January 2, 2001

I just realized I forgot to eat black-eyed peas yesterday. I had a big bowl of Texas caviar made up and everything, but I forgot all about it. This is the first year in I can't remember how long that I haven't eaten black-eyed peas on New Year's Day. So this will be the control year where I'll get to find out if they really do have an effect. Rebecca & I spent all of yesterday languishing on the couch, stuffing ourselves with leftover hors d'oeuvres and drinking Diet Coke & wisecracking & watching the X-Files marathon. When Mike finally got up, we made him wait on us, which was terribly fun. Mike's not usually the houseboy type.

I ended last year with shopping excess, buying ten times (literally) the booze and food I could possibly need. Because that is my way. No, wait. Because that was my way. The New Nikol isn't a greedy frantic consumer. The New Nikol believes in modest abundance. (Look--I can't work miracles--I still need an excess, but modest abundance is certainly preferable to the embarrassing glut I usually employ.) The New Nikol doesn't buy 10 of everything just because it's on sale. The New Nikol only buys two.

I'm working on my new list. I checked of 47 of last year's 100 items (and I came close with about a dozen more), so I'll probably start my new list of with most of the 53 I didn't do.

So far this year, I've noticed I'm filled with kind of a restless intertia. I'm trying to remember if this happens every year. I think it does. I'm hoping it will resolve itself once I finish my list and get to the gym.

Okay. The New Nikol is going to get off her ass and make some coffee and finish cleaning up the house.

12.22.00