2009 Ups and Downs

I'm finally getting used to writing 2010 now so I'd better do my recap of 2009 soon before I forget all about it. 2009 was a bit of a roller coaster for me internally if not so much external. I didn't necessarily have any major life upheavals but I had some epic funks and came to some important decisions about my life. I thought I would break it down by the Ups and Downs of 2009. Some are business related but most are personal.

The 3 pictures are of Kate on the farm last week. One minute she was flying through the air, wind whipping through her hair while jumping off of the old cellar. 10 minutes later she had unceremoniously fallen on her bottom while playing on an ice patch. Am I a terrible aunt for recording her fall, I don't know I'll leave that judgement call to you.

First for the Highlights:

1. Lenox Knits had a great year in sales at the indie craft shows. The Rock N Roll Craft Show in November gave me my biggest profit from a show ever. Strange Folk was another successful and fun weekend.
2. Grew my blog followers to 365 which constantly amazes me. I also achieved a Google Page Rank of 3 which made me happy even if I don't fully understand what it means.
3. Got my new DSLR camera (Canon Rebel Xsi). Because of my great craft show results I was able to treat myself to something I wanted but didn't necessarily need. I've gotten such a great deal of pleasure out of taking pictures the past year which I never saw coming.
   
4. Celebrating our 5th wedding Anniversary. I wrote all about it back in June in a whole 4 part series.
5. Our great summer adventure including Alabama, New Orleans, and a cruise to Mexico. Was the biggest and best vacation Mike and I have ever taken together.
6. The trips home to the farm with the kids. All those years spent yearning to get away from the farm and now I see it as a retreat and the nieces and nephews all view it as one big playground.
7. Discovering Roller Derby and meeting Phyllis from The Office sitcom at a match. Sometimes it's the little things that make the year special but I really looked forward to going to those matches with Mike and his Mom.
8. Repertory Theater season tickets, a professional live theater here in St. Louis. This was the first year we have done it as a couple and I've really enjoyed the shows . We splurged on our seats and spent around $600 on the season but it was totally worth it.
9. January 21, 2009. Need I say more...
   

So here in no particular order are the lows from 2009:

1. The girls moving to Texas. This was the hardest thing I've dealt with in awhile and brought on a pretty major Depression. I still miss them dearly but it's getting easier.
2. My weight gain. I went back on my meds last year and the weight gain creep began immediately. I have let myself get out of control again and will be joining Weight Watchers again this month to hopefully get a handle on things.
3. Lack of Etsy sales and general unhappiness with my on-line venue choices. I am really unsure of the direction I want to go with on-line sales in general and I'll be doing a lot of thinking about this.
4. Seemingly never ending construction at work that went on way over it's scheduled completion date. The huge increase in enrollment this year has been a major headache also.
5. Reaching my late 30's and one step closer to that dreaded number. This transition hit me especially hard as a childless woman as I discussed here.

When it comes down to it I have a lot to be thankful about. I have a great family and husband and my time with my nieces and nephews is something I cherish. I'm content with my job and hobbies even with the ups and downs. Thanks for sharing all of it with me this year and I can't wait to share all the surprises from 2010 with you as they come along.