The Difference a Year can Bring

Here we are at the end of another year and I have been thinking over the last few days about how far we have come since this time last year. 2011 started with some really tough decisions for us. We made one huge leap of faith at the beginning of the year when we decided to cut our losses and move back to Tennessee. It wasn’t a decision we took lightly, but one that we felt like would, in the end, be the best for us. And it has been. All of the opportunities we had been looking forward to, we found. We have spent so much more time with family and being back in the town where I grew up has been great for exploring our dreams of owning our own business one day. My husband and I have been able to spend more quality time together, even though his commute is longer. We live in the country, we have a creek to swim in, and a garden to grow in. The kids have room to rip and run and are enjoying the childhood that I loved so much. We still miss our friends and I still have to wipe tears from my children’s eyes when they remember the friends they had back in Georgia, but all in all the move back home has been the best decision we have made in years.

There were a few things that didn’t happen. I didn’t lose 20 pounds, I gained 20. So, back on the diet wagon I go. I’m actually looking forward to it. I’m ready, I think, to shed the last reminder of a stressful and depressing time in my life. The move back home has given me my confidence back along with my sense of purpose. Finally, I can work to get ahead rather than just working to keep up.

I do have new goals for 2012. Being comfortable in a swimsuit by June is one of them. It’s probably at the top of the list. Doing a better job tracking income and expenses is the next. My husband and I need to really knuckle down on this one and it will start with getting rid of the 2 bank account system we have right now.

Getting a business license for my growing list of side jobs is certainly next. I can only call this an odd-job operation for so long. I need to make it official.

So, along with the list of my 2011 favorite recipes that I’m about to leave you,that is my “year in review”. Maybe not the most glamorous or exciting, but hopefully a testament, to the difference a year can bring. I look forward to another year of attaining our hopes and dreams, even if it does mean I’ll turn 30.

January: Cheesy Tuna Corn Chowder

February: Baked Crab Mac-n-Cheese

March: Quick Chocolate Donuts with a Fresh Strawberry Glaze

April: Tuna Pesto Pasta with Roasted Tomatoes

May: Lemon Roasted Chicken Drummys

June: Dinner on the Grill

July: Cucumber Relish

August: Cheese Making

September: I was a bad blogger

October: Green Tomato Salsa Verde

November: Garlic Braised Beef Shanks

December: Overnight Monkey Bread

Happy New Year!!