Welcome, 2008

New Year's Resolutions:

1. Lose more weight. I've done well on the alli diet, but haven't worked very hard on it the past two months. I've still managed to lose 4 more lbs, but I know how easy it is to gain, and I am nowhere near my final goal, so time to get serious . . . after I finish this cookie.
2. Read more and spend less time looking at the computer screen. This will be a tough one, because I have three blogs and my teacher website, and the forum I am helping host. But, truly, I waste a lot of time surfing the net rather aimlessly. I can cut down on that.
3. Be kinder and nicer to people. Always a good goal. Most of the time they deserve it.

That'll do for now. Best wishes, everyone!

The Christmas Table

Christmas greetings to everyone. I hope everyone had a table to gather around for the Christmas feast and that the New Year will find you surrounded with friends, family who love you and no more snow than your tires can handle. It feels like winter here; we had sleet followed by fluffy snow this morning, the day after Christmas. The dogs are asleep on the couch. My tummy is full of chocolate-covered cashews. Life is good.

One Semester of Spanish Spanish Love Song

This is very fun, a love song in Spanish if the singer had only had the first semester of Spanish. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Christmas Market

This morning we are heading to the Christmas market in Strasbourg, France. Forecast is for rain and wind. I hope that the weather won't be as bad as it sounds from the forecast!

The weather forecast was amazingly accurate, wind, rain, chill air and huge crowds. If shuffling your feet to walk amid hordes of people is your thing, this was great. I must go back someday when the sun is shining and the crowds are gone. We did have a nice lunch. I had the potatoes with melted Muenster cheese überbacken and a salad. The potatoes were reminiscent of Swiss raclette. Jim and Melody had the quiche with salmon and goat cheese (also yummy). We visited the cathedral, but it was so crowded and noisy with low voices and shuffling feet, it was hard to enjoy. Also, the lack of sunshine meant the beautiful stained glass windows weren't nearly as impressive as they should have been. In the markets, I bought only a Christmas ornament: a tin Santa riding in an airplane, some scented soaps and the surprise of the day: Canadian maple syrup crystals, suitable for spooning over oatmeal or in your coffee, plus a bag of maple syrup cookies that I will have to ration to keep myself from scarfing down the whole bag at once. We found these in a small market dedicated to Quebec with products from Canada, including smoked salmon, Canadian beer, and Inuit carvings.