Happy New Year

Wow it's a brand new year! Hard to believe it already 2007 seemed to just fly by. Overall, 2007 was a good year for us. We didn't have too many difficulties.

I worked at the same place all year :). Changed positions briefly but by the end of the year was back in the same position I started in. I enjoyed my job for the most part. I got a nice raise in the summer, and a fun bonus at Christmas time.

I enjoyed walking in the springtime, until I hurt my knee. I never got back to my walking regime after my knee surgery, which I had in September. The surgery was unpleasant, but I enjoyed the brief time off work afterward.

My relationship with my husband stayed strong.

My friendship with my 3 closest friends in "real life" deepened, and I also became closer with some of my "online" friends. One of my friends became a grandmother.

We took a trip to Boone, North Carolina, and our regular vacation trip to the Potomac Highlands. We visited Harrisonburg, Virginia, for a family reunion and along the way went to my favorite place of the year, the drive-thru safari in Virginia. My Mom and Sister and I went to Pipestem for our annual Mother's Day trip.

I stopped making jewelry and closed my jewelry/web design business halfway through the year.

I took up painting.

I spent a lot of time on my spirituality. I meditated on a regular basis. Got my friends interested in spiritual growth again. Through Hay House Radio discovered some wonderful people like Denise Linn and John Holland that taught and inspired me. Made a step toward my desire to create a women's circle with my close friends, although it's still not exactly what I wanted, it is a step in that direction.

My brother moved away but moved back on the last day of the year. My nephew Ely was born, and I got a new "niece" in my sister's dog Franki ;). My nephew Nick entered high school, and my niece Maddie entered middle school. I learned more about my father's side of the family and our connection to the coal wars of West Virginia, and saw the place where he grew up for the first time.

The number of cats remained the same until the end of the year, when Eb (short for Ebony), a black stub-tailed cat, decided he wanted to live on the back porch too. He's not a full-time resident. We're trying to socialize him and would like to find him a home, but I am not sure that is realistic.

We hit a deer and had to say goodbye to our 2003 CRV, and with the insurance money purchased a new 2007 CRV. Two of my girlfriends got new CRV's at the same time.

Overall, I think it was a good year. I don't generally make resolutions. But in 2008 I would like to:

• work on making better food choices and start walking again;


• work on decluttering, cleaning and beautifying my home;


• spend more time with my aging parents and in-laws, as well as my niece and nephew;


• take a trip to Florida to see Aunt B;


• continue in my spiritual growth and learning, starting with taking a reiki class; and


• spend more time in nature, even if it's just getting back to gardening.

Here's to a great 2008!