2015 in Review

1. What did you do in 2015 that you’d never done before?  We took an amazing road trip. 4 adults, 2 kids, 9 states. It was epic. The highlight of my year, hands down.

2. Did you keep your New Years resolutions, and will you make more for next year? I always resolve to try and eat healthier and exercise more. And I do a little bit better every year. (Same old, same old)

3. Did anyone close to you give birth? No. No births this year. A couple of Ben's cousins had babies. A ton of women in my holistic mom's FB group. But no one close to me. Not a single sibling or cousin or good friend.

4. Did anyone close to you die? Not close exactly. Ben's sweet maternal grandmother passed away in January. She was a dear lady.

5. What countries did you visit? None.

6. What would you like to have in 2016 that you lacked in 2015? Better health, again! I've made improvements, but I'm hoping for even more!

7. What date from 2015 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? Our vacation, again. Standing at the Grand Canyon, climbing the boulders of the Garden of the God's, hugging a sequoia while snow drifted around me, driving through the painted desert, gasping at the beauty around us as we drove through Yosemite. Being able to share that beauty with the people I love most was wonderful.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? "I hate the word “achievement.” It sounds so…big. I didn’t win any awards or trophies or anything of that nature. In fact, I read a quote just yesterday that said: “Don’t focus on achievements, focus instead on contributions. What did you contribute today?” Wow. My contributions were in serving my family, friends, and community. Small things." That's what I wrote last year and I have a feeling it will continue to stand for many years to come and I'm fine with that.

9. What was your biggest failure? Finding a church.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury? Yes, but I'm improving and so hopeful that next year I'll be able to say NO to this question.

11. What was the best thing you bought? My IKEA furnishings for the completed addition. It was nice to plan the room and closet and then just get the things we needed.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration? My brother-in-law lost 50 pounds this year! It was really impressive. My neighbor got rid of her long-time arse of a boyfriend. Luke's new Boy Scout troop were amazing when Luke had severe homesickness. They surrounded him with encouragement and support and thinking about it even now brings tears to my eyes.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? My baby sister. She completely cut ties with everyone in the family and many of her friends. Deleted her FB accounts. She completely unreachable for quite a while and we honestly had no idea if she was even alive. My mom was heartbroken. We now know she is alive and well, but she's still not living much of a life. It's hard to watch someone you love live like that.

14. Where did most of your money go? Home improvements, again. I'm pretty sure 2016 will be more of the same, but after that we SHOULD be done!!! WOOHOOO!

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? Again, our vacation. It was just amazing.

16. What song will always remind you of 2015? Anything by OneRepublic or Mumford and Sons. Luke is into music now. When we go somewhere he plays dj. We've listened to these two artists over and over and over and over and over and....

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
i. happier or sadder? Happier. My health has perked up in these past few months so I’m excited about the possibilities.
ii. thinner or fatter? Fatter. I actually lost 6 pounds during our epic vacation, but gained it all back and then some. So Sad.
iii. richer or poorer? Poorer. But we have a much-improved house so it's sort of a wash in my book.

18. What do you wish you’d done more of? I wish I'd actually finished working my way through the Photoshop tutorial book I purchased months ago. It was one roadblock after another and once everything was sorted and ready to go I had lost my mojo. That's on my list for this year.

19. What do you wish you’d done less of? Stressing. It really does no good.

20. How will you be spending the Winter? Reading, scrapbooking, taking photos, and planning my garden!

22. Did you fall in love in 2015? Same loves as always. :)

23. What was your favorite month of 2015? May, for sure. Our trip was so much fun.

24. What was your favorite TV program? We FINALLY got around to watching Parks and Rec and loved it so much. We couldn't get enough of it. So much fun.

25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year? Nope. Not a hater, such a waste of time.

26. What was the best book you read? Audacious by Beth Moore and Creative Schools by Ken Robinson.

27. What was your greatest musical discovery? NeedtoBreath. Amazing music.

28. What did you want and get? The addition is finally done on the house. It was such a headache, but it's done and it's beautiful.

29. What was your favorite film of this year? I hate to say it, but I don't think I was enthralled with any movie this year. I guess the final installment of Mockingjay.

30. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? I turned 35. We visited IKEA in KC and purchased the items we needed for our new bedroom.

31. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? Being healthier and stronger. Finally finding a good church.

32. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2015? Ha!

33. What kept you sane? Prayer, journaling, friends.

34. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? None.

35. What political issue stirred you the most? Vaccines. The pressure is intensifying to mandate vaccines across the board.

36. Who did you miss? Chelsea. Acutely. They just weren't able to make it up much this year and I hate it.

37. Who was the best new person you met? Kendra, by far. She's another Dayspring mom. Her daughter, E, is one of Luke's friends and her son, I, is one of Gabe's friends. I've enjoyed getting to know her so, so much. She's so sweet.

38. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2015: I'm working hard to walk this fine line between continuing to pursue excellence and yet finding joy right where I am.

39. Best quote of the year? "Hope is not the conviction that something will turn out well, but the certainty that something makes sense regardless of how it turns out." Naclav Havel

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