Hello 2012!

Salad with Pears and Walnuts

We tried our darnedest to say goodbye to 2011 in style. Mom made lobster tail (!!), salad, asparagus, fingerling potatoes, and chocolate covered strawberries for us (Jeannine included, of course). Unfortunately, I was so incredibly sick from a new medication I struggled to make it through dinner at all. 

Lobster Tail, Asparagus, Fingerling Potatoes

I'm honestly relieved to say goodbye to 2011. When I wrote our holiday letter reflecting back on the year, I thought: "Whew. It's no wonder I feel exhausted! What a year!" The sicker I get, I also find the holidays to be overwhelmingly stressful and exhausting.  I've greatly enjoyed the quiet and solitude of the first week of January.

Chocolate Covered Strawberries

For the past couple of months I've been posting blogs of the 'good stuff': an outing, a meal, a concert, a smiling face. I haven't 'kept it real' at all. In part, my energy level is making it increasingly difficult to blog on top of the outings, so I've chosen the latter. 


What's really going on is that I feel as if the Earth has shifted beneath me and I am trying to figure out how to move where it has moved. For me, 2012 seems to be about figuring out how to move to that new place with some sort of acceptance, grace, and peace.


In 2012, I want to continue to post about the good stuff because I am always trying to eek out as many moments of joy as possible. At the same time, I want to 'keep it real' and get back to blogging. As I do in my own life, I will try in my writing to balance the co-existence of the grief and gratitude that life brings daily.


May you 2012 be a blessed one,


Emily