Auld Lang Syne

I know it is almost the end of January, but I still had to post this :)

With the pop of the champagne cork and the chanting of the last few seconds of 2012, I knew the first few notes of the classic "Auld Lang Syne" would be next.  Every year, like clock work, this song is played and with it comes a feeling of remembrance.  It was this year in particular that I actually stopped to think about the opening lines:
                       " Should old acquaintance be forgot, and never brought to mind?
                          Should old acquaintance be forgot, and old lang syne?"

It's an interesting question.  Should we forget old friends and acquaintances and the "old" times we shared with them?  Most would say, of course not.  We should embrace all the people we consider friends and think of them fondly.  I, for one, find myself doing that a lot lately; thinking of friends who have slipped through the perverbial cracks of time, and have looked at the friendships I do have and question why I'm friends with them.  For many I fondly reminisce thinking of days gone by and feel blessed to have been apart of their lives.  For some I have realized I truly miss their company and have made the effort to rekindle the spark of friendship.  And for a select few I have decided to let the ties of friendship unravel, so to speak.  This sounds harsh and mean, but it goes along with my New Years resolution this year: DETOXIFY. 

A friend got me on to this "one word" resolution idea.  Instead of the usual insurmountable list I usually do, I am to choose one word to sum up my goal for the year.  So in the past few weeks I have struggled to find one word to focus my goal, which can encompass all aspects of my life. And it came to me when I came across an article about toxic emotions and toxic people, and how they can ruin your drive, focus and self worth.  So I decided to make detoxify my word, and here is what I plan to do:

1. Limit the amount of junk food and wine I consume.  To say to eliminate it all together would be a ridiculous notion as I know I couldn't do it, and who doesn't love to indulge in some vino and popcorn? Instead, I hope to increase exercise that I enjoy, fresh food and lots of water.

2. Avoid toxic friends and cut my "fremenies" out of my life.  These are the people who say they are your friend, but behind your back will judge you, and cut you down.  I have identified a few people like that in my life that I have accumulated over the years, and now I'm ready to detoxify my friendships.  I want to focus my energies on people who make me feel good about myself and who are willing to have a balanced friendship of "give' and "take".  So many times in our lives we find ourselves striving to be accepted by someone and included in a certain person's life that we lose ourselves catering to their needs and not acknowledging and honouring our own.  I am guilty of that.  I would invest so much time and energy trying to be a part of a person's life I thought I was close to, only to find out that they didn't feel the same way and really didn't want to put the effort in to our friendship.  As a result my feelings got hurt and I lost focus on my true friendships.

So I plan to make dates with my girlfriends and focus my energy their direction, but not to the point where I'm doing all the work.  As I said before "give and take".

3. Stop the toxic self-talk.  I know I spend a lot of time berating myself for not keeping to a certain standard I have set myself.  And too many times I have worked myself into a tizzy over not completing my "to-do" list or felt guilty for just watching a movie on a Sunday afternoon, instead of organizing the office.  Or I'm worried about not having the perfect body, instead of a healthy body.  I know this is all so silly, and even writing about it makes me chuckle, but it is true.  I can be mean to myself.

So I plan to focus on positive thoughts about myself and give myself a break every once in awhile.

There you have it, my detoxify plan.  How are you going to change yourself for the better in 2013.

Year In the Life....2012

2012 ended with an intimate dinner party with our close friends, Jonny and Lisa.  Eating a succulent seafood and steak feast, we rang in 2013 with pink bubbles and lots of noise, as all four of us had many things to celebrate from the last 525,600 minutes of 2012.

For Scott and I the past year was filled with laughter, tears and lots of fabulous food and wine.  Here are some highlights in our "year in the life.."

Jan and Feb were mainly uneventful.
March brought forth a "girl's trip" to Tulalip Washington, where four of us girls stayed over night at the Tulalip Casino.  We spent the weekend shopping until we ran out of money and dancing until our feet fell off at the night club.  Sometimes we refer to it as the female version of the film "Hangover", as I got separated from the pack and rejoined them after an adventure through the casino.

Later in the month we  co-hosted Jonny's big 29th birthday with an 80's themed party.  The night was epic, filled with ridiculous costumes and dance moves.  

April was met with Easter.  Dying eggs at my sister's house was our first event.  She had a bonfire party, and the kids and myself dyed hard boiled eggs.  Embracing the age of technology, my niece Tyla painted an egg with the inscription I-Egg, as a symbol to all things "I" from Apple.  Then we celebrated Easter with our chosen Brookswood family, gorging on deep fried turkey, and ribs.  

The biggest event that Spring was Scott's hernia surgery, right before his birthday.  After a 5 month wait he as more than eager to go "under the knife".  Since Scott was laid up literally, we found ourselves celebrating his 33rd birthday in the living-room of our house with, you guessed it, our Brookswood family.  They came over with chocolate cake and we supplied a BBQ feast from "Memphis Blues".

During his four week recovery I had to take charge of the house and dog full time.  This meant getting up early every morning to take Triggs for a walk before work and taking him later in the afternoon.  I also had to take out the garbage and mow the lawn, which were always Scott's jobs.  Now I can say I completely appreciate all that he does around our place.  This was a big feat and one I couldn't have done without the support of our family and close friends.  The Kilborns came bearing food and company, and the Sailers mowed our lawn and visited often.  Scott's best friend Jonny also came to keep Scott company while he was recovering.  My family and his supported us too by bringing food and hanging out.  Thanks to you all for your love.

May long weekend as per usually was spent at my parent's cabin in Shuswap.  Only Triggs was brave enough to swim.

June meant the end of another school year for me and another year older.  I was fortunate enough to celebrate my 35th birthday with close friends at the jazzy "1827" in Fort Langley.

July was a bittersweet month.  On a high note, Scott and I got hitched July 23rd at Rockwater Resort in Halfmoon Bay BC, with 6 special guests. It truly was a magical day, and one we will never forget.  We also went on our honeymoon to sunny Kelowna and Shuswap.  Biggest highlight of the trip was the wine tour, where we met this cool couple Tanya and Barry.  We hope to travel with them again soon.

On a sad note, my sister and her beautiful family left the lower mainland in the search of the land of Oil and Money, better known as Alberta.  They needed to move to cultivate a new life, which is exactly what they did.  Though my heart aches that they are so far away, I am so proud of them and their success in Drayton Valley.

With Aug came the heat.  And on the long weekend the hot sun and three "hot" men, built a new roof.  No more buckets in our attic that's for sure.

Sept chased away summer break and I started back to work at Sullivan Heights for the 7th year.  Late Sept we went away with Jonny and Lisa to Shuswap for a fun couples weekend.  

Triggs and his buddy Rocky started obedience classes mid month and graduated 8 weeks later with honours.  Both dogs are walking well.

Oct was an extremely busy month.  Scott bought a new truck; almost identical to my dad's.  I went to visit my sister and her family in Drayton Valley; cute town.  Say "Mitches".  Thanksgiving was up at Shuswap with my parents and their friends.  At the end of the month, Scott dressed up as "Andy Warhol, after a night of partying, forced to go out" and I as a pirate, and attended Jonny's Halloween party.  Too much fun!!!  

On a sad note, one of Scott's old friends and hunting mentor passed away after a courageous battle with ALS, in mid October.  May Russ rest in peace. 

In Nov we wined away at the Wine Festival in Whistler.  I had a love affair with Pinot Noir.  

Dec was rounded out with four Christmas celebrations, which included friends and lots of family time.

Wow, what a year 2012 was.  I can't wait to see what is in store for us in 2013.