I'm a believer that whatever you are doing at midnight New Year's Eve you will be doing all year long. In the past I've held money in my hands and manipulated other things in order to guarantee my good fortune in the new year. Not this time. All we did was stop the movie we were watching (The Ballad of Rambling Jack Elliott--a documentary, not a movie), I turned on the radio to make sure my countdown was ending as it should, and then we kissed and went back to the TV and watched some live local coverage and then finished the movie. Ho hum. A nice quiet evening at home. It was pleasant. My dinner turned out well and Mark was thanking me for it. I told him, "Well, honey, that is just the first of maybe four or five really good meals this next year." I'm really an achiever.

Today we slept late, watched football, ate black-eyed peas, and napped. I did clean out a cabinet as I was putting away some things and pulled out more items for our future garage sale. The UT and Michigan game at the Rose Bowl was the closest, most evenly matched game I've seen in a long time and we loved it. I even got Mark to sit through it all and yell with me. He was amazed at my ability to cuss like a sailor as I watch football. I just call 'em like I see 'em.

I'm so sleepy now it feels like it should be bedtime, but it is still early. I don't quite know what to do with myself... since I don't want to do anything. I may just give in and watch more TV until it is bedtime. Not a productive way to begin the New Year, but who needs to be productive on a holiday anyway?

I have been thinking of my personal inventory of 2004 and evaluating where I am in the great scheme of time, but all I know is I am here and it is now and that's good enough for me today.