WeVerb Day 9 - Appreciate

WeVerb Day 9

Appreciate.

In which moment did you find yourself flooded with gratitude? How will you rally around gratitude in 2012?

Honestly, I would not have gotten through this year without practicing gratitude. Amid much of the stress and much of the lows and questioning this year, I was still so thankful. I can't say that it was any one moment, but it was a continuous stream of being very appreciative of all that I do have. I appreciated my health, my marriage, all of the physical trappings and good things that I am fortunate to have. In a time, when so many people are struggling financially, we are not. I am muddling through life right now, but I muddle through a very good one.

A lot of this I attribute to my faith orientation. I personally believe that without it, I may not have been able to see the good I have around me. I am thankful and appreciative for that, too.

I hope that I will have an even deeper attitude of gratitude in 2012.

WeVerb Day 8 - Choice

WeVerb Day 8 - Choice

What was the biggest choice you made in 2011? What caused you to choose what you chose?

Oy! I don't like this prompt because it means that I have to get personal. :) I really racked my brain for this one, but I would say that the biggest decision might have been choosing not to try to have a child in 2011.

Lots of people on the internet like to tell me that I am old regarding children, pregnancy, etc.. I'm fine with that. However, they don't live in my world. In my world this year, we had to deal with major emotional and financial strains as it relates to other people in our lives. Supporting others AND possibly a baby just wasn't in the cards for us. I know the old adage that "There will never be a right time to have a child," but I assure you this wasn't the time for us.

Also I'm still working out some kinks career-wise in my camp, and I'd like to have those settled a bit more before we go down this road. How settled I need to be is really the question for 2012.

WeVerb Day 7 - Travel

Okay, it seems that the travel day was supposed to be today. Whatever I said yesterday for the WeVerb 11 prompt about travel gets a big ditto. :) I will say that my travel (and food) blog has been such a great part of my life this year. While I don't have this humungous following, I have enjoyed sharing my curiosity about the world and my experiences with others. My blog has given me a lot of joy. I'm not crafty or visually creative (I love to dance, which I guess you could share on a blog...sorta), so the blog is my outlet in that respect. It's also been my happy space where I can share the fun aspect of my life. I'm grateful that there are people out there who even want to read my stuff. I've also "met" some people (virtually and in person) who are really nice individuals and who I would I've enjoyed getting to know through their writing and blogging.

In yesterday's post, I didn't say where I'd like to go next. I am still gunning for India and a trip through Southeast Asia, but I don't know if and how that will happen. Jim, my husband (not his real name), and I will be hopefully going on a new adventure next spring. I'd also like to go a girls' trip with my BFF, who has been a travel partner in the past. I'd also like to visit my family in Toronto. I was supposed to visit them as part of my Buffalo trip. Who knows what the new year will bring?

Feel free to take a look at my travel adventures past and present on my blog, Try Anything Once.

WeVerb Day 6 - Favor/Travel

Hmmm...Well, there seem to be two WeVerb 11 prompts floating around right now.

WeVerb 11 Day 6 - Favor

What was your favorite month of 2011? Why did it beat out all of the other months?

WeVerb Day 6 - Travel

Where did you travel this year? What was your favorite part? If you didn't get to travel, where would do you want to go next year?

I actually think I can blend these two!! I think March definitely gets a nod because of our trip to Turkey. We're still talking about it in December, and we had a wonderful time. You can read about it rather extensively on my other blog, Try Anything Once. In addition to Turkey, I went to Los Angeles, California; Buffalo, New York, and Antigua. Traveling really makes me feel alive and refreshes me, and I think I needed that at various times this year.

WeVerb Day 5 - Befriend

We Verb Day 5 - Befriend

Did you meet any new friends this year? How did they impact your 2011? I have met one or two new people lately, and in some instances we are still in the "early friendship" stage. One in particular new friend has been fun to meet and get to know. I would have never thought that she and I would enjoy each other's company as much as we do. I've also introduced her to another friend, and she has hit it off that person, too. It's nice to be able to help expand other people's networks. Overall, I will say that I have gotten closer to people that I met last year. I also see my friendships changing due to friends having children, which is a good thing. In many instances, I am enjoying their children as well. That's nice. We had a holiday party this past weekend, and it was great to see people that I haven't seen in awhile, and I am hoping to establish deeper connections with many people into 2012.

WeVerb Day 4 - Haiku

WeVerb Day 4

Write a haiku.

Sum up your year, via haiku.

travel near and far

grateful hearts and minds in love

looking forward now

WeVerb Day 3 - Learn

WeVerb Day 3 - Learn

What lesson did you learn in 2011 from “The School of Life” rather than a classroom?

There are definitely a few things I've learned, and I think I've realized one in the past few weeks.

I need to stop explaining myself to other people. I learned that I have to find a way to tell others that my life is my life. I'm living it for me and under my terms, and I don't need to explain it to you. I feel like there were way too many instances where I was put in a position of people expecting me to explain my decisions or lack of decisions on a variety of issues. I can't keep doing that if I want to keep my sanity.