The first thoughts of 2006

Happy New Year everyone.  I’m refreshed and ready for another year of blogging, so let’s get to it.

• A big congratulations to the Chicago Bears who are the number two seed in the NFC this year.  Everyone was shocked that they had such a good record.  Not me.
• The Bears will play Tampa Bay if the Bucs win, otherwise, they play the winner of the Giants/Panthers game.  I like the Bears’ chances against any of those teams at Soldier Field, and expect the Bears to win at least one playoff game.  Anything less will be a disappointment for me.
• At the very beginning of the season I was asked if I wanted to go to the Bears/Vikings game on New Years Day at the Metrodome.  I declined, and after watching the game this past Sunday, I had no regrets on that decision.  This isn’t because the Bears lost, but for those who don’t know, the Bears’ starters only played the first quarter.  Chicago treated this game like another pre-season game.  I can understand the decision, but it would have been nice to sweep the division.
• It’s a new year, so that means fresh new intentions on trying to lose weight and getting healthy.  Somehow over the past six months, I gained back the ten pounds I had lost from the previous year, and a little more.  My goal is to lose 25 pounds this year.  I think the big key to making this happen, at least initially, is to be more active.  In the past, I’ve been amazed at how easy it is to lose weight by just walking more.  One easy way is to get up from my desk in the afternoon, take a fifteen minute break, and take a walk.  It helps to reduce stress, and if I make the loop out to the manufacturing end of the plant, the round trip is almost a mile.  That’s the start of the plan for now, but I think it’s time to dust off our treadmill too.  The key is to not lose any progress I might make when we go on our cruise at the end of the month, and that will be a challenge.
• Have you tried sudoku puzzles yet?  They started running them in our newspaper, and now both Holly and I are getting hooked on them.  Here’s the best website I’ve found so far for doing them online. 
• Today’s lyrics: “Well I know you can’t work in fast food all your life, but don’t sign that paper tonight, she said. But it’s too late.”