Happy Things

• Receiving unexpected personal mail
• Reconnecting with old friends
• No line at the coffee shop
• Having a warm puppy in your lap on a cold winter day
• Hitting all the lights on green
• Discovering a new favorite author
• Strangers holding doors open when your hands are full (and when they're not)
• Planning a vacation (even when you don't actually plan on taking it)
• Freshly baked cookies
• Tripping and not falling flat on your face
• Getting off with just a warning
• Fresh flowers

Winter Pleasure

One of the things I love to do in cold weather is curl up on the couch with a good book and a cup of hot chocolate.  Unfortunately, with all the required reading the last couple of years, I haven't been able to do this in quite a while. 

I've decided that it's time to bring back the tradition, with a few minor changes.  As I write this, I'm curled up on the couch with a bar prep book beside me and a warm Sprite in my hand.  This will have to do for now. 

Snow!!

We got our first snow of the season today!  And in case you're wondering, this is an exciting thing.  Why?  Because I live in Texas, and we just don't get snow very often.  In fact, we were in shorts a few days ago. 

Unfortunately, the snow did not stick, but my puppy sure looked cute with snow in her black coat.  :)

Short Shorts

This is going to sound a little mean, but I'm going to say it anyways -- there are just some people who should NOT be wearing short shorts.  In case you're not sure if you're one of these people, check the list below.  If you're on it, it's time to reconsider your wardrobe.

• Women who wear sizes in the double-digits.  I feel like I can say this because I am one of these women, and no, I do not wear short shorts.  My fashion philosophy/motto is pretty much "just because they make it in your size does not mean you should wear it."  I know there are some women who can pull it off, but for the other 99% of us, just don't.
• Women over the age of 50.  Again, there are some women who can pull this off, but most cannot.  And even if you can, there comes a time when you just have to admit to yourself that you no longer look like you did at 20.  (I was going to put 40 here, but there are quite a few 40-somethings that can pull it off.)
• Men.  I don't think this one needs any explanation.

So why a random shorts commentary in January?  Because I live in Texas and it's almost always warm enough for shorts, even in January.  And I saw someone earlier today who really should not have been wearing the short shorts -- a 60-something year old man who would be in double digits if he were a woman.  Did I mention they were also tight?  Eww.

New Years Resolutions

In honor of the new year, here are my new year's resolutions for 2011:

1. Make new years resolutions.

Many years ago, I decided to stop making new year's resolutions, mainly because I never kept them and that made me feel bad.  And why would you want to do something year after year that made you feel bad? 

My problem wasn't actually that I broke my resolutions, just that I didn't keep them.  What's the difference?  Well, I think that you can't actually break them if you don't remember what they were.  I'd always start out good for the first day or two.  If it was a really good year, may that would last for four days.  But then the paper where I wrote them down would get thrown away while cleaning, or I really needed that extra room on the board where I posted them for something more important.  For whatever reason, I always lost my resolutions and then I felt bad.

To fix this problem, I quit making resolutions.  It was an easy fix.  When someone asked me what my resolution for the new year was, I'd say something like, "To not make any resolutions."  I think the last time I actually made new year's resolutions was about 10 years ago, maybe longer.  That was one resolution I never had to keep track of and it worked great for me.  

But this year, I've decided to break with tradition and actually make resolutions.  I know I'm a few days late with this, but I've been having trouble coming up with anything.  I don't want to make the typical "I'm going to lose 20 lbs" or "I'm going to save $1000" resolutions.  While I should probably do both of these, I think this is what sets people (or at least me) up for failure (and feeling bad).  So if anybody is reading this, what are your resolutions for the new year?  I need to "borrow" some ideas.  :)