2014 Reflections









2014 was a really fun and memorable year!  I read more, traveled more, ran more, blogged more, saved more money, stayed healthy, practiced yoga more consistently, managed stress more effectively, and spent quality time with friends.  I added another continent to my list of places traveled and we had an incredible honeymoon in Ecuador.  I competed in more races than ever before, including two half marathons and a really tough off-road triathlon.  I became involved in the Girls on the Run nonprofit organization and took on more leadership opportunities at work.  I watched several good friends marry the loves of their lives.  I got to know my niece, Rielle, and celebrated the birth of my cousin's son, Oliver.  I ran with my dad in his first 5K in Minnesota, paddle boarded with my mom in Virginia Beach, had sisters' weekend in Nashville, and spent an amazing weekend in Chicago with my brother.  I celebrated my first anniversary with my incredible husband, and we started the process of buying a home.  

 As I am halfway through taking down Christmas decorations (and about 75% of the way through eating leftover holiday cookies), I would also like to reflect on what a fun-filled, unique Christmas we had in 2014.  My siblings and I all flocked home to Minnesota for the holidays, where the three of us (along with our significant others) rented a house in Minneapolis for the week.  It was a whirlwind of friends, family, good food, and lots of wine.  "Christmas" consisted of opening gifts with Jaycob's family in Sherburn, celebrating Christmas Eve with his extended family at his grandfather's farm, having late-night welcome-home cocktails with my dad after arriving in Minneapolis, hosting Christmas brunch, celebrating Christmas afternoon with my dad's family and Christmas night with my mom's family, meeting Baby Oliver for the first time, watching Scrooged (my second-favorite Christmas movie of all time), supervising playtime between Kua and her two canine cousins, going for snowy runs around the lakes in Minneapolis, spending time with my BFF and my favorite 2-year-old, RJ, going to a Gopher basketball game, partying with my brother's childhood friends, listening to some really great live music downtown, having an incredible dinner for Jaycob's birthday, and consuming enough wine, champagne, and fancy cocktails to hold me over until Valentine's Day.  I kept up with my holiday running challenge, which included some frigid runs, hung-over runs, and a 3 a.m. jog at a rest stop on Christmas Eve.  I came home exhausted and delirious with sleep deprivation, but hoping to do it all over again next year.

 I can't wait to make 2015 as memorable as this past year!  I look forward to some really exciting weddings, welcoming more friends' babies into the world than I can even keep track of at this point, and progressing with the home buying process!  
Here are my resolutions for 2015...
  • Drink more water
  • Ride my bike to work more often
  • Learn to enjoy burpees
  • Floss more, and have zero cavities
  • Socialize more
  • Use my crockpot more frequently for dinners
  • Brush the dog's teeth more regularly
  • Help the cat lose 2 pounds
  • Eat more fruits and veges
  • Drink more milk
  • Take a daily vitamin
  • Experience a new hiking trail near Santa Fe
  • Go to church
  • Read more research articles for work
  • Get more involved in a Process Improvement project at work
  • Be more patient
  • Call my family more frequently
  • Run another half marathon
  • Master my yogi headstand
  • Write more book reviews
  • Get a new tattoo
  • Buy a house
  • Celebrate my 30th birthday in style



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