Monday, December 31, 2012

2012: A Year Gone By

I started this tradition in 2010 and enjoyed the process in 2011.  Even today, I anjoyed going back and reading over those review posts and contemplating how life has been going the past few years and how things have changed.

2012: A review of my year of blogging.

JANUARY

I chose a word of the year - Steady.  We celebrated Jeff's birthday.  I got upset (but never followed through) on something from Teagan's music class.  We adopted Buttons from the Humane Society.  I made my own guacamole.  I learned about myself thanks to a Women's Retreat at church.  I vented about marriage and how Hollywood exemplifies the lack of commitment in our society.  Teagan participated in the YMCA World Fair through her before/after school care program.

FEBRUARY

Our kids were still electronic-less and we were fine with it - mostly.  Mydaughter declared me to be amazing.  I confessed that I needed to, once again, get healthy.  I joined Weight Watchers and shared weekly updates.  I was proud of my kids at Valentine's Day.  I prayed with my kids.  I attended a healthy Chinese cooking class.  We had a family meeting to discuss the kids' choices for summer camp at the YMCA.  We worked on adjusting to having Buttons in our family.

MARCH

A mom in my mom community faced a tragic loss that rocked the community.  I wrote about LOVE.  We dealt with my daughter's potential for meanness again.  Teagan turned 7 and we had a great time celebrating!   I hit up the Revolve Tour again with girls from my church - but was disappointed this time around.  Spring began to... spring!

APRIL

We started the month with the kids going to Grandma's house for Spring Break - leaving Jeff and I home alone.  We welcomed them home with some fun in our own town.  I spent a lot of time being deep.  I wrote about bullying.  I wrote about my church family - my ohana.  I went on a weekend "retreat - the Walk to Emmaus - and brought back important learning from my experiences there.  I also brought back an important lesson about my job (which had been very stressful for about a year).

MAY

I wrote, once again, about how my faith drives me towards equality.  I shared ways that I find joy sometimes.  I celebrated my A-Day.  I finished the Dirty Girl Mud Run.  I also did my first (and so far last) spin class.  I chaperoned a first grade field trip and learned something about friendship.  I juiced!  We said goodbye to Buttons - and tried to make it special.  I appreciated the blessings I have and what I am able to provide for my children.  We enjoyed the opening of our local Farmer's Market.

JUNE

My kids were very excited to start a summer of fun at YMCA Day Camps.  I shared more of my job stress and a little bit of my mental attempts at balancing it.  We had a great visit with family in Ohio.  I was very excited to see a local community theatre production of Rent.  I did my second annual Girlfriend Ride.  I complained about my job situation some more.  I realized I was being a mushy carrot.  I did my 3rd annual local 5K - but had to deal with unsportsmanlike conduct in our family.  I learned (the hard way) about heat exhaustion.  I wrote a letter to the survivors of Sandusky (Penn State).

JULY

I had a lot to say in July!  I got preachy with a song by Casting Crowns.  I wrote about building a healthy salad.  Expanding on the food theme, I shared what my kids were enjoying in their lunch boxes at hot summer camp.  I came to the realization that I was minimizing and denying the impact my job stress was having on me.  I recognized that I am blessed to have people in my life who encourage me.  I also recognized that the greatest of my silver linings is my husband.  I got fed up with all the hate being lobbed about.  We took a weekend to getaway from home - and had a great trip to nearby Fort Wayne!  I got fed up with the trappings of religion.  We took in an Indianapolis Indians game.  And I had yet another vent about gay people, chicken sandwiches, boycotts, and Christianity.

AUGUST

My favorite time of year!  Indiana State Fair time! And this year brought a great day on the Midway with my kids.  My job situation got worse and my stress level got higher.  Summer camp ended and school began.  I had a great and full of fun day at Conner Prairie with my kids.  I had a birthday!  I got important parenting advice from my kids.  I attended Women of Faith and came away with a couple of things to ponder.  I wrote about teaching my children to be the Light.

SEPTEMBER

September was a month of highs and lows.  I attended a worship leadership conference at Disney World with a great friend.  But it was also the month that the layoffs completed at work and my workload officially spiked again.  As I look back at my September posts, I can see that I was really struggling to remain steady.

OCTOBER

I worked hard to pull myself from my funk in October.  I tried to focus on being a surfing coffee bean.  I focused on the theme of birth and changes.  We decided to plan a big family vacation - our first in 5+ years - by booking a trip to Disney for the summer of 2013.    I had a lightbulb moment about anger, I shared marriage advice, and I realized how much better we'd all be if we could be more like kids.  We celebrated Zach's 5th birthday and the kids chose to move from sharing a room to separate rooms.

NOVEMBER

Life got busy again - as evidenced by fewer posts.  But what I did write was pretty deep!  I asked people to consider what it really means when someone says "WWJD?"  I had a mom fail and shared it as a learning opportunity.  I shared some thoughts on politics - mainly thoughts that We, The People are the true leaders.  I was called for - but not selected for - jury duty.  I faced personal conflict and made amends.

DECEMBER

And here we are in December.  I am facing the truth about the ups and downs I keep experiencing.  After the Sandy Hook tragedy, I wrote about God already being in our schools - and everywhere.

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