Happy New Year!!!

Well here it is, early on the morning of January 4th before I'm able to wish both of my readers a happy new year. I guess one of my resolutions should be to inform more people about the blog ;)

I'm up this late because my sleep schedule is just totally crazy. Here's my schedule from the past week or so:

December 27, drove back from Alabama (ooh... Christmas in the Southland)
December 28, worked 7p-7a, wished Tom a happy birthday (he's 37)
December 29, worked 11p-7a (actually got cancelled for part of the night, then got slammed!)
December 30, GOT CANCELLED FOR THE ENTIRE SHIFT!!!!!!!! WOOHOO!
December 31, worked 7p-7a
January 1, worked 7p-7a, missed the Rose parade for the first time since 1989 :(
January 2, called in sick.

I have this problem that happens when I work too many nights in a row. We'll not discuss this problem in depth, but we'll just say that night shift can do a number on my digestive tract. So I can either do the Pepto Bismol macarena all night or call in and save everyone from doing my work for me.

I always hate calling in. Always. I feel lazy, but it's really for the best. I really shouldn't have attempted a 6 night row of shifts, but I really thought it would work out once I got the third night off. So much of it is really psychological, so I thought that by making December 31 my "first" shift, I would be able to skip this. Oh well.

I'm hoping more of the Rose Parade footage gets on Youtube. So far there's not much, and it's mostly of people shooting video of themselves once they've figured out that they can't see the parade since there's about 8 rows of people in front of them. The Rose Parade has been my personal New Year's tradition since childhood. I hate blackeyed peas (the one year I did it was my worst year ever!) and I'm not much for champagne toasts (doesn't really work out in the workplace) so that's what I've got left. When my high school band was in the parade, I didn't get to see it right away, but we had legions of people taping different channels, so we could see the parade from different viewpoints. At one point one channel did a closeup on the clarinets two rows in front of me, then they cut away :( Alas, my network TV premiere would have to wait for 14 more years.

Yesterday was also the anniversary of my first appearance on Jeopardy! What fun... Still have most of the money. Just can't seem to work out a time for that England/Ireland/Scotland trip. I wanted to go with Tom years ago, but that will NEVER happen. Kind of like our "New Orleans Trip". Each time we've tried, some sort of disaster has befallen our lives. We did NOT try to go in 2005, but Katrina did hit on August 29, which is our anniversary. Maybe it's best that we never go!

Anyway, Tom's wrapping up his law school (thank GOD), I'm starting back on my doctorate with advisement this afternoon. Supposedly I only have 30-something hours left, which is less than I would have had at UTA, plus there's no language requirement. Although I'm really thinking of taking Spanish anyway.

I'm also going back to weekend nights at the end of this month. Yep, I just can't stay away. This will open up some opportunities for me, though, as I'll be able to keep better track of school work (the kids are REALLY loving me for that!) and the house (Tom has less opportunity to bomb the kitchen back to the stone age). Plus, in the summer I'll be able to take the kids on lots of mini-trips, which will be SO nice!

So anyway, here are my "resolutions"
1. Lose weight (isn't there a law that we all have to resolve this anyway?)
2. Get more exercise (should help #1)
3. Restart my doctorate (teehee, sounds like a nobrainer, but I have to actually register)
4. Travel (why not?) - especially a Mom's Only trip with my mom buddies. That was SO worth it last year!
5. Redo the living room and den. Pretty much just need some paint and a little bit of new furniture. Tom's already moving his crap out and I'll get my great-grandfather's desk!!!!! Perfect to study with.
6. Do something with the deck. It's really atrocious, and we could use something much nicer.

I'm also starting to do the "cook meals ahead and freeze them" program. I did this a few years ago and it was helpful, but this time I have an actual separate freezer :)