Five on Friday: Memories & Moments of 2011

2011...good gracious the year flew by. I can't even begin to capture the year in a single blog post the way several of the blogs I read have done, I am royally impressed they are able to pull it all together.  I thought it would be helpful (for myself and the girls, when they are 45 and reading this) if I pulled together my Five Favorite Memories/Moments of 2011...this is stretching me out of my comfort zone, because I am going to do my best to make them MY Five Favorite, not OUR Five Favorite, which is going to also be a theme for 2012...not forgetting about ME, and while OUR/US/Family will always be #1, ME shouldn't be #4 or #5...

Halloween 2010

1) Losing Weight - this was a "big" one for me, no pun intended. But really focusing on eating right, and being healthy was a big focus for me for the better part of the year. It is no secret that the last few months of the year I threw the rule book out and ate my face off, but we are back on track now and 2012 is going to help me get closer to my goal weight.  A lot of people focus on the # on the scale, and frankly when I say "goal weight", I don't have a specific number in mind, I want to get to a place where I am comfortable in my skin and my clothes and that when I look in the mirror I can smile and not want to cut my love handles off with the super duper sharp medical scissors we have in the bathroom drawer. I am utterly embarrassed by the photo above, but come on people, its no secret, I was not photo worthy a year ago and while I am not jumping in front of the camera, I am in a spot where I can stand to look at a photo of myself without throwing up in my mouth...just got a ways to go, but I am looking forward to the journey.

May 2011

December 2011

2) Finding a Hobby - I have been searching for a hobby for as long as I have known myself.  I have always wanted a hobby, I have envied those with hobbies, and it wasn't until this year that I found a hobby that I can call my own.  Being crafty and taking on home projects is my hobby and there are several things I love about it. I love that its about the hunt, that its about finding a great deal and turning a 2 into a 10.  I love that I don't have to be married to it. If I need a break, I can take a break and nothing is going to fall apart, sure I might get a little anxious that I haven't knocked out a project in quite some time, but all in all, a break from this hobby isn't going to kill me, its easy to take a break from and I need a low pressure hobby like that, one that doesn't take over my life, one that just enriches it, and gives me something for me, something that I enjoy.

Wall Art for Olivia's Room

Bulletin Board for the Home Office

3) My Birthday Away - I love that my husband FINALLY planned something, and surprised me with a night away.  I am the worlds biggest planner, and I happen to love traveling more than your average Joe, and for him to put two of my favorite loves together - planning & traveling, I could have just married him all over again - and I happen to love that we got to spend almost 2 days together focused on us, on us as a couple and us as two individuals, not just us as Parents.  We have come to realize that if we are happy as a couple and as individuals, we are much happier as Parents, so for 2012 that is also going to be on our radar.

Room at the B&B

4)  St. Jude Trike-a-Thon - this one just melts my heart. I love that Olivia got involved in something so great and I love that Brad and I took the day to support her while she rode her little pedal-free bike for the St. Jude's Family.  Olivia still talks about St. Jude all the time, she sees the emblem in store windows and asks about the doctors and the kids at St. Jude, and she saw an ornament on the tree at her school from St. Jude and quickly pointed it out to me. I just hope that exposing her to the gift of giving at such a young age sets her up for many years to come of thinking of others and finding a way to give to those in need...we couldn't have been more proud of her. And we also couldn't have been more grateful to all our friends and family who supported her, I think that really cemented this as a special memory for me, I was floored by the support and encouragement our friends and family gave Olivia.

5) Irene & The Earthquake - while the damage we suffered pales in comparison to most, there was a split second during Irene from the time Brad yelled "She's going" (meaning the tree) to the time it hit the ground that I felt my world stop, I rushed for the girls, but it felt like I was moving in slow motion, I was rushing to ensure that if it came down on my house that it didn't come down on our precious beauties.  I was frightened and then so very thankful in a wave of about 3 seconds, it is hard to explain those emotions.  I felt similar ones during the Earthquake, once I realized what was going on, of course, but there was more fear because I wasn't with the girls, I couldn't reach them and confirm their safety, and then all the what if's started to play through my head, what if it didn't stop shaking? What if their school building came down on them? What if MY building came down on me? What if Brad was driving over a bridge when it started to shake and the bridge snapped in half...all of those what ifs went through my head, not immediately, but they did. Natural Disasters scare the ba-jeezes out of me, and I can't really classify either moment as a favorite, but the pure relief I felt when I realized the tree didn't hit our house, and simply just took out our fence. I didn't once complain about the clean up or the hassle of dealing with insurance, I was so incredibly thankful that we were all safe, that is all that mattered. P.S. Why don't they name Earthquakes the way they do with Hurricanes? And are hurricanes the only disasters that they do name? Odd, huh?

Next Friday - 5 Goals for 2012, not to be confused with New Years Resolutions, which will be shared hopefully this weekend. Feel free to join in the fun and post along with me...once I figure out this whole linky thing, I will set it up, if you have tips, let me know.