May 2009 Be the Year of the Artichoke

I suppose since it's the end of the year, I'm expected to review the year and list expectations for the new year? Well, here's at least an attempt at that.

Needless to say, this year has been a crazy one! Luckily we went through no major deaths like last year but there was lots of healing to be done this year from hardships that have occured in the recent past. Not completely healed but on the way :)

Let's see, this year several things have occured: I got MARRIED for one :) This is wildly important because I'm the type of person to never have a realy relationship, to never allow myself to be loved by someone else and here I am, happily married to my best friend. Truly. Knowing we'll always be each other's side kicks makes me happy every which way possible. We celebrated having our 80lb puppy for over a year now. Never thought I was a dog person and never thought I'd have a big dog but look at me now! I love our beast love having him as part of our lives. I completed an internship in Hungary focusing on English teaching practices in the country. I did this a little less than a month after being married and left the mister at home due to money constraints. I missed him terribly but find comfort in the fact that we can survive away from each other from time to time if needed. The trip was an amazing experience and I fell in love with the country. Perhaps one day I'll return :) What else? Well, this was the year that my father had an argument with a large firework and ended up in the ICU burn unit on a ventilator for three days. That was a tad bit stressful. But all turned out fine and became a reminder of how lucky we are to have each other, near or far. The mister, the beast and I took an 11 hour road trip across country for a wedding days after I returned from Hungary - it was the longest time the beast had been in the car which he did wonderfully with! The mister and I amazingly do very well on the roadtrips if I can keep my anxious little mouth shut about my car fears :) It was a great trip and is always nice to get away. Of course we all know that this was the year that I completed my comprehensive exams and graduated with my Masters in TESL! NEVER thought I would finish any type of schooling let alone a MASTERS! I must say, I'm pretty proud of myself for completing that endeavor :) What else, what else? On a lighter note, I cut off over a foot of hair again, was recognized for my jewelry work, met Pharrell Williams (who I'm secretly in love with), finished my first year of teaching, rearranged a few rooms, discovered my husband is a master juggler (seriously) and discovered that artichokes and brusselsprouts are long lost friends of mine. So there's my year in a nutshell.

What do I expect for 2009? Nothing really. I do hope to overcome some of my fears through having my thyroid regulated again - I haven't been proactive with working with it in years and am VERY suspicious that regulating that will help many of my anxieties...I hope, I hope. I hope to continue to be a successful teacher and continue to learn from my students while learning what works best for them. I hope that our marriage continues to be as enjoyable as it has been and that we become better partners than we already are. I hope the jewelry biz keeps kickin like it has been. I hope my family all finds the happiness they are seeking. I just hope for good and to be able to see the good.

So a New Year's Resolution? Not sure that I have any. Just want to continue taking care of myself and raising the best beast, mister and fuzzbuckets that I can. And I'd like to learn how to prepare artichokes from scratch. I suppose that's my resolution.