Ten Things I Want in 2006 (in no particular order)

1. A finished house. Heat, floors, cabinets, lights and speakers - everything. FINISHED. (maybe some landscaping, too, but that may be pushing my luck).

2. A successful internship and a Master's degree in English teaching. I want to march in commencement for my children to see.

3. A spectacular 10th wedding anniversary. I haven't decided if this means a huge party with everyone we know or a week in Bermuda with my beloved, but it should be spectacular, whichever way it goes.

4. Time with my children. My youngest has been begging me for "Mommy-Beanie time" and it rips my heart out whenever she asks. My oldest is growing up faster than I imagined she could and I fear we're already growing apart. I want to take them bowling, I want to cook with them (I have dreams of compiling special cookbooks with them), I want to sing in the car with them.

5. Time with the people I love. WeedWoman closed on her new house in East Nowhere on Thursday and, though I'm SO happy for her (and more than a little jealous), I know it means we'll see even less of each other than we do now. I've not seen Kizz in too long ("hello, Amtrak?"). The Lovely Ladies of Landscaping have been sorely lacking in my life. I miss my mom.

6. I want to read. EVERYTHING. I'm going to kind of cheat with this and buy myself some audio books to listen to on my stupid commute every day, but that's not the same as tucking into the printed page. I miss the places my mind goes when I'm lost in a good book.

7. I want to catch up on movies. There are SO many that I've been dying to see that we haven't gotten to yet - Ray, A History of Violence, Brokeback Mountain. A good movie is almost as good as a good book.

8. More EXERCISE! I'm sick of being hobbled by a bad back, and I just KNOW it's because I've let my gym-time slip. More step, more yoga, maybe even some physical therapy and weight training. I've noticed my pants getting tighter, too, and I'm not okay with that. I'm past my "mid-thirties" and I want to go back to feeling like I did in my mid-twenties.

9. A teaching job in a school that has EXACTLY the same schedule my girls do. Hell, I'm gunning for a job in the school down the street where, if I need to be at work at 7:20, I can leave at 7:15 and still have three minutes to spare!

10. A routine. Stability, predictability, order. Some external, some internal. More grounded, more secure, less anxious and eager to please others. More mindful. more generous, more thoughtful and considered. In short, I want to be a better Me.