It’s that time of year again! Every Friday in December, I will be linking up for the 2012 Review Extravaganza with these lovely ladies: Emmy-Emmy Mom; Lourie-CA Girl; MiMi-Living in France; Nicole-Life's a Beach; Mrs. Match-Date Girl Diaries; Janette-Johanson Journey.
So…here we go!!
I kicked off 2012 by sharing my holiday recap, filled with many great times with family & friends…Including making a gingerbread house with these two cuties… I love those “cheese” faces!!
I then followed that up by sharing a list of things that I hoped to see happen in the New Year. (They were apparently very lofty goals, because I don’t know that ANY of them happened…except maybe Ashton Kutcher got rid of his facial hair? Can someone please confirm? lol)
From there on in, things got rather quiet on the blog for the rest of January and into February, as my life was turned upside down when my dad’s surgery on January 10th didn’t go as planned, and he spent the next month in ICU.
My dad passed away on February 8th, just three days before my brother’s wedding. I can’t begin to put into words what a rollercoaster of a week that was. All I can say is that I’m so very grateful to be surrounded by wonderful friends and family, who were there with us to celebrate Luke & Amanda’s wedding day, and then to celebrate my father’s life. They all made a very difficult time a little easier to get through.
I shared the eulogy my mom wrote in my Tribute to Dad post.
I was deeply touched by the comments and emails I received from my blog friends during this time. Thank you all for being there for me! It really made me appreciate this blogging community even more than I already did. I love you all! xo
In the weeks that followed, I decided to take comfort in food – and I particularly craved Montana’s!
I also took comfort in Adam Levine (and together with my mom, we became big fans of The Voice!)
Moving in to March, I had the opportunity to host my book club group, and I took inspiration from Pinterest in creating a line-up of snacks to share with everyone.
I also shared a funny story from my brother’s wedding day, which had me splitting the ass of my bridesmaid’s dress after trying to kick him on the dance floor. (Thank God the lining of the dress didn’t rip!!)
On March 10th, our little town took the opportunity to toast one of our finest ladies, Mrs. Mae McCann, with an event that also raised money to go towards a much-needed new community centre. In listening to all the speeches that evening, I decided I had a few things I wanted to say to Mae myself. So I wrote her a letter, and shared it here on my blog.
I closed out the month of March by writing a review of The Hunger Games movie, which I so enjoyed!
So there we have it – the first installment of the 2012 Review Extravaganza, in the books!
Looking forward to recapping April, May, and June next Friday :)
Before I sign off…Don’t miss out on your chance to enter my eos giveaway!
Five lucky winners will be chosen at random on Monday, and each winner will receive two Alice in Wonderland-inspired eos spheres. Don’t miss out! All you have to do is visit the giveaway post and tell me how much you love me (or eos.)
Go! Do it!!
Happy Friday, everyone :)
12 comments:
The dress splitting story is still one of my faves!
I'm thinking about your family at the holidays this year, I know there will be a void with your Dad's passing.
I posted your giveaway on my facebook page to help spread the word :) And Your family is so super awesome and strong to deal with everything you dealt with at the time you dealt with it. Plus to add to my list, I want Montana's.
That eulogy was beautiful, and again I'm so so sorry for your loss. They say the first year is the toughest when grieving, and I hope that holds true. You have such a positive attitude and know how to enjoy life, and it's one of the reason I love having you as a blog buddy!
Loved that dress splitting story. You still rocked that dress!
er..when I say hope, I mean, hope that the hardest days will soon be over. I just realized that sentence was super awkward. Sorry!
Funny! I remember your posts too.
HUGS!
Yeah, the beginning of 2012 wasn't all that great, but you managed.
Why is it your comfort foods always make me hungry?
That must have been so hard with your brother's wedding! Were you and your mom always so close? Or has this brought you guys even closer? It seems like you and your mom are best friends. Me and my mom are too, it is the best!
So sorry about your father. That really was such a roller coaster of emotions for you at that time. I have only watched the Voice a few times but have liked every episode I have seen.
That burger looks all kinds of amazing. And yes Hunger Games was so awesome! Can't wait for the next one.
Thank you again so much for linking up with us again this year.
Oh, Jillian....I shed a few tears for you all, as I read the Eulogy. I don't know how we all got through that month. I felt as if we all went home, changed our clothes and came back for another funeral. It took me a while to get over all that. I felt as if Brent was with us as we baptized Neve, and felt like the circle of life had been fulfilled.
You are all still in my prayers.
These recaps are definitely reminding me how chaotic and busy all of our lives were at the beginning of the year. Wow. How do you have the energy?
I cannot imagine losing a parent. I lost my grandfather in May and that still crosses my mind daily. I hope your holidays are full of memories of happiness. I am going to have to check out your line up of snacks-- the one pictured looks great- I think I gained 5lbs looking at it with drool! I share the love for Adam and really liked the Hunger Games-- I wasn't sure if I would b/c i never read the book but the movie (for me) was great!!
your new year resolutions were hilarious... the most recent article about ashton on people.com shows a nice picture of his beautiful clean shaven face :) http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20650882,00.html
my recap is at https://growninsouthernground.wordpress.com/2012/12/11/2012-review-extravaganza-first-quarter-recap/
also, check out this post and let me know which charity i should donate to this month... i will donate $1 for your comment! http://growninsouthernground.wordpress.com/2012/12/01/comments-for-a-cause-2/
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