2010: goals and highlights

At the beginning of 2010 I made a list of goals and other things I wanted to do throughout the year. Here are some of my adventures:

Cheesecake Factory: I'd never been to The Cheesecake Factory before this year, so I put that on my list of things to do. I went with my sister Chandra, my sister Laura and her husband and my friend Nate in April. I ate potstickers and Godiva chocolate cheesecake. I tried my friend's avocado egg rolls, and those were really good too. (I think that's what I'll get to eat when I go back.)

Baseball Game: I haven't been to a St. Louis Cardinals game since my car accident. Busch Stadium was rebuilt a couple of years ago, so I also really wanted to see the new stadium. I went with my sister Chandra and three of our friends. Although it was August, the weather was absolutely perfect and we had a great time. The Cards even one! Butterfly House: There's a great place to go in St. Louis called The Butterfly House. I'd always wanted to go, but I'd never been before. I was actually able to go twice this year, once in October and another time in November. Although it's hot and very humid in the dome were the butterflies are, it is wonderful to be in a place where thousands of butterflies flutter around you… and even land on you if you're lucky (which I was the second time!). 25 movies in the theater: I love movies and always have, so I thought it would be fun to see 25 movies in the theater this year. It was a lofty goal, but I thought I could make it if I was committed to the goal! I just barely made it, seeing my last movie on December 27, but I squeezed it in the made my goal. (I actually went to the movies 26 times, because I saw Shrek Forever After twice, but I only saw 25 different movies.) I saw lots of movies that I liked, but my five favorites were probably: One goal I made that I was not successful in keeping was to remain hospital-free all year. I was hospitalized twice this past year with kidney stones, or complications related to kidney stones, but that's the way things go when you're paralyzed! Stones are going to be the bane of my existence for the rest of my life! Thankfully, I made it the rest of the year without having any major health problems.

These are some of the best things that happened in 2010; the highlights:

We had a small "baby boom" in our family this year and I now have four new nieces and nephews: Rebecah, Aaron, Matthew and Amy, bringing my total to 16! I love being an aunt and it's always so exciting when my sisters have babies. I love being a part of a big family!

I was able to see all of my family at least once this year. Since my four older sisters and their families all live far away, family visits are always something I look forward to. We had company for almost three weeks straight at the end of May/beginning of June. I was finally able to meet one of my new nieces and two of my new nephews. It was wonderful!

By far the very best thing that happened to me last year was when my sister Kristin and her family moved in with my mom and me while her husband Scott was looking for a job. I loved every minute of it and I'm so thankful that I was able to get to know Kristin's four little boys better. I didn't know them at all before they moved here and it was great to get to know them on an individual and personal level. I miss watching them play and seeing their creativity come out. It was so fun to watch my five-year-old nephew Ethan always fighting imaginary bad guys around the house. He always made the best sound effects that were so entertaining and funny!

It was wonderful to have so much family around for the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. As I've said in a previous post, this was my second favorite Christmas of all time, mostly because there was so much family here to share it with.

I'm still blogging! I made 176 blog posts in 2010. I love to blog, and it's especially fun when I get feedback from strangers, and even some comments from people all over the world. If you're one of my readers from another part of the world, leave me a comment and tell me where you're reading from. It's so much fun!

I've had a few people ask me what my goals for 2011 are. I decided that making goals and lists of things to do was what I did in 2010 and I don't really want to do that again. Not this year, at least. My one standby that will always be a goal every year for the rest of my life will be to remain hospital-free. Other than this, I just hope that my family is happy and healthy and that I remain full of joy!