Crosswalks to Nowhere

We had a fantastic Thanksgiving weekend, although it started a bit rocky with some furnace issues.

The family came over here on Thursday for dinner, we got our tree and started decorating on Friday, and on Friday night we drove to Indiana to spend time in the now-barren cornfields.

And now the holiday season is in full-swing. Let's make it a happy one!

While Winter doesn't officially begin for a few weeks, we've already had our first snowfall and cold snap.

The gourd in this photo is still targeted to have its seeds roasted. I hope the pumpkin thaws so we can get them out.

We spent the weekend in downtown Chicago, one of our holiday traditions.

This year, we decided to try and leave a smaller carbon footprint while enjoying our time. First, Becca drove us to the Arlington Heights Metra station (an advantage of having a teenaged daughter who drives) and we took the train downtown. Once at Ogilvie, we took a CTA bus which landed us within a few blocks of our hotel.

We walked the rest of the day, and then took a bus which dropped us near the Greek Islands (another favorite), and caught another one back to the hotel. A train ride back to Arlington and another lift from Becca on Sunday afternoon brought the trip full circle.

Not only were we trying to accomplish a more "green" excursion, but we also saved the valet fee downtown and most of all, proved that it could be done: making the trip without driving into and around the city.

Happy holidays!

Merry Christmas, everyone! Here are some photos of North School Park for your enjoyment.

I don't make New Year's Resolutions.

I realize that many people use the end of the year as their reflect-and-recharge period, where they review the previous year and determine what changes they want to make in the following year. That's good, and I wish those people all the power in the world to make it happen.

That said, I think there are many more people who dive headlong into the excesses of the holiday season-- some starting as far back as Halloween-- and pull all the stops and overindulge for the next several weeks, using the excuse that their New Year's Resolution will be to go to the gym every night, get on Weight Watchers, and only eat Lean Cuisines.

And in many cases, that's exactly what these people do, and the stores and health clubs love it. Walk into any store the day after Christmas and you'll see aisles of SlimFast shakes, Alli (if they even sell that stuff any more), and tons of As-Seen-On-TV exercise devices. I have to adjust my workout schedule this time of year because my gym is always packed right after January 1.

Then, predictably, we start to approach Spring Break time and the healthy displays at the stores go away and the crowds at the health club start to dissipate. And I'm able to get a bike in cycling class 5 minutes before it starts rather than having to get there an hour early. After April 1, we're guaranteed to be back to business-as-usual.

The turning of the calendar page is as good a time as any to make a change, but I believe that if a change needs to be made in my life I should make it as soon as possible once it's identified. Life certainly doesn't care what page is showing on your calendar, so why use that to determine when you want to improve something in your life? When I think back on all the major changes I've made in my life over the years, none of them were based on the calendar (and by extension, none of them were New Year's Resolutions): changing jobs, changing relationships, changing my approach to what and how I eat and drink, how often I exercise: every single one of these significant lifestyle changes came about when I decided it was time to do it.

Lisa and I recently completed an exercise where we cleared out every storage space in the house and got rid of a whole bunch of unused things. This wasn't a "2010" thing-- it was a "we've got the time to do it now, so let's do it" thing.

So as we approach 2010, I recommend you resolve just one thing: to recognize a need for change in your life and to do it without waiting for the calendar to turn over.

Have a safe and happy New Year's Eve, and here's to kicking off 2010 as a great year!