Happy New Year!

Aaaaah, 2009. Let's be frank. 2008 was not a great year (not really terrible, but still), and I'm not sorry to see it go. So far, 2009 looks better, but that might be because I'm still on official break. You can blame my optimism on that fact if you want, but by doing so, you will forfeit any right to complain about my lack of optimism later on.
I could bore you with my resolutions (I did make a few) or a recap of 2008, but instead, let's return to the time-honored tradition of Good News/Bad News for 2009 so far.
Good News: Despite ample opportunity (lots of trips, storms, and unusual foods), no disasters (yet).
Bad News: Still 357 days to go.
Good News: I am being much more productive during this break than I expected. I have several running lists filling up my new calendar (thanks, Cathy!) and I'm actually doing that stuff instead of reading the internet in my pjs every morning until midafternoon.
Bad News: Some of that productive energy has been misdirected to the kitchen, where we now have enough food to last until the apocalypse. I can't seem to remember that the two of us just don't eat enough food to justify a new, huge dish every single day, so our fridge is overflowing with my culinary ambitions/boredom (spinach lasagna, green chile enchiladas, minestrone soup, homeade applesauce, etc.)
Good News: Can't fit any more in there, so I'm holding off on making that pot roast, which has forced me to turn to other projects.
Bad News: First I ate the last Christmas cookie. Yes, it took us this long. No, I am not wearing pants with an elastic waistband.
Good News: Those other projects are going swimmingly. I got a wedding dress, and it cost less than our mortgage payment.
Bad News: I still need to get it tailored.
Good News: I rewired this lamp that I bought at Goodwill:
It's sideways, but I'm lazy. The point is, it works. Subpoints: I didn't electrocute myself, burn down the house, break the lamp, or have to call an electrician, all of which are major accomplishments considering that I haven't spent any time thinking about wiring or electrical currents since the 3rd grade potato battery project. This gives me confidence and also makes me accutely aware of the wiring problems in our house. Not a single light switch makes sense, some of the outlets are loose, and we'd like to replace a few of our light fixtures....
Bad News: I don't have an appropriate shade. Ten points if you send me one!
Good News: We also successfully completed our first joint plumbing project over the weekend, capping a supply line to the sink in what was once an upstairs kitchen, without hurting ourselves, flooding the basement, ruining our relationship, or having to call an emergency plumber. This lucky streak also extends to the Horrible, Terrible, No Good, Very Bad Wallpaper Situation. If you've visited, I've shown you the top layer of awful beige '70s-era wallpaper and the even worse bottom layer of bright green and yellow textured '40s-era wallpaper in our dining room and living room. One day, not too long ago, we came home and Cricket had eaten some of it. We would have been furious (what dog chews on walls?) except that she had managed to get it off completely, in the kind of way that you really only see on infomercials for cancer-causing wallpaper removal products that cost $85/bottle but come with a free scraper. She also loosened a bit, so we pulled, and an entire section came off, just like that! I'm tempted to just rub bacon grease on the remaining wallpaper and let her at it, but I don't want to set a precedent.
Bad News: It's hard to be serious about training a dog NOT to chew on the walls when you're so happy about it.
Good News: This means the wallpaper should be down soon, and we might even get to start painting before classes begin! Cue: delusions of interior decorating grandeur.
Bad News: It's a domino effect: once the wallpaper is down, we will debate color choices for the walls and the trim, which will lead to a discussion of whether to paint the crappy trip or just replace it, which will bring us to the ceiling and the light fixtures and remodeling the entire first floor.
Good News: By the time we finish that discussion, it will be spring, and we will forget about the inside of the house so we can play in the garden.