Happy New Year!
Well, in reflecting on the past year, it was a pretty good year. I achieved some of the goals I set myself and some that I am still in the middle of achieiving. Matt and I chose our word for 2008 to be "focus" - I feel we did actually put it into action, but perhaps we could have given it a better shot. I guess what we have to be most proud of is our change of lifestyle - eating healthier, exercising, building up muscle (yes, both of us!) and losing weight. I still have not achieved my ultimate weight loss goal, but I'm well on the way.
So, there were a few milestones we celebrated in our family in 2008!
June - Jacob turned 1, my little brother turned 30, my cousin Jake turned 21
August - Matt and I celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary - several times!
October, my cousin Ali turned 18 - so I am no longer her guardian!
December - My Mum and Dad celebrated their 40th wedding
My Dad had his last day of teaching on 19th December!
The year was a good one in terms of health - Sophie had no major health problems, except she has been told by the CF doctors, she HAS to put on weight. Who would ever think that would be a problem - it's certainly not one I have ever had! My Nan is still going, getting thinner and thinner, and more and more withdrawn, but she still sometimes recognises us, and always smiles when I visit with the children.
Jacob has changed and grown so much this year. He is now 18 1/2 months old. He suddenly started talking more a few weeks ago, and puts several words together now. He tries to repeat just about everything. His favourite word/person/thing/possession is still Mummy. It's nice, but also frustrating. He is still wary of people, and prefers Mummy to everyone.
This was the year of no sleep - as our beautiful boy decided about a year ago to stop sleeping through the night, and to wake up anything from 3-10 times. The last couple of months have been better, and he even sleeps through some nights, but every third or fourth night, he will wake up about 4 times. At least we are getting more sleep than we were, but still not enough. I can't manage to stay awake for an hour long TV show that starts at 7.30.
Sophie has been mostly well, and is going into third class next year. She turned 8 at the end of November. She experienced a bit of bullying by a couple of boys at school, but their teacher handled it quite well, and it seems to have stopped. She has still been doing swimming, and started the year doing trampolining, but then switched to gymnastics the last term. She is an excellent reader and advanced in Maths. We are still having some behaviour problems with her, and I think that will always be a struggle.
This year, I have more goals I would like to achieve, they are pretty much similiar to last years'. I want to keep up going to the gym and losing weight. I want to sleep more. I want to spend more quality time with my family, less time doing time wasting stuff. I need to spend less time on the computer, and less time shopping! I would like to spend more time creating, relaxing, cuddling, sleeping.
So another highlight of the year was that Sharon and I started Simply Fresh Kits, with our website going live about a month ago. Thanks to everyone who has supported us so far. We have received the products for our next kits, and are currently working on 'kitting' them at the moment. You wouldn't even guess how much time we put into selecting the products. It doesn't help that I am so anal! But I think it shows in the kits - that they are well coordinated and look great together.
We also travelled to Brisbane mid December to do classes with Heidi Swapp. I really enjoyed the experience, and Heidi is a real pro as a teacher, and I did stuff that took me out of my comfort zone and made me want to embrace different techniques and ideas. I am determined that I am going to finish the projects soon, and I have been finshing the January page of my calendar today. This gives me another month to get the next one ready LOL.
This blog post is going to be used for several layouts I feel! If I ever sit and scrap again - I got a bit scrapped out making stuff for Christmas.
So what were my favourite things from 2008?
Obama
Music: Katy Perry, Metro Station, Mika, Fall Out Boy, Pink, Madonna/Justin,
TV: Gossip Girl, Melrose, 90210, Dawsons (on DVD), Desperate Housewives & Greys (current and reruns on Foxtel), Heroes
Movies: Sex and the City - loved, loved, loved it! Juno, Hellboy 2, Indiana Jones
Books I couldn't put down: "Scarpetta" Patricia Cornwell, "Fractured" Karin Slaughter, "The Brass Verdict" Michael Connolly, "Deadly Intent" Lynda La Plante, and the Harry Dresden novels by Jim Butcher
Scrap Products: anything Fancy Pants, Prima, loved, loved the Making Memories lines this year - all that diecut paper, Crate Paper Mia, Basic Grey Granola, Scenic Route Sonoma, WRMK White Out, Thickers, transparencies
So, back to the lounge to watch a movie, while we pretend we are on holidays until Matt goes back to work on Monday!