"It is hope that maintains most of mankind."

--Sophocles

You're a phoenix. You can take anything from life
and emerge none the worse for wear. Others
admire you and are always chasing after you;
whether or not you pay attention depends on
your mood. Spontaneity is both a virtue and a
vice in you. Your alignment is neutral, leaning
slightly towards *good*.


What mythical beast are you?
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I've been helping my girls sell Girl Scout cookies. Whew! It is practically a full time job! Right now we are just taking orders, but it will really get crazy when we try to deliver them. This is the fourth year for my older daughter. She absolutely loves selling these cookies. Last year she sold 524 boxes! Her goal is lower this year, because her little sister is selling also. Emily has graciously let Anna have "her" territory and Anna has done a fantastic job. She set her goal at 300 boxes and she is just about there. Emily has had a more difficult time selling this year, partly because she is going to different areas, where the people don't know her. Still, she is working very hard and has sold about 250 boxes. Her goal is also 300 boxes, so I am confident that she will make it.

Selling cookies was never one of my favorite things to do as a Girl Scout, but both of my daughters seem to enjoy it. They certainly are learning valuable skills--how to communicate with people, how to be polite, money and math skills...the list could go on and on.

I am really proud of both of them for the effort they have put forward on this. They do all the selling. Their dad and I go with them, trudging through the neighborhood and all kinds of weather. But it is up to them to sell the cookies. However, every once in a while, I will put in a plug for them and let people know what they are doing and what their goals are. So...if you want to buy a box (or two or three) of cookies, and help support a good cause, you know who to ask!

I had a very nice Christmas--one of the nicest in the past few years. I received some nice gifts, like a new robe, a pretty new dress, several DVD's and a couple of CD's. One of my daughters gave me "Fiddler on the Roof" on DVD. It is one of my favorite musicals, partly because I performed in it in college. This daughter recently tried out for a role in it in a local production, and, although she didn't make it, it was a fun and bonding experience. Anyway, I thought it was a thoughtful gift. My other daughter gave me the new CD by Josh Groban. Josh is one of my current favorite singers, and I think it is pretty neat that my six year old notices things like that. My friend in Texas, Denise, sent me the DVD and CD of "Oklahoma". It is a great production and I have really enjoyed them.

I had a fun time picking out gifts this year. Most everything was well received. My kids enjoyed the things that we gave them and especially liked their gifts from Santa. But, by far, by favorite gift that I gave was the one I gave my dad. He has an old photo of his grandfather and aunt that was just sitting in a drawer. I sneaked it out one day and had it framed. He was so surprised when he saw it! He is always so hard to shop for, but I think that this was the perfect gift. Now he can hang the picture and see it every day.

We had kind of a different Christmas this year. We usually stay home and host the get-together at our house. But this year we went out of town. We spent several days at a resort in Oklahoma, along with my brother and his family and my dad. Each family had their own cabin, but we spent our mealtimes and other times together. We arrived at Lake Murray on Christmas Eve, around 1:30 in the afternoon. After getting settled in our cabin, we visited for awhile. Later we went up to the lodge where the kids got to decorate stockings. After eating a delicious supper of beef stew, we went on a hayride and sang Christmas carols. Then it was back to the lodge for hot cocoa and more singing, karaoke style this time. The kids were mostly the only ones participating in this, although my brother sang one song. Emily loved it and had a great time singing for everyone. Anna got in on the act, too, but my niece and nephews were a bit more shy. Oh well. Afterward, we went back to our cabins and tried to get the kids settled down for the night so Santa could come. All the kids slept at my brother's cabin, on an air mattress in front of the fire.

Christmas morning came and the kids were the first ones up, of course. After a quick breakfast, they checked out the contents of their stockings, and then everyone gathered to exchange gifts. For lunch, the lodge offered a Christmas buffet, which was pretty good. They had 4 kinds of meat dishes (but no turkey!), plus several vegetables and lots of salads. There were also a lot of desserts to choose from. We just relaxed the rest of the day and let the kids play with their new stuff. I went on a hike with the girls in the afternoon. That evening we went to my cabin and had chili.

On Friday, my dad and Barbara (his lady friend) headed home, while the rest of us stayed. We went and investigated Tucker Tower, which turned into quite a little hike. My brother and I went into town to get a few groceries, then played volleyball with the girls and Brian. Karl, Jon and Chris went into town to see the latest "Lord of the Rings" flick. That evening we roasted hot dogs over the fire and used the leftover chili to make chili dogs. We also made S'mores and hot chocolate. Yum!

On Saturday it was time to pack up to go home. There sure were some long faces on the kids when they had to separate. Those cousins love each other so much! It was a great way to spend Christmas. It was the first time in about 7 years that I got to spend it with my brother, so it was especially meaningful. We all had a wonderful time.

Happy New Year! Today is the first day of 2004. I don't really make new year's resolutions--I hate to disappoint myself when I fail. But, I do have hopes for the coming year. I hope that we can finish our business in Iraq. I would love for that country to establish a new and stable government and for our military men and women to be able to come home.

I also hope that I can become a better parent. Not that I think I am a bad parent. It's just that I think that there is always room for improvement. I need to become a better listener. My oldest daughter is getting to an age where she needs me to listen more and lecture less (actually, I probably should have been doing that more all along!). So, I hope I can pay more attention to things like that.

I hope I can lose weight. I know, everyone wants to do that. But I really need to--not to conform to the world's weight standards, but so that I can feel better and have more energy. I'm not terribly overweight, but it sure wouldn't hurt to lose 15 pounds. The trick is to formulate a plan. It's hard to work exercise into my already busy schedule, but if I am going have any hope of achieving my goal, that is what it is going to take. I also need to cut out some things from my diet--like cookies, candy, etc. That is really hard 'cuz I have a real sweet tooth. So, maybe I won't cut it out entirely--if I can just cut back.

Those are some of my hopes. I have others, as well. It will be fun to look back on this blog this time next year and see if any of these hopes have come to pass. I will have little to nothing to do with my first hope, but the other two--well, both of those are within my power, if I choose to make them happen.