Reflection on 2011

Happy New Year everyone! Hope everyone had a great night.
Stephanie Howell does a monthly challenge called blog your heart, basically you can blog about anything but it has to be authentic. So, since 2011 was such a mix bag, I thought I'd play along with my 2011 reflection.

1. I got to go to Punta Cana and witness a friend from highschool and a friend from elementary school get married. I also got to meet and spend time with some wonderful people, friends I hope will be in my life for a long time and friends that I got to reconnect with.

2. I became an Aunt for the first time! Alexis was born on March 1st. I also became her Godmother. I'm a little nervous about this as I think it is a huge responsibility and I want to get it right. I will be the one of the primary educators in the Christian faith. I'm not even sure where to start. But I'm really excited to get started!

3.I haven't really been feeling the joy at work this year. I'm a nurse so my job can be a hard one anyway but when you feel like you aren't fitting in that can make it even more difficult. It's hard being different, even if your different is an awesome kind of different.

4. Two of my cousins got married this year. I was so stoked for both of them, especially Andrea b/c it really is about time she had some happiness and sunshine in her life.

5. I got a new brother and sister!!! Okay not really but they feel like family. My Nana had an Irish student staying with her this summer, Ciaran. He fit in with our family very well, to the point that he was calling us his brothers and sisters and we were calling him our brother too. He just fits so well. His sister Aine came to visit at the end of the summer and it was like she belonged to us too. It's weird how that happens and we all wish that Ireland wasn't so very far away.

6. At the beginning of August my step dad Denis had a stroke, was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, flew back to France for treatment with my mom and was gone by the first week of Sept.

7. My brother Dan and I flew to France to be with my mom for two weeks. Not the way either of us thought we would get back to Europe but there you have it. I'm really really glad that Dan went with me and I didn't have to go alone. Also, I know we were being looked after b/c it could have been a nightmare trying to get to France on such short notice. Everything went fairly smoothly, except for that time a pigeon pooped on me in Paris and we had to run to catch our train to Nimes.

8. I am so glad that I am not an only child, we five really banned together and I feel so lucky to have them.

9. While all this was going on I discovered Brave Girls Club. Perfect timing! If you haven't checked them out yet....GO. Go right after you finish ready this post. It's really hard to explain the value this group of women has had on me or the value of the classes I have taken. I have learned a lot about myself, about the lies I've been telling myself, about the lies that other people have been telling me, that I love paint and glue and that while Patti is the artist in our family, my work is just as valuable even if just to me. If you are feeling even the little bit lost, please check these ladies out....it will be well worth it. Can't wait for Brave Girls Camp 2013.


I am looking forward to see what 2012 will bring. More creating and more love I hope. Also my sister Patti is getting married...Finally!!! They have already been together for more than a decade. Sorry Patti but I have to dance barefoot @ you wedding so I have to get at least one jab in.
I hope everyone has a blessed year!

Ten on Tuesdays - the French adventure.

It's Tuesday and I thought I would play along with Kim at It's a Crafty Life. for her Ten on Tuesdays. I recently spent two weeks in the south of France with my brother Dan and our Mom... Now before you get all excited...it wasn't a holiday. My step-dad passed away (Denis is from there and my Mom and him had flown back there two weeks before for cancer treatment) and according to my Grandma our mission was to bring Mom home with us. Really our mission was to be with her and if we could bring her home great, but we would be relieved in two weeks if it couldn't be done. It almost didn't happen but Dan and I did manage to get Mom home with us. I learned some interesting things while I was away and would like to share them with you.

1. It is possible to fit just enough stuff and Teddy (my stuffed bear I've had since my first Christmas) into a backpack. It is possible to do this after crying to your Dad that your brother is a tyrant. It is possible to do this after only 4 hours of sleep b/c you worked nights the last two nights.

2. Brothers are awesome! Well mine are anyway and Dan sure proved it once again. He is a very patient person. He is a stay clam, don't panic kind of guy. I have the tendency to panic depending on the situation. Imagine this: we get off the train in Paris and need to switch trains to get to Nimes. We need to get to another station to get that train and we only have 1 hour to do so. We think about taking a cab but the que is really long and we know that we will never make it. I get pooped on by a pigeon. We decide to take the subway. We have less than 45mins. Dan figures out which one to take and then we confirm it with the info guy. We get on. We are down to 15mins. We can't get out of the subway station without our ticket...mine is at the bottom of my very large purse. Panic!!! My brother Dan calmly tells me we will be alright. Did I mention that we had to catch the train to Nimes b/c it was the last one that night? Dan puts my bag on the ground and helps me look for it. Found! We get sorta get lost finding the train and have to run in order to catch it. I would still be in Paris if it wasn't for Dan.

3. My Mom is not a fan of John Lennon.....She blames him for breaking up the Beatles....She doesn't even remember what she was doing when he died. She loves the music he wrote for the Beatles (before they got weird, she says) but she's just not a fan of him.

4. My Mom didn't know that the Backstreet Boys got their start in Europe...but my brother, who is in a punk rock band did..Huh?

5. Bread in France is really good. But they don't have peanut butter.

6. Round abouts and one way streets are in abundance in the south.

7. The villagers where Denis is from, hate Mondays so much that they often keep their shops closed. Only the big supermarket is open.

8. Castles are cool and damp and mossy. But cool! We did manage to spend one morning exploring and toured a nearby castle.

9. It is possible to get six suitcases between three of us, on and off the subway in Paris. But only if the other passengers help. I am amazed by all the help and kindness we received on our travels. Since we can't thank each of them...we'll just have to pay it forward.

10. The Dutch really like their potatoes. At dinner the night before our flight out of Amsterdam each dinner came with a baked potato, french fries and tater tots. Too much food to eat.

It was an adventure for sure. Maybe next time it could be a holiday too.:)

Ciao!