Highlighting & Reflecting on 2011!

I cannot even begin to believe that today is the last day of 2011! I had always heard that the older you get, the quicker time seems to go by and boy where they right! Abby seems to be growing like a weed and it seems that I’m flipping calendar pages much faster than I used to!

The last couple weeks have not been ideal pain-wise but I refuse to spend the last couple hours of 2011 dwelling on the stinking points of the year and would much rather look at all that I have accomplished.

On New Years Day, I wrote this post of things I wanted to accomplish in 2011. For the most part I think I’ve done okay and would count 2011 as a successful year in personal growth.

Health has definitely been a challenge. My surgery in August did not prove itself to be as successful as we had hoped in terms of pain relief so we still working on finding a treatment that works. Just last week I started pelvic floor physical therapy (which I will fully explain in another post) and my therapist is hoping by the end of treatment that I can get into a regular exercise routine (maybe even running!). But in the meantime, I need to take things slow. We also redid all of my blood work to be sure that we weren’t missing anything. As crazy as it sounds I wouldn’t mind kicking off 2012 with a new diagnosis if it meant a treatment that could help control my pain.

My spiritual walk has also been challenging (as I recently shared). I don’t want to say that I’ve lost my faith by any means. I still believe that God is in control and that He has a plan for me – one to prosper me – despite my current conditions. So I’m hoping 2012 will be a year that will draw me back into a closer walk with Him and want on being fulfilled spiritually by reading more and spending more devotional time (if any of you have any good devotional or study books you would like to recommend let me know!).

One of the fun things on my list was to better document my every day life. I was completely blessed in 2011 with the gift of a Nikon DSLR.  I have had a lot of fun learning how to use it thus far but I know I’ve got a long way to go! But practice makes perfect right? The 365 project was too hard for me to stick to. With the joys of chronic illness, I found it difficult to stick to the schedule as I’m sure you guys don’t want to see pictures of my pajamas or my dogs every day! So I’ve found some really good photography ideas from Pinterest that I’m hoping to try out in 2012!

The second fun item on my list was to really work on finding my sense of style and learn to put together complete outfits that fit my personality. It was been a game of trial and error and I finally think I’m starting to “get” what I like and what seems to work with my body and my personality. Doing the series What I Wore Wednesday has really helped me get ideas by not only learning to put together my own outfits but also gain ideas by visiting the blogs of other WIWW participants! There are some amazingly stylish bloggers out there! Of course Pinterest has been a big help too!

Looking  back at 2011 I am grateful for all that I have been able to accomplish as well as all the lessons I have learned (both the good and the bad) and I am looking forward for all that 2012 has to offer!

What are you most proud of in 2011?

p.s. Don’t forget to come back tomorrow to kick off the 30 Day Blog Challenge!