Happy New Year!

I'm going to take these last few hours of 2007 to take the opportunity to wish you and yours a Happy and Prosperous New Year.

I found a great article from Rabbi Jacob Pressman and although I've sent it to many a good friend in the recent past... I feel compelled to share an excerpt of it with you.

A Prayer for the New Year

On the eve of the New Year there are many yearnings in our hearts for which there are no specific prayers in the prayer book. These are my wishes for you, and for me.
In the year which now begins, may your hair, your teeth, your face-lift, your pecs, and your stocks not fall; and may your blood pressure, your triglycerides, your cholesterol, your white blood count and your mortgage interest not rise.

May you have good friends, including a doctor who keeps you out of the hospital, a lawyer who keeps you out of court, and an accountant who keeps you out of jail.

May your visits to the cemetery be few and to the wedding chapel be many; and may you find a way to travel from anywhere to anywhere in rush hour in less than an hour, and when you get there may you find a parking space.

May your home be safe from tigers, termites, tides, temblors, and tax collectors. And may inflation not diminish your income, nor expand your waistline.

May you actually win the ten million dollars the contest envelopes say your have already won, and may you give ten percent to the temple.

May you receive a letter from a long-lost friend and a kiss from a long indifferent spouse or offspring; and may you discover a big check you mislaid or forgot to deposit, and a big bill you thought you owed and forgot you paid.

May you be awe-struck by God's sense of humor as you wrestle with the possibility that a professional wrestler could become president of the United States.

May those in the judiciary take a vow of charity, those in the legislatures take a vow of poverty, and those in the executive branch take a vow of chastity.

May we discover civilized life on Mars, and may we also discover civilized life on Earth.

May Friday evening December 31 find you seated around the table, together with beloved family and cherished friends, ushering in the Sabbath day. You will find the food better, the environment quieter, the cost much cheaper, and the pleasure much more fulfilling than any carousing you might ordinarily do that night.

May you wake up on January 1st, finding that the world has not come to an end, the lights work, the water faucets flow, the sky has not fallen, and the irritating voice on the telephone is still saying, "We're sorry, your call can not be completed as dialed. Please check the number and dial again."

May you fill your lungs with clean, sweet air, free of pollution, auto exhaust, and cigarette smoke, and perfumed by fragrant flower blossoms and may you feast your eyes on green forest slopes, the blue of a clear ocean day, the rainbow of color in a cloud-flecked sunset sky, or the beatific smile of someone you have just embraced.

May you discover that what really matters in this life is not the years but the days, not machines but people, not lust but love, not money... well, let me put it this way, not greed but gratitude that you have enough for your needs to give you contentment, and enough for the needs of others to make you benevolent.

May the Messiah come this year, and if he does not may you live as if he is already here, and be kind and loving to one another and good to yourselves, and maybe next year he or she will come, and all my wishes for you will be fulfilled.

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Is that not just beautiful? I thought so too.

As I sit in my warm living room, contemplating retreating to my cold bedroom (did I mention the HEATER DIED in there? Yeah, thank God for electric blankets since it's supposed to get down to 28 degrees) to watch (sleep through) some drab, boring movie Hollywood producers couldn't wait to put out. There's no originality there anymore -- nothing in the recent past has even piqued my interest -- other than The Golden Compass (I think that's the name... I'm going to see that!) Maybe I'll catch up on my Oprah -- I've got 3 Tivo'd there. :)

When you look back on the year youre leaving behind and look forward to the year ahead, it's always with a sense of nostalgia for the days past and a sense of adventure to the days ahead. Remember your failures and set-backs so that you don't repeat them. Remember to forgive your enemies because harboring ill-will and discontent only makes your heart grow colder. Remember to hug your kids and tell them you love them every time you can, every day. Remember that no one is perfect, not even you. Look to the days ahead knowing that it's a new year and a clean slate...

I'm looking forward to many new things this year... a vacation back to God's country (Colorado), my son turning 9 (NINE?! Geez I'm old), several domestic projects I'm wanting to accomplish, my youngest son turning 4 (FOUR... where HAS the time gone?) I'll have a few more months with my MOPS group which I won't be able to rejoin in the fall due to preschool conflicts. I have made a great new friend named Wanda that I can't wait to get to know better -- she's totally cool! I have one of my Scouts back in the Den for the 2nd half of the year. We've got lots of memories to make, lots of photos to take, lots of experiences to have, lots of birthdays, events, celebrations and lots of chances to make right on the opportunities I've been given.

I thank God for this year, 2007, and for the many lessons I've learned. I've learned to forgive, to love deeper, to love myself, to appreciate my blessings, to let it go and give it to God. I've learned to lean on Him for my strength and to be grateful and thankful for all the gifts He has given me. I have a safe, warm (well, most of the time) home, loving family, beautiful children, adorable dogs, a scrapbook room to call my very own, my health, my looks (ha ha ha! ok.. just checking to see if you were reading but I **DID** get carded tonight at Albertson's buying some wine), my freedom...

I'm blessed to be represented by the best infantry in the country, the United States servicemen and women that are out there now fighting to protect me and my children.

I'm blessed to live in a great school district and have the means to afford my children many opportunities to explore new experiences in life...

I have a fantastic Den of young men that I get to meet with every week and help teach them about being a Cub Scout!

AND, I started off my day right (cleaning/organizing) so that I could start my YEAR off right -- with a CLEAN SCRAPBOOK ROOM!

Anyways... this year, I vow to post at least one new "thing" per week -- it's going to be altered projects, sketch challenges, cards, pages, you name it but we're back in action this year creatively!

***Resolutions***

Honestly, I tend to NOT make resolutions because you're just setting yourself up for failure.

How about this doozie from Mark Twain: New Year's Day: Now is the accepted time to make your regular annual good resolutions. Next week you can begin paving hell with them as usual.

:)

BUT, I have checked out the top 10 resolutions that people tend to make and I'm sure they're easy to guess

**lose weight
**exercise
**stop drinking/smoking
**get out of debt
**save money
**spend more time w/family and friends
**get organized

yadda yadda yadda....

I don't care to lose weight but I want to be fit... if it means I maintain this weight but gain a little muscle, so be it. I just want to incorporate more veggies into our diets. I think that's just the place to start. I've alrady been working on menus. :)

I don't really have any bad habits (other than going over the text message limits on my phone) but I alleviated that problem so I should be good because the only other "addiction" I have is scrapbooking and... hey... well, everyone's gotta have a vice right? ha!

I don't need to get organized because if you know me, you know I am so anally (that doesn't look like it's spelled right) organized it's almost borderline OCD..

I would like to not set a scrapbooking goal for myself but I'd LIKE to complete at least 2 two-page layouts per week. IT's not a "resolution" or goal that I'm setting for myself but it's more of an idea I'd like to keep in the back of my mind because my REAL resolution is to put "ME" first since I tend to put myself at the bottom of my totem pole. So making time for what's important to ME is something that I feel is a priority enough TO make a resolution about.

That's about it.... I will look for my happy every day and continue to be mindful and thankful for what I have.

So, Happy New Year everyone! I'm going to go sit beneath a warm electric blanket and try to be enthused about some movie. :) TTFN!