New Beginnings!

Happy 2012 and here's to "New Beginnings!"

I've started many years by wishing -- and sometimes even trying -- to keep a diary.  Never worked.  Never.  But with my fondness for computers, I thought a private blog might be fun to try.  I'm not going to tell anyone that I have one, hoping to eliminate any undo, self-imposed pressured.  (If you've accidentally found this ... wow!)   So my first "new beginnings" is a blog.

In anticipation of another "new beginning" -- Phil's retirement -- and our freedom to travel more, I packed our bags this morning.  Well, sort of.  One of the (needlessly) stressful things about taking a trip -- even a short weekend one -- is packing.  It always feels like a scavenger hunt, trying to find the basic toiletry things we need to pack.  And then we spend the first 20 minutes of the trip wondering if either of us remembered to bring the toothpaste, or lotion, or ...  I always forget something.  Always.  Then it suddenly occurred to me that it is possible to own two of things and just keep the second set packed and at the ready.  So we made a list, checked it twice just like Santa Claus, and packed it all up.  Of course, we had many duplicates of things in our bathroom linen closet so there really wasn't much extra to buy.  Woot, woot!  I really think this idea is going to make leaving on a trip quicker and less painful.

Weekly family update.  Amanda has spent her Christmas break reading the Harry Potter books; she's reading the 5th book today.  Katie is in St. Louis accompanying Molly Pearce and her mom Teresa as they shop for Molly's wedding dress.  Darin had his first experience in the real work world of not having at least a two week holiday break, but is somewhere in Kansas City this weekend celebrating the new year with friends.   Phil has enjoyed spending several days this break working on the Thunderbird's transmission with Kit Lindsey and selling things on eBay. 

Looking forward to celebrating new beginnings throughout the year!