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This past year has been a wild ride. Nothing sticks out more than the Penn State/Joe Paterno firing and that will be a hard pill to swallow for quite some time. I spent the past month or so thinking, reflecting, and trying to make sense of it all. I have been completely consumed by it and need to break away from it and move my focus on more positive things. Just when you think everything is going well – the unexpected happens.

With that said – 2011 was a pretty good year.

I started going to estate sales and that completely changed the way I look at “stuff” in my life. I have made a commitment to not overload myself or my family with needless “stuff” and to appreciate a lot of the older well built “stuff” that I have. Quality is definitely more important than quantity.

I met and worked with some pretty amazing people and reconnected with others. We also did quite a bit of traveling with the three kids. We went to PA/NY/NJ, Washington DC, and then most recently to Florida. While traveling is hard with three young kids – not seeing family/friends is harder so traveling is a must.

I also had a lot of fun. I got introduced to my now favorite game of all time – Uncharted 2. It has been a blast to play and I am on my fourth time through (playing Crushing). It has been a great stress reliever and I look forward to playing it whenever I can. Work is important – but so is playing.

Overall – this year was all about trying to get better balance in multiple aspects of my life. I think I did a pretty good job. There is always room for improvement but at least I am moving in the right direction!