2011 in a largish nutshell

Well, we've come to the end of another year.  Looking back on it, it was a rather enjoyable twelve months.  Sure there were lows, some losses, and a few boring stretches, but overall it was a positive year.  Let's do the proper thing and recap, shall we?

January: I turned 36.  Yup, that's about all that happened in January.

February:  Hmmm...February is cold.  Oh, we had a blizzard.  Yeah, we had a blizzard and a couple of snow days and that's about all that registers in my memory of February.  Oh, and the Packers won the Super Bowl. 





March:  March was full of fun!  I loved March!  I started off by spending the weekend with a great group of people including one of my best friends in the whole wide world.  The weekend after that, we ended up in the midst of the protests in Madison...completely by accident.  And then at the end of the month, we took our first ever family road trip.  The whole month was complete bliss!
April:  A very dizzying month for me: both because of my vertigo and the fact that my son was learning more and more about S-E-X courtesy of our wonderful public school system.

May: It got warmer, I was able to escape to the great outdoors more and more...and so did the mayflies.

June: Ah, beautiful June.  I did a lot of purging of closets and memories.  There wasn't much in the way of mind-blowing events, but I remember spending as much time outside as humanly possible.  (Hello tan!)

July:  A roller coaster ride of a month.  It began with our annual trip to the Renaissance Faire, but was quickly turned upside down by the day from hell, the loss of my third grandmother, and the loss of the mother of my best friend.  We ended the month back on a high note though with a trip to see our local baseball team win another game.

August: I trudged forward in August (sweating all the way), determined to help those in need and give a few pointers that I've learned along the way.

September:  Every September begins with a trip to our county fair.  This one was no different.  Fried foods on a stick and overpriced rides galore!  My family and I also participated in the Walk to End Alzheimer's
and raised $350 toward the cause.  That made the whole month.

October:  My favoritest month of every year.  It's Halloween season, my hubby turned...older, and we celebrated our 15-year wedding anniversary in grand style.  I rounded out the month with a field trip to Chicago for no reason other than to play tourist and take a crap-load of pictures.

November:  Things got a little cooler, but by no means winterish.  (Say goodbye to the tan.)  My hubby took a road trip to Minnesota, leaving me to watch football on my own, but when he returned, we celebrated Thanksgiving with family...again and again.  I also realized after years and years how I end up with so many mysterious bruises.

December:  Here we are.  The holiday season, colder temperatures, maybe even a little snow from time to time (unfortunately not for Christmas).  We had a wonderful Christmas - calm, not terribly stressful, and really enjoyed being with our families.  That's what it's all about. 

Looking forward to 2012, I see only positive things.  Great changes are on their way - I know it.  I feel it!  We're going to be happier and healthier than we have been in years.  Maybe I'll get a new job, but if not I'll gain another week of vacation time once I hit my anniversary date, so that's...something.  I have plans to do wonderful but insane things and I hope you'll stick with me along the way.

All the best to you in the coming year.  May it be full of great things!