Well, Thank Goodness THAT'S Over

I've hardly been able to enjoy this holiday season. All I could think about is how glad I am that 2011 is ending; I just wanted to get through it and start a new year. I have no evidence that 2012 will be any better, but having that fresh page on the calendar is supposed to mean something.

But I can't let this past year go without commemorating the GOOD things that happened. So without further ado and in no particular order, here are eleven highlights from 2011:

1. Menchie's. This place makes our family smile, and it's a perfect, cheap, last-second treat.

2. Sweet Tea. All four of us are stupid about this dog, and she makes us smile even when the gas she passes leaves a deadly stench in her wake.

3. The painted churches in Schulenberg. When my parents came to visit for spring break we took a day trip here, and it was pretty much a perfect day.


4. Softball. Watching her play was fun for the whole family, and she liked it so much she's actually willing to do it again this year.

5. Enchanted Rock. Also pretty much a perfect day.

6. Corpus Christi. We spent a weekend here in early June; the weather was warm but not too hot, we had a great room at the Omni thanks to AMEX points, we had the rooftop pool nearly all to ourselves, and we spent just enough time at the beach.

7. Great Wolf Lodge. Who knew you could have that much fun on an inner tube?


8. SkyCoaster. Only two of us were brave enough to attempt it, but it really was fun for the whole family.

9. Visiting Nana. I only got to spend a very short time with her this year, but she was in great spirits. I love this lady.
10. Whale watching. Our whole 20th-anniversary trip to Montreal & Quebec City was fantastic, but the best part was the whale-watching tour. If I had a bucket list, this would have been on it.

11. Running 13.1 miles. I ran the Houston half marathon in January just after my 40th birthday and while I will never run another one, I am proud that I finished it in a decent time.

(I don't have a picture for this one, but it's just as well; although I feel like a graceful gazelle when I run, I actually look like a doofus.)

So. 2011 definitely could have been worse. Here's to a better 2012, one day at a time.