New Year's Cliche

Hi there. Happy new year! 2012 (which, coincidentally, is the number of page views this blog had last year). As A said, "I can't wait to see what will happen on December 21 this year!" I am still having a hard time remembering we're in the '00's instead of the '90's. Yikes.

The close of a year typically brings nostalgia and reflection for me, but this year it was all about looking ahead and being thankful for the huge changes we made in our lives in 2011. Last year we:

both quit our jobs,
I got a new job,
then added another job,
Josh started a few companies,
Josh got a new job,
we became proctor parents,
we are renting a 106 year old farm house that I LOVE,

and I practiced trust (others and myself) and allowed myself to settle (I literally forget to breathe on a regular basis).

Maybe it's cheesy, but most of the years of my life have a word or two attached to them in my mind. 2009 = growth, 2010 = risk, 2011 = trust and settle, 2012 = truth.

Truth here means speaking truth and hearing truth. I'd much rather avoid conflict and practice apathy than speak and hear truth. The truth sucks- it's difficult, embarrassing, and often unwanted. But, it's also true. It's time to challenge myself to be more kind through honesty, whether it's expressing my love and appreciation for someone or setting boundaries or engaging in difficult conversation.

Do you ever notice themes in your life?
What are your hopes for 2012?

Catching Up

Well, well, well. It's been a while.

I have been wrestling a lot lately with the idea of self worth/value. Specifically, if I am not spending my days in a "social worky" job, am I still a human being with value. Now, of course, I believe that this is true for other people, but sometimes it is more difficult to apply to myself. Layered on top of that question is the guilt for feeling that way. I am REALLY good at feeling guilty.

Honestly, I am afraid of not spending my time wisely and feeling like a major failure if I'm not moving ahead in my career and working with a specific population. The truth is, I love my new job. I love the people I work with. They are challenging my assumptions about the human race by being transparent, kind, and genuinely caring. For example, today I cried at work because everyone was so fucking nice. I felt lame, Josh said it was good for me, and I remembered the last time I cried at work was because I thought someone was going to die or something.

Anyway, we are about half way done with our foster parent training and I am so excited to get some delinquent children! We are in the process of selling our condo (not cool that strangers walk around in my house and look at our stuff, not cool) and finding a new place to live. I keep showing Josh pictures of cute, little farm houses in the middle of nowhere and he says something about community and being able to use public transportation. Then I say, "What does it mean? Double rainbow!" But I digress.

In the meantime I hope to keep up on this blog better- writing is cathartic and I have read about 800 books this year already so I should write some book reviews to keep track of what I've read!

How is 2011 shaping up for you?

Thanks for reading and for your comments!

Our Very Own Revolution

Hello friends,

Josh and I have made a lot of life changes in the past two weeks, and this post will hopefully shed some light on what we are doing and why! There are a couple of purposes of writing this: to keep you all updated on what the hell we're doing (there has been lots of wondering), and to document for myself (so I can look back and remember).

So, here goes!

1. I quit my job, and got a new job.

The motivation behind this was to leave my job before I got bitter and angry- I was working 50ish hours a week in addition to being on call 24/7. I miss the kiddos SO MUCH but am happy for a change of pace! I am now working at Imago Dei Community, a church in SE pdx that has a large focus on social justice and community service.

2. Josh quit his job, and will be exercising his entrepreneurial/inventor mind.

Josh has wanted to work for himself as long as I've known him, and this is a great opportunity for him to pursue that goal!

3. We're moving.

We live in a 1 bedroom condo and need a bigger space (in pdx) because....

4. We want to be foster parents.

We've been having this conversation for a couple of years, and finally can make it happen!

5. We are changing how we eat.

Less meat, more fruits and vegetables. If you are super duper interested read "The China Study" ;-).

Whew! We are really excited to be on this adventure together, and we feel amazingly lucky to be able to change our lifestyle at this point in our lives.

Thanks for listening, and I'll be posting updates on how this crazy experiment goes and some veggie-based recipes =).