Well, Happy Christmas everybody! (or Chanukah or Kwanza or whatever the hell you do or do not celebrate!) With Christmas and New Years on hand, I got to thinking about the past year and I have to say it's been a great one for me.
December 2002 I started a new job and made friends with some great people during the daily ride on the commuter rail. I'll miss seeing so much of them when my tenure at Student Advantage ends next month. I loved it here and the position gave me a much needed confidence boost in my web development skills. In February I began the Atkins diet and all told lost a total of sixteen pounds. This was a follow through of last years resolution to not be so god damned frumpy. A new wardrobe helped with that as well. Granted, I've gained back about eight pounds since Halloween. I'll take care of those pesky bastards as soon as all this merry making is over.

In September I walked fifty miles and raised $1,510 for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. My big toe nails still ain't right people! It was an experience to be sure and in a brief moment of insanity I thought about doing it again next summer. My year was chock full of gardening and live music. I planted an abundance of flowers and shrubs along with an herb garden and tomatoes. Much to my amazement, the flowers attracted hummingbirds. The memory of those visits still thrill me. There's really nothing to compare with standing on your back deck on a summer morning and hearing the soft peep of a hummingbird as it feeds from flowers you've planted. It occurs to me the deck is the perfect yoga studio and now I can't wait for the warm weather to return. And all that time out in the sun brought about a rare sight....a tan me.

On the concert front, I saw Peter Gabriel (twice), Dave Matthews, Chris Isaak, Duran Duran (three times!), The Alarm (twice), and Cheap Trick. I think Becky was with me for every one of those shows. It was her idea to fly to Las Vegas for that first Duran date and that's exactly what we did. We made it into a weekend of pampering at the Luxor and topped it off with a helicopter ride to the Grand Canyon. Simply amazing I tell you. We saw the second Duran performance in NYC where we were in the second row and I nearly got into a fist fight with some crazy bitch. By sheer luck we ended up with front row seats for the Cheap Trick show during which Rick Nielsen handed me his guitar! (no I didn't get to keep it) Last but not least, I got Mike Peter's autograph at one of the Alarm gigs. Such a sweetie!

Some accomplishments for the year aside from the weight loss and 50 mile walk were paying off my car, getting orchids to bloom, entertaining 84 people at our summer barbeque, catching fireflies in a glass jar, starting this blog and having the strength to go back to my doctor when I suspected a recurrence of fibroids. As good a year as it was, I want 2004 to be better and so it shall be. I have my health, I have my husband and I have an invitation to a wedding in Hawaii! What more could you ask for? A list of 2004's New Year Resolutions? Well, ok ~ here they are in no particular order:

1. Paint and/or draw more. I am ashamed to admit it but I think the last thing I did was the Family Portrait for Jeff last Christmas.
2. Lose the weight I gained back and then some. I have a pair of size six jeans I bought over the summer. I never quite got into them and now my size eights are feeling way too snug. One might even go so far as to say they are damned uncomfortable. Hello? Dr. Atkins?
3. Exercise. REGULARLY! Yoga will be more than once a week. An hour on the treadmill will be the minimum. My superfine bike will help with this as soon as the weather warms up. I feel good and happy when I exercise. So why is it so hard to do?
4. Stop drinking so much beer. I love the stuff but it's making me fat and will kill me. I blame the Patriots for my recent inability to not have a massive stock of Harpoon IPA at all times.
5. Read more. 'nuff said.
6. Not be so hard on myself. But then I think...I am not hard enough. I guess I just need to figure that one out.

I'll try to be honest and let y'all know how my progress goes with said resolutions. What do you know, I just got word the office is closing at 1PM on account of the holiday. Let the eating, drinking and merry making begin!