Prompt: Photo – a present to yourself. Sift through all the photos of you from the past year. Choose one that best captures you; either who you are, or who you strive to be. Find the shot of you that is worth a thousand words. Share the image, who shot it, where, and what it best reveals about you.

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(december 25th)

This is me with my boyfriend Chris.  I didn’t actually look at THAT many photos before settling on this one, because it just jumped out at me.

We are in Chicago at Blackbird in April, eating dinner with another couple (one of them took the photo).  We are silly and having fun. 

Why do I like this photo?  It shows you ME.  I am silly, I love to laugh and goof off, I have a very difficult time keeping my eyes open in photos, I have awesome shiny hair…plus the dinner was AWESOME and the Chicago trip was great fun.  There’s another photo, taken right after this one, where we are more “normal” looking, but this one is better.

Prompt: Everything’s OK. What was the best moment that could serve as proof that everything is going to be alright? And how will you incorporate that discovery into the year ahead?

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from December 24th

Proof that everything is going to be alright?

I feel that I lead a charmed life.  Life comes pretty easy for me, and I have been lucky to have loving family/friends and good health. 

That’s my proof that everything is going to be alright.  It already has been!  What better proof is there?

Prompt: New name. Let’s meet again, for the first time. If you could introduce yourself to strangers by another name for just one day, what would it be and why?

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from december 23rd

(Okay—disclaimer:  I was out of town for the past week, and the only internet access I had was my phone.  So I’m WAY behind on my reverb10 prompts, but my plan is to still finish.)

New name?  You know, it took me a long time to get used to the name Hannah.  I used to think it was a dingy name, used for old maids or overweight middle-aged women.  I wanted to be a Jennifer, a Melissa, or a Stacey.  I thought my name was too serious, and I wanted to be more flighty, more fun, more light.  But then a funny thing happened as a grew up—I grew to love my name.  I loved its uniqueness and the fact that hardly anyone I knew was named Hannah.  I loved that it was a palindrome and was spelled the same backwards and forwards. 

Then a funny thing happened:  people started named THEIR children Hannah.  Now there’s tons of Hannah’s (15 and younger mainly), there’s Hannah Montana, and it feels like a fun, light, flighty name.  But I was there first!

I don’t need another name.  That’s what I’m trying to say

What a long couple of days!  I had a nice Christmas in Long Island, followed by a blizzard, two feet of snow, canceled flights, and finally…driving with friends through the night for 18 hours to get home…all while dealing with a bad cold. Wow, I’m tired!

I hope you all had a good Christmas I’ll tell you more about mine later—I have some pictures too.

HBBC: December 22:  60 minute various cardio (run, bike, elliptical): 4 points, 7 f/v: 1 point: total: 5 points. December 23: Four hours of shopping: 2 points, 7 f/v: 1 point, total: 3 points,  December 24:  60 minute cardio/weight workout: 4 points   Week of December 18-24 total: 37.

December 25: 7 f/v: 1 point, December 26: 0 points, December 27: 7 f/v: 1 point, December 28: 0 points, December 29: 1 mile walk: 1 point, workout with mike: 4 points, 7 f/v: 1 point, total: 6 points, December 30: 4 mile run: 4 points, workout with mike: 4 points, 7 f/v: 1 point, total: 9 points, December 31: 7 f/v: 1 point, total 1 point.  Total for Dec. 25-31: 18 points