New Year 2006

I usually write a post each New Year's where I talk about the year. As 2003 winded down I reviewed my year, on New Year's Eve 2004 I made some resolutions and also drown my sorrow over my unemployable ass in a pitcher of Bloody Mary's. God that was awful. I intended to write about my New Year's Resolutions again because it seems that each year I say in this forum what I want to accomplish, I come really close to doing so. 2004 was about getting rid of debt, 2005 was about making more money and living within my means.

I did it. I work for Weblogs Inc now and I know it's made Suburban Bliss suffer but, guys, you have to understand how much it's helped my family live without soul sucking stress.

Last year my resolutions were:

• I will conquer my phone phobia, maybe I'll even start ordering pizza. Also I will answer the phone when my mother calls at least 50% of the time.

I have to admit I still suck with the phone. I just really, really hate the stupid phone. I can't break through that.

• I will never again live without a working internet connection for more than 24 hours.

I haven't!

• Eat all that mayo left over from Lice Fest 2004. I will have to eat all this mayo myself since mayo makes Logan sweaty with rage (!!!)

I did it! Yes I ate it all and so did Logan even though he didn't realize it! Ha!

• Force Logan to grow back his goatee. He's handsome all ways, but with facial hair he's just so hot. Without it, it's just way too reminiscent of Mr. Rock and Roll Hair, and come on.

Failed again. He's mostly been facial hair-free in 2005. Damn.

• I'm going to stop acting so horribly awkward when people hug me. I have come to appreciate warm people who embrace you just because they're happy to see you. I used to hate it and think it forward. But now I've become more continental and I like the hug. But I hug like a retarded and grandmotherly robot. Plus, I do this really annoying back tap while I hug. Tap-Tap-Tap.

I am no longer nearly as awkward a hugger. Thanks to my friends, they've broken me and now beg me to please stop hugging us! Leave us alone! Get away!

• I'm going to take an active role in adding money to our family finances and continue to live within my means. I will also continue to suck the life out of Logan insisting he sell his soul to the devil so I can have all my nasty material wishes fullfilled.

Thank you Flogging Baby and BlogAds!

• More friends who play euchre.

Stephanie and Greg play euchre!

I also promised to keep annoying the stupid MOMS Club and I haven't done that very much. But in a lot of ways I'm like an older sibling when your mom says, "If you just ignore him he'll stop bothering you!" I hate to say it but it's true.

So I wanted to write all of that yesterday, but yesterday I was busy preparing for a big fat New Year's Eve party at our tiny house. A party which included 11 children and 10 adults. In a 1200 square foot bungalow which is not laid out for entertaining.

Wow. Is all I have to say. Or 'Woo'.

But God it was fun.

This year has been so amazing. Yes there have been difficult parts and annoying parts and all of that because that is what life is made up of. But so many good things have happened to me this year and a lot of that goodness is a direct result of this website.

My Job.
That book.
The deepening of friendships which are so dear to me I cry when I think about them.

Thank you Internet, let's make 2006 totally kick ass!

PS: The paint in my living room is a really shitty Martha Stewart paint. It holds up over time just fine but God it's watery. It's called "Arts and Crafts". Andrea, emailed because she was planning to paint on New Year's Eve and that pained me since Logan's had two weeks off work and we completed Zero projects in that time and also started Zero projects in that time. She says she's found a Ralph Lauren paint which seems to be a match, it's called Khaki from their Urban Loft collection.

I have to warn you that Logan and I tried that color (I bought the little packet and put it up on the walls in patches and it stayed like that for, oh, 3 years) and it just wasn't right. We wanted a green which was less brown than the Khaki was. But the Khaki was a lovely color and you should try it. It gives you the same effect without the shitty paint.

On the other hand the Martha crap paint from Sears and K-Fart is watery and cheap yes but it's held up remarkably well in our bedroom, hallway, dining room and living room prior to the repaint. I'm just warning you this is not a Pratt and Lambertt paint.

Comments

[Rayne of Terror]

Congrats to you on all you accomplished and Happy New Year!

[Andie D.]

Holymotherofgod!

That hair! My eyes! AAAAAAHHHHHHHH!

Ok, I think I can breathe now. But I can't stop laughing!

I'm glad 2005 has been so good to you. You deserve it! Glad to see some pictures of you from this party. ;)

Happy New Year! 2006 will indeed kiss ASS!

[Ninotchka]

Hear! Hear!

Happy New Year, Melissa.

[Krista]

I am glad that you were able to meet those financial resolutions. And as a long time reader of Suburban Bliss, I can say I don't even think it's suffered as a result of your other jobs. You still write a fabulous wonderful and interesting blog that I love to read.

[maia]

Congrats on all you have accomplished this year, very admirable my dear. Heres to 2006!

[Sunny]

I am glad that there is someone else out there with a phone problem. I have tried to get better but it still makes me feel sick when I have to make a call. I love the internet and the option to order pizza that way!

I don't order from Dominoes because they don't have the internet option. Boo on them!

[NicerfunnierSIL]

Sherwin Williams carries an entirely different line of Martha Stewart paints - many more colors from which to choose and the SWilliams paint quality is 1000 times better than Kmart or Sears. It's three times as expensive but they often have a 25% off sale...and even if it's not on sale it's worth it.

[AndreainJapan]

It has been an enjoyable ride with you this past 2005, I have learned as much from you as you did oyurself. For this: Thank you.

I hope that your 2006 is as much fun, awsome, loving and friend filled as the last. NO! I hope it is better.

Happy New Year to your family.

[Eulallia]

I LOVE it when you link the rock 'n' roll hair picture. It's almost as good as Fluid Pudding's husband's toe thumb.

[LOD]

I left 2005 feeling much the same way. All things considered, it wasn't all that objectionable.

Nice accomplishments all around--especially the mayo, which was positively Herculean.

All the best for a Super Farty '06. And thanks to my brother, who knows a lot more about these things, I'm a Benny Moore man.

[Kim]

Home Despot, I mean Depot, carries the best paint...Behr. They even have a very cool scanner to match colors. It worked great for my kid's room (he's not old enough to choose his own colors).

[ChristyD]

I think Suburban Bliss is great. It's a "must-read" for me. I just started reading this summer, and I can't imagine it being even better than it already is. Thanks for sharing the paint info too. I hope your 2006 is fantastic.

[Lisa]

I just discovered Suburban Bliss and it's a daily read for me. Congrats to all you accomplished in '05! I look forward to reading everything in 2006. And, I think your brother needs to spend this year growing out "rock and roll hair". That is the only thing that could make his Christmas 2006 pants better!

(I had a horrifying experience with Ralph Lauren paint and Martha paint - I'm a Behr chick all the way now.)

[Molly]

Happy New Year! I read your blog quite a lot, and I think it's great.
I've heard that when people tap on the back during a hug, it means they are signalling for the hug to end (usually subconsciously only). So it would make sense that you do it, as you don't enjoy hugs too much.

[Tamra]

Also, if you really like the Martha Stewart colors, you can bring them to Benj Moore or Sherwin Williams and have them make that color. They can make any color that you want. I do like those little sample paints you can get now and take home with you though:)

[Rayne of Terror]

I third the suggestion for Shermanillians paint. I used to work there and always buy Classic 99 for interior painting, especially on holiday weekends when it's 30% off.

[Sabrina]

Happy New Year, Melissa! Thanks for such a great blog. By the way, I have to put in a plug for Devine paint. It is relatively expensive and sometimes hard to find, but totally worth it. You only have to use one coat, it goes on like thick yogurt (seriously, no drips!), and actually smells good. They have a limited color selection, but they're all really nice. The woman who owns this company quit her lucrative sales job to stay home with her kids, and began experimenting with paint colors; she has a really interesting philosophy.

[Mr. Rose]

I can second the Devine recommendation. We actually had Gretchen come out to our house and do a color consultation with us. Our entire interior is Devine paint, and it is great stuff!

[jusmehere]

Overcoming my phone issues has been on my list since I started keeping a list. Cheers sister!
This year I decided to make them easier and more fun to accomplish. My two favorites include eating more bacon and riding my exercise bike for at least 36 seconds (at least once every 6 months.)

[Sarcomical]

just LOOK how cute you are there. ;) don't worry, we've been off 2 loooong periods in a row and have accomplished nothing. sometimes nothing is good, too.

p.s. you sure know your paint. wanna come paint my house? heh.

[Jenna]

Happy New Year to you and your family!!!

[shirky]

if you learn the trick to ordering food on the phone, please let me know. When I was a child I would beg (beg!) my much younger sister to order the pizza. It was so humiliating.
And last week at work we wanted to order out and I somehow ended up with the menu and everyone walked away, expecting me to order, and I had to go to someone and explain that I am really shy on the phone and could she please call this in for us?

we did get the lunch. Thank goodness.

[amyp]

I definitely agree that MS paint sucks. I used it almost exclusively in our last house and when I tried to use leftover paint to cover a scratch (about a year later), it no longer matched!

When it came time to move, the difference between the color of the paint behind pictures and the paint on the exposed wall surface was huge (two to three shades). The paint was only on the wall for three years, yet it faded more than any other paint that I have ever seen.

While Martha Stewart colors are great, I would never use her paint again.

[TB]

Ooh! Pick me! I play euchre, but my husband doesn't. I want to teach him to play, but none of our friends play either and you can't really play with just two people. Plus I don't have the strength to teach three people how to play.

Happy New Year!

[HD]

My friend, Allison, is a euchre fiend, too and gets together with friends once a month to drink and play. Must be a Michigan thing! Happy New Year, Melissa! Hope that '06 is a great year for you all!

[Heatherg]

My husband is a painter and he uses nothing but Sherwin Williams. But i suppose this sounds like a dentist who says to brush with Crest.

Everyone has different opinions.

We didnt do shit over the holidays. Just rested and relaxed and I am not going to flip out over not doing anything, or wasting precious time. I AM NOT. Nope, not me, I needed the rest. So did the hubby. Nope, not going to think of all the time we wasted. Or the times we were wasted. Nope. na-uh.

[Torie]

Happy New Year. I hope you accomplish as much in 2006 as you seem to have done in 2005.

[Uisce]

Oh I totally hate using the phone. I don't like to answer it, mostly. I guess I'm afraid of what's going to surprise me. Hope 2006 is excellent for you!

[Amy]

We've done lotsa painting and have had nothing but good luck with Behr from Home Depot. They often run rebate specials (last year they did it around MLK Day, also around July 4th) where you can get $5 back per can. The Behr website also has this great interactive feature thingy that allows you to tweak colors and add them to a workbook---you can save all your color combos by room, figure out quantities, select finishes, even preview the colors in all kinds of rooms. And the color matching thing at the store is pretty cool.

[Xiobhan]

It looks like your New Year's was better than our Calamine coated one :-) Thanks for the Blogging Baby shout out by the way! I was wondering where all these nice people were coming from...

BTW- A nice soft sagey/greyish/green? Duron Stone Lion. (Stucco Griege is nice to and Moth WIng by Behr.) I saw the Stone Lion on the wall in a model home and dug around in their basement until I found the paint can.

[bridget]

I have so enjoyed your blog this year. I echo so much what you type. I had to show my mother your friend post to explain a situation with my friendship, and cried again. Thank you for putting out there.

[Heather]

Just wanted to let you know that I stole your resolutions about the phone and the hugging. I thought I was the only one with these issues. But then I read your post (then someone commented on my blog saying that she has the same phone issue). I'm glad to know that I am in such good company. Happy new year.

[Heather]

Just wanted to let you know that I stole your resolutions about the phone and the hugging. I thought I was the only one with these issues. But then I read your post (then someone commented on my blog saying that she has the same phone issue). I'm glad to know that I am in such good company. Happy new year.

[Andrea]

I'm also working on the phone thing and the hug thing! The phone phobia is worst at work-- "Give Difficult Person X a call and tell him Exactly What He Does Not Want to Hear and get him to agree to Something He Does Not Want To Do (all while I eavesdrop from my office across the hall)" kind of assignments just tie me in knots.

[Julie Leonard]

Lissie...you write like a genious! I was crying when I read your "bra" story. SOOOOOO
funny!! You have a huge talent.
Gotta go...I'm off to have a bra fitting.