Milestone Year

Well, it's officially 2011 now. I think I'm supposed to be making some New Year's resolutions, but I don't have any. There's things I'd like to do this year, such as to write more and eat better and be a more thoughtful wife, mother, and friend. But I may or may not. I woke up with a migraine which may not be a good omen for the year ahead!

Christmas was good. We spent it in Waterloo. You may have seen the picture to the left on Facebook already. Paul had been so busy all week long getting my van running. He tends to be a last minute shopper (he's male) so my expectation were not real high this year. And I honestly didn't care. I had collected receipts from him one night last week and there was one he wouldn't let me have, but told me it was for $36 from Menards. Well, I knew then he had replaced my under the counter cd/radio that had died on me this year. So on Christmas morning I was a little mystified to see that the radio was from the boys, but not from Paul. In fact, I didn't see anything from him. When I got done with my gifts, Paul handed me a card and on the back of the envelope it read, "Sorry, I didn't have much time to shop this year." But then I opened it up and saw all these cardboard letters inside with the instructions that I had 10 seconds to figure out the puzzle and earn my Christmas gift! This picture was snapped just as I realized that the letters spelled out, "LAPTOP."

I couldn't believe he'd do that for me because Paul knows virtually nothing about computers. But he had spent time visiting computer stores during the week (they were sold out) and calling people, including my brother, to get advice on laptops. And then he gave me his Christmas bonus money and some other cash for me to combine with what I had saved in my laptop fund. So Tues. night we went shopping and got a 3g Dell from Best Buy. I love it! Now I'll be able to write in the privacy of my room, away from traffic and people talking to me.

On the way home from the store I reverently held the Dell box in my arms and dramatically declared, "My future lies within this box." Paul quipped, "I sure hope so - I want to retire!"

Thursday the boys and I went up to Waterloo again to see Matt, Kirsti, and the kids one last time. They flew home today and I'm not sure when we'll see them next.

So, that's my Christmas report and first of the year entry.

2011 will be a good year, I'm thinking. I turn 40 and I'm really looking forward to that. It's going to be a milestone year.