Selfies of Lola

I just remembered I haven't posted today. This is harder than I thought it would be to find the time and mental energy to post every day. 

And since I don't have much to say today, I will just entertain you with some photos Lola took with my ipad this morning. 

And there are about 20 more just like this. I think hailey has been teaching her some selfie tricks, like just holding down the shutter button and taking a million pics. She wanted to take a bunch of just the ceiling too, but amazingly I only have one of those. Lola hasn't quite mastered the fact that she can't have both hands touching the ipad screen. But, I'm sure she will have that figured out next week. She is basically a genius. 

One more cute Lola story. Grandpa Reeve lives in the Charleston, which is very close to the Bennett's, so they drive past it often. And, I have taken Lola there many times to visit grandpa. Now, anytime she goes past the Charleston, she says, "grandpa, grandpa". So cute! And smart!

More Halloween...

Ok, here are the rest of the pictures I promised to post a few days ago. I'm still getting the hang of this blogging thing.

 This one is my cute sister at the top, she is a teacher and her theme for her classroom is cupcakes. So she is a cupcake baker. So cute! Bottom left is Lindsey, I believe, just playing with the Casper costume I made many years ago. The kids didn't believe that I made it. Carson said it was too professional. Middle is the 4 oldest Bennett kids. Such cuties! Right is Carly as a witch and Lucy as a baby. I miss those girls!

These are the cute John kids. I will not embarrass myself by trying to tell you what these guys are, because I don't know the right names. But, aren't they all cute and studly?

Lessons learned from this summer

So, I spent this summer preparing for and executing two big events - a family reunion, and girls camp for my ward.

A year or so ago, I was appointed to be in charge of our Waite Family Fun Days this summer. I was excited, and had some ideas about what I wanted to do. Some of which got vetoed by the family, but some of my original ideas I did end up doing. Then, in October last year, I was called to be the Assistant Girls Camp Director for my ward. Which I was thrilled about. I LOVE girls camp. I had to laugh when I got the calling, because I pretty much knew that I had brought the calling on myself, by a comment I had made in one of my Relief Society lessons.

I was teaching, and someone was making a comment, and mentioned that they had just been to girls camp. I said, "I love girls camp. I wish I could go." Completely innocent and naive. But, oh my, the reaction that comment got from the women in that room - it was hilarious! Craziness and laughter ensued for a minute or two. People were telling the Relief Society president to watch out, that she was going to have to find a new teacher, etc. I just laughed about it at the time. But, several months later, when I was called, I was not completely surprised. Brother Ford, who was issuing the call, even asked me if I knew this was going to happen. I guess since I didn't act too surprised or shocked or anything.

I learned the rest of the story later. That same night (as the comment made in Relief Society), there was an open house at a ward member's house for one of her children. The Bishop was there, along with the Relief Society president, and the newly called but not yet sustained (so it was still a secret) Young Women President. The Relief Society president was visiting with the Bishop and WenDee (YW Pres), and telling them about what had happened in Relief Society that day. The Bishop, after hearing the story, said, "maybe if the right person hears that" or something to that effect, all the while knowing that the new YW president was sitting right there listening to this. And so she called me a couple months later.

At the beginning of this year, January or February, the camp director got released one Sunday, much to my surprise. (I found out later she was in the middle of a divorce.) The young Women president talked to me after church that day, and asked if I wanted to be the director. I said yes. It totally scared me, but I had already been feeling like that was what should and would happen, and with Heavenly Father's help, it would all work out. She said she would get a good assistant for me. I told her to get someone who knew about food and cooking because that is my major weak point. 

A few weeks later, they called one of my good friends in my ward, Jeanne, to be my assistant, and I couldn't have been more thrilled about that. She is a great cook, so I knew we wouldn't starve. And she is just a fun, happy, great person. 

So the two of us commenced the serious camp planning. We already had a theme, but that was about it. I had the whole thing to plan and figure out. I walk with Jeanne and several other ladies in the mornings sometimes, so that became our camp planning time. Some days it ended up just the two of us walking, and that's when we would really get some thinking and planning going.  

To be continued. I want to write about our theme and what we did. But this is already getting long. So I will split it up. 

And, I missed posting yesterday. I only made it two days. I had every intention of posting, but I slept at Jeanette's last night, so the kids distracted me. 

Saturday Fun

Here it is, 10:24 again. Although, I have already turned my clock back, so it is only 9:24 actually. 

This morning, I got up and went to play practice, from 9 until 2. It was long! But, it went well I thought. I am not in the play, I am the director's assistant. So I just do whatever she tells me to. It sounds kind of boring, but so far I have really enjoyed it. I am still amazed at how much time and effort people are willing to put into things like this. My friend has done a play or two with her family. She told me she thought of it as community service. I liked that thought, it makes sense in my brain. 

After practice I came home and was lazy bones all afternoon. I finally found some energy, and got my library books gathered up to take back. Barely before the library closed tonight. 

And since this was probably the last nice day of the year, weather-wise, I decided I needed to take advantage of it. If i hadn't been so lazy in the afternoon I might have gone up in the canyons. Instead I ended up at Oquirrh Lake in Daybreak. 

It is a nice walk around the lake. I took some great iPhone pics for you to enjoy of my walk. 

It was just after sunset when I started, so the mountains were looking all aglow.

This is Mt. Timp way down there. It looks pretty at sunset with snow on the peaks. (One of these days I am going to hike to the top of that mountain.)

And this is when I finally found my car again, with the cute daybreak houses too. I started my walk in an unfamiliar section of the lake, so I hoped I knew how to find my way back around. It felt like a long walk, which was actually half walk, half run, but I was really only out there for 45 minutes. But I'm sure it was at least 5 miles! It sure felt like it. 

I didn't have my headphones, so I had no music in my ears, just my thoughts. I kind of like it that way. My thought for tonight was how thankful I am for my body. It may not look as good as I wish it did, but it can still do lots of things. Like running, even though I haven't run for a very long time. My body remembered how to do it. Now, I'm sure it wasn't pretty, but I didn't care. I don't know anyone out there. It just felt good to push my body a bit. And realize how good it feels to do that. 

I came home and flipped through some of my new library books. And now I want to make a quilt. Going to the library can be dangerous to my creative brain. 

NaBloPoMo

So, I am slow to this game, but I decided to jump in. And since it is still November 1st - for another hour and 17 minutes - I have time to start this.

I do have lots of things I have wanted to write about, so hopefully this will give me good incentive to actually do this.

My topic tonight is Halloween. I know, it was yesterday. But I'm still going to write about it. 

First of all, some cute pictures of my awesome kids (my nieces and nephews). 

This is my sister and her youngest daughter. She had planned to dress up as Dorothy, and have Lola be the Tin Man. But the costume never came. I'm glad because I think this is adorable. This is my buddy - I tend her two days a week for my sister, and it is awesome. I love it. We have a good time together. 

These kids live far away from me, in Oregon. I love this picture, because it shows the different personalities so well, and, seriously, how cute is the little monster in the middle? He is almost 8 months old, and I wish I could just give him a big kiss and a snuggle. I am going to have to plan a trip to visit them soon. 

This is my cute Hanna that lives in Canada. She dressed up as her dad, Mr. Nunn, who is the principal at her school. I showed this picture to people at work, and they really thought she was a boy. I'd say she bears a striking resemblance to her dad. And she won best super hero costume. Go Hanna!

Tomorrow, when I have more time, I will add the pictures of the other kids. They were all so cute. And creative. It was fun to see pictures pop up all day yesterday on Facebook of all these cute Halloween kids. 

At my work, they always have a Halloween party, and costume contest. People go all out, with very elaborate costumes. I've participated with groups before, and actually won. I think it is fun to dress up and be someone different for a day.

 But, there was no group thing happening this year (or for the last several years actually...my team has changed and they are a little boring these days). I still wanted to do something, not be a total humbug about it. I just couldn't decide what to do. I didn't want to spend any money. And I wanted it to be easy, and quick, and comfortable. 

I thought about going as girls camp director, and wear the apron we made this year, along with other camp paraphernalia, but I decided that might be dumb. 

The morning of Halloween, yesterday morning, I woke up, still not positive what I was going to do. As I lay in bed, trying to get some energy to get up and get going, my thought was mostly, "let's just get this day over with, so I can move on to the better holidays." Halloween is not my favorite holiday at all. That could be because I don't have kids of my own to celebrate with. 

I ended up going with my old standby Halloween outfit - black skirt, orange shirt, with random colored knee socks and crazy shoes. It is festive. And comfortable. And easy. 

And now it is over and we can move on to thanksgiving and Christmas! Much better holidays in my opinion. 

A new space

I finally decided, and had the energy, to move myself back upstairs to my old bedroom.

I lived in this room for about two years when I first moved in. After awhile, I needed my own space more, so I moved my bed down into the basement. Where it has been for about three years. (Seriously, where did that time go?) 

Anyway, I have been thinking about moving back upstairs for awhile, and just today, almost on a whim, started moving furniture. After I got my bed up here, and was starting on my clothes, dresser, etc., I stopped and said, out loud, "Am I really doing this?" (I do talk to myself sometimes. It gets lonely if I don't.) I thought about it for a second, and said, "yes, I'm really doing this". 

So, here I am, sitting on my bed, in my new bedroom. I brought up my bed, and dresser, and a few things I know I will want in here. And then I stopped. I don't know what else I really want in my new bedroom. I have been thinking about living with less, getting rid of the excess things in my life I don't need. And part of my wanting to move upstairs is so I can start figuring out what is important and what I can part with. 

So here I sit in this room, with just my clothes, a lamp, and my chargers. I know I will end up bringing more things upstairs. And I know that I haven't actually gotten rid of anything, yet. But I know I don't want to bring the clutter up here just because. I want to be a bit deliberate about it. And then, after awhile, I will hopefully be able to go downstairs and say, I don't need the rest of this stuff, and I can get rid of it. 

Baby steps. That is what it's going to take. I've been known to be a pack rat, so to try to go minimalist is going to take some effort. But I want to try. That's the first step, right?

My question, though, is... How does anyone who is a crafter and has lots of craft/art supplies, become a minimalist? Because I honestly don't know how I'm going to downsize my craft room. I can be more organized, that I know. Hopefully if I organize it I can manage it better. 

And, on a side note, moving furniture around by myself gets tricky sometimes. I'm a pro at moving my twin bed, I knew I could do that. But I had to move a queen bed out of this room before I could move my bed in. At first, I left it in the hall, and the office, but it was in my way, so I thought I'd attempt to take the box springs downstairs. And this is where it still sits right now:

The turn on the stairs got me. So, I scooted it over so I could at least get up and down the stairs. And there it sits, waiting for me to attempt it again, or for some unsuspecting person to come over so they can help me. 

Happy Birthday Month!

Reasons I am happy with my new "life":

I am busier. I was wallowing in boredom prior to this change. Now I still have plenty of time to get my work done, so I'm not too busy at Ziplocal, just busy enough.

I love the change of pace that comes with nannying 2 days a week. Sitting on the floor playing with Lola at 10 am is awesome. Going to visit my grandpa Reeve who lives 2 minutes away at 1 pm is great. And then I am happier to go to my desk job the next day and just sit at my computer for 8 hours.

I love the feeling of freedom of not being tied to a time clock all the time. I am still working the same number of hours (or more), but it feels different. And I like that feeling.

Those things above I jotted down while I was at Carson's basketball game one month ago.

Now? I still feel the same. I still am happy with my decision. I am happy with my new life.

It is feeling more and more like my new "normal" and I like that. I hope Jeanette is still happy with the arrangement.

There are some other things in my life I am trying to figure out. Some things I wish I felt more peace about.

Life is a work in progress, right?

Here are some random thoughts I've had lately:

It is crazy how many times a day while I am sitting at my desk that I think, "I'm bored/I'm hungry" and want to reach for something to munch on. BAD HABIT! I am working on this one.

Along the same lines, I wonder where my self control and motivation went. I KNOW what to do to be healthy and lose weight. I have done it. It is possible. I was talking to a personal trainer at the gym, and he was telling me the things I should be doing, and I kept saying, "Yep, I know that, and that, and that." I know all the tricks, all the things I SHOULD be doing, but for some reason I am struggling to do them.

Last night, I was feeling yucky from all the junk I had eaten all weekend. I was thinking about how I needed to stop eating sugar for awhile at least, as I think it is giving me headaches. And then, in the next minute, I went and found some Reese's Pieces and started eating them by the handfuls. Even while I'm thinking that I am killing myself. It is a crazy place to be in.

Today I am doing a little better. I am stretching my self control muscle today, and I feel good about what I accomplished today.

I was thinking yesterday that I need to work on one day at a time. I keep looking to the future and wanting things to be different, but I am not focusing enough on the little steps I need to take to get to those bigger changes. So, I did today. And now it's time to think about tomorrow.

And tomorrow looks like some fruits and veggies for snacks instead of Reese's pieces. And getting up in the morning to go exercise again.

This is one of the many, many pictures of my cute Hailey that I found on my iPad after I had been at their house. Such a cute, crazy, love able girl!

I am brave

I started this post on Monday. I didn't want to post it yet, because I wasn't sure how the week was going to play out. But now I know, and I will finish the story at the end:

Monday, January 14:
I did something today. It was big. And nerve-wracking. And scary. And quick.

I talked to my boss today about going part-time. And I felt calm and peaceful and happy after I did it.

I know, it's not a for sure thing yet. We still have to talk to the bigger boss.

But I did it. I dared to think that I could have a life other than Ziplocal/PDC/Phone Directories.

I have been thinking about this, seriously, for a month or two. I have been wanting to do something like this for a lot longer than that. I need a change in my life.

I like my job. It is easy. It is comfortable. It is familiar. And it is not a challenge at all anymore.

So when Jeanette and Matt (mostly Matt) start planning my life for me again, we concoct this plan. And I totally go for it. See, it is a win for both of us.

I need a change. They need a nanny. And a personal assistant. And housekeeper. And chauffeur.

So that's what I'm going to do. I will work at Ziplocal 3 days a week. And the other two days I will be the Bennett Nanny. Or the Lola Nanny I should say.

It is scary because there are unknowns about it all. I will be giving up my benefits and paid time off at Ziplocal by going part time. I don't know exactly how it is going to work with Bennett's all the time. Will I still have enough money? Will we still be friends, even after being employee/employer?

Why am I willing to give up a perfectly good full time job? Sometimes when I think about it too long I feel panicky, and want to back out and say, just kidding! I don't want to do this. I think I'm crazy. I am giving up my very predictable, very stable (I guess that's somewhat debatable), very familiar, very easy job. For what?

For something new. Predictable, stable, familiar, easy aren't all there is to life. I need to take this leap of faith. I need to remember that there is more to life than Ziplocal. I can do something different. I am capable of this. And I am capable to doing a good job at this. And I am also capable of figuring out a new plan after this gig is over in a year and a half.

I just need to not let the panic take over.

deep breath in. deep breath out. It is all going to work out.

Sunday, January 20:
So things worked out better than I had hoped. I got over my panicked feelings about doing this. Change is just hard sometimes and I think that's what was scaring me more than anything.

The big boss loved the idea and was happy to give her okay on the plan. (Can I just say here that I am grateful for the right people in the right places that made this possible. I have asked before to do something similar to this and I got resounding no's from my bosses.)

The rest of the week was spent figuring out details, like when to start this new schedule, what days to work where, insurance switcheroo, etc.

I am planning to be the nanny on Monday and Wednesday, and do Ziplocal on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. That could change as needs change, of course.

I am planning to start this week, but still have paperwork to sign at work so we'll see how that goes. Hopefully we can do that tomorrow and then I'll be good to go.

It has been interesting to me to see the reactions about this from the people I have told. Overwhelmingly, people are excited and happy for me. I was telling the YW president in my ward, and she said, "it must be the right thing to do because things fell into place so easily." I liked that thought. She was also worried about me being able to go to girls camp this summer. I told her that wouldn't be a problem. I will not miss girls camp for anything.

So, this week is the beginning of a new era for me. I get to hang out with cute Lola more, which I couldn't be happier about. I get to relieve just a little of the burden that Jeanette is dealing with, with her very busy life. I will not be tied down to working 40 hours at my job that was taking me many fewer hours than that to complete.

I feel empowered in my life. I took a leap of faith and asked for something that I needed and wanted, something that could have jeopardized my job if viewed in the wrong way. But I was blessed instead. And I am so grateful for that.

What to say...

I want to post something today, but I honestly have nothing to say. I feel like my life isn't that exciting to write about. I thought about posting about my recent crafty projects, but I don't have any good pictures of them. Well, I may have one or two I could use.

I could tell you about my Christmas trip. Maybe I'll do that. I also don't have many good photos, but I'll use what I have. Maybe it should be a goal for this year to take more pictures.

I went with my parents to Medford Oregon to spend Christmas with my sister Sharon and her cute family. We left on Friday, Dec 21, from Salt Lake. We went to Elko that day, which was a quick and easy drive. The next day was not the greatest. The roads were snow covered for long stretches, which made for tense driving. Luckily my dad was driving, and he is a good driver, so I wasn't worried. I also woke up that morning feeling pretty sick. In fact, I hadn't really slept that well all night. I wasn't sure how I was going to handle the 11 hour drive, so I asked my dad to give me a blessing. Which was the miracle we needed that day. I didn't feel great, didn't eat much all day, but I survived. And, the best Christmas miracle of all was that no one else got sick while we were at my sister's.

Medford is a beautiful place. We didn't get to see too much of it, since it was always foggy or rainy while we were there. The temple is beautiful. Sharon goes to church right next to the church. Lily did not want to go to Primary alone, so I got to be her buddy. It was fun to watch her with her teacher and peers.

Christmas Eve we went to a few fun places. Sharon took us to the Rogue Creamery, to taste the award winning bleu cheese there. We also got some yummy cheese curds. And just next door was Lille Belle Chocolates. We had to go check it out too. Dad tried their sample of 3-hottest-chilies chocolate - we aren't sure why he did that. But the other samples were delicious.

Our last stop was the Harry & David Country Store. That was really fun. It is kind of like a specialty grocery store, with good produce, plus all the other Harry & David products. They were giving out lots of samples, so we got to try a few fun things.

When we got home, we had naptime for a few hours, then we started the Christmas Eve festivities. We made gingerbread trees (ice cream cones upside down), which the little girls loved. The boys were watching a movie and couldn't be bothered, so all of us girls made one, or two. And ate lots of the candy too. (That's what you are supposed to do when decorating gingerbread trees, right?) We opened Christmas pj's - for Lily & Ella, and me and Sharon, thanks to Rob!

Lily hugging her Christmas pj's on Christmas Eve. I know it's not a great picture, but I was fairly unsuccessful in getting good pictures of these girls. They don't sit still long enough.

Christmas morning was fun. I like being with little kids on Christmas morning, they are always so excited about everything. And Lily did a good job of being excited. Ella did too, but Lily was more involved and understood more what was going on. They both got lots of fun toys. I got a couple of books from Rachelle, the Parenthood season 1 dvds from Sharon, shampoo & conditioner & lotion & such from Jeanette. I had already opened my snow shoes a few days earlier, so we didn't have to bring them on the trip. Thanks to mom and dad and Rachelle and Jeanette for them.

Here's the living room after the present opening on Christmas morning. Lily is wearing the hat I made for her. Rob is checking out his new saw he got for Christmas.

The rest of Christmas day was just a quiet day at their house. Mom and Lily and I went on a walk around the neighborhood, because the rain had finally stopped.

It was so fun to see Sharon's new house, and her new town. I must say I like it lots better than her last town. I will come back to Medford to visit. And i love that it is so close to the ocean.

Wednesday morning we left Sharon's house, and headed south to California. We took the long way, and drove out to the coast, at Crescent City. It was rainy and cold and really windy, but we still got out and walked around a little bit. And the wind and rain continued all day long. We stopped at a few more places along the way. Drove through the Redwood Forest. Ate lunch in Eureka at the Sea Grill restaurant.

We made it to Napa, to my grandpa Rod's house, that evening. I was excited, and nervous, to see him. He is in the advancing stages of Alzheimer's disease, so I was nervous to see him like that. And it was about how I was imagining things. He is pretty disoriented most of the time. Sleeps a lot. I'm not sure he really knew who we were.

The next day, Thursday, we did take him for a drive around Napa valley, and it seemed like he was more aware of what was going on then. He was joking and talking to us more. The grandpa I know came out for a little while. But it didn't last.

We toured one of the assisted living centers that Grandma Sharon is trying to get him into. She has been taking care of him for many years, and it is time for this change. She is tired, and he is getting harder to take care of. It is sad to think about him having to move, but I think it is for the best. The place we visited was really nice, and we liked the director who talked to us and gave us a tour.

Saturday started really early, like 3:30 am early. Yes, my parents are early risers, and early travelers. So we got up and quickly showered and packed up. We were in the car pulling out of the driveway at 4:21 am. My dad had been worried about driving over Donner's Pass, since there had been storms and bad roads in the days before we headed that way. But luckily we picked a good day to travel it, because we saw snow on the side of the road, but none on the road, at least until we got over the pass and down into Reno. There was snow on the roads in Reno, but I don't think it lasted for too long. We ate breakfast in Reno, at 7:30 am.

And then the next 9 hours are pretty much a blur. Snow. Road. Knitting. Reading. Talking. Gas stop in Winnemucca. Lunch stop in Elko. Passed the Fun Bus broken down on the side of the road. Boston Baked Beans. Caffeine Free Diet Coke.

I was done with the car, done with driving, by the time we got back to my house about 5 pm. I was glad it was not midnight, but it was still a long, boring drive.

But I'm so glad I got to go on this trip. It made for a different Christmas than normal, but it was good different. New experiences. More memories.

And now I can say that I saw the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean in 2012.

The best is yet to be...

This quote was a gift from one of my sisters for Christmas this year. I now have it hanging by my desk at work as a daily reminder for me.

There are good things coming in my life. My best days are not in my past. I am excited to see where this year is going to take me.

The best is yet to be.

January 1, 2013

I have been a hermit the last 3 days, and I really liked it. I spent the first day reading The Guardian, a book my sister Rachelle gave me for Christmas. Yes, it is about 500 pages and yes, I finished it in 24 hours. And yes, I didn't do much of anything else during that time, except go to church.

The last two days have been spent watching Parenthood season 1. I just watched 3 episodes this evening, finishing at about 9 pm. I turned the video off and back to tv, and ironically the new episode of Parenthood was just starting on NBC tonight. So now I'm watching that. I may or may not be a little bit on overload with this show. I still love it, of course, but I may not need to watch it again for a few days.

I have an obsessive personality with things like this. I can't just read a few pages here and there of a good book. I neglect the rest of my life to read, or watch, whatever it is.

But I think it has been good for me the last few days. I needed a few days to just do nothing. Be home. Clean. Eat. Read. Watch tv. Fix the feng shui in my basement. Well, I didn't get very far on that one, but I tried.

And I took down most of my Christmas decorations. I did leave the lights up for now. They make me happy so I didn't want to put them away yet. And I left my hanging ornaments above my stairs for now. Because that one really makes me happy.

I left one decoration up all year last year. Mostly out of laziness and forgetfulness. I'm thinking I will take that one down this year too. But for now, that one is still up too. I didn't want to do too much today. I have to pace myself.

And now it's back to work tomorrow.

New Year's Eve

It is 10:23 pm on New Year's Eve 2012. I am at home, alone (by my own choice), watching season 1 of Parenthood - a gift from my cute little sister. I am currently on episode 3. I have spent all day by myself, and I've had a great day. I went to Trader Joe's in SLC this morning. I'd been to other Trader Joe's before, but this time I was able to walk up and down each aisle and look at all the random amazing fun things there. Then I stopped at my favorite little consignment shop on 8th South & 8th East, Emilie Jayne. I always head right for the "green" section of the store to see if there's anything I need, then I wander the rest of the store. I found a few fun things I couldn't live without - a mug tree, an ice cube tray shaped like arrows, and a glass frog (I think that's what it's called - a glass circle with holes all over it to put pens in it).

I've been home all afternoon, enjoying a quiet day doing some random things. I tried out my new snowshoes I got for Christmas from my family. In my backyard.

I'm excited to really try them out. Hopefully this weekend I'll go find someplace to explore.

I started reading my Grandpa Rod's history that I got last week when I went to visit him. I learned that he lived in Salt Lake valley with his family until he was 13, before he moved back to Cache Valley. I had always known that his family was from Cache Valley, for generations back. But when his parents got married they lived in Salt Lake, trying to make a life for themselves there. When the depression was bad, they were struggling, and decided to move back to Hyde Park, closer to their families.

I'm excited to learn more about his side of the family. I have been fully engrossed in the Reeve side of my family for the last 4 years, living with my grandpa here. But I feel like I don't know much about the Waite side of the family. I got a few things from my grandpa's house, so I will hopefully learn some more things.

I put up my spoon collection, or some of it. I don't have enough spoon holders for all of them. 

Some of my spoons from Wyoming. The little one on the right is my very first spoon I got, if my memory is correct.

I bought some new spoons in Napa last week, so I was looking at my collection. I have close to 85 spoons now. Since I had them all out, I decided to take pictures of them. I want to make a little catalog book, with a description of where and when I got the spoons - if I can remember those details. That could be a project for tomorrow.

So now it's 11:39. I guess I can't watch tv and write at the same time.

I was reading a blog this morning and saw this quote that I really like. It is fitting for today.

“May your coming year be filled with magic and dreams and good madness. I hope you read some fine books and kiss someone who thinks you’re wonderful, and don’t forget to make some art — write or draw or build or sing or live as only you can. And I hope, somewhere in the next year, you surprise yourself.” - Neil Geiman

 I like new years, as a time to think about life, and what I want to change or do differently. And about the things I've done this year, the good things. I started a 2012 year in review a few weeks ago. Maybe I should finish that tomorrow. Or Wednesday. 

I haven't made any specific resolutions, yet. I may still do it. But, I just feel like tomorrow is a new beginning. Yes, I know every day is a new beginning, but there is something different about a whole new year. A new chance to do things right. To start some new habits. To get rid of bad habits. 

One thing I want to do this year is write more on this blog. 

So, I'm starting the new year on a good note. A new blog post written. 

Time to watch the ball drop on tv and listen to the fireworks go off outside. (Well, I've been hearing the fireworks for several hours already.)

Happy New Year!