One Word

I'm not doing resolutions this year. Not because I don't believe in them but because I want to try something different. I read recently about choosing one word that becomes the theme for the new year. I liked that idea and thought it would be an interesting way to think about how I want to navigate my fresh start. I love January, I love closing the door on the last year and being open to the possibilities that are to come. I always feel a little sad and weary in October and November as I realize that the year is winding to a close and I wonder if I've crossed off any of the things on my list. So this year, there will be no list - just one word.

focus:
a central point, as of attraction, attention, or activity

This will be my word for 2010. I'm really looking forward to kicking 2009 to the curb.

If you'd like to learn more about the one little word idea, visit Ali Edwards' blog. Her scrapbook layouts and ideas are amazing and she's also good with the words.

Oh, and Happy New Year!

Ice Skating in Pershing Square

We've had Tom's father here for the last 5 days. We had a great time. On his first night here we had dinner at our favorite Greek place and then toured a nearby neighborhood that always gets decked out for the holidays. Christmas Eve was spent at the Sullivans. Christmas day dawned early - I think we finished unwrapping everything by 9:00am. We had delicious duck hash and poached eggs for breakfast - courtesy of my breakfast chef husband. Christmas dinner was had at Abe's deli because we were all too tired to make anything. The next day, we went whale watching off the coast. We saw hundreds upon hundreds of dolphins. They jumped and swam alongside the boat. We saw 2 fin whales. Dinner was seafood-themed, of course, at Bubba Gump.
Sunday was spent relaxing, playing with new toys, eating too much junk food - topped off with burgers and shakes from In and Out.

And yesterday was ice skating in Pershing Square followed by lunch in Chinatown.

Good times.

Boy oh boy

I tried to fix the red eyes but I couldn't do it without making them look a little spookish. Besides, red eyes make them even more devilishly handsome, right?
The hair, Jack's big smile, Dean's adorable pout, the pose, the ties!
Oh we're going to be in trouble.

I Won!!

I won two delightful prints from the t.ruffle shop! One is for me, me, me and the other is for me to give away.

I have so many lovelies in my life - it'll be hard to pick one. Maybe I'll put all your names in a hat and have myself a raffle.

The t.ruffle shop is closing down today but they've promised they'll be back with more delightful confections in the new year.

In the meantime, go to the sweeterie and look through the lens of a couple of dreamy women.

Gift Guide Update!

The punching bag for Dean has been purchased!
Yee haw!

The Weekend

Our weekend was not at all the way I had planned it but it still turned out pretty darn good, especially considering how it started.

Dean called out for me just before midnight. He told me his stomach didn't feel good. I asked him if he needed to throw up. No, he said and promptly fell asleep. 10 minutes later he woke up and went flying into the bathroom. He spent the next 2 1/2 hours getting sick. He spent the next day on the couch watching Christmas specials. We were supposed to drop them off at the daycare on Saturday night so we could go Christmas shopping and see a movie. But, in all honesty, I was a little relieved that it got cancelled. We spent the day doing laundry and cleaning up the house while Dean slept. Tom and I both had upset stomachs for most of the day but luckily, it never got worse. I was in bed by 9:00 and slept like a log until 7:00am.

Today I tested for my brown stripe belt (yay!) and while I was gone the boys put up the Christmas lights. Finally our house is beginning to look a bit festive!

After my belt test we met Uncle Peter & Uncle Julian for dinner with Uncle P's dad. Now, I'm sitting here in my favorite chair, coming down off my 2 beers, the boys are asleep and Tom's at P & J's smoking cigars and sitting in the jacuzzi. I should be jealous of him, I suppose but in reality, I'm so looking forward to being in bed in an hour.

'Night people.

Gift Guide Update!

Battle Strikers for both boys are taken. Indiana Jones Legos for Jack is taken and Darth Vader Legos for Dean is taken.

Gift Guide Update!

Hoodie and Swingball set is taken for Jack!

Jack

Whenever I have to go pee really, really bad? I just shake it. And then, it makes my pee dizzy and it has to just go lie down for a while. That's what I do when I'm playing handball so I can keep playing.

Late Anniversary

My first Tae Kwon Do class was one year ago yesterday. I'm a little bummed that I missed the actual anniversary but for some reason, I thought it was December 4th. No matter - the bottom line is I've just passed the one year mark and this morning I was invited to test for my brown stripe belt on December 13th.

People! After brown stripe there is only one belt between me and black!!

Last year at this time I struggled to remember basic self defense techniques, basic hand techniques, basic forms. Today I'm a brown belt about to begin training and preparation for the black belt test.

This is something I had wanted to do for a long, long time. Every time I passed a martial arts studio I looked in wistfully but never worked up the courage to do anything about it. It was too much money or too much time, I always thought and never pursued how much money or how much time it would actually take. In August 2008, I made a list of things that I want to do in my lifetime - sort of like a bucket list. At the top of that list was 'get a black belt in tae kwon do'. I decided not to worry about the time or the money and trust the universe to provide what I really longed for. Now, I know a lot of people think that I must have read The Secret or some other new wave, new age guru nonsense. Not true. I just believed that if I put it out there, somehow it would come to me. And you know what?

It did.