This has been one of the best years of my life. Who knew that being in my 30s would rock so much? I know I learned a lot and grew a lot in my 20s but I would much rather skip the 20s and have two helpings of my 30s.
What has been so great about this year?
Travel!
I love to travel and don't do nearly enough of it. I took four main trips this year. The first was to Minnesota for my ten year reunion. That was a blast. I am very lucky that I got to go to Carleton. And I want to thank Matt Siarny again for placing the application in my hand my senior year of high school and telling me that I should go there. He was right. And I'm very thankful for Facebook for letting me keep up with all the amazing people from there. You guys all rock.
My old roomies, Kip and Aaron
Gyro pizza! My main reason for going to reunion!
I'm so thankful I've been able to keep my vow to see my Pookie at least once a year!
My second trip was to North Carolina which was exciting for numerous reasons. I got to meet my favorite author, Orson Scott Card. I got to make some neat friends. I learned a lot about writing. I went to a new state. And I got to spend a lot of quality time with my mom. My favorite moment of the trip might very well have been when I got back to the room after a very long day in class and my mom and I ordered freshly baked chocolate chip cookies and milk from room service at 10 PM.
We made a quick (three hour) detour to go see the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC. Worth the trip. A castle in America. Crazy to think people really lived like that.
My boyfriend Michael and I took a mini getaway to Michigan for some wine tasting. Going on your first vacation together is always an important step in a relationship. You are together 24/7 for multiple days. How will that go down? Luckily it made us more in love than ever. And we found a new appreciation for Michigan wines.
My last trip was more recent- just down to Atlanta for Thanksgiving. My sister-in-law made her famous "pink stuff" dessert. I don't know exactly what's in it and I don't care, it makes me happy and that is all that matters!
My niece, Ella, and I had a blast in the crawl spaces behind the aquariums at the Atlanta aquarium.
My family's house in Oak Park went through MONTHS of construction. My parents moved back home. Everything was chaos but it turned out great.
The upstairs kitchen during the gutting stage.
The downstairs kitchen almost finished. The boys cooking dinner for the ladies.
I, of course, don't get to enjoy the new kitchens and bathrooms much since I've moved out of that house and now live in Logan Square. I won't lie. The apartment is small and far away from everything. But there are some perks, like the personal chef and the awesome park across the street. It's home.
My mom's health isn't great. She had a clean bill of health at her last check up- cancer free! Well, as clean as it can be. She still takes like 20 pills a day and has zero energy. But the way I think about it, I would rather her have a body that doesn't work that great and still have a good mind, than have a healthy body and be completely senile/ have alzheimers. I'm taking what I can get and am enjoying spending time with her.
Luckily soccer and volleyball keep me going out to Oak Park so I usually see them once a week. And speaking of volleyball... we won the league and regained our title of champs! As for soccer... well, this season didn't go quite so well.
I still don't see my friends nearly as much as I would like. Partly because of busy schedules but mostly due to laziness. I am making that my New Year's resolution so expect to be hounded by me soon!
I continued to give the occasional volunteer massage for women diagnosed with cancer and I realize that I am happiest when I am giving and when I am creating. So those are my major goals for 2012.
I'm the happiest and healthiest I've ever been. I love you guys! I hope we all become the people we want to be in 2012!
Love it! I also didn't know that you looked so much like your Momma! Is that the first time I've seen her? Must be. You look so much like her! Love the letter!
ReplyDeleteYup, my mom and I look SOOOO much alike. We like slightly different just because she is older and has been through so much more than me and because of the chemo her eyebrows have never really come back in which gives her a different look. But we were joking once about how much we look alike and how we both sort of wanted nose jobs and how we should get matching nose jobs so that we would continue to look alike! (We are over the nose job thing, fyi.)
ReplyDeleteAwesome post. It makes me smile. And I've missed you lately. Hope to see you at book club, yes?
ReplyDeleteHi Mrs Becker!!!! From Leah P
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