Goodbye 2010!

2010 has been quite a ride! In it's final hours, I find myself left with a mixed bag of inexpressible joy and new and deep worry over our family's financial future.

This past year I learned:

• what am amazingly wild, wonderful, awful, selfish, and selfless ride motherhood is going to be and that I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world.
• how to keep smiling when you're not sure how you're going to feed your family in two months.
• that while I miss being surrounded by old buildings, historical research, and other crazies who love it like I do as my job, I really enjoy the job I have now.
• our families are too far away but we love where we live and they love where they live so we'll just have to make it work.
• my little family makes me more happy than I EVER would have expected - even when it's just the three of us heading out to wander through IKEA on a Saturday afternoon.
• that in just over one year I can make at least one friend in a new place who feels like I've always known them and who makes my life so much more fun.
• Craig and I can get through anything - even some really crappy, scary, emotionally taxing job things coming up in the next month.
• praying does make me feel infinitely better - even when it's God that I'm mad at.

It's been quite the year of life lessons and I'm sure 2011 will be the same. The last few weeks have been incredibly rough because Craig's learned some scary financial things about his work and we're not sure how things are going to pan out. It's been disheartening to watch everyone at the church let this happen and/or not even know about it. I've been trying very hard to enter the new year on a positive note and I've made it. I feel blessed with my family, positive about my job experience, and determined to make the most of the coming year. Ella's developing in leaps and bounds and we have the whole year ahead of us for family time, local trips, and building friendships. 2010 was a rollercoaster trip - thrilling and terrifying -- always a bit out of control. 2011 is our time to focus on us, pay off some debt, get job things figured out and just keep moving along.

Best wishes from our family to yours this New Year's Eve!

Catch ya next year! :)

Ella meets Santa

"Let's see...what did I have on my list?!"

Back in the Saddle Again

Whew! Life's been crazy! Since August I've flown four times, been in five states outside of Washington, mourned a relative, celebrated two weddings, and spent Thanksgiving in my hometown for the first time since 2004. It's been an expensive, exhausting, and completely worth it whirlwind adventure.

I haven't blogged in a while mostly because I haven't had time or nice things to say but I've decided I need this outlet. I need to champion my family, rage at the world, and detail the minutia of my life. It helps me get it all out and channels my energy.

Things on my plate right now:

1. Fitness Re-Boot. I have the gym membership I've been craving for so long and I LOOVE it. However, to get in my workout for the day and still be a present member of my family, my workout slot is 5am. This, I do not love. I was very good about going for a while but travel and bad weather have conspired with my innate laziness and I haven't been in quite a while. I will be there tomorrow, high waters be damned (we have had a lot of high water around these parts lately...hell, not so much)! I've resigned up for SparkPeople to track my fitness and my food and it's telling me that if I keep this up fairly consistently, I could be at my ultimate healthy weight by next Christmas. :) Merry Christmas to me!
2. Crafting Ahoy! My goal this year was to craft and I've been semi-successful. I am always working on Ella's baby book. I have even started playing around with other scrapbooks (England 2006, Wedding 2007, etc) but those aren't really started yet. Over Thanksgiving, my mom and I made one of the three stockings I wanted to complete by Christmas this year. The pieces are cut out for the other ones but I haven't really had the time or space to do any sewing. I'm planning on devoting a chunk of time this weekend to it in order to bang out the rest. It's 11 days until Christmas - can I have them done in time for Santa?
3. Cleaning, Cleaning, Always Cleaning We have a tiny apartment and due to our own financial problems and some job worries, we won't be able to move any time soon. Therefore, we have been slowly culling through everything to determine what we really need and what can either be pitched, donated, or sold. It's a work in progress but it always feels nice to make a little bit more room.

Life hasn't worked out exactly as planned lately (when does it?) and I've been working through phases of anger, despair, anger again, and acceptance. We're blessed to have health, love, family, and (as of right now anyway) a room over our head and food for our baby so we can't really complain.

I promise to keep up with blogging a bit more. I'm sure all two of you who read this are thrilled. :)