Once in a while, we just need to come clean. Purge. Confess. I will do so this day, and I want you to join me, after which I will submit pithy and succinct remarks.

True Confessions I was pretty revealing to some, but I didn’t ask for you to bare your souls along with me. Why shouldn’t my fiends join in the fun, ja?

Here are a few oddities off the top of my pointy head to get us started. Some of you will already know these things about me, and some will go, “Hmm. She is peculiar.” (Some will say that anyway.)

1. I hate to talk on the phone. There are exceptions, of course. If we have something to talk about specifically, no problem. It’s the talking on the phone to just talk…or talking on the phone when I am largely responsible for keeping the conversation going…NO. Email or text me instead.
2. I am completely grossed out by lipstick. I don’t want to be, trust me. And strangely enough, I’m addicted to Chapstick. SOME lip glosses are OK, as long as they aren’t slimy. But even looking at an ad or a commercial featuring shiny, wet-looking glop just makes me urpy. I recently bought some Maybelline Baby Lips tinted lip balm, in cherry flavor (my favorite). And while it smells good and is not slimy, it’s RED. Like cherries. Duh. In the drawer it goes.
3. I refuse to touch a door knob in a public place with my bare hands. And I’m no germophobe, trust me. Cripes, I’m a teacher and a grandmother. I get hugs and high fives. But there’s just something about touching a thing that all manner of unidentified germy fingers have caressed in the last 10 minutes…oy. My sleeves get a workout. And what happens when I’m not wearing long sleeves? I do a weird, convoluted grasp on the knob, involving as little of my finger surface as possible, then find somewhere to wash my hands. That works well in my high school’s main office, where the door knob is the typical spherical kind, as opposed to the rectangular handle you can push down with the back of your hand, and there’s a sink nearby in the teacher lounge. The fact that I put this much thought into door knobs is troubling, I know.

OK, there’s a few of mine (unfortunately, there are more). Now let’s see a few of yours. Got one you’re willing to share? And by “willing to share,” I mean “willing to admit to without incriminating yourself in a court of law.”

Ready, steady, go. Confess! It’s good for the soul.

2013 – The Year of Serenity.

Happy New Year, fiends! I hope you had some fun last night, whether it was out with friends, working (as is the case with many musicians I know), or just hanging out at home, which is what we did.

And would you look at that: it’s the fifth HNY post from my little rat hole. RtB will be five years old in February. Never thought I’d stick to *anything* that long.

So, The Year of Serenity. Last year, I resolved to make some changes, and to my delight, when I looked back at that post this morning, I found I’d reached most of those goals with varying levels of success. It gives me peace.

The most challenging 2012 goal was spending less time at school when I didn’t have to be there. I achieved that in spades. Score! Other resolutions didn’t get as much attention, but I’m happy to say they all played an important part in my year, so I’m calling 2012 a win.

Except maybe in the “save more money for retirement” area. Haha. After this summer’s final Odyssey, I need to make that a priority.

What about you? Did you achieve some milestones? Were you better to yourself? Did you spend more time reading, or with family and friends? Did you spend less time worrying?  Regardless, I hope today will be a good day for you to finish reflecting and start looking ahead. You don’t even need a plan. I just find that with every passing year, life becomes more precious to me; relationships with my family more important, and my friends more dear. I’ve read comments from various people who poo-poo the epithet, “Life is too short.” I disagree; if I could live 150 years and still maintain my health and my mind, I’d jump at the chance. Therefore, I plan to look at every day through that lens in order to squeeze the most joy out of every hour.

And that plan hatches this morning, as I am going to the kitchen to use my new Ninja (I know, dumb name, but awesome gadget) to make a boss smoothie, then hitting the shower and the schoolhouse. WHAT? Yeah…I never filed all the Christmas music. Oy.

Happy Day! Much love.