happy trails....2011

Dear 2011,

I write this with mixed feelings.

You were a year filled with many incredible moments and memories.

Moments in which smiles were made, and hearts warmed.

And then on some occasions,  

we had to deal with matters beyond our control and just hold on for the best.

During this year of 2011, you have brought to me  many adventures.

In  racing~  running and triathlon;

I once again raced my oldest in our Sprint Triathlon Annual Adventure.

I ran my 1st Half Marathon while family I truly love, cheered me on.

I nervously  signed up for an Olympic distance Triathlon~ and ended up completing 2 plus an Aquathlon.

A 10km Night Race with my oldest, a 5k with all 4 kiddos, and

an absolutely beautiful 29k Mountain Trail Run.....

Who said running can't be a beautiful thing?

During your 365 days here, Change happened.

I saw my oldest writing college entrance exams and registering for his first term of secondary education.

A daughter said goodbye to her home school adventure with me and began attending the local High School.

And I now am experiencing what it's like to only teach 2 kids instead of 4.

Cross~country skiing played a big part in the Long Winter and even longer spring.

Camping adventures, Golden kayaking trips, river canoe paddles, and a bit of hiking with Meaning.

Many beach days~~and one cannot forget the trip to the white sandy beaches of the Caribbean.

Oh! And the many miles put on my new road bike??

 ~absolute bliss.

Friends were made~moments were shared~as was many bottles of good wine.

Moments around bonfires out back roasting marshmallows, and talking into the early hours of the morning...will be cherished.

The memory I have when my kids gave me a new camera and thanked me for teaching them over the years? It still makes me teary.

{The walks with them and the new Canon are pretty special.}

Meeting all of you blogging friends over the past year, has been a major highlight in 2011.

I cannot believe how much I have cherished your letters, emails, and comments,

 while I seem to journal away my thoughts in this space.

I am blessed to know each and every one of you.

Not all of your 2011 days were happy ones.

But I learned a lot from those moments. 

For that I am grateful.

And I learned that I can still dance in the rain....instead of fighting against the pelting drops.

I do feel a bit of melancholy with you coming to an end, but I am not sad to see you go.

One never likes to say goodbye to a good friend, and that you were. 

But I now am looking forward to another year ~

(and I hope you don't take offense, but I hope it's even better than you were).

Filled with more Adventure, 

more learning (even if it includes heartache), 

and more growth.

Happy Trails to you 2011.

You have brought some beautiful ones into my life this past year.

Thank you.

Yours for this year~ but not for the next,

Dawn

No mistakes in it....

Another year is drawing to a close,

 and many of us seem to sit back and re-evaluate the year we have just lived out.

I find myself focusing on everything as one big jumble (and often- mess),

when really, 

one needs to re-visit each moment and take from that moment~only what is needed.

One can learn from mistakes this way.

(I hope?)

And beauty can be found in the simple.

"Sometimes I lie awake at night and ask, 'Where have I gone wrong?'

Then a voice says to me, 

'This is going to take more than one night.'"

~Charles M. Schulz 1922-2000

Enjoying the last few days of this year, in anticipation for a new one.

A brand new year.... with no mistakes in it.  

Yet.

:)

Tips to self for the new year....

Stand on guard for things that may try to wear you down.

(Because for certain there will be plenty of things that try just that.)

Always, always, 

watch out for these.

(Life does manage to come up with things from out of no~where!)

Even if you aren't a kid...it's not a bad thing to act like one.

(I ate all of these.~~~~In one evening.)

And Bonus Tip:  {Self-control is a wonderful thing to own.}

~~~~~~~~

The last for 2010....

“Where flowers bloom, so does hope.”

~Lady Bird Johnson

“Flowers grow out of dark moments.”  

~Corita Kent

“There are always flowers for those who want to see them.”

~Henri Matisse

“All the flowers of all the tomorrows are in the seeds of today.”

~Indian Proverb

“Flowers seem intended for the solace of ordinary humanity.”

~John Ruskin

“Stretching up his hand to reach the stars, too often man forgets the flowers at his feet.”

~Jeremy Bentham

“So plant your own garden and decorate your own soul, 

instead of waiting for someone to bring you flowers.”

“Life is like a rose…More exquisite and precious, when shared with others.”

~Jane Oechsle Lauer

“Plants are like people: they’re all different and a little bit strange.”

~John Kehoe

“You don’t need to know anything about a plant to know 
that it is beautiful.”

~Montagu Don

“A flower that has not bloomed…has not lived.”

~David Uthera

“The seed is hope; 

the flower is joy.”

“Earth laughs in flowers.”

~Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Flowers are happy things.”

~P.G. Wodehouse

~~~~~~~~~

Thank you for bearing with me as I post this year's Review in everything these past few days.

For some reason I feel the need to sum up my year in all I've seen and experienced.

I love nothing more than the outdoors and seeing Creation...in everything.

I truly am grateful to all of you for reading these posts, and am thankful for your comments. I may not always respond, but what you send me in the way of your thoughts, truly brightens up my day. I read and cherish every comment!!

Thank you!

I want to wish all of you a very Blessed New Year in 2011.

Aren't you so very excited to see what lies ahead?

I know that some of you are hoping things take a turn for the better....I hope that for you as well.

Some are wishing life will continue on in the same pleasantness of this year...I wish that also.

Regardless...I hope we all continue to grow and bloom into what we were created to be!

Saying Goodbye to 2010....

Happy New Year of 2011!

No Resolutions....

...only this thought:

"What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us."

~Ralph Waldo Emerson

No resolutions for me this year.

They aren't something I tend to do well.

(Is that in itself a resolution?:)