New Year, New Post

So we have been extremely busy since I last posted. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving in Provo with some of our best friends, finished major projects, took finals, and drove to Houston. We have spent the past two weeks with my family in Houston and are incredibly sad to leave for Utah tomorrow, but we have to get back to life. On our trip we have :

1. Gone out to eat at some of our favorite places (Miller's, BJ's, Gringo's, Taco Cabana, Chinese Buffet, etc.) 
2. Watched as our cats got braver around my parents new Belgian Shepherd puppy (at one point when I was playing chase with the puppy around the kitchen island, Harry came bolting in to my rescue, hissed, smacked the dog in the nose and then started to chase after him... it was hilarious)
3. Did a LOT of shopping
4. Went to Corsicana to see Bryce's brother and sister-in-law, nieces, cousins and aunt and uncle. It was a really good visit and we were able to spend time with those that we rarely see anymore and meet our newest niece. 
5. Chilled around the house with family

Tomorrow we are leaving to go back to Utah and start school again (on Monday...YUCK!). Some upcoming events this semester:

1. Well, before upcoming events, I must say... I kicked grad school's butt! I got all A's (one A-, but that's still an A of sorts). Bryce did really well this semester as well. 
2. January 8-9: Metropolitan Opera National Council Audition Competition
3. January 9: Classical Singer Competition Audition
4. January 12, 14, 16: BYU's Young Artists of Voice Competition 
5. February 10: "Night of Opera" duet recital with my friend Amy. We will sing a few arias each and some duets together. 
6. February 17-20: BYU's Winter Opera. We are doing 4 one-act children's operas, so its not like normal opera scenes. I am in Chicken Little and I play Duckie Doodles.

It will be a busy start to the semester. Since it is a new year and new decade, I figure I should make a few resolutions. I want to post them here so that I will be held accountable for them... they're not just in my head floating around and not getting done. These are my New Year's Resolutions:

1. Get in shape. I don't have class or teach before noon or later except on Fridays, so I plan to go to the gym M-Th mornings and Friday afternoons. I also plan to eat healthier, which is hard when you have no time like I did last semester. 
2. Stick to my cleaning chart. I made a chart a while back with daily, weekly and monthly chores. They have not gotten done.... like ever. But it is a lot easier to do a little everyday than have to spend a whole day (or 2, or 3) doing everything, so I want to be sure to stick to it. 
3. Make all A's in grad school. Although I got a 3.95 instead of a 4.0 (pesky A-), I want to work my butt of some more and go for all A's until I'm done... only 3 more semesters.
4. Budget. We don't really stick to our budget very well, which is bad. Our budget usually consists of "we don't have money to go grocery shopping until payday, so we're living off raman noodles for now" or "oh crap, bills are due". We have set up a budget a few times to see where we stand, but we need to start accounting for our purchases. I love Excel, so I'm going to set up a budget spreadsheet and start keeping track of all of our purchases. Hopefully it will be like keeping a food journal... we will spend less because we're having to take the time to write it all down. I should probably start a food journal too. :)

Hope you all had a great 2009 and are looking forward to an even better 2010! HAPPY NEW YEAR!!