what. a. year!

after returning from europe in mid-november i spent three weeks in the philadelphia area for two wedding celebrations, thanksgiving with my east-coast family members, and time with my friends who live there.  since i'm moving to texas, in my mind it functioned as a kind of good-bye visit.  : (  

other than that trip, most of my time has been spent with my california family - my sister, brother-in-law, two nieces and two nephews.  i've been soaking in the blessing of getting to know them better and living life together.   they've needed some work done to their house, and i've needed some gas money...  so i painted a few gallons onto their interior and tore down a wooden playset in the back yard for them.

tomorrow (christmas day!) i set off on the 1800+ mile drive from hughson, california to houston, texas.  my plan is to split it into about four days.  i'm so excited to drive again!!!  : )   hopefully my van also enjoys driving again.   once i get a job in houston, replacing my van's leaking fuel tank will be top priority.  hopefully i don't blow up on my way to houston. that would be bad. 

just thinking back over this year...  What A Year this has been!  so much to be thankful for.  : )  and i'm very excited to discover what next year and houston have in store for me.

as for blogging?  i haven't committed myself to anything yet...  to blog at all?  to start another one?  to keep this one active, put it on pause until i again journey geographically, or close it down altogether?   my hunch is that i'll have some kind of blogging going, but i doubt it will be as regular as this one was while i was on the go.   

thanks again for all your support by checking in here.  i hope you've enjoyed the wild ride around the 50 states and i hope you anticipate with me the discovery of what's next on my journey of life....   please stay in touch.   and merry christmas!