We're plotting...

Our spring trips!

        Our sports memorabilia in the basement..

                        

           And this? This is the shadowbox that will hold my finisher's medal and race number after I run my first ever half marathon at the end of March!

It's shaping up to be an exciting few months. 

Hitting the ground running

I started painting the basement back in November and the holidays dragged the project out much longer than we anticipated. After my morning cup of coffee, we trooped downstairs to get going. The agenda on this beautiful January morning (55 degrees!) was to finish patching the holes in the ceiling that the previous owners so thoughtfully left behind for us, paint the ceiling, finish cleaning out the odds and ends and steam clean the suspicious smelling carpet. I hate painting ceilings. Almost as much as I hate drywall. So you can imagine how excited I was to scratch these two items off the To Do List.  :)

 We developed a system to ceiling paint after I threatened to run away during the bedroom ceiling painting event. I was tired, cranky, had a stiff neck from looking up and had paint dripped in my eye a few times. Thanks to the system, nobody has to run away. I use the edger along all of the corners and Tim rolls in the rest. He bought the paint months ago and when we opened is and saw it was bright pink, we did a double take. It's a pretty great invention, it rolls on pink so you can see what you've completed and it dries to a nice bright white.

 We took off the awful, scratched accordian doors that covered the laundry room.

 Tim handled the laundry while I used our little blue beast to clean the carpets. 7 gallons of black water later and we're feeling really good about our progress! Next weekend we'll work on filling up some of that empty wall space. And start the couch hunt. I'm too tired to think about anything else right now. :)

 With our work done downstairs, we headed upstairs to put away the last piece of Christmas. We are counting our blessings in this new year and loved seeing all of our little friends every time we walked by our card display.



Reset

I knew that when the clock struck midnight on December 31st, I would be thrilled. I couldn't wait to get rid of 2011 and all the emotional baggage that came with it. I spent a low key night with a dear friend in New Jersey while T went to bed nice and early (he had to work at 5am the next day)

We had a wonderful dinner, watched movies, laughed and talked about what our hopes and dreams were for 2012. At midnight, we walked down to the shores of the Hudson River with a glass of wine and watched the fireworks over Manhattan. Lost in my own thoughts, I watched each explosion and marveled at the year that seemed like it would never end. And yet, here I was. I made it. As the sparks from the last firework rained down over Central Park, I felt relief. Relief that 2011 is over and I made it through in one piece. As awful as the events of last year were, I know that they have made me a stonger person. They have made T and I a stronger team. We made it through together and I am so grateful that he is my partner in life.

There is something so hopeful about a new year. Like a big reset button, we have the chance to start over. We don't start completely over however, we pack up the lessons we've learned and bring them with us. We bring our joys and sorrows and loves and these things help us as we write the next chapter of our lives, colored by what we've learned. So thank you 2011, for teaching me to trust in a plan that I don't understand. To tell my people how much I love and appreciate them. To lean on my husband and let him kiss away my tears. And for my angel baby, who I'm certain is being well taken care by my father in law, my beloved Barbie and my grandmother.

I can't wait to see what 2012 holds for us.