A year in review

I’m filled with hope for the new year. I’m not sure why turning a page on a calendar signifies a new start in my life but it does. Every year. Sometimes I look back fondly on the year and other times, like this year, I can’t wait to flip over the page to January 1st. That got me thinking. How bad has this year really been? In looking through my blog posts, it hasn’t been bad at all. Yes, the last couple months could have been better but this year has held some amazing memories for me. If you haven’t been reading my blog all year, I encourage you to browse through these posts.

We went geocaching and got some interesting treasure. 

Visited the Florida State Fair for the first time.

Took my favorite picture of the year.

I saw the Google maps car!

I conquered a fear of mine.

Went on many Sunday outings.

Went to the beach (several times) and started our jumping picture tradition.

Went on a road trip to see Mumford and Songs (warning, this post is long, with lots of photos). This is a tie for my favorite memory of the year.

Went to Georgia, collected some rocks & jumped for some more pictures.

Threw Ken a 40th birthday bash! 

Celebrated my niece’s birthday in Crystal River.

Watched my friend’s movie screening.

Went to California to interview Roma Downey. My favorite posts about my trip can be seen here, here (my favorite day in California), here and this is my interview.

Recorded an acoustic music video. (Here is the link that includes the actual video.)

So, as I sit back an remember all that has happened this year, I’ve decided that it’s been a good year overall. Yes, the last two months can kiss my butt and I’m still looking forward to 2012 but 2011 & I have kissed and made up. I think I just needed some perspective.  

Have a great New Year’s Eve and may you experience more blessings than you can imagine in 2012!

Christmas Found ‘Round

OK guys, I haven’t fallen off the planet, I promise. I’ll be back soon with regular posts. Until then, enjoy this video. I, for one, am thankful I don’t have this much wrapping to do this year!

Have a wonderful Christmas and I’ll see you on the flip side!

Me? Bah humbug?

It’s been said that this is the most wonderful time of the year. It usually is my favorite time of year but I’m having a hard time getting in the mood this year. It’s almost 1am and I just can’t fall asleep. Instead of tossing and turning, I thought I’d share something fun with you. Hopefully it’ll help me get in the merry mood.

Last year for Christmas Ethan gave us each our own little Lego mini figure. A couple of weeks ago I asked him to make one for himself and I was going to use it for our Christmas card picture. One of the things on the “not getting done this year” list is Christmas cards. I actually made a few last month (my mom and I usually make our own cards each year) but just haven’t written them out to send them on their merry way. But I can share this one with you. Even though I’m not mailing anything out this year I can show you guys, right?

So, from my family to yours…

In case you can’t tell from the picture, that’s Jackson on the far left with a video game in his hand. He’s bound to become a video game tester/inventor or just plain video game player. I’m next to Jackson with a book in my hand. And to the right of me is Ken. He has a computer bag in his hand because he works with computers and Ethan is on the far right. He gave himself a banana to hold because the kid loves fruit. Life would be perfect if bananas came that big in real life! So now you know a little more about me and my family.

What are your Christmas card tradition? Do you make them? Buy them? Print a picture and use that? Or do you not participate in the ritual at all?

Found ’round

Here are a few more videos that I’ve found ’round the net. 

It’s sweater weather now! Are you tired of wearing your scarves the same old way? Here are 25 different ways to wear them.

Last time, I told you that I had a bit of a dare devil streak in me. I’ve always thought it would be fun to be a storm chaser. (That is, if I’m guaranteed that I’d never get hurt.) This might be a good compromise.

This one isn’t a video but a really awesome web site. Check out back to the future photos.
I’d love to recreate one of these some day.

This video comes from my friends at Ocean Soul. I can’t wait to try this one:

And last but not least, my band Friends of Giants. This is the acoustic video we recorded on the beach a few weeks ago.

Ups and downs

Wow, this year has certainly had more than it’s fair share of ups and downs. Pretty much like a roller coaster. Last time I wrote I told you that my husband was in a car accident. After five days in the hospital, he’s home recuperating. It’s been quite a month for us and it’s only the 11th of December. After the accident, house decorations were left unfinished, cleaning was neglected (until my mom saw the mess my house was & cleaned almost the entire thing (thanks, mom)), parties weren’t hosted and just about everything was put on hold. But I have a husband. Who, for the most part is healthy. When I finally had a chance to see the car and retrieve our personal items, I was so very thankful that it wasn’t worse than it could have been. 

Remember that roller coaster I was talking about? The car accident was a “down” but the fact that I have a healthy husband was most definitely an “up”. The fact that he was let go from his job on his first day back to work…another “down”. After totaling his car, spending 5 days in the hospital and two weeks before Christmas, that was the time his company decides to let him go. So, he’s on the job hunt again. We have decided that 2011 can kiss our butt. I’m ready to start 2012. How about you?

The important things

I sat down to blog last night but something was all jacked up with WordPress and it just wasn’t working. Little did I know that my husband was getting into an accident while I sat on the couch surfing the ‘net. I just wanted to pop in here and ask for your prayers. He’s fine but suffering from a collapsed lung and some bruises (and a night of almost no sleep).

They initially thought he had some cracked or broken ribs but it doesn’t appear that way now, thank God. The recovery will be much faster without them. Being someone that sings, he wasn’t looking forward to 8-12 weeks recovery. We would really appreciate your prayers as he begins the recovery process. I’ll be updating on his progress. Give those you love an extra hug and kiss today. I learned last night that some things we tend to worry about are really not the “important” things. Sure, they’re important to us at the time and they really do matter but they’re not the most important things in life. When he’s all better, I can’t wait to give my hubby a nice big hug!