Thursday Thirteen--13 highlights of 2007
in no particular order

1) I learned to really love vegetables. I was really packing on the pounds--I called it blogging weight because I got broad band and sat more. I started adding veggies in 2006 I rarely ate and didn't particularly like, grilling them in a little olive oil. Now in 2007 I have 5-6 a day for lunch, and love it! I'd never go back to sandwiches, chips, cookies and leftovers!

2) Short term construction mission to a Christian school in Ouanaminthe, Haiti. This was actually my husband's trip, but I benefited vicariously. He's still talking about it and will go again in February. He also found some new subjects for his paintings that aren't boats or barns.


3) Serving communion. We've served at the 8:30 traditional service for several years, and I enjoy it more than anything I've done at church, but this year I volunteered for more opportunities--especially during Advent. It really put the season in perspective. Although I loved singing in the choir, my voice remained squeaky and scratchy, so I dropped that.

4) We have a delightful calico cat, but volunteered to puppy-sit our daughter's Chihuahua while they vacationed in LasVegas. I think we had more fun than they did. Abbie was extremely well behaved and didn't act like a spoiled diva until the last day when she decided they weren't coming back.
5) Our fabulous September trip to Ireland with Alumni Holidays International with new friends from the University of Illinois and the University of Georgia. Except for catching a cold at the end of the trip, it was absolutely perfect.

6) Our two class reunions, Arsenal Technical High School in Indianapolis, and Mt. Morris High School in Mt. Morris, Illinois.

7) Get togethers with my extended family and friends in Illinois in July. Aunts, uncles, siblings, nieces, nephews, classmates, even a funeral for the mother of a childhood friend, and a visit to Forreston, Illinois to visit a war memorial.

8) Buying new clothes for the weight loss and pitching the old.

9) Redecorating the master bedroom to go with our new Amish made arts and crafts bed.

10) The visit of my husband's sister Deb and her husband John who live in Tustin, California. They were married in September 2006 and my husband walked her down the aisle with her other brother. Divorce separated them in childhood, but friendship brought them together as adults. It's never too late to be a big brother.



11) Fun times with special friends, some new, some long standing--Joyce and Bill, Wes and Sue, Sharon and Eric, Ron and Jane, Carol and Bob, and our SALT group and VAM group from church.

12) Watching my husband have so much fun sailing on Lake Erie. It's a late in life love, but a mistress I can tolerate and appreciate.

13) Learning some new technology tricks. My laptop as failed so often, I have learned to load the software myself. I've got an easier-to-use digital camera, and a few things still in the box that I will save for 2008 challenges for my brain.