The Piney Year in Review

Wow - what a difference a year makes. We started out 2008 high on the knowledge that we had adopted 2 of our 4 children and were well on our way to adopting our other two kids. We vowed we would redo our house but last year in Jan had no idea that redoing meant moving.
February started the whirlwind of house buying process and the next few months flew by ( although at the time I thought I was in a Slowski turtle commercial ) My India trip got canceled ( or rather never scheduled) due to all the excitement going on but I cant say I was too disappointed- I'm kind of fond toilet paper and am not sure I could adjust to 10 days without it-especially in 104 degree weather.

In April we made Diesel an official member of the family by getting him fixed and registered. He was excited but did question why no one else that got adopted got the same royal treatment.
Around the same time, we had our moving garage sale and I got see first hand why selling our home in Mount Holly and getting out was a good idea. About a week later a gas station attendant was killed down the road, further solidifying the fact that we no longer wished to call Mount Holly our home.

In June we finally adopted Hailey and Justin, making everything official. A week later we moved and true to our nature we were running on Shearer Standard Time ( meaning we barely made it ).Of course the move itself was not exciting enough so during the move my hubby backed the moving truck into my car leaving me with a condition known as PBD- ( permanent bumper damage).

The next few months we spent getting adjusted to the house and it's "interesting" wallpaper choices and learning about nature and country living ( dead horses, flying squirrels, rabid raccoons, oh my ! )as desribed in detail in my previous blogs.

August of course was our fant-abulous adoption party compelet with horse poop ( what's a Piney Party with horse DOO DOO ) and in September the schools got to meet the Shearer clan ( although the public schools have not seen Justin yet, - in September 2010- watch the paper for news of a mass retirement by teachers in the TES school district ) Hailey made a new best friend and the Jenny daily report started." Jenny had a skirt on today. Jenny had purple in her hair today. Jenny burped today... you get the picture." We all love Jenny though so meeting her was a great thing !

In October I got to experience the Indian festival of Durga Puja first hand and fully got appreciate how people get trampled to death in India. The Indian culture is definitely one, unlike ours, that does not have individual space hang ups. So instead of going to the altar in a nice neat orderly fashion as Catholics do to receive communion, the Indian people rush for the milk and fruits ( instead of wine and bread) sort of like a people mobbing Bon Jovi in a crowd for autographs. It's intense and I found it best to stay out of the way.

Later that month as the economy nosedived so did my job and my health. Marybeth,wonderful friend that she is, pulled through and helped with Hailey's birthday party creating cupcakes and a cake I wont soon forget. My husband disappeared to a fish cult event and that day and his family wont let him forget that ! Halloween with me sick was less than exciting but we pulled through. ( My witch cackle is not the same without lung capacity )

In November, in addition to us getting a very different kind of president ( a better one we hope) the doctor diagnosed me with whooping cough ( a diagnosis he is not so sure about now ) and my hours at work got cut to half. I did however start to feel better and my house began the Christmas transformation.

This past month flew by with Christmas coming and going at record speed. My job disappeared and my mysterious lung illness reappeared leaving me where I am now - sitting on a damned recliner ( sorry getting annoyed with my lungs ) while the kids nap so they can see the ball drop and wear party hats tonight - Woohoo! According to my doctor who I got visit on an emergency basis yesterday , I have an allergy that is causing me to not breathe or rather cough my guts out so I cant breathe. We have yet to find the allergen causing my distress but I'm thinking Donald may have to start waxing ......... okay went into a coughing laughing fit thinking about THAT expense ( you know I love you dear : ) just teasing )

Anyway it's been a tumultuous year and one I look at sort of like the film the Titanic. It started out with opulence and excitement and ended up in disaster. But like Rose in the Titanic , I will survive- its what I do and makes me who I am. 2008 may be ending a a bit of a low but I have a beautiful family and house I adore and I am determined to make a comeback in 2009.

As they say when one door closes, another opens. I firmly believe that so perhaps losing my job means I have to focus harder on my real estate career and being ill simply means I have to take better care of my health and lose weight. As a wise but unknown man once said
Life's problems wouldn't be called "hurdles" if there wasn't a way to get over them
So stay tuned as I get ready to set sail again in 2009 and on behalf of all of us piney peeps down here - Have a happier year in 2009 than a possum in the corncrib with the dog tied up ( and yes DEE that was just for you !)