After Christmas Thoughts

I love Thanksgiving and Christmas. But New Year's Day is also exciting for me. I believe in New Year's resolutions (strongly so). After all, if we are slack about renewing and improving ourselves, we will slowly fade away.

I don't believe the old saying that "resolutions are made to be broken." Yes, human nature will insure that we can't keep them all. But if you only keep 3 out of 10 that is an improvement.

I got off my diet during Thanksgiving and Christmas and enjoyed one of my greatest loves--sausage balls. If stranded on a small Pacific island and I could have a sausage ball on the hour and a poptart (frosted brown sugar cinnamon, of course) on the half-hour, I might decline being rescued.

But, alas, now there will be no more sausage balls until next Thanksgiving and Christmas. I had a lone poptart several weeks ago and that was the first one in over a year.

I need to advertise my resolutions so I will be held accountable. So here goes:

1. I promise to lose an additional 25 pounds in 2005.
2. I will continue searching for an electric shaver that REALLY works.
3. I will continue highly scientific research to find how to make my shredded wheat and oatmeal taste better. (the box tastes better than the content.)
4. I will walk at least a mile every day. (That's a given because Little Miss Molly will see to that)
5. I will not wait until late Saturday night or very early Sunday morning to study my Sunday School lesson.
6. I will try to learn more about weather and improve forecasting ability. (Please take my word for it--there is still plenty to learn even though I have been in weather for 47 years. Forecasting will never be perfect)
7. I will continue to return shopping carts to their rightful locations after loading my purchases in my car. (It is another one of my top pet peeves and I have a near spotless record on this one. I have NEVER left a shopping cart abandoned but once. Lightning was popping all around at the time and the shopping cart was metal
8. I will try to become less fearful of lightning. That is the one element of weather that I am most afraid of. But I don't want to get TOO brave!
9. I will continue to use my turn indicators. I am very good at that anyway. It is one of my top pet peeves along with tailgating.
10. I will continue to obey speed limits. When I am traveling down the Birmingham Autobahn (Interstate 459) I set my speed control on 68 MPH (2 MPH under the speed limit) and migrate to the right lane. I am a brave person, but if "road rage" breaks out, you will see me jumping the ditch and heading for the woods.

So, wish me luck. Looks like it is badly needed!

Happy New Year!