Month: December 2011

Looking Ahead…

/ pictures, reflection, ronni

Pink

“To dream anything that you want to dream.
That is the beauty of the human mind.
To do anything that you want to do.
That is the strength of the human will.
To trust yourself to test your limits.
That is the courage to succeed.”
— Bernard Edmonds

I don’t make resolutions, per se. But I do have hopes and dreams.
These are my hopes for 2012.

See Aidan more often
Write more, unabashedly and with excitement
Possibly write/complete a novel
Travel to another country
Get hard core with my yoga practice
Lose weight
Get enough work-at-home projects to be comfortable financially
Read 75 new books
Write more in my paper journal
Be more positive
Become more assertive and honest
Have more faith
Write and mail more handwritten letters

There is so much to look forward to in 2012! New music to discover, new books to read, new people to meet, new experiences to have, and new opportunities to pursue. Plus The Hunger Games movie!

You already know about our Disney World trip, but I’d love to visit my friend Amy in New Orleans. A trip to New York City wouldn’t make me sad, either. But that can wait until summer. Oh, and I’d love to hit a nice, warm beach. A resort where I do nothing but relax and drink juice while baking in the sun. Or under a beach umbrella. Whatever.

There are some online friends I hope to meet in person in 2012.

I hope to be ever so closer to doing this:


Source: google.com via Ronni on Pinterest

I’m still undecided as to what to do about yoga teacher training. The spring session begins March 8. Am I ready for that kind of commitment? I suppose I can wait til the summer session. But I don’t want to put it off too long…cause I can see myself doing that then going “It’s too late. I may as well not do it now.”

NOT OKAY, RONICA.
I know your tricks and manners.

…good Lord. I’m talking to myself on my blog.

I’d like to volunteer at PAWS Chicago, the no-kill animal shelter where we adopted Helena. I really want to work with the kitty cats. I should make it happen in 2012.

And of course, there is the usual workout more, eat better, blah ditty blah blah blah crap we all spew out. Will I be able to stick to it, is the thing?

I understand why people make resolutions. 365 (366 next year) days seem like a lot. But I think that most of us make these resolutions and expect to get them done right away (like within 30 days)… and well, when we don’t, we get discouraged. The weight isn’t dropping off all that quickly. Just can’t/won’t quit the Whatchamacallit bars. The winter is so gloomy and grey, and who wants to work out when it’s like that? Writing? It’s too hard, man.

I have to give myself time. That’s why I don’t make resolutions–cause then I’ll end up beating myself up for failing, when I really just need to ease myself into things rather than shock myself with ALL THESE LIFESTYLE CHANGES RIGHT NOW which will NEVER stick, not with that kind of pressure.

So, no pressure, right? 🙂

Source: inspirinquotes.tumblr.com via Ronni on Pinterest

Happy New Year!

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Happy Birthday, Aidan!

/ aidan, birthday, friday favorite things, meme, pictures, yay

Happy Birthday, Aidan!
Happy Birthday, Aidan!

He’s 9 years old today!

And the BEST 9 year old in the world.
If I do say so myself.

We took him to Toys R Us
and where he picked out
loads of LEGOs.

He asked that we take him to
Burger King for lunch,
so we did that.

Now he’s happily playing
with his new toys, and eating his
birthday treats from
Dunkin’ Donuts.

Birthdays are my favorite.
Buying presents for Aidan is my favorite.
Watching him get so much joy out of his gifts is my favorite.
Even listening to him sing “Happy Birthday” to himself over and over….
That’s my favorite, too.

Linking up with:
friday favorite things | finding joy

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2011: A Year In Review

/ pictures, reflection, ronni, survey, year-in-review

Autumn in The Morton Arboretum

I can’t complain. 2011 was a pretty good year for me. I got to do some neat things, go to neat places, and meet cool people (like Weird Al Yankovic!). I was introduced to new music, made some crazy life-changing choices, and did some neat things. I got to meet my Plurk friends Jon & Rho, I had the chance to see my favorite author Sarah Dessen (and she totally recognized me!), I got to see SJ Tucker loads of times, and I got to eat a lot of sushi!

The easiest way to recap is to do a survey. I know how much you guys love those. Feel free to steal and do it yourself.

Was 2011 a good year for you?
For the most part, yes!

What did you do in 2011 that you’d never done before?
– attended Musecon
– rode a horse

Horseback Riding!

– pet a giraffe

Awesome!

– purchased exercise equipment
– got a passport
– Pilates reformer
– Capeoira
– got a facial
– lipolaser

Did anyone close to you give birth?
A lot of my friends had babies or are pregnant,
but I can’t say anyone particularly close to me.

Did anyone close to you die?
My aunt Lue passed away during the summer.

What countries did you visit?
None.

What date from 2011 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
August 5, 2011. I took my life back.
…and a giant leap of faith.

What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Getting into better shape.

What was your biggest failure?
Didn’t complete writing a novel. Boo.
Also falling back out of shape. Ha.

Did you suffer illness or injury?
Mostly colds.
Had an incident in April that I thought might be gallbladder related,
but it was just gastritis.

Where did most of your money go?
Disney trips, dolls, clothes, sushi, gifts

What song will always remind you of 2011?
Nataraj (Dancing in the Flames) by Suzanne Sterling
Come Down by Ginger Doss

What do you wish you’d done more of?
– writing
– yoga

What do you wish you’d done less of?
Working. I worked way too many hours at Schawk.

What was your greatest musical discovery?
Ginger Doss
Bekah Kelso

What did you want and get?
– new camera
– Disney trips
– passport
– exercise bike
– books

What did you want and not get?
– MORE AIDAN TIME (there is never enough)
– a treadmill (our apartment is too small for such things)
– a trip out of the country

What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I turned 37. I spent the day with my family and ate
food from Harold’s Chicken Shack.

What kept you sane?
Reading. Lots of reading.
My family. My kitty cats.
Jen and Amy and our email chain.

Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Matt Smith

What political issue stirred you the most?
Anything that had to do with women’s reproductive rights

Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2011:
Having a lot of money isn’t everything.
It HELPS.
But when making the money
is costing your health, family time,
and sanity,
then it’s time to rethink some things.
So I did.

How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2011?
Sweaters and jeans, or tee-shirts and jeans, or hoodies and jeans.
Grey long-sleeved tee-shirts.
Sometimes a cute skirt with boots.
Long, hippy skirts or dresses.

What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
I love that I can’t think of an answer to this question.

Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:
Magic touched my life again
in a single breath
shining in your eyes
like a firefly
and a moment of revelation
–Ginger Doss

Few Days Old Braidout

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Favorite Photo(s) of 2011

/ aidan, meme, pictures

Can you narrow your favorite photos in 2011 to just one? If so, then grab the button at the bottom of this post and link up at Finding Joy or Sam’s Noggin to show off your stuff.

Because I am IN this photo, I obviously didn’t take it. However, it was taken with MY camera, and we’re having so much fun that I couldn’t NOT include it. We’re dancing with Phineas and Ferb, the coolest Disney Channel characters out there, and having a blast! Look at Aidan’s face!

Rockin' Out With Phineas and Ferb

Hmm, but the one I took that’s my favorite? That IS a hard one. I have a lot of great photos. 😉 But seriously. There were so many cool things that happened this year, and Aidan is so dang photogenic, it really is hard to narrow it down.

So, I’m going to go with this one. The colors are beautiful, Aidan is being the clown that he is, and yeah. I like it.

Aidan and some Pumpkins

Linking up with:

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Holiday Wind Down

/ christmas, pictures

More Presents!

I firmly believe that Christmas should last for 12 whole days.
The main celebration kicks off on December 25,
and the fun should continue until January 6.
(this may just be my way of justifying waiting so long to take down the decorations)

Check out the cookies we indulged in:

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

Sugar Cutout Cookies

Peanut Butter Drop Cookies

We did leave some for Santa, though. See the big Mickey Mouse one?

Cookies for Santa

Santa was very pleased with his selection, and he rewarded Aidan with Aidan’s Holy Grail present:

Aidan's Holy Grail

The crown came from the Christmas Crackers we opened. This is the first year I did it and it was a big hit, what with the crowns and the silly jokes.

I got a Mickey Mouse watch from my mom, a pretty necklace and an awesome sweatshirt from Adam, plus this neat thing for my computer:

My Snow White Computer Decoration

But the main thing I got from Adam was a trip to Disney World! We’re going in 45 days!!!

He was going to have Snow White holding up the trip information, but then he realized that part of the fun of the Disney trips for me is planning them. So he basically gave me a budget and told me to have at it. All he asks is that we have Garden Grill and that he gets to ride Haunted Mansion and Tower of Terror. I think I can live with that.

I’ve been reading around the blog-o-sphere, and it sounds like even though we’re all worn out from the festivities, that we’re happy. I know I feel worn out. The mere thought of doing anything more ambitious than what I’m doing now makes me feel exhausted. Still, now that the place is cleaned up a bit, I feel more relaxed and less overwhelmed. It’s time to gear up for Aidan’s birthday on Friday, and for New Years. We’re planning a small gathering, but I don’t think anyone is going to show up, and honestly, I’ll be just fine with that.

December keep us busy.

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