Better late than never

Well, it seems I took a bit of an unplanned blog hiatus. I think I have some January Blahs, and I haven't been able to muster up much energy for anything other than napping and playing the occasional Wii tennis and bowling with the kids. Tonight, though, you would swear I had had espresso with my dinner. How much caffeine is in one eight of those tiny Lindt dark chocolate squares?

This week many of my favorite bloggers have posted wonderful year-end recaps complete with links to their favorite posts from each month in 2008, but I am not even going to pretend that I had twelve posts interesting enough to re-link here. It was a pretty good year at our house, but blessedly mundane. We are starting the new year financially chastened but healthy and hopeful.

Not surprisingly, there have also been quite a few "New Year's Resolutions" posts around. I am not so good with the resolutions, and the ones I would make are the same as almost everyone I know: Eat healthier, get more exercise, spend less money, spend more quality time with my family, etc. I hate to be predictable, so I am making some resolutions that I might actually keep.

1. Splurge on better-quality wrapping paper next Christmas. Target, I still love you but your wrapping paper sucks and I am going to Hallmark next year. Look for crappier gifts, beautifully wrapped.

2.Improve my "Wii Fitness Age." (It's 54! Even my TV can see how out of shape I am.)

3. Get up to date on The Office. I mentioned before that I can't jump into the current season until I have watched the previous ones, and I am actually making good progress. I think I'll insert subheadings in this section to break it down, if you will. (Saying that always reminds me of my brother-in-law, who adds "if you will" to the end of 90% of his sentences. He is clearly very accommodating.) I am already feeling like 2009 is a success resolution-wise because I am 40% of the way toward accomplishing this goal.
a. Season 1 DONE
b. Season 2 DONE
c. Season 3
d. Season 4
e. Season 5

4. Purchase some photo-organizing software. Holy cow, this is a big one. I should have put this one first. I have 67GB of photos on my computer, or over 25,000 pictures, and virtually no organization system (although we do back them up online daily). Let's just say that when I am looking for that one cute picture of Annamarie where she was wearing a straw hat, there is much grumbling. If any of you own ACDSee let me know how you like it.

5. Find my brain. I do not know what my issue is (perimenopause?) but lately I am a flake. In six days, I leave for a Caribbean cruise that I am taking with my BFF Mary Beth. We booked this cruise oh, nine months ago? Today I discovered that I booked my return flight for the wrong day. I swear I have looked at that reservation 50 times--why did it never click that the cruise ends on the 17th and my flight home is on the 18th? Also this evening I spent 15 minutes trying to figure out why the photos I took earlier today wouldn't upload to my computer using my new Eye-Fi card. Eventually it dawned on me that the photos were on the card I took out of the camera when I put the EMPTY new Eye-Fi card in. I am thinking that maybe if I clean off my desk I will locate the missing pieces of my brain and also my passport.

If I can accomplish those things this year I will feel pretty good about life. And if I can also somehow manage to get thin, fit, and out of debt it will just be icing on the cake.