Year in Review!

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1. TRAVELS:
- Houston for a wedding
- Boca Raton, Hallandale Beach, and Miami to visit Grandma Carolyn and Rob


2. NEW LOVE(S):
- introspection

3. DISCOVERIES:
- flaws
- learning to love flaws
- tea of the day at "Fat Straws"
- White Russians
- active listening
- Wii fit
- Bikram yoga
- UT Tyler counseling psych MA program
- Pastazio's cannolis


4. LOSSES:
- Neurontin (1800mg per day to be exact) ..YAY!
- a perpetually-affixed CTO vest
- quite a bit of whimsy

5. MILESTONES:
- significant recovery from spinal cord surgery (recovered mobility--no longer on bedrest (!)--no longer on pain meds)
- applied and got accepted into the UT Tyler MA in counseling psych program- classes start Jan 11th!
- learned how to help Comb feel understood during conversations
-my dad swore i'd be back to jogging sometime in 2010..well, i have a secret..i've made a lap or two around Addison Circle park...slowly but surely! i don't think it is something that will be healthy for me to do on a regular basis (something lower impact would be safer), but i just wanted to prove to myself and to my dad, that it was possible. btw, i love my dad! :D

6. THE YEAR SOUNDTRACK:
Songs:
"Use Somebody" -Kings of Leon
"Low Rising" - Swell Season
"Crack the Shutters" - Snow Patrol
"Dream" - Priscilla Ahn
Bands:
Mat Kearney, The Kooks, Swell Season

7. MOUNTAINS:
-lawsuit
-relationships
-physical pain and limitations

8. MY RECOMMENDATIONS:
Listen to yourself. Respect your limits. Connect with yourself and with others because that connection is what grounds us.

9. MOMENTS TO REMEMBER:
-a huge number of Claire's firsts. endearing moments too many to list..hopefully the photos will help keep my memories permanent.

10. ETC.:
-working on strengthening myself physically, obtaining a masters in counseling, and understanding the intricate dynamics that make many of my closest relationships what they are

11. 2009 NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTION(S):
Endure.

12. 2010 NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTION(S):
Stay in school. Don't do drugs. (ie. follow through with the masters program and avoid pain meds)

Christmas Season!

Oh, it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas! Christmas decorating, cookies, shopping, wrapping, and cards are all done! Now I'm switching gears to focus on GRADUATE SCHOOL! Classes begin January 11th and before that I must finish paper work, study for the GRE, apply for financial aid, register for classes, buy books and MOVE from our apartment to my mom's house. Things are looking up these days, most definitely. I'm feeling really well and have been off of my pain meds for several weeks now! Before New Year's, I'd love to post on the year in summary--so here's my attempt to hold myself accountable. In the meantime, I'll be buzzing about. Have yourself a Merry Little Christmas!

Transitions

In my own time, originally uploaded by dandelion_♥.

me: i called claire and told her we were going to pick her up tonight and she ran and grabbed two stuffed animals and stood by the door then started crying when we weren't there
the poor thing is going through so much
it's difficult to explain all of these transitions to her
well i just can't
me: i wonder if God has the same heartache for us..knowing that we're not aware enough to understand the transitions we go through in life