2009 - Year in Review

Hmmmn.  Where to start?  I want to end each year with a review post highlighting the wonderful moments of the previous months.  Since this is the first one, I'm not real sure how to go about that but will give it a trial run and make corrections next year if need be.

The year (prior to the blog) saw me still commuting back and forth between TX and MT to work and finish up details with the business in Billings.  Additionally, I experienced my first ice storms, found the perfect cinnamon roll recipe, and made friends here in TX.  Life was still in flux for me, but I was making the steps necessary to start over and starting to recuperate.  Treatment was pretty  much behind me, and I found an amazing friend in Mister so that when my divorce was final in March, he asked to see where a relationship together would go.  I let it go to Montana - up to Bigfork to meet my mom.  The rest of the spring was spent falling in love with the Dallas Arboretum, still going back and forth to Billings, and container herb gardening along with working at MedQ.  I did manage to make a trip to Ohio to spend some time with Amanda and her boys and Mom came to visit Dallas over Easter.  At the end of April, Mister took a trip with me to South Dakota for Jon's baptism and in May this blog became a new journal for me.  I hope it takes on a life of it's own and helps me to remember and relive many special moments.  Now, come along for the rest of year with me and you can look up entries that go along with the months if something interests you --



May - Alaska!!  What an amazing trip that also included Granville Island and Vancouver.  Fun, fun, fun.  When we returned from Alaska, I made a beeline to Billings to meet my new granddaughter, Elena.  What a joy grandchildren are and I have a feeling she will have many more cousins to come still.  In Texas, Mister and I enjoyed back road day trips and discovering more about this big state.  I'm sure this will take a LONG time to complete.  Upon our return from Montana, Mister discovered that he was being let go at work.  Changes are coming our way for sure.

June - I met Jen in Colorado for some fun days around the Denver area, made another trip to Billings for work and to see family.  Mister started bike runs and that is taking us around Texas some more.

July - More bike rides, a fun Independence Day, yard work, and our first family reunion up on the Yellowstone River.  I cannot believe how wonderful it was to have all of my children and grands together at once.  From the reunion, we went straight into a trip around Montana.

August - We traveled the whole state of Montana, visiting microbreweries all along the way and still seeing both Glacier and Yellowstone Parks AND the Lewis and Clark Caverns.   Cass and Scott made a trip down to Dallas to visit as did Rhiana and Kyle.  Yep, I found super cheap plane tickets.

September - I made another trip up to Montana and South Dakota that included some fun in the Badlands with Jen and kids.  Back in Texas, we have some Oktoberfest fun (oh I remember these events as a young girl), attend Grapefest (kinda the same only with wine) and flew some really fun kites.

October - It rained like crazy this month and I made a quick Montana trip to work in the office.   A little later, Matt, Becca, and Hyrum made their first visit to Dallas for some fun times.  Another trip to Ohio only this time Mister goes along and we are treated to fall color in the east.

November - We made a drive up to Montana and South Dakota, making all the stops along the way including Moms.  Later in the month, I flew to South Dakota to meet up with Jen and drive back down to Texas with her for the Thanksgiving week.  Louis was deployed and it was too far for her to go alone with the kids.

December - It is the Christmas season so I made another trip north and played Mrs. Santa Claus in South Dakota, Montana, and Ohio.  Wow.  Back home in Texas, Scott and Cassie came for the Christmas holidays.  What an amazing treat that was.

Well, there now.  That's quick and yet captures most of what took place.  I'll see what changes to make next year and try another one for 2010.  See ya later.