goodbye 2009

1. What did you do in 2009 that you’d never done before?
a photo of mine was published, went to the SYTYCD tour, put my house up for sale but didn't end up moving, sold some prints and handmade cards, reconnect with high school friends, taught a class on photography, RAW nights, made jam, discovered Pioneer Woman, let adam post on my blog, went to the Keane concert with Lori, and had a Halloween party.



2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year? I kept most of my creative ones like taking a picture a day & photos all day on the 12th of each month, but there were a few that alluded me, like writing in my journal everyday, and yes they have made it onto my list once again.

5. Did anyone close to you die?
my neighbor, friend, and girls school teacher Debbie Thompson



6. What countries did you visit?
none...I'm sad to say. I did go to Vegas though. That could be considered a different country...couldn't it?

7. What would you like to have in 2010 that you lacked in 2009?
confidence



8. What dates from 2009 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
*The 12th of each month. Every time I heard it I knew I was suppose to be doing something. Especially the 12th of June when we put our house on the market. Not what I thought I'd be doing in 2009.
*Also I remember loving our summer together. While we were selling our house it was a crazy time, but I felt at my happiest. We were out of the house a lot (showings everyday) enjoying each other, the house stayed clean, and we had the best summer ever when my sister Jeni came to town.



9. What was your biggest personal achievement of the year?
One of my photos was published in Simple Scrapbooks Magazine.

10. What was your biggest failure?
Not running the half mile marathon in June



11. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Yes, I injured my back which caused me not to run in the race.

12. What was the best thing you bought?
boot camp classes that got me out of bed at 5:45am each morning in the summer



13. Whose behavior merited celebration?
*Adam's for having patience with me as I grappled with the thought of turning our lives upside down and moving. For his positivity and always seeing the greatness that is possible.
*Bella for winning the school reflections contest in Literature.
*Tess for showing true compassion to her sisters & friends.
*Megan for trying her best to get her chores done around the house by herself.



14. Where did most of your money go?
hopefully on time together



15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
my monthly giveaways and making & giving the gratitude journals for Christmas

16. What song will always remind you of 2009?
girls: Love Story by Taylor Swift
adam: crawl by kings of leon
me: colorblind by counting crows



17. Compared to this time last year, are you: a) happier or sadder? b) thinner or fatter? c) richer or poorer?
A. happier
B. in shape.
C. no change. (grateful for it)



18. What do you wish you’d done more of?
give. while i was please with what I did give I think I could have given more.



19. What do you wish you’d done less of?
Worried about the things I have no control of.



20. Did you fall in love in 2009?
yes with Adam...all over again. I know sounds hokey, but true.

21. What was your favorite TV program?
Damages & So You Think You Can Dance



22. What was the best book you read?
Thank goodness for goodreads or I wouldn't have remembered what I read. The list doesn't seem long for a whole year, which is discouraging. I feel like I'm missing some, but of what's there I'm going to say The Help by Kathryn Stockett & To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee (this was a reread though)

23. What was your greatest musical discovery?
Meiko



24. What did you want and get?
understanding. I felt more understood this year.

25. What did you want and not get?
a chef

26. What was your favorite film of this year?
I can't say that I know. I remember being excited about Harry Pottery #6 because I loved the book, but it wasn't my favorite. Hmm...I think I'm going to have to say UP because it made me cry.



27. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I turned 33. Adam and I went to dinner at Settebello, my now favorite pizza restaurant. It's like being back in Italy. Afterward we went to see The Curious Case of Benjamin Button to enjoy Brad Pitt grow young before my eyes.



28. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
art. lost a little bit of my creative self this year I hope to get back in 2010.

29. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2009?
Is it going to be sad to read the same answer year after year? What can I say, I like what I like...jeans and not the skinny variety.



30. What kept you sane? Adam, time with my girls, my faith, photography, time with friends, and reading.

miscellany from this week

1.

The girls have been sleeping like this since December 23rd when Adam lovingly made them their Christmas fort. It finally came down yesterday while we cleaned the basement. I thought they would be more sad to see it come down, but I think they were finally ready to sleep on a mattress again. I must say it was a beautiful thing while it lasted. I think because it was so dark under there they didn't wake up until around 9am each day.

2. I've been thinking a lot about my word for the year and still haven't come up with it. I've been toying around with a few things, but nothing has really stood out to me. I know it's seems silly and that really a word is a word, but I have noticed the last 3 years since I've been doing it that the word I choose really does help shape my entire year. So to me it matters. Hopefully I can figure it out soon.

3.

Thanks to Megan (she got a whole bunch for Christmas) we've been doing a lot of puzzles around here.

4.



I finally woke up this morning to the sun. It's been gray for a while now and at least it snowed so it didn't feel like it was gray for nothing. Of course with the new fallen snow we had to go out in it. Yesterday late afternoon all of us went sledding at the Junior High again. We had even more fun than we did the first time because there was absolutely no fear.

5.

While in the middle of writing this post the girls came upstairs to see me wearing their robes. Since they've already been out with their dad to get a bagel I wondered what they were doing and they said, "playing karate". I didn't really think much about it until Megan came running upstairs yelling as she went, "Bella find my tooth its on the stairs". I immediately went to find her because the tears started coming once she saw the blood and she began her gruesome tale with, "Tess kicked me in the chin". Come to find out Tess was aiming for her stomach and kick her in the face instead. It took me a minute while hearing Tess' side of the story to remember that they left me saying they were "playing karate". Do kids ever think about the consequences to their actions? All I can really say is I'm grateful to finally get that tooth out. She's been talking about it for 2 weeks and inviting everyone she meets to stick their hands in her mouth to feel for themselves. Still, I admit it makes me a bit sad to see it gone. Loosing her baby teeth is the next step to completely taking her away from being a little girl...not sure I'm ready.

fresh start

I got the itch the day after Christmas. Usually it doesn't come until after New Years when I take down and box up Christmas, then I can't wait to attack my house and organize. I'm thinking it was my studio that put me over the edge.



Seriously what a disaster...the holiday was not kind to it. I spent a good portion of my day cleaning and man it felt good.



Since then the organizing bug has not left me and each day I've hit something. Monday it was Bella's room. She's in desperate need for clothes and I needed to know how desperate so we went through and cleaned out her closet which led to her entire room. It was a crazy realization to learn that she's a hoarder and not good at organizing. I've got my work cut out for me because I can't have her leaving our home without understanding that you don't have to keep everything.

It was also funny to see Tess dying for me to help her. I told her her room was next, but by the time I got done with Bella I was so wiped out that I said we would do it tomorrow. That answer was simply not good enough for her. She loves to organize and clean and wouldn't stop until she convinced me to tackle her room after lunch. So we did. Tuesday and Wednesday was left for Megan's room and the basement.

It's been such a great productive week and I feel like we have the makings for a great start around here for the new year.

handmade

I didn't make as many gifts this Christmas as a I did last year, but what I did make I was so excited about. I've been thinking a lot about gratitude the last few weeks. How feeling grateful actually changes your attitude which in turn changes the way you see life. So with that on my mind I decided to make gratitude journals that would help keep you thinking about gratitude all year long.





It was more of an undertaking than I thought, designing it all from scratch, but one of those projects for me that didn't seem like work at all. I created the book layout in Indesign. Here are my initial notes. I had to work out each individual signature (group of pages) before I could begin to lay it out. I told Adam there must be a program out there that does this for you, but didn't have the time or patients or money to go looking for it.



quote from book:

Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow. - Melody Beattie



You can't really see it so clearly in the picture, but each page has three days and a place to write 3 things your grateful for from that day. It was definitely a labor of love and hope Adam's sisters and mom will enjoy them this coming year.

And because I loved the way they turned out so much and the concept that I decided to make an extra one to sell. I know I'm cutting it close with the new year starting this week, but seeing as they were gifts I couldn't share this information until after Christmas. If your at all interested go here to see it in my etsy shop.

Have a great day!

Christmas 09 | highlights

Christmas Eve

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- delicious turkey dinner
- a random power nap, suggested by jill, that was completely needed and did the trick (i didn't sleep well the night before)
- watching how excited Andrew was to open up his gifts
- seeing Megan walk around showing everyone her stash (as if they didn't watch her opening them)
- giving the gratitude books I made to Lori, Kathy, Jill, & Robyn
- gift opening being much calmer this year and actually getting to see what everyone got
- the gift of books (almost everyone walked out of there with something to read)
- Bella & Tess excited about their new jewelry

Christmas morning

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- sleeping in til 8am (my parents came over and had to wake us up)
- opening the gifts each of my girls made for Adam and I...I'm such a fan of homemade gifts
- the baby that wouldn't stop crying (Megan got a doll from Santa that cried...I didn't know it did that)
- adam helping dress the baby
- bella a little too excited to get the nintendo ds...is that possible?
- my parents loving the book I made for them
- tess attempting to ride her heelys all over the house (i think she's getting the hang of it now)
- cozy fire
- old barstools I received from Adam for my studio desk
- grateful to have found zhu zhu pets as they were as big a hit as you can imagine...she hasn't stopped playing with them
- big delicious Christmas breakfast with my parents and our friends

what do you do when all the world is covered in snow?

We went sledding.


I love seeing how thrilled Adam was to push the girls down the hill. At the end Megan's started cheering saying, "that was awesome!"






Best line of the day was when Bella asked, "which sled is the least dangerous?"


photo by adam






photo by adam




Tess is our little dare-devil. She was trying to go off the jumps and was the first one to oppose leaving.

christmas epiphany

I admit, and am not proud of the fact, that often during the holiday season I feel a little bah humbug. It's not that I don't love Christmas, giving, or the reason we celebrate the holiday in the first place, it's that somewhere along the lines I get overwhelmed with gifts I want to buy when money is tight, my time is no longer mine with constant parties and gatherings, the traffic is incredible and not to mention when the snow falls it's tough to get around, there's the things I want to make or get to that I never have time for, so much snacking on holiday deliciousness makes my pants feel tight...

I started out this Christmas season with the best attitude. The best. I thought, this year will be magical. Then days slipped by and slowly I descended from the "this year will be magical" place and found myself overwhelmed as I've been before. It's so frustrating to find myself back there, especially when I was determined not to let it creep in. I put a smile on my face and told myself that all was well, it worked at times, the frustration lifted, and then at others times I was back in it. I couldn't really make sense of it and found myself on my knees asking why?

Then it happened. Earlier in the week I was looking through the pictures I took of my family Christmas party on Sunday and I saw this...


[dad & tess]

Something clicked inside my head and I remembered what Adam said during his Christmas message Sunday, "how we treat Christmas affects us". I think I've been focusing far too much on the list that needs checking off and forgetting all the things that make Christmas magical that can't be checked off a list...people. Christmas is the time of year that brings us together. It's as if Christmas is the beginning and the motivation to keep us together all year long. It's about family. Neighbors. Friends. What I remember about Christmas as a little girl is not what I received, it's the family gatherings and the traditions we had together each year that are etched in my memory and will never be forgotten.

The other thing I remember about Christmas as a child was the things I gave. I remember the gifts I made at school as a young girl, wrapping them my own special way and being as excited to give it as I was to get gifts from Santa Claus. Christmas is about giving. I've come to the conclusion this year after spending a 357 days thinking about giving (my word for 2009) that we give because we love. If you think about it whether you're buying something, making something, or giving yourself as an act of service, you've taken time out of your life to think about someone other than yourself....there is definitely a level of love shared. It's no wonder that we celebrate Christmas because of Jesus Christ who was the supreme example of love and giving.

So while I may have bobbled back and forth the last couple of weeks, this week Christmas just got sweeter. I'm feeling the magic. I finished wrapping all the gifts this morning and cannot wait to give them to my family the next two days. I'm excited about all the Christmas plans we have left with our families. I'm looking forward to all the many holiday treats I'll come in contact with...I can get back on track in January. When I'm out in the crowds I've been saying Merry Christmas to anyone who crosses my path. Slow roads because of the snow = a lot of Christmas carols in the car.

I hope you feel the magic too. Merry Christmas!

frost

it was so beautiful to wake up yesterday morning to a delicate layer of frost covering everything in site. There are only a few things that would get me out of my cozy bed on a winter morning to brave the freezing cold...that was one of them.

weight training

This is a giant block of whatever is most difficult for you to carry & trust me on this, you'll carry it more times than you can count until you decide that's exactly what you want to do most & then it won't weigh a thing anymore.

-story people


P.S. I hope you don't mind, in the new year I plan to post more of my favorite story people quotes. They are gold to me and need to make it into my book of life.

Have a great day. Can't believe we have only 4 days left.

my glimpse

this is a reflection from a store window. i loved the way it turned out sort of like a collage with the busyness of what's going on behind us and just a hint of us framed in the mirror. definitely a new favorite.


saw a stack of LOVE books and thought how appropriate for the day.


the outdoor water show. shot this while walking by with my camera at my side.


treating ourselves to dinner at flemings.


if you can't tell already i have a thing for reflections. i saw this cool fountain/waterfall in z-gallery and couldn't resist.


anthropologie is a like a world of it's own. you walk in and the smell captures you right away and you can't help, but be sucked in. we usually split apart making our way, taking our time looking at all the goodness. while roaming i saw this man and a book and knew he had found a very happy place. i could have easily left him in there for hours.

last but not least, here would be a picture of the two of us side by side completely immersed and enjoying a most relaxing full body massage. i can't speak for adam, but it was the best massage i've had in a very long time. one of my favorite things about celebrating our anniversary is giving a massage to each other as a gift and enjoying it together. you should definitely try it.