I'd buy everything.

I wish January was as fresh and springy as the new merchandise on the shelves at the Red Dot Boutique (Target, people, Target). It's all about starting anew right? What better than lime-green towels, bright yellow pillowcases and shockingly pink shower curtains?

Instead, it is gray and cold here. I won't let that dim my prospects for 2009, though. I can truss about anything up with a cartload of goodies from my favorite store (Target, people, Target). I can't shop for success, though. That I've got to  earn on my own.

So, here we go 2009. 

1o. I must quit biting my nails. Once and for all. I'm a grown woman, after all.

9. I must listen to less Top 40 and more NPR. 

8. I must lose five pounds, or maybe more, between now and May 1. The post-holiday pooch needs to be adopted out elsewhere.

7. I must do another triathlon. And that means four to five days of training each week, including visits to the cess pool they call a pool at 24-Hour Find-a-mate (I mean, Fitness).

6. I must read more than 35 books this year. Why, oh, why did I bother to get cable last month?

5. I must finish my first novel. Or at least finish something. So I need to write three to four days a week and forget about being a good wife or mother. (Good enough for you, Sister E?) I must update EO and GoG regularly. Who doesn't want to hear me whine and complain for another 12 months, right?

4. Keep the house clean. Stay organized. Be on time. You know, act like an adult.

3. Spend more time with my extended family. Because I'm a glutton for punishment and abuse. And because I love them.

2. Focus on the positive, forget about the negative. (And that would include this. Luckily, hair grows back. Regardless, you're still hot, I love you and you look older, so plus for me.) 

1. Cherish each day. Because you can't buy what I've got in a store.

Even Target.