HAPPY NEW YEAR WEDNESDAY!

[Emptynester]

HAPPY NEW YEAR ALL!!!

I've been really busy. Finished painting and all clean up. Made ham salad for NYE party, met with contractor for floor install.

Party was fun with lots of people that are good friends.

New Year resolutions kept for first day. BS and BP taken and walked. Walk was short - but will increase it day by day.

Walking in sunshine has helped my funk.

Wishing all good things for 2014 for the village.

[BookSaver]

(Kathryn) Any chance of finding a blouse that will coordinate with the sari fabric? It won't be quite as formal as the exact match, but realistically the blouse will always wear out or become stained before the "skirt" does. You can't discard all those yards of beautiful fabric! I would probably take it along and make it part of the trip to shop for a new blouse or 2 to go with it.

[Nancy]

Dinner is done I worked on the kit. Got it accaptable. But. Ot done sigh oh well. H. Sliced the bread for the crew at his work and in a container.

We had fog today all day never did get a break from it. Hens are in we are enjoying net flicks.

I remembered the gazelle works arms with it and I remember that is why I wanted one.

[Kathryn-in-Canada]

Booksaver: Sari blouses are made from the same material as the sari (the material for mine was actually woven into the yards of the main length of material) and the seamstress cut it off, hemmed the edge and then used the material to make my blouse. It isn't a North American style blouse, but a style just for a sari (it is a half top, leaving skin exposed.)

When I bought my first sari, I didn't understand this and was being ripped off by the vendor. It was bought in a small town in Ontario, not India and the 'skirt' (the undergarment that the material tucks into) she supplied me with wasn't proper either. I thought I could buy a blouse at a sari store later, but you can't, they are each custom-made to the sari. It took an Indian woman to explain that to me (I had taken to accosting them in malls asking them where I could buy a blouse.) I ended up with a t-shirt crop top so I could wear it but it has never looked right, so I only wear that sari for more casual events. The sari I wear on cruises is a much more formal sari with gold thread trim.

I'm exhausted and feel sick. Not sure if this is the stress of leaving or if I'm actually coming down with something. Am heading to bed as soon as I get the medicine kit done. I have to do it now so I can make up a list of needed items for when I'm shopping tomorrow.

My not-done list for today is huge. The kitchen is cleaned up, though, so that's a good thing.

My clothing spreadsheet tells me that if I can by a pair of stone coloured pants and capris and a pair of blue jeans I should be fine. The first two items may be hard to find. It is well below 0*F right now so shopping will be a challenge in that I'll have tons to take off in the stores before I can try on things.

[Harmony]

Kathryn, I hope you get some stunning pieces to round out your wardrobe. Know how hard all of that is. I'm again out of size in lots of my clothes. Things are loose on my waist but not too baggy on my hips. So I can wear most things except they are not as slimming looking as they would be if they truly fit well.

I've begun wearing my nicer clothes more often because soon (hopefully) they'll be too sloppy to wear. I have a bunch of things that I kept for good, like Sunday church, etc., that I'll not get use of...and that's a bit distressing. I'm thankful I bought a lot of them in a thrift store so not gobs of money going to waste.

The good thing about all of this is that I've had to reorganize my closet and go through things several times recently. That means this year I didn't have to clean the whole thing out to get my Christmas decorations back up on the shelves. It's the first time in years that's been easy. Must remember to keep on top of that closet better, because it really is a time saver.

I got up this morning and took down all the decorations except the wreath on the door (I'll leave that for a while) and boxed everything and got it all back into storage. I did some cleaning on the newly vacated spots, etc., so am pleased with today's progress.

We went to our dfriend's for a get together today. 7 of us. We had a meal, and a nice visit. This is my friend who's DH died a couple years ago. She has made her house basically a shrine to him and I find that a little over the top. Some remembrances are ok, but I think she's really stuck in a time warp. I guess I'm just not as sentimental.

We stopped on the way home at k m art and they had Christmas decorations 50% and I got my cards for next year. Also got the 9 x 12 manilla envelopes I needed. Got all my mailings ready for tomorrow's trip to the post office. I think I have enough 9 x 12's to do us until we retire!

I'm wishing everybody in this friendly village a happy, healthy, prosperous New Year!

[helia]

Yes, Kathryn and Harriet, my weight is higher than it has been since I went back to WW about 4? years ago. I am not happy about it, but it is hard when I'm hungry and our house is so well-stocked with such nice tasting things. . . . And I'm not prioritizing exercise. I need to work that back in. My body actually misses it, I can feel it.

Today has been THE laziest day so far of my vacation, which I think I needed. Dh and I went to see Catching Fire this afternoon. I was interested in it b/c I read the trilogy. I think the violence is actually toned down in the movie versions. I did not go to Meijer's; I decided to stay home as roads weren't great with all the new snow. I think we got about 4-6 inches.

There was apparently some NHL event in our city today. It was on fb; maybe a Canadian team since there were comments about all the Canadians coming to town? I don't track sports well at all. . .

Dd15's friend is here to sleepover. Kids are outside sledding on the hill in our backyard -- in the dark! LOL! Well, the snow and light from the house give some light.

I'm going to do some laundry; we are almost out of kitchen towels.

[Kathryn-in-Canada]

I've been looking forward to this cruise to get back on track. Bottled water everywhere, fresh fruits and veggies at every meal, portion control, someone else cooking and no snack foods handy and some of my favourites aren't even on board!

As well, lots of walking, an exercise room, a pool, better weather, and time to focus on doing my physio.

Unfortunately, although I've been tracking my steps each day (and most days getting well over 5K) I obviously had back-slid more than I realized.

BTW: I notice that my wrist is much better with the brace. It is bad tonight but it wasn't on most of the day since it couldn't be on during the hair dyeing nor when I was trying on all the clothes.

[Ivy]

I've ordered my b-day gifts now. A book and chunky Fair Isle open cardigan with big pockets. It looks very warm.

Got 1 leg warmer for dgd 1 year on the 8th, done. Cute!

Had a lousy night's sleep so took a 1 1/2 hour nap today. Now I'm not tired. I woke at 3:50 p.m. and feel wired.

DH is going to Safeway tomorrow, so I'm going to make him a list now.

I can't believe it's 2014, but I kept writing "2014" on letters since Oct. and had to rewrite over the "4".

Been watching a lot of "Property Brothers," shows on HGTV-HD. Sure are good shows, but so are "Buying Alaska," and "Buying Hawaii."

Hope those of you in the ice and snow start warming up some. Here, for us, it was all-day fog.