I declare 2009 a successful year!

First Sunrise of 2009! Witnessed it in person to top of Mt. Bonnell



Completed my first 10K in less than and hour and 10 minutes. I was pretty proud of that!





First date of 2009- Looking Stylish for the Pink Dance with Andrew.



Doing what I do best- lounge in the sun...on a boat!


...than hung out with some of my favorite people on the beach in South Padre




Became President of the Student Physical Therapist Assistant Club at ACC



Concert #4 of my lifetime... New Kids On The Block Concert, Dallas, Texas




Found a delicious recipe for Orange Chicken!



The side mirror got ripped off by my neighbors car...luckily our other neighbor heard him do it



On the winning team at the Student TPTA Conclave PTA Student Bowl. Kathryn, Josh, Destini and I rocked it!




Observed knee replacement surgeries while on my first clinical at Scott & White. Very cool!



Went to the Alamo with my family before Michael left for Australia.



Went to the San Antonio Temple as a family with Michael




Discovered the joy of Taking Action!!!!




Found my inner geek, and enjoyed being geeky with other geeks.



80's night at Gold's Gym Body Flow Launch!



Also dabbled in some Indian attire!



Got tricked by a frog that did NOT turn into a Prince. At least I didn't turn into a frog!





Made my first turkey! Raw poultry is icky to touch, but the final product is delicious!




Enjoyed some yummy homemade German Pancakes!

2010- BRING IT! (and don't you dare laugh at me, maybe with me though!)

At last I deemed the year 2009 a success. Success can build upon success right? Here is the first sunrise of 2010.



Each end of December I sit down to make my goals for the upcoming new year, and every time I inevitably make a goal that somehow involves "catching a man", or at least a boyfriend. It is as if I am looking for just the right combination of words, and hopes, and work that will make it happen. I wonder- this will be the year, right? On December 31 at 11:59pm I have a twinge of sadness that "my man" is not there yet to kiss me and wonder if he will be by my side the next New Year's Eve. (Romeo, Romeo, where the heck art thou Romeo?) Then on I go to adding at least one goal to make the dream possible. Well guess what? Not this year. Okay, so I'll probably still be wondering why these kissable lips are going unkissed at the stroke of midnight, but I will not be making a goal centered around how many dates to go on this year or how "win the prize". I am going to center the new years resolutions around becoming more faithful, enthusiastic, dedicated, responsible, and loving...in other words...becoming a better version of me.

So why the ridiculously silly video clip below? Let me explain, no there is no time, let me sum up...(bonus points if you know the quote)

A good friend of mine shared the song "Haven't Met You Yet", by Michael Buble. I heard the words and though- Michael, are you in my head? The song starts out about how many times love has broken his heart and let him down. But then it turns into how love hasn't happened YET because he hasn't' met her. Not because of something he is doing wrong. And when he does meet her, it is going to be amazing and well worth the wait. The line I like the most- "I'll give so much more than I get", is just how I think should be on both ends.

I danced around in the kitchen to this song because it has been rolling through my head all week. It is me saying- okay 2010, I'm not going to worry about love. I'm going to be excited for when it happens, but there is much to enjoy now, especially with all the experiences this exciting year holds for me. One might say I am a hopeless romantic. Romantic and optimistic,YES. Hopeless, NO, I'm full of a whole heck of a lot of hope! I'm off Monday to start my first full week in January, in Mexico, on a cruise ship with 4 amazing women!

2010- BRING IT!

Christmas 2009!

Christmas Morning 2009!


German Pancakes-batter spread thin in frying pan to cook, flip half way thru, than spinkle with cinnamon and sugar and roll up! They are one of my favorite Christmas traditions. Dad and I making breakfast!




Can't think of a more yummy breakfast!



Hugs and Kisses everyone- Merry Christmas everyone. Unto us a son is born, unto us a son is given... May you all have peace, joy, and love this day when we celebrate the greatest gift of love- the gift of the Only Begotten of the Father, even Jesus Christ.

Tonia Kelm rocks!

See this beautiful woman?

Well that's my mom. She is a fabulous example to me. These are some cute pics of us together.

(My 2nd Christmas, Provo, UT)

(our trip to NYC)

I was reminded today that much of my creativity in serving comes from her. She took a friend of hers to the emergency room today. She knows they might be there awhile, so this is what she did...
She grabbed some mini cereal boxes and bottles of water to take with them so they wouldn't go hungry.

I sure do love my mom and her example to me of Christ-like love.

I.....Love....You....Too!

I


Love


You

Three simple words. I have expressed them to family members and good friends all my life. Sometimes it gets so routine that I forget the impact of these simple words. I usually yell out- "Te Amo!" to my parents as I leave the house.

I have learned this past 2 months that hearing "I Love You" can soothe the soul. There are many types of "love", of which I have limited personal experience. What I do know is that when it is heartfelt and sincere, not matter the kind of love it is, these are the three greatest words to hear.

I've been trying to say it more and mean it. Why is it so hard? I am not sure.

Thank you to my friend who has been saying "I love you", even in a non-romantic way. It has made me love him back for the person he is and wants to be. This friend will probably never read this, and maybe saying "I love you" is just a habit of speech for him, but I think it is of more substance that. So to you my friend I say-

I


Love


You


Too!

Dad's Christmas Dream

Dad's dream has always been to get a Christmas tree with the long needles. Every year when we go to the Elgin Tree farm, he looses. This year mom said, and I agreed, that he should get to choose this year. Here is what we found...

No, definately not this one!

Ding, ding, ding- we have a winner!

Look how happy he is!

Literally took about 20 seconds to cut it down.

Holds his new long needle pine and his woman!

The final product. Dad's dream!

My dream is to one day have my own house and a husband to put tons of light up. Mom and I put the lights up this year. I promise they don't looks to puny in real life.

Mom's dream is to have Christmas dear. I got her one last year, now she has two!

R.I.P Lucy

Lucy has been a Kelm since Easter of 1999 when she and Ricky joined the family . They were tiny and loved to jump. They lived in the backyard in a huge fenced off area and a nice big hutch. Ricky was the friendly one, and Lucy was the boss. Ricky met an untimely death in May 22, 2002, he was killed by a dog that got in the back yard. I heard the commotion as the dog was chasing Lucy around in circles and scared him off. Then we got NewGuy. He was a bit more lively and a trouble maker. He dug tunnels all over the place. He was good company for Lucy. Sadly, he also met an untimely death on November 8, 2004. He was in one of his tunnels all day and when we finally got him out he had a disease (which I won't go into details about) and dad put him out of his misery. He was buried next to Ricky.

For 5 years Lucy lived as the queen of the back yard by herself. She loved kale, carrots, hay, and banana leaves. She was known to jump high. She thumped her foot when she was mad. She ate Christmas lights and shredded Christmas packages. She had to be coaxed out from under mom's bed several times when we didn't close the door. She had an attitude but we loved her for her independence. The vet even noted in her chart she was "wild". My favorite thing was to watch her clean her face and ears. She took her paw and licked it, than pulled her ear down towards her mouth. It was so cute to watch. I also liked it when she would run circles around the yard and kick her back legs. She was fast.

Over the past few weeks she had been moving a bit slower and not eating or drinking very much. We brought her in last night to get out of the cold. She just looked different and seemed to be breathing a bit hard, and thankfully during the night she passed quietly in her sleep at the age of 10 1/2 years old. She was laid to rest this afternoon next to Ricky and NewGuy. We will be asking Michael what he would like on her tombstone when we email him to tell him the news this weekend. He sure did take good care of her.

Rest in Peace Lucy!

Lucy and Ricky

Tamara, Devin, Michael, and Ricky

Lucy and NewGuy

Michael and Lucy before he left on his mission

Lucy chilling in her banana plant jungle, summer 2009.

Pics of Lucy we took to send to Michael.