Presumed to be awesome.

:: I thought this idea was pretty cool. (It's called The Mayfly Project and it's a challenge to sum up the year just past in exactly 24 words.) Brevity, it turns out, is challenging. But, here it is; 2008 in 24 words:

Rianna five; Rhyan born. New Orleans!!! Great friends – Good times! BASEBALL!!! Work dissatisfaction. Lots of travel. More sex! Connections made; relationships ended. Obama! Zestful.

:: NFL playoffs start tomorrow!!! I'm ridiculously excited about going to my first NFL game! *bounces* Speaking of football related awesomeness, there are some great icons of this year's playoff teams here.

:: I try and almost always fail at keeping track of the books I read each year. Which is why I was very excited to discover Goodreads. This site may be yesterday's news to the rest of the world, but it's shiny and new to me! I'm not sure if I'm actually going to invest the time to input my entire library, but what I would like to do with it this year is use it to track what I read and to get reading recommendations from others. So, if you're on Goodreads and would be willing to share what you're reading, friend me! *beams*

2007 has been such a mixed bag of good and bad. It's been especially difficult in some respects, and wholly unreasonable in its misery with some people I care a great deal for. In other respects, however, it's been a year of tremendous personal growth, challenging and rewarding professional strides, and amazing relationships. It ought not surprise me, therefore, that when I look back at the tarot reading I did back in January for 2007 I deemed this year The Year of Paradox.

As my personal cycle of transitioning from one year to the next generally starts around Samhain and continues through the Winter holidays, completing some time near or soon after the Gregorian New Year, I normally end up spending some portion of New Year's Eve, looking back on the year and forward to the year ahead. I try to stay away from the typical resolution-setting, but I do like to look over my journal for the past year, think about some of the high (and inevitable low) points, and at some point culminate all this naval-gazing by writing down a few statements of intention, that include not only things I intend to change or do differently or continue doing in the new year, but also an accounting of those things that I've done right, that I've accomplished, that I can look at and feel a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment.

( So, here they are, the highlights of 2007 and some of ways I intend to focus my Will in 2008: )

I rang in the New Year in much the same way I hope to spend the year ahead: with family and friends. Jo and I hung out, watched movies, drank wine (well I did; Jo stuck to mojitos), indulged in decadent desserts. My mom joined us for a movie. It was a relaxed and lovely New Year's Eve. Tomorrow I shall do more of the same. I also plan on making paella and some yummy Mexican hot chocolate.

I hope all of you lovely people had a happy and safe New Years and that 2008 brings you much love and laughter and all the things that fill your life with joy!