thirtyoneblog

Thought it might be appropriate to note some goals for next year on this New Year’s Eve. I prefer to call them “goals,” not “resolutions.” Not sure why; well, maybe I am, goals is what they are. I may post from time to time on where I am in relation to these. Interestingly, after I drafted these I realized there are 8 of them. So, 8 for ‘08!

1. Keep up my routine at the gym. I’ve started working with a trainer, plus DH and I often go together and he enjoys it too, so between those I have a good amount of accountability. Plus I like this gym. People are really friendly and it’s a better facility than what I have belonged to before.

2. Read my Bible through. Yesterday at church they had some brochures with daily readings. It’s interesting because it’s not just starting at Genesis and going all the way through. It moves around, but has specific readings listed for each day. This will be a big commitment but I really want to do it.

3. Take a real vacation. We haven’t gone anywhere for a solid week since our honeymoon. We have taken some long weekends but never set aside a significant block of time for a family vacation.

4. Get another car. I have wanted to replace my piece o’ junk for a few years now, but since it’s paid for I am loath to take on another car payment. However, with a 50 mile a day commute, I really need something better than my current aluminum can, aka Kia Spectra, and we need a better family car.

5. Get a housekeeper. Life is just too short with two very full-time jobs to spend the evenings and weekends with a mop. The money spent will be worth it in terms of the time we get back in our lives and frankly, neither of us is good at house cleaning and a professional will do a much better job than we could anyway.

6. Be more committed to excellence at my job. I have been in a real funk the last several weeks for a variety of reasons and I don’t feel like I have put my best out there. Much of the frustration is justifiable, I think, but I need to realize there’s a limit to what you can change about some things. You have to just deal, make the best of it, and move on. In this business, things change so fast anyway that I need to focus on that and the fact that no difficult situation can last forever. I have prayed a lot about this - about the wisdom to know what is changeable and what is not, and when to make a stink about something and when to shut up, and how to move above the frustrations and focus on the actual task at hand.

7. Be more committed to doing things for my husband without thinking about what he might have done for me. Marriage is about giving and I need to focus on that as my goal, rather than complaining about what I am not getting. Just really thinking of him more and myself less.

8. Remember people’s birthdays. I used to be really good at sending cards, etc. and wishing people a good day but I have slacked off the last several years.

I think if I focus on these things I will be on track to have a much better year to come.

Like most of us, I’m resigned to a winter (and possibly spring and beyond) of very little new TV. That’s OK, really. I don’t watch much “regular” TV, preferring the Food Network and TLC to most of network TV. And hey, this might be a good opportunity to spend more evenings at the gym rather than as a couch potato.

Nevertheless, I know it’s affecting a lot of lives. My thoughts on this issue intrigue me, because normally I think striking is just plain ridiculous in any form. It’s antagonistic at the very time that people ought to be trying to work together. It’s digging in your heels and saying, “so, how do you like THEM apples???” Furthermore, it adversely affects a lot of people who aren’t involved and want no part of the disagreement - as I have experienced on a very personal level as a passenger during several airline strikes. In this case, it’s all the non-writers who have anything to do with TV production. Sure, the actors (the stars, anyway) probably aren’t going to go hungry. But what about the set builders? The makeup people? The countless assistants and runners and helpers? Those people have families to feed and roofs to keep over their heads and they have to sit on their hands while the writers are making their point.

All that being said, I do have to say that I am more sympathetic to the writers’ point than just about any other group in recent memory who has decided to walk off the job. If they get paid when the networks air reruns on TV, they ought to similarly get paid when the networks make reruns available online or on DVD. So I’m in a quandry. I think striking stinks, but then again, I think the writers absolutely should get what they’re asking for.

I suspect they will cave, though. There are too many unscripted show opportunities these days. I don’t watch any “reality” TV (the looseness with which this term is used amuses me greatly) but there are enough of those shows out there to keep the networks afloat. Wonder what ideas they will come up with next? Amazing how necessity is the mother of invention.

Meanwhile, I’ll continue on with my Ace of Cakes and What Not to Wear.

I haven’t blogged here much lately, partly because I’ve spent a lot of time at my other blog for recipes. Nevertheless, there has been a lot on my mind.

I have been thinking about friendship a lot lately. Since we are all human, we all are imperfect and thus, have various faults and qualities that can get on others’ nerves. Sometimes it’s easy to notice those things in our good friends who we associate with often. It’s easy to dwell on how so-and-so can’t stop going on about his/her pets (that would be me!) or how that person spends way too much time at work (also me!). Why do we do this? We keep going down that road and before long we wonder why we are even friends with some people.

I’ll tell you why: Because they’re there for us. Because at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter about the little things. I have some friends who are as close to me as family. I would walk through fire for them, and they for me. I think that’s why the little things annoy us. It’s because these people are close to us just like our spouse, or parents or siblings. When you have a close relationship with someone, you’re going to notice everything, the good and bad. But in the end, what matters is what is important.

Tracy Lawrence recorded a great song along those lines earlier this year. When things get tough, you find out who your friends are, and you treasure them as some of God’s greatest blessings.

Run your car off the side of the road
Get stuck in a ditch way out in the middle of nowhere
Or get yourself in a bind lose the shirt off your back
Need a floor, need a couch, need a bus fare

This ain’t where the road comes to an end
This ain’t where the bandwagon stops
This is just one of those times when
A lot of folks jump off