Love Letters

I am a sap.

A romantic.

Hopelessly.

And I'm darned proud of that fact.

Here are a few excerpts from famous love letters.

Elizabeth Barrett Browning wrote:
"You have touched me even more profoundly that I thought even you could touch me - my heart was full when you came here today.  Henceforward, I am yours for everything".

If I were writing my wedding vows, I would surely include those words.

Lord Randolph Churchill wrote:
"Dearest, if you are as fond of me as I am of you , nothing human could keep us long apart.  This past week seems an eternity tome; oh, I would give my soul for another of those days we had not long ago."

Juliette Drouet wrote this to Victor Hugo:
"You are not only the solar spectrum with the seven luminous colors, but the sun himself, that illumines, warms, and revivifies. That is what you are, and I am the lowly woman that adores you".

And James Joyce wrote the following to his wife:
"You are my only love. You have me completely in your power. I know and feel that if I am to write anything fine and noble in the future I shall do so only by listening at the doors of your heart. I would like to go through life side by side with you, telling you more and more until we grew to be one being together until the hour should come for us to die".

Then of course, there's John Keats:
"My dear girl, I love you ever and ever and without reserve. The more I have know you, the more I have loved. In every way - even my jealousies have been agonies of Love, in the hottest fit I have ever had, I would die for you.".

In this age of electronics, we've become lazy.

When was the last time you sat down and wrote out how you feel about someone? 

An honest to goodness handwritten letter; a thing you can hold, written with love.  Is there anything better?

Even if you're feeling it from a distance, even if they never get to see it, write it down. 

It's tangible.  You can run your fingers across it. 

It's priceless.

Dear 16 Year Old Me

Dear Blogger World,

Summer is right around the corner.  In my neck o' the woods, it feels like it's already here.

Summertime, I love you.  Maybe it's because I'm an August baby, I don't know. 

When I was a little girl, I had the most beautiful red hair.  My mom used to tell me that she could spot me a mile away (thank you, Pop).  And, being the typical teenager, that loved the summertime, I also loved the beach.  I'm fair skinned too, did I mention that?  Or my freckles?

Get the picture?

Dear 16 Year Old Me is a YouTube Public Service Announcement about skin cancer.  Please watch it, with you're teenagers, if you have them.  Nieces, nephews, grandkids, whatever.  If you're best friend has teenagers, share it with them.  And ask them to share it with their friends. 

And if you feel so inclined, buy them some sunscreen too!

Skin Cancer can kill you.  Let's all heed that old saying "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure".

My Summer Break, aka, What Have I Been Doing Lately

Hello there!  Fancy meeting you here ..  it's been quite a long time.

What have I been doing lately ...

It involves this ...

And the use of these these ...

Pneumatic Nail Gun

Saw, power and otherwise

Drill

Squares

Auger, aka, post hole digger, aka, tool from Hell

And these, indirectly ...

and remember him ...

Linus, 5 months - 60 lbs

he used to look like this ...

It also involves lots of this ...

I'm just hoping to survive.



Holy Cow! Bibs!

I've been on vacation.  No, not since the last time I posted, but I was busy getting ready to go on vacation.  My house had to have a massively thorough cleaning BEFORE I went on vacation.  We're talking wiping down walls and baseboard, just short of repainting, cleaning.  Ceilings, walls, and all matter of flooring got my attention.

I'm weird like that.

I had a blast; thank you for asking.  I actually stayed home.  Yeah, I'm weird like that too.

But this little guy and his Mama came to see me!

My 7 month old grandson, Matthew Ryan, and my middle daughter, Holly, flew in from Texas for 10 days.  Although the weather was a little too cold to do the things I wanted to do, like going to the National Zoo, or visiting museums in Washington DC, I think we still had a good time just hanging out. 

And I was able to give my daughter a break from being mom, all the time, for a bit.  Not that she isn't completely and totally in love with her little man.  She said he a vital part of her, like an organ .. kind of wonky, but I know what she means.  Still, she was able to go out to dinner and hang out a bit with some old friends; two of which are pregnant now. 

You want to hear bizarre?  I sat in a chair in my living room listening to these three girls (I still see them as girls and probably always will) talk about pregnancy and babies and I was blown away.  For me it was a surreal conversation, because I still think of them as the collage aged kids working at TGI Fridays.  They're all grown up and having families of their own.  I'm still amazed!

Any whoo ... little man is teething and boy can he soak some bibs. 

Stephanie, one of the friends that is now expecting her own little one in September, made Holly some bibs and she loves them.  Holly claims they are the best things ever!  EVER!  So I thought I would break out the old sewing machine and make her some more, collaberating with Stephanie, of course (because the last thing I made was a toddler dress for my now 19 year old). 

This is the first set, of three, I made.  I wasn't thrilled with how they turned out, but I love that fabric.

I was really happy with these. Here's how I did it!

I purchased 1/2 yard of each flannel pattern and 1-1/2 yeards of white terry cloth (Holly and I thought we would double the terry, but decided against it.  We feared it would be too bulky.  Becuase I'm a rusty at sewing, I only got 3 bibs out of the flannel.  I left myself plenty of room for error.

Here's my inspiration bib (note what it says please).  I washed and ironed all my fabic first.  Yes the edges are frayed; I told you it's been a long time since I've done any sewing.  Then I laid the flannel, wrong side out, on top of the terry cloth.  I pinned them together.  I also pinned my inspiration bib to the material and traced the outline with a marker.  After outlining, I removed the bib and re-pinned the material together and cut it out.  You can see that the top of the inspiration bib is closed, however, I was using velcro, so I just folded the cut pattern in half and cut through the top (forming two piece to go around his little neck - see the photo above). 

I ran a straight stitch around the outer edges, leaving the bottom open.  Holly wanted the neck to be bigger than the inspiration bib, so using the machine foot as a guide, I stitched the neck twice and just cut the fabic back to the inner line of stitching (effectively making the neck larger).  Snip the fabric edges along your outer and inner corners a bit;  This will stop to fabric from bunching in those areas when your turn it. Turn the fabric right side out.  Here's a trick, I used a long wooden kitchen spoon handle to help with getting the corners turned out. 

Once I turn the fabric right side out, I ironed it again, turning in the bottom edges in that were left open.  I then ran another straight stitch around all the edges (hemming the bottom at the same time) for reforcement.  I sewed a strip of velcro on the back of the neck to close. 

And I should have taken more photos with more steps to show you.   Sorry.

But I do have this one.  He's such a happy little guy.  I love you to pieces Matthew!

Let there be .. Light!

So I'm thinking of doing some re-decorating in my home.  I've done some things, but I'm talking major room make-over, baby! 

Away, cutesy, coziness.  In with fresh, crisp, and a bit modern.

Psst .. I have other projects going on and I'll share when they are done.  I promise.

No really, I promise.

My idea is this ..

1. Headboard - I want to visit our local Habitat for Humanity Re-Store and get some things to make a headboard for my bed.  No, I do not have a headboard.  Yes, I have to fish out my pillows at least once during the night.  So annoying!

2.  Textiles - I'm scouring for some amazing fabric to jazz some simple panel curtains in the bedroom (just a strip of fabric) and maybe I'll make a matching duvet cover and some pillow cases.  We just aren't sham kinda people.  And, I'm sewing skillz are rusty ... and limited.  I'm going to make up for that with passion though.

3. Paint - I'm going to paint, duh ....

4. Dressers - I don't know there.  I'm dying to find a decently-made worn dresser on Craigslist, or at a thrift store (feel free to translate that to cheap) and refinish or paint it.  I'm also toying with just panting what I have currently.  Or!  I'm thinking of just buying a nice low long dresser for the room and being done with it. 

5.  Closets - Doors would be nice.

6. Lighting - I want to try turning my bed on the diagonal between the two windows of the bedroom and hanging one of these charming little beauties smak-dab in the middle of the bed, or up at the head .. or maybe, that's a bit too weird.  One on either side?

Now, seriously, isn't it obvious which one it will be?

You don't need to spend top dollar for a high end look.

Just sayin', but that's me.

Did you ever find that one thing that just started the ball rolling? 

I once re-painted my entire kitchen because my color scheme wouldn't allow me to use these adorable penguin themed Christmas tins I found on clearance.  Then I only put them out that one year.

Yes, I'm nuts like that; just ask my girls.

Puppies!

We have puppies! 

We have eight puppies.  We have a gaggle of puppies!

They try my patience.

They are a lot of work.

They sleep like this ...

And play like this ...   



I have to admit, being this cute should be illegal ...

 

But mostly, they're just getting big!



Whew, I'm exhausted.







Sweet Endings - Baklava

Baklava.  Bak-la-va.  Bak-lava!  Any way you choose to pronounce it, it translates into ooey-gooey
sweet 'n nutty goodness!

I've wanted to make this for some time now.  But, I've always been intimidated by the whole process.  Well, it wasn't hard.  Tedious is the word I would use.  You do have to be very careful with the phyllo dough.  The little darlings are frail and delicate.  Just remember, keep them covered with a damp (not wet) kitchen towel when you're not working with them.  Also, I thawed both rolls of phyllo dough, but I didn't open the second until I actually needed it.

I scoured the internet for recipes for baklava and just took an understanding on the flavors involved and the technique used and ran with it.



I strained the syrup

 Syrup
1-1/2 c water
1-1/2 c white sugar
1 c honey
1-1/2 tsp vanilla extract
one lemon, zested and juiced

In a medium saucepan, over medium high heat, add all your ingredients.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium low and simmer for 20 minutes.  Strain into a large measuring cup and place in the refrigerator until you need it. 

Baklava
1 box of phyllo dough, thawed using the manufacturer's instructions (there should be 2 rolls)
4 c of nuts (I used a combo of roasted pistachio and walnuts
2 tsp cinnamon
1 cup butter, melted

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F ( I did mine at 325 degrees because I was using a glass pan).  Brush the entire interior of a 13 x 9 inch baking pan with melted butter.  Wet a kitchen towel and wring it out until it's damp.  Set aside.  Add the nuts and cinnamon to your food processor and pulse to a fine chopped.  You do not want them ground into a paste.  Dump your nuts a bowl and set them to the side.  Unroll your phyllo dough, lay it out on a large cutting board, or flat surface, and trim to fit the inside of your pan, leaving one sheet whole.  Cover any dough that your are not working with with the damp towel. Take the whole sheet and carefully lay it in the pan.  Gently work it into the corners and up the side.  Brush with butter.  Lay one of the trimmed phyllo dough on top and brush with butter.  Repeat until you have 8 sheets of dough in the pan.  Sprinkle a thin layer of the nut mixture on the dough.  Add three more layers of dough, buttering each one.  Repeat the nut and dough process until you either run out of nuts, or room in your pan (leave enough room for your final layers.  End with a layer of eight sheets of butter dough.  

Look at all those layers!

Here's the hard part, using a very, very sharp knife cut the baklava into to serving sized pieces.  Traditionally it's cut into little diamond shaped pieces, but I can't draw a straight line much less cut out diamonds.

Bake for 50 minutes. 

Once you remove the baklava from the oven, pour your syrup all over the top and set aside.  When it cools to room temperature, cover with foil and leave overnight.

Enjoy!

Afterthoughts:  This is a very sweet dessert.  Believe me when I say you will not want this every day.  When I make this again I'll probably 1.  make a smaller batch and 2.  add more phyllo dough between layers, maybe five sheets instead of three .. but that's me.

Sweet Endings - Whole Wheat Chocolate Brown Sugar Sugar Cookie (sandwiches)

Happy Valentine's Day!

So, what did you do this weekend?

I got my car fixed, went grocery shopping, spent some time on Maryland's Eastern Shore, worked on a couple projects at home, and I made cookies.  Whole Wheat Chocolate Brown Sugar Sugar Cookies. 

Okay, I totally kleptoed the recipe for these cookies.  Do you know Joy the Baker?  Well, if not, you really should get to know her.  You won't be disappointed.  This lady creates magic in her over; her blog oozes with yumminess.  Really, I promise.

Her little darlings have a very nice chocolaty favor and a delightful snap when you eat them. 

But I couldn't leave good enough alone.  I have to go over the top embellish them a bit. 

Oh, and guess what happens when you blitz thawed frozen strawberries and add them to buttercream frosting .... magic, that's what!  The strawberries were a little tart, which cut right through that sugar sweetness of the frosting and the balance was pure brilliance, if I say so myself. 

Whole Wheat Chocolate Brown Sugar Sugar Cookies, adapted from Joy the Baker

1 c whole wheat flour
1/4 c + 2 tbs all-purpose flour
1/4 c + 2 tbs cocoa powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 c (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 c brown sugar (Joy doesn't specify, but I packed mine)
1/4 c granulated sugar
1 large egg

Place a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat it to 350 degrees F.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper (or use a silpat) and set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flours, cocoa, salt, and baking powder.  Set aside.

In a large bowl, beat together the butter and sugars until well incorporated.  Stop and scrape down the bowl.  Add the egg.  Beat on medium speed until mixture is glossy and fluffy, about 2 to 3 minutes.

Stop the mixer and add the dry ingredients, all at once.  Mix on low speed until all of the flour is incorporated.  Stop and incorporate remaining ingredients with a spatula.  Split dough in half.  Wrap each half in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Once chilled, roll dough out on a lightly floured surface to a 1/4 inch thickness.  Use a heart shaped cookie cutter (or any cookie cutter) to cut out cookies and place them on prepared baking sheets.  If desired, brush cookies with water and sprinkle with course sugar, or sprinkles, or whatever you wish  .... or not.

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes.  Remove from oven and allow to rest on the baking sheet for a few minutes before moving to a wire rack to cool completely.

Try not to snack on cookies.

Repeat until all the dough is used.  This recipe made 24 cookies, for me. 

Not me, personally.

Strawberry Buttercream Frosting.

5 large thawed frozen strawberries
1/2 c shortening (I used Crisco)
3 c powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Blitz strawberries in a blender, or mini food processor.  In a large mixing bowl, add shortening and sugar.  ON LOW mix until sugar is complete incorporated into shortening.  Add strawberry puree and vanilla.  On low mix until incorporated.  Now turn your mixer on high and beat frosting until light and fluffy, about 4 to 5 minutes.

Put frosting into pastry bag and snip the tip of bag.  Twist open end of bag closed and squeeze until air is pushed out of tip end.  If you're not into piping, just smear it on with a knife.

Match cookies in sets.  Set aside one of each set. 

On remaining cookies pipe frosting on cookies, leaving a small edge around parameter.  Top with remaining cookies. 

Dust with powdered sugar, if you wish. 

Enjoy!

Sweet Endings - what now!

I'm sorry.  Sincerely, sorry.

I know I made a commitment to post sweet treats on Sundays, but, well ....

As I stated in my previous post, the Sunday before the Superbowl, I was sick.  I promise; I was.  Then last Sunday, I was going to redeem myself with a fabulous dessert .. Kouign Amann.  It's French and there were a lot of steps involved.

I'm totally addicted to David Lebovitz.  Don't ask me why because I don't know.  There are certain blogs that just hit me .. ya follow?  Anyway, it was his beautifully photographed Kouign Amann, I was committed to making.  Come Sunday, I was ready.  One problem though, I couldn't get David's site to come up.  I don't know if it was him or me, but I couldn't connect.  I tried to the point that I was having serious words with the BPL (big pink laptop).   Disappointed, I moved on.

Loosely translated Kouign Amann means Butter Cake, so I looked up French Butter Cake recipes.  I finally settled on one that actually read like a cake recipe and not like bread.  If it wasn't DL's recipe, I wanted something different.  Yes, I'm a bit stubborn that way.

It smelled heavenly baking and it tasted good.  Sweet, but not too sweet.  But the texture was that of  "not quite done" shortbread (and I baked it for an hour and a half).  it was a bit heavy and crumbly, and I was just not happy about it. 

So I opted not to write about it. 

I'm making cookies this weekend in honor of  Valentine's Day.

I hope you'll come back and visit.

Anna

Sweet Endings - Called Due To Illness

Hello out there in Radioland!

Okay, that was even before my time. Sorry.

This isn't what you expected to see, I'm sure. I can explain.

It started Friday afternoon .. that ache, and the feeling of your skin being on fire. By 2:30 p.m. I sounded like a family of frogs as moved into my throat (the kids are gone now, so it's just those pesky empty-nesters). I called my boss and told him I was leaving for the day.

Friday evening, before I completely went downhill, I got a couple things done at the house.

Saturday, I was worthless. I mustered enough energy to let the dogs out in the morning (even sick, I'm an early riser) and then collapsed on the couch. That's where I stayed, sleeping most of the day, until that evening, when I dragged my funky body back to bed.

Sunday morning dawned and I had a small burst if energy, which I should have ignored - but didn't. So, I folded some laundry among other things. By Sunday afternoon/evening, I was paying for my Super Womandom. I dragged myself into the shower and promptly plopped into my favorite chair and set about working on the scarf I'm knitting for my daughter.

Long story short, no Happy Endings post. I have one in reserve which I will post in a day or so.

Anna

Sweet Endings - Happy Birthday!

Today is my baby's birthday. So, today I made a cake.

She was 19 as of 5:42 a.m. She asked me this morning how I remember the exact time they (my girls) were born. It's easy, life changing events leave impressions on you, like the death of John Lennon, the day the Discovery Challanger exploded, and 9-11. Besides, I was in labor for over 24 hours; I was counting the minutes.

I made a butter cake because she wanted it.

I also made butterscotch pudding and vanilla buttercream icing. But first, I had a fight with my mixer.

It threw a mesauring cup at me!

It won.

I used two boxes of cake mix and baked them in Wilton 8 inch round, three inch deep pans. After letting them cool overnight, I split each into two layers. Between each those layers I spread a thin coating of the icing and piped a rim around the edge to hold in the filling. Then I added the butterscotch pudding. The entire cake got a crumb coat to hold all the tiny bits and pieces in place. The hard part was letting the cake sit for about 30 minutes before covering the whole sha-bang with frosting and smooshing grated white chocolate on the sides and sprinkling it on the top. I finished the cake by adding a border at the top and bottom.

Today, she's 19. She loves music, going to the movies, reading, dogs, her friends, her phone, and soccer. She very independent; I love that about her. But there are still days when she needs her mom; I love that about her too. She's in college now. She's going to be a teacher.

I think she's amazing.

Except for the fact that she's convinced I was at Woodstock.

Happy Birthday Cate, I love you to the sun and back!

Sweet Endings - Sweet Ravioli

As a rule, I don't deep fry things. Ask anyone that knows me. I don't like the mess, or the smell of hot oil, and the fumes make my eyes burn. So I have no idea what inspired me to roll out these little beauties. But roll them out, I did.

They are surprisingly light and flaky, and very simply made. They aren't overly sweet and great with an evening cup of coffee.


You'll need:

Vegetable oil, for frying
1 package of ready to use pie crust
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
1/3 cup mini chocolate chips
1/4 cup finely chopped pecans
1/2 tsp vanilla
3 tbs powdered sugar
Flour for dusting

If you are adventurous, or more confident than I, feel free to make your own pie crust.


In a small bowl, add the ricotta cheese, the chocolate chips, the nuts, 1 tbs of powdered sugar, .... and the vanilla. You don't see the vanilla in the photo do you? It's because I forget it when I took the photo.

Don't be like me, add the vanilla.

I added it later. It's in there.

I promise.

Set the bowl aside. Oh, and try not to eat the filling.

Toss some flour on the counter.



Open your pie crusts, set one aside and roll out one on the flour.

Add the filling to the pie crust, by the teaspoon, leaving about an inch and a half between dollops. Dip your finger in a cup of water and wet the area between and around the filling. Try not to use too much water. You want the dough wet, but not slippery.



Unroll the second pie crust on top the first and using your fingers work the dough down and around the filling. Push to fuse the two crusts together.

Using a round cutter (I had a 2 inch cutter), or a glass, cut out the raviolis. Once you have them all cut out, use a fork the crimp and seal the edges.



In a heavy pot, heat a couple of inches of oil to 350 degrees. Carefully add a few raviolis at a time. You don't want to crowd them, or add so many that the oil temp drops. This will cause your raviolis to greasy.

Do not walk away from the ravioli in the pot. This happens fast. Faster than fast. Cook the raviolis until a deep golden brown, about a minute and half on each side.

Drain them on a paper towel lined plate. Allow them to cool a bit before using the remaining 2 tbs of powdered sugar to dust.

Do what I did, wash the dishes. Or clean up the oil splattered on your microwave.



Enjoy. She did. Although she wasn't happy with me snapping the picture. She said she didn't have any makeup on. Look at that face; she doesn't need any makeup.

Or maybe it's just me.

I made 14, with filling left over. I guess it all depends on how big your pie crusts are.

Sweet Endings - Fig and Vanilla Cupcakes

Sweet Endings .. there's no better way to end a meal than with a little something extra, something sweet.  I don't make dessert every night, but Sunday dinner is always calls for a sweet ending.

Tonight it was these darling little beauties.  Fig and Vanilla Cupcakes.

I got this recipe from my wonderful little Christmas present from Catherine, my youngest.

I was a little worried about how they were going to turn out because the batter was incredibly thick. But using self rising flour made them light and delicate. 

They weren't overly sweet or overly figgy.  Yes, figgy is actually a word.  You'll find it in the Anna's Dictionary of Descriptive Words for Food or Tastes.  You'll find it on Amazon.  Not!

Before we get the recipe allow me to share.  I will recite the recipe exactly as the book states, however, I cut it in half because it makes 18 cupcakes.  It also calls for superfine sugar.  Don't go out and buy any (I couldn't find it); make your own by adding half again as much as the recipe calls for, put it in the blender and give it 5 or 6 good lengthy pulses. I made the mistake of trying to "finely chop" my figs in the blender, at first.  Don't make the same mistake; use a knife.

I hope you love these as much as I did.

Ingredients Cupcakes
1 cup (2 sticks) sweet butter, softened
1 cup superfine sugar
2 cups self-rising flour
1 tsp baking powder
4 eggs
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1 cup (5oz) finely chopped, dried figs

Ingredients Frosting
1 cup of cream cheese, softened
1-1/2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp grated lemon zest
3 tbsp chopped fig

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees,  Place 18 baking cups in muffin pans.  Combine all the cupcake ingredients in a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer until smooth and pale, about 2 or 3 minutes.

Spoon the batter into the cups, Bake for 20 minutes.  Remove pans from the oven and cool for 5 minutes.  Then remove the cupcakes and cool on a rack.

To make the frosting, beat the cream cheese, confectioners' sugar, vanilla, lemon zest, and the chopped figs with an electric mixer until soft and creamy.  Smear the cupcakes with the frosting.  

Store unfrosted in an airtight container for up to 2 days, or freeze for up to 3 months.

Makes 18 cupcakes. 

I Have An Idea!

Or, if you will, if it's Sunday, it most be time for something sweet, scrumptious, decadent, and any other adjective you can use to describe something delectable.

  

My youngest, Catherine, gave me the little ditty to the below for Christmas.  Probably because she's well aware of her Momma's growing obsession of all things cupcakes.  It's okay, she benefits from it. 

(You can find it here.)

Seriously, I obsess.

I need help.

Fast.

Someone call the Cupcake Cops, er, um, Police.

Obsessed.

Anyway, I'm starting a regular weekly posting called  Sweet Endings (as in the end of the week .. the end of a meal .. or just because .. your choice)!

I hope you'll join me.

Anna

It's That Time of Year Again

Happy New Year, did you make your New Year Resolutions?  Don't you just hate that question?  Why must I make resolutions because it's another year? 

But I do .. like millions of other people.  My resolutions this year is to not make ridiculous resolutions that I won't ever keep, therefore, making me feel like a failure. 

I DO NOT resolve to be a nicer person - Ha!  I'd have blown that one this morning reading my email at work.  After yet another nasty, snippy, childish, diva-esque demand from this one customer (who I shall forever think of as the bitch from hell).  I immediately wanted to respond with, "I'm sorry, who died and made me your doormat?".  Never fear; I didn't.

I DO NOT resolve to lose 100 pounds.  I could stand to, but that's just a ridiculous statement.

I DO NOT resolve to cut up all my credit cards.  I could because I don't use credit cards anyway.  However, if I did cut them up, then my refrigerator would get warm at the same time as my oven wouldn't heat up, and my furnace would blow up.  Then where would I be?

Those are examples of resolutions that are screaming to fail.  Okay, maybe not the last one; for some, that's a great idea.

Here are mine ....

I resolve to blog more.  I enjoy blogging, so why am I not doing it more?

I resolve to allow at least one person to merge in traffic in front of me, without grumbling.  I do allow people to merge; it's the grumbling part I need to work on.

I resolve to drink more water. Period.  I try to give blood on a regular basis and my last visit left me with a bad reminder, a big ol' bruise.  My fault, I wasn't properly hydrated.

Lastly, I resolve to read at least one piece of classic literature a year.  This is the big one.  Not the reading part; I read a lot.  It's the classics, you know Oscar Wilde, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Hawthorne, Tolstoy, Hemingway, etc.  I'm starting with Great Expectations, by Charles Dickens.  Fitting, don't you think?  Who knows, maybe I'll blog about it.

So, there you have it.  Those are my "I'm not going to make you feel like a failure" New Years Resolutions.

Happy New Year!

Anna