I'm back

This year has started out pretty hectic and I love it. It's been 6 weeks of training, family, travels, and friends. T and I jetted off to see my family in CA and we had a blast hanging out with everyone...especially the kiddos. I love this boy.

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 This kiddo has become a toddler since I last saw her. She is sweet and happy and dances with excitement when it's time to go out. Which we did a lot of! The photo below was our visit to the park.

 T and I took our nephew out on the town for a special day'o' fun. We went to the Academy of Sciences in SF and had a blast touching starfish at the tidepool.

 Watching the giant fish swim overhead.

 Watching the sea lions at Pier 39. I'm amazed that he is 7 years old and is becoming a boy right in front of our eyes. He tells time, he reads, he plays games on the computer and he loves to karate chop everything. But he also isn't afraid to cuddle up on the couch and give out butterfly kisses. He and his uncle bonded a lot on this trip. It was a lot of fun to watch them together and I'm even more convinced that T is going to be an amazing father. We can't wait for our next visit in June. :)

 And back on the homestead, we re-homed our spare couch to the basement.

 Half marathon training slowed down after I threw out my back and caught a cold after coming back from CA. Hoping to lace these bad boys up again soon and get back on track.

 We have the final piece of our sports wall of fame! My all time favorite baseball player is Will Clark and I had hoped to find my collection of his baseball cards while we were in CA. They were unfortunately nowehere to be found so my dad went to several card shops and found new cards for me. Here they are framed and ready for a place of honor downstairs.

Looking forward to the weekend!!

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.

Bittersweet

“How very quietly you tiptoed into our world, silently, only a moment you stayed. But what an imprint your footprints have left upon our hearts.’” -Unknown

The elves have been busy

The CD player has some new material..
My Martha Stewart craft from last year is finally being used...



Our ornament from 2011...

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas..

Introducing Bob. T picked him out and he smells delicious.

A very Christmas filled weekend awaits!

Reflecting

We've been so busy that the holidays have completely snuck up on me. I can't believe that Thanksgiving is already next week! We have so much to be grateful for. For me, this year is not about decorations or turkeys, it's about love. About family. Friends.

This time of year always has me reflecting on the past year and this one has been a doozy. Around March, I didn't know how I would get by. I was lost and it was simply about putting one foot in front of the other. And I did that for a long time. But somewhere along that path, it became about living again, not simply surviving. T and I burned the candle at both ends this fall. We traveled, we ate, we spent time with friends. We split the Newburyport Half Marathon. Ate and drank our way through the NYC Food and Wine Festival Closing Party. Went back to Chicago. I spent a wonderfully healing weekend with a dear friend in NYC. Cuddled with my nephew and my new niece in CA. Spent a day at the Hall of Fame. In short, we lived.

When I look back at 2011, I'm not going to remember the bad times. They exist for me now only to remind me of how lucky I am. Our family and friends are the story of this year. I've always been aware of how wonderful my family is but it holds a whole different meaning to me now. I am completely overwhelmed with the love and support that we have received this year. I have never been more aware of how much love exists in our little world and how many amazing people we are blessed with. My heart is full this year and at Thanksgiving, I will be giving thanks for healthy parents, children who grow like weeds, friends who are always there to listen and tell you to buy those boots because you deserve them. :)

My heart is full.