2017.......so hard to believe......

I promise you, the older you get, the faster it goes.
I decided to reflect a bit on the past year and think about what I want in the year to come.
I haven't posted in several years because Facebook seems to have taken over in the social media department where blogs were more popular in years past.  Now it feels like the blog is more for me and my Facebook is communicating with others.

My workplace has seen a lot of changes ending the year with a filing of Chapter 11.  It has been challenging but at the same time I enjoyed being awarded Employee of the Month this year, and was allowed a laptop to work from home in bad weather, and make overtime more convenient.

I had several discoveries this year.

Purging possessions feels great and is easier than you think if you keep in mind that the $$ is already gone.  Keeping "stuff" in closets or boxes for years doesn't make your life easier and I realized I probably would not use this "stuff" and could never live long enough to read all these books!

I finally used ancestry.com to submit my DNA - it has always bothered me that I do not know where my people came from.  I was somewhat surprised with the results.  37% Great Britain 27% Ireland 17% Europe West 6% Scandinavia  and the rest trace amounts scattered in other areas.

I discovered Hillsong channel on TV and their service in NY led by Carl Lentz - love listening to him.  I watched Oprah interview him and liked him right away.

Wonderful series were available for entertainment -

Poldark

Queen Sugar

Greenleaf

Game of Thrones

CSI NY

CSI Miami

House of Cards

Grace and Frankie

Outlander

Orange is the New Black

Lilyhammer

The Crown

Blacklist

Fixer Upper

I finally committed to using Young Living Oils after some research and seeing them bloom everywhere this year.  They are pure, wonderfully made and will have a positive impact on my health and life in 2017.

There was sadness this year as well.  Our country was in turmoil, and there were family members that passed and were no longer with us.  I loved them and know they are in a beautiful place, happy and whole.  It was too soon to lose Prince, George Michaels, Debbie Reynolds, Carrie Fisher, ZsaZsa and Davie Bowie to name a few.

I was blessed with many gifts from friends and family - fresh garden tomatoes which I LOVE, cards and letters reaching out to me  which were all so special and I shared time with some very special friends.  We went to the casino, out for breakfast, lunch and dinners.  I was blessed to share Thanksgiving and New Year's Eve with special friends with big hearts.  

My favorite week of the year was the week I finally took a "real" vacation.  Tops on my bucket list was to attend an art retreat so I went to Donna Downey's studio near Charlotte NC where I was inspired, pampered and made new friends.  It surpassed all expectations and I can't wait to do it again!!

I'm sure I haven't listed everything that impacted my year - but wanted to celebrate the end of 2016 and the beginning of a fresh slate - 2017.  My word for 2017 is LISTEN.