Looking Back: 2007

It's the last day of the year....lots of people like to look back and the previous year and reminisce. I have to say, I hate looking back. I'm not a person that likes to think about the past. But I'm forcing myself a little bit here as there's so much to be thankful for, and I rarely take the time to do it. So here's a quick list of the good and the bad (that I can recall!):

• I received my long-awaited promotion. There was no big change....just a quick announcement, a new title, a little bigger salary, and some more headaches. But I am happy in this position and think it's a great fit for me. There's a lot of things that irritate me off about my company and employers, but if it was really that bad, I'd leave. I've been there 14 years and know that it could be so much worse.
  
• My dad had a lot of health problems and was in the hospital several times the last part of the year. This is why I hate looking back! :-( But, for now he seems a little better and we were able to enjoy the holidays with him and my mom. It was quiet, but he's still with us, and I thank God for that. I pray that we get another Christmas with him. Watching your parents grow old is heart-retching.
  
• We finally got our landscaping in! It cost an arm and a leg....heck, we could have bought a car for that kind of $$$ (thank goodness for 0% financing!), but it looks awesome. We waited a long time for this.
• We took a nice, long vacation to Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, and Virginia. It was a driving trip, and we enjoyed it quite a bit. I can now say we drove every mile of the Blue Ridge Parkway and the Shenandoah Valley. Beautiful! The picture in this post is from that trip. We didn't travel very much this year (compared to other years) as we really wanted to just enjoy our home.
  
• My husband started construction on our basement. He has a very long way to go, but I can really see that it's taking shape. Maybe by next year at this time it will be done!
• We took a contractor that was working on some projects for us (well sort of working) to court as he would not return money we pre-paid him on work he didn't complete. We won. But he never paid. So much for our court system. :-(
• We paid 99% of our house off! Yippee! We are just dragging out the last tiny bit as we owe the mortgage company for some escrow. It's a long story, but the short of it is, we are pretty much mortgage free! Now, to get that landscaping paid off! :-)
• I started to cook more at home. I never thought I'd enjoy it much, but I am. And I continue to get better at baking (I actually always was pretty good at that!). I now have a kick-ass recipe for chocolate chip cookies and freaking awesome fudge! I've tried for years to perfect those, and now I've got them! But I'm getting better with basic cooking techniques and we're eating out a little less. In fact, we pretty much only eat out on Saturdays now.
• I gained a little more weight. Ugh! But the positive is I now have a great place to workout, and I'm back to doing that. I'm going to start journaling my food which always seems to help me keep my portions in check. I'm going for it this coming year!
  
• My younger sister got married. We did not go to the wedding as it was in California (way across the country) and not at a good time for me because of work. Frankly, I was kind of disgusted about it as she knows my parents can't travel, yet she chose to have it there instead of close to "home." I know that my parents were both hurt about it, though they don't discuss stuff like that. For that reason alone, I didn't feel all that obligated to attend. But at least they did meet her husband (I haven't).
• I "met" a new friend online (hi, Patty!) who I seem to have tons in common with (at least, I think that was this year....maybe it was longer???). One of these days, we're going to meet IN PERSON!!!
  

That's all I can think of for now. As always, I'm ready to look forward!!!