First off I want to wish every one a Happy New Year. I hope all had a safe and fabulous celebration. Chris, our friend Brian and I spent our New Year’s Eve with The Flaming Lips. This was the first Lips concert that I have been able to drag Chris to and he was finally able to see first hand what I’ve been harping about all these years.

Unfortunately I didn’t get any pictures of the concert. I tried sneaking in the fancy pants camera, but was forced to trek it back to the car (after standing in line for over an hour). But really, this was the only blight on the evening. The Flaming Lips don’t give you a concert. They give you an experience and the entire crowd vibrates with such amazing energy. That moment during the last song, standing with Chris, holding his hand, with confetti and balloons floating all over is a moment trapped in my head for a lifetime. We had an amazing time.

A few years ago, Chris and I ended up at our favorite Indian restaurant on New Year’s day. That was also the year we had decided to forgo the black-eye pea tradition. We had determined that eating black-eye peas on New Years did not bring us good luck, but in fact had the opposite effect. That year, while munching on masala and nan, we made a pact to eat Indian food every New Years day. This would be our tradition.

Well…what can I say. We are old and lucky if we can remember where we’ve put our keys. This year, we forgot about the pact. We decided on Ethiopian for the New Year, but when we arrived at our favorite Ethiopian place ( I think it’s the only one really), we found it closed. Ok…our favorite Mexican place was just down the street. How about that? Nope. Closed too. OK…How about Indian food? And this is when I remembered the pact. We were supposed to eat Indian food and what do ya know, Karma lead us straight to our favorite Indian place. And it was open.

So, Cheers to you all. Hope the New Year brings you all the things you’re hoping for and then some.

The things we chat about when we are mentally done for the day.

Chris: what’s for dinner

me: brawtz
and I don’t know what

Chris: aw man

me: what

Chris: chips would be good
with that

me: yeah

Chris: some of those crack kettle chips

me: crips
kettle crips
craps
kettle craps
ha

Chris: perfect for a night of dip-n-shit
dippin’ shit

me: this conversation’s going on the blog

OK…seriously…I have plans. Big plans and little plans all for the coming year and I know it would really make things easier if I would just write them down. Somewhere. Preferably somewhere I can find it. So here goes. I’ve got to break it down into two categories or else I’ll give myself a panic attack.

The Big Stuff:
1. Get myself set up as a professional yoga teacher. Sounds simple, but turns out to be a little bit more complex then just getting a certificate. This is why it’s in the Big Stuff category. This is going to require insurance, web site, business cards, yoga props and organization. Wait…I gotta take a breath. I don’t know why, but this freaks me out the most. It’s scarier then losing my job next year. This is also why I’ve put it at the top of the list.

2. Put together a new resume and start sending it out. This is probably the easiest task, but the most daunting because, even though I have year, I don’t really want another job. If there was any way to take early retirement right now and just teach yoga, that is what I’d do. But I don’t want to live with my mother-in-law forever. I need to either win the lottery or continue bringing home “the big bucks” if we want to move to our soul home.

The Small Stuff:
1. Get super healthy. I mean way healthy.

2. Finish those darn socks and knit more gifts for next year.

3. Learn to speak Spanish fluently.I already know the typical tourist phrases. It might be nice to be able to have whole conversations.

4. Learn how to take awesome pictures with my Nikon D60. Yeah, who was I kidding. There’s no way Chris and I were ever going to “share” that camera. I claim it. Suck it.

5. Watch less TV. I say this just as new seasons of Big Love, Flight of Concords, Battle Star Galactica, and Lost start up. That’s OK. We have DVR and I will take full advantage of it.

6. Sell some crap on ebay. I have some serious crap to sell. It’s even possible that one of those items could fund my way to a yoga retreat I want to go to in May.

7. Move my iTunes files over to the external hard drive and get the rest of the stuff from the old mac moved over so I can get rid of the old mac. This is just stupid on my part. I’ve had the external hard drive for months and it’s never even been out of the box.

8. Update my address book. I haven’t been successful in my attempts to get my address book moved to Gert. It just won’t go for some crazy reason. Now, I’m thinking that’s OK because I’m sure there are addresses that need to be changed, added or removed all together.

9. Stick to a budget! Part of the plan for this is to only buy used things next year with the exception of toiletries, shoes, and underwear. I’m preparing for this by buying some pants on sale at VS today. Chris has also included things that are marked down to ridiculous prices like the three dollar Gap t-shirt I bought the other day. (It’s my favorite and I recently spent an entire hour coloring out pomegranate juice spots on it with my Tide pen.)

10. I don’t really have a ten, but OK. How about…walk everyday? I walk everyday at work, but have a tendency to skip out on the weekends. I don’t have an excuse now that we have Mom’s treadmill (they’ve had a couple of spills on it and didn’t want it any more).

So there. That’s the list. The things in the Big stuff category has to be done in 2009. No question. The other things I’d like to do, but if it doesn’t happen, well…it doesn’t happen. Of course, most of the little things will happen just because they’re a distraction to doing the big stuff. (Kind of like writing this entry while I should be studying for my yoga final.)

Christmas time means social responsibilities. We’ve visited with framily (friends who are so close, they are basically family) on Christmas Eve and family on Christmas day. The day after Christmas we got to have dinner with more framily who are visiting from Florida. We stopped by to see Steph (they’re also framily) and give her little ones their Christmas presents yesterday. Then we finished the evening with Chromecoming 2008 (we had a blast!).

And today? What am I doing today? Absolutely nothing. Seriously. It’s the last day of my Christmas vacation and I’m taking full advantage of it. I haven’t even brushed my teeth yet and it’s 1:30 in the afternoon. I’m in my pajamas (really my pajamas consist of a Police T-shirt and thermal long john bottoms) and my knee-high stocking slippers glued to the couch.

I haven’t been entirely unproductive. I’ve almost finished the laundry (one load left in the dryer as I type). I’ve managed to miss the first twenty minutes of every movie I’ve watched today. I’ve eaten two (fake) corn-dogs, three gingerbread cookies, a fig newton, a bowl of cereal and three cups of coffee. And I think Chris is getting ready to make me a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I’ve written this entry and I may just get out my knitting a finish turning that heal of the sock I’m making. Who knows? Sixteen Candles just started on Encore and I may just sit here and watch it.

Awe… Christmas. Really not much to say about it this year. Chris and I got up and had cinnamon rolls which is our little Christmas morning tradition. Then we loaded the car with goodies and drove up to my parents for the day. One of my parents always calls us when we’re about half an hour a way and asks “Where are you? What time do you think you’ll get here?”. In a way, this makes me feel like I’m late or something, like the whole family is there waiting for me and Chris to show up. But, in fact, we are usually the first to arrive.

We’ve also brought back our traditional Christmas dinner of fried oysters with potatoes and hush puppies. The oysters were exceptionally good this year and we all ate until we were miserable. MISERABLE! For once my mom didn’t prepare any cakes or pies and I think we were all relieved and perfectly OK with this. All in all it was a very pleasant and relaxed day. But, all that food made driving home extremely difficult. I kept having to punch Chris in the arm to make sure he stayed awake. Then once we made it home, we basically didn’t move from the couch. And you know what, for once I didn’t feel guilty about this behavior.

Hope all had a wonderful day!

This was one of those bizarro weekends that seemed to last forever. Friday night we met Zelda and friends at the Loony Bin for drinks and laughs. Chris and I are feeling the Christmas money crunch so we decided to be economical at the comedy club by each of us ordering just one drink. One really big drink. I don’t think I’ve consumed 32 oz. of alcohol since the last time I was in Vegas. That’s right, I said 32 oz. Of something they referred to as The Lobotomy. Chris didn’t fair much better. His drink was called The Laughing Gas and in true “Chris gets a girly drink” fashion, it was pink.

Despite Saturday morning’s hangover, this was one of those weekends where I feel like I accomplished quite a lot. We finished up our Christmas shopping (we say every year that we will not do this again at the last minute). We got all of the Christmas wrapped including the gift boxes for the people at work. We saw a movie (Yes Man) and I lost my phone. Then I found my phone…where I’d left it at the theater. I cleaned the kitchen (mopped and everything) and finished the laundry.

And I still had time to make my vintage button wreath. I’ve seen several of these button wreaths on Flickr and every time I’ve thought “Hey! I can make that!”. Lucky for me my mom is a hoarder and has buckets of old buttons. She just brought me a baggy full for this project, so I know there are still buttons left somewhere in that house if I ever feel the need to make another one. And I just might do that for next year.

Chris is ready for the new year and has all his goals lined up to accomplish. And despite the fact that I gave him a really long list of things for the new blog, he keeps asking me about my goals for the new year. Hold on! This year isn’t up yet.

I feel it’s important to reflect back on the events and good things that have happened in 2008. First off, Chris and I celebrated our ten year anniversary. TEN YEARS! It’s not really something I consider an accomplishment as much as it’s just something really great that we celebrated. We’ve been through a lot of crap, but we’ve been through it together (I know…gag).

Which brings me to the next good thing of 2008, yoga teacher training. You’re probably wondering what Chris has to do with this. Without Chris, I would not be in the yoga teacher training program. He pushed me into it kicking and screaming. Actually, I wouldn’t do much of anything if I didn’t have Chris pushing me along into doing the things I really always wanted to do (hello…new tattoo). Teacher training has taught me so much about myself and completely changed how I see me. From this I’ve learned what does and doesn’t work for my health and wellness.

My exercise program has changed and my diet is drastically different. Because of this, I’ve lost about 15 pounds this year. Go me! My diet became officially vegetarian during our trip to Portland. It was just so easy there. Awe…Portland. Yes, 2008 is also the year that Chris and I found our true home. We realized that we could actually live the life we’ve always imagined living in Portland. So there you have it Chris…an actual goal for the new year: Find way to move to Portland (Stat!).

This year has also been a year for babies. Not ours (Hail the Goddess of Birth Control!), but babies for our friends and family. First there was Todd and Yuko’s little boy, Lio. Next Mel and her new husband had their little boy, Lucas. Then came Tiff and Tom’s, little Allison (finally… a girl!). Our friends Jen and Ken had a little boy, William. And finally, my best friend had little Luke. Whew! That’s a lot of diapers! But I find something significant in all these births. It’s an omen for the coming years, telling us that we will have a new beginning of our own (just not in the form of a clone).

There have been a few crappy times in 2008, but reflecting back…I really only see the good things. So, for the most part, 2008 was a good year for me. And I’m not quite ready to move on to the next year. That’s OK. I still have some time and Chris can wait a little longer for my goals list.

I had my first experience with acupuncture yesterday and the verdict is good. It was a completely surreal experience, but I think it worked. For the past few months I’ve had this issue with my right shoulder and neck area. I felt like Quasimodo, like my right shoulder was pressed up to my ear (even though it wasn’t). So I went with acupuncture. Needles had to be better then the chiropractor I went to that one time (he left me in a dark room for an hour with ice packs all over me–torture; I confessed every thing).

Dr. Li and his wife, who acts as the receptionist/nurse, are the cliched Chinese couple. They both are abrupt, but nice. He asked me my age. I told him 32 and then he asked about my children. When I replied that I didn’t have any kids and none on the way, he looked at me and said “You’re 32, you better have babies soon. You’re almost 35. Shouldn’t have babies after 35.”. We all know that when you turn 35 your ovaries shrivel up and die. After that he made me lay on my side and then he stuck pins in me. It didn’t hurt, not really, except for the one at the top of my head (which I can still feel today). Then he placed a heat lamp on me and left me for about twenty minutes. And I slept. Like really slept. With pins stuck in me. Weird.

Then Dr. Li took the pins out (this stung a tiny bit) and stuck magnets to my neck and shoulder (always with the magnets). I am to wear the magnets every other day or when ever I feel the tension and pain in my shoulder. I know…sounds like voodoo. But it’s working! My neck is thinner. I guess it had been swollen all this time, but even Chris noticed the difference. It’s just odd. Plus, I no longer feel the need to climb a bell tower and ring the bells.

I keep waiting for this yoga teacher training stuff to get easier, but when the weekend isn’t physically demanding, it’s usually mentally demanding. This weekend was maybe one hour of yoga and like 20 hours of lecture and discussion of ethics, catharsis, and the business of yoga. We also covered meditation and different styles of meditation. Lots of sitting on the floor.

One thing that came out of this weekend that Chris is pleased about is now I have to redesign the blog and maybe a new website. I finally have to start making some decisions about things. Poop! So things may or may not be changing around here. Don’t look for it any time soon. I may just decide to start a whole new blog for the yoga business side of things. There are things I’d like to include on that site that I don’t really need here. Besides, I need Elephant Soap for me. I need a place where I can freely type the word “Fuck” without worry. That word may be a little inappropriate for a professional blog.

There were times during the weekend where I could feel the panic bubble rising into my throat with all the little details I didn’t even consider when starting this project. Things like business card, websites, resumes, and contact information. Then…Then there’s the whole accounting side of things, the keeping track of money earned and spent and receipts incase you get audited. My brain’s ticking just thinking about it. I know that none of this stuff has to be done right this minute. But, holy cow! When this stuff was dumped into my brain in the course of a three hour lecture, it felt like there was a little drill sergeant in the back of my head yelling “NOW! NOW! NOW MADDERA!”. And he was a mean and angry little drill sergeant.

I think I just need a nap and some time to digest all of this. I also need to see someone about the right side of my body. It started in the shoulder with just really tight muscles. Then it spread up my head and to my face with nice little eyebrow twitch. Now it’s spread down to my hip. I think I’m going to try acupuncture. Now that will make a great 365 day picture!

So…it’s official. I will loose my job here in December of 2009. This isn’t a big surprise. I knew it was coming; I just kind of wished I had a teeny bit more time. And really…who ever gets a year’s notice? Still, it made me kind of sad to hear my boss confirm what Robin is referring to as our “dead date”. This forces me to move on, but at the same time I know I will never have a job this great again.

Chris has been asking me for the last two weeks what my goals are for next year. What do I want to do? How do I want to re-design the blog? What major purchases do I want to make? Every time he asks, I answer with an “I don’t know”. I don’t know. I am in the land of indecision. So…I’m thinking of making that work in my favor.

I’m taking on a vow of poverty of sorts. For the next year I will not purchase anything new with the exception of food, toiletries, shoes, socks, and underwear. I will make do with the clothing I have or buy from the thrift stores. I know I’ve been harping about a new snazzy coat, but really I can make do with what I have. No, the old coat is not sporty or sleek and it doesn’t match the scooter, but it’s a good coat and it’s warm. Yes, I really want a fancy rack for V, but it’s not high priority right now.

Maybe if I spend more time getting my crap organized and less time obsessing about things I want (but don’t need), I’ll be able to answer some of those questions Chris keeps asking me. And don’t even get me started on the TV. We’ve already had the “let’s kill the cable” conversation. If only we could choose our channels. Ours would be a small list like the green channel, BBC, HGTV, Discovery, SciFi, and that’s about it.