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Basics:

• Age: 36 – As old as Tinkerbell, who’s just God-awful old, according to Mae. (Long story, very silly…)
• Favorite Color: Blue
• Favorite Food: Indeterminate
• Favorite Activity: Playing Guitar and Singing
• Favorite Book: Full Dark, No Stars (King) – Need to find a new one. Any suggestions?
• Favorite Song: Too Many to Choose – Let’s Give a Shout Out to Dallas Frasca’s Better Without You, for now…

10 Highlights
Accomplishments. Best Memories.

• Really Learning to Play Guitar
• RockFest 2014
• Taking Voice Lessons
• Flowers Finished on my Upper Right Sleeve
• Connecting with Other Leaders in the GS Circle
• Favorite Memory: New Christmas Eve Traditions
• World Thinking Day 2014
• Helping Thing 1 Progress in School & Connecting More with My Girls
• Pursuing New Treatment Routes – Some failed, Some Rocked
• ~Private~

10 Disappointments
Failures. Missed Opportunities.

• Fitness Debacle
• Giving Up Voice Lessons
• Relationship Failures
• Hardest Thing This Year: Friendships Gone Awry
• NLE
• 365 Photo Challenge Falling to the Wayside
• Putting Trust in the Wrong People
• Not Knowing When to Give Up
• Medication & Insurance Coverage Blues
• Ripping My Abs Mid-summer

3 Game Changers
Unexpected Events that Changed Your Priorities.

• Disney Trip
• NLE
• Nuvigil

3 Things You Focused On
What you Put Most of Your Time Into.

• Girl Scouts / My Family
• Study & Performance of Music
• My Art / My Job

3 Things You Flubbed
Items forgotten or Didn’t Get Around To

• Live Performance in Public
• Completing the Ink on my Right Arm (Although, I did get about halfway there!)
• Finishing THE BUILDING (dah dah dah DUMMMmmm) for yet another year :/ (It’s almost done though!)

Lessons Learned
How does this inform your plans for next year?

• Be careful who you trust.
• You WILL NEVER make 100% of the people happy. In fact there is a large faction of folks that WILL NEVER be happy, no matter what you do!
• You don’t have to love your job to be successful at it.
• When I remain engaged and vigilant, things tend to end up more positively than otherwise.
• Sometimes things seem like a good idea at the time that end up being ridiculous later down the line.

Lot’s of things happened this year that, given the opportunity to go back and fix them, I would. However, knowing that regret is a nasty bedfellow and second chances are rare, I’ve decided to acknowledge those mistakes and to move forward with added knowledge, increased wisdom, a good attitude, and a generous heart.

2014 found me rediscovering my love of making music. I found that I really  love playing my guitar and have added to my collection by purchasing several new ones. (Yes, that brings the total to 5 – the original Fender Strat, 2 Les Paul Style, and a Hollow-body + a gorgeous Luna electric/acoustic.) It also found me taking voice lessons from a very talented instructor that I ended up squandering near the end and giving up due to financial hardship mid-way through the year.

I discovered that I really like being a GS leader and I like sharing all these great ideas with my troop. I also like being a part of the more encompassing areas of the GS model and hope that it continues.

I also discovered that sometimes new meds aren’t all that great for you… like Techfidera and it’s propensity to put on weight, make you lethargic, and just end up plain miserable… and some that are, like Nuvigil, which has made me feel like a real person again – when I can afford to take it. ($600 / month with no insurance coverage for it and no financial aid from the manufacturer at this point. That means I have to make a month supply last 3 or more… But the difference in my quality of life on the days I can take it make it all worth it.)

And finally I realized just how much I enjoy my children. We spent countless hours together this year making discoveries, cracking jokes, and being happy. I wouldn’t trade them for the world!

Let’s hope next year will see me a happier, healthier specimen ready to conquer the world! ;D