Here I Go Again

As you may remember, Tim and I began 2008 by posting a gigantic Mindmap detailing all the goals that we hoped to achieve over the year.   It was a really long list, with the Everyday Blog right at the top.  Now that 2009 has rolled in, we’ve taken some time to go through that list and highlight our accomplishments, failures and what 2009 looks like.

Accomplishments
Without a doubt our greatest accomplishments for the year revolve around time spent both here in Jackson and across the States with friends and family.   2008 started with Tim and I moving into Ann and Scott’s home to lend a hand with Belle and Callie while they were in VA.  What started off as a mutually convenient situation has transitioned into lifelong friendships and wonderful memories.  We’ve cherished our time here on Mallard Drive and thank both Ann and Scott for such an incredible opportunity.

Part of that opportunity was the ability to hit the road for weeks at a time.  We loaded up Frank the Tank, and drove 30,000 miles, traveling from one coast to another with lots of detours in between.   I won’t retell all the stories, we have the Blog to do that, but suffice it to say it was one heck of a year.   From Whitesnake to Buffett, from the top of Deer Valley to the Grand Canyon to Half Moon Bay to Portsmouth Island, we have some incredible memories…

Which leads me to the Blog.  I’d say this is our other big accomplishment of the year.  Despite some very late nights, remote internet connections and busy times, we actually pulled off a post and picture for every day.   For Tim and I, it’s a priceless gallery of memories and comments shared with and by friends and family.  Thank you all for hanging with us through it.

The blog taught us both a ton, from better photography and writing to self discipline.  We learned that when faced with a really big goal, like posting 366 times in a (Leap) year, you just need to take it one day at a time….literally…and then it’s done.  I know, that seems pretty obvious, but when I apply the same logic to other goals, what seems intimidatingly huge becomes much easier.

Failures
For all our successes, we did have a failure or two over the year.   That big list of goals didn’t actually all get done.  With all the luxury and convenience of Frank at our disposal, neither Tim nor I were so good about physical caretaking.  Backpacking, hiking, competitive biking and many ski days were put on hold for the sake of traveling.  This year we’ll stay closer to home and get some more of these activities in.

For my part, I am still figuring out the balance between work and travel, and my bank account in 2008 showed it.  But I’ve got some things brewing and hope to be teaching computer classes by month’s end, so I think 2009 will yield better results here as well.

Continuation
And finally, we come to 2009.  We thought about the pros and cons and decided to keep on blogging.  We’ve got some new ideas on how to keep it fresh and more valuable to you, so you’ll see some changes over the next month.   Meanwhile it will remain a place to share our days, ask for advice (particularly as we get closer to our big move to New York in October), and update everyone on our travels.  I think one of richest aspects about the blog are your comments, so please keep them coming.    We value them all.

As a wrap up to the year, Tim has put together a slideshow of all our pictures.   We’d love to hear which picture you like best, what your favorite or least favorite moments of 2008 were (whether it made our blog or not), and anything else you’d like to post.  It was a great year of memories and we can’t wait to share another 365 for 2009.

Pick Your Favorite Photo
For the slideshow, click an image to view the details of the day that it was taken.  If you like the photo and have a Flickr or Yahoo account (make sure you are logged in prior to starting the Flickr show) then you can click ADD TO FAVES in the upper left hand corner.