And so begins the year of insanity . . .

• 

My Dear 2008,

I can see that we're already in for quite an adventurous time together. You woke me up just now by allowing my cat to prance about on my face before she fell asleep with her head buried in my neck. Five minutes later, I had a nose bleed. Coincidence? Mayhaps.

That being said, I suppose I should lay down the ground rules before you get too out of control. You may be one whole day longer than last year, but that does not give you special permission to be extra mischievous or anything.

Here we go.

Rule #1: No. More. Hell. Week. I'm done with that game. If, however, you insist on continuing this ritual, you are limited to one (1) Hell Week.

Rule #2: As always, please feel free to rock my socks off. I wear them a lot more often now because of my kick-ass boots, so you'll have many more opportunities to rock them clear off my feet. I'll be sure to say pretty things about you in my blog if and when you do so, particularly since I'll be scrounging for content after two days of this Blog365 thing.

Rule #3: Take care of my friends and family. I have a lot more friends now than I did a year ago, and I even have more family members. The bar has been raised, since 2007 did a pretty bang-up job on this rule. Don't let me down, 2008. I have faith in you.

Rule #4: Laugh with me as I try to blog and exercise every single one of your 366 days. Well, at least 365 of them.

There you have it, 2008. I don't ask for much, and I'm sure you can handle it just as well as (if not better than) 2007. Again, you don't have any boy troubles to worry your pretty little head about, so just make sure nobody bans chocolate, pizza, pirates, or Lord of the Rings. I'm sure you'll do just fine.

God bless, my sweet 2008, and best wishes to all those who will be enduring it with me.

Happy New Year!