Looking Back | 2013.

…at thirteen of the best things that happened around here.

Rob & Katie and the sparkler sendoff (a favorite moment from a favorite day)

1. Katie and Rob's wedding. The day of - May 18 - was wonderful, but the planning and preliminary parties - notably the bachelorette weekend in February where Katie and her friends shared one cottage and my friends and I shared the other (and there was snow) and a shower in April hosted by my sister and sister-in-law - and sharing the celebration with friends and family made it truly memorable. I'm so grateful, too, that we have hundreds of photos to remember it all.

Marc & I - November 17 before a wonderful dinner in the Dominican

2. Our 30th anniversary. and getting really comfortable with the whole empty nest thing. Marc and I celebrated with a trip to the Dominican Republic back in November. It was the first time the two of us had taken a vacation together on a plane since our honeymoon. We ate and drank and read and lounged for five whole days in the sun. We also had a Nespresso machine in our room and I lost count of how many espressos I had.

3. The half marathon. Way back in March, Katie, Rob, Sara and I ran 13.1 miles. This was my first half marathon…and likely my last. In a burst of post-event enthusiasm I signed up for two more - one on Thanksgiving morning and another next March. Our Dominican trip pretty much put me off the Thanksgiving one and I just realized today that I'll be out of town for the one in March. Oh well. I'm glad I did it. just once.

4. The mid-distance running group at the Y. More post-event enthusiasm encouraged me to join a running group, and this part is sticking with me. I've made friends and like running with others now more than running solo. Quite a change in just 12 months!

5. Yoga. I resisted at first. The one class I took last year wasn't very good and I was too into Pilates to give it a second chance. But then I took a class this spring - the teacher subbed for one of my Pilates classes, but she taught a Yoga class - and I had second thoughts. The girls at running raved about a 90 minute class on Friday mornings and I decided to give it a shot. First class…and I was hooked. My routine now includes three classes a week - two Vinyasa Flow and one Yin. Combined with a few days of running, I think I've found a fitness routine I can live with for a while.

6. Katie & Rob built a house (and moved in) that's just three and a half miles from ours. I love having them close. I especially love that we see them (ok, mostly that Katie and I see each other) regularly and have fun together!

7. The prayer shawl ministry is real. The timing was right, for sure, because we had more than 20 women show up for the information session in April. Monthly meetings started in May and eight months later we have a solid core of about a dozen ladies. We've made several dozen shawls, lap robes and baby pieces and have expanded the ministry to include a local cancer infusion center and a single mother's outreach program.

8. Our whole family is on Instagram. Katie and I started back in early 2011, then Sara joined, and we got Marc on board the morning after the wedding. I was enjoying looking at all the photos that the guests shared…and he wanted in. Now he regularly shares photos on his Asian adventures and it's great to follow along. But I have to say that the photos he shares of our lives here together are my favorites. Also, #tbt.

9. Photography. I took a phone photography class in July and learned so much, especially about iPhone/iPad apps to edit photos (PicTapGo and A Beautiful Mess are my favorites). Inspiration spark! Then Katie & I both bought a 50mm 1:1.4 lens last month and whoa. I'm in love with my DSLR all over again.

my "stats" view from Goodreads

10. Reading books and audiobooks. I read 28 (those two unstarred books at the bottom are "not gonna finish" ones) books this year; more than any recent year by a long shot. In addition to discovering short stories, I also found a few new favorites - Neil Gaiman's American Gods, Diana Gabaldon's Outlander and John Irving's A Prayer for Owen Meany. I started listening to bookish podcasts, too, and would highly recommend Book Riot, Books on the Nightstand, Bookrageous and (if you're ok with R-rated language) Literary Disco.

11. Another 2-day walk. It's a fall tradition. and now we've raised over $20,000!!!!

12. Teaching knitting. I started nearly four years ago (!!!?!!) and I am finally feeling like I figured it out. I have about 15 regular students who fill three classes each week. They keep me on my toes - did you ever hear the way to really learn is by doing? it's true - and they inspire me.

13. Our new home. not just our 2nd house, and I know it helps that we sold the first a few months back.  Now we've made new friends, figured out the traffic patterns and really settled in. We love it. and it's home.

Thanks for reading all this. I didn't think it would be so long, but … that's how it goes sometimes! Reviewing the list, it strikes me that most of these things were not ones I planned a year ago. And so I'm reminded again how important it is to be flexible about my priorities and really, to simply be present in the moment with the things - and the people - that matter most.

Did you have any "aha" moments this year? Please share!

2012 favorites.

...inspired by sara to share my favorites for this year. it's a fun way to look back. and it really does make me realize (yet again) what a wonderful year it has been. thank you to everyone who's reading this for being part of it!

of course sara told her story in words, but I'm telling mine in pictures*.

favorite photo of the three of us.

favorite photo of the two of us.

favorite photo of the two of them.

favorite person to hold my hand for a 30-mile walk.

favorite dinner when marc's away.

favorite thing I knitted for a baby.

favorite thing I knitted that surprised me. this one is also a favorite because it's for someone at the nursing home. and knitting with the ladies there on thursday afternoons is one of my favorite blessings of the year.

favorite cocktail party.

favorite thing(s) I knit for someone else.

favorite thing I knitted for myself.

favorite field trip.

favorite recipe I created.

favorite purchase.

favorite long-time documentation habit. (I'm now into year seven and journal #17.)

favorite new documentation habit.

favorite iphone app.

favorite tv show. and how cool that I watched the first two seasons on my laptop. (this was a hard choice... I also considered boardwalk empire, homeland and mad men but DA wins because I share it with all my girlfriends. and because it has maggie smith.)

and one last shout out to my favorite book of 2012, erin morgenstern's night circus. apparently, this one never made it to my flickr feed!

*click the photos to see them in flickr and read a little more about them.

birthday, briefly.

...from the impromptu party my dear friends had for me on monday. I so enjoyed a bit of grownup girl time!
and I also enjoyed the family girl time from the weekend. and have many, many wonderful memories of the food, the conversation and the lovely gifts. but sadly, no photos.

blessings.

...Lydia's been doing it for a while and I'm finally catching on, I guess. Stopping to really appreciate the seemingly "ordinary" bits and pieces that make up your life. Saw this and this, and then heard this story on the way to work yesterday. And when things come in threes like that, I try to pay attention! So I'm going to be conscious about saying thank you more.

From yesterday:
♥Marc called me at work - he was very excited about a lunch he'd had with a business contact (this one counts for two - love getting a call from Marc and love that he had something to be excited about)
♥Gave three performance reviews and I think they went well
♥Sitting at Hair Elite - which means no more gray hair and an hour of knitting time
♥Lange Winery called to say they're shipping my holiday wine on Monday