2014 Year in Review

Word cloud from tagxedo.com

Wow - where did the time go this year. I mean seriously, it feels like the year just started!

I am surprised there were enough words from this years blogging to create a Word Cloud from Tagxedo.com - but there you go - surprise, surprise, surprise.

• Well - the beginning of the year we had the winter from hell. You can check out pictures of the snow and me all bundled up here.
  
• Mom and I participated in the Echo Creative Club challenge. That was so much fun and got us out of rut using something new.
  
• The ABS Monthly Challenge - well, that was a a complete fail for us this year. We did create one piece from February's Challenge. That piece actually sold in September to a wonderful customer who ended up buying our Tail Feathers piece the following week. To be honest mom and I really didn't think someone would buy the necklace, we thought it might be too over powering for someone. The customer pulls it off and says she receives compliments whenever she wears it - which makes us feel great!
  
• We participated in the 3rd Annual Challenge of Music. This time it was mom who picked the song and the piece we created. I think she did a fantastic job!
  
• I went to Las Vegas in March. I have driven through Vegas but I had never stopped - except in traffic jams. This time I went for a SharePoint conference for work. It was an interesting place to visit but I don't think I would care to live there full time. If you are friends with me on Instagram you sure got bombarded with pics :)
  
• Mom and I are still taking pictures of flowers and you can see the first flower pics of the year by going here.
  
• Mom and I participated in the 8th Annual Bead Soup Blog Party.
  
• Then there was a large gap in blogging - May to September - here is the link to let you know we were still alive ;)
  
• I actually started on a goal from 2013 - exercising. Here is the link to tell you about my new passion (besides lampworking and enameling and making mom's life hell).
  
• I am also still patiently waiting on my mortgage company to approve a short sale on my house. It was actually a year ago in December 2013 when I put my house on the market. I had an offer on the house in January and we submitted the paperwork on January 17 to the mortgage company. We are still waiting for approval almost a year later. I have a whole blog post I will write at a later date - once the house is out of my hands!!!! That is one reason I started exercising - I needed a stress reliever!!!!
  
• Mom and I sawing away on Christmas ornaments - that was such a great day to be back at sawing!
  
• This year was another year for health issues with mom. Mom has had a lot of stomach issues and they finally, finally diagnosed her with gastoparesis. Now we know what is going on and we can treat it with the right foods. Mom also had a partial knee replacement surgery on December 3rd - go here if you would like to see pics of before and after surgery of mom. There is one pic I think you guys would get a hoot out of :)
  
• It has been a year since I moved back home and I don't regret a minute of it! It is so great to be able to sit on the couch with mom and talk or just sit together and veg. Here is a link to a pic of us together.
  
• The end of December to the first week of January I am participating in a challenge at Studio b -where I do my Zumba, Tabata, Zumba Toning and Pound. We have to fill up a snowman with "Snow Flakes" to win prizes.  This link will show you the schedule and the pics of the snowmen hanging on the walls at Studio b. As of right now I have 25 snowflakes and there is one lady ahead of me in the challenge. This has been so much fun to see if I can do what I set out to do. There has been a few classes I couldn't finish or get myself up at 6:00 in the morning to go to - but overall I am really happy with what I have done!
  
• Mom and I participated in Sally's Holiday Ornament Swap.

The goals for this year:

• There are two brand new shows mom and I want to try this year. So, we will prepare our portfolios and submit them and see if we can get in. One is in Zionsville - which I just found out about this year and the other one is in Indy. Mom has been looking at the show for several years and I think we are ready to try for it.
  
• Have a healthy year for both of us!
  
• Have the house's short sale approved so I can get that load off my mind!!!!!
  
• Continue to exercise!
  
• Blog and create more. This year has been a stressful year - I thought 2013 was bad - but I think this year was just as bad for mom and myself. I think creating and writing will get us back into the groove again.
  
  

So, that is a wrap of 2014.

I hope you all have a wonderful New Year!