2010
I wanted to do a post about this past year, but while it was a good year, I'm not sure that it was really very extraordinary. My perennial resolution is to try something new. I hope that I will never come to a time and place where I am not able to desire a way to stretch myself or try something I have never tried before. That being said, this past year was a year that was busy in all the ways that years are always busy and thus I did not find a whole lot that was new about it. Of course, it was my first full year of being married which was wonderful and amazing in and of itself. It was something that came so naturally as to be almost strange. I have spent a good portion of my life being self-reliant and independent. Suddenly, there is this person in my life who wants to do and care for me as much as I want to do and care for him. It adds a huge amount of calculations to plans and such, but it also adds a great deal of comfort and wonderfulness. I don't think I can express entirely what it means to be with Mark. We had some successes with our life what with me closing the chapter of my life which was graduate school and being able to maintain this job which often requires me stepping out of my comfort zone. I have been very supportive of my sister's trials and tribulations as she moved to her new home and life in Barrington, but I fear that I may have allowed friendships to slip a bit. It's just hard to find the time for everything and everyone and I do regret that. I am not traveling for fun as much and there are definitely many reasons to that. I simply do not have the time for it (who can survive on 3 weeks of vacation a year??), Mark does not have a flexible schedule with school ( a week between each semester), and I fear more and more about Cotton's health. I do not want to leave my dog home, alone, for prolonged periods of time and I want to be able to enjoy her as much as I can for her limited number of years that she has left. We tried traveling with her this year and it was a disaster since she refused to hike or even walk very far which limited what we could do. That being said, we did a lot of things close to home and that was quite wonderful. I do love this city and its many activities. Rhode Island is a great place to live. So, what do I take from the year? Generally, I feel very good about 2010. It was a good year with lots of good things and very few bad things. I hope this next year will be just as wonderful and really, just thinking about something is often enough to make it so. Here's to 2011!
Good Things in no particular order:
Carbon Leaf concert - watching the moon over Boston Harbor
Trip to Maine - completely unsuccessful with the dog aspect, but I got my lobster and popovers and got to see my wonderful ex-boss and her awesome parents
Savor Providence - I love this every year as I adore little tastes and new restaurants and it's for a charity!
Federal Hill Stroll - I have never spent much time on Federal Hill, so it was fun tromping around
Providence Ghost Tour - An excellent tour guide, an atmospheric night, and good friends!
Trip to Florida - It was important for me to be there even though we could have never guessed that my father would break his hip
Lilith Fair - I had a great time just hanging out with my sister and listening to old and new music
Three Days Grace concert - It was entirely last minute, but absolutely amazing
Rose Island Lobster Bake - YUM. So much awesome food and a great tromp around the island looking for seaglass
Trip to Vegas - It's not really my sort of town, but it's always new and different. Plus two Cirque shows and some awesome food!
Eelgrass - This was the last year that Save The Bay did an eelgrass restoration and I was happy and proud to be involved
Scallop Restoration - This may be my new volunteer avenue for Save The Bay. It's a bit tedious, but it is great to see people.
Walking for my Masters - I didn't think this would mean as much to me as it did
FarmFresh Local Food Fest - It was great to go back to Castle Hill for such a great charity event
Peak Potential - So great to see a person I know do so much with his vision for the future
Great Big Sea concert - great seats, great vocals, absolutely amazing
First CSA - it was good to try even if it did not work out well. It taught me that what I really enjoy is going to the Farmer's Market every week and exploring.
Good Things in no particular order:
Carbon Leaf concert - watching the moon over Boston Harbor
Trip to Maine - completely unsuccessful with the dog aspect, but I got my lobster and popovers and got to see my wonderful ex-boss and her awesome parents
Savor Providence - I love this every year as I adore little tastes and new restaurants and it's for a charity!
Federal Hill Stroll - I have never spent much time on Federal Hill, so it was fun tromping around
Providence Ghost Tour - An excellent tour guide, an atmospheric night, and good friends!
Trip to Florida - It was important for me to be there even though we could have never guessed that my father would break his hip
Lilith Fair - I had a great time just hanging out with my sister and listening to old and new music
Three Days Grace concert - It was entirely last minute, but absolutely amazing
Rose Island Lobster Bake - YUM. So much awesome food and a great tromp around the island looking for seaglass
Trip to Vegas - It's not really my sort of town, but it's always new and different. Plus two Cirque shows and some awesome food!
Eelgrass - This was the last year that Save The Bay did an eelgrass restoration and I was happy and proud to be involved
Scallop Restoration - This may be my new volunteer avenue for Save The Bay. It's a bit tedious, but it is great to see people.
Walking for my Masters - I didn't think this would mean as much to me as it did
FarmFresh Local Food Fest - It was great to go back to Castle Hill for such a great charity event
Peak Potential - So great to see a person I know do so much with his vision for the future
Great Big Sea concert - great seats, great vocals, absolutely amazing
First CSA - it was good to try even if it did not work out well. It taught me that what I really enjoy is going to the Farmer's Market every week and exploring.