Happy New Year's Eve!

Hello Friends, Family and Random Folk Who Happen By.
As 2007 ends in just hours, do you have big plans for tonight or fantastical resolutions for the new year? Do tell!

Me, I'm resolving to have no resolutions. That way I can't fail, right? Okay, I have SOME goals I guess, but resolve means "to make a firm decision about" and these are more just thoughts, ideas and hope-I-get-to's. I do like lists so without further ado...
1. Do Randolph Arts and Crafts Show in June
2. Go to Hawaii
3. Go surfing (in Hawaii)
4. Snowboard on a "real" mountain
5. Lift more
6. Run a half or full marathon
7. Be more grateful
8. Don't let P.I.T.A.s get to me
9. Read, read, read as always
10. Attain Design Certifications
11. Try to get off this computer more since I'm on one all day
12. And as always, be inspired by one of my favorite groupings of words ever:

Desiderata
By Max Ehrmann

Go placidly amid the noise and the haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.
As far as possible, without surrender,
be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others,
even to the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons;
they are vexatious to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain or bitter,
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.
Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs,
for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals,
and everywhere life is full of heroism.
Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love,
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment,
it is as perennial as the grass.
Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.
Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself.
You are a child of the universe
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.
Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be.
And whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life,
keep peace in your soul.
With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.

No less than the trees and the stars (I just LOVE that)...Happy New Year to each of you.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas one and all while there are just a few short hours left in it.

We worked on the house, had amazing food at my mother-in-law's and parents' (Dad's a great cook and my brother whipped up some amazing fudge with my Mom's perfect recipe and technique), and I got some Etsy-licious presents that I'll post on here eventually from my love.

There is less gift giving (1. Because there are just so many of us and 2. This year we put lots of "gifts" into my parents' new house!), but it's nice to be at that place in life where gifts are the least important thing. I'll be honest, as a kid it was ALL about the gifts. Of course I enjoyed time with my family, but one year I really wanted a boom box. Not only did I get it, but it was an awesome purple color! It's on my best-gifts-ever list mainly 'cause I still remember the wanting of it and how much I used it after I got it. Yeah, I walked down the sidewalk in the small town I'm from with it on my shoulder and Michael Jackson's Thriller blasting out of it. If you're of my era, you know you did it, too, and you're aware of the weight of D batteries. D batteries - do they even make them anymore? I also remember taping songs off the radio and the DJ talking over them. Hated that.

Well, I hope you all got what you wanted, whether it was a specific gift or just time to enjoy the people you love. There is no replacement for them.

My First Movie

Wow, I can't believe I finally got this to work! Yay! So here is a little taste of our first day of snowboarding this year. Don't worry - your speakers are working fine; I just didn't add sound for this first attempt. The videographer - my husband - is snowboarding while taking the video.

I swear this is the only time I fell after fastening my boots - on camera. We started farther back from the hill so had to shimmy before we finally started sliding. The last image is my board on the left and his on the right. We had a blast. Thank goodness for muscle memory. Our first trip down felt like we had just done it yesterday instead of over 9 months ago.

Still Here

Yes, I know it's been days! Here's are pics of last weekend's work: we painted the kitchen a sunny yellow (my mom has wanted a yellow kitchen for as long as I can remember) and installed the subfloor in the new bedroom.

There is going to be a major snow event - a Nor'easter - affecting the area so this weekend we'll stay home and hit the slopes tomorrow. Oddly, we are actually kind of bummed 'cause we could have been that much farther along on the remodel, but we'll get back to work the weekend before Christmas. Slowly but surely we will get this done! It's really looking pretty.


In other news we just got brand spankin' new Macs at work. Mac lovers eat your hearts out! For those still suffering with stone-age Macs, I was still working with OS 8.6 (shudder...release year 1999), Photoshop 5.5 and other, shall we say, "retro software." It's nice to finally reach the 21st century.

Let it Snow!

It snowed and snowed all day! I was so happy. We've just had dustings up until now, but today winter came with all its fluff and bluster. My co-worker chucked a paper clip in my direction when I exclaimed (for maybe the third or fifth time), "It's snowing!" I got her back when she started singing along with White Snake on the radio.

'Tis the season of cross country skiing, snowshoeing, sledding and the sport that makes me feel joy as good as childhood despite the chance of face plants and bark-tasting: snowboarding. There is a resort selling $4 lift tickets this Wednesday for the first hour it's open, and it's sickening me that we won't be able to go. I guess it will make our first run that much sweeter, albeit at full price (cringe.) I hate paying full price.