Out With The Old, In With The New

This year was almost as hard as last year. 

Last year I lost my mom to cancer. 

This year I lost my nephew to suicide and my 13 yr old cat, Charlie, died.

My CC experienced her first break up.

Emil's father died.

I took my family on vacation and ended up with a serious neck/shoulder injury that only gets worse each day and makes me a very not nice person. 

I live in pain each day. I cannot do anything that I used to do. 

My entire daily life...work, personal, private...all changed in an instant.

Some good things happened too.

I got a promotion at work.

I think I have learned how to be a grown up.

I've learned that while I will never get over Mom's death, I have learned how to live with it.

I'm 2 classes away from a degree. 

My Aggies won the Chick-Fil-A-Bowl!!!!

For this coming new year..in exactly 45 minutes, I want/hope for several things.

1.) I hope that I will learn to appreciate all that I have, big or small.

2.) I hope that I will learn to go with my gut instinct...it's usually right.

3.) This will probably be my last New Years Eve in this house...I hope next year will find me warm and happy.

4.) I hope I organize my time wisely and make the most of each minute.

5.) I hope I answer my phone more often and return calls more regularly.

6.) I hope CC finds who she is and what she's worth and never forgets it.

7.) I hope I help her.

8.) I hope Lena will take school a little more seriously.

9.) I hope Lena realizes how wonderfully amazing and unique she is and what a privilege it is to be her mother.

10.) I hope Emil finds a place of comfort, strength and permanence.

11.) I hope we find some activity we can do as a family that will work towards a healthier, happier us.

12.) I hope that no matter where we end up, we will form and maintain a strong bond.

13.) I hope we each one of us find something each day to smile about.

14.) I hope Johnny Manziel stays one more year at A&M...who am I kidding? I'm sure he and Mike Evans are gone!

15.) I hope to finally sew a skirt from the pattern I bought earlier this year.

16.) I hope CC makes wise financial decisions.

17.) I hope Lena will find a solid confidence that cannot be broken.

18.) I hope Emil and I have more date nights, even if it's just going to Barnes & Noble.

19.) I hope we continue our weekend drives to nearby towns.

20.) I hope we will all be happy and content all of 2014.

December 2013

December...oh December...

This month kicked my butt emotionally, physically, mentally.

I am soooo happy it's almost over!

I did get some snuggle time in with Bella this month. 

I can see a big difference in her. 

She's not as mean...and she's been using the litter box.

I'm sure she misses Mom as much as we all do!

I found this Essie polish. I hate paying full price for polishes since I still receive EXCELLENT discounts from the wholesaler Mom used to purchase from! 

The girls and I went for evening walks when the weather permitted it.

I won't walk in rainy or too cold weather.

We used to bundle up and enjoy walking in the cold, however, with my neck/shoulder situation that is no longer a possibility. 

My Influenster Jolly VoxBox came.

There were some pretty neat items in it. 

We have had some really cold, cold weather. One morning my front left door was even frozen shut. 

I finally used my Birchbox points and purchased our favorite hot tea from Mighty Leaf... Chamomile Citrus.  

If you haven't signed up for Birchbox, you can do it here. 

I look forward to my Birchbox each month. Lately they have been so good and there's almost always one product that I favorite! I even subscribed Emil the Man's Birchbox. He loves it!

It's hard to believe my baby will no longer be a baby. In 13 days she will be 13.

I can't handle it. I need time to stop....now. 

Then just a few weeks later my CC will be 18. Time really does fly.

It's sad.

I was looking through old pics and found this of me and my sweet friend Ebony.

She moved to NY to be with family. I miss her and our conversations so much. She's one person I can truly tell everything to and not have to worry about being judged. 

She listens. And she loves. She's the best friend anyone could ask for. 

While cleaning I found a box of Mom's earrings that I forgot I had. 

It's always nice to find little surprises like that.

Ha...I just noticed my feet in this pic...

my feet in the last pair of shoes Mom gave me.

How appropriate! 

And of course I enjoy wearing her earrings. We certainly did have the same taste in earrings. 

The girls and I have also enjoyed taking silly photos. 

I really need them to stop growing up so fast.

I love that they still love to be with me and want to be with me.

I treasure every minute together with them. 

My Aggies are playing the Chick-Fil-A Bowl on New Years Eve.

I'm pretty sure this is Johnny Manziel's last college game. 

So my CC bought me a A&M cap to get game ready! 

Abdelkrim is here visiting us. It's our annual December tradition.

And what is a visit from Ab with out playing a little Monopoly.

He assured me that he would win this time. 

He didn't. 

Twice. 

I certainly enjoyed beating him. He wasn't a fan of losing though.

He's a world renowned scientist.

He's made amazing achievements in cancer research.

And he can't beat me at Monopoly.

In 28 years, he's only beaten me once...last year.

November 2013

November was quite a busy month. For me it was crunch time at school. Finals were beginning in full force and I had to make one last ditch effort to pass my two classes.

One assignment that needed completing was a trip to the San Antonio Museum of Art.

I love going to the museum. Thanks to my Archaeology class and my awesome instructor Veronica Pue I see everything in a different light.

The first portion we visited was the Egyptian exhibit.

Loved seeing the jewelry that has been recovered. 

Of course I enjoyed the Italian exhibition and sculptures. I hope one day to visit the museums in Rome and take all that in! For now, though, I'll make do with the bits of Rome and Italy exhibited in America. 

Part of my assignment was the Mayan and Aztec artifacts.

Here is the codex. 

This lady, in part of the Mexico arts section, was sculpted of wood.

The detail was amazing. She is unknown. 

Even her eyelashes were made of hair. 

The girls especially loved the contemporary pieces. 

This 3-D piece was one of my favorites! 

This knife was made of gold and encrusted with diamonds. 

The craftsmanship was just amazing! 

I loved the ancient Chinese vases. 

It's amazing that they are still paired and in such perfect condition! 

November had some very, very cold days.

I have to admit, I loved it! 

And I loved getting to wear my warm snuggly boots!

I picked my Charlie up.

He sits on my nightstand by my bed. 

I spent my Thanksgiving on the couch watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

I love the all male tap group. 

They were pretty awesome. 

I made my turkey casserole with the leftover turkey and stuffing. 

The weekend after Thanksgiving we went to visit my brothers and sisters.

My brother Jr made deer chili.

Oh my goodness...it was delicious! 

Luigi took advantage of the cold weather and spent alot of time on my bed! 

These two boys snuggled lots with me. 

Usually Micah plopped down first then Manziel followed. 

I decided to amp up my accessories and wear earrings again.

I'm not sure if chandelier earrings are in style or not, but I sure love my new purchases.

The girls and I went to see Thor, enjoyed Starbucks coffee, spent a little too much at Bath and Body Works and found a cute store, Charming Charlies. 

My word... I am obsessed! 

It's a really bad thing that we found it.

Work has been so busy. 

I may have even broken down and cried a time or two.

My neck/shoulder situation certainly helps none.

These past two months it has hurt more than ever. 

It seems nothing makes it stop.

Nothing.

I am getting really fed up with it!

I can't believe here it it...December 29...this year is almost over.

Time certainly did fly.

This has been one hard, stressful and sad year.

I really hope 2014 is much different!