Happy New Year!
I hope everyone has a fabulous 2007, with fun and fiber every week. Every year I make one resolution which I try to make as specific and obtainable as possible. Last year my resolution was to track my spending. I wanted to know where all my money was going, so I entered my purchases into my budget spreadsheet - just to track, not necessarily to keep within my budget. I hadn't used that budget spreadsheet since about 2002 maybe. So, as I noticed my spending, I adjusted the amounts. Happily, I make more money now than I did then. But I also spend more on necessities like rent and car expenses - way more on car expenses. I drive many, many more miles and gas is probably double what it was back then. So, now I think I have a pretty reasonable idea of where my money goes and what I probably should be spending. So, my resolution for this year is to keep within my budget. It's going to be a challenge for me. I spent over my budget in almost every category pretty much every month last year. So, time to rope it all in and be an adult. I'll report back next year on how it went.
The last weekend of the year has been busy, but fun, like most weekends of 2006. Friday night I went out for dinner at Joe's Garage and then we saw the British Television Advertising Awards. My favorite ads were one for Lynx Body Spray (it's called Axe Body Spray here in the U.S.) and one for Guinness. We had a short time to look around the Walker before the show and I really need to get back there when I have more time. It was my first time in the new space, which was lovely and they have some great exhibits. After the show we had drinks and dessert in the Wolfgang Puck owned restaurant in the museum, 20*21. The desserts I tasted were delicious and the dinner menu looked intriguing - I'll have to go back for dinner some time.
Saturday I attended Bill's parents' 50th Anniversary Party. I always have some nervousness about attending Bill's family events, because I think his relatives must think it odd that I would still be around after all these years. Plus, I'm transported back to being that nervous 19 year old girl who Bill always abandoned at the party, back in the day. But, it turned out to be a pretty fine time. His parents looked so happy! That evening, we went to see this movie:
We all really enjoyed it. The kids were all abuzz afterwards, reciting their favorite lines and pretending to be different characters in the movie. The adults all liked it too. It's getting a lot of bad reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, but I'd have to recommend it. The best part of the evening for me, though, was when Red actually asked me to sit next to him. He always wants to sit next to his dad (duh, of course he does), but I made the grade that night and it was the best gift he could have given me this holiday season!
Sunday was the pathetic excuse of a Vikings game. But guess what, I had so much fun! Because I really didn't care if the team won or lost - in fact, I preferred a loss because we'll get a higher draft pick, I didn't leave the game feeling as irritated as I normally do. Greg and I and the couple who have seats next to us, sort of just joked around and had fun. Greg and the husband next to us were buliding really bad paper airplanes that went absolutely no where. We mocked the very young woman who came to the game falling down drunk (it's pretty bad when you're already that blasted at noon). She stumbled down the stairs about 10 minutes into the game, so I'm hoping she was taken to the drunk tank or something. Before the game we had breakfast at Hell's Kitchen, which I've been wanting to try for a long time. Unfortunately, I was pretty disappointed. Both my meal and Greg's were very dry and not very tasteful. The bacon was good. I had a Bloody Mary which was made with beer in it, which was a really different taste, though it was pretty good. After the game we had a drink and some chicken wings at The News Room, which also wasn't a favorite place. The wings were ok, though I prefer a Buffalo sauce. The huge list of drinks and beers was a little overwhelming and the beer Greg ended up getting was really overpriced. It started snowing during the game, so the roads were very slippery on the way home. I was really glad I didn't have plans late in the evening. I was excited to see a little bit of snow, though:
I think it'll all be melted again by mid-week, but at least it's pretty right now. And it didn't take long to shovel, either. I need to finish up the second alien pillow because Bill's family and Michael and I are going to celebrate our Christmas together tomorrow. I've got the knitting all done, so I just need to sew it together and then knit the i-cord around the edge. I blocked my latest miter square:
I knit the red and green part on Christmas day and the blue and white part for Hannakuh. Enjoy your New Year's Day!
The last weekend of the year has been busy, but fun, like most weekends of 2006. Friday night I went out for dinner at Joe's Garage and then we saw the British Television Advertising Awards. My favorite ads were one for Lynx Body Spray (it's called Axe Body Spray here in the U.S.) and one for Guinness. We had a short time to look around the Walker before the show and I really need to get back there when I have more time. It was my first time in the new space, which was lovely and they have some great exhibits. After the show we had drinks and dessert in the Wolfgang Puck owned restaurant in the museum, 20*21. The desserts I tasted were delicious and the dinner menu looked intriguing - I'll have to go back for dinner some time.
Saturday I attended Bill's parents' 50th Anniversary Party. I always have some nervousness about attending Bill's family events, because I think his relatives must think it odd that I would still be around after all these years. Plus, I'm transported back to being that nervous 19 year old girl who Bill always abandoned at the party, back in the day. But, it turned out to be a pretty fine time. His parents looked so happy! That evening, we went to see this movie:
We all really enjoyed it. The kids were all abuzz afterwards, reciting their favorite lines and pretending to be different characters in the movie. The adults all liked it too. It's getting a lot of bad reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, but I'd have to recommend it. The best part of the evening for me, though, was when Red actually asked me to sit next to him. He always wants to sit next to his dad (duh, of course he does), but I made the grade that night and it was the best gift he could have given me this holiday season!
Sunday was the pathetic excuse of a Vikings game. But guess what, I had so much fun! Because I really didn't care if the team won or lost - in fact, I preferred a loss because we'll get a higher draft pick, I didn't leave the game feeling as irritated as I normally do. Greg and I and the couple who have seats next to us, sort of just joked around and had fun. Greg and the husband next to us were buliding really bad paper airplanes that went absolutely no where. We mocked the very young woman who came to the game falling down drunk (it's pretty bad when you're already that blasted at noon). She stumbled down the stairs about 10 minutes into the game, so I'm hoping she was taken to the drunk tank or something. Before the game we had breakfast at Hell's Kitchen, which I've been wanting to try for a long time. Unfortunately, I was pretty disappointed. Both my meal and Greg's were very dry and not very tasteful. The bacon was good. I had a Bloody Mary which was made with beer in it, which was a really different taste, though it was pretty good. After the game we had a drink and some chicken wings at The News Room, which also wasn't a favorite place. The wings were ok, though I prefer a Buffalo sauce. The huge list of drinks and beers was a little overwhelming and the beer Greg ended up getting was really overpriced. It started snowing during the game, so the roads were very slippery on the way home. I was really glad I didn't have plans late in the evening. I was excited to see a little bit of snow, though:
I think it'll all be melted again by mid-week, but at least it's pretty right now. And it didn't take long to shovel, either. I need to finish up the second alien pillow because Bill's family and Michael and I are going to celebrate our Christmas together tomorrow. I've got the knitting all done, so I just need to sew it together and then knit the i-cord around the edge. I blocked my latest miter square:
I knit the red and green part on Christmas day and the blue and white part for Hannakuh. Enjoy your New Year's Day!
rdladd@arnan.com
