2005 in short review

I was straightening up my scraproom tonight, and decided I should take a picture of the books and magazines I was published in this year. (I think the CK Kids book actually came out at the end of 2004, but it plopped it in the picture anyway... LOL)It was a pretty successful year for me in terms of publication, and the truth is that I didn't have much time to really get too many submissions in for different things. I hope that this year is different in that regard. I hope that finishing up my Hall of Fame entry is a start to being better about getting my submissions in before deadlines and having time to make a more concerted effort to pay attention and prepare for calls for pages. It is the only real resolution I am going to make this year.

With the end of the year here, I have also been reflecting back on the year a bit. There have been some great highlights. Here are some of my favorites in no particular order.

* Exploring Washington DC, and being able to visit my uncle's place on the Vietnam Memorial.

* Seeing the Old North Church where Paul Revere had his lanterns hung.

* Fulfilling a dream by being able to explore Philadelphia and stand where patriots stood.

* Making new friends. There were so many new friends this year. In fact,I don't think I have ever met so many people that I just "clicked" with so well in one year before in my life. Especially friends like Katherine,whose friendship has left its mark in the most unexpected ways... LOL

* Seeing Johanna and Diane and Sarah. There is nothing like seeing old friends again and reconnecting. I miss you all.

* Taking Matt, Chet, and Faith with me to California. I loved every minute we got to spend together during that trip.

* Celebrating our ten year wedding anniversary, and spending a weekend away with just Jack and I for the first time in those ten years.

* Seeing my kids learn sign. I love that all of them combine ASL with their spoken words now.

* Being able to read 30 different books this year. That was because I spent so much time on planes, but I love diving into a book and coming away feeling like it has enriched my life.

* Eating queso and tres leche at Chuy's in Austin. Mmmmmmmmmm

* Seeing my kids perform with George Dare and being a part of Vegas' history.

* Seeing the Atlantic Ocean one week in Florida, and the Pacific Ocean the next week in California.

* Todd being a "Mud Mermaid"

* Being picked as part of the Scrap Village design team.

* Watching Beth with the kittens and the puppy.

* Matt performing as Junior Mint in a roadshow.

* Faith stealing the show with her Hippo solo.

* Shopping with my mom for Christmas.

* Todd being put in time-out, and always saying "I never do that again!"

* Ikea, I sure love that place!

* Racing through the mall in Texas to buy Katherine's purse five minutes before the mall closed.

* Spending Memorial Weekend at the time share with the kids thanks to Jolleen.

* Seeing Kyle lose his first tooth.

* Seeing Faith's front teeth finally start to come in.

* Winter CHA and Summer CHA (except for that the lack of heat in Atlanta and the lack of cool air in Chicago.)

* Discovering Shoestring Production's license plate albums.

* Being able to teach and visit with hundreds and hundreds of scrappers.

* Coming home from every show to a family who was happy to see me.

I know I am forgetting several other things that made me laugh, made me happy, or touched me in some way, but these are what I can think of right now. For the most part it has been a good year, and I am always grateful for the good years. Another favorite thing of mine is to see all of you who leave comments on my blog. It makes me day, and I thank you!