Welcome, 2012!

This may look festive, but don't let that fool you: I didn't even drink on New Year's Eve.

So— the first day of 2012.

Since I am a white Anglo Saxon Protestant of mixed indeterminate ancestry on one side, and Irish on the other, I wasn't raised with any New Year's traditions.

I used to make Hoppin' John on the first day of the new year, but as any Southerner can tell you, the best stuff is made with a shocking amount of bacon grease. Since I started back to Weight Watchers a few months ago, that ain't happening. It was a borrowed tradition, anyway.

I just looked up the Irish traditions, and they aren't too difficult. The first person to cross your threshold on New Year's has a special significance. You want it to be a tall, handsome dark-haired man for good luck, apparently. Since I'm happily married, I'm not sure why I'd want that.

Princess Merida, the latest Disney princess, from Brave,
a new Pixar movie. I'm not sure I can forgive them for trying
 to cast Reese Witherspoon, but thankfully, she was busy.
Merida is voiced by a true Scotswoman, Kelly MacDonald.

If your first threshold-crosser is a red-haired woman, that's bad luck. Guess I'd better not cross my own doorstep. According to some versions, that's because people considered gingers to be witches.

Come to think of it, maybe that's where the British prejudice about red-haired people came from. They tease them unmercifully, and discriminate against them. Not even Prince Harry is immune.

I don't find ginger men to be particularly appealing, but a strawberry-blonde girl with a sprinkling of freckles on her nose? Adorable. I can't wait to see the latest Disney princess movie, Brave.

A princess who is a crack archer, and rides a horse like she was born on one? Awesome! Now we have a princess to emulate besides Belle, from Beauty and the Beast. We really only liked her because she was a bookworm, and didn't really fall for the Beast until she saw his library.

But I digress. Apparently, the Irish clean their houses form top to bottom for New Year's. Well, that ain't happening either, but I did clean out my upstairs closet.

My friend told me that one New Year's prediction is that what you do on that day will determine what you will do the rest of the year. So at least, I organized one closet.

Our day started out at Dillard's, to take advantage of their big sale. The place was a madhouse; apparently, women wait all year long for the big Coach purse sale. They had their own line, clearly marked. We were there to buy dress shirts and ties for my husband. We bought six shirts, two ties, a belt and slippers for around $300. Not too shabby. So, I guess I will be saving (and spending) money all year.

Then we did our laundry, and washed all those shirts. If I thought I was going to get out of doing laundry all year,  I was sadly mistaken. So, laundry's going to happen in 2012.

Prime Desert Woodlands, January 1, 2012.

We took a long walk at Prime Desert Woodlands, so maybe I'm going to spend more time in nature this year. That would be good. Actually, the older I get, the better I appreciate the outdoors.

It was late afternoon, my favorite time of day, and we exchanged holiday greetings with lots of nice folks. It's a very peaceful atmosphere out there, you don't feel like you're right in the middle of lots of houses.

I also baked low-fat apple cinnamon muffins, so I might do more baking in 2012. I don't know why, since I can't eat most baked goods. I did make a pretty healthful dinner, and I know that will continue.

I talked to family on the phone, which I definitely will keep doing. I'd like to get together with family and friends more this year, and I always want to do more entertaining.

I'm writing this column, and I really want to do more writing in the coming year. I couldn't get to it the last few weeks, and I hated that.

So those are my predictions for the new year. There's still time left before midnight for me to get some other things done, if you know what I mean.

I hope 2012 will be a better year. Last year wasn't a terrible year for me, but there's always room for improvement. Of course, if the 2012 doom-sayers are right, and the world ends, 2011 is going to look pretty good about then, right?

I hope you have a wonderful, prosperous New Year!