1. In the spirit of starting the new year off right, this week has been TL Week here at home. 
2. Liam is at his grandparents' house, and since Monday I have done very little that was not pleasing to me and mostly selfish. 
3. I love my child beyond measure, but he is a very noisy boy and I am purely wallowing in the silence.  I have been on such noise overload while he's been home on his break that I have spent most of the time that he's been gone with no extra sound at all.  No TV, no radio, no CDs. 
4. Among the things that I have done are sleep until 9:00 (very late for me these days), lounge around in the fabulous pajamas that were Liam's Christmas gift to me, read, shop for fun stuff for Liam's birthday and his party tomorrow, watch back-to-back episodes of Judging Amy and Law and Order and clear my office of 99 metric tons of old Southern Living, Coastal Living and Better Homes and Gardens magazines. 
5. I did not toss out any of the Paste or Oxford American magazines, as that would be sacrilege.
6. Embracing my inner office geek, I have made new folders and started reorganizing my files.  This was partly because it's what I do in January and partly in order to play with my new electronic label maker that Santa brought.
7. Because I'm a cheapskate I wait until January 1st to buy new calendars so I can get them at 50% off.  I'm very pleased with this year's calendars.  The Waters Edge calendar from the Audubon Society is making its second appearance in our kitchen and for my office I got Atlantic Coast Lighthouses.
8. Last year's office calendar was a freebie that came from NC Aquariums and I hated it.  Beautiful pictures, but tiny squares and the dates were printed so small (and light-colored) as to be nearly invisible to my middle-aged eyes.
9. In keeping with my resolution to lighten up, I have tried to approach the inevitable frustrations of the week in a very Zen manner.  So far that's enabled me to refrain from strangling anyone (even if they needed strangling), as going to jail is not on my "50 Before 50" list.
10. The year's first trip to the library netted 2 books I've been looking for, Dream Boogie:  The Triumph of Sam Cooke and Widow of the South.  I'm about 2 chapters into the first one and haven't started the second one yet. 
11. That's because I had to take time out for fluff,  My Heart May Be Broken, but My Hair Still Looks Great, which I had to get just for the title alone.  It was very entertaining and now I want to find the authors' previous book, Since You're Leaving Anyway, Take Out the Trash. 
12. I also got Senator Barbara Boxer's first novel, Time to Run, which I started last night and am enjoying enough so that it's pulling me away from what I need to do.  It's very hard for me to concentrate on other things when I'm in the middle of a new book anyway, and I particularly love political thrillers. 
13. I hope that the scattered nature of the year's first 13 is not a harbinger of things to come!

Leanne is the keeper of the Thursday Thirteen flame.  Go say hello and check out her links to other 13ers, as well.

Comments

[colleen]

Calendars are very important! So isn't a little fluff once in awhile. Barbara Boxer? A novel? Isn't she a congresswoman? Is it a political drama or thriller?

I'm glad 13 gets us visiting each other at least once a week!

[kenju]

Fun to read, Terrilynn.

I am all into organizing, cleaning files, polishing silver, and the like now. It hits me every January. As soon as my fingers are worn down to nubs, it will be time to start washing windows.ICK!

[emily]

I have got to read the two Dixie Cash books based on title alone.lol

[Betsy]

I am also a cheapskate, and also waited until after January 1st.

Sadly, there are no cool calendars left in the entire state of Oregon...