For those who missed yesterday's post, this won't seem too repetitive. I shall now lay out the following:

1. Respect myself, my talents, and my time.
2. Pick up the guitar at least once a week.
3. Sell some of my beautiful creations.
4. Break ties that threaten to drown me in annoyance.
5. Continue to work toward a better, healthier me.
6. Post to my blogs once a week or more.
7. Keep weeding through the piles in my house, my email, and my brain.
8. Finish reading at least two books a month.
9. Watch less television and see how that affects my world.
10. Write a page a day.
11. Worry less.
12. Grump less.
13. Be more positive.
14. Make enough fabric creations to feel like I made a dent in my fabric.
15. Publish or perish? You'd pay to read my words, wouldn't you?

I better get back to partying. The new year is stampeding up the stairs. And my new year's kiss is waiting...

I got so excited that I didn't post this at midnight. My bad!

We planned our standard wild ride from house to house today, tossing gifts into the startled faces of family and friends and hoping we made the best decisions for each individual. Our plans quickly went awry when we stepped out of the hobbit hole into a slick, icy wonderland. We loaded up our car and headed toward our first destination. We quickly realized we weren't going to make it but hoped against mounting odds. We finally accepted our fate after sitting at a standstill on a major highway for forty-five minutes while crews worked to clean up a wreck.

We made it to visit our third planned party of revelers. While the parents worried that their kids would be rowdy, we giggled out the antics of youth. The book we purchased for our friends' daughter kept her entertained while she waited for her mac-n-cheese and ketchup to arrive. Their son seemed less thrilled, but I am sure he will warm up to his new friend Superman soon.

Our fourth visit brought whispered conversation as we arrived at naptime. We bribed our friends with candy, so they will probably let us visit again. Even better, the little lady of the house loved her stuffed kitty. I hope her brother loves his rattle. We found one that was shaped like a car with working wheels. If you just thought to yourself, "I bet Bella wanted to play with that," you are correct. I admit that I buy gifts for children that I think I would like. It is the best frame of reference that I have.

Anyway, back to tidying up a little so I can get to work resolutions of great importance...

Somehow my busy week didn't not improve by walking into my laundry room to find the laundry tub overflowing. I continue to be amazed how an already busy week drives me crazy when unexpected events add themselves to the mix.

The ongoing struggle for a balanced life clearly continues. So to update you quickly on a few exciting events in the world of hobbits:

I finally decided to try Google Chrome. I still have no opinion. A browser is a browser when one doesn't really have time to care.

I made some new curtains for my entertainment room. The old ones let the sun come in to taunt me into sneezing, so I bought some black out curtains. Since I have hobbit-sized windows (really short), I cut the curtains in half and hemmed them to the right size. So far, no more sneezing when the sun attacks in the middle of an average morning.

I was talking to a friend on the phone the other day while dancing down my stairs in pink bunny slippers. I didn't plant the first foot right and took a tumble down the stairs. When I reached the bottom, I quickly reassured my friend that all was well. I am still rocking a nice-sized bruise a week later.

To my great amusement, friends had told me I looked like a graceful dancer the previous day. We were doing some sort of jumping jacks where we were supposed to cross our legs and clearly my brain thought I was supposed to be doing some sort of ballet maneuver. Graceful Bella? I don't know about that.