Wednesday, December 31, 2014

Reflection...

2014 was a year of ups and downs. Some exciting stuff happened. I started school, I had an epic 30th, my hockey team won the Calder Cup, I got to meet a very old friend in person, I got to do 3 comic con panels, and I got a new kitten.

The last part of this year has been full of challenges.

It started when my preschool career blew up because of a parent lying. I thought that was as bad as it could get. I was wrong. I found an amazing new job that seemed perfect and 2 weeks in I ended up in the hospital with pancreatisis and unbeknownst to me at the time that can be potentially fatal. It ended with my 1st surgery. My hospital stay made me stop and really think about how important family is. I never would have been able to deal with that illness without my mom. I hope none of you ever have pancreas issues. Worst pain I've ever felt. Ever.

Then this month alone we lost 2 of our dogs. Kate was sudden. We knew she was old but she took a turn for the worse fast. I never really even had a chance to grieve for her because of my schedule at the time. I sorta processed it but I don't think I ever dealt with it. Then, just days ago we lost Buddy. This one hit me like a ton of bricks. Even if we knew it was coming it was incredibly hard. Buddy was a very special boy and there will never be another dog like him. We were lucky to have the time with him we had.

I guess if I learned anything from this roller coaster of a year it was the value of love. Not romantic love. Family love. And not DNA. Real family. Of course I have Mom and Nana and they happen to be blood but I also have my dad, my brother, my friends that are more like sisters (Sarah, Jill, and Shannon), and my close friends that I turn to when I feel broken (Remy and Rusty). Each and every one of these people played a huge part in my life this year and I am grateful for all of them. Life is full of ups and downs and I think you have to have the downs to appreciate the ups but anything is tolerable if you have loved ones.

To all of you that helped me make it through this year, that shared the ups and downs, that comforted me in pain, prayed for me in illness, and cheered my happiness...Thank you.

I am very happy to see 2014 end and I look very forward to 2015 and what it will bring...hopefully a little more peace and joy...

Happy New Year!
Cilla


2015 Resolutions...

Another year has gone by and it's once again time to make those new year's resolutions! But first, let's review this year's and see how I did...

2014 resolutions:

~ Continue to lose weight. Get to a point I can wear whatever I want to comic con and in life without worrying about 'dressing for size'. (Dressing for body type is different).
(OK this didn't exactly happen but to be fair ending up in the hospital and being starved for 4 days threw me off. I'll get back on track)

~Continue to do things to involve myself in the comic fandom and gain JoF exposure along the way.
(SUCCESS!!! I scored JoF 3 panels at 2 different cons this year and one of them had over 100 people show up and stirred up massive debate about feminists and comics. I lost a bit of momentem here recently but it'll be easy to get back.)

~Do even more to chip into debt.
(Well this was a fail but medical bills threw me off so I'll let this one slide.)

~Do all I can to be a good, happy, and friendly person all year round.
(In spite of many personal trials I think I did this.)

~Have a killer 30th birthday party
(I did! Thanks to my bestie Sarah my 30th was epic!)

~Become more social
(By my standards I've been much more social so, yup.)

And now for 2015 resolutions:

~Get through school far enough that I can be student teaching by fall or spring.

~Advance in my job

~Get back on track with my eating habits and get back to getting healthy.

~Pay off my car

~learn to skate

~Meet a hockey player

~Try to advance the podcast and the JoF brand even more this year.

And there we go, let's check back on this in 365 days,,,