Happy New Year!

It's the Year of the Rabbit!

I haven't done anything for Chinese New Year. I swept the apartment on New Year's Eve, since it's traditional to clean your house before New Year's so that you'll have room to accept the blessings that you'll be receiving in the next year.

For me, it has been the Year of the Sweater. Since Christmas, I've received 4 sweaters as gifts (all Lauren by Ralph Lauren--are they the "in" brand this year?), and have purchased two sweaters for myself--so 6 new sweaters! This means I'll have to go through my existing sweater inventory and throw out some of the old, to make way for the new.

The beginning of February means that I'll need to start thinking about the Anniversary dinner. As with Thanksgiving, I'm feeling ambivalent about it this year. It's certainly a fun event, but I'm wondering if it isn't getting old? (I suppose I should be asking that question of my birthday parties, no? ^_^)

There can't be cake this year. My husband has resolved to stick to a diet, and believes that if we have cake, it will ruin his resolve. We'll simply have everyone order their own desserts at the end of the meal. I do plan on using seating cards, so that conversation can be more dispersed. But where to host it? I'm thinking of an Indian restaurant or Japanese, if the guidelines are that food be healthy and gluten-free.

As for my writing fortnight, it hasn't gone so well. I've only written two paragraphs. It's better than nothing, true, but still, I need to get moving...