At the risk of aging myself, which I do all the time, I can't believe it's 2015. I mean, that is some serious sci-fi scary ish. I think I feel that way every year, but there is something about this number in particular that seems very futuristic. But the good news is, we're looking forward to the future. For all its high points, 2014 had some low points for us, and looking back, we rate it as a tough, if never tragic or insurmountable year. At this juncture, we're feeling ready and even eager to begin anew. Especially with a new bug on the way and a new place to break in. So bring on 2015!

I mentioned last week that I'm into New Year's resolutions, and I really am. For the past few years, I've committed to a larger goal or theme, and then implemented smaller steps toward it.

A couple years ago, Bret and I decided to really focus on us - strengthening the ol' union.We got a book - Marriage Rules, by Harriet Lerner, which I recommend, and implemented date nights and weekly breakfasts. The date nights are a duh, but the breakfasts, which I think were Bret's idea, were brilliant. We'd drop Lou off at daycare earlier than normal and stop for a bit on our way to work. We treated the breakfasts like check-ins, on everything from budget matters to weekend plans to matters of the heart. They were really great, and we've recently re-instituted them.

2014 was dedicated to seeing friends. We made it a point to go to Montana, Wisconsin, Massachusetts, Tennessee, California, DC and Pennsylvania, and saw people from all over here in NYC. We didn't make it to Tel Aviv to see friends living there, and of course there are friends stateside whom we missed, which is a major disappointment. But otherwise, I'd say declaring 2014 to be friend-focused, and acting accordingly, really made for the highest points of our year.

2015 is all about Learning Stuff. I have signed up for an interior design course, and plan to take some photography classes. I also really want to focus on maintaining, if not improving, my rudimentary Mandarin. Though I recognize that we'll have a new little resident in about four months, who might take up some of my time, I'm optimistic. I actually managed to teach myself 1,000 Chinese characters while I was nursing Lou (don't worry - I've forgotten about 975 of them), because it turns out that you spend a lot of time sitting on the couch to nurse a wee one, and a flashcard app fills that time up perfectly.

Bret's not as into resolutions as I am, but I got him chess lessons for our anniversary, and he wants to take the photography courses with me. I've also seen online cooking classes for, like, five dolla on Groupon, and it occurs to me that cooking together after Lou and Two have gone to bed could be a fun way to do date nights this year. And you may remember that Lou's "big" Christmas gifts were ballet and piano lessons. It's a family thing, this ressie - we're all gonna improve ourselves.

What about you? Seriously, I wanna know. I love hearing how people treat or ignore this tradition. Sorry for the late post, and hope your last day of 2014 is awesome. I'll see you in 2015!