrylic, which isn't a bad thing in and of itself, but there is more to life than what the local craft store carries.

Meanwhile, I get to slog through another day in a fog because I couldn't put that new felting project down. And you know I completely intended to wake up early this morning so I could do a few more rows.

I think I'll do that right now.

Reflections of Earth Day

I didn't do anything special for Earth day. I bought light bulbs, but they were out of the CFL for 3-way lamps. So I had to make do with some regular light bulbs.

You know, Mom kind of raised us as somewhat aware of "being green."

She wasn't a hippie or anything, but she instilled habits in us that make us feel like we're not trying when it comes to conserving resources.

For instance, donating clothes. We ALWAYS donate clothes. I go through my closets every few months, and when I get a bag of clothes, I drop it off at Mom's house (Amvets stop by her house pretty regularly). Or saving those plastic bags to use for anything else. The way Mom always put it - if you can get one more use out of something, then that's good.

And I try to do that. I have lots of scratch paper, and I went out and bought blank white labels to stick on the tabs of the manilla folders I work with, so I can use them again.

I also quit smoking a while back. I wonder how much pollution a pack-a-day smoker causes?

Meh, I really feel like I need to do more as far as saving the planet. Some of the stuff I could easily do is thrown out the window on account that I rent. For instance, I think the wiring is faulty. Some of the fixtures in my apartment EAT CFLs. Which is great considering how expensive they are, and then you really should take them to a recycling facility because there's mercury in them. Then the entire boiler system could use an overhaul. I'm sweating my balls off over here, whereas my neighbors on the other side of the building are huddled together in their 50-degree apartment. The only solution - TURN UP THE HEAT! It's inefficient and really wasteful.

Oh, and the windows. I don't care if they're new, the draft is pretty fucking bad. Whoever installed them did a poor job. There shouldn't be a breeze when the windows are shut.

But there's only so much you can make the landlord care, and then try and fix what you can control.

Musing

Sometimes I sit around and try to figure out what the hell I was up to in my last life.

I feel like I’m inexplicably drawn to certain things in this life, and I can only surmise it’s something left over from my last one.

For some reason, I am intensely interested in the domestic arts. I’m talking cooking, cleaning, decorating… I’ve even picked up knitting with gusto.

Though my entire family crochets. Mom, sister, great-aunt… all crochet.

Here I am picking up a pair of knitting needles, making cable knitting my bitch, and finding comfort in all the knitting blogs all over the ‘net.

Where the hell did that come from? Seriously.

I do feel drawn to the WWII/1940’s era. I’m wondering if one of the things I did was knit socks for our troops or something.

One of my favorite war posters says, “Remember Pearl Harbor - Purl Harder!”

Fucking fantastic.

I think I may find some coupons for Borders and buy another knitting book or something.

Speaking of Borders and their “Borders Rewards Card” - I really wish that instead of 10% of my purchases into an account and giving me discounted shopping days they’d just give me points that I could then cash in for a bookshelf.

Wouldn’t that make a hell of a lot more sense? They could partner with Ikea or something - it would be fabulous.

Sometimes I have great ideas, and they’re just left to gather dust.

Burnin' the midnight oil

Working.

Going to be up late tonight.

Devising systems, getting things together, checking, double checking, listening to NPR while I'm at it.

I wish I had tuned into NPR earlier, 'cause it occupies the part of my brain that gets annoyed to all hell. And it's a lot less distracting than TV, and it's way less annoying than regular radio.

All in all, it was a good weekend. Especially these snippets of spring. Did you know that it got up to 78 degrees today? I know it's a tease, and I know we're going to have a few freezes, but I live for weather like today. After a long, cold, dark winter it is so great to have a day where you can throw your windows open and run around in shorts and take on a ridiculously optimistic view of the world.

Dog tired

I’m exhausted.

Unfortunately, I say things to myself such as, “I’m only 26, I should be full of life and energy!”

And I probably should, except that by saying the above to myself, I’m not taking steps to be vibrant and bouncy and full of energy.

I haven’t pulled an “all-nighter” in years. When I go out with friends and we stay out past 1 a.m., I know the next day is going to be a waste because I’m going to be exhausted. If I stay out until 4 a.m., the next 2 days will be spent recovering.

Not that this prevents me from going out and staying out. But I don’t do it every Friday and Saturday night. Once every few months when the groove strikes.

I guess what I’m trying to say is that I need to make a couple of changes to my life here. Anything to keep me from feeling exhausted all the damned time.

None of this is unusual or frightening - as one gets older, one’s needs change. And then your body kind of nudges you a bit here and there when things start getting out of whack.

Ah, but how to implement these changes? Going to bed earlier is much easier said than done -especially when you have multiple factors such as work, the dude upstairs being loud as hell, anxiety, and/or the internet in general having so many shiny things to look at.

“Eating healthy” is another challenge. I do my best to cook a lot of my own food simply because I don’t want to eat all of those preservatives and such. That and I like cooking. I like taking bits and pieces from here and there and Poof! I’ve made something out of nothing. And it’s nice to know that what I’m eating is closer to natural than what I could get out of a box. And it REALLY cuts down on the sodium intake. Not that I’m watching that, but it’s always nice to avoid it.

And that brings me to mention my latest project - saving money at the grocery store. I found a website - thegrocerygame.com - that looks as if it can significantly bring down the cost of groceries. The basic premise is that it gets you to use coupons on items that are already on sale. There’s more to it than that, but I feel the website can explain it better than I can. It takes a few weeks of coupon clipping to really get rolling, but I gave it a go yesterday and did a little shopping.

3 of my items would have cost $15.13 at regular price. But due to sales and then additional coupons, I paid $5.49. Kind of awesome for a first go. This next round should be more interesting.

I should mention the service isn’t free - after the trial period, it’s about $10 for a 6 week subscription (if you subscribe to only one store), so that averages out to $1.25 a week.

Honestly, I’m a little excited about it. I’ll keep posting about it.

Also, I need a spice rack. I have enough spices that keeping them on a shelf is a pain in the ass ‘cause I can’t see what I have.

I would like a wall-mounted spice rack, definitely. But now the question is, do I get a rack that fits all of my odd-shaped bottles, or do I buy one of those nifty racks that comes with a bajillion empty bottles so everybody looks uniform? I’m leaning towards everybody looking uniform, because I can’t think of anything more cluttery-looking than 8 different companies’ labels competing with one another visually above my kitchen sink.

Or I can go real “Harry Potter” with it, get glass bottles, but then all the labels would be in calligraphy and I’d give them the old world names (where possible. I don’t cook with lavender, but one if it’s names was “Eye of Newt.” Mullien, another spice I do not cook with, is also know as “Graveyard Dirt.”) That could be a hella fun project.

General, all-over goings-on

1 - I’ve taken another step into the wild blue yonder of grownup-ness and subscribed to a magazine. I’ve never done that myself. I’ve usually asked my mom to do it, and then when I started making money, I decided it was a waste of money.

But I’ve decided that a yearly subscription to “Cooks Illustrated” is not going to be a waste of time, especially since I cook quite often. That and it’s a great way to celebrate my taste buds and sense of smell growing back.

2 - Back on the dog sitting wagon this week. It’s good stuff. Last week, it kind of made me consider getting a dog. But then I had to go around and pick up dog crap, and I changed my mind.

I love the dogs, I really do. We get along GREAT. But picking up dog crap EVERY DAY for 10-15 years? Sorry, I’m too much of a priss.

3 - And I’ve been wrestling my way through Lolita. Holy fuck, it’s a pretentious piece of work to get through. I was feeling kind of like a pervert when I started it (book club reasons), but after some discussion (and actually reading it), it’s not really pages upon pages of smut. But our main character is a real pretentious and delusional.

4 - I made a pretty yummy casserole-type dinner. It was pretty fucking good. Though the only thing I would do different is add some more noodles. But that’s because I’m a noodly person.

5 - I bought a clivia on Sunday. Not because I need another plant, but I’ve wanted one for 2 years and they’re impossible to find (and way expensive if you can find them out of catalogues), and the price was not too bad.
Supposedly these plants are indestructible. And they bloom, which is a plus.

That’s about it. The Doctor Who scarf is getting longer and more ridiculous. I wouldn’t be surprised if I had it done in a week or two. My current Doctor Who scarf gets quite a lot of attention, but nobody has ever heard of Doctor Who. I think maybe 10 people recognized it.

Go here for a thorough explanation of Doctor Who. Or you can arrange an evening with me in which I’ll tell you a bit and we’ll watch a few episodes.

I miss sleep

I am such a huge fan of sleep, I really am. But these past, oh, two weeks have been hell.

Maybe part of it is the time change, but I am willing to bet that a good chunk of it is due to the oaf that lives upstairs.

Seriously, I want to say 5 out of 7 nights that asshole has his TV up way too loud. As in, I can understand, CLEARLY what the characters on the show are saying. Normally I wouldn’t have a problem with it, but he’s doing this after midnight. I have banged on the ceiling on a few occasions, and he turns it down some. Though there have been a few times when he turns it off.

But the other night, he had the TV going, and at about 1:15 a.m. I banged on the ceiling. He turned it down some, and I managed to drift off to sleep.

But then, at around 3 a.m., his TV was blaring at what must have been top volume. Again, I had to pound on the ceiling.

What’s worse is that I want to position a radio close the ceiling and blare some Midnight Creeps
during the morning, but he’s awake then, too.

It’s really fucked with my sleep schedule. 4 hours of sleep (not even in a row!) per night make me couch fodder. And then I don’t wake up until 8 or so, and then when it is time for me to go to bed, I can’t.

I’m not looking for everybody to be as quiet as mice here, but IF I CAN TELL YOU WHICH EPISODE OF WILL AND GRACE YOU WATCHED LAST NIGHT, YOUR TV IS TOO LOUD.

Ugh.

I don't care what Tom Skilling says - I say it is spring NOW.

If you live in Chicago, then you already know about the nice weather we had today. I went for a 2 mile walk, then came home and opened up the house. And burned a ton of incense. It felt so good to get rid of all the stale air in my apartment.

And this time change? I approve. Yeah, it’s rough for the first few days, but as long as we’re all pretending the sun sets later earlier in the year, then I’m all for it. I don’t like short days, and I don’t like short cloudy days. Winter is rough on me. This year was better than most, due to a giant pile of plant catalogs and a whole ton of projects and Harry Potter books, but usually I’m pretty blah.

Everybody’s coming out of hibernation, it seems. My social calendar got pretty full - engagement party on Friday, book club later this month, and then a birthday/hens night. I should probably dash out and buy a new pair of shoes and some cute clothes. I haven’t purchased clothes in a while. Oh, sure, the occasional tank top, but I don’t count that, seeing as I’ve been either sleeping in them or laying about the apartment in them.

A pair of cute shoes is definitely in order. Maybe a dress, too.

Ah, tolerable weather, how I’ve missed you.

We had a weird winter. It was warm and pretty much dry until about February or so, then we got all the shitty parts of winter all at once. Bitter cold, snow, more cold, more snow, and lots of dark, grey days.

I hate dark, grey days. I can handle the short days of winter - as long as they’re sunny, I’m alright. But I can’t take a thick layer of clouds.

The only thing that got me through this season was the bajillion plant/seed/bulb catalogs. At least I could remember the nice days.

Today will be a good day - it’s 45 degrees and the sun is shining. Spring is on it’s way.

My only complaint this year is the mountains of dogshit that appear when the snow melts. Yeah, I know that it’s a real pain in the ass to pick up after Fido when he has decided to squat in 2 feet of snow, but you know Fido does this EVERY TIME IT SNOWS. Guh. And it’s so fucking gross.

But that aside, how ‘bout that upcoming time change? More specifically, what the fuck is with the media spending so much time on it every day for the last week and a half?

Don’t get me wrong, the date in which we adjust our clock changed, and we have to make sure everybody knows, but they go on and on about the “computer glitch” and how companies are spending thousands of dollars fixing this “problem.”

And all I can think is, “Aren’t there other things going on in Chicago that you guys should be reporting on? Like maybe the incredible incompetence of Todd Stroger?” I never tire of hearing about that.

Lately my days have been filled with knitting. I came down with a cold/flu hybrid last week, and picked up my knitting needles. I’m getting pretty good at this. It’s totally clicked. I’ve moved from scarves to bags - I’m going to attempt felting today at my mom’s. Felting has nothing to do with the actual process of knitting. But it does have to do with projects that have already been knitted.

On they belly dancing front - it’s good. I’m really enjoying it. I probably don’t move like Shakira, but the important part is that I’m having a hella good time. I should probably mix in some Pilates for good measure.

I’m eating better, too. Not perfectly, but the small changes I’ve been making over the years are finally starting to reveal some benefit in the form of generally feeling better. I don’t keep much crap in my house - no soda, no chips, no ice cream, no junky foods. Oh, I still eat them on occasion, and they are delicious (except for the potato chips - after I have some of those I feel kinda crappy and tired).

And on that note, I’m out.

Happy V-Day!

I'm a fan of the V-Day movement. I've seen the Vagina Monologues, and I think they're magnificent.

I remember when they first came out - I heard about them - they were a novelty. I could only assume it was comedy.

Then, a few years later, I went with my mom and one of my sisters to go see it at a local college.

Sure, it made me laugh. It made me cry, too. Most importantly, it made me think. It changed something in me, deep inside.

I wish I could say that it changed me profoundly, and overnight, but it didn't. It took a while for me to actually get it, but here I am.

And the fact that there's a movement out there, other women who have experienced and also survived some of the same things I have experienced, and doing something about it makes me feel strong.

I'm not saying everything is as it was before things happened, but I can definately say that I'm thriving. I can definately say that I have not been beaten down.

That makes this an exceptionally happy V-Day.

Shoot

I looked outside - no snow day for me.

Wishful thinking

I'm hoping the weather will continue to suck so that I can't get to work in the morning.

Not that I would waste my entire day tomorrow or anything - I wouldn't. I'd work, and I'd also make the place neat. And I'd probably do some reading. And maybe some sewing.

But anyway, I'm asking for an adult snow day, 'cause I think that would be real neat.

Of course, this is my 24,156,297,257,148 time saying all of this, so chances are the storm will abate in about 30 minutes and all the roads will be crystal clear.

And I wouldn't have a problem with that. I would definately go to work if the roads were clear. But if they're not, and the news people are going on about avoiding travel because of dangerous conditons, then I will take a snow day.

It would be totally productive and awesome.

When I grow up

I think I would like to have a 2-bedroom apartment. One bedroom to sleep in, and the other to be my sewing room.

Or better yet, buy myself a house or condo or something. With the housing situation supposedly cooling off, I'm hoping to buy in the next few years.

I've had "buying my own place" on my list of things to do, and it just feels like it's getting close to that time to do that. I do need to step up the general research - for instance, if something breaks, I can't call the landlord, 'cause that would be, well, me. I'd need to know how much money to put away for an emergency house fund in case there are issues. Et cetera.

That would be a fun place to be one day.

Status report.

I've been waking up to single-digit temps the past couple of mornings. Not a fan, but it's completely normal for this time of year. Makes me glad I knit a 12-foot scarf. That thing will keep you WARM.

My sister is graduating from basic training this Friday. I get to see her some time this weekend, though I won't know when until Friday afternoon.

I just got off the phone with Mom, and it seems she's free on Saturday (but again, I'm not terribly trusting of the government, and I know they've lied to our military before. I'm not trying to dump on our government, it's just that I tend to have low expectations. Saves us a lot of brain-ache).

Superbowl - yeah, I have no idea what I'm doing as of yet. I would like to stay in the city, perhaps at someone's house. I will see if I can get Mom to record the game, just so I can see the commercials.

Work is going okay. The job I leave my house for is going great. I consider myself extremely lucky to have a boss that is willing to teach me about marketing and advertising. And I really feel that he knows what the hell he's talking about. I know it's not the same as going to college and getting a degree, but then again, how many people out there get a bachelors in marketing and then proceed to not know what the hell they're talking about?

I also really wish there was some way that I could properly harness the power of sleep. I feel that I am tired at all the inappropriate times (like at work), and then wide awake at the worst possible times (like bedtime).

I have a feeling the sleep problem is related to the work-from-home gig and all of it's problems, which I, in turn, make my problems. I'm trying really hard to avoid the whole thing, but we all know that ignoring a problem rarely makes it better. But it feels so much better than facing the high blood pressure and sheer frustration.

The cat is doing well. While he's not as outgoing as his brother was, he loves a good snuggle, and he doesn't mind if he's in my way.

I'm probably going to make potholders tonight, just because I can.

Used to be a tie-dyed sheet

I made curtains today.

I woke up this morning, headed over to JoAnn's, picked up the curtain rod, rings with the clip on them, and 4 yards if discount fabric.

After some drilling, a bunch of ironing, another trip to JoAnn's (yep, forgot thread), and some sewing, the dust has finally settled.

And now my bedroom has proper curtains.

And the best part? They block out the streetlight right outside of my window fairly well.

I'm very pleased with myself.

One down!

In the beginning of the year, I rounded up all of my yarn and made a list of projects currently in motion.

One of those things was to put the finishing touches on my Doctor Who scarf.

It is done now. That's one project I can check off the list.

6 more projects to go...

I really need to look into getting the hell out of my house. I haven't really left except to go to work. I am getting more and more bored of my surroundings.

This is good, though. The fact that I had been so comfortable with dealing with the outside world as little as possible was starting to worry me.

I really need to look into joining a gym. I got a lot of energy building up with virtually no outlet.

Finally getting cold

And with the cold plus the darkness, I get to missing the time of year when plants grow.

There is only one way to cope:

Sign up for a shitload of seed and bulb catalogs, so that I can flip through them late at night and fantasize.

I would love to turn my bathroom in to some sort of plant haven, but there's just one window, and it faces north. I could rig a lighting system, but then the chances for my being electrocuted go up.

Meh, I'll look into it anyway.

I want so many things

The title says it all.

I want to be free and clear of debt.
I want to go to England again.
I want a place for all of my stuff so my living room doesn't look like it does.
I want more storage space, period.
I want a more elegant wardrobe.
I want to join a gym.
I want more energy.
I want to know how in the hell I ended up with so many odds and ends in my bathroom. It's ridiculous.
I want a 5/32 inch masonry drill bit, so I can properly hang this shelf in the kitchen.
I want to be able to fall asleep at a reasonable hour so I can wake up refreshed and ready to face the day the next morning.
I want to figure out how to make oatmeal more palatable without adding so much sugar.
I want to have an indoor garden that the cat won't destroy.
I want to be better organized - maybe I'll buy myself a cute little filing cabinet - a real one, not one of these plastic portable ones.

1. What did you do in 2006 that you'd never done before?
Adopted some cats, bought living room furniture, acquired a decent amount of credit card debt.

2. Did you keep your new year's resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
This year is the first year I've made resolutions. This year I have vowed to not buy any more yarn until I complete my UFO's (UnFinished Objects), I have vowed to not spend more than $150 per month for food, and to get a better handle on my finances.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Nope.

4. Did anyone close to you die?
Lost one of my kitties on Christmas. I miss him.

5. What countries did you visit?
None.

6. What would you like to have in 2007 that you lacked in 2006?
A fitter body. Better hair (my hair just sucked throughout 2006 - bad haircuts). More confidence. A dude.

7. What dates from 2006 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
That day when my friend called me and was a total douchebag to me. We are no longer friends, and my life has improved dramatically.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
I quit smoking. Well, I did that a few times, but I haven't had a smoke since September 28, 2005. I am very proud of myself for that.

9. What was your biggest failure?
Being unemployed for as long as I was - my self-esteem was shit and it had actually decended into self-loathing. I let myself go, and it sucked.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Nope. Took medicine for something I might have had, but all the tests came back negative.

11. What was the best thing you bought?
My living room furniture.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
My sister, for being non-judgemental when she was hit by a stray drama bullet and sucked into a situation she had absolutely nothing to do with because another one of my friends was being a jackass.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
The dude who was a friend, and now isn't. I mean, he's one of those uber-smart people - graduated high school early, earned a couple of bachelor's degrees by the age of 22, speaks a couple of languages fluently... and yet he didn't see me as a human being. He didn't even know what kind of a person I was.

14. Where did most of your money go?
Car repair, surviving, new computer, living room furniture, trying to make my cat better.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Finding a long-lost childhood friend.

16. What song will always remind you of 2006?
Meh.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:

a) happier or sadder? Much happier. I feel like I have cleared away the bad people in my life, much like taking out the trash. Now there is no trash, and I can now arrange myself as I see fit.

b) thinner or fatter? Fatter.

c) richer or poorer? Poorer - but I do have 2 jobs now.

18. What do you wish you'd done more of?
Saving. Looking for work.

19. What do you wish you'd done less of?
Being depressed.

20. How did you spend Christmas?
Crying, because my cat had died.

21. Did you fall in love in 2006?
I fell completely out of any sort of crush (even the really minor ones). Boys make my life complicated, and I don't need that right now.

22. How many one-night stands?
0.

23. What was your favorite TV program?
America's Funniest Home Videos.

24. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
YES.

25. What was the best book you read?
The Kite Runner was fantastic. It will make you cry.

26. What was your greatest musical discovery?
Erasure. So awesome.

27. What did you want and get?
I try not to want. I do see that I'm incredibly blessed, though. Things could be so, so, so much worse, and they aren't.

28. What did you want and not get?
See #27

29. What was your favorite film of this year?
Mirrormask. Nevermind that it wasn't released this year. I saw it this year, and it's fantastic.

30. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
Went to Nordstrom's and then Outback Steakhouse with my sister. I turned 26.

31. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Learning how to take it easy and be calm earlier would have been great, but it's happening now, so there.

32. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2006?
Shit. Really, it was bad. Hot weather, skirts, unshaven legs... I felt hideous most of last year, and I dressed the part.

33. What kept you sane?
My cats. Tyler specifically. Kept me smiling and didn't let me slip into fits of absolute self-pity. He amused me all of the time. I miss him.

34. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Davit Tennant.

35. What political issue stirred you the most?
The midterm elections - the ads were insane.

36. Whom did you miss?
Believe it or not, the aforementioned douchebag. I thought very highly of him, and then, *poof* he's gone.

37. Who was the best new person you met?
Kyle. He's probably one of my favorite people.

38. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2006.
If a guy isn't willing to at least buy you a drink, don't fuck him.

39. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.

So don't bother,
I'll be fine, I'll be fine, I'll be fine, I'll be
fine
Promise you won't ever see me cry

And after all I'm glad that I'm not your type
Promise you won't ever see me cry

The magic is back

The breeze at dawn has secrets to tell you.
Don't go back to sleep.
You must ask for what you really want.
Don't go back to sleep.

- Rumi

It means something, you know. It really does. Ever notice that you wake up in the a.m., before the sun has come up? Ever notice that it's the same time?

Another saying I've heard is that God speaks to a quiet mind.

Keep all of this in mind when you go to bed tonight.

Happy New Year

The New Year saw a sweet beginning for me. I was caught completely off-guard.

I guess I had just gotten used to the idea of nothing good ever happening to me.

So wrong.

I'm in the process of a deep-cleaning in my house here. I thought I wouldn't be able to do laundry, 'cause I had exactly 9 quarters, and a load takes 10. But I found another quarter, so it means I can start out with a clean load of laundry.

I'm feeling good about this year. 2006 wasn't bad, but the bad things that happened had a lot of impact, and seemed to linger a very long time. I have a feeling I will be a lot more resillient this year.

And I got a card from a friend with a message that sounded a little like a premonition - "Here's to finding a honey in 2007. Have a fabulous New Years."

It will be great.