With the new year upon us, it’s time to make a list of goals that I’d like to accomplish in 2009. I think “goals” is a better term for my purposes than “resolutions”, since resolutions carries a connotation of changing bad behavior while goals gives a sense of moving forward. I want to move forward, not just modify a few habits.

Anyway, here’s what I’d like to do in 2009:

• Spend more quality time with my son
• Get a particular job that I’ve had my eye on for the last two months
• Hit the five-figure mark in my personal savings account
• Read at least 52 books
• Brush up on algebra, a subject that has always given me trouble
• Take a trip that requires my passport
• Stick to my current workout routine
• Make x amount of dollars per month from freelance writing (I have the number in my head, but decline to give specifics)
• Maintain better contact with the important people in my life

That’s about all I can think of for now, but it’s certainly enough to start with!

Have a happy, healthy, and prosperous 2009, everyone!!!

It’s being reported that Blagojevich will appoint 71-year-old Roland Burris, a former state attorney general, to fill president-elect Barack Obama’s U.S. Senate seat.

How can this appointment be anything but tainted, given the recent allegations that have come to light concerning Ill. governor Rod Blagojevich’s conduct? Why would Burris even accept such an appointment, if it comes, given the circumstances leading up to the event?

Illinois Democrats have said that they won’t “allow” Burris to be seated, whatever that means. I don’t know what kind of power anyone has to override the governor at this point — not until the impeachment process starts, anyway.

I really don’t understand why Blagojevich is still in office and still allowed to carry out official duties. How long does it take to get the impeachment ball rolling? Is there anyone out there that trusts what this guy is doing?

I mean, I suppose a court case might go in his favor and a judge might rule that the wiretaps were illegal (I doubt it, but you never know), but that doesn’t change what was said on those tapes. He might escape criminal prosecution, but can there be any doubt that he’s as corrupt as they come?

This whole situation is crazy. There’s no way in hell a Blagojevich appointment should be allowed to stand.

We have a 37-inch LCD flat-panel television that we bought two years ago to replace a 25-inch CRT model. We spend so much money on the TV set, however, that we didn’t have any left over to buy a new entertainment center or stand to accommodate the flat-panel. As a result, the TV extends well beyond the edges of the current stand, and is in a very precarious position (to say the least).

Well, yesterday, we almost paid a huge price for being too cheap to buy a new stand. My son was playing ball with one of the dogs in the living room, and the dog banged into the stand, causing the TV to rock violently back and forth. Luckily, Jerry was right there and was able to leap up to steady the thing before it actually fell over. Crisis averted — for the time being.

So now, addressing the TV issue is at the top of our list of things to fix in 2009. Whether we get an expensive entertainment center or just a couple of industrial clamps remains to be seen. But the bottom line is that we need to steady that television set somehow!

I’m talking about the Chicago Bears 2008 football season here. The team just couldn’t get it done against Houston this afternoon, falling on the wrong side of a 31-24 final score. Of all the possible playoff scenarios I listed after the Monday night victory, winning this final game was a prerequisite, so it doesn’t matter what else happens this afternoon.

For the record, though, the Oakland Raiders beat Tampa Bay, which was the first part — and hardest — part of the Bears’ wild card scenario. This would have been the only route in since the Vikings beat the Giants on a late field goal to win the NFC North, so if the Eagles end up knocking off the Cowboys later today, the Bears will be left to ponder the what ifs for the rest of the offseason.

I’m extremely disappointed with the way the team played today. Frankly, they didn’t look like a squad on the verge of a playoff berth, as they didn’t bring any fire, intensity, or urgency to the game. It was a poor effort nearly all the way around, with the offense being ineffective (again) and the defense not getting stops when needed (again).

On the bright side, maybe not making the playoffs will force ownership to finally rework some things from the top down. The coaching staff is not very good at making halftime adjustments, and some of those guys need to be given pink slips.

This season was way too much of a roller coaster ride, with the team being way too inconsistent from week to week. I hope lots of things change by the time camp rolls around in July!

(AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

I went out with a couple of friends today for a champagne brunch at the Four Seasons downtown. I used to do that quite frequently about 10 years ago, but hadn’t been in a long time, mostly because the group of women I used to go with got married, had kids, and no longer had Saturdays or Sundays free for brunch. But today we made a point to get together again, and had a blast in doing so!

There are some hotels and restaurants in the suburbs that have champagne brunches as well, but nothing beats the ambiance of the Four Seasons. From the gleaming marble in the lobby to the dazzling chandeliers, and impeccable service, everything just screams luxury. Plus, the food is absolutely scrumptious — and the whole thing is relatively reasonably priced.

It was so much fun being able to get away from the house and family for a few hours. I haven’t been out like this in ages, so I really needed the break. Now it’s right back to holiday cleanup duty, as we’re taking down all our Christmas decorations today!

I just wanted to take a moment here to wish all of you a very merry Christmas today! I hope Santa was good to you and brought you everything you wanted!

We had a pretty low-key celebration. Because of various reasons, we capped our spending at $100 per person in order to keep things under control. Even so, we still managed to come away with presents that we can enjoy.

I got $100 worth of movie theater gift cards, which is exactly what I wanted. I always get cinema gift cards for Christmas, my birthday, Mother’s Day, etc. because I love watching movies and can get a lot of mileage out of these cards.

Jerry got a couple of Xbox games, a brand-new copy of Fallout 3 and a used copy of Call of Duty 4. He has been playing Fallout 3 all day, and shows no sign of slowing down!

Our son got Super Mario Galaxy for Wii, Kirby Super Star Ultra for DS, and some smaller items as well. I don’t really like the idea of getting him all these video games (he’s just six, after all), but honestly, he doesn’t play with anything else half so long as he plays with video games. I’d rather spend our money on an item that my son will still have interest in 6 months from now instead of on something that will just gather dust in the corner of his room by spring.

Anyway, that was our haul. Now we’re getting ready to go to dinner with family, and then back for some more video games before bed!

Hope you had a great one!

The Chicago Bears’ slim playoff hopes are still intact after an amazing weekend of football in which all the stars aligned for the team. First of all, in order to even be in the picture at this point, the Bears needed the Cowboys to lose to the Ravens, the Vikings to lose to the Falcons, the Buccaneers to lose to the Chargers, and the Eagles to lose to the Redskins. All four of those teams were favored — and all four lost!

Next, the Bears had to take care of business on Monday night at Soldier Field, where “business” meant beating the 5-9 Packers. And despite a lackluster performance through 3 1/2 quarters of football, Chicago managed to pull out a 20-17 OT win thanks to a blocked field goal attempt by Alex Brown and a game-winning 38-yard boot from Robbie Gould.

Now here’s what has to happen in the final week of the regular season in order for the Bears to make it to the playoffs. They can get in by one of two routes:

1)Bears win at Houston
2)Vikings lose to NY Giants

Result: Bears win the NFC North.

1)Bears win at Houston
2)Giants lose to Vikings
3)Buccaneers lose to Raiders
4)Cowboys lose to Eagles

Result: Bears secure NFC wild card berth.

I like the first scenario — winning the NFC North outright — much better than the second. NY coach Tom Coughlin says his team is not going to lay down for the Vikings, so if his starters get in there for at least two or three quarters, then the Giants should probably come out on top, as they’re a superior team all around.

In the second scenario, I think it would be tough for the Raiders to beat the Buccaneers. Sure, the Cowboys might lose to Philly (thought that’s unlikely as well), but asking the Raiders to beat Tampa Bay is way too much of a stretch — especially since TB is playing for a wild card spot as well.

Anyway, here’s to another choke job by the Vikings!!!

(AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)