WHEW!

I’m back.

The toys are put away, the tree is down, the house is clean, my husband is back at work and my children are back to school. What a whirlwind Christmas holiday we had.

Not much happened the week before Christmas and I think that somehow spurred us to make plans for the second week. And make plans we did.

Christmas Day was a blur of eating and gift opening. Dave and I got the girls a Wii for Christmas so the latter part of the day was spent boxing and playing tennis and even bowling. It really is great fun. What I particularly like about it is that although it is a video game, you are up and moving about instead of parking your butt on the couch. Dave and I boxed (he won!!) and the next day my arms and shoulders were all sore. I’m looking forward to getting Wii Fit in the future and doing some yoga in the privacy of my own home.

I don’t know what we did over the next few days but I know there was some shopping in there, some entertaining, a movie and of course, we got all those pesky decorations down and put away.

I went to Buffalo for 2 days on a wee shopping trip with my scrapbooking friends. There were definitely bargains to be had down there. I returned home tired and happy.

For New Years Eve, we enjoyed some glow in the dark bowling (HAPPY NEW YEAR, by the way!) then went to a neighbour’s house for some drinks. The girls were emphatic that they wanted to stay up until midnight. Dave and I were both tired but we did manage to see the New Year in. What I thought was funny was that as soon as we all toasted the new year, our girls immediately went and got their coats etc. on. They had done what they came to do and they were ready to go to bed. Both slept until 10 the next morning.

We went tubing at Chicopee and skiing in Beaver Valley and before we knew it, it was time to get everyone back to school and back to work and back to our regularly scheduled life. I love the holiday season and all it brings with it but I am happy to be back to our regular routine.

I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about 2009 and what my goals are. I’m not one to make New Year’s resolutions but I do like to have goals for the year. I don’t ever write them down and have forgotten what my goals were for 2008. Handy, huh? I think my goals for the year are to be less scattered and more organized, to take care of myself by eating healthier and moving my body on a daily basis. I need to be better about giving my children my full attention when they need it but taking time to myself when life allows. I need to scrapbook more. It truly is a need and not a want. When I record our life’s stories in my scrapbooks and put it down on paper, it does more for me than fill my time. Creating is important and being creative is too. Scrapbooking always puts me in a good mood and as I move upward and onward in age, I need things that make me happy.

I’ve also been trying to come up with a word for 2009 as outlined on Ali’s blog. I have yet to come up with one but I am toying with a few. If I manage to nail it down I will share it here.

Anyway, enough pontificating for now. I need to go get ready for my day at the scrapbook store tomorrow. And I’m going to hit the gym on my way home.