Round-Up

I recently discovered a blog that I immediately bookmarked and check daily. Recently, she suggested a "Year-End Round-Up" of memories. Here's mine.

What books and/or magazines did I read this year?
At the beginning of the year, I got into short stories and read volumes by Fitzgerald and Hemingway. Toward the middle of the year, I read novellas that I'd always meant to read: Of Mice and Men, The Pearl, Shopgirl, The Old Man and the Sea....
Toward the end of the year, I found myself frustrated with no books on my bedside table, but I occupied my late night reading hours with issues of Texas Monthly, Home Companion, and various scrapbooking mags.

What movies and/or tv shows did I watch this year?
I'm not much of a TV watcher, but I rarely miss American Idol when it's in season. I caught enough episodes of Boston Legal to know that I think it's really funny in a weird-funny sort of way, and the few Grey's Anatomy episodes I saw looked good. The last week of the year, of course, I discovered 24. :) As for movies, we rarely go out, and we keep our Netflix DVDs for weeks and weeks at a time before we remember to send them back. This week, ironically, I've seen two movies - "Dreamgirls" with my Fortress homegirls, and "Charlotte's Web" with Aidan and Ian. But before this week, the last movie I saw in a theatre was "Cars", way back in June.

What special days did I celebrate and how?
Birthdays with friends and family. All low-key, but all fun anyway. On the boys' birthdays, they both opted to bake their own cakes rather than pick fancy ones from the grocer's bakery. THAT was fun. :)

What gifts did I give and/or receive?
Birthdays: I gave Dani permission to get her cartilege pierced; Darren got season tickets to the Fort Worth Symphony; Aidan and Ian got $20 shopping sprees to Target. (Aidan bought a Gingerbread House kit and a book. Ian bought a pop gun, a book and a Power Ranger toy.) For my own birthday, I received my cool red Xterra from Darren!

What illnesses or health concerns did I have?
I spent the first 1/4 of the year wondering if the huge goiter on my thyroid was cancerous. A sonogram, nuclear scan, fine needle biopsy, and many blood tests later, we rest assured that it isn't.

What fun things did I do with my friends and/or family?
Cara, Kristi and I made a couple of trips to Canton. I attended four scrapbooking retreats. Our family vacation was spent in Colorado (OH how I'd missed the mountains!). The kids and I took a road trip to Tennessee to visit Bobbie and family. Darren and I sat through many an antique auction. The Fortress gals and I scrapped together once a month. Dani and I spent the fall taking weekly "Mom and Dani dates", usually to PeiWei or Starbucks. Somewhere along the way, we stopped doing that. Need to get back into the habit! In general, we spent a lot of time hanging out with our friends Cara and Michael, and Dale and Kristi... and all of their kids and ours. GOOD TIMES. :)

What new foods, recipes or restaurants did I try this year?
Thai food (LOVE IT! Even learned to love the tofu in my favorite PeiWei dish.)

What special or unusual purchases did I make?
Honestly, I can't think of any.

What were this year's disappointments?
A friend let me go unexpectedly, but the real disappointment came in realizing that it was better this way. I found out about two of my brothers' dispicable behaviors, but out of that turmoil and disappointment, God has given me a greater capacity to forgive, and a deeper understanding of what that really means. I suffered with a dear friend as she waded through the shock of marital infidelity (her husband is a dear friend, too), but she blessed me by facing it with grace and peace and unwavering faith, and he blessed me by showing true repentance and humility.

What were my accomplishments this year?
I vowed to not speak publicly about a doomed friendship, and I kept that vow. I didn't fight back when false accusations were made, though my body and soul yearned to. I learned that the high road, though lonely, is worth the view in the end. And I learned that I am strong and independent, and can set a goal and stick to it for the first time in my life. OH... and that it's okay to lean on Darren and let him help me stick to it.

Anything else noteworthy to record?
YES! I launched a website for my scrapbooking business (linked in the sidebar over there ---->), and I made a good friend out of the deal, in the web guru who coded the site for me. (Hi, Tracy!)