2007: A Year...(evermore)

Things to report:

• I learned 15 more guitar songs this year.
• I’ve been on many a great date this year.
• My good and talented friend Pa Trisha finally recorded her amazing songs.
• I did not explode, wreck, or kill any cars this year.
• My sister Rebecca found her voice in the photography world

(I’m so proud of her!)

• I have officially developed an aversion to long distance relationships.
• I was able to overcome my Wheat Thins & cottage cheese addiction, but I still haven’t kicked my quesadilla addiction.

• I have now lost 8 more friends to the wide world of wedded bliss (Congrats….really), and have 5 friends who have added new people via the birthing process to their little families (Props....really).
• Voted Best new Skill of the year: How to properly worship the Guitar Hero God of RAWK. (I now constantly crave star power and am always lookin' for my next fix!)
  

(yes, I am biting my lower lip)

• My heart has grown and expanded substantially this year, my comfort zone has increased due to a never ending challenge at work, and the best boss ever! My circle of friends has grown, and though many old friends are spreading further and further across this country, our friendships have been maintained.

Shout Out’s:

Thanks to all of you who were a source of hugs, laughter, and support this year. I am grateful to those who have shared their hearts with me, and who have taken care of my heart shared with them.

I am grateful for my new Pen pal Bill from PA, my new friend Will in Singapore, The PetersOn’s for remaining cool, down to earth married people and also good friends, Lindsey for successfully surviving her first year in the family of Z's, Darren for making huge leaps and bounds in his creative outlets as well as life skills, Heidi for being the best stop by neighbor ever!, Kate and Rob for not only taking it upon themselves to find my eternal companion, but also being a constant source of refuge, advice, and dinner.

My friend Barb for always taking it to the next level. Jilly Bean, Jo, Lace, & Lizzie for being brave, taking risks, and willingly venturing into the unknown….an inspiration to us all. To friendships rekindled this year, And to the rest of you who are a constant in my life. I am who I am because of you.

Final Report:

At the end of the year 2007, I can report that I am overall very happy, healthy, content, and extremely blessed. I give myself a well deserved solid A (thank goodness for extra credit...)

2007: A Year...(still)

A Few Favorite Songs of 2007:

Jose Gonzales -- Heartbeats
Schuyler Fisk -- From Where I’m Standing
Radical Face -- Welcome Home
Damien Rice -- Coconut Skins
The Gourds -- Dying of the Pines
The Album Leaf -- Story Board
Modest Mouse -- Dashboard
Cold War Kids -- Hang Me Up to Dry
Billy Bragg -- Tank Park Salute

A Few Lessons learned in 2007:

-- Challenge yourself more, don’t just coast through life….use diligence, determination, and discipline to develop new skills; mentally, emotionally & spiritually stimulate & challenge yourself on a regular basis

-- My mother taught me to judge the things I spend my time on by the 3 following categories;

*Does it enrich my mind?

*Does it nourish my spirit?
*Does it discipline or strengthen my body.

-- Take the time to learn about others. The one and only Ron Rigby reminded me this year that the greatest gift is a portion of thyself. To me, that means time. Take the time to find out why people are the way they are, what they think about, what they care about, worry about, and love the most. Just listen. When you do, you are blessed with an increase in love for others, a genuine desire to serve, more patience and understanding, and best of all, you are blessed with the choice of taking those things and adding then upon yourself to expand your awareness, and add to the greatness that makes up you.

Helpful Quotes of 2007:

“It’s not about perfection, victory, or invulnerability. It’s about ABSOLUTE vulnerability. That’s the only true courage” (Peaceful Warrior, Dan Millman)

“Sometimes when we lose our selves in fear and despair; In routine, and constancy; in hopelessness and tragedy; we can thank God for…reassurance in a familiar hand on our skin; in a kind and loving gesture, or a subtle encouragement, or a loving embrace, or an offer of comfort.….And we must remember that all these things, the nuances, the anomalies, the subtleties which we assume only accessorize our days, are in fact here for a much larger and nobler cause. They are here to save our lives.” (from the film Stranger Than Fiction)

“Some Christians carry their religion on their backs. It is a packet of beliefs and practices which they must bear. At times it grows heavy and they would willingly lay it down, but that would mean a break with old traditions, so they shoulder it again. But real Christians do not carry their religion, their religion carries them. It is not weight; it is wings. It lifts them up, it sees them over hard places, it makes the universe seem friendly, life purposeful, hope real, sacrifice worthwhile. It sets them free from fear, futility, discouragement, and sin—the great enslavers of men’s souls. You can know a real Christian, when you see him, by his buoyancy” (Twelve Tests of Character, Harry Emerson Fosdick [1923], 87–88).

“You shake and shake the ketchup bottle; none will come, and then a lot’ll”

2007: A Year...

My next few posts will be dedicated to a brief but telling recap of the shenanigans 2007 had in store for me. There is much to report, much forgotten, much yet to reflect on, much that will go untold, and much not worth telling.....but here's a start.

2007 Travels (of note):

• San Diego, California
  

• Boston, Massachusetts

• New York, New York
  

• Brazil (Sao Paulo, Manaus, Rio De Janeiro, & Salvador)
  

• Singapore
  

• Phoenix, Arizona, where we dined at one of the best restaurants downtown, with great food and amazing ambiance called Pallate at the Cavness House. A must visit to anyone in or ever going to Phoenix!

Favorite Books Read in 2007: Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, Twilight, New Moon and Eclipse by Stephanie Meyers, Molecules of Emotion by Candace B. Pert, The Lost Choice by Andy Andrews, Kitchen Table Wisdom by Rachel Naomi Remen, Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card (a never ending good re-read), Bonds that Make Us Free by C. Terry Warner, (also an annual re-read)

Favorite New Artists introduced to me in 2007: Cat Power, Billy Bragg, Psapp, Dawn Landes, The Strokes, Whitest Boy Alive, Ray LaMontagne, The Weepies, Brandi Carlile, Shiny Toy Guns, Sun Kil Moon, Tilly and the Wall, Jose Gonzales, Schuyler Fisk, Radical Face, The Gourds, The Album Leaf, and Cold War Kids.

....to be continued.....

"The Time has come.....

....the walrus said, "to talk of many things: Of shoes and ships - and sealing wax - of cabbages and kings." (Lewis Carroll)

I'd like to take this opportunity to welcome myself to the world of blogging. I realize this is a highly anticipated event. There have been entire evenings, soirée’s even, devoted to this very occasion (thanks mom…). It simply came down to making a decision. Should the entire cyber world have access to my meager attempts at expressing the things I think, the things that happen in my happy little life?

The answer was yes. Will the world be better for it? Who can say? I feel that venturing to become anything remotely resembling a writer and expresser of the world through written word in my family sets me up for high expectations. I would prefer, at this point in time to go ahead and just set the bar low....leave a lot of room for growth and improvement. It makes exceeding expectations that much more sweet!

Unlike the Walrus, the likelihood of anything I have to say including ships, sealing wax, and cabbages is not likely. Shoes? possibly.... Kings? we'll leave the door open to the option....

I have so very much enjoyed reading the blogs of others, and keeping up with your lives. So I say to you, I can’t promise much, but this is me….this is li’l ‘ol me....and the good and no good I am up to on a regular basis. Welcome.