My Utopia

Every year, I try to spend some time on figuring out resolutions. So far, this year I haven't spent but a few moments before passing out in bed in the early morning hours thinking of what I want this coming year. I am a night owl and time off at the holidays was perfect for my indulgences in getting some family business organized (doesn't budgeting and your annual financial analysis just really do it for you, too?!?!?!?) and massive channel surfing so 10 minutes of pre-sleep list-making doesn't make for very strong resolutions.

The usual suspects make this year's list, as they have every year:
- Get healthy, lose weight (to get healthy)
- Spend more time with friends and family
- Get our home organized, re-do Julian's room
- Figure out how to win the lottery, or at least how to do better at spending and making money
- Not just think of myself first (although I don't really know how to do that) but to actually do something that will be good for my mind, body and spirit.

I'd love to get whiter teeth, download nine years of mini DV's onto DVD's and figure out how to move my iTunes library to my laptop (if anyone knows how to do either, please please PLEASE HELP), make a family 2008 photo album, and read all 25 books that I've started and are all on the floor by my bed. I also don't want to buy anything that we don't need, use or love and would like Myron to follow that philosophy, too. If we accumulate much more stuff in our house or in our garage I may go postal!

More sex, less yelling at the kids; more time playing, less trying to figure out what's for lunch/dinner; more sun, less rain (oh right, that one's out of my control).

I'd like to know how to make one or two favorite drinks and meals perfectly, understand how to read my investment account statements (are those dashes in front of the number normal???), and stop feeling guilty about the damage I'm doing to my kids by letting them watch so much TV.

I can go on and on, but the little dreams I have that fill my heart with longing is a utopia that will likely remain a dream:

Living in a community development with my close friends as neighbors in a beautiful area overlooking the Sound with good schools nearby. Custom built buildings including communal kid playroom/adult playroom, hobby room, sports courts and pool and outdor kitchen with fun/sparkling lights strung across the courtyard. Earning a living by doing something creative that everyone in the world can't live without. Holiday craft parties and cookie baking sessions, summer plays and concerts - performed by all who live there - and lots of pool parties, friendly contests and competitions, watching each other's kids on date nights out and late night brainstorming sessions on how to be of service to the world (and actually following through on the ideas). In this world, no such thing as limited money, resources or time. No conflicts, only days filled with joy and laughter. There would always be enough room for new friends to join and nothing but love, love, love!

Yep, that's my utopia.

And I've masterfully managed to make it one more day without having to figure out my plan for not eating my MIL's delicious homemade peanut brittle in the pantry (once that's gone there's still holiday cookies and chocolate that beckons) while sizing up international dance champions, catching up on BET's top 25 breakups of all time, getting the gist of the new "beauty is more than skin deep" reality show by watching only 6.5 non-consecutive minutes including the elimination, weighing in on what house to buy on HGTV show, entering the HGTV's Dream Home contest, watching the news (what is the Governor up to, anyway?) and blogging. Yep - it took me 1.5 hours to write this!

Tomorrow ... that's when I'll make that health/fitness/diet plan. For sure!