The Last Day of the Year

It's the last day of the year. One of my favorite days of the year. I like making changes, rerouting, and starting anew. Most of all, I like reflection. I like stepping back and examining the year, reviewing my successes and mistakes, my sound decisions and my impulsive ones. This is a blog-year in review, for posterity.

January

January 2012 was a conflicted month for me. We rang in the new year in Arkansas with my college friends. I was excited about all the travel we would be doing: friend's weddings, our honeymoon, etc. And then a woman was murdered in her apartment in Austin in the wee hours of New Year's Day, and two others were assaulted. They were all about my age. I spent much of January afraid to leave my home, but also not feeling safe in my home. I declared it my "fear zone," in fact.

February

I started to regain my sense of self in February. I was trying Weight Watchers (ha). Tim started a new job and stopped working nights. We were able to pay our bills for the first time in months. For Valentine's Day, Tim took me to see Wicked, for the first time ever. It was an outstanding night out. I spent a lot of time selling paper, realizing how much I didn't like it, and prepping our guest room for company.

March

We had our first guests in March! Anne came to stay for four days, and it was pretty exciting. It was so good to have my boon companion with me again, and having her here made me realize a lot of things I love about Austin. I started meeting with an amazing trainer - determined to win back my body. And then the Hootenanny happened! With the help of my cousin Karen, I threw my sister's baby shower. Tim and I celebrated one year of marriage. That was a hurdle.

April

Right before Easter in April, we brought home three pullets. The day they finally started laying was pretty exciting! We also hosted both our families for an Easter potluck. I had a really terrible dream that shook me to my core. I started contemplating quitting my Paper job, for more exciting ventures.

May

I quit my job in May. It wasn't a significant job, but I had been there close to a year and was a good employee. I was just dying inside, and Tim was sick of hearing me talk about it. The day after my last day of work, Samson was born and I became an Auntie! Then I had my 27th birthday, with little to-do. 

June

Unfortuantely, June will forever be stuck as "LASIK month." I had my LASIK surgery the first week of June. I won't get into that agony here - there's not enough space. A week later, I rebounded into weddings! First, I coordinated a wedding for Tim's twin cousins in Surfside, TX. Then the week after that we traveled to California for a week long trip for Tim & Caitlin's wedding on Treasure Island. Despite getting really sick the second day we were there, it was a really fun trip.

July

We had our second round of guests come to stay in July. Another friend from college came to visit, and we went to a Roller Derby - my first time. I started guest blogging for Sunday Hatch. Oscar turned 5 years old. 

August

In August, I started planning our trip to Greece. That pretty much consumed most of my month. I spent hours reading the guidebook, and scouring Trip Advisor for tips. It helped that I was unemployed at the time, so I made it my full-time job.

September

At the end of September, we packed our bags and took off for Greece. Most of the front-end of that month was spent with me agonizing about the trip itself, however, it turned out to be a fabulous trip. We didn't come home until October.

October

October was full of wedding planning for me. I worked several weddings for another company, and continued planning my own accounts, as well. We spent a good amount of time reveling in our recent trip to Santorini and Mainland Greece.

November

We voted together, in person, and as a married couple for the first time in November. Tim voted for the first time, ever. We hosted Thanksgiving for Tim's family at our home, which was special and fun. I completed my first, really big, independent wedding account, and came to a realization: this should be my "real job."

December

I was blessed with signing two more accounts at the last minute for December weddings. What wasn't a blessing was that they took place in the same weekend. Tim got a pretty huge promotion. 12/12/12 happened - the last triple digit date of our lifetime. We survived the end of the Mayan Calendar, but my computer did not, and I made some gifts for Christmas.

And now here we are: so excited for all the fun 2013 will bring. And I say: bring it on.