With the hubbub of Christmas finally being over, I am happy to say that I have survived with my sanity somewhat intact. I must admit my Christmas has changed immensely since Ryan and I started dating. I now have three families that I get to spend Christmas with.

One of the joys of dating Ryan is I no longer fret about the planning, buying and hiding of the boyfriend's gift. We started a tradition where we wait to have our Christmas together until after the holiday rush with our families. Last year, we were tight on cash and decided to wait until the beginning of the year to exchange gifts, and this year it just seemed normal to wait again. So part of our New Year's celebration is having our Christmas, while everyone is recuperating from the celebrations the night before, I will be wrapping gifts and placing them under the tree.

I admit I am not one to plan New Years Resolutions, but this year I decided to give it a go. After all it is a new year, new choices, and a new outlook. So here it is:

* Don't stress over the little things … often times I stay up late worrying and stressing over things that I have no control over … I can't control it, I shouldn't waste my time worrying about it,

* Continue to cut coupons and save money. With the way the economy is and the money I will be paying for school again, anything I can save would be good,

* Take cooking lessons from Ivy (the woman is a great cook and someday I want the imagination to create meals like she does),

* Spend more time in Crawfordsville or on the phone with my family that lives there, they will always be there for me it is time they received more of my time,

* Try to think before I speak, sometimes I forget that people can't read my mind and even though I know what I am talking about, having other people understand what I am saying is something completely different,

* Cut back on my caffeine intake, coffee and Coca Cola are great, but the headaches that eventually happen when I'm not ingesting my normal amount are a drag, and

* I want to try and remember that life isn't easy, and if it were it wouldn't be worth living.

Happy New Year!