Happy New Year! January first again; feels strange, yet really good, too. It's a new beginning; a fresh start. I'm really looking forward to making some positive changes in my life this year. I know I say that every year, but this time I mean it, really mean it. Yeah, right, you're saying, we'll believe it when we see it. It's raining again today. It feels like it's been raining forever, but it only started yesterday. We're supposed to get another big storm in this evening, but I think it may have arrived early. It's cold today; colder than yesterday.

Rain. We got over five inches today. I was glad I didn't have to go out in that wet, soggy mess. I wanted to get my hair cut, but decided to wait till later. The Rose Parade went on as scheduled despite the deluge. I really admire those people - not just the kids in the marching bands, the equestrian groups and the float riders, but the spectators who sat on the bleachers along the parade route watching, cheering. It was cold again today; a good day to enjoy a hearty mug of soup and some thick, crusty sourdough bread. Yum!

I love falling asleep to the sound the rain. It reminds me of the ocean; the waves crashing and rushing onshore. The past two nights I have drifted to sleep on the gentle lullaby of the falling rain, but tonight it's quiet; too quiet. The silence is deafening. I can't concentrate on relaxing; on sleeping. I just listen to the silence. Listen for a sound, any sound. A car passing by, a train, a dog barking; anything! I hear too much when it's quiet - blood pumping through my veins, my jaw clenching and unclenching, my breathing. I find it disturbing.

"the universe awaits" The words from today's page of my inspirational-sayings-of-the-day calendar are printed in simple, lowercase italic and hover over a pen-and-ink sketch of a serene woodland river. I really like it. Unfortunately the notes I wrote on the other side of the page bled through. I might just keep it anyway; my birthday page. Perhaps it will bring me good luck. Pixie Chick told me if any groups of numbers stood out for me today, that I should go buy a lottery ticket with them. The only number stood out for me today is 40; my new age.

Oh, my darling Clementine! I love clementines - the little citrus fruit that's a cross between a sweet orange and a mandarin orange; they've become a Christmas tradition in our house. They're so sweet and delicious! My grandparents like them, too. Clementines are much easier for my grandmother's arthritic fingers to peel than oranges. I bought a small crate of clementines early December, and gave my grandparents half; I didn't think I could - or would - eat them all. I was wrong, however, and ended up buying two more crates - one for me and one for my grandparents.

My new bed is ginormous! It's twice as high as my old bed; I need a step ladder to get into it! It didn't look that tall in the store. Then again, my mom said last night as we gawked at the sheer size of the beast, the floor model was a queen, that's why it didn't look as tall. Mine is a twin. It comes to my hips; my old mattress only came to my knees. It's comfortable - an Englander with a nice, fluffy pillow top - but will take some getting used to, as every new thing does.

It was a shop-till-you-drop day for my mom and me. We began with English Breakfast Tea lattes and muffins (banana nut and blueberry) at the newly opened Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf in Paso Robles, then shopped at Wal-Mart and Kholl's. I got allergy-resistant covers for my new mattress and pillow, a black sweater tank and crocheted cardigan combo, and a pink rolling backpack. I also got a haircut. Nothing too dramatic, mind you; just a trim. I hate hair in my face when I'm working, so I need it long enough to pull back in a clip or ponytail.

Sunday is a day of rest, so that's exactly what I did today: rested. I slept in till 9 a.m. I leisurely sipped coffee and savoured a toasted cranberry and orange bagel smothered in orange marmalade. Yum! I spent a few hours tinkering on my computer, experimenting with Yahoo!'s new Movable Type and Wordpress weblogs. I half-heartedly watched a couple football games and took an afternoon nap. I only left the house to run up to my grandparent's house to visit with them for and pick up the Sunday paper. It was a beautiful day. I should've gotten out more.

Somewhere in the vast recesses of my home is a paperback copy of Mark Twain's "Adventures of Tom Sawyer."And I really need to find it; it's the first selection in the classic book club my friend Jewel and I started several years ago. (Yes, way before Oprah though of it! Copycat!) We've read several classic books we'd somehow missed in all our years of schooling; we've also failed to finish some. This year there's a third member in our group: a girl Jewel works with expressed an interest and has been officially invited. Looks like a good reading year!

Somewhere in the vast recesses of my home is a paperback copy of Mark Twain's "Adventures of Tom Sawyer."And I really need to find it; it's the first selection in the classic book club my friend Jewel and I started several years ago. (Yes, way before Oprah though of it! Copycat!) We've read several classic books we'd somehow missed in all our years of schooling; we've also failed to finish some. This year there's a third member in our group: a girl Jewel works with expressed an interest and has been officially invited. Looks like a good reading year!

I've been unusually tired lately, and I can't figure out why. I don't think it's PMS; not quite that time yet. I don't think it's my new bed, either. The bed is very comfortable, and I'm getting used to its soft squishiness quicker than I thought. I've been getting at least seven or eight hours of sleep a night - mostly because I've been to tired that I'm hitting the hay quite early - so it can't be that, either. My best guess is my new prescription. It's the same medication, but the pills are newer, fresher, and therefore probably more potent.

The bus driver gave me a flower today: a long-stemmed pink carnation. No, he's not sweet on me or anything, he gave all the ladies carnations. He bought several different colours: pink, red and magenta. We got to chose which one we wanted. There was no actual reason for this; he just felt like giving us all flowers today. He's a pretty nice old guy. When I got home I put my flower in my favourite vase. It's the tall, dark pink frosted glass one. It's kinda nice having a flower in the house. It really brightens the place up.

Friday the 13th started out sunny and nice, but has since turned an ominous shade of grey with large, threatening clouds and blustery winds. Apparently the promised rain will be arriving this evening after all. Still, we'll wait and see. Dark clouds don't necessarily mean rain here; everywhere else I've lived it's been a sure sign. I was hoping to do some yard work this weekend - mowing the lawn, cutting back the dry, dead ornamental grass, trimming back the unruly shrubbery and the roses. If it rains, I'll have to wait; the lawn, shrubs and roses will grow even more.

Another rainy day, and what could be better on a cold, rainy Saturday morning in January than some delicious Starbucks coffee and yummy, fresh-baked apple cinnamon muffin! I got up early (if you can call 8 a.m. early!) and mixed up the fat-free muffin mix, poured the batter in the cute little paper muffin cups, and set them in the oven to bake, then brewed a fresh pot of coffee. I used the ground Starbucks coffee I got from my cousin for Christmas. She knows just what I like! Too bad we have to leave the house to buy groceries.

I spent a great deal of time in bed today. My bed is comfy and warm; I can watch TV or listen to CDs, or just snooze. I did a lot of that; snoozing. I love the afternoon naps I get over weekends and during holidays. I really think we should get naps at work. I think we'd be much more productive if we caught a few Zs after lunch. Sometimes I see ladies napping on the sofas in the lounge when I go to use the loo. I don't think I could sleep to the sound of flushing toilets.

I love three-day weekends. I'm spoiled in my new job by having every federal holiday off, which means many, many three-day weekends. Twelve this year, to be exact, plus the Fourth of July holiday, which is on a Tuesday this year, and the four-day Thanksgiving Holiday. Nearly every month has at least one three-day weekend, or a holiday, the exceptions being the long, lonely months of April, June and August. I'm planning on using a vacation day or two during those months, just to make them go by faster and with less stress. One should always take one's vacation time.

There are too many good shows to watch on TV. "Lost"has started back up again, as has the new season of "24"- which is just as awesome as ever. "The Biggest Loser"is back with special episodes, and "Project Runway"is back on Bravo. "Desperate Housewives"is back, too, but it's not as good as it used to be, so I haven't really been watching it. "Beauty and the Geek"started up again last week, and "American Idol"starts this week. Next month there's a new "Survivor"and the Winter Olympics. It's too much, I tell you! Too much!

The Cuesta Kids were back on the bus this morning. Gah! And (attempting to) take over the front seats. Double gah! I sat among them anyway. I'm sure I stuck out like a mole on the ass of a beauty queen. Whatever. They discussed graphic novels and cartoons. Some things never change. One chubby little girl has long, wild, curly dark hair. She's tinted it green. It suits her. She looks like a plump little woodland faery now. Enjoy it while you can, I wanted to say to her. You can't get away with crap like that when you're older.

"Just when you least expect it, it will happen."That's what it says on the inside flap of my little red box of Sun Maid raisins. I know it's meant to be a positive, encouraging saying - Just when you least expect it, you find true love! Win a million dollars! Get a promotion! - but it could be just the opposite. Just when you least expect it, you could get flattened by a frozen chunk of blue septic fluid from a passing jet plane. Just when you least expect it, a giant oak tree crushes your house. You never know.

Another Friday. Dang! This was a long week. That's pathetic considering it was a day shorter than regular weeks. Everyone agreed though: it was a short but long week. We were all more than happy to see Friday. I'd love to sleep all weekend, but I have to put more stuff on Ebay. I've decided to get rid of several purses I have but don't use; and will never use. There's always a new purse or bag out there I want, and I never (or I should say rarely) reuse a purse, so why not let someone else enjoy it?

Mom and I went for our walk this morning. It was clear and beautiful, but cold. We went to our favourite cafÃÆ'© - once called Carlene's, it's now The Gathering Place. Carlene retired and sold her business. It's quite changed now: an earth toned colour palette with greens, browns and golds, an electric fireplace in the corner, and a large leather ottoman have replaced the white and lavender, quirky country-style dÃÆ'©cor of the previous owner. It's fancy now. Nice, but not quite as cozy as before. No, that's not right; it's still cozy, but it's cozy in a different way.

I am watching the Seahawks pound the Panthers on television; it's a playoff game. The announcer said if they win, it will be the Seahawks' first trip to the Superbowl. That would be so cool! I may love the Green Bay Packers, and like many other football teams as well, but as a born-and-raised-Washingtonian, I would love nothing more than to see the ‘Hawks go all the way! Sometimes I really miss home; Washington will always be home to me, no matter where I live. There's the Seattle skyline, the snow-capped mountains; I feel all misty and wistful. Go ‘Hawks!

Lord! A full five-day long week of work! And we have three of these long - I guess some would call them "regular"- weeks before the next three-day weekend! I'm so tired and it's only Monday. Heavy sigh! Whine and moan, moan and whine! I know what you're thinking: I should just quit my bitchin' and get on with the week already; it'll be over and done before I know it! That's true, but I feel the need to bitch about something, and everything else is okay, so the excessive length of my work week is the bitching topic du jour.

I really need to get more exercise. I know this for a fact, but that still doesn't inspire me to go do anything about it. I do get a little exercise during work - a lot of walking (a lot of walking!), going up and down stairs, bending, squatting, getting up and down from my desk - actually much more exercise than in my previous job, but still, I'm sure I need more. I should ride my recumbent bike after work while watching Days of Our Lives on SoapNet. But, I don't. I should walk to the bus stop. But I won't.

This morning I noticed the little Wannabe Goth Girl who rides the same bus as me seems to wear the same pair of black pants every day; a polyester blend, I'm guessing as they never seem to be wrinkled, and appear to have a slight sheen. I don't recall ever seeing her wear jeans, or skirts or even a different coloured pants. Always black, like a good little Goth Girl. I wonder if she has five pair of these black pants. Or does she just carefully hang the same pair up every night and wear them again the next day?

It's staying light a little later every day. The sky was still light when I stepped off the bus this evening. I sat in my car waiting for everyone else in the parking lot to race off, engines revving, tires squealing, to wherever they're going. They're in a hurry; I am not. I am content to wait. Tonight the sky was pale off-white; the clouds were lavender-grey and charcoal. It was almost like a tinted black and white photograph. I tried to take a picture, but my battery was dead. So I just sat and watched the sky grow dark.

It's Friday again, already, and I'm woefully behind in my entries. I'll be playing catch up this weekend; backdating and trying to remember what happened. Hopefully updating will be easier once I have high speed internet; I'm getting connected tomorrow. Part of the reason I don't go online much at night is that it takes so long to go online with dial-up. I switched from MSN to Earthlink because Earthlink said it was faster, but frankly, I haven't seen it. If anything, it's slower, imho. So, I gave up and gave in and signed up for Charter High Speed. Vroom!

I finally joined the twenty-first century today and got high speed internet connection in my home. Now when I surf the web, it is much faster, and less time consuming and annoying. I don't know why I waited so long to get connected; why I stuck with dial-up for so many years. It was foolish. This is so much nicer: I don't have to sacrifice image quality for speed; I don't have to wait twenty minutes to get online or for pages to load; I don't have to wait five hours to download an album from iTunes. High speed rocks!

A Sunday with no football is like a . . . like a . . . oh, I dunno . . . a something that really, really needs something else or it's no good. I know I have a long drought of football-less Sundays coming up, but the Olympics begin next month, and in March Formula One will start up again. Still, there's just something I love about football; I'm not sure what it is. The hot guys in tight pants? The violence? The strategizing? I'm not sure what I'm going to do today without football. I'm having serious withdrawals.

The green-haired faerie princess is an artist; a darn good one. Just a few sketchy, squiggly lines, and there on the page was a human figure. I was most impressed by her ability to freehand a straight line while riding a moving, bouncing bus. I can't draw a straight line with a ruler while sitting perfectly still! It always comes off at an angle. I envy artists - whether they draw or paint, it doesn't matter. That they can take a blank canvas or piece of paper and suddenly, with seemingly little effort, have something on it, is, to me amazing.

Good heavens, how did it get to be the end of January already? When I was a kid, January was the longest month of the whole year. I dreaded it: it was cold, dark and covered with snow. Now, I always enjoyed playing in the snow when I was little, but it was always so dark that I couldn't often go outside and build snowmen or go sledding. I think it was the darkness that made January so long and loathsome. I think because it's been a relatively mild and sunny January that it went by so quickly this year.