December 30, 2012

2012 in review:

• Bought a juicer
• Went to California, and did not get sick
• Celebrated the life and death of Christine
• Drove to Michigan for an impromptu ski trip
• Took the girls to Florida after summer vacation started
• Had a 30th birthday party for my brother
• Took Jill in to Children's Hospital for an eventual osteomyelitis diagnosis
• Took Jill in to the ER for chest pain
• Discovered Jill is allergic to iodine
• Paid off my car
• Paid off my student loan
• Consolidated my credit cards
• Biked to my bank and back for a total of sixteen miles, a personal best
• Took swimming lessons
• Sang with my children in church
• Started visiting my dad more regularly
• Started visiting my grandfather who is in a nursing home
• Found out Jane had cryptosporidium
• Watched my children's skills as goal keepers improve dramatically
• Sat and cried with my friend after hearing that she was diagnosed with adult onset muscular dystrophy
• Took the Love and Logic parenting class
• Ordered the Dave Ramsey Financial Peace University materials
• Spent some quality time with my neighbor before she died
• Learned how to make homemade gluten free bread
• Continued to research different healing diets: GAPS, Specific Carbohydrate Diet, The Perfect Health Diet
• Started experimenting with iodine supplementation
• Found a website that explored the ratios of certain body measurements
• Went to a Brewers game with my sister
• Watched my niece when she was ill
• Heard many things about myself that I did not want to
• Bought water kefir grains to incorporate more fermented drinks into my diet
• Made my first batch of master tonic - thanks to decoy hunches for a link to the recipe
• Spent more money than I wanted to, but much less than I have previously
• Connected with a fabulous group of people who share some of my passions on Twitter
• Was invited to be a guest blogger for a baseball site
• Went ice skating with my family for my niece's birthday
• Quit volunteering at the Y because my boss was unable to train and communicate with her staff
• Met someone who was willing to give me wonderful feedback on things I've written
• Abandoned a book that I had written the end to, but was internally inconsistent. Only by leaving the bad was I able to make room for better.
• Decided to quit Facebook, decided to rethink this as the Words With Friends app is so spotty
• Written some things that I am proud of: Negative heel, Jefferson Bootee, Balmoral, Mary Janes, The vonCube Corollary, Surviving a hurricane, Truth and fiction are both strange., Pumpkin smoothie, Lover's Cross, hope eraser, and a lot more no one will ever read.
• Read some books I would have rejected in the past
• Put down books that failed to captivate my interest after the first 50 pages
• Gave my children a fun day with mom instead of a traditional Christmas present
• Watched my youngest daughter become a better gymnast
• Told my oldest daughter she could quit the clarinet only to hear that she wanted to play a duet with her friend
• Learned that I had a severe Vitamin A deficiency
• Accepted that some of the people I call friends aren't, and drew some lines accordingly
• Stopped shaving
• Made strides towards loving myself more
• Celebrated my birthday with a candlelit dinner that was orchestrated by my two lovely daughters
• Cried when I saw my oldest daughter perform on stage at the end of her theater camp
• Realized that there is a time for doing, a time for thinking, a time to write, and a time to be grateful that another year has come and will soon be gone.

Special thanks to those who, through their words or actions, were a part of what made my 2012 a gem among the jewels of my life.

Tomorrow I will move, leaving the room in Crystal City where I have stayed for most of December for a location TBD; then I will move again on Tuesday. I will begin 2013 in a room of my own in a townhouse in Burke, which is a collection of subdivisions and shopping centers in Fairfax County about twenty minutes from here. The room has kitchen and laundry privileges, and utilities including the Internet are included in my monthly rent, so it suits my minimal needs.

Most of what I own - books, CDs, wargames, excess clothing, bookcases, the remains of my dog - are in storage in Newington. Right now all I have to move are a small box of bandages and tape, a backpack of prescription meds and various electronic gear, a small bag of groceries, a hamper holding a bag of laundry, my desktop and its peripherals, my laptop case with enclosed pistol, and a suitcase full of clothes. Oh, and another box of linens, pillows, and towels. A couple of trips down the elevator, no more.

Tax season will start soon. In the meantime, the government has decided that I deserve to start collecting Social Security early on account of the holes in my legs.

I'm better off than I was, I guess.