Day Twenty-Five: On a scale from 1-10 (1 being lowest, 10 being highest), How would you rate your overall 2010?

This is my last post of 2010 Reflections.  Time to look for another blog to keep myself thinking and reminiscing.

On a scale from 1-10 I would have to rate my overall year as a 7.  I had a lot of good things happen and a lot of very bad and sad things happen.

I am choosing 7 because it started off amazing; got into a great relationship, got to say hi to Shamu, saw my bffe in Vegas, moved in with my boyfriend, celebrated good friends birthdays with bowling, an amazing turn out for March for Babies, went to some fabulous weddings, hosted my sisters 1st real baby shower, had a few great pool days, friend from AZ moved here, many Isotope games, great Fourth of July Firework shows, and most importantly NO DRAMA.

Shamu!

Then the middle of the year was horrific.  Addie went to Denver for a simple procedure and ended up staying there for a few months.  Cried everyday and prayed every second for 2 months straight.  Then all we heard was good news from then on.  Mostly every step was a step forward even though we had a few steps back.  Once the good news started overweighing the bad, the end of the year started to look up.

Just before Addie left hospital in Denver

The end of my 2010 ended with hope, healing and positive outcomes. Addies came home happy and on her way to good health.  My beautiful 2nd niece, Kenley Rae, was born into this world healthy (and on time!).  Had some great holiday parties; a few trips to the well known balloon fiesta; my first trip the a real pumpkin patch & corn maze;  participated in the Breast Cancer walk; great trip to Phoenix for some fun with friends and the Cardinals game; a great Christmas with my family and Michaels, and a super fun NYE party to top of the end of the year.

Day Twenty-Four: What was your 2010 New Year's Resolution? Did you stick to it? And what will your 2011 New Year's resolution be?

My 2010 New Year's resolution was to fall in love.  And yes I accomplished that!  I cheated a little bit tho... I had thought about this as a resolution before the end of 2009 when contemplating what I should choose.  I intentionally spent NYE with a certain someone that I had feelings for and had a feeling it would turn into love.  So I finalized my resolution :)  And of course I stuck with it!

My 2011 resolution is to visit my nephews grave more often and be more patient! My sister and brother in law lost their son about 9 hours after being born @ 25 weeks.  Ever since he was buried, I have only gone to visit his grave sight on his birthday and one Christmas.  I really want to make a huge effort to go at least once a month and leave something for him.  I know and can feel him watching over my family especially his sister, Addie.  He is a lot of people Guardian Angel.

Day Twenty-Three: Who surprised you this year? In what way?

I caught the bouquet!

Myself.  I think I have truly surprised myself this past year.  I have been through a lot of up's and down's; experienced personal and family obstacles.  I've made individual goals and accomplished those goals.  I have been in vulnerable situations, times to prove my strength, and healing power.

I have needed to be strong for myself, my sister, my father and my niece.  I have faced different situations in 2010 that I have never had to face and overcame them.  I have had hands to hold and reached out my own to others when in struggle.  I have listened, received, and given all kinds of different advice throughout the year.

Thank you to everyone who helped me surprise myself.  You probably don't know that you contributed but you did and I am eternally grateful.  

Day Twenty-Two: What is your 2010 theme song?

Okay, so I didn't want to keep sounding redundant and keep mentioning the sad times of my 2010... so I have thought of a silly song that pretty much summed up the majority of my 2010 (aside from Addie).

My 2010 theme song is the Cha Cha Slide: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZv62ShoStY

Most of us are familiar with this song because of weddings and other social gatherings.  Well in 2010 I attended about 8 weddings from the beginning to the end of the year.  This was always in my head and I ended up making it part of my workout mix!  It's a great song to get everyone moving!

Not only does this remind me of the nuptials in 2010, but it also reminds me of Addie.  There is apart of the song that says "Everybody clap your hands" and she absolutely loves that part of the song! She claps her hands so hard and looks around the room to make sure everyone else is clapping their hands as well.  The huge smile on her face and her repeating "YAAAAY!" the whole time just makes you want to join is with her :) This can continue for hours and hours if you let it ;)
(I absolutely love Addie!)

Day Twenty-One: What was one of your wishes or prayers?

My only wish and prayer this year was the prayer of Addison's survival.  And prayers were answered.  My first prayer was for Addie to regain consciousness.  My prayers after that were for her strength, progress, and recovery.  I don't think I was the only one with the same prayers in 2010.  There are so many people who joined in with us asking God and whoever else is up there for guidance, help, hope, and faith for Addie.  When my good friend Katy started the prayer group on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=116099581775135) I was so overwhelmed with the response.  I had no idea so many people would reach out to my family.  The word spread like wild fire and a large group of people that I knew and did not know reached out, prayed, and sent positive healing thoughts to Addie and to my entire family.

I personally do not think I have ever prayed so much before in my entire life.  Not only did I pray a bunch but I have never had all my prayers answered.  My family is extremely blessed.

Day Twenty: What skills/talents did you acquire?

The skill I learned in 2010 was how to crochet!!

My friend Steph taught me and my good friend Katy how to crochet.  It is such a great stress reliever for me and seems to be very therapeutic.  Plus I love doing things and getting an end product!  Nothing like instant gratification!  It took me a while to get a hang of it.  And I definitely have SO much more to learn but once I have the time to sit down and practice, I'd love to learn different stitches so I can make different things.

This scarf is my first (and only) completed product. I have started a baby blanket but am no where near finishing.  I don't have as much time on my hands as I did when I first started but it is still something I enjoy doing and want to keep up.  When I was bed rested due to a migraine, I continued on the baby blanket I have already started.  I would like to finish it in the near future so maybe that will be one of my goals for the beginning of 2011.  :)

Oh and of course my other talent I perfected in 2010 is being the best Auntie that I can be for both my nieces, Addie and Kenley! I sure love those girls to death! 

Day Nineteen: What is one thing you did that you have never done before?

I have never lived with a dog until 2010.  His name is Brian (for those of you who do not know).  He is Michael's little Maltese.  I have always wanted a dog of my own but wasn't allowed to when I was growing up.  Once I got my own place I thought it was going to be too much to have a dog in an apartment and didn't want to burden my roommates.  Also I wanted a pure breed and they are SO expensive.

I love having Brian around.  He finally gets along with my cats and we are one big happy family!

Brian is wearing pink because it was Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Day Eighteen: What was your guilty pleasure?

My guilty pleasure in 2010 was definitely in music.  Her name is Emily Osment.  For those of you who do not know her, she apparently stars on Hannah Montana and a few Disney movies.  The first time I saw her she performed on the View and sang her newest single Lovesick off her album Fight or Flight.  I immediately wanted to start dancing right then.  Some people may think it's a silly or teen poppy but it is definitely my guilty pleasure for those exact reasons!  I love all the girlie artists Britney Spears, Kelly Clarkson, Taylor Swift, Eden's Crush, Ashley & Jessice Simpson, and Hilary Duff.  I guess I'm still a teen at heart :)
Lovesick has a beat I love to jam to in the car, while I am at the gym, pretty much anywhere and anytime of the day.  I love guilty pleasures!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7c1qMG4Ads    

Day Seventeen: What happened in your life that you never expected to happen?

Me, Danica and Ashley a million years ago :)

I never thought that I would be reunited with my long lost childhood friend and her family, Ashley and her parents Sharon and TC.

This family has been very close to mine since before I was born.  My mother was best friends with Sharon making Sharon a second mother to me.  Ashley and I grew up together in Santa Fe, NM.  A few years later her family moved to Farmington and we went to Albuquerque.  We all stayed in touch and both of our families made trips to Farmington and Albuquerque to spend time together and even holidays.  I have SO many memories growing up with this family.  Building haunted houses, dying our hair with Kool-Aid, staying up till wee hours of the night eating junk food, sleeping through the night on the trampoline, making up dances and songs, going skiing all around the state, carrying fake baby dolls around town pretending they were our real babies, playing with her cat that always would suck on her blankets, and even going to school with her.

My childhood memory of this family is so special to me.  As we all got older we grew apart.  That's just what happens.  Ash moved to CA for 10 years and I was in AZ for 10 years.  And here we are.  Her family is back in Santa Fe and Ash and I are back in Albuquerque.  Once I found Ashley on myspace, I had always hoped we would reunite and we have on a level that I didn't think was possible.  I am SO happy to have her here and same with her mom and dad.  It's like we are a family again.  Makes my heart smile.      

Day Sixteen: What would you do differently?

Of course I wish I could take certain things back, like the entire Denver experience and seeing Addie the way I did... but I know I can't.  With that being said, I wouldn't redo, relive, or do anything different.  All of the bad did come with some good, and that's what I need to always remember.  I have learned a lot of things from all the bad so I wouldn't necessarily do anything differently.  If I continue to take a day at a time, I won't want any 'redo's'.  I'm just praying, wishing, and hoping for a better, more positive 2011!    

Day Fifteen: What was your biggest challenge?

I wish I didn't have to sound like a broken record but I have said before that most of my 2010 involved Addie's health concern.  So my biggest challenge was dealing without having my family around since they were in Denver for almost 2 months.

One of the main reasons I moved from Arizona to New Mexico was because I wanted to be close to my family again.    When they had to go to Denver for Addie's procedure, we had no idea that they wouldn't be returning for months!  This was a lot to adjust too.  I do a lot for my family so when they weren't around I was lost, bored, scared, and didn't know how to deal with this challenge.  Luckily they did what they needed to do in Denver and they were able to come home after a few short months and we were all a family again.    

Day Fourteen: Something you learned this past year.

I have learned to have more faith.  Faith in myself and faith in God.  My life has been a true test of Faith since I was sixteen.  Every time something bad happens I tend to loose Faith.  Every time I didn't do well in school I'd loose Faith.  But in 2010, I learned that I need to never let go of f\Faith.  It does me no good when I loose optimism...

In the toughest situation this past year, there were times that I lost Faith but then had to dig deep for it.  Once I regained that optimism, I felt so much better.  When I don't have Faith in myself, I tend to stay away from challenges and moving forward.  I regained Faith in myself when I let Michael into my life and look where I am.  Happy as ever.  I always remind myself of that one particular instance and it gives me strength to believe in myself again.

Faith helps us keep going; helps us reach goals and strive for more goals; Faith keeps people sane and positive outlooks for themselves and for others.  Faith not only effects you but those who surround you, especially those who do not have much Faith.  2010 will be my constant reminder to keep and maintain Faith in myself and in God when I hit the bumps in the road that lay ahead of me and my family.    

Day Thirteen: What was your favorite purchase?

Attempt #1

 My favorite purchase... hmmm... now that I think about it, I made quite a lot of purchases in 2010.  I think I have a top few favorites... most of which were for other people such as:
1.  Truck steps for Michaels new truck.
2.  The 'Help Addie Fight' wristbands.
3.  The personalized necklace for my sister.

Attempt #2

But I think my favorite purchase for myself was getting my nose pierced. Twice. lol.
The first time was a bust because I got a bump (which I now know that's how my body was healing the new piercing... I just didn't give it enough time).  I was very hesitant to do it again, but I absolutely had to because how much I loved it and wanted it.  If the bump was due to healing then I would suck it up and let it heal even if it took longer then the recommended healing period.  All is well and I love love love it every time I look at it!

Day Twelve: What was the best gift you gave?

I think this necklace was the best gift I ever gave and I'm pretty sure this was the best gift she received for Christmas.  I got this idea from a good family friend who got me personalized charms for my birthday.  I love my necklace SO much so I knew Danica would love something personalized for herself.

I customized this necklace from www.tokentags.com with my two niece's names, Addison and Kenley and my nephew's name, Austin.  Also attached is a heart charm with a 'J' engraved that represents my brother in law, Justin.  My sister wanted a gift that represents her family and thought this would blow her away.  And it did!  I couldn't be more happy with the final product and would recommend this type of gift to anyone.   

Day Eleven: What was the most selfish thing you did?

The most selfish decision I made just occurred and I don't feel good about it.  I know we are no longer in 2010 but I couldn't really think of another situation.  Basically, Addie is out of town for her lung biopsy and I had previously made dinner plans with a friend who I haven't seen in a while.  Addie's procedure is today (right now actually).  My sister didn't directly ask me to cancel them but I made the selfish decision to go instead of stay with my sister.  I know she is sad she can't be with her daughter during this medical procedure and I always do everything I can to help her but this time I didn't.  I feel really bad about it.
(admitting you have done something selfish is not easy and really hurts.)

Danica, I am really sorry I can't be there with you right now to keep you company.  I hope you don't think I am a selfish person.  But next time if you really do need me for anything, please don't hesitate to ask and admit that you need me.

Day Ten: What was the klutziest thing you did this past year?

This picture doesn't even do justice to my injury.  Basically the klutziest thing I did in 2010 was falling down the stairs.  It was Balloon Fiesta Week and very very very early in the morning (about 5 am).  We were getting ready to head to the Mass Ascension. I was in a hurry and half asleep and had one foot on the newly mopped floor (with socks on) and one foot on the last step.  Went to turn the corner and my foot slipped right from underneath me.  Caught myself with my right wrist, right ankle, and lower back.  I was messed up for about a month.

I fell so hard since I was rushing that I really thought I knocked the wind out of me!  It was so not funny at the time but when I had my wrist wrapped up, ankle wrapped up, and huge bruises on my lower back, I couldn't help but to think it was hilarious!  Definitely the klutziest thing I have done in 2010.

Day Nine: Who impacted you the most?

My sister.  She had the most influential impact on me this entire year.  Not only this year but many years in the past.  I hate to keep bringing up the same situations and answers, but what happened to Addie this summer was a huge part of my entire year.

My sister's strength throughout all the bad things that Addie has experienced really impacted me.  From making life or death decisions to just being supportive for her husband and doing this all while pregnant and staying sane.  Absolutely incredible.  My sister always seizes to amaze me.  I could never imagine having to be in her situation and she prevailed, just like her daughter Addie.  I know I have said this before but my sister is truly an amazing inspiration to me.