Wow, what a year.
In light of the tragedies and difficulties that many people
have faced (and some continue to face) in 2012, I almost feel guilty saying
that this has been the best year of my life. However, I have faced my own share
of difficulties in the past, so I will simply express the joy and gratitude
that I feel for my own experience this year.
While not every moment of the year has been rainbows and
unicorns, overall 2012 has been a steady stream of new and exciting events.
Here’s a brief play-by-play:
February- We moved into our new rental. A townhouse with a
small backyard, a full size garage, and roughly twice as much room as we had in
our small apartment of the previous two years.
May-I married my best friend and the love of my life. It was
beautiful, perfect, and story-like. We then celebrated for a week in the near
paradise of Cozumel, Mexico. It was my first time out of
the country (not counting our brief trip into Canada
to visit Niagra Falls back in 2010)
June- We traded in Buster’s Mazda to get the new Odyssey van
(aka perfect dog-mobile) of my dreams! I also equipped it with super-safe Ruff
Tough kennels to give my pups the best form of transportation I can. The van is
a luxurious ride and holds everything I need, and then some. Buster is also
thrilled with driving the Element, which can haul everything he needs as well.
July-Through Buster’s networking; I landed a new job in the field
I have pursued, and make almost 10k more a year. Best part: no more making
copies!
September- I brought home our precious baby girl Trudy! She
has been a nonstop source of love, humor, and excitement. I can’t remember what
life was like before her! She has been a blast to train, has become best
buddies with Xander (who FINALLY has a wrestling partner), and is just as sweet
as can be. She is everything I could have hoped for.
November- My lucky scratch-off lottery ticket at a work
holiday party scored me $1,000. I am now known throughout the office as “that
girl who won $1,000.” No one believed that is was actually possible to win a
real amount of money on a scratch-off (myself included), so I am now somewhat
of a celebrity. So far I have paid for trips to the vet and bought a meat
grinder, but we are mostly saving it toward a down-payment on a house.
I have also earned a bunch of titles lately with the
incredible Xan-Man, began the adventure of making my own raw dog food, and done
a variety of other things, but these were the highlights.
I am looking forward to spending Christmas with family, and
then traveling to Perry, Ga to close out the year at the reportedly
fun Sirius USDAA trial. We only need two standard legs for our ADCH, so we’ll
see if there is any magic left in my 2012. If not, I certainly can’t complain,
and it will leave something to look forward to in 2013!
Happy holidays to everyone. For those of you who have
enjoyed 2012, I celebrate with you. For everyone else, I hope that 2013 brings
you great happiness!
