My 2011

Let me start by saying Happy New Years to you! (Yes, you.) I joyfully rang in 2012 last night with my husband by my side, listening to two great local Portland bands, under a shower of black and silver balloons, and with a sip of champagne to toast the newness that is now here. As 2012 has been rapidly approaching (where did December go...!?) I have been feeling extremely contemplative. This year has been a biggie for me in many regards, and I struggle with how to best convey my feelings on this blog. I hesitate because I don't want to sound trite, or sound as if what I am about to write holds no meaning to me...you know, just words on a page. Rather it is the total opposite. You see, I don't write frequently on this blog because when I do write, it takes time, and it comes from the deepest place within me. How does one recap an entire year, a year which at times seemed to drag on for too long, and at other times seemed to race by without me knowing it? I will try my best to glimpse you into my 2011. So, for lack of a better way to say it, here are the things I learned this past year, lessons I hope to take with me for the rest of my life. 

• Turning 30, although scary as it sounded, has been a wonderful blessing. 
• No matter how much you vacuum, you will never suck up all of the Christmas Tree needles. Ever. (Isn't that telling of so many other aspects of life...)
• There are 2 types of people: those who listen to hear, and those who listen to know and understand. I am forever grateful for the latter type of person during these past 2 years, and pray I am never the former.
• Coming to Oregon has been the most healthy move possible for my husband and I at this time in our lives.
• Losing 20 pounds was easier than I thought.
• If I want to truly live, I cannot take myself so seriously.
• Zumba and line dancing have opened my life up to a whole new level of fun.
• I've got rhythm and I truly enjoy dancing.
• Watching windshield wipers clear off a rain soaked window can sometimes be very healing, as my soul has often needed the same type of fresh start that the window gets.
• Good friends are hard to come by as you get older. 
• A woman can never have enough shoes. Loafers are especially lovely. 
• No matter how bad of a job you have, no matter how nasty someone can be to work for, and no matter how poorly you are treated for 2 years, time heals all things.
• Eating a diet that is strictly lacking any dairy, peanut, soy, sugar, or starchy products is highly satisfying, and has made both hubby and I feel healthier than we've ever felt.
• I need a creative outlet in order to feel whole and complete. 
• Beards aren't as bad as I thought they were.
• I would rather be sweeping the floors and taking out the trash at my minimum-wage job (which I do multiple times on a weekly basis) than working in a high-stress environment where nothing pleases the boss.
• Kids need plenty of time and acceptance to be kids. They will never get that back. 
• Teaching is the best job I could have ever asked for, and I miss it dearly this year. 
• Giving my GPS navigation lady the name "Deb" (thanks Rachel!) has brought new life and purpose to her monotonous existance.
• Doughnut holes do not come from a machine's leftovers after stamping out glazed doughnuts....contrary to (my) popular belief.

May 2012 provide as many, if not more, of life's beautiful lessons.

See what I mean about the beards....? :o)