Happy Birthday, Blog!

Holy crap, I've been doing this for a year.  And what a year it's been.  I've really enjoyed having an outlet to share stories and thoughts with my dear readers and I thank each and every one of you for your support.  Your feedback and enjoyment of my musings really do make me want to tell my stories in the best (and often funniest) ways. 

Growing up I always thought I'd be an author.  Many spare moments were spent crafting short (and long) stories.  Creative writing classes were encouraged and completed.  Who knew that the spiral-bound notebooks full of pencil scribbles would later be replaced by a blog?  It's interesting because I was never one for a journal or a diary, opting to focus more on my imagination for stories.  But through the encouragement of many of you, I find telling my own tales often more amusing.  Seriously, without Dave and the mice I don't know what I would have talked about last spring (and fall). 

Two of my biggest supporter have been my mom and my grandmother, who have always been supportive of my writing.  It helps that Grandma also makes for good content (Mom does too, but I'm being kind to her by focusing my energies on making fun of JR.  It's much more therapeutic.)  A year later it still brings a smile to my face to hear someone reference something I wrote here.  It means people actually read this stuff.  Who knew?

The past year has been a big and busy one.  Starting my 3rd decade I wanted a repository to both store memories but also archive things I've done.  There have been challenges--Dave being injured, laid off and working toward finding a job, as well as others I haven't shared yet.  I actually thought I would focus much of this on how Dave and I have been dealing with his situation and our marriage.  I guess I'm lucky that it hasn't been a topic because that means it hasn't defined who we are as a couple or how we live our life.  Not to say that it hasn't changed things.  We've just decided to focus more on the things we can control in life. 

Mostly, I have focused on the positives of the past year.  Funny moments aside, I took on a new position which has treated me well; I learned a new hobby and feel I'm not to shabby at this whole crochet thing; we started rescuing dogs which has been a rewarding part of our life; and then I went ahead and started another blog to chronicle my baking passion.  And we've continued to have great friends and family who support us and help us remember what life should be about.

I hope this next year is as fun and funny.  I imagine we'll have some changes in store (I mean, eventually the economy will turn around and someone will see the value in Dave's skills, right?) and perhaps I'll find new and exciting ways to embarrass myself.  I'll settle for Dave, JR or one of our friend's doing dumb stuff too.

Thank you for reading, thank you for your feedback, and thank you for being funny.  In gratitude, I offer you this LOLdog.