Year in Review

Before I get to my year in review, I thought I would share with you a new adventure that I had yesterday.  I spent eight hours riding with a friend in his 18 wheeler while he delivered two trailers of pork butts from Chillicothe, MO to Kansas City, KS.  What I thought particularly funny and interesting was that this meat was being shipped to Korea.  In fact, the US exports 170,000 tons of pork to Korea a year.  In 2007 Korea raised 10 million pigs, so why are we sending Korea all this pork butt???  Folks, we may never get the answer to this life altering question…… 


Anyway, truck driving is hard work and I was just the passenger.  I did learn a lot about the trucking industry and what type of cab I should purchase (Peterbilt or Kenworth) should I decide to change professions (thinking not) and go over the road.  The only problem I see is that I would need to learn to shift 8, 10, and 13 gears, back a trailer into a tight spot and turn corners wide enough so I don’t take anyone out.  One cool thing about riding in a big truck is that you see what everyone is doing inside their cars...and I mean everything (yes, you know what I am talking about....eewwwww). 

Alright back to my year in review.  In order for me to move forward I need to analyze my past to assess where we I am at, a starting point you might say.  Now, when I began thinking about my happenings from last year I immediately started thinking about all the negative things that took place, but I am thinking positive people.   I decided to make a list of the 20 positive things that took place.  Sad to say I could only come up with 16 (sad face).  So here is the list from 2011.  What I realized was that in my mind I did not accomplish a lot.  Now some of you might think I accomplished a lot, but for me I fell way short.  For 2012 I want to triple the list.  Anyway, here are my accomplishments and adventures for 2011:

1.     Received a MA degree in Adaptive Special Education from the University of St. Mary.

2.    Purchased a home on my own.

3.    Accepted a teaching position in the Kansas City, KS School District.

4.    Invested 20% for retirement.

5.    Paid car loan down to $2800.

6.    Passed Praxis test for state licensure.

7.    Ran a 5K race and placed 3^rd in my age division.

8.    Completed the swim/run portion of a triathlon with my friend Shawn doing the biking portion.

9.    Vacation to Las Vegas for New Years (wow, all I can say is what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas).

10. Vacation to Denver (and discovered I love crepes).

11.  Vacation to Savannah, GA/Hilton Head for Labor Day Weekend (most haunted city in America I might add).

12. Weekend getaway with family to attend the Minnesota State Fair and trip to the Mall of America.

13. Spent a memorable Christmas (even with no snow) in Minnesota with family, including my brother from Seattle.

14. Traveled to St. Louis to see the Foo Fighters in concert (awesome show).

15. Attended my first NASCAR race (super boring I might add).

16. Spent a glorious summer going to the pool daily with my girls.

When I look at this list there are some items that put a smile on my face.  I also get a little sad when I compare what I had on my goal list for 2011.  I fell short in a lot of areas.  This list should have been a lot longer, but I got lazy.  Bottom line is I am not living up to my potential and a lot of time if being wasted doing nothing, or next to nothing.  I don’t want to live my life with regrets so change is underway.   


I would love to know what you have done to get out of the zone and what new and exciting things you did last year or are planning on doing this year.  Please share, I might add them to my living life list.


Here’s to getting off the comfort couch and living life ~ Lisa