This Christmas was bountiful and how grateful I was to be in the company of family and good friends. My best friend and her 2 sons drove down from Brampton, Ontario to spend the day and night with us. I cooked up a storm: filet mignon, crab legs, garlic shrimp, sautéed snow peas and red onions, mushrooms, and also roasted new red potatoes. Who had room for dessert? No one…well the kids did because they couldn’t resist the yule log I bought for them (no I didn’t bake it, unfortunately) And by midnight, after my friend and I talked and talked for hours, I needed a sugar fix, and had some plum pudding with rum sauce.

I got some really nice gifts:

• a brushed sterling silver charm bracelet
• a silver chemise and a black sheer cover-up top (perfect for New Years Eve)
• a new winter parka (warm and cozy)
• a new set of computer speakers
• a blender
• a Moody Blues CD (The Moody Blues Gold)
• a gift card which I used today to buy a pair of sterling silver hoop earrings and new slippers
• a beautiful hand-made flowered swag made lovingly by my friend.
• a gorgeous centerpiece for my dining table

I really like giving and I couldn’t wait to see my son’s face Christmas morning because he got a brand new Raleigh mountain bike. He loved it!

But the gift-giving and receiving is just a minor part of Christmas. The celebration of the holidays with people you love and love you is what it’s all about. It’s about sharing and caring, and being nice and most of all it’s about hope…the hope that one day people won’t only be nice this time of year, but all the time. Wouldn’t that help to make the world more peaceful for all of us?

This time of year I always take stock. I look back at the year and see where I am. Have I learned anything? Have I accomplished all that I set out to do this year? Have I become a better person? And what about next year? What goals do I want to achieve?

On a less serious note, I will celebrate New Years Eve among revelers in Niagara Falls, Ontario, outdoors in Queen Victoria Park watching Colin James and Foreigner perform. I will bundle up and bring in the New Year noisily and happily listening to music I love.

In the meantime, I have some client projects on the go and keeping me busy while still trying to balance family obligations that are always pressing at this time. I have lots of plans for this site which include creating more free WordPress themes and web templates as well as adding more page content. This year is ending on a busy and productive note and I’m really looking forward to 2007. I’m excited, in fact.

What are your New Years plans? Do you have any new goals?

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