so, this is the new year.

It's too cold here. It's not even that cold outside (after a week in Kansas City with 20 degree temperatures, I have taken to saying "It's not that cold" every time I step out my door), but when I'm inside I have to wear a sweatshirt, pants and socks, as well as pile on many blankets when I'm in bed, and that's just not okay.

Everybody seems to expect that, living in Texas, I would embrace this reprieve from the heat. "Enjoying this cold weather?" my dentist asked this morning, before proceeding to rip apart my gums and make my mouth sore for the entire rest of the day. "Not really," I responded. I turned my gaze from the blinding overhead light to window showcasing the sullen gray sky, which is the other half of why I don't like winter. Not enough sun.

There's apparently a 30% chance it will flurry at 2 AM tonight. I'm a little skeptical. I think it might snow this year, but only in February. It only ever snows in February, if it snows. It's just one of those facts of life.

Another fact of life is: I've had tomato soup for 3 out of my past 4 meals. Maybe that's one of the saving graces of winter: soup season. And baking season, too. It's just the food in general, although I professed the other day to hating winter fruits. I like grapefruit, but I'm sick of oranges. Probably because I ate one every single morning during cross-country season. Hmm. But anyway, baking is one of the only good parts of it being cold, although it makes it a bit harder when you can't just set the butter outside for a minute to let it melt. Perhaps I'll make something on Sunday to take to school the next day, to help alleviate the numbness of being back at school. Oh, and Downton Abbey comes back on Sunday, doesn't it? I can't wait. I still haven't seen the Doctor Who Christmas special, because it's on our TV and our TV is generally hogged by Disney-channel-watching little sisters or bowl-game-watching dads, but Downton Abbey, yes, that will be watched on time.

What else have I been up to? I saw The Hobbit last night with Elizabeth, in 3D, and even though she laughed at me when I jumped at the scary parts, it was still really good. Long, though. My mom also found the first two Lord of the Rings books at Half-Price Books yesterday and so I've at long last begun my foray into what everyone else has read/watched years ago. Just making up for lost time, I suppose.

New Year's Eve my parents had a little party so some of my friends came over. Then we went to Deborah's house to sleep over. It rained for a while and at midnight we ran outside and listened to the fireworks and screamed a little, which you're allowed to do on New Year's Eve because no one should be asleep at that time, anyway.

And now it's 2013. A part of me wants to write about resolutions & such and a part of me doesn't. I haven't given it a ton of thought, but I do have some goals for this year. Some are more concrete, like get my license, and get better at running, and say more nice things to people and let them know they are appreciated and loved. Mostly, though, I just want to continue stepping out of my comfort zone. I want to work hard and have adventures and make my outsides better match my insides -- be more sincere, maybe. I want to be the person I want to be, the better version of myself, because what's stopping me from that, anyway? I know all that's hard to quantify which is why resolutions are difficult, but I'd like to be able to look back in a year and say, "hum, wow, what do you know, I did a lot of cool stuff this year and I feel like I've grown through these experiences a little." Who knows what this year will bring?

This wasn't supposed to be a very long post, but once again I have proved myself inadequate at being concise and staying on topic, so this'll have to do.