Desk Pig Says...

Before the humans leave for a few days, there are a few things you should know.

1. My name is still Rufus, but the tall girl named her piggie "Rudolph" (He's the one with three colors.), and the small girl named hers "Fireball."
2. I think I came out of that with the best name!
3. The big human (the mother) has gotten very good at giving us our antibiotics.
4. Yep, the day after our two-week guarantee ended we came down with sniffly noses.
5. Fireball never got sick, but we felt that fair was fair.....besides, the mother kept muttering things like, "Safe, not sorry."
6. Homemade jam is a great way to hide antibiotics from us. We quite enjoy jam.
7. I am feeling much better now. I am glad the mother is related to someone called a "veterinarian."
8. I am training the mother to let me sit on her desk while she works. She is a fast learner, and today made me a hidey hole on the desk.
9. She keeps smiling and telling me how 'cute' I am.
10. I am not cute, I'm handsome and dignified.

All right, I think Rufus has hijacked the blog for long enough. Back to his cage! I have some things I want to share as well.

• The girls and I are indeed heading to my parents' farm for the New Year weekend. My husband is staying home to enjoy some quiet time.
• Normally we go to St. Louis to spend the holiday partying with our college friends. Back in the day, I was actually the one who started the tradition, and we hosted until shortly after we moved into our current home.
• This year, I'm just not in the mood for it. I love my friends, but I can do without the noise, the drinking, the overnight stay and the drive. Plus, the allergy diet would make the whole thing a pain.
• So we're going to go visit the sheep and the llamas....and my parents, of course. We'll be attending a party with some family friends I haven't seen in a while, but we probably will leave early so that we can get the girls to bed at a decent time. I'm looking forward to it all immensely!

Of course, that means that this morning I'm going through my normal crazy craft packing....silly me. I'm going to take:

• Town & Country, so that I can finish it!
• Fiesta Feet and a basic pair of socks.
• Daybreak....because there isn't any excuse to keep avoiding it.
• Some homespun and beads to start a new shawl.
• And perhaps my January socks for the Serious Sock project....if I can figure out which pair I want to do in January.
• The felt food kits because my Mom has a bazillion spools of thread and I do want to match colors.
• Some fabric for Mom to help me make a small knitting bag. (Ahem....I might beg and plead for her to make it.......)

I thought about taking some spinning and my quilt pieces, but that would just be silly.....

There is one extra project that I will be taking, but it is a bit of a secret for now. I will share it with you in the first post of the New Year!

Confession time, I LOVE New Year resolutions...even if I rarely make them because I also think they are silly. We'll discuss that paradox later. Anyway, I thought I would share my goals for the upcoming year with you as this is likely to be my last post of 2010.

In 2011 I will:

• Be back in the gym 5 days/week.*
• Stick to the allergy diet as best as possible.*
• Work towards my knitting goals....those mentioned in the last post.
• Try new things.....have more fun....spend more time with friends....basically, learn to expand my life to live it to the fullest now that old problems have been resolved.
• Simplify, simplify, simplify.
• There are a couple more, but they aren't for public consumption. Nothing outrageous, though.

*Yes, I realize these are hardly resolutions as the first I've already proven I can do long-term and the consequences of breaking the second are ugly. Oh well!

Have a Very Happy New Year!