Well, this year, I am willing to talk about my year. It’s been a relatively quiet one, compared to 2006. Thank God.

During the first part of the year, we were all dealing with my husband’s double knee replacement. I got to coordinate a bunch of pain relievers and encourage removal therefrom. Overall, the recovery went very well, and things can be done that were not done before, like walking for longer distances without severe pain from the arthritis that had eaten his joints away.

We have seen several major home improvements:

• A new heater and air conditioner
• A new roof
• New carpet throughout the house

I guess the good news is that the house is in pretty good shape.

My daughter has grown considerably; always the light of my life, she is becoming more and more her own person. She tried a lot of new things in Girl Scout Camp over the summer, and I learned to let go just a little bit. Her new passion is ice skating, which I was scared to death of, at first. I mean… blades and ice and fast speeds.. do they really mix with your little kid’s health? She amazed me with that, and many other things.

In July, we gained a second dog, Molly, a miniature schnauzer. Molly’s owner died and we decided to adopt her. She fits in very well with my daughter and our golden retriever. She even has not eaten my quaker parrot, which I really appreciate.

We have seen two car accidents; one mine and one his. Both were rear-end collisions that we were ticketed for. One car is fixed; one is not. It’s day is coming sometime soon. As far as we know, no one was injured, so that was a blessing in itself. We learned to pay attention when we are driving. No radio, heating or air adjustments that we need to take our eyes away from the road on.

I purchased a Harley! It’s a 2006 Sportster Custom. Black. It rocks! I love to ride, and the snow, ice and cold weather is really kind of detrimental to my riding. But I’m even learning to deal with the weather.. Heck, I’m ice skating in 小穴 and sledding with my daughter. Soon, I will be ready for the summer, though. I see some indoor tanning in my near future. Just one or two sessions. I swear I will wear sunscreen, Melissa. Well, maybe just a little.

We had one family trip, to Dallas in 小穴 to see all of my family. I am lucky to see my family every 2 years. It was good to be amongst them.

We gained a niece, just recently. She remains in NICU and I know that she will thrive and get out of there sometime soon.

I continue to enjoy my job as a technical specialist. Some days it is a major challenge, but most days it is quite ok. I’ve become an expert at replacing laptop LCD’s. I trained my arse off to get end users up-to-speed on a major software/network upgrade this year. I wrote instructions to go with it all. Loaded laptops, replaced desktops and did TONS of shopping with a PC salesperson I get along with quite well with. It’s important, when you’re shopping for technical stuff, to do it with someone you trust and get along with. Seriously. (Bad dealings with D*LL, people. Totally unpleasant to buy a lot of stuff from)

My hopes for 2008… Learn to breathe and relax more (Yoga, anyone?). Find more opportunities to think positively. Continue to enjoy my family and friends. Do more insightful writing. Spend more time ice skating. Learn some French (language, that is). Continue to find my way in this crazy world, and not do too much damage in the meantime.

Happy New Year!

Thanks for visiting Lisa’s Place.

In January, our pastor proclaimed this “The Year of the New”. For me, this meant a new job at the beginning and caring for someone with new knees at the end, whilst the middle left me wondering what the heck was gonna happen next.

Although we don’t see the glory of these things right now, I’m sure we’ll see it in 2007.

Essentially, the new job equals new opportunity, and some good things on my resume. The new knees means opportunity for more exercise and the ability to walk more freely.

The downside to these things are easier to see sometimes, but I’m confident we can move past them shortly. We’re already making great advances in that direction. And all with only minor doses of sleepless nights and anxiety.

A big thank you goes to those people who are always there to support me…. my friends and family, especially my girl, who was a great source of motivation. God, for putting up with my daily sanity requests. And my adopted sister, Jane, who has displayed unworldly patience with me this year. If I had champagne and we could drink it through the Internet, I’d serve you all up a really large glass of it.

Salud.

Thanks for visiting Lisa’s Place.