Turtle has left the building and those pesky New Year's Resolutions

So I have to start this off by making a sad announcement. Turtle has died. Yes, our trusty little horny toad has perished. He was fine one day, trying to claw his way out of his little cage (or holding area if you are of the politically correct) . The next day he seemed to be frozen in a single position - he sometimes falls asleep in weird positions so I didnt think much of it, but later that night - he was still in the same spot. Let me describe the position (I'm assuming you have nothing better to do than to read about my dead horny toad so I'll go on describing it in further detail) - he looked like he was running with one arm (are they called arms?) up and the other one down...well I kind of flipped him over...you know like poking someone with a stick but I didnt have a stick, I had my finger and he just keeled over. When he fell on his back, he looked like the Geek in Sixteen Candles when he was stuck under the glass table after the party. ANYWAYS - so thats a good way to start the year - you know? I'm actually surprised he lasted as long as he did, but none the less...we move on.

So a new year always brings New Year's Resolutions. I made a few myself...and here they are - 1) Become a better cook, 2) Get into better shape, 3) Get more hobbies, and 4) Travel more.

So I actually started on a couple of them...#1 and #2 to be exact. I ordered two cookbooks by Rachel Ray (she's a cook on the Food Network if you don't know) from Amazon. She specializes in 30 minute meals...one is a general cookbook and the second one is a book that specializes in cooking with kids. So that will be fun. Should be here by the end of the week.

So the second resolution is actually kind of funny. I went to the gym...yes. I've been slacking for the past two months and I finally managed to go back - ok I paid my gym membership and decided not to let it go to waste. So there are two gyms on base - the main gym and the annex - I prefer to go to the annex. The parking lot at the main gym usually has about 40 cars or about 1/4 the capacity and the annex parking lot usually has about 20 cars about 1/3 the capacity. But today - I had to circle twice to find parking. I couldnt believe it. And its not like the annex was packed - same amount of people as usual but the parking! This one lady actually came into the gym and said "I hate New Year's". It was funny. True I cant really talk because I'm back after a little siesta - but I at least am recognized at the gym, so thats how I'm justifying it.

So for my last two resolutions, they will take time. I'm still pondering hobbies - I'm tossing cycling and rock climbing around - for those of you who know me relatively well are probably laughing at the rock climbing one. As for traveling, that will just develop on its own. I have one trip planned in late April but I'm hoping to do one more after that...just where might pose a problem because there are so many placed and experiences I want to do. I'm going to aim to take a cruise - my big goal is to take a cruise to Alaska. So I'll shoot for that. They can run kind of high, you know if you dont want to sleep in a closet, so I'll have to save for it. I'm excited though! Just thinking about it...the planning...its exciting! I guess I shouldn't work myself up about this since its going to be a while, but its still nice to dream.