And a Happy New Year. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't glad to see 2004 go. Hands down it's been one of the hardest, toughest years of my life. So I'm ready for a fresh start. I like to title my years - the past year was The Year of Adventure, truthful, huh? And I think I have a name for this one! The Year of Taking Care of Myself. And that's not meant in any kind of selfish way. It just occurred to me that looking back over this year, I've been the most frustrated when I was sick and unable to do the things I wanted or needed to do. I'm so used to putting everybody and everything else before myself and my own health; the only reason I went to the doctor faithfully during my pregnancies was for the babies' sakes. So now it's time for me to be a little proactive. This year I plan to monitor my health and well-being more closely to set up long-term good habits instead of being in desperate survival mode as it's been the past few years. I want to look ahead to the future and see a happy old lady who still likes to go hiking and dancing and painting and learning new things, instead of an old crotchety lady who can't get around by herself and complains all the time about it. I plan on being around a long time, and darnit, I'd better be able to enjoy it.