HELLO 2015!!!!!

There is a little Oscar dog sleeping in my lap... and an angry/jealous Little Trouble Kitty sleeping on top of my current cross-stitch project.

My parents are in Atlanta taking my brother and his fiance to the airport. Austin is upstairs watching the old lady dogs. The Christmas decorations and wrapping is boxed up until next year, except for the lights which I may not take down. Ever.

I left the little pink tree on top of my tv and redecorated it as a baby tree - pink tree, blue ribbon, little hearts and the two countdown chains meeting at the top.

We are ready to greet 2015 with open arms and big sloppy kisses. 2014 was not a BAD year, per se, although my pain increased and my mobility decreased, I have been surrounded by so much love and support that it's impossible to complain about my current state of affairs. The thing that nobody tells you about trials is that you don't have to suffer through them. You always have the opportunity to laugh through them.

I have been keeping a few secrets which, for me is like holding my breath. One of them is out of the bag now so I can blog freely about it. My brother Bryan (the one who lives in NY) had been with a girl for about a decade. She and I had many laughs together but she wasn't crazy about our family, as a whole. She and I emailed back and forth frequently, if not daily then certainly weekly. When I hurt my back she stopped talking to me. Just wrote me off and that was that.  Not everybody *gets* me and I'm ok with that. Ultimately, if my brother is happy, I am happy for him. He works very hard and deserves to have peace and happiness and harmony in his life. But...

Remember when I was in Florida and my life got completely derailed and we called my journey from that nightmare to this lovely place, "from Hell to Helen"?  (because I now live right near the town of Helen, Georgia). I don't know that Bryan would classify his journey *quite* the same way but he did go from that previous situation - whatever it's nature - to a lovely, wonderful lady named Helen. From fill in the blank to Helen.

Helen came with Bryan to spend Christmas with our family. Her first trip to Georgia! They had been planning a "party" for next June but weren't going to formalize things until she had the opportunity to meet his family and decide whether or not she wanted to join our merry little band. I was under strict orders not to discuss their romance or potential "party" on the blog and... honestly, it was not easy. I think I speak for the whole family when I say that we were quickly smitten by her and her mad baking skillz. To see her and Bryan together was like going from watching life in black and white to seeing it in color. I haven't seen him that happy since... well, since ever. They were very obviously meant to be together. He seemed more at ease than I've ever seen him. She carries herself with the kind of grace and confidence that only comes from being loved and in love. She also loves the color pink and is left-handed so.... #slamdunk in my book!

On Monday night we had gone out to eat to celebrate Jamie's birthday. Sitting in a restaurant is painful - plus over an hour of driving to get back and forth to the restaurant. It was much fun and I wouldn't have missed it for the world but I was definitely in a lot of pain yesterday as a result. I was curled up in my nest when Bryan and Helen came walking up from the dock where he had just PROPOSED!

I got to be the first person they told! I knew my strategic position in the Whine Cellar would come in handy at some point! The "party" scheduled for June can officially be called a wedding and I can officially say that I am getting a new sister! AND we get to travel to Connecticut and (I think... the itinerary is still being developed) New York as a family, including my favorite little redheads! They are working out the details to accommodate my issues - seating, etc - and although I'm sure it will be painful at times, I am so excited to be able to go!

It will be exciting to follow along with the planning. They have hired a wedding planner and will have a big wedding with all the trappings including a wedding announcement in the NY Times. I know that sounds random but I love reading the wedding announcements in the Times. You can access the Times online ten times a month without a subscription and I use all ten of mine every month reading the wedding announcements. SO of course I asked if they were going to do that and... it's a family tradition for her family so yes! She already has her dress and they've picked a band. It's close enough for Ryan and Sara to come although Austin and Tasha will be just a few weeks past having Cosette and Cody and Marquee will be too close to having Peanut for them to come. I'm hoping to meet up with a few blog readers if time permits and I would love to be able to take my nieces to the theatre!

me, today, no filters, no makeup

I've been blogging less in the past year or so but have a feeling with all the happy occasions that we have to look forward to in 2015 that you will be hearing more from me! Grandbaby in May, wedding in June, grandbaby in July. And also, for good or bad, better or worse, my disability case will be going before a judge this year and I know I'll have lots to say about that.

So here's to putting 2014 to bed and greeting 2015, as I said, with a bear hug and sloppy wet kisses!