About ME This Year and Last

1: travel. how did you travel in 2010? how and/or where would you like to travel next year?

-Stratton and I flew to San Diego for a few days

-other than that we drove everywhere we went (which wasn’t very many places)

-we took a few trips to St Louis and a few trips to the Bass River Resort to go camping.

2: new name. let's meet again, for the first time. if you could introduce yourself to strangers by another name for just one day, what would it be?

-Emilia Di Benedetto

-I love Italian names

3: everything's ok. what was the best moment that could serve as proof that everything is going to be alright? and how will you incorporate that discovery into the year ahead?

-the moment when I realized that money isn’t everything and the love from my family is. I just had to keep telling myself that no matter what, I was going to get paid each week and we had savings. Once I did that I had a lot less stress and I knew I was going to be ok.

4: photo. a present to yourself. sift through all the photos of you from the past year. choose one that best captures you; either who you are, or who you strive to be. find the shot of you that is worth a thousand words. share the image, who shot it and where it was taken

My dad took this picture in front of Dale and Lisa's house. I love this picture because it's me and my two favorite sister in laws. :)

5: soul food. what did you eat this year that you will never forget? what went into your mouth and touched your soul?

-French Truffles from Trader Joes. I have been looking for these since I was in high school and finally found them again. They are so delicious!

 -I love spicy hummus from Trader Joes too. I could sit down and it a whole tub of it and not feel guilty about it. It is definitely my comfort food.

6: ordinary joy. our most profound joy is often experienced during ordinary moments. what was one of your most joyful ordinary moments this year?

-paying off my medical bills from all the heart appointments I had from last year. That was such a relief knowing I have a few less bills to pay each month.

7: defining moment. describe a defining moment or series of events that has affected your life this year.

-One defining moment last year that affected my life was something that happened with some family members. I came to realize that there are just some people that are in your life that have nothing better to do with themselves than make everyone else’s life miserable. It was like Satan put them on this planet to do nothing but spread hate around. I came to realize that I don’t need that kind of crap in my life and to just ignore them from now on.

8: gift. this month, gifts and gift-giving can seem inescapable. what's the most memorable gift, tangible or emotional, you received this year?

-Stratton started to say I Love You last year. That is one of the best gifts ever. I couldn’t wait to hear him say those three sweet little words when he was little and now that he is saying it more and more every day and it is music to my ears.

9 : body integration. when did you feel the most integrated with your body? did you have a moment where there wasn't mind and body, but simply a cohesive YOU, alive and present?

-last year my body was most certainly out of whack. I never felt like I was integrated with my body at all. My heart had issues, I didn’t feel like my body was that great looking, and I didn’t get to exercise as often as I would have liked. Not to mention I was constantly stressed. My mind was trying so hard to absorb every little detail I could for work and school but my body was only thinking about going back to bed. It was a constant (and still is a constant) struggle

10: action. when it comes to aspirations, it's not about ideas. it's about making ideas happen. what's your next step?

-finishing my BFDA. I don’t care how long it takes me but I’m bound and determined to finish school!

11: appreciate. what's one thing you have come to appreciate most in the past year? how do you express gratitude for it?

-I have come to appreciate my family. I try to express my gratitude as much as I can by telling them how much I love and appreciate everything that they do for me and my family.

12: five minutes. imagine you will completely lose your memory of 2010 in five minutes. set an alarm for five minutes and capture the things you most want to remember about 2010.

-Stratton’s second birthday party

-Going camping with the family

-Stratton going pee pee on the potty

-Stratton sleeping in his big boy bed

-Derek and I being married for 2 years

-Loving my family more and more everyday

13: friendship. how has a friend changed you or your perspective on the world this year? was this change gradual, or a sudden burst?

-I have learned something both good and bad from friends this last year.

The Good:

They will always be there for you if they are truly your friends

They will help you through any situation both big and small

They will pray for you when you need it and pray for you even when you don’t

The Bad:

They will stab you in the back the first chance they get if they aren’t real friends

They don’t care about your feelings if they aren’t your real friends

They will ditch you and forget you exist when you need them the most

14: lesson learned. what was the best thing you learned about yourself this past year? and how will you apply that lesson going forward?

-I’m a stronger person than I think. I can do anything I set my mind to and I can do it well.

I want to apply this everyday with school, work, being a mom, being a wife, and especially in my walk with God.

15: try. what do you want to try next year? is there something you wanted to try in 2010? what happened when you did/didn't go for it?

-I want to try to become a substitute teacher and maybe go back to being a full time student.

I wanted to try to make a trip by myself last year and it didn’t happen. I got to go where I wanted but I didn’t get to go by myself. Stratton went with me and it was actually a pleasure having him next to me while I was there. It would have been a good trip if I would have done some things differently. I’ll be going back there again someday but I will be staying at a hotel or somewhere else next time.

16: healing. what healed you this year? was it sudden, or a drip-by-drip evolution? how would you like to be healed in 2011?

-Last year I think I mentally and physically was sick more than I was well. It was hard to pull myself out of the rut that I had created but I slowly but surely made my way out of that rut. I want to help myself heal through physical activity in 2011. I want to get out and walk more often. I want to do yoga and learn how to meditate more often. I want to become an overall healthier person.

17: beyond avoidance. what should you have done this year but didn't because you were too scared, worried, unsure, busy or otherwise deterred from doing? (bonus: will you do it?)

-I should have taken better care of myself and my family this last year. I was always too tired to do the laundry or too sick to play as hard as I wanted to with Stratton. I want to be the best mom and wife I can be for my family.

18: future self. imagine yourself five years from now. what advice would you give your current self for the year ahead?

-keep up the hard work

You can do anything you set your mind to

You will graduate someday

Don’t ever give up

19: wonder. how did you cultivate a sense of wonder in your life this year?

-Geocaching! I love looking for the hidden cache and I love getting to use my imagination to find each of the hidden treasures.

20: let go. what (or whom) did you let go of this year? why?

-I let go of a lot of friends this year.

I let go of them by completely taking them out of my life.

I did it because I don’t want to hang onto something that is going nowhere.

Sometimes you just have to realize that people can really suck at times but you don’t have to put up with their crap. You can just let them go and move forward.

21: make. what was the last thing you made? what materials did you use? is there something you want to make, but you need to clear some time for it?

I’ve been making strawberry pies lately. They have been delicious every new recipe I try.  

-I’m working on the chenille blanket at the moment as well.
I’m using fabric and a sewing machine.

I wish I could make more time for it but I have too much schoolwork to do.

22: community. where have you discovered community, online or otherwise, in 2010? what community would you like to join, create or more deeply connect with in 2011?

-I really discovered the blogging world last year. I would like to become more rooted into the blogging world and really get to know more people out there. My friend Leslie and I are hoping to start a blogging group here in town to make it a more personal community.

23: beautifully different. think about what makes you different and what you do that lights people up. reflect on all the things that make you different - you'll find they're what make you beautiful.

-I think my personality makes me beautifully different. I am the most accepting person you will ever meet. I never judge and I’m always willing to forgive. I love to make people smile and I love to make people laugh.

24: party. what social gathering rocked your socks off in 2010? describe the people, music, food, drink, clothes, shenanigans.

-          Derek and I went to a hockey game in 2010 that was SO much fun. I love hockey! Everyone was dressed in their favorite sports team jersey and it was all trash talking. It was so much fun!

25: wisdom. what was the wisest decision you made this year, and how did it play out?

-The wisest thing I did this year was get rid of the things that were holding me back.

It’s playing out pretty well so far.

26: things. what are 7 things your life doesn't need in 2011? how will you go about eliminating them? how will getting rid of these 11 things change your life?

1. drama from fake friends – don’t worry about the drama because it isn’t mine

2. fake friends  - get rid of them completely

3. worry from money – take it day by day and week by week, save as much as I can

4. another year without graduating – I will go about eliminating that by well…you know going to class

5. laziness – I’ll be getting out of the house more often and doing more for myself

6. unhealthiness – I’ll be eating better and working out more

7. self doubt – I’m going to do everything head on. I know I can do it if I just put myself out there.