Sunday, January 4, 2015

The year 2014 in review

This isn't specifically about crafting, but it is about creating. Creating me. A newer version.

January
I complained about the cold. Often. It didn't do a thing to warm things up.
I noticed that more blogs were drifting off into never, never land. I think Pinterest and Facebook take part of that blame/credit.

February
More cold. Snow fell. A lot of snow. My area of Michigan broke a record for snowfall. I began to seriously wonder if cutting Michigan off at the Indiana and Ohio border would make us a true island rather than a peninsula. The possible benefit? Maybe we could become a tropical island!

March
I began talking back to interviews on TV. Obviously the cold winter was getting to me. Thank goodness our grandson had a birthday party to brighten things up! Everyone was encouraged to dress as super heroes. Few did. How are these people my friends and relatives?  
I revealed to the world my true identity and super powers at this party:
Super Papa doesn't really have a Minion face (even though that would be soooooo cool! He is just shy. 
April
I realized that the attitude of some people was affecting my outlook. I couldn't change them, but I could change me. I stopped interacting with some people and spent more time crafting. Life got much better again. Paper crafts have been especially fun for me. Lots of cards have been made, hopefully spreading a little happiness or at least the recipients are aware that I've thought of them.

May
I only posted three times on my old blog, two of them about cards. Not a single comment was made. To be fair, I wasn't blog hopping much to generate a comment exchange.
At the end of the month, hubby, sons, my daughter-in-law, grandson and I traveled to Virginia to visit our godson's family. His parents, sister and her husband were there too. It was a wonderful family reunion. No, these people aren't relatives, but they feel like it.

June
I didn't know on May 31st that June was going to change my life. We got home from Virginia on Sunday, June 1st. Before going to bed that night, I announced, seemingly out of the blue, that I was going to Weight Watchers the next morning.
Doing that launched a new blog for me, My Long and Winding Road about my WW experience.

July
I continued to avoid negative people.
I continued to make cards and use colored pencils and Copic markers on anything that would take color.
I continued to attend WW meetings.
I continued to write about WW and post about crafting here on this blog.

August
More of the same but a new comfort level was settling in, both about food and weight loss, and crafting and why I blog. I blog for me. I've said before that this is my journal, but somehow I wanted affirmation in the form of comments. Why is that? I don't need affirmation from strangers, do I? Nice comments are wonderful, but happiness with what I am doing tells me I am doing what I meant to do.

September
Oh yeah.....I think I have my groove back! 

October
A little paint, some knitting, a lot of paper crafting and would you believe....a lot of chocolate and I still lost weight? I'm creating a whole new me. Not just a new body size, a new mind set. This is the most exciting thing I've done since producing babies!

November
Lots of paper crafts again, and some knitting. A yarn shop hop, a card making shop hop, and Thanksgiving made the month fly.

December
Like most people, I was busy getting ready for the holidays. I made a lot of Christmas cards and didn't take pictures before mailing them. 
I managed to lose weight even over the holidays, a total of 46.6 pounds between June 2nd and December 29th.

I have so much to be thankful for and so much to look forward to in 2015.
My loved ones are near me and healthy.
A new grandchild will arrive in April, a granddaughter.
Our home is our sanctuary. We are warm inside even when it is cold out in the world.
A new attitude toward food has changed my world, my health and my size. The attitude is the difference this time, a dress size or a scale reading isn't my goal.
My family makes me happy, and crafts both relax and energize me.

Life is good. Make that Good with a capital G.

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