2016 in Review.

2017. 2017. 2017. 2017. Sorry... I'm trying to get used to typing it. I feel like I just got used to 2016 and now it's history. And WOW! What a history 2016 made. For so many people all I heard was how hard/miserable/sad 2016 was. I'll admit that I'm inclined to see 2016 through the lens of those people. There were some hard moments. Some times when I was sick/tired/miserable but I have to admit that there were some other moments that were just out of this world. So those are the moments I'll hold on to when I look back at 2016. So here is a little year in review. Pretty much just the highlights.

When your husband tells you the weather report and tells you to pack your bags for your birthday, you get pretty excited!

When you end up at the Happiest Place on Earth... 

You pretty much can't smile any bigger.

Did I mention that it was my 30th birthday?! It was basically the best day ever. Somehow the park wasn't too overcrowded and we had such a blast! I felt like a princess and people were even calling me princess! 

When we got home I was able to celebrate with friends and family as well. It was a great party, but the highlight was absolutely when everyone sang me happy birthday. I don't think that it was recorded, but to me it sounded like the most harmonious version ever sang by a bunch of people who can't carry a tune!

I reorganized my living room into a dream reading room!

I planted these...

And they turned into these!

We spent time in Yakima with my oldest brother, Marcus and his wife, Tamara! We tasted delicious food, drank delicious wine, and played Trivial Pursuit!

I had probably my best crop of tomatoes ever and...

Holy smokes! Raspberries! Which made delicious jam!

No Hawaii for 2016, instead we spent a week in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. Caught some sun, saw one of the wonders of the world, and watched one of my besties, Nicole get hitched.

At least once a year I like to go out camping with my family. This year it was at our family friends' property. I got my fix of s'mores, ladder golf, and spike ball.

In September we got the chance to go back down to Southern California for my college roommate, Jenna's wedding. Seriously, 2016 can not possibly be that bad. We went to Disneyland twice. TWICE! I mean no joke, multiple days in 2016 were spent in Disneyland. I have nothing to complain about ever. (Also, best husband ever, right?!)

Our traveling wasn't done for the year though... In October we hopped on a plane (well... many planes)

for Uganda and Malawi. Pictured here is Peter. The little boy my parents sponsor. He was so sweet and adorable!

I've been working at Children of the Nations (COTN) now for a little over a year. Traveling this time to Africa was so different from our trip in 2013. Not only was it planned so much better, but I felt so much more invested in the stories of these children and students.

Each time I've been in Africa (twice now) I'm amazed at how close I feel to God there. In a place that has seen so much pain and suffering the way that the people worship and the stories they tell, it's so obvious that God is moving there.

In the last two months of the year, Brian got the flu and I got something pretty close to the flu, so everything was kind of a blur. We enjoyed as much of the season and family as we possibly could though!

So yeah, maybe everyone should do a quick look back on 2016. Try not to pay attention to politics or things that happened outside of what you can control. Life is pretty amazing in those little moment and a year shouldn't just be judged by the headlines.

The Year of...

According to the Chinese calendar, I was born in the year of the lion.  I'm not really sure what that means, but it sure does sound ferocious. So I guess I like that. I could look up what 2017 is supposed to be... but I'd rather just give it a fun name! 


2017 the year of the daffodil. 

The daffodils I bought in 2016 bloomed in 2017!

Doesn't sound ferocious does it? That's OK though, daffodils may not be ferocious, but they sure are determined. Their bulbs get planted in the fall. They spend the entire freezing cold, wet, and miserable winter in the ground. The whole time they are just waiting for the right time. The right time to make their way above ground and bloom. They are determined to make it through whatever is happening around them and in the end they bloom with a bright hopeful flower. Daffodils are one of the first signs of spring, and to me that means they are flower of hope for the future. So yeah... not ferocious... but I'd take determined any day.
2017 Resolutions
#2: After spending much of the last month of 2016 with a terrible cold, I'm needing all the extra vitamin c I can get! So far I'm knocking this one out of the park. Every day of 2017 I've had an orange. 
#3: I miss running. My knee is still holding me back from it, but I can still get moving and history has taught me that the best way to get motivated to get moving is to sign up for a race! I've already had a few friends volunteer to join me too! I may be walking, but it's something!
#4: Now that I'm working a schedule that is pretty much 9-5 (and not at a restaurant), I really need to plan my meals our ahead of time.
#5: Why do I need to check my phone every ten minutes? The answer is that I don't. So, baby steps with this one, but I deleted the Facebook app from my phone a few days ago. So far it's been pretty freeing! 

#1: Read at least one book a month.

#2: Eat more oranges.

#3: Walk or run a race.

#4: Meal plan.

#5: Be on my phone less.

#1:I was pretty horrified when I was trying to remember back to how many books I had read in 2016. Seven.  I haven't kept a list any where so it could have been a few more, but probably not even ten. The past couple of years I've been slowly slacking on reading but this is such a low for me. I'm really hoping that I not only reach my goal of 12, but that I surpass it.

Looking at Resolutions.

There must be something about January.... Something about this month that makes me want a fresh start. Something that makes me want to get moving, get creative, and get stuff done. I've noticed that as I get further into the year I get a little worn down and my energy and awareness for these things starts to lag. A few things that this obviously manifests itself in are my blogging and my reading. So as with every January for the past 6 years I'm going to give it another go. 

With blogging, with reading, and with the resolutions that started it all. 

Looking back on the past couple of years worth of new year's resolutions, I mostly see success. Where I maybe didn't reach my goal, I still made an effort and something about me was improved by challenging myself. 

Let's take a quick look back.

2010:

#1 is: Be Fearless....No matter what, don't be afraid to do anything that makes me happy.

#2 is: Travel more

#3 is: Read 100 books

#4 is: Drink more water

2011:

#1: Give more

#2: Read with meaning

#3: Take more photos and learn more about photography

#4: Run a half-marathon

#5: Eat clean

2012:

#1: Run a FULL MARATHON

#2: Make chores a priority

#3: Save Money

#4: Eat out less often

2013:

#1: Run for fun. Don't get injured. Run another half-marathon.

#2: Read for fun.

#3: Show more love. 

#4: Plan a trip somewhere I've never been.

2014

#1: Read 30 books.

#2: Stretch.

#3: Sign up for a race.
#4: Blog at least once a week.

It's probably hard out in blogland because you didn't know me before 2010, but I can tell you that working on these resolutions made me a more healthy, thoughtful, and adventurous person. When I began blogging I was probably drinking around five Diet Dr. Peppers a day (minimum), I wasn't exercising, and I ate microwaved dinners regularly.

No I didn't succeed at them all. I didn't end up reading 100 books in 2010, but I did read 73 books and that's pretty much incredible if I do say so myself. I did run a half-marathon in 2011! I actually ran two, then ran another in 2012! I've traveled to many new countries (and continents) and I've greatly improved my eating and water drinking habits (No more diet soda and I don't even own a microwave any more).

Looking back at these resolutions makes me excited about what the future will bring. Maybe in a few years I'll look back on this blog post and be amazed at how far I've come. 

Daisies on the last day of 2016

The last few days of 2016 I spent cleaning my house and getting my fridge full of food. I love waking up in the new year to a clean house and a healthy meal. It's like the ultimate reset. All the dirt is gone and I'm ready to start fresh. I couldn't pass up these daisies at the grocery store. Not quite ready to bloom in 2016, but watch out 2017!

January.

January is a month that I usually can't stand. I've even been known to say it's my least favorite month. So much so that if I can, I try to get away to someplace warm.

This photo is of my family in Maui for the NFC championship last year. 

This was how we spent this year.... Much colder, but equally as happy with a Seahawk win!

The end of 2014 was such a whirlwind between getting married, going on our honeymoon, fixing up the house, and the holidays. I'll be honest, it was exhausting. Wonderfully so, but still exhausting. It felt like I couldn't catch up. So this year, the lack of events and dreary winter weather are actually a welcome relief. I feel like I've finally been able to catch my breath and settle into my new life. 

Today is the 27th of January and I have not read a book this month. This is probably the first January that has happened since I graduated from college. Part of the problem is that I haven't been inspired by some of the books I've been picking up. So I've decided to pick up a book that I read a few years ago that was one of my favorite, The Alchemist. I believe that when a book comes to you at the right time it can capture and inspire you. If a book comes to you at the wrong time in your life then you probably think the book wasn't any good. I know a lot of people ( my husband included) who didn't enjoy reading The Alchemist. Maybe it didn't come to them at the right time in their lives, or wasn't their preferred genre, but I want to see if I still love it as much as I did the first time I opened its pages. I'm thinking about spending the next few days speed reading so I can finish before the 31st..... 

This month I've gotten the chance to do one of my favorite things.... Bake! Banana bread, pumpkin cookies, and pecan chocolate chip cookies!

Pecans are delicious. Chocolate chip cookies are delicious. Put them together and happiness and joy collide. This recipe is from my Grandma Pryde. 

Chocolate Chip Cookies with Pecans

2 cups shortening

1 1/2 cups white sugar

1 1/2 cups brown sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 teaspoon water

4 eggs

5 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

2 teaspoons salt

12 ounces chocolate chips

1 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

In a large mixing bowl cream together shortening and sugars. Mix in vanilla, water and eggs. In a separate bowl sift together dry ingredients. Slowly mix dry ingredients with eggs mixture. Stir in chocolate chips, then add the pecans. On a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper ( this is my preference for almost every cookie I bake, it makes cleanup way easier) scoop spoonfuls of dough. Bake for 8-10 minutes.

These cookies are super easy and oh so yummy! 

Oatmeal Inspiration.

I'm back to my whipped oatmeal days this morning. It was yummy, warm, and satisfying. It also reminded me of when I was just starting this blog. 

Lately I have been thinking a lot about how much I miss writing here. There was a time when I was writing everyday and was inspired to try new things and read more books. 2014 was the biggest year of my life (Seahawks won the Super Bowl, went to Hawaii twice, got engaged, bought a house, got married, went on my honeymoon) and I only blogged about it through March. I like to look back and see the pictures and read about what was going on in my mind at any given point, to see who I was and what I was feeling. I wish I had that for this past year.

I also like to share my goals and resolutions. When I was actively writing about them, I was actively pursuing them. 

Challenging my mind to create coherent sentences within meaningful paragraphs will be another benefit of blogging again. Where I work it's more important to have a good smile than it is to sound intelligent so having an outlet like this is important. 

I'm not sure if I'll start taking photos of everything I eat again or if I'll resolve to read a certain number of books, but I think for now I'll stick to thinking about being my best possible self and sharing it with you.

So for now I'll leave you with a photo of my yummy breakfast....

So This Is Love...

Once upon a time...

That's how all the best love stories begin, so of course that is how I will begin my story today.

Once upon a time there was a girl who worked at a coffee shop. One day several years ago a boy walked into the coffee shop to use the free wifi and drink some espresso. After several visits to the coffee shop the girl and the boy struck up some casual conversation. She learned that he worked for the local newspaper and that they had a mutual love for travel. She soon found that she was looking forward to his visits to the coffee shop. One day the two shared stories about some upcoming trips they each had. Hers to the Baltic sea for a family vacation, his to Europe for a whirlwind two month adventure.

What the girl didn't know was that the boy had quit his job in her small town and when he returned from his adventure, he moved two towns away.

More than a year went by, life moved along.

Until Wednesday December 14, 2011 in that very same coffee shop the girl happened to be working an unusual night shift closing up.

At about half-past-five the boy walked back into the coffee shop. (He was passing time before he was to meet at a friend's house for a fried chicken dinner.) The girl greeted him and after he had ordered a bottle of grape soda they began remembering each other. They chatted for a bit before the boy took a seat near the window.

When closing time grew near, the boy returned to the cash register to buy a few more grape sodas for the road. The girl remarked, "Those things will turn you purple." Then the boy asked her if she wanted to get dinner sometime, she replied yes and the boy wrote down his number on a yellow sticky-note.

The next day the girl called him from the back of the coffee shop and they made plans for dinner at Bahn Thai on Friday night.

The boy and the girl have been happily together ever since, traveling the world together.

On March 1, 2014 the girl walked into the coffee shop where she once worked to meet her sister-in-law for coffee before getting a pedicure. When she opened the door she saw her sister-in-law at the end of the counter taking her photo. When the girl looked to her left she saw the boy dressed to the nines. He walked up to the girl, took her hands and told her how much better his life had been since he had walked into the coffee shop that day in December. He told her how much he loved her and got down on his knee and asked her to be his wife.

That's the short version of our love story.

Now what you've all been waiting for.... photos of the proposal AND the ring!

Ten down.

I just finished my tenth book of the year. That is more than half of the amount of books I read in all of 2013. This makes me happy. I feel like I have found a happy place for reading. After forcing myself to read like a madwoman in 2010 I haven't really been in the reading zone since. I still managed to read more than a lot of people would in the past three years, but I wasn't getting the same joy from reading.

Maybe that had something to do with not reaching my goal of 100 books during the first year of my blog.

Maybe I am just now getting over that.

I have a favorite quote from a Nike ad about running that starts off:
"You are in a relationship with running. A love/hate relationship."

Maybe reading is kind of like running for me.

Maybe most of the things I create goals for I have a love/hate relationship with.

When I think of the list I think that must be true; running, reading, blogging, gardening, cleaning, and budgeting.

Some of them have more of a hate/love relationship.

The end of the quote says this:
"A balance between joy and pain, work and play."

So I guess for me, reading like anything does take a little bit of work to get to the joy part. You can't argue that it is easier to watch the movie in 2 hours than take a week to read the book. I also believe that you can't argue that reading the book is much more fulfilling.

So here is the list of books I've read so far in 2014 and as short of a review as I can possibly give!

Little Bee- Chris Cleave
A lot was made of this book's beach scene. I think that the hype around that particular part of the book kinda ruined the entire thing for me. The whole time I was reading just to get to that part. I figured I would be shocked or devastated, but instead it was kind of a let down. Turns out I have seen too many R rated movies to be shocked. Don't get me wrong here, I enjoyed parts of this book, including the change in narration and Little Bee's voice, but it wasn't enough for me to get over the fact that I didn't like rest of the characters. The people who I was supposed to relate to (the british) I found to be awful and unredeemable. During the main conflict on the beach I just wanted to yell at them for being so stupid and selfish. When I went to Africa last Summer I carried with me a sense of how dangerous that continent could be, and I found it difficult to understand how the characters in this book could be so ignorant that they would get themselves into these situations. I understand how you could enjoy this book, Cleave is a talented writer, but I can't recommend a book that made me so frustrated. 

   
Blue Like Jazz- Donald Miller
Billed as "Nonreligious thoughts on Christian spirituality." I enjoyed this book mostly because of Miller's writing style. Brian and I read this together and he found a quote by Charles Bukowski that describes it best,

"An intellectual says a simple thing in a hard way. An artist saysa hard thing in a simple way.' 

I think that Miller is an artist and his medium is definitely Christian books. I liked a lot of the ideas in this book and found the story to be very relatable. 

The History of Love- Nicole Krauss
I read this book because I stumbled upon and fell in love with this quote, 

“Once upon a time there was a boy who loved a girl, and her laughter was a question he wanted to spend his whole life answering.” 

I really liked this book once I got used to reading the vastly different tones of the two narrators. I like Krauss' writing style a lot and found her to be funny and witty. If you've read any of my book reviews in the past, you know how much I like books about books... especially when you can feel how much the author loves books (examples: The Thirteenth Tale, The Book Thief, The Shadow of the Wind). This was a good read!

Icy Sparks- Gwynn Hyman Rubio
Sometimes you pick a book up from your vacation condo and find a real gem. This wasn't necessarily one of those times. I didn't hate reading this book, I just found it to be very odd and unsettling. Also, the ending was too unclear. 

Suite française- Irène Némirovsky
I've had another book by Némirovsky on my shelf for a couple of years. I borrowed this book from my future-sister-in-law and loved it! Sometimes when you read books about WWII while you're on a beach in Hawaii it is difficult to really get into the story, not so with the novel.

Labor Day- Joyce Maynard
Sometimes I read books just because I want to see the movie. It was a quick read best enjoyed on a beach.

The Year of Fog- Michelle Richmond
This is another book that is difficult to say very much about without giving too much away. I knew from reading the back cover that I might have a hard time reading it. Overall, it was compelling and I felt like I had to know how it ended as soon as possible.  

Alana: The First Adventure- Tamora Pierce
This is a young adult book is a reread from when I was actually a young adult... well probably more like pre-teen. It had big font and was easy to read. I remember LOVING these books the first time around. Strong female character who goes against gender roles to become a knight? That's what every 12 year old girl wants right? I remember there was more of a love story, but maybe that comes in the later books. I still enjoyed this and it's a book I'd give to my future daughter to read.

South of Broad- Pat Conroy 
This is one of those epic multi-part books. I enjoyed a lot of this book, but not all of it. It had a few too many twists and turns for me. It was also very graphic. I prefer books that don't have to try so hard to shock you.

Kisses From Katie- Katie Davis
This is a book I never would have picked up before going to Africa. Her story is very interesting. Imagine just graduating from high school and deciding to move to Africa to adopt a houseful of African girls. Her stories were heartwarming and very honest. I enjoyed this book.