And So, We Begin Again

Ahhh...you gotta love that post-Christmas mess. The one that takes over your house completely, and paralyzes you with the thought: 'oh, God, where do I start?' I'm not necessarily a neat freak, but this is the only time of the year, really, that my house is a wreck. Christmas is like a license for me to put anything anywhere. Chairs and tabletops and floors are scattered with stuff; some of the furniture is rearranged to accommodate trees and such, so we maneuver around clumsily, between misplaced couches and piles of Things Without A Home.

I know what needs to be done. Believe me, I have a few lists going. I just haven't decided on a plan of action yet. A strategy, so to speak. Like every January second, I hope to organize well this year. I intend to make legible labels and create storage arrangements that make sense and provide easy access to year-round items. The problem is, while I'm all about making the labels, (I'm such a teacher), I'm not so much about the packing stuff up. I was mentioning to my friend, Joanne, that I hate the emptiness of my house when all of this is gone. All the sparkle and bling gets put away, leaving me with this somewhat dull, ordinary decor. Obviously, as Shawn has pointed out, the trick is to take this opportunity to rearrange everything. Like switch your dining room and living room out, which is what she's debating. It just seems like so much work. I'm not into work right now. I'm still on holiday.
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I have to mention a few things I discovered this year that have absolutely nothing to do with Christmas, but feel more like New Year's gifts. Things with which I plan to become more familiar in 2009.

Like blogging, for one. Showing up at the page. Thank you so much, Joanne. I know it's taken me awhile to leap into the 21st century, but I'm so glad I'm here. I love writing and reading with all of you and it's made such a difference in my level of motivation to do something productive with my life.

Two, Goodreads. Thanks Kim! I'm linking it here too, because I'm already a fan. Not an addict, but I'll probably get there soon enough. God knows I'm addicted to everything else. http://www.goodreads.com/ Check it out, book lovers. It's very cool.

Then there's Whole Foods. OMG, what I've been missing!!! This is the most amazing, fun, market EVER! Sadly, the closest one to my house is about 45 minutes away, which isn't much closer than Trader Joe's, but will definitely be worth the drive. A little pricey for every day shopping, but for special occasions, (like our New Years Eve Tapas Party - more on that later), it was perfect. Karma and I spent an hour in there on Wednesday, which felt like 10 minutes in Disneyland. Enough of a tease to come back, but painful to leave when so much was unexplored :-)

CSI. Now that, I'm addicted to. I'm all over it: New York, Vegas, Miami, I don't care. Reruns, new episodes, doesn't matter. Thank God for channel 57, which, if you don't know, is All CSI, All Day. How I'm planning to use that to improve my life this year, I'm not sure yet. It's not like I'm going to sign up at the local voc school and become a forensics expert. Maybe I just want to be more connected to the world of television. Maybe it's inspiration for writing?

And cooking. Thanks, Karm! She has peaked my interest in culinary pursuits just a little this year...enough to be enamoured of Whole Foods and take a dessert-cooking class with her. I'm still the Queen of Foods That Come In A Box, but I'm making progress. I taught myself how to make homemade guacamole and soup this year. That's huge.

I'm not running too deep this year. I could mention all of the truly meaningful things that happened in 2008, the events that changed our lives and will continue to help us grow into the coming year. Like the tragic death of our friend, Dan, and the insane professional challenges my husband is going through, and the day my oldest son decided to live somewhere else for awhile...but right now, I think I'll start with food and entertainment. It feels manageable to start slow and easy. Eat better, watch more tv. Not your typical resolutions, but they're mine, for now. The big stuff will come along in time, I'm sure.

Happy New Year!