2013

They are already celebrating in New Zealand, but for us, the big moment won't come for another five hours. The question is, will I be awake to "Ring Out, Wild Bells...Ring In The New"? Not likely. Just this morning, Gerald was describing to Seth my typical New Year's routine:

Said he, "This is Mom's New Year's Eve. She stays awake long enough to watch the ball drop in New York (at 10:00 here), she says 'Happy New Year,' and she goes to sleep. That's since we've lived in this time zone. When we lived in the Pacific Time Zone, she would watch it drop at 9:00, and then go to sleep."

Yep, that pretty much describes it. Even 10:00 is pushing it for me. I need a ton of sleep in order to function. If I stay up until midnight, my whole next day will suffer. Can it be worth it? After all, when I wake in the morning, refreshed and rested, it will still be 2013, right? What did I really miss?

As I look toward a new year, I do so with good expectations. I'm excited to welcome President Obama for a second term (sorry, conservative friends) and look forward to his inauguration in three weeks. I'm praying congress will figure something out in the next five hours to avoid going over the "fiscal cliff," without raising taxes on the middle class, eliminating unemployment benefits for those out of work, or giving tax breaks to the wealthiest of wealthy. I hope they can do it.

As for resolutions, I should probably look back to a year ago, but it's a little embarrassing. I believe I set two main goals, (1) to walk 1,200 miles in 2012 and (2) to cook more meals at home. Hmmm. Well you see, it's like this. As of May 26th, I was right on track with the walking; I was actually ahead of schedule, having walked nearly 600 miles in five months. Then Shulamith had her baby and everything changed. He was so tiny, and she was so sick, and both of them needed much help. My regular walking routine just didn't fit in. Before Swen was born, she and I had dreamed of the summer walking we would do, baby in stroller, weather warm, calories burning fast and furious. Dreams are sometimes just that. Swen hated his stroller almost as much as he hated his car seat. He pretty much hated everything other than human arms. Consistent walking this past summer was not to be.

So that resolution didn't quite pan out. As for the cooking, I sort of tried, but the problem is I just don't like the food here. If I don't like the food in a particular restaurant, I don't go there. It's kinda the same. Only worse. At a restaurant where I don't like the food, at least I don't have to prepare it or clean up the mess. So I won't comment further on this resolution because it was pretty much a wash.

Onward to 2013. I have a few goals, hopefully more attainable than last year's. First, I found a chart on Pinterest (where else?) that divides the Book of Mormon into 365 equal parts. Seth and I are going to read it together! One time several years ago, Isaiah and Eli and I read the book together, and I have sweet memories of that time. I don't know if they do, but I definitely do. When Shulamith is around, she will read with us. Same with Gerald. But we're not waiting for them. Seth and I have a mission! Second, we must get back to the gym. We have been off the wagon for over a month, ever since the holiday rush began, and we've indulged in far too much "figgy pudding" and other delectable treats. It's time to get back on the plan.

Third, I hope to read more. I love to read, but when I have hundreds of pages of essays to read (arrugh!), sometimes I don't make time to read anything else. This is not good. I forget that people are capable of writing without comma splices, dangling modifiers, pronoun-antecedent agreement errors, and sentence fragments. So today, I downloaded three books to my Kindle. They are all very different from one another, and I'm excited to check them out. First, I downloaded Racing in the Rain: My Life as a Dog, because my mom loved it and suggested it to me. Second, I downloaded Safe Haven, the latest Nicholas Sparks novel that will soon be released as a movie. I want to read it before I see it. Third, I downloaded "Wonderstruck," on the recommendation of my friend Elisa. I don't know much about it, but it has to do with living a "wonderstruck" life, rather than passing by the many wonders. Sounds good!

So welcome, 2013! I have high hopes for you.