Hello again!

Hi.  I couldn't resist.  :)

I have gone through my "trendy cutesy fakey craft blog cleanse" and I feel much better now.  I hardly did any blog reading at all, in fact - even the ones that don't annoy me.  The whole blog world is such a phenomenon...it's great because it gives you a chance to connect with people you would never otherwise meet in real life. And I've met some really neat people online.  But on the other hand, it's easy to get sucked in and get your "real life" and your "blog life" confused.  Kinda scary - like that book, was it 1984?  Or Brave New World?  Where the woman would talk to her "family" on the screen...clearly I need to re-read some of those books from high school! 

Well, whatever.  The important thing is, now that it's yard sale season again, the temptation to bombard my facebook friends with my weekly loot is way too strong!  And boy did I score big this past weekend!  More on that later...

First a few updates:

1. I made a couple of new years resolutions this year, and so far, have actually stuck to them.  It's a miracle!  I think the lesson here is to AIM LOW.  The first one was to learn how to crochet.  Did it.  Thanks, YouTube!  That was actually a lot easier than I thought it would be.  I'm "working on" an afghan.  It's stalled right now because I ran out of yarn (from Knitpicks) and the colors I needed weren't available, and even though they are available now, I haven't gotten around to ordering them yet. 

My other resolution was to read 36 books this year - about 34 more than I read last year. That one was a little loftier than the crocheting.   But I got tired of not being able to have a semi-intelligent conversation about books.  So I joined a book club, and that has been a blast!  Not only am I reading more, but I've met some great new people, and the food is always good.  :)  Right now I'm reading The Book Thief by Markus Zusak.  It's gut-wrenching, and I have a feeling I haven't even gotten to the truly gut-wrenching parts yet.  I found a site called Goodreads, which I really like.  Is anyone else on there?  Let's be friends!  Here's my profile.

2. DH & I have been working on gussying up the house.  We started with the sad, neglected bedroom, and now I just love it. 

Can you spot the low-budget items in this room?  :)  Leave a comment and we'll see!

It's not totally done; I want to get something on the wall above the bed, and a rug on the floor.  Oh and a new light fixture.  

3. I got a new hairstyle:

4. I joined a gym this winter...which has been going great!  I don't quite look like Jillian Michaels...yet...but I can tell that I'm so much more in shape than I used to be.  I get there 3-4 days a week.  I'd like it to be more. 

5. I'm still nannying for the "7 under 7" and that is going well.  They actually asked me to come back next year, so, great!  I'll have gainful employment, at the same place, for two years in a row.  That's probably going to break my record.  But I am SO looking forward to this summer, which I'll have off (the mom is a teacher, remember?)...just me, DH (when he's not working), and the kids.  Can't wait!

So speaking of the young ones, it's time to make lunch.  I must go.  But I am curious....is anyone still here?  Even if you're not the commenting type, just humor me this time.  Leave me a comment to let me know if anyone is still reading this or not!  Thanks!