December 10 – Wisdom Wisdom. What was the wisest decision you made this year, and how did it play out? (Author: Susannah Conway)

The wisest decision I made this year was to leave a job that was not only dragging me down, but ruining my marriage as well.  Working 12 hour shifts is hard on family.  My body had adjusted after years of working 12 hours at a time.  But my husband and my daughter had not adjusted.  Besides working 12 hours at a time, the girls I worked with were, well, very unprofessional.  That’s the nice way to put it.  Honestly, they were catty, territorial, and bipolar.  And I hated going to work every day!  When my current position came open and I was offered the job, it was a no-brainer!  We now have evenings and weekends (most of them anyway) to spend together.  While I don’t have nearly as much time “off”, I definitely feel like I get to spend more time with my family.  We had to make some compromises, like hiring a housekeeper, to make it work, but it was definitely worth how much happier everyone is!

December 7 – Community. Where have you discovered community, online or otherwise, in 2010? What community would you like to join, create or more deeply connect with in 2011? (Author: Cali Harris)

About three and a half years ago when I moved from Mobile to Columbus, I found myself without any friends.  Three months later I met my husband.  And then I met his friends.  My husband has a lot of girl friends.  And to be honest with you, that intimidated me a little bit.  I wasn’t necessarily jealous.  But… there was something about all these girls that had been friends with my husband for years that just made me, well, nervous.  I’ve never been very good with making girlfriends.

Anyway… Matt and I have been together three years now.  And I have finally found a group of girls that I not only get along with, but actually connect with.  They are my Wino-Wednesday girls, my Auburn girls, my Sips-N-Strokes girls.  They are the girls I can vent to without fear of gossip.  They are the girls who care enough to stage an intervention when the rumor mill gets cranked up.  They are awesome.

For 2011, I hope to get more involved in our parish.  It’s been easy to just go to church and go home, with Kinsley attending Catholic school and getting all her Catechism  there.  But, next year she’ll be attending public school and will need to get her Catechism at church on Sunday mornings.  I would also like to get involved with a women’s bible study or group of some sort.  And I think Matt needs to join a group too.

December 8 – Beautifully Different. Think about what makes you different and what you do that lights people up. Reflect on all the things that make you different – you’ll find they’re what make you beautiful. (Author: Karen Walrond)

Beautifully Different.  I mean, this one is hard!  I’m 5 days behind, so I’ve had 5 days to think about this and I still haven’t really thought of anything.

But, here’s what makes me just plain old different.

• I don’t like melon.  It’s a texture thing.  I love the way they smell and taste, but I just cannot eat them.
• I’m not a vegetarian, but I’d much rather eat vegetables then proteins.  Most times, I plan (or order) meals around the sides I want.  My husband is definitely Irish and is a meat and potatoes kind of guy.  That really makes meal planning challenging.  I have a tendency to compromise and cook things for him.  But when he’s out of town or won’t be home for dinner, I’m perfectly happy to go get a couple of artichokes and just eat those for dinner.
• I have a very sarcastic, dry sense of humor.  And I normally find humor in things that other people don’t.  I’m also that person that laughs when things get awkward.
• Nothing grosses me out more then vomit.  We won’t go into any more detail than that, but remember I’m a nurse.  So, I’ve seen a lot of gross stuff.  But vomit is gross.

Now, do those things make me beautiful?  I’m not sure.

December 9 – Party Prompt: Party. What social gathering rocked your socks off in 2010? Describe the people, music, food, drink, clothes, shenanigans. (Author: Shauna Reid)

When I saw this one this morning, I knew exactly what I would be writing about!

Back in June, I had the honor of being a bridesmaid in one of my very best friend’s weddings.  I’m not sure what could top that, except for the fact that I got to travel to Burlington, VT for the party!  And, I got to meet some super awesome ladies!

me with the other bridesmaids at the rehearsal.

Matt couldn’t go with, something about Army birthday, big work function, blah, blah, blah.  So, I spent the whole weekend crying for my hubby.  It was a bit pitiful.  Seriously every single picture from that night shows me sobbing.

We had our hair and makeup done at some swanky resort (which I cannot for the life of me remember the name of).

It was uber-expensive.  I love the way my hair came out and I wish I could figure out a way to recreate the look!

The whole bridal party.  Isn’t the backdrop gorgeous?  And the bride.  Her dress was so pretty!

And here you can see that I have lost most of my makeup.  From crying all night.  But that’s ok.

December 6 – Make. What was the last thing you made? What materials did you use? Is there something you want to make, but you need to clear some time for it? (Author: Gretchen Rubin)

The last thing I made. I make stuff all the time.  But, last night, I tried a new recipe.  I knew it would be a hit in my house just based on the name of the dish.

Bacon and Parmesan Pasta

(picture source)

It was delicious!  And pretty easy too.  I kindly asked my husband to fry up the bacon, and we made dinner together.  Which was a first.

The things I need to clear some time for. Well, there’s the enormous Christmas project with the looming deadline.  There’s the tree skirt and stockings.  There’s the Dresden plate pillow covers.  There’s my heart warmer.  And, those are just the things that have been blogged about.  I also want to recover my ironing board, reno our master suite, reno the kitchen, and revise a “mud room” for my entry way.

December 5 – Let Go. What (or whom) did you let go of this year? Why? (Author: Alice Bradley)

First of all, I am so thankful that I get to write this post about a what and not a whom.

This year, I let go of my belief that I had to do everything.  I can’t.

• I let go of the idea that I have to make everything by hand.  Sometimes, it’s ok to use jarred spaghetti sauce.
• I let go of the idea that somehow I could keep my house clean by myself.  Well, I probably could.  However, if I clean the house my way, it takes forever.  And I end up spending my entire weekend/evenings/free time cleaning house.  I end up miserable.  I gave up control and hired a housekeeper.  Yes, it’s expensive, but the few hours I work to pay her each week allows me to spend my free time with my family instead of scrubbing bathrooms.
• And I’m trying to let go of the idea that everyone must like me.  Because it’s unrealistic.

December 4 – Wonder. How did you cultivate a sense of wonder in your life this year? (Author: Jeffrey Davis)

meh.  I’m not really a fan of this prompt.

I don’t think I ever walked around intentionally cultivating wonder.  I’m not even sure how one goes about doing that.

I’ve always been a reader.  And a learner.  I typically read for enjoyment, but lately I’ve been reading more for knowledge.  And I finish one book, and it prompts me to read something else.  I guess that’s how I cultivated wonder.

Sorry for the lame-o response.

December 3 – Moment. Pick one moment during which you felt most alive this year. Describe it in vivid detail (texture, smells, voices, noises, colors). (Author: Ali Edwards)

I have to say that I agree with Nodakademic.  I don’t really operate that way.

But, I will say that I feel most alive when I’m being creative.

That’s a pretty broad statement.  But it’s true.  I won’t limit myself to one particular thing.  There’s just something about being creative that really makes me feel alive.

Maybe it’s the nubby texture in a piece of knitted work.

cables in a current work in progress.  So pretty.

Or maybe it’s creating a quilt block from a bunch of little scraps.

fabric cut for a quilt I’m working on.

Or maybe it’s the smell that fills the house while I’m cooking.

There are no pictures of smells.

December 2 Writing.
What do you do each day that doesn’t contribute to your writing — and can you eliminate it?
(Author: Leo Babauta)

What do I do each day that doesn’t contribute to my writing?  What don’t I do?  Or maybe what can I do to contribute more to my writing.

I’ll start with the actual question.  The things I do each day that don’t contribute to my writing:

• Work.  Actually, I spend most of the day writing.  But it’s really mostly transcribing information from patient’s charts into my evaluation and then writing a short synopsis of their hospital stay.  It certainly isn’t creative.  And I can’t really talk about my job, pesky HIPAA.  Can I eliminate this?  I wish!  I’ve been begging Matt to  let me stay at home, but we really don’t want to give up our second income.
• My other two jobs: Motherhood and Wifedom.  Between homework, girl scouts, cooking dinner, fixing lunches, doing hair, spending quality time with both the child and the husband, there is precious little “me” time left.  Please don’t think I’m being selfish.  I put my family first.  But a girl needs a little “me” time every once in a while.  Can eliminate these?  Heck no!
• Projects.  I usually write about my projects.  But when I have a whole bunch of projects, then I don’t have time to write.  And I always have a whole bunch of projects.  Can I eliminate these?  Yes, but then what would I write about?
• Social life.  I am not about to give up Wino-Wednesday for the sake of this blog.  See “me” time above.
• Netflix.  It wasn’t so bad until we figured out the instant streaming feature.  I used to watch about 90 minutes of tv a week.  Glee, followed by Raising Hope.  Now, I’m watching way more tv.  Like, The Tudors, which is my current obsession.

So, what can I do to contribute to my writing?  Well, here’s what I’ve done the past few weeks.

• Stop being such a nerd and realize that I will not die if I’m not in bed at 10pm sharp.
• Just do it.  Dedicate a few minutes each night between putting Kinsley down and turning the tv on to write.
• Mull.  I’ve been spending the day mulling on what I want to write about so I don’t stare at a blank computer screen for 20 minutes before something intelligent and half witty pops into my head.

December 1 One Word.
Encapsulate the year 2010 in one word. Explain why you’re choosing that word. Now, imagine it’s one year from today, what would you like the word to be that captures 2011 for you?
(Author: Gwen Bell)

I’ve spent most of the afternoon with this topic simmering at the back of my mind.  What one word really describes this year.  I had to sit and think about what actually  happened this year.  It went by so fast and I kinda don’t remember any of it.  But when I thought about the things that really stuck out in my memories, they were all

yes.  That’s right.  Trials

• I started a new job.  In an area that I have absolutely.no.experience.whatsoever.
• Part of this year was our first year of marriage.  It was harder than I thought it was going to be.  It still is.
• My child has decided that she needs a lot of attention.  However, it took us weeks months of bad behavior at school to find this out and figure out a solution.
• The rumor mill churned, and spread ugly nasty stories about my husband.  Not only once, but twice.  That’s not very specific, but it wasn’t fun and I don’t want to drag it all back out.
• Our finances.  That’s always a trial, right?  But this year was different.  We lost a significant portion of our income when Matt’s classes stopped filling up.

I so wanted this to be a little more positive post.  Gosh, to remember an entire year by such a big ugly word.  With such negative connotations.

But, here’s to 2011 and a better word!

I like that word so much better.  Financial security.  Personal security (we really need to move out of this neighborhood where there have been two meth busts and a drive by shooting in the last year).  Marital security.  I want to feel secure in the education my daughter is receiving.

So, are you reverb-ing?  What word encapsulates your 2010?