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…don’t let the door hit you in the butt on the way out.
This has been one of the most difficult years I can remember. You know those online tests you can take to determine how many life-altering events you’ve experienced and how that increases your stress level? We had a boatload of those this year. We began the year saying goodbye to Steve’s dad who died on January 27th. Then Steve closed up his attorney practice and did his student teaching. Over the summer, we bought a new house, said goodbye to Steve’s mother, said goodbye to Christy’s grandfather, moved 60 miles away. We’re still the owners of 2 homes that we’re not completely moved out of yet. We spent 2 months in limbo staying in my parents’ house before our new house was ready to take possession. It’s been a completely cracked-out, insane, heart-attack-inducing year. So there is absolutely no nostalgia or reminiscence for me.
I am so praying that 2008 brings a whole lot more serenity. A whole lot more peace, quiet, sleep and a whole lot fewer devastating losses and emotional beatdowns.
So…..resolutions. I am the queen of suck at keeping resolutions. I always start the year with these amazing intentions to make my life more manageable and wonderful. Then by the last week of January, I give up and let my house seep into a bad episode of COPS while I bathe in a big tub filled with Philadelphia Cream Cheese Cheesecake Filling. And a tablespoon. But I’m going to keep it super simple this year. My resolution for 2008 is to keep my house clean. Not “Better Homes & Gardens” clean. Because that would be crazy. But tidy, picked up, vacuumed, kitchen & bathrooms not embarrassing for guests. I think that’s a resolution I can handle. I’ve been doing pretty good and, now that I’ve got this new job (did I even mention that? I’m my mom’s new housekeeper), I’m feeling more confident about my abilities in that arena. Oh, and I’m going to cook more, too. Nothing with French ingredients or that takes more than 30 minutes of prep work, but I will cook dinner for my family more.
What have I learned this year? Oh, geez. I’ve learned a lot about the nature of people, that’s for sure. I’ve seen behavior and comments from people within the digital scrapbooking community that both infuriates and terrifies me. I’ve seen more and more people who subscribe to the idea that if you CAN do something, it’s okay to do it. Which does not bode well. I’ve learned that God can really use people to be His hands & feet in the world. I’ve learned that my mom’s right - I do have a lot of rage. And it totally comes out at the most insignificant times. I’ve learned that you cannot take time with your family for granted. You can have all the good intentions in the world and in the blink of an eye, it’s gone. Don’t assume that you’ll be able to do it later. Later may not be there. Do it now. Because if you don’t, you’ll regret it. Trust me.
Okay, ’nuff deep stuff. Funny story for ya. Y’know how I’ve been trying these new recipes to teach myself to cook. And I’m not terribly proficient. So I’m making the 40-clove garlic chicken. And you’re supposed to take a whole bulb, cut the top off to expose the cloves. So I grab one of Steve’s great knives and go for it. Unbeknownst to me, however, bulbs of garlic are really, really hard. So the knife just slides right off the end of the bulb & embeds itself deliciously in the side of my middle finger. Nearly taking off the entire right side of my finger from the cuticle down. Adding some precious fresh blood to the dish. I quickly wrap the puppy in a paper towel and run upstairs to put 6589465984368 band-aids on it. Thankfully, I got it stemmed long enough to finish getting the garlic in the chicken and the chicken in the oven before I had to go back upstairs and change the band-aids.
Cut to the next night. I’m making this apple/raisin stuffed pork roast and I have to chop the onions. I grab Steve’s Santoku & begin chopping. I am so incredibly skilled at chopping that I nearly put the Santoku through the tip of my thumb. Thank goodness I wasn’t pushing to much and my thumbnail stopped it. Took off
