2011: What I Didn't Know Then:

This time of year always makes me sit back and reflect over my past year and think of what I’ve done, what I’ve learned, things that have happened and what I may have done differently.

2011 was a crazy year and when I look at it in hindsight, it seems like it was a long, long journey that took more than nearly 12 months to complete. I guess what I’m saying is that I went though a lot, both good and bad and all of it was for a reason, a lesson and to bring me out to where I am today. God has been with me every step of the way and sometimes I didn’t know that he was but looking back I see 2 sets of foot prints and in some places, I only see one because I was too weak to walk that journey myself so he carried me though it and brought me here where I am today!

I’m so thankful to God for bringing me through that tough times and being with me through the great times! It was all for His plan and has a greater meaning that will someday be revealed to me.  That being said, here’s the part of my entry that sorta reflects on things that I went though in 2011.

What I didn’t know at the beginning of 2011 that I would do, learn or go through:

Volunteer: I didn’t know in 2011 that I would become a CASA volunteer and work with a teen girl who I might be able to make a difference in her life and she might be able to do the same for me.

Forgiveness: I never knew that God would teach me how to truly forgive those who hurt me the most. Hold grudges only hurts you. God taught me to let go of those things if I wanted to be in His true presence with love.

5K: I didn’t know I’d run a 5K! I never thought I had it in me to do such a self-fulfilling task! I remember being so proud of myself when I finished!

Weight loss: I lost 30 pounds in 2011 and for the years before I had only done fad diets, lost a few pounds here and there but always gained it back but in 2011 I joined weight watchers and lost 30 pounds and have kept it off (give or take 5 pounds). I was so unhappy with my weight but learned that with the right tools, I could do what I wanted and be happy with my weight! 

God: I grew this year in my relationship with God and learned (or was reminded) that God just wants us to be happy, happy with him and happy with ourselves. 

I’m sure there are other lessons that I have learned this year but for me, these are some that stood out the most when looking back over my life this past year.

Happy Birthday To Me... Well Yesterday

So yesterday was my 30^th birthday and I know this is an exaggeration but 30’s such a big number especially for someone just exiting their 20's so all day I kept waiting for some explosion, for a body part to fall off or to feel so memajor change but nothing happened. It was a typical day which was really all I wanted, a quiet relaxing none eventful Sunday! I read about 100 or so more pages of The Castaways’ which by the way I love, watched a few movies, ate a yummy dinner and took a few cat naps. It was perfect! I love for my Sunday’s to be calm and quiet, I use Friday and Saturday for my fun days, Sunday has always been relax day.

My family called and sang happy birthday to me in unison, it was so cute!! I could hear all the kids screaming into the phone “Happy Birthday To You” then a few text messages from my sister and my niece called later that evening to chat. She’s 10 going on 20 and since I’m her best friend, she constantly calls me like she would a classmate of hers to giggle about boys! I think it’s cute and am honored that she regards me so closely! Later that evening, a friend called and sang happy birthday to me and it was a perfect ending to a good day!

My husband bought me a new MacBook Air which is wonderful and for the first time in years he bought me a card and it was really sweet and made me smile! (History: he’s not very big on cards; I think I may have only received 5 in the entire time we’ve been together.) Anyway, I’m carrying the card around everywhere with me from now on!!

So there you have it, the big 30 (as my sister calls it) and it went off without any major catastrophe, I'm not sure if I'm happy about this or mortified that it will sneak up on me later!  

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My BIG News...

So yesterday was a pretty interesting day! It started off pretty typical but at about noon I received an email from my HR department requesting that I come up and chat about a new position that just became available and if you all recall I have been dealing with a lot of drama because of my co-workers so I’ve been looking for a new job for about a year if not longer… I had all about given up when this week had a few surprises in store for me.

So back to the email: I’m sitting at my desk reading this email and thinking “oh this just must be another follow up meeting to see how things are going.”  So I accept the meeting invitation and head up there.

Right away I see that she has some documents and is asking about my background in the current work I do. Anyways to make a long and wonderful story short and sweet, she informed me that there is this great position that she thinks I’d be a good fit for and wants to talk more with the manager then send me over to talk to the hiring manager!

When I get back to my desk I’m elated beyond words, I was so excited, happy and every other positive emotion that I could not function to do any more work for the day. Good think it was about 3:00 cause that meant I only had 30 minutes left in my work day!

Oh so you want to know what happened, well she said she would get back to me later next week and let me know what steps to take next. I have a pretty good feeling about this position and think it may be the one (like my romantic word play here)!!

I’m latterly dying to get out of my department because of all the nonsense that goes on, not to mention backstabbing, gossip, lies, and so much other stuff that I honestly feel like I’m back in high school but with 40 year olds. (Oh the sad part, I’m still in my 20’s and can see how childish they are acting and seem to know better than people who are so much older than me)

Anyways that was my big news!! I had more to tell but this post is long enough already. I’ll save the rest for this weekend! 

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It's My World...

So I’m sure you all have noticed that I haven’t been posting and updating as much lately… And I honesty feel really bad, I got an email from one of my readers recently asking me if I had stopped writing.  My answer to that, NO WAY, NEVER!!  Anyway, I wanted to kind of fill everyone in on what I’ve been up to lately and possibly let it serve as an explanation for my lax in posting…

So here’s a recap: in January I posted that one of my New Years Resolutions was to attempt to do something new every month so… I have really been trying to accomplish this goal.

First if you recall about 14 weeks ago I joined Weight Watchers and in that time I have lost approximately 20 pounds! So that’s the first big step I made in my “try something new” journey! Yay me!!

Second, I started taking a Microsoft Certification course in PowerPoint and after 5 weeks I had my exam today and guess what, I passed with a score of 900, the highest possible, 1000 so as you can see, I wasn’t really that far off! Yay me again! (My certification should arrive in the mail soon).

Third, I’m in my last week of training to become a Court Appointed Special Advocate, (CASA). This is a 1-month program, which requires you to complete 40 hours of training and one full day of court observation, which I have already completed. Once I am done with my 40 hours I will then be an official appointed advocate for children in foster care and will be able to advocate for their well being in a court of law. Sort a like a crash course in becoming an attorney/social worker.

Fourth, I just ran a 5K last weekend in 33 minutes! It was nuts and though I thought I was going to die about 5 times during the run I also somehow made it through, received my tee-shirt and was able to walk away with a sense of pride! I have another 5K next weekend (race for the cure).

Lastly but rest assure, not least, I have applied as a notary republic and was just ordained as an official/legal minister which I don’t plan to use for anything other than my own personal grow with the Lord. I will receive my notary information in the mail and am then required to appear in court to have the judge appoint me and sign off on the official documents.

I’m also registered and on the list to become a mediator. This takes 45 hours of training but the classes just ended and there is not another one scheduled for a few months so that’s on my to-do list for another month. Oh yeah before I forget, I also applied to become a Weight Watchers leader and I completed my interview and am now awaiting to hear the next step in the process, they should be calling me next week. 

In case you didn’t know, I’m also working full time and going to school.

I feel like there are more things that I have been doing but to be honest, I just can’t seem to keep track!! Maybe I need to slow down!!  Anyway, as you can see, I have been a busy bee these past few months!

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I really love this idea that I found over on Kate’s blog, Love is Everywhere so I’m “stealing” it!!  It’s called 30 Days of Truth. So my plan and of course we all know how well plans often work out, but my “plan” is to post an entry each day covering the topic listed for that day. The reason I’m doing this is not only to share my soul with others but also to find out more about myself. I have been journaling since I was in 4^th grade,  I always had a diary and carried it wherever I went making notes and writing my thoughts down and one thing that I seemed to realize was that I seem to learn something about myself that even surprised me at times!

So here’s the catch (yes, everything comes with a price), I have to be completely HONEST in my entries, no sugar coating and no holding back! Post comments if you’d like, I’ve love to read what you think about my “truthdom”. Hey, I just made that word up but it seems to be relevant to the topic!

Also, just so you know, I have created a new tab called 30 Days of Truth on the top tab bar where you can refer back to the topics I will be writing about and they will link you to the entry if you happened to miss one and want to catch up!  

Of course this will take some time to get all the links in as I have not started writing my entries for 30 days of truth yet.

So go check out the new tab and find out what SECRETS about myself I will be sharing in the upcoming days! 

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Wordless Wednesday:

Official What's In vs. What's Out Hot List:

So I’ve decided to do an official City Girl Chronicles short list of what’s in and what’s out.

What’s IN:

Men shopaholics: long gone are the days of the lady shopaholic because more and more man have outrageous shoe collections just like we do.  So ladies don’t expect to see your men venting in front of the T. V. yelling for a cold beer, nope now he’ll be standing in the dressing room line along side you with an arm full of skinny jeans and dress pants.  

Gucci Guilty perfume: Seriously I just rubbed some of this on my wrist from a sample in my Cosmo magazine and I’m officially declaring sweet scent as IN!

Calling up mama: Yes, calling your mother more than once a week or a day for that matter is totally on the cool radar so go ahead and dial those digits!

                 What’s OUT:

That old “Opposites Attract” theory: Remember a few years ago when all those celebrities were getting engaged but the relationship only seemed to last a few weeks and then it was on to the next? Well those poor souls were hooking up with opposites that they hope they could eventually change and after a few more dates and conversations they realized that picking out a ring on date 3 was probably a bad, bad idea. Now days people want more in a relationship so their looking for a partner who already has more in common with them from the start and it seems to be making relationships last longer.

Black fingernail polish: Seriously not cool! Do I really have to say anything more? Well, unless your into Goth but otherwise go for the lighter color!

Being enemies or even “frienemies” with anyone: Life’ short so instead try to live, love and laugh, you'll find it takes way less energy than hating someone!

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As The Events Unfolded...

In the spirit of today’s blog hop over at FTLOB’s I have decide to post this mouth watering picture for you to enjoy! 

mini grill cheese and tomato soup cups

On another note, I must admit that I went home last night and sat down and actually wrote some more of my novel! Now before you all start cheering me on, I have to say the whole event is not nearly as glamorous as it may sound.  I hit some road blocks long before I even started to write, here are the details:

I went home and realized that I needed to run out and pick up a few things at Best Buy and Barns & Noble so I get to Best Buy and they don’t have what I need (wonderful!)  but tell me I can drive to their other location 20 minutes away (in rush hour traffic mind you!)  Ggrrrr…. Reluctantly I go, get what I need and head home but of course get stuck in traffic an hour later, I’m finally home!

 

Arrive at home, start to make dinner and see that my dog has decided to roll around in the mud so now she needs a bath! Have not eaten dinner and am starving but have to give her a bath!! UGGH, I’m gritting my teeth by now… 45 minutes later she’s all cleaned up and I’m a mess, have to take a shower, then eat dinner and can call my husband who is out of town on business for the week. Then head over to my computer to start writing. By now it’s 7:45pm and I’m totally exhausted but I write and am SO happy I did!

There you have it; all wrapped up and topped with a shiny ribbon! 



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