The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery

"Thinking back on it, this evening, with my heart and my stomach all like jelly, I have finally concluded, maybe that's what life is about: there's a lot of despair, but also the odd moment of beauty, where time is no longer the same. It's as if those strains of music created a sort of interlude in time, something suspended, an elsewhere that had come to us, an always within never.
Yes, that's it, an always within never.

Don't worry Renee, I won't commit suicide and I won't burn a thing.
Because from now on, for you, I'll be searching for those moments of always within never.
Beauty, in this world."

I need to read more books like this one. They challenge my intellect and make me ponder the wonders of life in an entirely different way. I highly recommend this wonderful book.

pre-christmas craziness

Usually, Christmas is, by far, my favorite time of year. I love the music, smells, food, presents, decorations, pretty much all of it. This year though, I've had a harder time getting into the Christmas spirit. Maybe it has to do with Adam being gone for 2 of the weeks in December, or maybe it has to do with my general feeling of being overwhelmed with my calling. I'm blessed to be in the best presidency (Heavenly Father really knew what he was doing when he sent those women my way), plus I'm blessed with a very supportive, wonderful bishop, but, I still feel overwhelmed and underqualified. I have felt some of the blessings of this calling though, don't get me wrong. I'm definitely becoming better at hearing and following the promptings of the Spirit and it was been wonderful to interact with so many women. I really am trying.

However, I have been so behind in my shopping, baking and sewing for the holidays this year. Today, finally, the Christmas spirit has really hit me. Adam and I wrapped all the presents today and I'm almost finished with the jammies. I've been blasting the Christmas music and just feeling the general excitement of the season.

I do feel so blessed to have the gospel in my life. What a joy it is to celebrate the birth of the Savior. I have really been counting my blessings today.

I'm grateful for:

-a husband who knows what I'm really like and still loves me anyway

-3 wonderful children who have taught me so much

-having my parents live with us (yes, it truly is a blessing!)

-a warm home and snuggly blankets

-food on my table and in my fridge all the time

-adam having a job that supports our family so I can stay home

-the ability to read and write

-my sewing machine

-the internet

-college football--GO BUCKEYES!!

-my dogs, even though they drive adam nuts

-having my sister and her family living 5 minutes away from me (who knew my entire family would eventually migrate to Utah???)

-living so close to so many temples

--most of all, my Savior and Redeemer

Merry Christmas everyone!

on my mind

So, what's been on my mind lately? What would I do if Alex came home with a blue mohawk. Not a fauxhawk, or a half hearted mohawk, but the true thing--1 foot high and bright blue. ok, so this isn't quite one foot high, but it's the best i could find for hardly looking hehe you get the idea tho.I've pondered once in awhile how my children will rebel and test limits when they become teenagers. My mom would have loved to have had me come home with hair like this in high school, but i was much to timid to ever do anything this wild and crazy. I decided to rebel in other ways instead--my poor mother! After much consideration, I decided that I would laugh my head off if one of my children decided to sport this 'do or one similar to this. Then, I would take lots and lots and lots of pictures, so that, someday, when they came to their senses, we could all have a good chuckle.
Ah, they look so sweet and innocent here.

Recession Hits Home

Sadly, the recession has finally hit our house. We got rid of all Erik's binkies and I was sure we were free and clear. Erik, however, had different ideas. We told him that the binkies were gone and that we didn't have the money to buy new binkies. Christmas is coming up, and well, we need to buy toys not cheap plastic sucky things. Oh wait, maybe toys are cheap plastic thingies too.....anyway, Erik had to get creative. Who knew that there were alternative uses for outlet covers??

sewing, binkies, and life in general

Well, I've been on a sewing kick lately. I finished ashlee's princess leia out, alex's jedi outfit, a dress for me, and a skirt for me. I can't unveil the halloween costumes til halloween, but I can show you the dress that I made. I'm not really sure how I like it, Adam says it looks like a cross between a pioneer dress and a Korean Hanbook. I'm not sure that's a compliment, but, here, you can decide for yourself....

Cute Alex had a piano recital last week. I don't think I've ever seen that boy so nervous and there were only about 20 people there. Alex takes lessons from my sister's neighbor, April, and she only have 4 students at the moment, so the recital was nice and small. Alex go SOOOO itchy but he didn't have a rash, hives, or even any redness. Just lots and lots and lots of itching. By the time we got home from the recital, the itchiness was completely gone. Alex did a great job--I was so proud of him. I am still amazed at how much he loves piano.

Last, but not least, in our excitement for the week is the fact that we have taken Erik's binky away. I was dreading this and kept putting it off and putting it off. Alex and Ashlee gave up their binkies at 16 months. Erik just turned 18 months and i still really didn't have any intention of taking it away. Heck, it was my lifesaver during sacrament meeting. I had plenty of excuses: let's wait til he goes to nursery, let's wait til after vacation, how will he sleep without it? how will i survive long car rides, church......Adam, very nicely, pointed out the fact that I was more addicted to Erik's binky than Erik was. I scoffed at him, but, come to find out, Adam was exactly right. This is the second night in a row that he's been binkyless and it was gone so smoothly. He asked for it once last night and I told him to just cuddle his doggie instead. so....

Farewell Binky!

the talbot family update

Ok, so it has been way too long since I've posted. Good thing Erin just had a baby or she'd be lecturing me about my infrequent blogging as of late. Good job Owen--distracting your mommy for me! Life has, of course, been a bit on the crazy side. I have no idea why Heavenly Father thought this was a good idea, but, about 3 weeks ago, I got made Relief Society president. So, for the past 3 weeks, I've been feeling mostly overwhelmed and underqualified for such a big responsibility. Luckily, I have some kick butt counselors and a fantastic secretary. At least the Lord knew where I was lacking! Also, the kids went off track at the end of september, so I've had little ones under foot. October is my favorite time to have them off track tho because the weather is usually gorgeous and we can go do lots of fun things.

Like, go to Sun Valley, ID

Gardner Village

the Hogle Zoo

I live for October!! This is the time of year where I miss Ohio the very very most. I love the changing of the leaves, the fresh apple cider, the smell of fall, the football (GO BUCKEYES!!)

I've been working hard at sewing Halloween costumes and the house is as decorated as I'll let Adam do hehe

and then, there has been my time sucker, otherwise known as Erik. He has started walking, climbing on tables, climbing in drawers, screaming, hitting, pinching, and basically needing constant supervision. oh yeah, and did i mention we are cutting molars?? the boy wears me out!

Yes, folks, this the face we see most often from Erik recently. Good thing he's such a cutie!

August so far

So, I was looking back over my August calendar and realized that I have absolutely NO idea how I have survived the month so far! Here's a Talbot family recap:

1. I taught my first relief society lesson in, oh, 9 years or so
2. Dad fell off a ladder breaking his shoulder and 6 ribs. thank goodness because it could have been so much worse!
3. Ashlee turned 6 and had a friend party--wait, my sweet baby girl is 6?? where did the time go??
4. My sister is 9 months pregnant and due at the end of the month. i'm worried that this pregnancy is going to do her in for good :(
5. Adam was gone for an entire week
6. I got a much needed hair cut and color--yay, i'm back to dark :)
7. oh yeah, the day after ashlee's birthday party, we had a family bbq for her at our house. i don't think my house has quite recovered yet from all these parties.
8. Dad and Ashlee share the same birthdate, so we celebrated with him too....well, as much as he can celebrate at the moment.
9. took over some of dad's gardening duties....whew
10. then there's the usual stuff: dance, piano lessons, cubscouts

what the rest of the month will bring for us:
1. cleaning the church on saturday, yep Amy, i didn't forget lol
2. doing the rest of my visiting teaching
3. Erin having her baby--YAY!!! i can't wait to meet the little guy!
4. taking Alex to his first Temple Dedication
5. getting to see greg shumway--our family friend of 20 years, at heather and cory's house
6. going to quilt group and learning how to Applique
7. maybe cynthia will be successful in teaching me how to make bread....
8. on sept 2 is the first enrichment meeting that i'm actually in charge of--YIKES!!! i should never been given this kind of responsibility--the Lord should know this lol

phew, maybe i shouldn't have listed it all, i'm tired already lol

so, if i look a little crazy, can't remember your name, or fall asleep at the drop of a hat, remember, this is more than my average amount of stress :)

the continuing adventures of suzy homemaker

I know, it's been a long time since I've blogged, so, you'd think that I'd catch you up on Alex's baptism, Dad's accident, the first day of school for the oldest two, or any of the other moments in my life over the last month. but, no, I'm in the mood to blog about my most recent homemaking adventures!

SO, here we go:

I made another purse and I like this one a lot better. The fabric is cute. I just need to figure out how to make a closure that I like and am capable of doing because my sewing abilities are limited. Please excuse the messy counter :)

Next on tap was a Cincinnati Bengals apron I made. Why the Bengals you ask? Well, I went into Hancock Fabrics this week and this fabric just called out to me. My nostalgia for Ohio strikes again! I got the pattern from http://katesgreatkitchen.blogspot.com/ She has such a fun and inspiring website. I took a few liberties and changed the pattern and I was really pleased with the result. It fits WOOHOO!

Does it stop there? oh no! My neighbor Richard gave me a LOT of apricots and I was wondering what in the heck do I do with all of these things! I was trying to eat as many as I could, because, they are soooo yummy, but we still had an overabundance. Mom happened to remember that she has a dehydrator, so we got it out, read how to use it, and away I went!

I also cooked and froze corn and shredded zucchini.

As most of you know, we also have an overabundance of squash. So, I made some zucchini bread today too. I'm hoping to get some more baking in tomorrow, but we'll see. I can only do so much homemaking before I start to go crazy. If you notice that I'm pulling my hair out in a few days, you'll know why!

my susie homemaker adventures

Lately, I've been a bit domestic. For the 4th of July, I made star studded mini pies from http://www.ourbestbites.com/2009/07/star-studded-mini-pies.html. They were delicious and sooo easy. So easy, in fact, that the kiddies helped me make them. (I don't know if I've ever mentioned ourbestbites.com before, but, seriously, everything I've ever made from their website has been delicious! Thank you Amy for showing it to me!)

Here is a pic as they are waiting to be transported to my mother-in-law's house to be devoured by ravenous children!

And, here is a pic of why the children were so ravenous!

My next homemaking project was making a purse. I've never made a purse before and was a little nervous about the whole thing, but I found another great tutorial http://vintagericrac.blogspot.com/2008/01/1-hour-bag-tutorial.html I had to tweak it a little because I didn't have buttons or a magnetic clasp, but I think it turned out to be pretty cute. I got the fabric from Pine Needles at Gardner Village. I also got the cutest model out there to pose for me :)

Alex attended his first scout camp this week and managed to lose, in the first day, his inhaler, his belt (seriously, how do you lose a belt???), and my water bottle carrier.

Good thing Alex is such a cute scout! Here is a pic of him before he lost everything LOL Well, he lost the water carrier on monday, but on wednesday we are going to Lagoon and I knew we needed one. It's hot in Utah in the summer and I don't want to shrivel up and die so I need my water! Ah, yes, as usual, I am digressing. I found yet another fantastic tutorial http://makeitandloveit.blogspot.com/2009/05/water-bottle-sling.html and I made 2 water bottle holders in about 30 minutes tonight.

Here are my favorite models sporting their new water bottle carriers! I might just survive Lagoon tomorrow! I am hopeful that someday I might just yet make it as a domestic diva!

a near perfect morning

Disclaimer: notice I said near-perfect, not perfect. the perfect morning would have me sleeping in until 10 am, then a nice long soak in the tub while listening to my mp3 player and then being able to get ready and eat breakfast uninterupted. This may not happen until the children are fully grown.

This morning the baby started wailing at 6:30 am. I groan, roll over, and hope Adam wakes up to deal with the little guy. Nope, darn the bad luck, so I finally can't take the crying and go get him. Erik is NOT a cuddler in the morning. He will cuddle with you at any other time of the day except for first thing in the morning because he wants his breakfast NOW!! You'd think the baby would be huge for the amount of food he eats. So, I lumber into the kitchen, strap him into a chair, let the dogs out, throw some cheerios on Erik's tray and go lay on the couch for a second. I realize that you are thinking, "this sounds like a crappy morning to me..." It does get better, I promise.

At this point, I remember that Ashlee has to go to school early. Another groan. My Ashlee is NOT a morning person. In fact, I'm dreading when she enters the first grade because I have absolutely no idea how I am going to get her out the door, fed and looking cute all by 8:20 in the morning on a daily basis. Luckily, she comes snuggling up to me--yay, that means I don't have to wake her up. Then, in rolls Alex so I get everyone breakfast, remind them of our busy morning and go rush to get ready myself while they eat. Breakfast ends and we race to get everyone else dressed, teeth brushed, and gather their things for school. sweet, everyone was cooperative, so I can finish getting me ready and even change Erik for the day. I love it when they are cooperative. We read scriptures, say our prayers and out the door we go.

I drop them off to school, run home, read my scriptures, read the visiting teaching message for the month and put Erik down for his morning nap. I look at the clock--holy cow, it's only 9 am. I decide to exercise, cause, for some reason it seemed like the logical thing to do at 9 am. I decide on pilates so that I don't sweat up a storm since I already have my make-up on. Quick clothes change and mom and I are out the door by 9:30 headed to my visiting teaching appointment. Yes, I am lucky enough to have my mother for my companion, plus we visit teach the 3 sweetest ladies!!

I have to admit that it is nice to have one morning go smoothly because they are few and far between. Most days, i'm not even dressed by 9 am as my neighbor Richard can attest to. He's seen me in my pj's more than anyone rightfully should! Therefore, I felt very accomplished this morning. Here's to tomorrow!

my love/hate relationship with Utah

Usually in the autumn, I start to feel a little heartsick for Ohio. Utah just doesn't have the vibrancy of fall colours that I grew up with and the trees change so quickly here. Lately though, I've been feeling those pangs of heartsickness again. Maybe it's because I haven't been back in almost 3 years and I'm overdue for a visit. I'm not really sure what it is. I honestly never thought that I would end up living in Utah. In college, I even tried to avoid dating Utahns and Idahoans because I always wanted to move back to Ohio and all those Utahns I met were deadset against ever leaving their beloved state. Then Adam swept me off my feet, married me, we played rock/paper/scissors to decide where to live, Adam won, and so we made Utah our home. Part of me loves it here. The mountains are amazing! I like the contrasts in southern Utah. I really like how the sky is blue all winter--in Ohio the winter is mostly overcast and gloomy. I love how both my family and Adam's family all live so close by. Sometimes I want to scream, "Where is all the green???? What on earth am I doing living in a desert?" Then I look around at all of the things that I love: my family, my friends, the mountains, my green backyard and, I think to myself, "I can be happy anywhere because I have what is most important: my family."

My Front Yard

Let me preface by saying that my dad is an amazing gardener. My dad really should have been a professional landscaper instead of working at American Standard. Growing up, we always had amazing yards, vast gardens of fruits and veggies, and paths. When my parents moved into our basement five years ago, our yard was terrible. The people who lived here before us really wanted a nice yard (there were signs of this) but just had my gardening skills (not a good thing!). So, Dad really had his work cut out for him.


Last summer, Dad told Adam and I that he was ripping out all the grass in our front yard since it was all crabgrass anyway and putting in gardens. I have to admit that Adam and I had our doubts about this one, but, everything I've ever seen my dad do has turned out beautifully, so Adam and I agreed to his crazy plan. We now have no grass in the front yard. Last summer, Alex and Dad started by putting in a concrete walkway in a sunburst pattern. I'm amazed that Dad let Alex help w/ the concrete!! Anyway, I'll just post some pics because my description cannot encompass how incredible my front yard is looking.

When you walk out my front door now, this is the what you will see. Since it is still spring, the seeds haven't started growing in the boxes yet, but soon we will have vegetables. Sunflowers are growing in front of this part of the fence and to the left is lavender and to the right are rosebushes. Everything will smell soooo good!

Here is a better view of the path and the planter boxes. Also, Mom and Dad are hard at work planting seeds. We'll have 12 different kinds of squash, 3 types of peppers, 2 types of carrots, turnips, garlic and a ton of tomato plants. Along this part of the fence is a grape vine, 6 different clematis and a rose bush. I'll post updates as the summer goes on. I thought it turned out really incredible tho--go Dad!

PS. Erin, are you proud of me? 3 blogs in one month lol

Ashlee's 4th of July dress

For whatever reason, I like to make Ashlee a new 4th of July dress every year. I just finished it last week and thought i'd post a few pics of her twirling around in it. I will really be sad on the day that she doesn't want me to make her dresses anymore. She absolutely loved this dress because 1. it has blue in it 2. it is perfect for twirling!

Erik's love of dirt

I know, it's been a really long time since I blogged, so, you think i'd catch you up on life in the Talbot family. Heck no, I'm going to describe Erik's new love: *drumroll* DIRT aka potting soil! you've got it! Dirt! I have a large potted plant in the front room that Erik is very attracted to. Every time I have set him down today, he immediately crawls over to the plant, and stuffs the dirt in his mouth as fast as he can. It's SOOOOO gross! I run over, grab him, and then he starts to scream and cry and scream and cry and scream and cry until he has made it back to the plant. is this what having a 1 year old is like????

Life as we know it

This has already been a crazy week and it is only Wednesday!! So, I thought I would recap a bit. First of all, Erik is obsessed with two things this week: twisting his tongue and army crawling as fast as he can to get into everything! Here is a picture of him doing a combination of his favorite things.

Monday was a crazy day. Alex woke up with a black eye. He seriously has no idea how he got it either. I'm not sure how you get this bad of a black eye without realizing it, but, he's 7 and in a world of his own. Here's a pic with him with a black eye and practicing the piano. He tells me that he is an artist because he plays the piano! That's my boy!

We are going to disneyland at the very end of march and we decided that we should get the kids Nintendo DS's (yes, we bought them each one so we wouldn't have to listen to fighting) so that they would be occupied as we drove. For those of you who read my blog, please please please do not tell my children that we are going in March. We have them believing we are going in October so they aren't constantly bugging us about it. Don't spill the beans!! Anyway, for FHE this week, we decided to give them to the kids so that they could practice before our trip. We didn't want to be 5 miles down the road and hear "Mom, help me, I can't work my DS!" The kids were SO excited. Ashlee told me, "Mom, how did you know this is what I always wanted??" and Alex wrote us a thank you note at school today. It is nice to feel that your gifts are appreciated :) I've been playing Super Mario on Ash's and I have to say that I'm also loving our DS's!!

Erik got a haircut.

Last, but not least, my poor dog Sadie had some facial nerve issues. We took her to the vet today and he told us that she probably wouldn't ever be the same, but, on a bright note, we still have her in our lives. My dad came with me to the vet because I was too scared to go alone. I was fearing the worst, so I was relieved that she is still able to function and will be ok. Her face will always look weird now, but I'm ok with that.

She has been in our lives for 7 years now and she is a fantastic dog. Her only faults are that she barks at everyone and she does not like tall people. It's probably because she lives in a family of shorties!! This pic was taken the day before her face had issues.

I forgot to mention that Adam got pneumonia and I sent him to the doctor on monday. luckily, we caught it early, but he's on 5 meds atm to clear everything up.

There is the Talbot week in review! I can't wait to see what the rest of the week has in store for us!

Sprouts

Ashlee and Alex love bean sprouts. I buy them almost everytime I go to Reams. I was reading someone else's blog about how easy it is to grow bean sprouts and I thought to myself, "Self, it would be so fun to grow bean sprouts. The kids would love it and it would be a great opportunity to teach them a little about growing stuff." Then, Mary Jane Butters posted this article in the SLTrib and I it reinspired me to grow some sprouts. I ordered them online at http://www.sproutpeople.com/ I couldn't believe the choices! I decided that my first sprouts would be

their San Fransisco blend. You soak the seeds for 8-12 hours. Then you rinse and drain every 8 hours for about 5 days on this particular blend. The kids loved shaking the jar and watching the daily progression of our sprouts.

After 5 days our sprouts were ready to eat. They were

delicious! Sweet and crunchy with a bit of bitterness at the end. I couldn't believe the difference in taste compared to the oh-so-bland sprouts I had been buying at the store.

We will definitely be doing more sprouts! Yummy!

ME MIA

Well, my computer got a virus and Adam had to completely reformat it this week. I was slow to take all my info off the pc and i've been even slower putting it all back on. I haven't meant to be negligent in blogging, and will do a better blog later this week! (sorry Erin!) I also started playing Wow again this week--yeah, yeah, i know, i swore i'd never resume that addicting game again, but i've really been having a lot of fun playing with Adam. It's something we like to do together. I've also decided to only refashion clothing until March '09 which means that I will not buy any new clothing, but, instead repurpose what I already have. I got the idea from nikkishell.typepad.com/wardroberefashion --it's a fun website where people post what they refashioned. I'm not committed enough to make the pledge yet, but someday I will! Also, the kids go back to school on wednesday, so maybe i'll finally get caught up on all my housecleaning!

The slippers

I decided to try sewing something new and, when I bought a pattern for my Christmas pajamas, on it was a pattern for slippers. I am a lover of slippers! So, here is the progression of the slippers. First, I cut them out and I used some fun flannel that my mom had given me a long time ago.





Here they are after I kept sewing them incorrectly and had to rip out my stitches twice. Now they are ready for the final sewing.




Here are the final slippers! Woot! There are definitely a few things I would change the next time I make them, but, I'm proud of myself for trying something new.

Ashlee and the Snuggie

On Sunday, Ashlee saw a commercial for a snuggie. What is a snuggie you might be asking? Well, a Snuggie is a blanket with sleeves. "The Snuggie™ keeps you totally warm and gives you the freedom to use your hands. Work the remote, use your laptop or do some reading in total warmth and comfort!" (www.getsnuggie.com)
Ashlee became obsessed with owning one of these blankets with sleeves. I have to admit, I think snuggies are pretty silly--plus, we have a TON of blankets around the house. She has 4 on her bed alone. I told her that she did not need a snuggie and to go curl up with a blanket instead. My daughter is a bit on the persistent side and kept bringing it up and bringing it up. So, I decided that we would make her one instead--she could even help me sew it up. She thought that this was a genius idea (chalk one up for the momma!) and downstairs we trekked to pick out some fabric. Of course, she picked blue flannel (yes, yes i realize that snuggies are fleece, but Ashlee doesn't so no one tell her, ok??). Luckily, I had some blue flannel because Ashlee knew that snuggies came in blue and blue is her favorite color. Phew! It took me two days to make a snuggie, mostly because I don't have a pattern for anything like that so I winged it with a nightgown pattern I had and some very helpful suggestions from my mother. Yay for Mom! I even added a pocket for storing all her favorite items.
I finished it up yesterday and proudly showed it to my daughter today who proceeded to tell me that her snuggie needed to be sewn up the back kind of like a dress.....Sigh.....so i drug back out the sewing machine and tried to fit it to her specifications. Nothing like sewing for a persistent 5 year old LOL I finished it pretty quickly for me, because last night she told me that if she had a snuggie so could hug me before bedtime, but, since she didn't, she couldn't hug me because her arms were just too cold. Little stinker!
So, here is Ashlee and I's version of a snuggie! It looks very much like a hospital gown, but she loves it and that's the important thing. She was even warm enough tonight to give me a hug, silly girl!

Happy New Year

I hope that everyone had a wonderful Christ-filled Christmas and a fantastic New Year! During this time of year, I can't help but reflect on all of my blessings. Sometimes, I am amazed at how much Heavenly Father has blessed me with.

1. A wonderful family--everyone is happy and healthy









2. the gospel in my life--the gospel fills my life with hope, my days with patience, and my soul with peace.
3. my parents live with us in a mother-in-law apartment downstairs--some people may not see this as a blessing, but my parents have kept me sane, especially with Adam traveling as much as he has been lately.
4. A husband who loves and cares about me and who is an especially caring father to our children. We have so much in common--we even share similar nerdiness factors--yes, i know, it's scary! I appreciate that my husband provides for our family, so that I can stay home with our children.





5. A warm home and plenty of food to eat. As we all know, I like to eat!
6. a sewing machine--i know, it's kind of a weird thing to be grateful for. Sewing is a great stress reliever for me and I find that I like to have something to show for my hobbies. My sewing isn't great, but I'm finally to the point that some of what I sew can even be worn in public; for example, the Christmas pajamas that caused me so much stress this year! 7. I am blessed to have my sister and her family live only 5 minutes from my house. What a joy it has been to spend so much time with her and her family! Our kids play well together and I can go and bug her whenever I feel like it. Good thing our hubbies get along!!
8. I am also grateful for time; time to enjoy and love my family, play games with the kids, sew, cook, read, and do the other things that I enjoy.

I am grateful for this time of year to really reflect on life, on who i am and who i want to be. I have been giving a lot of thought lately to where I want to go with this new year and, hopefully, i will be able to accomplish the majority of my goals. Here's to 2009 and all the possibilities that come with a new year!