2011: Let's Own It!

2011.  Yep.  It's here.  There seems to be a lot of doom and gloom out there lately, but my forte is keeping it positive.  So food prices are going up?  Great excuse to expand the garden.  Gas is on the rise?  Stay home a little more and hang with the family.  It's cold?  Well....it is winter.  Don't moan about it....suit up and GATA!

I'm coming off of a hiatus from work.  I was able to spend almost two weeks working on projects around the house and enjoying the holidays.  Nothing really exciting or encouraging, but it was good to get it done.  I was able to give the house a good scrubbing.  I hit things often overlooked like the inside of cabinet doors, etc.  Took me back to my cleaning service days for a while.  I kind of miss the freedom of that gig sometimes.  I do enjoy the stability of an "institutional" job though ;)  I serviced my Jeep, put away the Christmas decorations and even went to visit a buddy who gave me a ride in his freshly restored, and highly modified, 68 Camaro (a little speed is always a welcomed treat!)  The thing that I enjoyed most was the task that gave me blisters.  I went through and cleaned up around some pine tree seedlings with a hoe.  It sucked pretty bad at the time, but at the end I was able to look across the field and appreciate how it all looked.  That's what Backing 'er Down is all about to me.

My beloved Eagles met their match in the Blue Hens of the University of Delaware.  That put them out of the playoffs.  Making it to the final 4 teams in the nation after being picked to finish 5th in your own conference?..........nothing to hang heads about.  I hope the staff and players are as proud of themselves as we fans are of them.  The Texas Christian University Horned Frogs had a pretty good start to 2011.  They enjoyed a win for the ages in the Rose Bowl Game.  I was proud for them.  They don't get any respect in their state.  They're overshadowed by the "big boys" Texas and Texas A&M, even Texas Tech.  I can sympathize with TCU fans in that regard.  Congrats to the Horned Frogs for crashing the party!

I'm fired up about 2011.  Mamma Bear and I owe just a little bit on her car and once that is paid off we will be debt free with the exception of our mortgage.  This is something that we have been working towards for a long time.  Late last year we finally knocked out the last of my student loans.  Now it's time to nail the car payments.  When I write that final check you may be able to hear me cheering from wherever you might be reading.

I only made two resolutions this year: 1. Stop biting my fingernails and 2. Blog once a week.  Looking for some help from my friends in accomplishing both.

Best wishes to everyone for a healthy and prosperous 2011!!

Take it easy,

Alex