Many who know me, know me as a person who views life through very realistic lenses. Most of the time this is percieved as being “a grump” or “too much of a pessisimist.” I’m a quasi-victim of my dad raising us with his mantra of “Expect the worst but hope for the best” and that’s been my MO for my entire life. More on the whole Realist vs. Pessimist vs. Optimist thing at a later time.

For this post, I wanted to officially close out a less-than-stellar 2012, by focusing on the awesome things that happened to myself and those around me over the past year.

Me First! (Selfish, aren’t I?)

• My Unemployment benefits ran out. This might seem like a negative thing and, while it did suck, it opened a lot of doors for me. Specifically, I am able to start freelancing and being my own boss.
• In November, I started working as a freelance ebook editor for Teague Publishing. My first project, Birds of a Feather, is up on Amazon as we speak. I threw up a quick work-in-progress site for my freelance business, called Word Slinger Media.
• I’ve been blessed with being able to be a stay at home dad and getting time with my kids that most fathers don’t. I’ll admit, on a lot of days this is makes me groan, but looking back, I wouldn’t have traded it.
• Nerd Alert! My favorite RPG, Iron Kingdoms, was updated and finally re-released by Privateer Press. Let the Full Metal Fantasy begin!
• I got to take a trip to visit my brother from another mother, Chicago John. You all know him as Logtar. We hung out for a few days and ate our way through Chicago. It was a great time!
• Relationship-wise, my wife and I celebrated our 12th wedding anniversary and our 14th year of being together. We’ve grown together and in many aspects, I feel like 2012 made us a more solid couple than we were before!
• A childhood dream of mine was completed: I became a Guinness Book of World Records record holder!

My Family

• Early this year, my wife accepted a job at a real estate company with a big bump in pay. Recently, she was sought out and recruited for a different company, making a bit more money with full benefits and, almost more importantly, room for advancement.
• Thing 1 has been doing much better in middle school than we expected she would. She has been bumped up to Advanced English.
• Thing 2 has also been excelling in Second Grade and has been consistently given more challenging work in both Language Arts and Math.
• Thing 3 has been growing and doing all the normal things toddlers are supposed to do. She’s learned things much faster than her siblings, because she has two other kids to learn from 24/7.
• My sister-in-law and brother-in-law had their first child. They live in Kentucky, since my brother-in-law is in the Army and currently stationed there, and this December they flew out for Christmas and we got to see them all again and squeeze our new baby nephew.
• My sister has made some amazing strides to make herself healthier and happier, which will also make her entire family happier.
• After moving back to California from Idaho last December, my parents found a nice house to rent and have been able to settle down about 15 minutes away from our home.