You've come a long way, baby! Here's to a fantabulous 2007!!!!! :)

You have come so far this year and so many of us are so damn proud of you, Laurie!. Your list is inspiring - the accomplishments of 2006 will only be surpassed by those of 2007.

Thank you for sharing your life and your thoughts. You make us smile, laugh, cry and feel very close to you. You make us think about our lives and feel happier for what we have.

May all the powers smile on you this year and keep you walking along the path. And may Roy, Bob, Soba and Frankie all have a healthy year and give you many good photo ops to share with us :)

You are fantastic. Thank you so much for sharing your hilarity and inner workings with the rest of us. And have a great next year!!

I am intrigued by the item marked "private." And I'm glad that one of us is making a list because I don't. I've just never really bought into the whole resolution thing. But good luck to you.

happy new year from me, too. And don't forget to keep bloggin' for us;) You definitely added a lot to my vocabulary.

Thank you so much for sharing with us...I actually think of you as a friend, and I hope that doesn't make you think of me as a weirdo cyberstalker. :) I promise I'm nice!

Happy New Year to you, and your kitty family, and your human family!

Great list! You might want to check out David Bach regarding paying off debt and saving money. website www.finishrich.com and check out his books from the library. My favorites are "Smart Women Finish Rich" and "The Automatic Millionare". They truly are easy and interesting reads and will so easily help you reach your finanical goals.

Here's hoping we all have a wonderful 2007!

"I'm basically happy, pleased with the way things are going and excited about where it all may go." Congratulations on accomplishing the big 2006 goal! The resolutions you set out for 2007 sound very managable, and this Pig is wishing you all the best in the new year.

Laurie,
thanks for this post. I was beginning to give up on taking stock of my past year and making any plans for this coming one. You help me see that as crazy and weird and heroic it has been for me to make it through this year, it hasn't been the end of the journey...yet and a little optimism goes a long way.

Keep your chin up, girl and I hope you accomplish those (private) goals at least twice!!

Laurie, I just found your blog a couple of weeks ago and absolutely love it. I am now in July 2005. BTW, Bob is a GOD!! I love kitty eye candy!
Sounds like things are on the upswing. Happy New Year !!

I'm a Pig too, an older one. I will be 30 next year, in geek years, which is how I will count from now on. (30=48. Get some nice unmarried male geek to explain it to you.)

Me, I am trying to apply the AA serenity prayer across the board. No, I don't drink, but (trust me) it is entirely applicable to my life.

Get a good night's sleep. HAH. I scoff at you .

DOUBLE HAH.

Okay, maybe with an ambien and shot of Bombay...

Have a safe and wonderful week's end.

You are so thoughtful; I've not done lists, but after reading your post, I will do so this week-end...sort of 'move into my life' lists. Not that I bob along (nothing personal Bob) brainlessly, but I do shy away from setting things out in front of me. However, since I plan on existing this year and with your work as resource, I will set out some mileposts and measures. It will be just the thing to knit in the loose ends... :)

I like the idea about the house for living, the house of choices. Aren't choices fantastic?

Thank you for 2006.

Laurie -- People born in the year of the Pig have many wonderful qualities, such as kindness, generosity, and general all-around niceness. They care deeply about the well-being of others, and go to great lengths to make them happy. Pigs are considered to be the best kind of friend to have! So -- respect the Pig!

You are going to kick this big ole list's ass! And you are inspiring me to do the same! Go you! Yeahyeah!

Incidentally, I have voted you to be my Person of the Year. Check it out! http://www.eveningfalls.net/?p=92

Thanks for the info on the photo project. I've tidied up my website for 07, and am looking forward to documenting my four year old's journey from preschool to school school, and maybe my life, too. Thanks for the inspiration- Project 365 is one resolution I look forward to keeping!

Laurie,

I rarely post (Have I ever? Maybe about LA and weather...) but I wanted to tell you that reading your posts this past year and a little have meant a lot to me. My marriage has had a rough time here in the last year. I'm 35, from New Orleans and Middle Tennessee (among other places) and I live here in SoCal (Ventura County nowadays) and reading your words has kept me grounded, made me laugh, made me cry and most of all made me take time to appreciate what I have, quit pining for what I don't have (or at least cut down on it a bit), do what I need to do to make things better, and to love me at least a little bit more. Thank you.

Laurie - I've read you from pretty near the beginning, and I've watched you go through it all. Thank you for sharing your life with us, and I'm so happy you are 'where you are' now. MWAH!

Happy New Year Laurie!

I hope you enjoy your weekend, and bring the New Year in right :)

Take care!

PS....GREAT list!!

You go girl... Here's to 07 being .. better. I'm not ready to type best ever.. I'm just hoping for better.

also cyberstalking for a long time. Love. You.

Rock n Roll in aught 7 !!!!

(((hugs)))
dana

Forget stairs... you need another bedroom for 1) yarn and 2) MANY and HUGE kitty condo scuplutres!! Happy New Year CAP & Kitties, love ya!!

Laurie,
I take things you write to heart. I love your blog, and relate to the things you say. I will make one resolution this year, to write down things to "buy later", INSTEAD OF buying them! I think that idea is really great.
Thank you for being an inspiration to me.
Happy New Year from East Tennessee!
Cathy

Laurie, You have made my life lighter and brighter in 2006. You have made me laugh and cry. You have made me reconsider my choices. You have inspired me.
Thank you.

Love the "buy later" list. Am going to use this one, it'll help my unnecessary spending for sure.

Happy 2007 with loads of great choices and scary good changes!

I was hoping you could have made it to my side of the country for New Years. Oh well there's always the Chinese New Years. I would have called but my brother will not give me your phone number. He can be such a pain but we love him. Have a wonderful new year.

Hi Laurie,

Can I tell you how much my husband is going to love you. I think I may borrow the "Later" list and go with your goal that "Shoes are not an essentials"
I read you every day and I think you are great. You have a great spirit about you and have a nack for making me laugh.
I wish you all the happiness in the new year and I look forward to many years to come.

great list! i wasn't going to make one out this year, but maybe i should.

Great list. I think I have to start pondering mine now. I think I should add quit procrastinating to mine.

Happy New Year!

Oh, and it helps to keep appointments if your dentist and eye doctor are kind of cute. Not hot though. You aren't exactly at your most attractive while spitting and wiping drool off the droopy frozen mouth.

CAP - Have you thought about taking a 10 minute walk outside instead of on the tread-mill? I decided to take a swing around my crazy suburban neighborhood about 3 years ago, and I liked it a WHOLE LOT more than the treadmill. I've already dropped 50 lbs (without dieting). I'm a hermit-at-heart, but the feeling that I was out in the world (even though my ipod said 'back off') was nice. It made the world seem like a more comfortable place.

Ya know we're all pullin' for ya.

Laurie - you're amazing..but you already know that! A heartfelt thank you and a toast to your happiness.

I only have one item on my list: kidnap Roy.

Well no, two. My husband's allergic to cats, so I'd have to shellack Roy as well. Or, like, put Ben in the shed.

You're moving on, growing, which is so natural and good, healthy. I just discovered you last month and have learned a lot - about knitting (which is how I found you, you were linked to a knitting site I was looking at), about living out loud, about strength when one feels as weak as pond water. I've read dozens, if not hundreds, of your postings and enjoyed them and shared them with lots of folks. Now, I'm sensing that you're moving on, becoming independent. You don't need to share it all with us out here in "the Internets" anymore. I'm so happy for you, Laurie! You deserve all good things! You seem like the kind of girl I'd like to go shopping with, have a beer with, hang out and watch old movies with; you seem like a real "friend" kind of person. Your real friends are very lucky to have you. I hope you'll keep up with the postings, 'cause your writing is so addictive. I congratulate you for working through a journey into the unknown with grace and humor. Best wishes for the new year!

Wise is what you are.

Although, I'd move the brake check and the getting a good nights sleep to the top of the list...but that's just me.

Happy New Year, Laurie. And don't forget that you have managed to achieve squillions of happy blog readers (well, a few hundred anyway) That's a biiiiiiiiig achievement. We really appreciate you putting stuff into words so we don't have to!

Oh, Laurie, what a great list. I've been following along for a year now and you inspire me so much on my own personal journey. Thanks, please keep going.

Hi Laurie, Here's one idea of something you could do with your photos... except for Las Angeles, of course. http://parisdailyphoto.blogspot.com/

Great list. If you are going to take a multivitamin its very important to buy a good one that your cells and body actually get something from. I recommend USANA. Can give you info if you want. Been on them a year and feel sssooooooo much better. My whole family has had results.

You totally inspire me :)

I am so happy for you!!!!!! you may not realize what an inspiration you are to many!
tO A better NEW yEAR
Lesley in Fl.

One of MY goals is to find a really good girl.
a " for real " lady.
wish me luck please

yard sale????? Will there be yarn????? Maybe you should move 5 minutes closer to the bus stop. Kill two resolutions with one action. Maybe.

Also Laurie, thanks for posting that link for the free credit reports. It's great!

Such a well-thought list, I may have to steal some (or maybe half) those goals for myself! Especially the financial ones. Keep up the good work in 2007.

I am impressed by the honesty of your list of New Year's resolutions -- being a Capricorn, though, I would bump the brake job and new tires up the list for two reasons: safety first (OK, I am selfish, I want you alive and writing) and also they are DO-able resolutions you can complete early on and feel good about, which will inspire you to stick to the others. You can't lose ten pounds tomorrow but you damn well can buy new tires and say you did it.

Chinese Pig is a good sign and is supposed to be my most compatible sign for companions (interestingly, according to the Chinese Zodiac, I probably should not even be in the same ROOM with my husband).

Anyway. Pigs tend to be honest, generous, earnest, loyal, noble and hardworking. They have a very, very hard time imagining that other people could be any different, so they tend to overlook huge, glaring, critical personality flaws in other people, while being quick to obsess over meaningless "imperfections" in themselves. Pigs are good with manual skills, are artistic, and they value gifts from the heart far above gifts from the wallet. Pigs like the simple comforts in life -- good food, comfortable chairs, and good company in quiet settings. Pigs love to nurture others, and give love freely.

Happy New Year...

Dez

I'm a rat (2008) and I married a pig. So you pigs can't be all that bad.

With regards to the treadmill thing...because that was my almost-mid-year resolution, when I moved into a new apartment building with a gym. I was a size 12 (granted, at six feet tall) and fed up with being asked when "the baby" was due. So, me and my lost waistline hit the treadmill and tried jogging. I couldn't make it two minutes. But I ran those two minutes every day until it was five, and then it turned into fifteen. I jog thirty minutes five times a week and I'm rocking the skinny jeans, two sizes smaller, and it's been five months and counting since anybody made any preggers comments. That little bit, that seems like nothing? It really does make a difference. Go for it. (Oh yeah, and put the scale away, you'll gain weight but your clothes will get looser. Listen to your clothes, not the scale, it LIES. You are hot and the scale lies to you.)

I could have sworn somewhere in the list would be to get a new gardener since the current one destroys everything in the yard. :)

That was awesome. Thanks for taking us along for the ride, it helps us with our own rides...

Really re-focus on saving money and spending less. From January 1- March 31, try to eliminate ALL unneccessary spending. Instead, when the urge to buy strikes, write the item down on a "buy later" list. Also, shoes do NOT count as essentials.

I found, atleast with this resolution, that it's easier to tackle spending subcategories. For me, it involved joining and commiting to not buying clothes for two months. I acutally managed to go four months with only one shirt purchased. Meanwhile, my fiber habit still goes unchecked, but that's the next project! Now if only I could spend less money on booze....

Wow! You are an inspiration! Don't beat yourself up to reach all these goals. Just go with getting a good night's sleep and then everything looks better. Happy new house when you find it. You deserve it.! Ever thought of publishing your blog in book form? Divorce and How to Rise Above It. I bet you'd make a fortune.

Excuse me, I meant to write "joining Wardrobe Refashion (wardroberefashion.blogspot.com) and not commiting to not buying clothes..."

Your everyday list is perfect and will enhance your life in ways you cannot imagine. Those things might sound simple, but they are exactly the things that changed me for the better.

The only thing I would nix is the changing of a credit card. Get rid of it all together. You can make up your own reward system using a debit card, and leaving the credit card company out of the loop, keeping the money they make off of you to have an even bigger reward...Being debt free!

Hi Laurie:

I wish you a wonderful New Year! Your blog is witty and moving altogether. Certain items on your Wish/To Do List for 2007 will also figure on my personal list for the upcoming New Year. Thanks for being spontaneous and for sharing some of your thoughts and feelings. Have a great 2007 with Bob, Subakowa and all of your other co-sharing partners!

Lise (Giulietta)

Patty, the rewards credit card is a great idea, if you can get a good rate, transfer your balances to it, pay it all off and then always pay in full every month. We do this and thoroughly enjoy our rewards. Credit-card companies have a word for people like us: deadbeats.

(Laurie, 3 guesses, first two don't count: what kind of rewards card do we have?)

Thank you for sharing your list, Laurie. So much inspiration there. Here's to 2007 being a wonderful year for all of us!

Okay, so I had to go look up my Chinese horoscope sign. Heh. I'm a Ram! Makes sense since I'm also an Aries. My ex is a Rooster, which also explains a great deal. LOL.

Never looked into the Chinese zodiac before. Interesting.

From someone old enough to be your mama, may I say that you're on the right track. You've figured out what alot of people never do; that you can choose to be happy in spite of negative circumstances.

You've learned alot and come a long way. And you've blessed many of us by 'living out loud', as you call it. Here's wishing you a blessed and Happy New Year and may all your wishes come true.

Can you move to a house that's within walking distance of a bus stop? Get your exercise and get rid of the road rage in one step.

Love the list. You made me realize I need one. It's not so much about resolutions as a desire to live better. I have a new perspective. About the 5 min. early....leave 15 min early...and bring cup of coffee or tea and some knitting. It's amazing how much you finish in just a few min. each day. I used to do that when parking was in demand at college. The time to BREATHE certainly makes for a better day. KM

Hurray for you! The unknown is always full of possibility. Here's a terrific 2007!

I don't usually do resolutions, but you've had me thinking about a list of goals the past few days. I may even write it down.

Did you ever get that package I had sent to you? It's in a bottle... nope, not a sex-god of a genie willing to provide your every wish. Sorry, that's a tall order. Besides I'd probably be selfish enough to keep him for myself.

all the best in the New Year, dear heart! Your writing and honest sharing is so inspiring and warms me when I most need it. I have one suggestion regarding the drink more water... I put a bag of good herb tea (no caffeine) in my big bottle in the morning, and the flavor encourages me to drink more water.

Happy New Year!
Keep the cat pictures coming.
You rock.

You always inspire me! I haven't nailed down my resolutions yet, but I do have another 24 hours or so to contimplate the best way to spend the next 365. Fortunately reading your blog is already on my "everyday" list, so that one's easy!

You are brave to post your list out there for all of blog-land to see (ok, except for those "private" entries). Truly inspiring!

I've been reading your blog for a few months now, and I've posted two or three comments. Today, a (small) white russian in hand and tears running down my cheeks, I am compelled to comment once again. You are a wonderful, caring, funny, brave and amazing person. I am so glad that I have "met" you (and the cats!) and been a part of your life/lives these past few months, because I know that I am a calmer/happier/more grateful person for having read your posts. I flatter myself to think that we have a few things in common; I think we also happen to be have some similar experiences in our lives. Being able to share in your lists (mmm... lists...) for this year and the next has been an especially rewarding experience for me. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

I just want to reinforce the last item under the "practical things" section. I love seeing you at SnB, and trust me, nobody else notices the things you think are really embarrassing.

Come to SnB more often indeed! I love seeing you there, and trust me, nobody else notices the things you think are really embarrassing.

Yay for resolutions! You rock, Aunt P.

I particularly loved "Bob needs the exercise". Ha.

Happy 07 to you and your merry band of four adorable kitties!

Hahahaha... "stop shopping at 7-11." You are so wonderful and funny and I think you've been spying on me... I have a "husky" cat named Bob too.

Also, I'm a pig (Lucia's age) and I'd like to co-opt your list because it's so well put. I'll send you virtual royalty hugs. I'm adding one thing though:
- Stop Dying My Hair (yeah, I'm going gray, so what. It's probably from all that cheap 7-11 wine!)

"risk over fear, temptation over empty, something (even just the hope of something) instead of the safety of nothingness"

Damn girl, you HAVE come far! These words are haunting - in a GOOD way! Thank you!!

Here's to you in 2007!!

*Hugs*

Hi Laurie - just coming out of lurkdom to congratulate you on hanging in there and not being afraid to share your bumpy ride with the rest of us weary travellers. I believe that you have turned a very important corner in your life and I'm pulling for you that 2007 will be a very happy and less fearful year for you. Rock on!

What can I say that hasn't already been said above so well? Best wishes for 2007, you have been so generous in sharing your thoughts with us.
And keep one credit card that you pay off each month; using a debit card for purchases on-line doesn't give you the protection that a credit card does if the numbers are hijacked.

Here's to a rockin' 2007, and 36 year old women! I've been 36 for 15 days, and I have to say it isn't bad at all.

I love the whole New Year fresh start and renewal thing, and always come up with a big list of resolutions, some of which I even keep.

Hope you have a great year, Laurie.

RE: spending less, how about you get an online savings account, and every time you reallyreally want to buy something, write it out of your checking account, and at the end of the month transfer the different items you wrote out of your checking account into your online savings account OR towards your outstanding debt.

RE: rewards card I really like the Citibank REwards card; I buy everything with it and write it out of my checking account at the time that way I pay it off in full every month and I get paid for things I would be buying anyway! (I get a check for over $60 every 5 weeks or so).

Finances = my OCD :-)

You can do it!!! 2007 will be fantastic for Aunt P!!!

How suprising and delightful to find someone "by chance" who is going tru the same struggles and has my age ! I am now addiced to your blog, cause it makes me laugh (I admit I am also on the wine). But it really feels like me and my sometimes sucky life is here !

Keep it going ! Gotta go the cat is attacking me again !

Great lists. The everyday one makes a ton of sense to me, and I'm adapting it for myself! Floss, yes...
All the best to you in 2007!

YOU HAVE COMPLETELY INSPIRED ME. Your thoughts on traffic and just making lemonade with lemons (my words) is the absolute root of almost all of my problems. I feel enlightened hearing you say all that you've said. I'm going to make my own list now and quickly. THANK YOU AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Thanks for sharing. Great list. Thanks for the push. Off to write my list. (never under estimate the power of written goals.!)

And don't forget that you are perrfectly imperfect (i.e. lovable) just. the. way. you. are.

新年快乐! 祝大家幸福!

Happy New Year

Blessed be BFG

Happy New Year girl.. I hope the year of the pig works out well for you.. I have this feeling..not sure why.. this will be an incredible year for you of growth and happiness

Wow! A lot of the things on your list are also on mine! Particularly the one about losing weight, finances and trying to live with the way things are and not the way I wish they were!

2006 was the year I finally got a better-paying job, but it took me four years of interviews. I am on track for 2007 to pay off the last of the plastic debt I accumulated in 2001/2002. (Hint: not a good idea to quit your job and move across country without another one lined up right after 9/11. Oy.) So maybe THIS year will also be the year I drop those 20 pounds I've been trying to lose forever!

Maybe we can see these resolutions as building blocks: we make strong efforts, and if we don't nail them THIS year, we will next year - and we may surprise ourselves and accomplish what we never thought we could?

Like the cliche goes, if you fail to plan, you plan to fail. We've all got our roadmaps for 2007 - we may not accomplish everything this year, but we will accomplish more than if we just let things happen.

Keep blogging. You are helping more people than you realize. Whenever I have a friend who is broken-hearted over a divorce or relationship that ended badly, or some other setback, I tell them to read your blog.

You inspired my to make my list too!
Happy new year!

Good luck on the goals. I have been working on a similar list from the past year and have made some progress yet I know the path is hard. If I can assist in sharing some insights from journey, please feel free to email me or go to my blog. Best of luck! SinK

Laurie, as always thanks so much for sharing. It's been a blessing to be able to share your journey with you as it feels like it has been mirroring my own in some ways the last year or so. I too have been meditating on the meaning of happiness, and I believe that as long as one understand happiness begins and ends with ourselves, everything else will fall into place. Hugs.

Great list, Laurie! Alot of common sense, practical and mature resolutions. I have tried to apply some of those myself variously through the years. The one I'm still working on is to make the effort to be happy and be thankful for the little things in life as well as any big ones that happen along. Road rage is one I've managed to tame for the most part a few years ago. I'm pleased with some of my progress and still working on others. It's a lifelong process and one in which as we all get up there in our adult years is what it's all about, imo.

Laurie, posting again to say that you have so inspired me, that I will be blogging my own resolution's later today. I have been contemplating yours and the idea that publicly posting them -- not just telling a few friends and co-workers, but putting them up on the freakin' Innernets for the whole world to see -- is highly motivational. And brave. Very brave. So, since you have gone first in the best Monty Python tradition, "Brave Lady Purl," I shall post mine for all to see as well, later today

P.S. -- here's a sneak preview:

"Avoid coffeehouse prices whenever possible, with the exception of monthly Stitch and Bitch." Make your own coffee at home and put it in a Thermos to take to work. This will require getting up ten MORE minutes earlier. I am actually going to keep a notepad in the car, and try to keep track of each time I DON'T buy coffeehouse coffee. I bet I will save as much per year as when I quit smoking.

Pigs aren't so bad - didnt' you see Charlotte's Web? The Chinese stuck me with the Monkey. But hey, I get to share that illustrious signage with none other than Bob Marley, Ashanti, Johnny Cash, Mick Jagger, George Lucas and Tom Hanks! Fame HAS to be just around the corner with those stars & them stars & my stars & the big dipper & orion or something or other...

I, too, give thanks for the TiVo. And would rather spend my time under the bed than engage in social interactions of any kind. And your resolutions are so on-point that I pasted them onto my own. And hang in there--Mr.X is clearly jack-ass-batty and wall-eyed-crazy for doing what he's done ;)

Your list is thoughtful. I hope to get around to making a similar list for myself.

I thoroughly enjoy reading Crazy Aunt Purl, Laurie. I can't count the number of times I've teared up, smiled, cried crocodile tears, laughed out loud, or laughed so hard I cried.

You have a gift for writing. You say what is true and honest in your thoughts and in your heart. You've made me a bit more thoughtful and appreciative for what I have and want and know and love. Thank you.
-Cheryl

I will echo all the others---I love your list. I am inspired! Happy New Year! And thanks for the lovely, funny, poignant, inspiring blog. Plus--your cats are beautiful.

Happy New Year to you and your cute little kitcats. I like your idea of having a theme. Not sure what mine is though...

You realize that all I'm doing now is wondering what should be in the place of "private." Thanks a lot - you know the voyeur in me can't resist wondering endlessly. Wouldn't you do the same?

You realize that all I'm doing now is wondering what should be in the place of "private." Thanks a lot - you know the voyeur in me can't resist wondering endlessly. Wouldn't you do the same?

I love your blog because of your openness, your real-ness and willingness to put in writing what all of us feel. You're not crazy, the world is.

You are a brave woman (you are a single woman with four cats and not afraid to show it) and 2007 will be a great year for you.

I found a website that I found to be encouraging..sometimes the emails they send can be a bit...ummm...goofy/squishy/something, but overall, it seems to be very helpful. They are all about doing things in 15 minutes chunks. If you want to check it out: flylady.net.

HAPPY HAPPY NEW YEAR and keep on bloggin'!!!!!!

Two wonderful Innernets discoveries have changed and enriched my life: CAP and flylady.net. I am 5 years separated and my resolution for aught 7 is to get the divorce over with. My new lawyer, Bulldog, says it won't be a problem. Other resolutions: hire a decorator and make my home a beautiful place to live; hire a landscaper (same reason); go out on a date. I look forward to the journey of 2007 and sharing it with you.

In the words of John O'dea (Sth Aussie muso) you can choose to smile, instead of frown, pick yourself up, when you're down...
I think you've done just that Laurie! I applaud you for the way you have taken charge of your life - enjoy 2007!
By the way - what do you sew? I just started again myself, looking for ideas!

FYI, Laurie, 2007 is suppose to be YOUR year of good luck if your Chinese Zodiac animal is a pig (also, boar, but that doesn't help much on the irony). Even though people think I'm weird for believing this, but I believe in the Chinese Zodiac (to an extent). Over all, this will be the year that you will have lots of good luck. Maybe you'll accomplish so much that next year's list will be much shorter (or less wordy). Go get 'em, girl!

I love your list. And hey, we're the same age! I only just realized it's going to be the Year of the Pig, and I am very excited, because it's about damn time the Pigs got their due. And not only that, but we're METAL Pigs according to this bizarrely detailed Chinese Astrology website I found that splits up all the Years of Pigs into subcategories like water, fire, etc. We're metal. So rock on, and happy new year to you and the kitties.

So if you leave five minutes earlier, that means you will do everything five minute earlier? Including providing breakfast for the cats?

Surely benefits and praised will be heaped upon ye for that.

You have COMPLETELY inspired me with your optimistic outlook and your fantastic list. Congrats on all you've accomplished - I know you'll knock out the '07 list with no problem!