Melting Bird Mutant and Other Ponderings

So...it's the last day of the year 2007. I have spent this morning reflecting on this past year...the good and the bad! Our family has been so very blessed this year. We had great adventures camping. We saw Oak Creek Canyon, the Grand Canyon, Zion National Park, the Chiracahuas, Parker Canyon Lake, San Diego and Patagonia Lake...to name a few. Max and I travelled to Michigan for the Odyssey of the Mind competition (that would fall a good bit short of the "good" reflections list!). We added Oscar to our family (what a joy he is!) My oldest started middle school (oh, the mommy's heartbreak!) and my baby started kindegarten! I had a crazily blessed year with my photography (who knew?!) and I was blessed and humbled beyond belief through my work with both the American Child Photographers Charity Guild and Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep. My oldest sister moved to Arizona and I have had wonderful, frequent visits with her. I got to visit with all of my sisters AND my cousin to boot this spring! And we saw both my parents, and Chris' Dad and stepmother and two of his three sisters...plus both of his brothers this year. All in all it has been an awesome and exciting year. There have been some not so awesome things for sure. It has been a year of many injuries. I herniated a disc in January and that took me out of the gym for nearly two months. That was not fun. I've had to baby the stupid injury all year long. I managed to badly sprain a hip flexor...again, not fun. Oh...and let's not forget the broken toe episode! THAT one was no fun for sure! I have become increasingly convinced that my body thinks it is part bird. My arms continue to try to morph into wings, despite my constant efforts and remindings that they were most definitely NOT made to fly. That whole effort has been to no avail. My "wing-wannabes" continue to increase in flap capacity by the day it seems! In addition to my new and improved "flaps", I seem to be melting...or maybe just succumbing to some supernatural and unusually strong gravity force? There is much fluff...and spillage around my waistline. It's like the fat is just melting right over the top of my jeans and reaching for the floor. It's particularly striking with the winglets I have going on. Talk about "See it jiggle...see it wiggle..." Oh yeah. It's something to behold right now. I am now on a mission...not because it's the new year...no, this is one of those really annoying ongoing kinds of issues..but I am on a mission to tame the beast of flab. It will be NO small feat. I am afraid drastic measures are ahead. I did get a great run in this morning. 6 miles! Hooray. That was worth 900 calories according to my treadmill. One day at a time. One mile at a time. Like the commercial for SmartStart cereal...I am one mile stronger now. Well, actually, 6 miles stronger. But I was honestly ready to quit at the 5 mile mark. But I did one more. So I'm one mile stronger now. Now if I can only be one pound lighter or one inch less fluffy! Oh well. It's a new year, with new adventures and new challenges ahead. I am ready to face whatever comes. The good and the bad. I know that this is the year that we will say goodbye to Casey. At fourteen she is quickly fading. We see changes in her nearly daily now. She is holding her own, but we know her time is near. That will be sad to say goodbye to her since she has been with us since nearly the day we said "I do". I am excited about my bible study group this year. We are ten ladies strong right now and they are an AMAZING group! We have had such fun this year! We have a lot of travel on the calendar already! Chris and I are off to Hawaii in January...without kids! In March we are flying to Montana for Spring Break so Chris and the kids can ski. Then we are off to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, Zion and Bryce National Parks the end of May. We hope to spend 4th of July back in San Diego again, and we plan to travel to Italy again (this time without kids!) in the fall! That's all that's concrete right now...but I am sure there will be a few other trips thrown in there where we can! I don't know where my photography business will go this year. I gained MANY new clients this year. More than I ever could have imagined! I am going to just hang out and see where that goes. I am definitely NOT ready to advertise. I know that for sure! I had my hands full as it was with just the referrals. I am going to definitely be more careful about scheduling...and I am enlisting a fulfillment site as well to help take the pressure off of me this year. It means prices will go up...both for sitting fees as well as prints. Not too, too much. But I am not able to keep up with all the processing AND my housework AND my kids AND my exercise. So I am going to use that to make my life easier. I guess I should give everyone a heads up on that lest they need to get things ordered before I get all of that set up and transitioned! Anyway. That's my New Year reflections...sort of. Ramblings more like! What a great year this was. How very blessed and how very, very rich.