My new years resolutions? i do not believe in them.

i have always hated new years resolutions. to me they scream disappointment. somehow, i always tried to go for impossible to attain goals," world peace", "losing weight",etc.  so of course i would not succeed in my resolutions. finally, after agonizing over new years resolutions for several years, i decided enough was enough! what a relief. one less thing to worry about.

instead of making resolutions, i have decided to spend  the day being  thankful for all my many blessings ( o.k. i know this sounds a little like the thanksgiving holiday). i do take stock of a few things in my life- just to be sure my train is on the right track and not headed for derailment or something. instead of trying something new, i just try to be sure that i am following my life plan, so to speak. i came up with my life plan after i found out that i had cancer. seems funny, but coming close to death made me think about how i wanted to live my life. what was important to me, what i needed to do to get my body healthier. i  often think  of a line in a bob dylan song. to paraphrase, he says " your body is your temple, keep it beautiful and pure". in the song  he was referring to not letting the TV monster into your life so much. he is right on that one. i try my best not to watch any violent programs on TV, and i try ( i do not do as well on this) not to watch too much of the nightly news.

adding regular exercise has been such a huge positive step in my life plan. it is my "prozac"- it really lifts my mood(the endorphins, i guess). and of course, i feel better, can move a little easier, and it has helped me lose weight. best of all, like i have said a couple of million times, it is fun. i can not sing very well since my surgery, but it did not affect my dancing to the music. honestly, i feel like grace kelley in zumba class. i know for sure that i do not dance  like her of course. i have never been able to walk in high heels, much less dance in them, and i am pretty sure that grace did not ever do the belly roll or  the booty shake. bet she  would have liked them,though!

on a side note, i did indeed have the open house for my neighbors. i sort of waited until the last minute,though. i was not sure if i could pull it off. we decided on friday night, to have it on sunday afternoon. we sent out invitations and called people as well. here are the things i was worried would happen:

1) no one would come. o.k. well, we have two dogs and they could help us eat all of the food, so maybe that would not be so bad.

2)everyone would come- would i have enough food? we over-did on this one, but we sent almost everyone home with a little treat bag.

3) my greatest fear: my house would not be clean enough. i have dust bunnies that hide throughout my house. i was afraid that they would mobilize into a small army and attempt a coup just as my guests arrived. luckily, this did not happen.

we had about twenty people over, and we had a very good visit with everyone. the food turned out fine, and my Christmas decorations were still up, so the house looked all cozy. our neighbors had been so curious about our 3 and a half month renovation.  they had seen so many  things being ripped out of  our house : wood,shingles,windows,flooring,etc, and  being stacked up outside. i felt that it would be a good idea to let them see the final reveal, so to speak. we did not add on, we just re-purposed the space( to use a trendy word). our house is more livable for us now. that is a part of my life plan,too, i guess. my husband and i wanted to make our house suit our lifestyle a little more. one example, is that i love to read- and one of the rooms( used to be our bedroom) is now a library. it is my favorite room, i think.

so i hope that everyone had a great new years, and that if you did happen to make resolutions that they are attainable, good ones. as for me, i am just going to keep doing what i have been doing since my diagnosis. and of course, i will keep doing what my doctor told me at the end of my last visit: Zumba on!!