So there’s an awful lot of people out there who can not WAIT for this year to be over. And while I understand that there have been challenges that have accompanied the last 366 days, in the spirit of this blog, I’m going to try and focus on the good that happened instead. After all, I’ve definitely had worse years, that’s for sure.     So as Julie Andrews would say, “let’s start at the very beginning”. 

   2016, saw me FINALLY making my way back to California in January after not one, not two, but THREE attempts to make it out there in 2015 and I got to spend an extra (& unexpected) 3 days with my best friend Kym on this trip! 

   Then in February my friend Karen gave birth to her little boy Mason! He is just the cutest & we welcomed him something fierce! 

    March was met with a flurry of activity and Mom & I went on our 2nd Mother/Daughter trip to Florida where we saw lots of different family and friends in a multitude of places from Amelia Island to The Villages, to Cocoa Beach & “The Hermitage Artist Retreat” in Englewood, Florida. 

    April was a trip down to NYC to see Tony Award winning musical “The Color Purple” (& WOW) it was everything we could have hoped for and MORE!! 

      May brought us our friends The Dring’s & The Andrade’s from England and Brazil respectively for Jack & Luana’s college graduation. 

     June was when I went to Nashville, TN with my Mom and our friend Stephanie for the summer NAMM show. It was great to be back in Music City after over a decade and for such a great music trade show. It was also the month I had to say goodbye to my dear friend Jenna. Oh how I missed her when it was time for her to go, but knowing she would spread her wings and fly only filled me with goodness. 

   July was a trip to Massachusetts for a bridal shower/bachelorette extraordinaire! A great time with two of my cousins and a group of girls who would turn out to be a ton of fun!! 

     August was a busy month! My friend Janet had her beautiful baby William in the beginning and then at the end, my Dad, brother Matt & I all went to California for my Nana Mo’s 90th birthday!! It was a great trip & we saw both my cousin Emma & my BFF Kym. 

    Then in September I turned 35 while my two small friends across the street turned 2 (two days later). The celebrations were “outrageous” as you could expect! Hahaha. 

    In October my cousin Ali married Tyler & our large extended family was mostly brought together again just outside Boston. Then later in the month, I went on my first solo trip overseas and saw three beautiful, different parts of England, & fell so deeply in love with it, I think I just might have to go back! 

    November brought me home from my trip and it also welcomed some new friends into my life and gave me a chance to get to know some other people who are really important in my life better.       

     December was a gift in so many ways as my family was all together for Christmas in our own home around our own tree, and everyone (more or less) was healthy. Including me. I was given the “all clear” two days before Christmas that my blood clots were under control & things are looking “good”.  

    So this was my year. The play by play. Sure, there are things I’m leaving out, like when my wonderful friend Amy took a huge, courageous leap & moved to a different city to start a new job & “get her happy back” or how my brother fell in love. Or how about when we added our 4th “Strong Lady” to our group, or in August when Mel married Cesca & our “Cooter” family grew just a little bigger. 

     I’d also like to give a shout out to Zac, Brandi, Emily & Amy, Eddie, Elvis, Patti, Jennifer & Cynthia for your amazing live performances. You were all what the “Good Stuff” is made of. Thanks for the memories.