I know, I know, happiness doesn't necessarily make for compelling reading, but that's what you all are going to get in this entry. I've had a most excellent few days.

Derek's been in Seattle for the last week or so, staying with Bryan and Laura, so I've gotten to see lots of him. Derek's an old friend that I knew back in Iowa, and I've missed having him around. It's been good to see so much of him, and I hope he returns soon. (We're kind of hoping that he'll move here, so.)

Between Christmas and New Year's, things were quiet--I worked, it got cold and snowed, and then it was New Year's Eve and it was time for the usual celebration at Storm and Jen's house.

(All links open up pictures in a popup window, as usual.)

First, snow pictures! I went out and Cricket went with me. She was mightily perturbed by the snow on the grass. (she was also disturbed by the occasional snowflake falling from the sky.) We did get more than a dusting, but by the time I managed to get outside, much of it had melted. Juniper and Lilith declined to go outside, silly creatures.

I took some macro shots--snow on some fountain grasses, more snow on grasses (that one's my favorite), and snow on trees.

I know, I know, very exciting. But then, it was time for the New Year's Eve party!

We hung out, talked, drank coffee, and played games. I had what may have been the best hand of Dalmuti ever. Derek and Bryan both looked very suspicious of the girl with the camera. Greg resolutely ignored the fact that there was a camera pointed his way. (It's an adorable picture of him, too.) Greg and Laura were also being very cute while warming up by the woodburning stove.

Dinner was excellent, as usual--it was German food in honor of Derek's visit, and due to the nature of German food we all kind of laid around groaning for a while afterwards. (Ryan likes to give me evil looks when I point a camera at him. Hmph!) Raven was cutely imperious, as usual. After we recovered, we began playing the aforementioned game of Dalmuti (I think Bryan and Ryan are both merchants in this one) and a few games of Apples to Apples. I need to find some more games that are both amusing and very easy to learn and adapt for large groups fairly well. (Come to think of it, we almost had enough people for a game of Witchhunt. Must remember this for next time.)

Midnight came and there was champagne and kisses and toasts, and then after a little while we bundled back up and went out into the snow. I slept all snuggled up and warm and happy.

New Year's Day started out slowly as we woke up all snuggly. Eventually, we did manage to get out of bed and I went home for a few hours to feed and pet the cats and do house stuff. I got changed, and came back to Renton, because we were going into Seattle to go dancing at Neighbors, which has an 80's night.

We used to go dancing to 80's music quite a bit in Iowa--there was a bar called Maxie's that we pretty much took over one night a week. I have some lovely memories of dancing and hanging out with people there. Whenever Derek comes into town, therefore, it is imperative that we go dancing.

And so Derek, Laura, Bryan, Sandi, and I all got dressed up and went to Neighbors.

I was expressing my inner goth girl. The picture honestly doesn't do justice to exactly how short this skirt is. I got it as a hand-me-down from Sterling, and let's just say that while it *does* cover my butt, it really sort of stops there. I had to learn a couple of new skills, like keeping my legs crossed, while wearing it.

It does wonderful things for my legs, though, as do those boots I'm wearing.

Sandi, as usual, looked marvelous, and Derek had these lovely PVC pants and a nifty shirt on. I even got a group shot! Bryan did go along, even though he doesn't dance--he's a good sport about watching purses and coats.

We went out, found the club (they've redesigned in the year or so since we were there), had a drink, and danced on and off for a couple of hours. We split about 11:15ish, and then went back down to Renton and soaked in the hot tub for a while.

The second was a pretty quiet day--we hung out and played games, for the most part. Rich's birthday dinner was that night, so I decided to get dressed in the clothes I'd worn the night before (minus fishnets and plus opaque tights, which overall made the outfit much less hookerific) in order to show off the skirt to a number of people who hadn't gotten to see it.

The next day was a Kris Day--I ran errands and did chores, and decided to go for a ramble to the trail that goes through the marsh by the Arboretum. It was snowing and cold, just enough to give everything a bit of a dusting. Even though it was really bleeding cold, I have to say that it's quite the experience to be on a boardwalk on the edge of Lake Washington while the wind knifes its way across the lake, driving snow into your face and causing the waves to splash your fee. It was a somewhat wild time.

I took a number of pictures, but this one is my favorite--yes, the plant is actually that color. It was beautiful, especially in closeup.

And now we've caught up to yesterday, where a bunch of us went for sushi and then over to Illusionz for laser tag and air hockey. We had, eventually, eleven people show up. I made the observation that at this point, we're much less a group than a mob. We took over two large booths and ate much yummy sushi.

Illusionz was entertaining. We got our butts kicked by the other team at laser tag, and they were even handicapped by the fact that two of the people on their team were little kids. Heh. They had a couple of guys who play laser tag there all the time, though. I had my butt trounced most thoroughly at air hockey, as well, by nearly everyone. (I managed to play a reasonably close game with Storm, though, which I was somewhat proud of.)

And then we went back to Renton, played a game of Curses (at one point, I was holding my wrists to my chest, talking like a drill sergeant in an Irish accent, jumping as if I had been electrocuted every time someone touched me, and howling like a wolf every time someone rang the bell), and then there were hugs all around and I drove back north to sleep, in preparation for the work week.

I've really been having an amazing time. Thank you, all!

Laura did this, and I thought it was a good idea so I'm copying her.

These are thirteen people who touched my life in 2003, in whatever way. I've been wandering through my LJ archives, remembering various things that I did and didn't write about.

(Laura originally set it at ten, but I couldn't fit everyone into ten places! And I could barely stop at thirteen. This completely fails to be a comprehensive list.)

So here's the list:

1. Laura. Love is indeed a wonderful thing. I can understand, now, why things unfolded as they did; there were certain elements that weren't quite right until now. She was and continues to be an utterly delicious surprise. You know someone for ten years, start dating them, and then uncover such amazing things in them, and yourself, and in the relationship between the two of you.

2. Bryan. Speaking of surprises...yeah. He wasn't someone I ever expected to make such a passionate connection with, and yet here we are. He makes me all melty, in a number of different ways.

3. Beth. My Artgrrl inspiration. She inspires me to try things I wouldn't ordinarily, and take risks with art and materials. Not to mention that I have a couple of lovely collages of hers. :)

4. Chris. Had to be mentioned, despite the fact that we're currently not speaking. Chris and I's relationship has always been by turns difficult and wonderful, and he has touched me deeply in the past year--for both good and ill. Currently, our lives need some time to grow apart, and we'll see where we're at in the spring. I wish him the best of luck in getting over me; I hope it sticks this time.

5. Storm. Storm challenges me to keep up with him, and that's by no means a bad thing.

6. Sterling. She and I have kid energy together--silly and light-hearted and quite a lot of fun. She reminds me that life is most certainly not all serious.

7. Penny. She cuts through all the shit and says things as they are. I am grateful for her presence in my life, even though I haven't seen much of her lately. (Being pregnant/having a baby puts a crimp in many plans.)

8. Muk. She's been a good friend to me, caring and thoughtful. In particular, I am remembering having dinner with her earlier this year at Marlai, and just talking about everything that's in our lives. I rarely do that with people I haven't known for ages and ages.

9. Vy. Who listened to me one night as I told the story of a relationship that was difficult for me to talk about; in large part because I was coming to realize that, yes, I really did have an equal share of the blame for what happened. She listened with an open mind, which would have been more than I could have done, if our positions were swapped.

10. Rhonda. I am so happy I got to be a test body for her massage therapy studies. Having massages on a regular basis taught me a lot I didn't know about how I'm put together and the patterns of tension in my body. I think I learned as much or more than she did from me.

11. Graham. Often more perceptive than I give him credit for, and he's left a number of comments in my journal that were exactly what I needed to hear at the time.

12. Misha. We've known each other for so long that some things don't even have to be said any more. Still, I haven't seen as much of her as I'd like to have this year--perhaps next year?

13. Sunnie. I'm forever grateful that she's come into our orbit. She is sweet beyond all reason and more patient than I could ever be.

A lot of people are doing "summing up 2003" posts at the moment, and I was looking back at the year and wondering how I could summarize how I spent the year.

I learned a lot, laughed a lot, lost a lot of weight. I lifted many heavy things and ran somewhere on the order of 180ish miles. I started but didn't finish a novel, I did a lot of writing for gaming, and I wrote a few poems that I really like. I opened some doors in my soul and closed others. I had a number of relationships change in different ways. I had a lot of sex but not as much as I would have liked (is there any such thing? really?), I worked possibly a little too much, I traveled exactly the right amount.

I drank a hell of a lot of water.

In 2003, I was entirely blessed. May my life continue so.

Resolutions!

Er. Resolutions. I actually can't find where I wrote down my resolutions from last year, though I know I had them. But these are my 2004 resolutions:

1. Continue to get in shape. I have another 20-25 pounds I'd like to lose, and I'd like to actually stabilize at a weight sometime soon. But beyond that, it's now time to start branching out exercise-wise. I'd like to start doing yoga on a regular basis for a few months, and see how that helps my core strength; the same with trying Pilates. But beyond that, I need to continue to do things that challenge me physically. I can't rest on my laurels.


2. Work on acceptance. This means not freaking out about things that are beyond my control. Also, I need to work on my tolerance of uncertainty.


3. Get my act together on the spiritual side of things. I've done a lot of work in this direction, but I have a ways to go before I'm really satisfied with where I am.


4. Work on keeping the little details of life kept up with. This means things like paying bills, getting the car maintained, etc. All of the boring little details that if I don't force myself to work on won't get done.


5. Breathe. Remember to take what solitude I need, and be sure to schedule in unstructured time into my days. I get unhappy when I over schedule myself.

There, okay, I think that'll do it.

By the way, it's post-solstice. I'm very nearly out of the danger zone for the serious winter depression to start.

Another week, and I'll be pretty much free and clear.

One last note: the writing I'm doing for gaming? Starting to look somewhat novel-like.

The campaign's slated to last another year. I'll keep you all posted.

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