New Year, Long Post

We enjoyed 2012 right up until the end. Our New Year's Eve was quiet and both Colt and I were pretty sick, but we still had fun celebrating with Harper. I prepared a NYE bag for her. It had snacks (Cheetos, of course), sparking cider (or, as Harper calls it, Sparky Drink), noise makers for midnight (horns and maracas), candy, and a giant princess puzzle for us to do together while we watched the Times Square celebration. Harper opened it and was so excited. She hugged me and said, "Thanks, mommy, this is great!"

The bag was really simple and the items in it were inexpensive and insignificant. They were fun, though, and included some of Harper's favorite things. I'm quite sure she was just as, if not more so, excited about it than she was over her big and fancy Christmas gifts. The New Year's Eve bag was such a success that I think I'll make it a yearly tradition.

Anyway, I went to see Les Miserables with my sisters-in-law yesterday afternoon. It wasn't awful and it wasn't amazing. It was exactly as good as I'd expected it to be. Les Miserables is my favorite musical of all time (I seriously know every single word) and Jean Valjean is one of my most cherished fictional characters. I've seen it on stage several times and have been lucky enough to witness some amazing performances. The acting in the movie was really good (I thought I'd dislike Anne Hathaway as Fantine but she turned out to be my favorite character from the film) but the actual singing wasn't what I'm used to. I would have preferred stronger voices, especially from Jean Valjean and Javert. Still, the movie was good and it left me crying like a baby. Les Miserables always does that to me because it's such a beautiful story.

After the movie, I came home and spent the evening with Colt and Harper. We put together the giant princess puzzle twice, danced around the living room, watched Spider-Man, and lit a fire in my new fire pit (a Christmas gift from Colt's parents). Then we headed to the Adams' house to spend the last hour of 2012 with his parents and Kenzie.

This year, there was no fancy outfit (I spent the majority of the evening in a hoodie), no small town big hair (I barely combed my hair yesterday), and no crazy night out on the town. It was definitely my quietest NYE in many years. And I loved it. I wouldn't have traded it for anything. Being home with Colt and Harper was wonderful. Not spending a fortune on hotel rooms and drinks was wonderful. Not drinking too much was wonderful. Not missing Harper was wonderful. Dancing with Harper and hearing her yell, "Happy New Year!!! Happy Celebration!!!" over and over was wonderful.

Colt and I were still pretty under the weather today. We spent the morning at home and then went to a matinee because we desperately needed a break from the house. We saw Django Unchained. It was awesome. Honestly, I've never seen a Leonardo DiCaprio movie that I didn't like, well besides Titanic, which I consider to be the Twilight of the 90's. He's probably my favorite actor of all time.

Anyway, I don't have much in the way of New Year's photos. Here are the few instagrams that I did take.

See, I wasn't kidding about not combing my hair.

I'm excited for 2013. I've made a few resolutions. Some of them (not biting my nails and going back to school) are rollovers from last year. I did okay with the nail biting for several months. Then we moved and I lost focus. With buying the house and running a daycare and everything else that went on in 2012, school didn't happen for me. I'm in no rush for school because I plan to be home at least until Harper goes to first grade. I figure that I can start this year, one class at a time, and take it slowly. It's not going to take much for me to get a teaching certificate anyway. I should be good to go by the time Harper is out of kindergarten. I don't know if we will have another little one before then. If we do, I'll be home for a few more years but in the meantime, my plan is to start teaching in 2015-16.

I have a couple of new resolutions. One is to spend more (much more) time at the piano. The other is to become quieter, inside and out. I'd like to become a better listener, thinker, and friend this year and I'm pretty sure one of the best ways to accomplish that is to talk less- a whole lot less.

In addition to my resolutions, I have made a 2013 bucket list. Some of the things on it (taking a photography class, starting my parents' life histories, and reading The Bible) are personal ones that I'll be doing alone. Others (spending my birthday in Park City, going camping, hiking, and visiting the ocean with Harper) are for all three of us. I know that Colt, Harper, and I (and yes, Hazel and Tucker, too) will have a lot of fun in 2013.

2013 is going to be a good year, my friends. We are taking Harper to Disneyland in February and going to San Francisco with Colt's family in September. I'll be turning 30 (eeek!). I'll finally be meeting my penpal. Harper will have her first ballet recital and take her first swimming lessons. Colt will, I'm sure, continue to be good at everything. Hopefully, we will all learn and grow. We came a long way as a family, and as individuals, in 2012. We bought a house and spent Thanksgiving with my family in Las Vegas. Colt and I grew closer than ever before and learned a lot about one another and how to communicate with each other. Harper became a little girl right before our eyes. I said goodbye to beloved daycare children and welcomed some wonderful new families into our home. I watched, and cried, as Calli got married. I shared about a million laughs with Kenzie and read some pretty good books. I haven't calculated the year's total yet but I know I broke my own personal record.

I'm excited for 2013. I'm excited to learn more and grow more. I'm excited to make memories with those that I love most. I'm excited for new books to read, new movies to see, and new pieces to play. I'm excited to see what this new year will bring and I'm welcoming it with arms and heart wide open. I'm not just saying this because it's a new year but I have a good feeling about 2013. A really good feeling.