Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Tonight I'm Gonna Party Like It's 1999

So I promised I'd write more today about my upcoming goals. Tis the season, after all what with New Year's Day and its obligatory resolutions staring me in the face. Out with the old, in with the new, and all that.
This may seem anticlimactic, but right now my plan is to pick up where I left off. I sort of dropped the ball on most of my vices over the last few weeks, but now that the holidays are over and I'm back in my home, I'm getting back in the saddle. Workouts, core program, decluttering, cutting back on sweets--here I come. I am happy to report that the moratorium on unnecessary spending never ceased. That was one habit that I stuck with over the holidays and we're all reaping the benefits. Smaller credit card bills, fewer things coming into my home adding to the clutter, less reliance on store-bought goods and activities--these are some of the positive changes I've noticed since beginning to cut back on spending back in October. It's been so long now that it's practically second nature to walk past the clearance bins and not peruse them in search of great deals.
2008 has been productive for me, in many ways because of the motivation I get from the blog. For one thing, I don't think I would be working out consistently, if it weren't for the obligation I feel to report on my progress. So I'm hoping that in 2009 I'll continue to become Mary Poppins step by step. But if I had to choose one overarching goal for 2009, it would have to do with simplicity. I want to simplify all areas of my life. If there's a simpler way to do something, I will do it. I'm sure I'll have more thoughts on that in the future.
So with that, I'm off to continue my New Year's Eve partying. Truthfully, Bert and I are known for having abysmal New Year's Eve celebrations. They started the New Year's Eve a few weeks before we got married, when we were vacationing with Bert's family. We got stuck at the home of a family friend with Bert's parents and without a car. Someone in our party rented a movie, but by the time they got to the rental place the only thing left was Crocodile Dundee 2 or 3 or 4 (did they even make a 3 or a 4? I can't recall; that's how memorable this movie was. There's a reason why some shows were picked over and left at the store).
Other highlights include:
The year our friends were going to meet us at a resort so we could celebrate together, but they got sick at the last minute and had to cancel;
The year we stayed up watching Ratatouille (note: if you're like me and detest rats, you won't enjoy a movie about animated rats, even if they do live in Paris and make good food);
The year I was hugely pregnant and felt ill, so instead of going out, I spent the night curled up in a giant ball watching TV (that was the year that I discovered the sitcom Arrested Development, which to this day is one of my greatest loves, so I guess that memory wasn't all bad).
I can't blame our crummy New Year's Eve celebrations on Bert. I was having them long before he was in the picture. On New Year's Eve 1998, I offered to babysit my sister's 7 month-old baby so that she and her husband could go out. That was extremely nice of me, if I do say so myself. I remember sitting in her apartment watching the ball drop and listening to Prince's song about 1999 play over, and over, and over, again. 10 years later, now that I've got kids of my own and someone to kiss at midnight, I'm asking "where's my free babysitter?"

2 comments:

klortz said...

Here's my simplicity tip for the holidays: I was at Joanne's a few months ago and bought a roll of plain white paper- the big one in the wrapping paper aisle. For Christmas, I would cut the paper to the desired size and then allow the girls to use crayons,markers, stickers, glue and construction paper to personalize the gift. Each person had their own unique packaging. The best part is, it's versatile for all seasons and occasions. Also, it's thin enough that, if you're feeling ambitious, you can put a picture underneath and trace over it, then color it in. DO IT NOW!! It's fantastic!! I even traced onto the paper from a clip art photo from Microsoft Word and used it for a baby shower.

Mary Poppins said...

klortz--love it! in fact i was just at target this evening and i was about to buy some wrapping paper on clearance and then thought "i don't need this, i can figure something else out." lo and behold, looks like you've provided that "something else." thanks for the tip.