Monday, December 31, 2007

Goodbye 2007! Favorite Things

Icy Road - Full Sun

The photo above was taken on Christmas Eve, when I was making my early drive to Boise. This is the 'view' once I got on the highway in front of our house. That was the day I was day dreaming, checking out the beautiful scenery and uh, doing the crazy car sideways trick on ice... I took this photo because the wind was blowing snow across the road and it was such a beautiful sight!

Today is another absolutely gorgeous, crystal clear sunny snow covered day! BREATH TAKING!! It started at 10 degrees, but the sun has been out all day, not a cloud in sight (except for the ones hanging on top of the mountains)...

So, for New Years Eve our Day has taken a new twist... Plan A was to clean house (I have to go into the New Year with a Clean House ! My own superstition), and craft and then at midnight (after the kids wake us up!) bang pots and pans... and of course watch the ball drop on time square.

Plan B: The kids and I are going sledding in an hour, with our friends the Scilacci's (who moved up here from CA - we did not know them in CA, but Michele and I have formed a sisterhood -we are twisted sisters - CA girls at heart!), and then our family is going to have dinner and play games at our friends the Maxwell's...until about 10pm...old age is a hard thing... Staying up until 10 is really stepping out for all of us! These are the same friends we spent Christmas Eve with! I love friends!!! They make my heart sing....

Speaking of friends....
Thank you each and every one of you for making my 2007 a blessed year with friends across the blogging sphere....
  • Thank you Dawn for making me create a blog!
  • Thank you cousin Karen - I am so happy we get to check on each other and share our 'behind the scenes' secrets!
  • Thank you cousin Debra - I love reading your chef girl training stories and love your humor! Ditto to secrets
  • Thank you Aunt Alice, for being a beautiful Auntie and loving presence to all of your nieces
  • Thank you Sandy for sharing your beautiful work and love of God with the rest of us
Those are the ones off the top of my head... I know there are more of you...that communicate with me on a regular basis.... which makes my life out here in a rural area so much more 'in touch' will real people! Seriously, a gal can go stir crazy when her husband just isn't well, a girl!! Don't get me wrong, I do love my Cowboy, but men just aren't the same as girlfriends...or women... in terms of being a girlfriend...confused yet? They just don't talk!!!!

Now, for the list of goodbyes to 2007... My favorite things 'done' list:
  • Spring Trip to CA in March... 2000 miles logged, three breakdowns in my car, but the trip was so darn fun!! I so loved all our little adventures - Chico, CA; Davis, CA; Watsonville, Milbrae; Santa Cruz; back to Chico; and of course, the kids will tell you, swimming at the hotel in Winnemucca NV. The sun was warm, the friends a pleasure to see, and my family always a blessing...
  • April: Road Trip to Sandy, Utah with my Mormon girlfriends for a Scrapbook Convention. These girls are dead drop serious when it comes to scrapbooking... Oh man! The late nights! Lots of fun! Five girls in one hotel room. We were nuts! And they were very tolerant of my coffee obsession... great friends who love you for who you are...
  • April - October: The Boise Farmers Market! GREAT place! I so love Boise! A great big city only 2.5 hours away... Even though I had to get up at 3:30am to hit the road at 4:15am, it was so worth it! The people! The culture! The scenery! And, yes!!! The shopping!!!!! Met lots of great people.
  • Farmers Market Season - all of them: I love the markets because I get to socialize and be with people who appreciate what we do! So much fun... even when it's 106 degrees, blazing hot (Pendleton) or a mere 28 degrees (La Grande/Baker)....
  • Grandpa Pat's visit in May: Just love this woman... We took walks every day, drank great wine each night and had fun!
  • Sexton Family Reunion in July: Tons of fun...
  • Bingham Family Rodeo in July: Our kids first rodeo as contestants! Too fun!
  • Baker Air Show: August: Sami and I went - the boys slept... WE went up in a plane and Sami flew! Yeah!
  • Our First Camping and Fishing Trips - August: What a blast... all sorts of funny mishaps (I hooked my finger, etc.).. But so fun..
  • Our Customer Appreciation Day late September: What can I say? We sure know how to throw a party! Fun!
  • Our first Haunted House - October 31st: I finally got with the program and wore a costume instead of just being the chauffeur. Fun!
  • The Visit from the CA Good ol' Boys: Dick's Dad & friend... Hilarious. I want road trips like theirs when I am in my 80's! They hit the road and had adventures, and cocktails had to be ready at 5pm! Like I said... when I am in my 80's....
  • My stamping peas and our two huge events (June & October)! So much fun! Looking forward to Feb.
  • My family... Just watching these silly kids keeps me happily entertained... I love watching Dick teach them new things - he really is a good teacher.. oh, and their wresting matches and dog piles too!
  • New animals - puppies, guard dogs, goats and Ruby
  • Lessons learned - saying goodbye to 2 beautiful guard dogs; letting go of a day job and putting my family and our business first; lawn mowers are inanimate objects and it's useless to yell at them- or husbands, they still don't listen; good friends and family can be the same; girlfriends are the best gift a girl can have!
So, I leave you with my word of 2008 - Spontaneous (I got the idea from Ali Edwards, a major force in the scrapbooking industry - she's just wonderful!). I chose Spontaneous because I am a Type A - Control Freak. I like to plan and have structure... But, starting today, I am just 'going for it' as opportunities present themselves.

OH. Major development:
Heard on the Oprah Station on XM. Dr. Emmett Oz' show. A man by the name of Randy was giving a motivational speech to 450 people, and asked are you a Tigger or Eeyore? Tiggers choose to be happy, they love life and get on with their lives regardless of what is thrown at them. Eeyore on the other hand is grumpy, and always complains about how life has dealt him a bad deal. Randy also talked about character. If you lie, Carma will turn the other cheek (this was very timely, a woman in my life just lied to me yesterday!)... and also, how do you treat others when you disappoint them (lie to them, or let them down) - do you actually apologize? And, most importantly, do you ask how to make it right? That involves compassion.. the act of wanting to make things right with another person. The most important thing about Randy's motivational speech was what he said at the end 'this presentation is not intended for 450 people. It is intended for 3 people, who one day will watch it when they are older'. Randy is dying, has 2 months to live, is a father, and has chosen to be a Tigger..... oh, how I cried.

Peace be with all of you.. May 2008 Bring you all Hope, Peace, Love & Happiness.. But it won't land in your lap. You have to make it, and welcome it, and LIVE it!

Amen.

8 comments:

ScrappyPam said...

Happy New Year, Andi!

Dawn said...

Andi,

Your a great mom a wonderful women and a huge impact on life and the blog world. I am so happy to call you friend!! Happy 2008

Rick said...

Happy New Year! I wanted to invite you over to my blog because I am having my very first give-away there to celebrate my one year anniversary of blogging. Come on by - I think that you will be glad that you did.

http://organizeddoodles.blogspot.com/

Debra Day said...

My Goodness Andi! You are one of the busiest people on earth!! What a year. I like what you put in your blog. I'll borrow the idea if you don't mind. You are an inspiration to me but I'm too far up in the "tooth" to keep any kind of life like yours. I'm so incredibly proud of the Tigger way you put your life together. There is a word for you.... AMAZING

*karendianne. said...

What a great post. GAWD where do I start? So much good "meat" in here to comment on.

Can I simply say "You're beautiful?"

No, I can't. I think you're just cool and...Ahh, you know, I feel like you should know my vibe. I think you bring our our Great Grandmother to life. Simply because she would be so proud of you. Remember that, Andi. Get that.!?! You probably already do. You dont just carry the name, you carry the vibe. Its good for all our genes.

Anonymous said...

Thank you Andi for just the perfect inspirational words to begin the New Year. I wish you and your family a beautiful 2008.

I appreciate you so. Love the Christmas card you sent -- to add to my collection! Love, Aunt Alice.

Sue McGettigan said...

Happy New Year Andi!! I know you'll make it a bright one :)

Sandy said...

Happy New Year Andi! It's been a great 2007 and I have LOVED getting to know you, I just love reading your blog!! You're a super storyteller and have so many stories to tell...

Have a GREAT oh-eight!!

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