Out With the Old, In with the New...Year

I can't believe it's been a whole year since this post. Even more unbelievable to me (and a testament to how quickly time passes) is the fact that this June will be ten years since I graduated high school. While it was fun, I wouldn't want to go back, but still don't feel like it's been that long since I left. In a time where many people live well into their 80's and 90's though, I guess ten years isn't that big of a deal in the grand scheme of things. But I digress...

We rang in 2010 as "Mario and Lola Talent" at our friend Emily's Academy Awards themed murder mystery New Year's Eve party.
I'm not sure how I feel about Eric's accusing me of being the murderer (which I was not).
My grandmother graciously sat with our cat, dog, and Cate's baby monitor while we were out. Before we went out, Eric made us a delicious dinner of grilled tuna steaks and portabello mushroom w/ smoked mozzarella.
2009 was a rollercoaster of a year for us. The ups of a great vacation (or two), watching Cate grow, a U2 concert, and getting more involved at our church and small group. The downs of digestive issues that went undiagnosed for me for several months and a falling out with Cate's former sitter. Overall though, I'm thankful for everything-- up or down. And without further ado...some of our 2009 "Best Of's":
Best Book (s) Read (somehow I managed to get in 21 books this year): Cold Tangerines (Melody) and Jesus Wants to Save Christians (Eric)
Best Movie at the Theater: Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince (both of us)
Best New TV Show(s): Flashforward and Modern Family (both of us)
Best New Music Discovery: Matisyahu (both)

And no New Year's post would be complete without some resolutions. Here are mine from next year along with a progress report:
1. Start National Board Certification or take some more classes-- well, since Ohio pulled funding for National Board Certification and I didn't want to spend $2500 to do it, I opted to take 9 more credit hours to get advancement on the payscale at work.
2. To experiment/learn more about photography-- I think it's pretty obvious how much I love my Canon Digital Rebel 12.1 Megapixel DSLR! And how much I've loved learning how to use it. Any reader of this blog also knows Cate is my favorite subject.
3. To shop local more often-- We definitely made many more trips to farmers' markets and Findlay Market this year. Can't wait for them to open up again this spring.
4. To spend less time on the internet-- I think I did pretty well on this one, but it could still use some work. I tend to lose myself some times reading blogs and writing my own. I have cut my Facebook usage down though.

Not too bad huh?

This year's resolutions are simple:
1. To be present-- I tend to always be looking to the "next" thing. Just because my body is physically somewhere doesn't mean my mind is right there with me. So I'm going to try to make more of an effort to be in the moment and not let my mind wander to that "next" thing so much.
2. To learn how to knit and sew more-- I enjoyed my sewing time spent with my grandmother this past summer and can't wait to learn more. And I'm thrilled that I learned how to knit something besides scarves. Hopefully this year will bring more than just scarves and dishcloths in the knitting realm and more cute clothes for Cate in the sewing realm.
3. To make more of an effort to grow spiritually-- I've struggled with this for a few years now...just finding out how I connect with God and come to that peace. I often get frustrated or burnt out and so I give up, content to just let church and small group fill my spiritual voids. This year I don't want to give up so easily and want to strive to find a way that I can connect more personally with my Creator.
Happy New Year!

What are you resolving to do?

~Melody :-)