Saturday, January 1, 2011

Welcome to 2011!

This is the first time my Christmas amarylis has produced 5 blooms!
This is the first time my Christmas amarylis has produced 5 blooms!

Granny New Years has come again in a small and quiet way. What you don’t remember "Granny"? Check her out in last year’s post here.

Granny New Year Present
Granny New Year Present

A new puzzle book, thanks Granny!
A new puzzle book, thanks Granny!

Hubby had a visit from Granny, too. Well, sort of. He finally bought himself a new table saw with the extra cash he received in December. It will replace the $50 Black and Decker saw he has been using for the last 25(!) years. The poor old thing (the saw, not Hubby) fell off the tool trailer one evening during the gazebo build this summer and broke the table top. The stubborn old bugger (Hubby, not the saw) would still be using it if not for that. The saw got great reviews and the price actually went down $1oo from the time he first started drooling on it in the store. Granny works in mysterious ways!

 A life-time warranty and great reviews, oh yeah!
A life-time warranty and great reviews, oh yeah!

 Hubby’s new saw over by the stack of the gazebo’s cedar deck boards.
Hubby’s new saw over by the stack of the gazebo’s cedar deck boards.

We had a fantastic year with lots of fun, laughter, great food, good weather, late night fire pit parties and just a deep down happy feeling in my stomach. LIFE IS GOOD!! I really don’t see how things can get any better but I’m going to give it a huge try. So I looked back over some of the goals I wanted to accomplish for 2010 and it seems like I have met the challenge head one.

I wanted to have more “No Spend Days” and I managed to keep from spending anything on 106 days for an average of about 2 per week. The same went for “No Drive Days” and while we had a bunch we didn’t record the number anywhere. It’s a little tricky anyway because I car pool and pay on Friday so really I’m not driving.

The meal planning was a great habit to pick up and we still do this daily because when we don’t it really screws things up. We end up running into the store to buy something on the way home from work. So there are lots of positive reasons to continue with this goal.

We bought a new BBQ for all our outdoor cooking needs. I love it; it’s much better looking than the old hunk of junk. Hubby is still getting used to the smaller BTU’s and slower cooking times but he gets the food cooked.

Losing weight has become an up and down cycle with me. I want to lose 10 pounds and will continue on this goal. My new job involves a lot of sitting on my ass and I’m not used to this. I plan on requesting a new work table so I can stand more during the day. I need to spend less time at the computer at home, too.

So now we are at the nitty-gritty of this year’s new resolutions. I honestly don’t have many.

I will continue with the old goals because they work.

I want to set up a daily savings plan with a charitable organization. I have a few I’m checking out.

I want to take up running; VERY, VERY slowly at first till maybe I have enough stamina to run a small 5 km race. We have a company challenge coming up and I would love to be able to participate without me looking like a complete running moron.

I want to have more dinner parties with friends.

I want to cook a new meal or baked item every month and share it with you all.

I want to save more money in my Goofy account so one day we can visit Disney World and go first class all the way.

I want to watch more football games so when the Super Bowl rolls around I’ll have a team to cheer for because honestly the Oakland Raiders just aren’t going to the Big Game again this year.

Happy News Years everyone, may the best be awaiting you in 2011.

11 comments:

~Kim at Golden Pines~ said...

Hello!! You have had a good year and really made some great resolutions too! I hope you make each and every goal you have set! I also wish you the very best for the New Year!

(By the way, THANKS for the advice on putting oil on my cast iron pan before storing it--I had totally forgotten about doing that!)

Anupam Karn said...

following you now !

Stella Jones said...

Thank you for your comment on my Blog. Nice to see you are enjoying life and I wish you well for 2011. I also need to lost 10 lbs. Perhaps we can do it together?
http://awitchabroad.blogspot.com

Canadian Saver said...

I LOVE your blog, Witch, and I have really enjoyed what you've shared of your lives in 2010 with us. I hope you will continue blogging regularly in 2011...

Glad you got spoiled for Granny New Year, you and DH both!! I was going to do this but I forgot :-(

Have a wonderful 2011!

The Witch said...

Welcome to Anupam, a fellow engineer, who is now following The Witch's Island from all the way around the globe in India.

Kim, thanks for the encouragement. I now have Star to help me on at least one of those resolutions. Who do you suppose will be brave enough to verify any weight loss claims I make?

Jane said...

As a fellow photographer I love all the pictures you include in your posts! I am of Scottish heritage but wasn't aware of that tradition, but I like it! I would love to have a gift to open today:)I am also on the weight loss journey - good luck to us all!

Daisy said...

Thank you for coming to my blog, reading& commenting! I really appreciate it :)
That's funny, my boyfriend got the same saw a couple weeks ago! He's thrilled with it. "No car days" sounds like a really good idea too!

Nakamuras on Saipan said...

Happy New Year to you too! May this year see you sitting in your beautiful gazebo!

Gill - That British Woman said...

what a fabulous upbeat post and a lot of great achievements accomplished.

Wishing you lots of luck with your 2011 goals.

Gill

Sisters of the Blog said...

I thought of Granny New Years before Christmas, but then promptly forgot to do anything about it! groan.

I did have a present for DH that i forgot to put under the tree for him to open when we opened our gifts on New Year's Eve and gave it to him today.

Your amarylis is BEAUTIFUL!

megan

Gill - That British Woman said...

thanks for the link to the pots of jam, I too am not keen on it doubling as a seating plan as well.

Take care,

Gill