2017 was certainly not one of the best years. There is certainly plenty to be thankful for, but still not the best of years. We lost our sweet Allie early in the year and it has been quite an adjustment for us.

On the brighter side, we have had some great furry house guests that we have thoroughly enjoyed. It was really something we needed when we were missing our fur babies, but weren’t ready to get another one yet. Banjo, Porsha, and Roxy have filled a void for us this year and for that we are thankful.

We did get to take the kids on a wonderful vacation up to Maine at the start of summer (another thing I never got around to blogging). We had a ton of laughs and the kids really showed us how brave and adventurous they are. Seriously ALL THE RIDES!! I have a bunch of little dare devils.

I failed on a lot of goals I had set myself up for this year. I wanted to build the blog…that didn’t happen. Posts are farther and farther apart, I’ve never been so not-invested in my blog. I had an ongoing list of posts and recipes I wanted to share and never got around to it. At first I was beating myself up over it, and then I just started not caring anymore. Actually it makes me a little sad. I’ll try again in 2018.

Fitness. Oh boy! This is an area where I totally slid this year. It pains me so much because it IS something I LOVE. I love running, I love trying new workouts, I love cooking healthy foods…but I didn’t set the time aside for myself this year to achieve any goals, and that’s just not like me. I feel like I’m regressing to my 2010 self and I don’t like it. I love torturing myself and feeling achy muscles from a good workout. I’m bizarre, I know…but some people out there get me, I know you do.

On a positive note this year, my baby boy ran a 5K with me. Honestly this is one of the HIGHLIGHTS of my year. He made me so PROUD! I loved having the one-on-one time with him and seeing him set a goal for himself and accomplishing it was amazing.

I did reach my reading goal… which actually surprises me because I NEVER reach that goal. 12 books in 12 months. Granted there wasn’t much variety in my choices, but I enjoyed each and every one of them. Although Fiery Cross took me the entire year finish. I had to keep taking a break and dive into something else. I’m just hoping the Outlander TV series survives long enough to cover all eight books because I can’t bring myself to read books 6 through 8. I just can’t do it.

Work has been pretty good this year. We’ve been busy which benefits us all.

We FINALLY got our wrap-around porch redone this year. It looks amazing. Totally time consuming, and a HUGE thank you to my father-in-law, husband, and brother-in-law. I’ve waited 10 years for this porch.

Logan started middle school this year. It’s been a transition. I’ve never had to “parent” so hard. For a good kid, he’s still draining me. Logan joined the Dungeons and Dragons club, and loves it. Just saying that still makes me chuckle a bit, but it’s good to see him try new things.

Finn finally got into an IEP reading program this year and is doing wonderful. I’m seeing such an improvement. It makes my heart soar. Finn’s really getting into cooking and hopes to open a restaurant some day. This makes me so happy!

This is the first year where I had a parent-teacher conference for Deacon and they did NOT say he talks too much. Big strides. Deacon signed up for soccer this year and worked really hard. I loved seeing him out on that field.

All in all I can’t say it’s been a terrible year, it seems more like a transition year to me. With all the “transitioning” I haven’t had time to focus on my own goals. Chin up and onto a new year. We all need to keep looking at the positives in our lives and not dwell on the things that just didn’t work out, because in life not all things do work out. What is important is that you put forth your best effort, be kind, and make someone smile on a daily basis.

Happy New Year!