S: Is for resolutions sticking

To view your 2009 horoscope go to www.xplorefacts.com

As we face a year where our country is in recession our resolutions take on a different angle. The resolutions may sound the same, but the reasons driving them are different. Weight loss use to top the# 1 slot. Now it is saving money. Who can afford $100 a month for a gym membership when walking is free and helps trim those unwanted pounds. I traded for a bike when I heard about the rising subway costs and I found not only did I get everywhere quicker, I actually enjoy riding. I also found myself just a little less stressed as I peddled to my destination. Spending time with friends is also, always on our lists and seldom really gets accomplished. What with the option of a $12 glass of wine or a $12 bottle, plans to spend time with friends at their homes is doable. The 2nd resolution to top the list is to quit smoking but at $9 a pack the incentive has never been better. Even healthier lifestyles are easier. It is cost effective to bring your lunch or breakfast and go home to a homemade dinner with friends and or family. I predict that board games will make a comeback. It is also a time when some people are setting goals to take advantage of the bad news. With falling home prices and mortgage rates lowering it has never been a better time to buy. We may see communal living returning as more people learn that buying together not only gets you more but saves you in ways we have forgotten. There was a time that families lived together and when a child was raised it was by a community. Humanity has lost that quality and I think we have suffered for it. Though recession is a dirty word that raises fear in most, maybe it is a blessing in disguise if we only look at it in the right way. Lets hope that with all that is going we can actually make those resolutions a F.A.C.T.

T: Is for Time Out

I was looking forward to this New Years Eve with great anticipation. I do astrology and in checking configurations, I realized that Aquarians make it to the top of the heap this year. Now, if you are any other sign this will mean nothing to you. However, if you are Aquarian it means a great deal, as we have been at the bottom, for what seems like a lifetime. I know several other Aquarians and we have all felt like Job from the bible. I'm talking disasters and problems of epic proportions. When you meet a fellow Aquarian it is almost a relief, because you realize you have not been singled out.

As the new President was elected hope soared. So you would think with all this news that joyous glad tidings and celebrations would be in order. Not! Since Christmas, I have felt deflated. Friends whom I loved have gone MIA, without a trace. Things that I thought were going one way have done U turns and zig zags. Others, have gone clueless and want to stay that way. At first I thought I was alone in what was going on. Then I talked about it to a friend and she was going through the exact same thing. As I connected with those whom I am close to, I kept hearing my same thoughts and worries echoed back. A lot of my friends are scattered around the globe and all of the ones not MIA are feeling the same way, sadly alone. Emotions are dulled, thoughts few, in other words we have become etch-a-sketches that have become erased for the old to ring out, so that the new may arrive with a flourish. But change always feels a little, like loss. New Year's Eve is a milestone, it is the end of one year and the beginning of next. Traditional, it is a natural time of reflection. Maybe that is what we are all going through. A deeper reflection in which change, can come gracefully. A separation of the chaff from the wheat. In numerology we are going into a 11 year. 11 is not an easy number, especially for material interests. In an 11 year integrity issues, duplicity and deceit give way. It's the first 11 year to occur since 1910! What we will see around the planet during 2009 is more and more people seeking answers, to life’s questions, as if waking up from the deep sleep or hypnotic trance of illusion. 2009 will bring new friendships or partnerships into our lives while sad as it is, causing some long-term relationships to come to a close. We are not always on the same paths. Data will come into play as documents, official papers and personal data play an important role. Existing financial or legal documents will either be lost or found. Our emotions are prone to melancholy and, or sadness that will accompany aspects of our lives that are coming to a close, but we need to accept that destiny is at work here. I guess that's why we have all been feeling the same way, my friends and I. We were just ahead of the game and that is a F.A.C.T.

Welcome and happy 2009

C: Is for Celebrations

Are you still wondering what to do for New Years Eve? Here are some of the hottest venue's in which to schmooze with the rich and famous.

1: Hotel Gansevoort with Entourage’s Emmanuelle Chriqui along with Perez Hilton. Located at 18 Ninth Avenue this party starts at 9 and goes straight until 4 am. Hotel Gansevoort is the site for this year’s most premier “IT” New Year’s Eve Event. With breathtaking 360 degree panoramic views of New York City and sunsets over the Hudson River, is the first and only luxury, full service resort in Manhattan’s vibrant Meatpacking District. Hotel Gansevoort redefines the world of luxury and has become the go-to option for celebrities in New York City on New Year’s Eve. Hotel Gansevoort has 9 distinct areas of event space, including a pool, providing a never-ending labyrinth of celebration. Tickets are still available and start at $225

2: Marquee - Hosted By Mario Lopez and rated New Year's Eve 2009's Hottest Party in the Universe. Located at 289 10th Ave this party starts at 8:30 and ends at 4am with an after, after party at Home and Guest House. Known Universe at the “Hottest Club in the sizzling hot nightlife zone of West Chelsea, this spectacular club has redefined velvet rope exclusivity, positioning itself as the flagship for all things fabulous in Manhattan's high-end party scene. Guess who was seen cavorting in one of Marquee’s exclusive VIP booths last night? Mariah Carey, Carrie Underwood, Christina Aguilera, Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan
and Eva Longoria & Tony Parker. Tickets start at $165

3: To me, the New Year's Eve Concert for Peace is the first way to start the year off right. Starting at 7 at the cathedral of St John the Divine located at 110th and Amsterdam. This year it will start with Aaron Copeland's Fanfare for the Common Man. The Cathedral will mark the ninetieth anniversary of Leonard Bernstein's birth with vocal excerpts from West Side Story. The late Maestro Bernstein inaugurated the annual New Year's Eve Concert for Peace more than a quarter century ago. Also on the program will be the world premiere of Songs of War, Remembrance, and Hope by Glen Cortese, conductor for the evening and Cathedral Artist-in-Residence. The new piece is inspired by the poetry of Walt Whitman and will be sung by internationally renowned singers Lauren Flanigan and Amy Burton. Among other guests from home and abroad will be John Musto, solo pianist with the New York Sinfonia performing Beethoven's Choral Fantasy. This is an ethereal way to to start the New Year and I can't imagine mine without it. By the way it's free

No matter how you celebrate, it is time for a change and that is a F.A.C.T.

A: Art and the history of our country examined

"A New President Takes Command" is the new exhibit at The New-York Historical Society located at 170 Central Park West between 76th and 77th Street. This new exhibit examines the first 100 days of Franklin D. Roosevelt's first term in the White House. The exhibit avoids comparisons between the early stages of FDR's presidency and the expectations surrounding the new administration. Instead it consists of items selected from the permanent collection of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum, located in Hyde Park in Dutchess County. Last spring, that museum launched its own FDR exhibition, titled "Action, and Action Now: FDR's First 100 Days." The exhibit runs through next fall. The exhibit at the New-York Historical Society runs through May 3rd. Also on display: Nation at the Crossroads: The Great New York Debate over the Constitution, 1787-88 until January 25th, Grant and Lee in War and Peace through March 29th, If Elected: The Game of American Politics closing January 11th. To learn more about these and other exhibits on display log onto www.fdrlibrary.marist.edu/www.nyhistory.org. In this unique time in the history of our country, we need to re-visit where we came from and that is a F.A.C.T.

F: Is for good face

What do Whitney Port, Kimora Lee Simmons, Stacy London, Jamie-Lynn Sigler, Zoe Mclellan and other young hot new york celebrities have in common? Facials from Completely Bare. On my Christmas list it was gift #22. I wanted to really highlight why this was so wonderful that I sent a regular person to get their opinion. Here is what she had to say: "The staff was attentive in welcoming me to the spa and offered me bottled water while I filled out a form on my skin care regimen. The rooms were clean, modern, and inviting. I was given a robe to change into for the treatment, very nice. The esthetician did the microdermabrasion first; this was fairly gentle compared to what I was expecting! The facial was great as well; she extracted dirt and oil from the congested pores, then thoroughly cleaned, toned, and moisturized my face and neck. Though I usually prefer to remain quiet during treatments such as this, my technician was so friendly and engaging that I conversed with her for the entire length of the treatment! It was a very pleasant surprise! When I left the spa, my face was positively glowing! There were no red blotches, just clean, clear and glowing skin. The entire experience was wonderful, and I plan to visit again when I'm next in the city. The entire treatment was just under an hour and a half.

With the stress, the dirt, and simple day to day living facials can erase some of life's hardship. Locations are at: 304 South County Road, Palm Beach 561.837.9595; 103 Fifth Ave, NYC; 764 Madison Ave; NYC, Barney’s New York; 12 Chase Road, Scarsdale, NY and now 25 Bond Street in New York City.

Its time to give to yourself and that is a F.A.C.T.