It's time for the Thursday Thirteen. Since I've got two timely topics, I think I'll post on both...

13 Christmas Presents - Here are some things I got for Christmas this year...

1. Monk Season 1 on DVD. Billy and I watched the first episode last night and it was really funny.

2. CSI: NY Season 1 on DVD. I've really gotten into watching this show lately, and getting this set was a nice surprise! I'm looking forward to watching this.

3. Daughtry CD, by American Idol contestant Chris Daughtry. Wow! This entire CD is great!

4. Imaginiff game. This is so much fun! I can't wait to get together with several friends so we can all play this.

5. Two gift cards to Hobby Lobby. One thing I've really been wanting to get is a craft/hobby table so I can work on scrapbooking, cards, jewelry, drawing, etc., without having to put everything away before I'm finished. I'm going to use this, some birthday money, and a 40% off coupon to get just what I've been looking for!

6. New bedding! I've been wanting to change up my bedroom color scheme for a while now. I've been looking for something with reds and golds, but wasn't able to find what I was looking for. Finally I found what I wanted at JCPenney online. I got a call Saturday morning, 10 minutes before we were going to leave for Christmas with our families, that it was ready to be picked up; I picked it up today. I can't wait to put it on my bed - along with my new sateen sheets that match perfectly and my new off-white micromink blanket. All I have left to do is find a coordinating bed skirt and curtains.
Update: I found a bed skirt that matches great - and I found a great deal on window panels, too! I didn't buy anything for the windows because I need to measure them, but I might do that tomorrow. After I get my bedroom set up, I may start redecorating my bathroom...

7. Three pairs of cozy socks. I can't wait to get these washed so I can wear them. They feel so great!

8. A fancy sequined nutcracker. I love nutcrackers and have started a small collection of them. I never realized until recently just how many different nutcracker variations there are!

9. A "Heart of Gold" Willow Tree figure. It's my third figure in this collection. I also got a Willow Tree plaque of a lady snuggling with a gray cat.

10. Steel Magnolias DVD. This is one of my all-time favorite movies. I have it on VHS, but CDs are so much better quality. I'll probably watch this one lazy Saturday afternoon.

11. Halo perfume from Victoria's Secret. This is my favorite perfume, and I don't know how many years I've used it. My last bottle was getting low, so I rationed it. I finished the last few drops on Christmas Day, so I was glad to get a new bottle!

12. A decorative pewter cookbook stand. It's large enough to hold almost any size cookbook, and the front has a crossed fork and spoon. I want to find a special place to display it when I'm not using it.

13. Drawing for Dummies. Billy and I both like to draw, but it's been a long time since I did much of it. I like using my own artwork in my scrapbooking, and this book, along with the art pencils I bought last year, will help me immensely. This was a together gift from Caleb and Jacob (even though I picked it out).

13 Goals for 2007 - I don't like to make resolutions because that sounds so definite. I like to have some flexibility here, because 12 months is a long time to work on some of these things. Plus, I don't feel like I've failed if I don't stick with them...

Personal:
1. Blog more regularly. I do pretty good with this one most of the time. It's just when things get hectic that I slow down a lot. Still, I'd like to have more than one or two posts per month.

2. Show more hospitality. Now that we're in a house and we have room to entertain, I'd like to have people over for dinner more often. There are several couples from church that we'd like to get to know better, but we always felt we were too cramped in our apartment to have many people over, especially if they have children. Fittingly, our first thing for 2007 will be on New Year's Day. We've invited 11 couples/families over to visit that day and share gumbo and games with us. So far, 2 families with children have accepted our invitation!

3. Exercise regularly. Once again, I'm including this on my list of goals for the new year. I always start the year off good, but by mid-summer or early fall, I've quit for whatever reason. Mostly because it's not fun! I have a few ideas for making it more fun this time around; now I just need to get started...

4. Get organized. I've gotten a lot done toward this, especially after reading Simplify Your Life, but I still have some areas to work on.

5. Spend more time on my hobbies. I mentioned earlier that I love drawing and scrapbooking. I'll be able to do more once I get a craft table. It takes more time right now to drag out and put away than to work on anything. Once I can leave things out that I'm working on, I'll have more time to work on them. I also have a few new ideas for jewelry and beaded accessories that I'd like to try out.

6. Read more. If you look at my reading list on the left, you'll see that I read quite a bit this year. I'd like to continue with that, putting a lot of focus on reading books from my self-study list for the program I'm participating in for seminary wives. I've really put that on the back burner.

7. Watch less television. This one will probably be my biggest challenge! There are so many shows I like to watch - and I've recently found a few more I like. Earlier I had planned to spend the 9:00 hour reading instead of watching TV, but CSI:NY and ER come on then, so there go two nights. Psyche starts back up in January - it comes on right after Monk - so there goes another night. I think I just need to make a schedule and stick to it so I won't get hooked on anything else.

8. Play my guitar more. I "learned" to play the guitar a few years ago with a DVD set Mama and Daddy gave me. It really taught me a lot, but I still have a long way to go. It would help if I made time to play again. I know I've forgotten a lot. I also want to get back into playing the piano. We have a keyboard, and I'm hoping to teach Caleb to play soon. Maybe that will inspire me...

My Pampered Chef Business:
9. Improve my customer care. I need to do more follow up with my customers after they've received their products: make sure they're happy with them, pass along a few recipes, follow up after sending updates on product information or special sales, etc.

10. Revise my host packet information. I have what came in my start-up kit, but based on personal experience and recommendations from other consultants, I'd like to personalize things more.

11. Create new menu plans for my shows. I want to come up with things that are seasonal, affordable, and possibly themed for my hosts to choose from. I've come up with several good recipes to show, but I want to hone them and see how I can make them better.

12. Increase my bookings. I'd like to work on increasing bookings from shows so I won't have to worry about my potential host list getting low or running out. Not that I'm having to worry about that right now anyway, but it'd be nice to have a good list to work with.

13. Build my own team. I'd really like to have a few recruits this year. At first, I wasn't interested in anything except being a consultant, but I think I'd make a good director. I've learned a lot going to my monthly sales meetings and I think it'd be fun to have a sales team to work with, to encourage.