2012 in Review

2012 is almost over. Twitter, Facebook, and tumblr are full of "year in review" or "my favorite 2012 memory" posts. So I've been thinking about my 2012. The first thing I noticed is that I did not set any specific goals for 2012. I did plan for one thing, and everything else just sort of happened.

The one thing I did plan was to have a baby. Ricky and I decided that in vitro fertilization was the right choice for us. This is what I focused my time and energy on for the first several months of 2012. I put everything else on the back burner. After many doctors appointments, shots, and medications later it did not work. It took a toll on my emotions, and I just kind of went with the flow of whatever happened next in life. Work, family events, whatever...I went through the motions to get through it. So there's that.

Moving into the summer, I had two opportunities to travel to places I had never been before. They were both work related, but of course I took time to see the sites! 

First I went to Washington, DC. I really enjoyed this trip, and I'd like to go back. I was able to see several historical monuments, but for a short period of time. 

The second place I went was New Orleans, LA. It was SOOOOO hot and humid there. It was a cool trip because I got to go with my teacher friends. Here's a couple of pics from there. :)

Then came fall. It was rough for me. I took on an extra job, which took up all my free time, and when I wasn't working on it I was stressing about it. I'm thankful for the opportunity, and equally thankful it's over!

On August 24, my grandmother passed. She joined my mother in heaven on the same day my mom entered. It was a very emotional time. A good thing that came of it was some very special time with family that I don't get to see much. We also got the rare everyone is here and dressed up pic.

EDIT: I almost forgot to mention that I raised $1300 for Race for the Cure! Most of that amount came from the sale of this t-shirt.

Time for the Holidays!

My family gathered at my Grandmother's house for Thanksgiving. It was nice to cook in her house again and I think she would have loved the thought of us being there. A highlight for me is that I taught my niece how to make the deviled eggs. I love spending time with her!

My Christmas holiday was really great. I got to spend several days with my husbands family as well as mine. A highlight with the Thompson's was that we took a big family pic with Santa. I loved it!

A highlight with the Jackman's was that we gathered at my Grandmother's house again, and my Dad was able to give out some Christmas gifts that were very meaningful to him.

As I began writing this post, I noticed that it started out sounding like a big pity party. The deeper I got into the post I was reminded of something that I already knew. The highlights of my year all involve my friends and my family. Especially family. 

I have not thought out my plans for 2013 yet, but I do know that I will cherish the time I get to spend with my family. 

Race for the Cure T-Shirt Fundraiser

This year I am raising money for the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation with a Race for the Cure Team. I decided to sell t-shirts, and because I have such caring friends and family my sales are reaching many more people than I ever expected. I am learning as I go, and I have learned that I need an easy method for you, my friends and family, to pay for your shirts.

Now you can pay for your t-shirt using the Donate button below!

Donate $20 to pay for your shirt.

If you would like your shirt shipped to you via USPS Priority Mail, please add another $5, for a total of $25. If you would like multiple shirts shipped, please contact me before making payment. Email: tiffany.thompson@hotmail.com

Why I am learning to blog.

I was in a chili cook off today, and I'm not sure I can explain how it brought me to this blog post, but I can try.

Let's go back in time a few days... I was browsing twitter like I always do, and I came across a link to a blog post by @MundieMoms via @TMI_Institute. She was explaining why she loved blogging and she also gave some blogging advice. Her blog is a book blog, and she says she does it because she loves it. At this point I am trying to think of a topic that I'd be interested in blogging about. It didn't take me long to realize that I couldn't pick just one thing. I wanted to create a blog where I share about all the things that are important to me.

Back to the present...After the chili cook off I posted pics of my team on Twitter and Facebook. That's what I always do. But today was a new experience for me and I wanted to reflect on it. So I revisited a blog that I created in the past - http://tiffanythompson.posterous.com. I've had the blog a few years, and have only a handful of posts. But what I loved about it is that each post represents something that was important to me at that time. For example, this post is of a coffee cup, but I remember I had a super busy week and I needed to go to the grocery store. I didn't even have time to make my grocery list so I stopped and got some coffee, sat down for a few minutes, and made my list. It was exactly what I needed during that day. So for everyone else, it was just another pic of someone's Starbucks cup. But it takes me back to that feeling of "this is just what I need today." The pic is also the inspiration for the name of my blog, coffeefortiffany. 

I spent some time on the posterous site, deciding if that is where I was going to keep my blog, thinking of pros and cons. The pros were easy. I joined posterous early enough that I was able to get my name as my url. This never happens because my first and last names are so common. Another pro is that it has my 7 posts that are important to me. The con is that the site is kind of "laggy" for lack of a better term. I decided to try out blogger to see how I like it. (I just wish I could import my other posts here if I like it.)

I know the blog needs a lot of work, and I'm willing to do it. I'm just going to say it is in progress at the moment. :)

One thing that stuck with me from @MundieMoms blog post is that my blog is a reflection of me. What I like about my old blog is that I think it is a perfect reflection of me.

I would have never thought that cooking chili would have brought me here, but I am oh so glad it did. Here's to happy blogging. :)