Year in Review

I've been back at work for a few days now after the glorious holiday hiatus. Christmas was delightful and yours truly received some great swag, including a Sonicare toothbrush, a pile o' new books, and a console table I had my eye on (you know you're getting old when you get excited over dental hygiene and furniture).

I can best describe the mood on the van these past few mornings as sullen. I think everyone is coming down from their time-off high by returning to the soul-crushing low that is the 40-hour work week.

I've spent some time this week thinking about how I filled the past year and what I have to show for myself.

2007 will go down in the record books as the year I finally quit smoking, a habit for filterless cigarettes with me since college - okay, since my senior year of high school.

2007 saw me go vegetarian/training-wheels vegan and lose 45 pounds in the process (which should have been 50, but I couldn't resist the endless parade of baked goods in the final weeks before 2008).

I got a new job, became a Vannie, and staked my claim in the blogosphere. I adopted a second dog, took up running, and forgave a long-standing grudge.

I also realized that me and my life mate's abiding love of documentaries, homemade soups, and NPR just may be enough to keep us happily yoked in marriage forever.

I heard someone say, "If you love something, than love it. If you hate it, then fucking hate it." This is fairly pedestrian advice that resonated with me nonetheless. I think the occasional staleness of daily life can wear on a person and this reminds me to keep my many fires burning.

I saw myself make many changes this year. I look and feel a bit different, but underneath it all (and still growing out a bad haircut), I remain the same little old button-cute irrepressible sprite I've always been.

So, gentle reader, I wish you a year full of double prizes in your cereal box, $20 in a long-forgotten pair of jeans, and never having to say you're sorry.

Cheers.