Wednesday, December 31, 2014

A New Record!

Well, here we are at the end of the year, and I thought I better write a "2014" wrap-up post.  At the end of each year I have a book of the year's blog posts printed and bound, and often, a little post that ties up any loose ends is appropriate.  So much has happened this year, what with me going back to work and all, that certainly, this year's blog book could be multiple volumes.  Well, could have been, that is, if I had managed to write any posts about it.

UGH!

So this year, I give you the 2014 Wrap Up Post - the fifth of five posts written in this ENTIRE year, a new, all-time low number of yearly posts to the blog.

January -

Hm.  Actually had two posts in this month, so you pretty much have heard it already:  I started a long-term sub job and made my New Year's Resolutions.  (If you can't wait to see how I did, skip to the bottom!)

BTW - it was COLD!



February -

Took the girls to see the stage production of Beauty and the Beast.  Maggie turned 14.


March -

Maggie got her second set of braces on, we spent Spring Break in Texas, my tulips came up, and the girls got to sit on the bench as the Thunder warmed up on Girl Scout Thunder night.



April -

Planted new plants in the yard, and had a rather interesting encounter with a spider on I-35.  It apparently came with the plants, but stayed in the car when we unloaded.  It made its presence known as I took Maggie to a violin lesson, by climbing on to the steering wheel as I was going 70 MPH down the interstate.  I'll just say it is lucky everyone survived the incident, even the spider.  




May -

Participated in end of school activities, and got season passes to Frontier City


June - 

Girls did Summer Strings and Princess Week, Jerry went with the guys to Lake Eufala, and Amy and Gina came and scrapped. 



July - 

We went to Colorado / Mesa Verde with Jerry's side of the family, my Grandma passed away, and Gracie and I spent the hottest week of the year at camp! Gracie turned 13, so we now officially have 2 teenagers in the house!




 August -

Wrapped up summer vacation with a Round Top weekend of scrapbooking.  Got a job right at the end of the summer, Maggie had gum surgery, and Gracie got a very different haircut!


September -

Just barely kept up with everything that a working mom has to do!  In fact, I only took two pictures this month - Maggie at a museum that we visited so she could collect data for a history assignment, and Gracie's orchestra at All-City.



October -

This was a very busy month.  Maggie tried out for (and made) the North Central Honors Orchestra, I attended a teaching conference and had my book fair at school.  The girls both participated in a string orchestra rock concert with a founding member of the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Mark Wood.  Over the fall break Jerry and I headed to San Antonio for the burial of my grandmother's ashes, while the girls headed to Houston for their first short-term mission trip with the youth group.  To top it all off we participated in the third annual Yellow Rose Miniature Silky Fainting Goat Show.


November -

A much quieter month.  We had things to do every weekend, but didn't do much traveling, except for Thanksgiving.


December - 

It was a whole new experience trying to get ready for the holidays as a working mom.  I have never looked so forward to Christmas break, ever.  We managed to fit in all the traditions though, including a trip to the newly revamped Nutcracker ballet.  Now that Christmas is past, Jerry and I are back in Oklahoma.  Our car was full to the roof when we arrived in Texas, so the girls elected to stay on a few days with the baby goats that need bottle-feeding four times a day, just to cut down on the amount of stuff we would have to pack into the car.  How thoughtful of them, right? 

Jerry named his first goat.  Introducing. . . Hairy Potter!

So, that is the year in a nutshell.  

Oh yes, before I go, about those pesky New Year's Resolutions from last year. . . 

I did manage to read through the entire Bible in a year.  I actually exceeded my goal of reading 52 new books for the year - I read 86.  Thank goodness for LibraryThing to help me keep track of what I read! 

As for the rest, I started out well, but working outside the home did not leave a lot of time for pursuits that did not directly pertain to the household or the job.  Before I started working though, I did manage to complete 204 scrapbook pages, enough to get me into the current decade, and try 16 new recipes, most of which were keepers.  And we did plant a garden that yielded more tomatoes than our family could possibly eat.  Not sure what this year's resolutions will be.  Perhaps to blog more often - say every other month!  We will have to wait and see what the new year brings.

Happy New Year to you and yours!