Year in Review. Part two

Part two is all about elaborating the list. There are some great things on that list and I am doing them a disservice by letting them just sit there in point form all unexplained.

The Weekend to End Breast Cancer
Walking 60 kms over 2 days was only part of this experience. I trained for this event by walking. A lot! Stef and I walked nearly every day in the spring and summer and it felt amazing. I found a passion and love for walking that I never knew I had. And while we walked, we tapped into creative inspiration. We talked about writing, painting, creating, God, faith, and so much more. Each walk left me feeling inspired, exhausted, energized, excited. When the actual walk finally happened, it was so much more than I could have ever anticipated. I wrote a post about it that sums up exactly what the weekend meant to me - you can read it here.

E's day 5 transfer
I got to be present and hold the hand of my dear friend E for her day 5 embryo transfer. After too long a time of trying to conceive, this was the moment that it all boiled down to. I had no place being there and yet there I was. F was deathly ill with the flu and couldn't be there and I was called in as back up. It was an honour to be a part of that experience and I now like to pretend that the sweet, precious, adorable little girl who was born last month is somehow partly mine. E and F are going to be the best parents that little Z could ever have.

Going back to school
I had been thinking about going back to school for at least the past 4 years. And for whatever reason, it just stayed a thought and never an action. It was one moment in the summer that finally changed the thought to an action. My friend Annette was talking about the archivist at her work and somehow it triggered something in my brain to click into place. The next day I applied to school, a week later I was writing an entrance test, and 3 weeks later I was sitting in my first college class in 7 years.

Getting an A+ in English
This pretty much speaks for itself. Yay!

Getting more rooted in the course
The course is A course in Miracles. It is my spiritual belief/practice/faith/lesson. At its core, it is about forgiveness. Forgiving ourselves, forgiving others. For me, it is a guide for how I want to live my life. I took me years to find it, years to start reading it, years to understand it and this year I finally got planted in it.

Moving to a great new apartment and getting a roommate
I knew I needed to shake up my life and make some changes. I had lived alone in the same apartment for too long and was increasingly dissatisfied with my situation. Then I got a phone call from the only person I ever said I could live with asking me if I wanted to move and get a roomie. My answer was instant and a few months later, we found the perfect apartment in a great location. We've been here for 7 months now and I love it. I don't think I would ever live alone again.

Having a family that held me up and supported me
In a challenging year, my mom turned into my rock. She was solid, supportive, constant and grounded. I couldn't have gotten through this year without her.

Figuring out that Cooper LOVES fancy feast
My too skinny cat stopped eating his expensive mature cat food and in a moment of desperation I bought a can of fancy feast just to see if he'd eat it. He now eats a can a day, has packed on a couple of pounds, is no longer grossly thin and is adorably happy.

Going on a cruise
My sisters, bro-in-law and I flew down to L.A and cruised home. Food, drinks, games, food, laughs, food, watching love boat every morning while drinking coffee in bed, lounging, strolling, food, drinks...

Being healthy
I spent nearly 9 weeks being sick at the beginning of the year. It was a cold that became the flu that went back to being a cold and held on for dear life. Since then though, I have been extremely healthy and I am grateful for it.

Summer trip to Canim Lake
Friends of ours have a cabin on Canim and invited a group of us to go for a weekend in the summer. It was such a great time. Relaxing, beautiful, peaceful, fun.

Weekend getaways to Nanoose
Spending weekends hanging out with my dad, playing crib, swimming in the ocean, watching eagles, spotting deer and seals, making good dinners, watching fun tv (Head Case anyone?), it doesn't get much better than that. except for the next thing on my list...

Dad moving to Vancouver
My dad and S got a place downtown and it is really nice having my dad so close by. I have been able to see him more frequently. I love being able to hang out in Nanoose but the very best part of that is spending time with my dad so to have him closer is good.

The cute kiddies in my life
Two new kiddies joined the ranks this year. Ziya was born a few short weeks ago and Truman in May. They are two of the cutest babies I know. My cousins' kids all fall under this category too...Melody, Andrew and Katie, Daniel, John and Elizabeth. Then there is Lily and Harper...so many cuties. I love them all.

Discovering the park by my home
I have to give credit to my roommate for this one. I have lived in this hood for 8 years and I have walked past that park more time than I can count. And I had never noticed it. L found it almost immediately after moving here and we spent hours sitting in the shade of the trees during the unbearable heat wave we had this summer. We'd take books and fruit and cards and while away the summer days.

Having a subscription to entertainment weekly
It was a Christmas gift from L-Dub. The joy of receiving a new magazine in my mailbox every Friday was sometimes all I felt like I had going for me during some of the hardest times this year. EW offered escape along with its entertainment. I got another subscription this Christmas from L-Dub so the joy will continue through another year.

Seeing a lot of movies
As of this moment, I have seen 46 movies in the theatre this year. And I have plans to see another one tomorrow. I have seen some terrible movies and I have seen some great movies (that will be year in review part three). I have rented or seen on tv, 23 movies. My concentration is much better in theatres so I preferred to see most movies on the big screen where I can't check my email, get up to make a snack, answer the phone, get distracted by Cooper.

Getting a ticket to the bronze medal game
JM won tickets. This is another on of those cases where I almost have no business being the one he takes with him, yet, he is taking me with him. I am very grateful and very excited!!

good tv
glee, true blood, modern family. Just three shows I fell in love with this year. I jumped on the True Blood train a little late but oh, how I love it.

good music
lady gaga rocked the charts and my heart. I haven't heard a song I don't like and I LOVE her style and her commitment to being herself. You go girl! Yes, I just said that.

good concerts
I am actually going to a show tonight but since it's still in my future, I can't quite add it to this list yet. I saw some amazing shows this year....and I am not much of a concert goer. I think I might become one though for how much I loved the ones I did see. My review and list will be posted in Year in Review Part Four.

Getting the perfect purple purse two years after starting my search
Two years ago, I set out on a mission to find the perfect purple purse and lo and behold there were none to be found. Purple was not a colour that purses came in. I settled for a gorgeous chocolate brown purse and then tried to fill the colour void with cheap purses that never lived up to the perfect purple purse in my mind. This year, for Christmas, my mom gave me the triple p. It is buttery soft and a deep dark blackberry that shines purple when the light hits it. And I love it!