2012: Year in Review

I've been sick all week -- actually most of my vacation. You know, the one in which I dreamed about catching up with friend, going to see live music (hey, I did get one karaoke session in) and getting completely rested and rejuvinated. Ah ha ha. Maybe being relegated to the couch is what I needed.

I haven't been good for much, but sitting on the couch and reading. And flipping through photos from the year. From the photo evidence it looks like I ate a ton of oysters, went to a lot of beaches, had some fancy cocktails, and took a bunch of photos of two pugs and one child. So, not bad.**

January: Annual tradition of going to the circus with the family, a trip to Vegas with Stephanie, and a coastal SC drive, in which I saw my college friend Liz, ate oysters at Bowen's Island, and caught this lovely view from Botany Bay:  

February: Teaching a writing class at Nate's school. The spa at the new Baltimore Four Seasons. Taking Nate on his first trip to See Rock City, despite that it was so cold we couldn't feel our fingers. The lowlight of that trip was hearing about Whitney's death while huddled under the covers at the Chattanooga Choo Choo. Just one of those moments.

March: A phone call saying, "Hey, you want to meet Patrick Demspey?" And then, the following day, this:

 

April: Nate's sixth birthday party (bowling style). 

May: Celebrating eight years of being married to Shane, who puts up with me despite a whole lot. Traveling to New York for cousin Brendan's wedding, during which we took the Circle Line with the family around the Statue of Liberty. Also got to see the Keith Haring exhibit at the Brooklyn Musuem of Art. I did cry that day, as we learned of Beastie Boys' Adam Yauch passing. Just saying.  

And spending an epic two weeks traveling the Gulf Coast for story research, during which time I met Alice Cooper. (Not related to the story.)

June: Eating a lot of food in New Orleans. Seeing my great friends Steve and Nancy, who were showing Steve's work at Jackson Square.

Also, a drive through Middle Tennessee, where I got to visit with my new friend Kristen, go to my first Bonnaroo (where I saw Radiohead), and sit in the, well, "a" General Lee.

July: Celebrating my nephew, Henry's, first birthday in Jackson. 

August: Family trip to Sandestin. Being surprised on my 36th birthday by Mom and Dad givine me a piece of Steve Joynt's art -- the Gulf Fish -- which I'd fallen in love with in New Orleans. And Nate starting first grade without being turned away at the door like he was the year before!

September: A drive down FL's historic A1A, where I got to visit with my oldest friend in the world, Jennifer. 

October: Dressing like Wonder Woman on Halloween. Going to the Burger Coalition's sixth-month anniversary dinner at Jones Valley Urban Farm. Visit Tampa (and seeing Courtney, Frank, and Blake in the process), and duckng into the gorgeous Dali Museum, which I hadn't seen since the renovations. Beautiful.

I also judged The Hangout's Oyster Competition, eating a few dozen oysters in the process. It was fun, but I had to declare an oyster-eating moratorium after this. (To be rescinded in 2013.)

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November: Having the entire family home for Thanksgiving. Having Norman King, R.D. cook an incredible bird. (Though he claims the secret is in the half-bottle of Prosecco I poured on it. Per his request.) 

December: Pulling off our third annua Santa party though I was close to end-of-year exhaustion.

Forgive me if I forgot a great part that included you. 2012 was filled with friends, family, and long and winding roads. I'm so thankful for each experience.

**Yes, there were some lame parts. I got sick way more than I wanted to. I hit a few walls.

But I also got the great gift of grace, which I really started learning about it my MORE group last winter (through Highlands), and was bolstered through the reCreate conference (which I wrote about here).

By the time I attended the LIFE Retreat this month, realized that the thrashing around I'd done this year was done, finito, in the past. But that's a whole other post. Grace is great. Great is what's getting me unstuck and moving toward the new.

And the oysters? The oysters aren't bad either. 

Ciao 2011: (Re)Vision, Rich In Love

I wasn't going to do a year-end post, but then I read this one by Amy Bickers and had to chime in. (Side note: I vote hers my favorite new blog of 2011. Just sayin.')

In her blog Amy wrote about how in 2010 she, Stephanie, and I made vision boards. Yeah, go on and laugh, we sat around cutting out photos of what we wanted our lives to look like in the coming year. This was mine:

I'll let you, dear reader, figure out what these images mean. (Oh hey, I want to be Beyonce!)

Being hard on myself, I think about the things that I haven't done this year, some of which are rolling over to the 2012 goal list (complete draft of my book) while others are being back shelved (sorry accordion).

The two phrases that stand out most about this little exercise in dreaming are: "It's OK. Rock one crazy fun ride" and (on the left) "Connections." This year was packed with both. 

Some of the things I'm most thankful for in 2011:

Starting it out by watching a ginormous Moon Pie Drop in Mobile, and riding in a Mardi Gras parade float that night.

Helping launch a grassroots non-profit from scratch (The Alabama Social Media Association)

Hosting a shower for my sister to celebrate the impending birth of Henry:

Holding my godsons Jack and Henry for the first time (see: "2011: Year of Babes").

Taking Nate on his first cruise and meeting one of my blog heroes, the beautiful Anissa Mayhew. That's her.

Having the chance to travel throughout the South and listen to stories of artists, athletes, advocates and most especially, the survivors of the storms that ripped through our region on April 27. Being part of the team that produced this story and multi-media piece has been one of the most meaningful things I've done in my career.

Seeing my son off to kindergarten (even if I got the paperwork totally wrong and he missed the first day. Oops.)

Supporting my family during our ups and downs, through doctor's appointments and Mom's awesome month-long commitment to improve her health. And, in June, celebrating the great new law in NY that allows all the members of the Jazz Hands Family to marry:

Reconnecting with the Florida Keys, where I spent two weeks working on a story that will appear in the February issue. Kayaking through mangroves, eating Key Lime Pie on a stick -- even dropping and ruining my cell phone in the water (see this essay) filled me with joy, and reminded me of my roots as a proud Floridian. God, I love this state.

Spending time in my home away from home, New York, first for Easter, then for Thanksgiving with the fam (with first-row seats for the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade and a celebration of Mom and Dad's 40th anniversary), and finally, for a spur of the moment work trip. I see more of this city in store for me in 2012. Watching Birmingham continue to evolve and preaching about it every chance I can get (like here, in my contribution to the great WhyBHM Project. Notice the word I use more than any other? Connect.) Christmas with my family, where Dad read "'Twas the Night Before Christmas" to Nate on his iPad and Henry visited Birmingham for the first time. The chance to spend time with my friends, my family, and those who continue to love me despite my many flaws. New and old. People who hear me tell the same stories over and over again. Dance parties in my dining room, coffees downtown, meals with Mom and Dad, margaritas with the Mandatory Margarita Club. Plus two visits from Aussie Mandy: Time spent with Amy and Stephanie (Poison and the Bret Michaels Band!); Stephanie in Atlanta, with whom I'll be heading to Vegas next month. 2011 also broke my heart a bit. I had many moments of doubt. And anger, especially when this year robbed us of a great, dear friend, Sara Jones. I think about her each day. At this years Dia De Los Muertos I was stopped in my tracks when I rounded a corner and saw a beautiful portrait of her. A fitting tribute. But it hurt. To borrow what Amy said: "Some people love you so much and so well that you keep feeling it when they're gone. That's an amazing gift. I'm grateful for that. I'm grateful that I was blessed to know such a wonderful person. I would never give up the pain of losing her if it meant I would have never known her." Amen. I have to say that, in the final hours of this year, filed with uncertainty about the one ahead, there's one thing I know for sure: I am rich -- rich in experiences, and in travel, and in love. Put that on the vision board. To 2012. Related Links: Turning 35