Another new year and another list of fresh resolutions for the new year, 2014. A new year is like a fresh clean slate or calendar, a whole year ahead of you, a chance to improve yourself. And like many others, I make resolutions, knowing that I probably won’t stick to them. I’ve tried making them simple and I’ve tried making them large; both are subject to failure. And that’s the bottom line: we’ll probably give up. BUT there’s also a chance that perhaps I’ll stick with it and succeed. So I’m making a few for this year:

1.  Lose weight. Weight Watchers and fitness centers make lots of $$ on this one. I spend a lot on this one too. Yes, I joined the local fitness center and going back to a diet.

2. Get organized. Specifically, I want to clean out everything and “declutter”

3. I resolve to read the Bible every day. I have a plan to read through the Bible in 2 years. Frank found a schedule and we will do this together.

Yes, another long dry spell, too darn busy and distracted to “blog” and I just plain-old forget. For some reason, I looked at the blog and saw that it has been 9 months since the last post, so I better make this a quality catch-up tome.

2013 was good for Frank and me, full of the usual bumps, highs and lows. Here’s a few highlights in no particular order.

1. Smokey the cat has thrived! Frank nurtured and loved him and “Smokes” has grown up to be a beautiful and affectionate cat-boy. Last month at the vet’s he weighed in at 10 pounds! A big thank you goes to Susan and David Maurice for their instruction, encouragement and friendship; couldn’t have done it without good friends!

2. The “girls cruise” in April, aboard Carnival Magic was interesting, to say the least. Started off fine but the tension grew and peaked when Peggy shook her fist in my face, yelling and screaming at me like a crazy demented person, all for something she did to herself. Paula just sat there silent. All I can say is that it true that you never know someone until you live with them, their true nature comes out. We have not spoken since the cruise ended and that’s the way I like it. Life is to short to waste my time on a person like this. Good riddance! (call me if you want the sordid details).

3. Dad had back surgery (spinal fusion) in June, a very serious operation. The surgery went well and Dad was up and walking soon after. The rehab place wasn’t like I expected it to be. Very little time was spent in rehab. More thoughts on this later.

4. We love our church, Faith Lutheran in Lampasas. Pastor Tim is the best (hate using a 4-letter word), again, more on this later.

5. Frank had all new windows installed in the house. It has made a big difference! The electric bill has been much lower and the old house feels snug.

6. After the furloughs by the Federal government, Frank has been beyond stressed at work. Everyone is forced to do more with less. So it was good that we had a Royal Caribbean cruise scheduled the first of December. Went with the Maurices and enjoyed relaxing, eating, drinking, laughing and getting warm in the Caribbean sunshine.

Now we have a whole new year to look forward to. Here’s what we have planned that I can remember:

* Season tickets to Baylor Lady Bears basketball

* Navigator of the Seas cruise, 9 Feb 14 (our Diamond Plus)

* OES installation in June (Worthy Matron/Patron)

* Grand Chapter in July or August

* Long weekend in Galveston in July (for my Number One).

I am making a resolution to continue this blog and my goal is to post weekly and hopefully I’ll learn to attach photos.

dmk