The Year in Review - Christmas "Green"tings

In the past, I've done my best to craft an entertaining and informative Christmas letter.   I've always delivered this letter via email in the interest of time and the preserving the environment - I figured the email was the "green" way to do this.  This year, I though it was only appropriate to use the blog as a way of sharing what's happened the last 12 months.

January - March
  • We took a long-weekend trip to  Steele, Alabama.  It was our annual winter bouldering trip, and the weather was pretty agreeable.  It's not often you can wear short sleeves in February, not when you're a Wisconsinite.  
  • We spent a great deal of time at Adventure Rock, our local climbing gym, passing the winterish days and preparing for spring climbing. 

April - June
  • I secretly started my blog, figuring I was too boring to entertain anyone. 
  • With the end of the school year in sight, I joined my cousin and some of her friends in the Illinois for her bachelorette party.  We desperately sought what little sun was available and sat by the pool, drank tasty drinks, enjoyed a fabulous meal...and much more. 
  • One of our very dearest friends, Bobby, married Leah.  The ceremony brought a number of us Wisconsin alum back to Madison, where we partied like we were still college kids. 
  • My cousin Jenny married Louis, a really great addition to our extended family.  Thanks for inviting me to share in your big day.  It was beautiful. 

July - September
  • I shared news of my blog with everyone - thanks to everyone who reads!
  • Brian and I spent a few weeks living like nomads - we visited:  Grand Teton National Park, Yellowstone National Park, Glacier National Park, and Theodore Roosevelt National Park.  Showers were few and far between, but it was a great trip for us (lots of animal sightings, hiking and bonding). 
  • After weeks of travel and long hikes, I found out I had a bone fragment in the tendon of my right ankle, and I had surgery on my ankle and a few toes.  I spent the rest of the summer wobbling about the house.  
  • The school year began, and I said goodbye to free time and stress-free living. 
  • We acquired season tickets and spent nearly every Saturday in Madison cheering on my beloved Badgers - it has been a great season! 

October - December
  • We traveled to Minnesota for our friend Mike's wedding.  He and Sarah are a great couple.  We had a lot of fun, probably too much!
  • With a number of our fiends joining us, we traveled to Kentucky for a weekend of climbing, hiking and fun.  It was a great way to spend Teachers' Convention. 
  • Brian was featured in an interview in Climbing Magazine
  • Brian traveled to Yosemite, CA to meet with some fellow climbers for a collaborative climber-type project.  I stayed home...boo! 
  • Brian finally got to watch a Michigan game from inside the Big House.  I watched my Badgers beat down the Wolverines.  Go Big Red!!
  • I completed my last graduate course and began work on my thesis - graduation is projected for May 2011
  • We're mentally preparing for the Rose Bowl and a great game - I am all geared up; now I have to get Brian's Badger pride amped up.  

I hope that everyone enjoys a healthy, prosperous year, and I hope that this past year has been one filled with love and happiness.  Merry Christmas! 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

AJ Runs Several Ks...and Writes About It

Image
On Saturday, May 6, I returned to half marathon racing. It had been quite a hiatus, and my previous half marathon, was completed with a blown out IT band, so I did have to balance high hopes and realistic expectations. After all, a lot has changed since that last race. They say that age is just a number, and by that logic, a half marathon is just miles. 13.1 long and hilly miles in this case, and now officially in the next decade of my life. Yeah, yeah, just a number. Last year, still in my 30s, I toyed with the idea of returning to racing and with running the Door County Half Marathon. We were in Peninsula State Park for our annual Mother’s Day weekend, and the race was taking place. It seemed like the perfect opportunity to get back to some really good training. Our plan - always - is to be in Door County for our Mother’s Day celebration, so why not sign up?! Well, back to numbers. Two children, one partner, too many hours at work each week, one bike ride/race to each weekend, an
Read more

My Dad, OUR Hero

Image
This past weekend, we celebrated my dad’s 30 years of service to and retirement from the Mukwonago Fire Department. As both a volunteer fire fighter and EMT, he has spent several decades in service of others. During what surely was one of their most trying times, it was my dad who was with people he’d never met and likely wouldn’t see again. To do that on top investing in full-time work, his family, and his other interests is simply remarkable. And that’s my dad: a driven, generous, passionate man. The Mukwonago Fire Department was a part of my youth. The men and women he served with became my dad’s second family, and thus they were there for many of my milestones. My weekends were were filled with various events hosted by MFD, including community events and that one family picnics that ended with Dad getting stitches. Sometimes my weekends - and weeknights - were also filled with quick goodbyes as another call pulled Dad away from our family plans. The sound of his pager and the
Read more

Milestone

Image
I mentioned, not too long ago, interest in a birthday trip to ATL. Michelle Obama would be there for her book tour, the weather is fall-like this time of year and perfect for a long run, and it’s a city I haven’t explored much of. My partner heard me. He showed up, like really showed up!   Just about a week ago, Harper brought me a birthday card and gift she and B had been working on. It was my own copy of  The Light We Carry: Overcoming in Uncertain Times , and a Happy Birthday picture of a plane, a peach, and a pink and purple suitcase (my favorite colors).     I had otherwise been planning a jaunt from home along the Glacial Drumlin Trail and snack day at H’s school. That would have been great. But Brian has been helping me work on prioritizing myself to maintain balance; time away was earned, needed, permissable. To say I was excited for the weekend was an understatement. B attended to all the details (also needed AND appreciated): flights, hotel accommodations, transportation,
Read more