2014: A Year in Review

Can you believe another year has come and gone?  When I was young I remember my parents and grandparents commenting on how fast the years go the older you get.  I remember thinking "what a bunch of old codgers!" Well, I'm here to tell you that I'm eating my words, it is so true! This year has flown by!

One of the nice things about blogging and Facebook is the ability to quickly look back over the year and recall all the things done and tried, places visited, skills gained. I thought I would share with you some of my most viewed posts from the year. It seems that posts about desserts are pretty popular. Perhaps next year I should write more about burning off calories?!!

January always finds me in semi-hibernation mode as I get ready for another long tax season.  I did get away for a weekend this past January, meeting up with some of my high school girlfriends for a weekend at the beach.  It was very relaxing and I had a lot of fun teaching them how to make homemade pasta.

The month of February and Valentines Day are hard for me.  Both my Hubby and I are CPA's, working very long hours and 7-day workweeks.  Finding time to celebrate a lovers' holiday is difficult.  I did manage to make him his very favorite dessert, crème brulee.

I don't do much in the kitchen in March. Many of our dinners this month are bowls of cereal.  Mom comes to the rescue and makes a margarita cheesecake for our office manager and family friend, Anne. Everyone loves this.  I think we like to celebrate Anne's birthday so much because we know we will get this creamy dessert!

Oh, how I love the month of April for two reasons!  One, tax season is behind us and, two, the local strawberry patches open up for their seasonal business. This strawberry cream puff dessert is a favorite of ours.

Each May I host a Mother's Day luncheon for the women in my family.  I enjoy decorating for this and being able to provide a setting for all of us to get together.  This year we welcomed my great-nephew into our family. We all got our share of cuddle time this day!

I spent a lot of time in my sewing/craft room in June.  One project was a few pillowcase dresses for my youngest granddaughter.  Easy to make and so cute on!

Local peaches start hitting the farmstands in July.  Each year I must make a sour cream peach pie for my Hubby. He's quite spoiled, though he will tell you otherwise!

My youngest granddaughter started preschool in August.  We had a sugar cooking decorating session where we worked on her ABC's. She loves to be in the kitchen baking with her Nana!

In September we spent more quality time together, this time making Hungry Caterpillar wrapping paper for a baby shower gift.

I hosted a baby shower for my daughter-in-law in October.  What fun to design and plan a baby shower based around my family's hobby of drag racing!

November found me back in the sewing room a lot, learning how to do a Dresden plate quilt block. It was my first venture into making a traditional quilt block and I don't think it will be my last.

When I think of cranberries I think of Thanksgiving and Christmas. In December I used leftover cranberry sauce to make cranberry rolls. They were a huge hit.

2014 will end with a big bang for my family. My daughter-in-law is being induced the morning of New Year's Eve. We will welcome our fourth grandchild, and first grandson, hopefully before the clock strikes on a new year. They want the tax deduction and I can think of no better way to close out the year than holding my newborn grandchild!

Thank you for visiting my blog this year, allowing me to share my love of home, garden, crafting, cooking and baking with you. I wish you a new year filled with joy, happiness and health.