Now that we're a bit more settled in Barbie's Dream Home, you may be wondering how Blair and I are spending our time. Are we creating gourmet meals in the chef's kitchen? Snuggling in front of the fireplace? Planning the elaborate dinners we'll host?

Nope. We spend most of our free time trying to figure out light switches. 

I have never seen so many light features in my life. The kitchen alone has eight switches. Eight! The other night I forbade Blair from turning off the counter top kitchen lights because the dishwasher was running and we weren't entirely sure which switch needed to remain on.

Who knew a mortgage was only the beginning? As I work through packing up our current home, I'm keeping a running list of "Things To Buy For Our Move to Barbie's Dream Home." So far I've got:

• 2 sets shower curtains and 3 sets of bath mats
• Bookshelves - 5 to 8 of them. Not kidding. We packed 30 boxes today, all of them books from the built-in bookshelves that our current home has and our new home does not. Prompting me to look at Blair about 1 p.m. today and ask, "Where the hell are we going to put all these books?!"
• Flat screen TV (okay, so we're late adapters)
• Shoe racks
• Decorative cotton ball holder 
• Vanity chair for master bath

This house-hunting process is not for the weak of heart.

To wit, Blair and I found this amazing home in Greensboro, way beyond our price range. But the online photos were so stunning I begged Blair to let us go and and just look at it. Which we did. And of course, we loved it. But we told our realtor it was just too expensive and we comforted ourselves with the fact that even if we could afford it, it really was just too much house for two people. 

The selling agent called our realtor and our realtor indicated our price range -- a good $60k below what they were asking--and the agent said, "They need to sell. Make an offer." 

New ballgame. Now that I knew I had a shot at it, I wanted this house. Forget too much space--did you see the ginormous screened-in patio? The gourmet kitchen? The front AND back staircases? Mine, mine, mine! 

We made an offer.

He got me again.

When I arrived home today, there was a huge cardboard box leaning agains the front door, addressed to one Mr. Blair Harris. 

"Whadcha order? " I asked when he got home. 

"Oh man, yes!" he said. "I've been waiting for these to come in. New D&D figurines." 

"Are you serious?" I asked. "We're trying to sell the house, you know."

"I know!" he said. "I better get these guys set out pronto!" 

He disappeared upstairs with the box and a few minutes later I heard him cursing. 

"Damn it," he said, coming downstairs, carrying the opened box.  "This isn't what I ordered." 

"Aw, did they send you a Yoda figurehead by mistake?" There may have been a smidge of derision in my tone.

It's that special time of year when I skip workouts, avoid scales and revert to my college wardrobe of sweatpants and t-shirts regardless of what the social occasion calls for. God, I love the close of a year. 

Bad personal hygiene habits aside, I also enjoy the end of the year because it signals a chance for a fresh start in the new one. That's right, I'm a resolution girl. Nothing makes me happier then to pull out pen and paper and catalog the ways I will be not only better but PERFECT in the New Year. 

Here's a glimpse into my "Dena, only better" goals for 2013.  

1. Write Every Day. Could be 50 words, could be 5,000. I will write new words every day and blog posts don't count. No time off for holidays, birthdays, weekends, etc. either. Write, Dena. W-R-I-T-E.
2. Publish 4 Magazine Articles. 
3. No TV for January. I know I can't go all year with no TV, but I'd like to spend less time zoning and figure cold-turkey is the way to go. 

I read an article last week that stressed the importance of small movements in daily life. I usually blow by these articles with their standard "take the stairs instead of the elevator, park far away in the parking lot instead of circling for a spot, yada yada yada" advice. 

I run 23 miles a week including a sprint workout. I lift weights 2-4 times a week. Sometimes I throw in yoga or the stationary bike or 20 minutes on the stairmaster. Daily movement? Thanks, but I'm good. 

Or am I? What popped for me in this article was a study that found that hard core exercisers were often some of the most sedentary people out there. It's as if (ahem!) a hard 5-mile run gives a person permission to sit at their desk or veg out on the couch for the rest of the day/evening. 

That hit close to home. How many nights do I spend immobile on the couch, reading a book or watching TV, smug in my knowingness that I've "earned" the right to do so because I "killed it" in my workout earlier that day?

Sunday night, 5:40 pm. Harris residence. Christmas trees - fired up. Cats - snoozing.

Blair - relaxing in library. Dena - front room watching TV. All is well on nigh. Until...

---------------------------------------------------------------

Dena: Blair! Blair, get in here! Now!

Blair: Why? (He no longer reacts to cries of panic, me having cried wolf one too many times during our many years of marriage. Sad.) 

Dena: I'm getting sucked into an infomercial. My powers to resist are fading. Get in here. 

Blair: What's it for?

Dena: I'm not sure. Some sort of face-lift-botox-stand-in-alternative-to-chemical-peel thingee. You can put it in the freezer. Looks cool. 

Blair: You don't need a face lift. (Sound of Wall Street Journal rustling as he turns a page.)

I've spent the better part of this weekend reading The Happiness Project: Or, Why I Spent a year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean My Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun by Gretchen Rubin. I'm reading it on my iPad, so I find myself highlighting sections and taking online notes, mainly because I can. (I rarely go back and read the passages I've outlined, but hold faith that someday the habit may come in handy.)

Inspired by Rubin to do a better job of connecting and engaging the loved ones in my life, I decided to start a conversation based on a paragraph in the book that resonated with me. When neither cat seemed keen on analyzing the finer points of the passage, I went in search of Blair.

"Let me read this to you," I said flopping down on the bed. Blair was barely visible behind a mound of shirts he was ironing. (I'm a wife, not a maid. Don't judge me.) "This is about why it's important to grow and try new things."