The Blurst of Times
Well, 2012, you tried to be the worst year of my life. Man, did you try. You took my grandmother — and a lot of other wonderful people. You broke my heart, over and over, in large and small ways. You were a real beast, 2012.
But you weren’t the worst year of my life. And even though you were often horrible, once in a while you could get down and be kind of fun. So, in the spirit of moving forward (and because I’m not doing any new year resolutions), let’s take a glance back at the better parts of the last 12 months:
- I saw Loretta Lynn in concert at the ACL Live theater. Dream. Come. True.
- I framed Geddy Lee’s bass strings.
- I made the America cake, a feat of baking so amazing that I still show that picture to people at parties.
- I went to Oktoberfest at NXNW (briefly, as I had a ton of work that weekend), stopping first to pose with my favorite half-Germans.
Dressed for Oktoberfest with my GerMexican friends.
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- I HAD THE BEST HALLOWEEN COSTUME EVER, YOU GUYS.
Not impressed.
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- I got a day pass to Fun Fun Fun Fest, where David and I saw our friends The Midgetmen perform — and where, later that night, I saw Run-DMC for the first time in my life. I never, ever thought I’d get to see them live. EVER. And yet, there they were. I almost lost it during “Rock Box,” but I managed to keep my composure — until “Down With The King.” Then there was jumping and screaming and unabashed, unrestrained joy.
- I saw Rush for the third time. Then I rode in a horse-drawn carriage around the Alamo.
Modern day carriage horse, mean mean stride.
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- On the way home from the concert, we stopped off at Water Garden Gems. In addition to a store full of knick-knacks and fish care supplies, they also had several fish ponds, koi tanks, and yard tchotckes. It was like heaven for me.
Respect.
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- David bought me an adorable old press photo of a Dachshund. Then, thanks to a Michael’s coupon, we had it professionally framed. The frame and matting were gorgeous, but I’d been hesitant to frame the photo, since it had a paper label on the back bearing the image’s caption and credits. However, the framers added a little paper envelope to hold the label — and the envelope was dog-shaped. OMG. THE CUTENESS. Michael’s on 183 and Great Hills, you have won yourself a customer for life.
World War II-era press photo of a Dachshund, complete with professional frame and patriotic matting.
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The envelope on the back, for the photo’s paper label. It’s even dog-eared!
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The dog-eared envelope, up close and personal.
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- I made a four-layer Christmas cake using a box of red velvet cake, a box of white cake, a bottle of green food coloring, and 3 cans of cream cheese frosting.
Feliz Navi-nom.
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- I attempted to replicate my four-layered masterpiece a week later, but I lost a layer when it fell out of the pan in pieces. No matter, though. The other layers were thicker this time, so three layers worked out pretty well.
It’s the healthy version. It only took 2 cans of cream cheese frosting.
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- I turned my car into a reindeer and he was totes adorbs.
Whenever I see cars dressed as reindeer, I squeal like Lucille when she sees Gene Parmesan.
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- I made another dream come true on the next-to-last day of the year, when I saw Willie Nelson live in concert. I especially loved how the stage managers set Trigger out during intermission, and crowds of people flocked to the stage to take pictures.
Willie Nelson fans, worshipping at the altar of Trigger.
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The Red-Headed Stranger, still awesome after all these years.
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Yeah, 2012 was a rough year. But when I look back and sift out all the painful parts, I have to admit it that — while it wasn’t exactly the best of times — it was still pretty good now and then. Here’s hoping 2013 is even better.
Copyright 2013, Sarah Rodriguez Pratt. All rights reserved.
All good things to you this year, Sarah!
This year is gonna rock. I believe.