Just as a wrap up of Holidailies, I want to thank the Readers’ Panel that chose two of my December entries for “Best of” honors: Willie and Trigger and In What Universe…
.

I made a total of twenty-one entries during the month of December, some on days where I really did not have the spare few minutes to write. The push of the portal made me do so. Knowing that publishing to a portal pushes me to write, I am planning on rejoining The Simplest portal so I have that push throughout the year.

It isn’t like I am not writing, when I not here, I am just writing for the newspaper, or other places, and nothing personal. Or things so personal that I am no longer comfortable sharing them here in public. Back in 1999-2000 when this first started I had no problem laying everything open for whomever wandered across here. Now, well, I’m in my late 30s and write under my real name here. I am published under my real name and there are things that my newspaper readers do not need to come across.

That isn’t to say that it is going to be a blah place, but there are some things that are now off-limits.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Day 3 of the new year and I not only made it out of bed and into the shower, but also out of the house tonight. Tonight was Planning Commission’s monthly meeting and one of my standard items to cover every month.

I went in knowing that it was going to be a long one, as January includes picking the new chair, and vice chair, as well as approving the by-laws for the year. I figured at least 1.5 hours for this meeting. Twenty-three minutes later it was done. Really? When I plan for ninety minutes they are done in no time.

Right now, we have one car, and my family is helping me get back and forth to meetings to cover stories and it is hard at times. Tonight Mom took me to my meeting, my sister-in-law, Nikki picked me up, and boom home now. So many times it is Katie getting me around, but she just moved and I haven’t been able to get a hold of her.

Not that she moved far, just one street over and one block down, but moving is intense when it is just a couple, when there are two adults and four children, well yeah, you can imagine.

So, three days in to 2013 and all is well. Here’s to more updates on MutteringFooldotcom.

New Year’s eve has changed for me over the years. From my teenage years where all I did was drink way too much and try to avoid my parents to the early adult years drinking a lot to now, and my late (late? where did that come from) 30s and the alcohol less ones.

Yep, NYE 2012 into 2013 (as I can never figure if it should be called NYE for the year going away or coming in) involved dinner with friends at China Garden, then an evening talking and listening to hair bands on the TV with kids and all involved. We watched part of New Year’s Rocking Eve and made fun of the music that we don’t understand, talked about NYE’s past, and what we all wanted for the future.

In other words, it was a fantastic evening and one that I hope to repeat multiple times this year. We, as a group, have gotten together much more since the death of one of our early group. When Michael killed himself in 2010 it really seemed to kick us in our collective asses and made us realize we were letting time slip by.

We’re all in our late 30s and above. I’m the youngest of the group at going on 38, the oldest turned 45 back in October. We have been friends for well over twenty years. There have been times where we argued and didn’t speak for months, or even a year. We have moved apart and come back together, now most of us living close again.

We are as different as you could possibly imagine, yet we meld in a way that I have never seen amongst another group of friends. If spending NYE with them just hanging out is how the rest of the year shall be, then I am very happy that we spent it that way.

Happy 2013 to you and your’s. Thank you for reading during Holidailies. Come back throughout the year as my sole New Year’s resolution is to write more here.