2014: The PellaPusher Recap

2014 was a year of Change.  Some good, some bad, but so much in one year that I felt like things were changing exponentially and I wanted it all to slow down a little bit so that I could catch my breath.  But we can't grow without change, we can't evolve, and we can't call it living if nothing changes.  I won't outline the changes here because I'm sure I'll forget some, and some I'd rather forget than remember anyway.

Notable News in our Country and World

• Same Sex Marriage now legal in more than 50% of the USA
• Where Is That Plane?
• Ukraine  / Russia conflicts and the USA 
• Islamic State  against most of the Middle East
• USA ends the embargo against Cuba
• Protests regarding police vs. black citizens
• Ebola reaches the USA
• North Korea vs. Sony Pictures' The Interview
• Minimum wage increases in several states
• NFL and the Domestic Violence issue
• Winter Olympics in Sochi

The theme for me this year was Simple Gifts.  Every day I blogged about something for which I was thankful, and it boils down to this, per my llllabels:

Random Stuff:  108
Edibles: 68
40 Hrs/Week: 37
TV: 37
Family: 35
Disneyland: 25
Drum Corps: 19
Animals That Aren't Hippos: 16
Movies: 14
Holidays: 11
Making Music: 11
Rockapella: 10
Less than 10, but more than 1 mention:  Theatre, Rockapella Cruise, Star Wars, Travels, LEGO, Mermaids, Church, Games, NKOTB, Testing 123, Sherryness, Concerts With Instruments, Ice Skating

These add up to more than 365 because some entries had more than one label.  Looks like I'm either at restaurants a lot, or I just eat too much.  Working has been a lot of my focus this year (that change thing), and clearly I didn't see Rockapella enough times in 2014.

Favorites of 2014

Movie:  Big Hero 6

TV Show:  The Colbert Report (I've always loved this show, just giving it a special shout-out in its final, and maybe my favorite, season)

Disneyland Line of the Day: "This is a special place." -- Miss O, at the lounge

Sports Highlight:  Meryl Davis and Charlie White winning the gold at the Sochi Olympics with their performance of "Scheherazade"

Travel Moment:Meeting the guy who does the props for Vanguard on the shuttle bus back to IND

Rockapella Moment: Ryan C singing his solo to me on "Please Come Home for Christmas"

Drum Corps Moment: Everything in SCV's "Scheherazade" show

Dish: Duck Confit Flatbread at 1901

The Nephew Moment: "This is ice cream," at Olivia's birthday celebration

The Niece Moment: (see Disneyland Line of the Day)

D'Saints Moment: Bro, V, The Niece, The Nephew, Cadence and Presto moving back to Southern California


That last moment was the best change of the year, and it will lead to many wonderful memories in 2015, I'm sure.

Happy New Year, everyone!