Saturday-12:15am

Yestrday I received a Christmas card from Barbara in California (from the Chinese Brush Painting Yahoo group) and inside she had this beautiful little painting! I am not sure I have it lying in the right direction? It is so pretty--plum blossoms, I think?

I hope that I can paint as well some day. Thank you so much Barbara!! What a wonderful surprise! To get something hand painted is such a treat.

I have been quietly working on return Christmas letters and thank yous--and getting caught up on emails mostly. Still have more to go today. Been watching "The Wire" from HBO--all about drug pushers, addicts, and the police. I guess the thing that hooked me was that the bad guys aren't always bad and the good guys aren't always good--very human--and there's lots of political pecking order with the police, too. I will just be finishing up season one today.

Been busy making plans for the new year. Leah brought me over 3 1/2 cans of the chocolate Cinch from Shaklee. Dagan likes the chocolate and Leah likes the vanilla. Dagan quit trying the program and so she brought me the rest of his. You drink a shake you make from the powder for two meals and then eat one healthy meal and have healthy snacks. So, I have been online tweaking my order from CashWise for January the last few days. I am ordering a bunch of the frozen entrees from Lean Cuisine & Weight Watchers and some low calorie snack bars--and then the fixings for some homemade vegetable soups, salads, and some healthy snacks like apples, carrots, nuts, etc. I can do this for the one month. Planning on my one meal being lunch instead of dinner.

It is a one shot deal for me, so I thought I should give it the best shot I can, right? I could never afford the Cinch for one thing. And just buying all the frozen entrees, etc...I'll be spending more than I usually do for the month and getting less food actually. But I am excited to try it! Might just jump start me--hehe!

Which means I am going to try to get out my QiGong and other exercise tapes--and dance to music once in a while--and walk more, too. I was being really good about that for a while and then stopped--can't remember why. I think I got sick or was going thru a pain flare or something? Anyways, new year approaching--give it a try again.

I have been trying to lose weight and eat healthier for years. But--I think back at how many times I tried to quit smoking until I finally did (December 6, 1989). So, maybe one of these times it will finally work, too, eh? hehehe! Got to keep trying. If I don't try, I can be assured--absolutely positive--that it will never happen, right?

I don't worry about resolutions and starting on the first and adhering to strict rules and all that. I think of it as plans for 2008--or goals for 2008. The beginning of the year is a good time to start and the opportunity presented itself at this time--so for once I will probably be starting around the first of the year. I guess it was meant to be, eh?

So that is one of my plans for 2008. :)