One year ago today, I had a good idea of what 2013 looked like for me.  I knew that I was going to get married, go on my honeymoon, and graduate college with my Bachelor’s Degree.  No one could have convinced me that I was going to go to Europe, buy a home, or start a Certificate program.

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We bought our home a bit before I graduated from college.  However, I thought that we were going to be living in my grandmother’s house that she had just moved out of.  After deciding that we would need to make too many repairs on the house ($$) and not wanting to do that much business with family, we decided against it.  We eventually found another house–a 3 bedroom 1 bathroom house with an unfinished basement–in our hometown that is adorable and perfect for us.  Also, it is very affordable.

My Grandma Wise passed away in February and I was extremely depressed for the months leading up to this.  She was living where I was working–at a retirement home.  She was too much work for the Health Care Center so they sent her to a psychiatric hospital to find “the right combination of medicine” for her.  That was entirely too extreme for someone who only had dementia.  My poor grandmother.

I am sorry you had to spend the last few months of your life the way you did.  But I am happy that you had a wonderful life before your dementia set in.  I really  missed you this year, especially at my wedding and during the holidays.  I was definitely thinking about you and remembering your spirit.

Switching gears here…

I wrote an entire blog about my trip to Europe (Oslo, Norway + London, UK).  It is extremely detailed, but if you want to read about it and/or see pictures, click here.

Our wedding day, July 20, 2013 was the best day of my life.  Friends and family from near and far joined in to celebrate our marriage.  We were showered with love, gifts, and the people most important to us.  Taking pictures (although exhausting), the ceremony with my best friend singing, the reception with delicious food, crazy dancing (haha), touching toasts, a home-made photo booth, and fun games made it everything I had hoped for and more.  Not to mention, we were pretty proud of ourselves that all the planning and coordinating went so well.  Everything went perfectly aside from a few minuscule things that we just laughed off.  The only thing that could have made it better was having my Grandma Gloria there, and my other grandparents that have passed away (I wish they were alive!)  The events leading up to the wedding like wedding showers and my bachelorette party were certainly ones to remember.  My [now] Aunt Elaine threw a family one that was too cute and completely matched the theme of the wedding.  My [now] sister-in-law Krista threw a private one where I could open presents that weren’t…how you say…family friendly? and that was great because she made delicious soup and we watched Bridesmaids.  The Bachelorette party was very atypical in that the bridesmaids and I actually went camping.  My friends know I’m not one for clubbing and all that.  I wanted to do something adventurous that was also pretty cheap.  Ta-da!  Camping it was.  Poor Chamorrita was chopping wood, trying to cut us some kindling so that we could start a fire.  That was an extremely sharp ax and she ended up having to go to the emergency room for stitches.  My my, we were all so worried because she was gone for hours.  However, prior to that, we all went swimming in the lake set up our camp and went sunbathing.  This year, I became a lot closer with my dear sister Stephanie who is an amazingly caring and generous sister.  Her toast at my reception and Cham’s both brought me to tears!

For our honeymoon, we took a cruise out of Seattle to Alaska on Princess.  We had stops in Ketchikan, Skagway, Juneau, and Victoria, B.C.  Once again–not a very typical choice but it totally suited us.  The weather ranged from being over 70 degrees in Juneau to being freezing cold when we were cruising toward the glacier.   We went on a train ride in Skagway, ziplining in Ketchikan, and went in the pool numerous times.  We ordered drinks a lot, went to shows, and….you guessed it…ate entirely too much.  At every meal.  All the time.  I feel fat right now  just thinking about all that I ate on that cruise.

In September I started a certificate program in Paralegal studies.  I found that I do not want to be a paralegal after trying it, but at least I have a B.A. and a part-time job for the moment.  In addition, I have a company that seems interested in hiring me early next year for a position that has to do with helping children.  Fingers crossed for that one.  I just want to start my career already!

In November, I spent my first Thanksgiving with the Jorgensens at the cabin.  AMAZING is all I can say 🙂  I managed to make it to the cabin 3 times this year.

With all of that said, 2013 was the most amazing year for me, and I knew that this would be the best year ever.  I made a list of New Years Resolutions.

1. Exercise 4+ times per week

2. Cook new healthy meals

3. Do more with music

4. Go on a vacation/ mini vacation

5. Hike more than I did this year

6. See more plays/musicals than I did this year

7.  Save money.  I have a goal in mind but I won’t post it here:)

8. Re-organize Basement and upstairs

9.  Write more (journaling/blogging)

10.  Go paddle-boarding (this was one I failed to do last year)