12 favorite things from 2012

It is really the end of the year…the last couple days of the last month of 2012. Whew! What a journey of unraveling and putting bits back together…a convergence of new life lessons and milestones…and growing older in all the right ways. Its been a great year…and I thought to finish it out right I’d share some of my favorite things and moments and treasures with you.

1. Becoming an Auntie to my nephew Emerson and watching him grow up through text message pictures and videos and a couple visits.

2. Getting hired at Horizon Credit Union. Read the story of how it all came together here, thoughts on my first day here, and my week of training here.

3. My 12 favorite songs of 2012: “Figure 8” by Ellie Goulding, “King and Lionheart” by Of Monsters and Men, the entire “Red” album by Taylor Swift, “Home” by Phillip Phillips, “Call Me Maybe” cover by Ben Howard, “This Is the New Year” by Ian Axel, “Hanging On” by Britt Nicole, “Somebody That I Used to Know” cover by Walk Off The Earth, “Its Time” by Imagine Dragons, “As It Seems” by Lily Kershaw, “Poison & Wine” by The Civil Wars, “Be Mine” by Robyn, “Xyz” by Jack and White.

4. Rebranding my blog to shadylaneblog.com and the month-long blog party all about celebrating the everyday. I had some amazing guest bloggers share their thoughts on the topic. And from then on this blog focused on cherishing the little things and remembering that even though “every day might not be good, but there is something good in every day.”

5. All of my Hair Diaries and experiments this year.

6. Riding the elephant at the fair! Total highlight of the year and my life!

7. Celebrating our 5th Wedding Anniversary and sharing our love story together on my blog. It was so much fun to write together and share with all of you. I am so grateful for Chris and the love he’s brought into my life. Our relationship flourished this year and I hope it continues to grow even more. 

8. Instagram for Android!!! I loved seeing the world through those little filtered squares this year and I hope to keep taking and sharing pictures with this platform. It’s a fun way to celebrate the little everyday things.

9. Visits with family. I was a bad blogger and didn’t really take many pictures of this, but this year we had quite a few visits with our families. My papa and his new wife came to stay with us, we went to Whidbey Island and saw Chris’ grandparents and were there for their 65th wedding anniversary. My Canadian family came and spent a couple nights with us and we spent a lot of time singing and playing music together. My mum stayed with us a few times and so did my sister Megan and her husband. It was something I really enjoyed about 2012 and it made me really happy that we have a guest room in our home to share.

10. Starting our journey of learning Russian! We joined the Russian group in our congregation in May of this year and slowly but surely we’re learning the language. It is an exciting time in the history of Jehovah’s people to be involved in a foreign language group. We can’t wait to see where it will lead and what other doors it might open to us.

11. Learning and growing with my blog designing. I got to meet some really amazing ladies and design for some friends this year. I am hoping to continue to grow my skills and my business with blog design.

12. Getting answers about my health. I got sick at the end of 2011 and throughout 2012 I went through lots of ups and downs trying to figure out what it was and then how to get it under control. I was diagnosed with IBS and was able to see a specialist and got the tools I need to continue forward in as much control of it as possible. Getting sick and going through this process has taught me a lot…I’ve learned humility and to rely on Chris even more. It brought us closer together. I am glad to be on the road to health again, and hopefully feeling even more like my self again soon.

It has been quite a year…and I am so excited to welcome in 2013 and see what it brings us.

What were the best parts of your 2012?