Happy New Year!

New Year's Eve was pretty uneventful at our place, but Phil and I enjoyed the quiet. Rather than go out and paint the town red, we stayed home and threw a modest celebration. Shortly before midnight, we switched to the news and listened to the countdown. Then, we popped open a couple of bottled sodas we bought at Fox & Obel earlier in the evening; (non-alcoholic) Vignette Chardonnay and Rose, which we sipped while sharing a bar of organic peanut-butter banana chocolate. We hadn't ever tried any of these things, but we wanted to start the new year off with new experiences, however small.

After the countdown, the fireworks started to go off at the Navy Pier. It's just a short walk from our apartment, and we were able to see live coverage of the show on television, but we preferred to watch the reflection of the fireworks off the side of the Swissotel across the river.

Madness in the streets below.

I made sure to give the apartment a good scrubbing on New Year's Eve. We wanted to start the new year off right, and much to our surprise, the universe agreed with our plans. When we woke up in an apartment that was spic-and-span, all was right with the world, but then we raised the blinds...

...and it was a beautiful day to boot. Good thing, too, because Phil and I had to take a train up to Roger's Park this afternoon. Yesterday, he and I set up a time to meet with a nice man (and his lovely wife) at a coffee shop in northern Chicago. He's a physicist, I think, and we'd never met before, but he returned recently from Germany with a package for Phil and me. A good friend of mine happened to be in the same city he was visiting, and this friend was kind enough to send some post cards and chocolates back to the States for us. 

Many thanks, Ghanshyam! It was a great way to kick off the New Year. And while we're still on the subject, I came up with a few more resolutions for myself. Phil did too, and again this year, we made a list of joint resolutions:

1.) To come up with (and accomplish) a new goal each month.

2.) To do something we've never done before, AT LEAST once a month.

3.) To follow our budget more strictly.

4.) To save a specified amount of money (which I won't share here). :) 

Good goals, don't you think? It will be even better if we follow through on them, and I fully intend to. I'm definitely ready to move forward and tackle the list with gusto. Good luck to all of you with your resolutions, and enjoy the new year, everybody!