2015 New Year's Resolution Recap

It's the last day of the year - time to look back on 2015 and see how we did with our resolutions. I take my resolutions pretty seriously and I love putting them on the blog so I feel more accountable to them. So... let's see how I did!!!

Visit at Least Two New Countries 

My goal was to go to Canada and Mexico. It always felt weird to me that with all of the traveling I've done, I'd never been to the two closest countries. I had a half marathon in Canada so that was a sure thing. It was so cool going to a country so similar to the United States but still so different. I also LOVE exchange rates and this one was nicely in our favor. Most things were similar in price but the exchange gave Dollar holders a 30% discount. I also went on this trip with 3 of my best friends that I'd moved away from and it was so fun getting the gang back together.

I didn't do so well with Mexico though. Even though I could have done this one by simply driving 45 minutes and walking across the border, I totally dropped the ball. It sounds so easy but I was worried about traffic and safety. I think the best way to do this would be to find a bus tour or something to go a little further south than TJ, and spend a couple of days in Ensenada with Dan. It's definitely going back on the list for next year.

Run a Half Marathon 

I didn't run a half marathon this year... I ran TWO. I'm sign up for two more next year and I can't wait! Having a big race to train for is the best way to keep me accountable on runs and I need that to get myself out the door. The races themselves are a huge challenge but there are so many fun things to experience along the way - gorgeous views, cheerers, funny signs, music. The experience of the races are great. So is the training though because was the best way to...

Fall in Love... With San Diego 

Since I was running 3-4 times a week, I got to explore a lot of San Diego. We luckily lived in a area where I had a ton of trails - the harbor, all around Balboa Park, and then just exploring other hikes and trails I could drive to. Now we live in a new neighborhood and I'm excited to lace up my running shoes and explore these trails too. 

San Diego as a whole is really amazing though. It feels like a mix of my favorite things about the Bay Area and LA and I'm excited to keep having adventures in our new home. 

Find a Community in San Diego 

This was an interesting one for me. In the Bay Area, I had such a big group of friends from college and then my smaller blondetourage. When I made this resolution, I was kind of thinking something similar - I would find another huge group and a smaller group within that. However, so far, it's been more isolated one off friendships - and there is nothing wrong with that. At the moment, I think I'm making great one on one relationships and that can be a lot stronger than a big community. We've only been here a year, so a big community is still possible but I'm so happy I've made a few awesome friends for now. 

Finish a Big Creative Project 

This is one of those resolutions that turned out completely different than I imagined. I thought my big creative project would be a huge cross stitch (which I'm working on) or an awesome new cosplay (materials purchased!) but I didn't finish any of those (yet!) because something else came up.

Over the summer, my aunt passed away. She was a big reason why I love creating things. She taught me how to paint and sculpt. She showed me art can be as simple as painting a basket, coloring in the lines, or creating beautiful ceramics. I always felt bad that I didn't take art classes in college or keep pursuing art as much as I wanted to. I've been better in recent years with my costumes and cross stitch, but after she passed, I decided to take that art class. I got to create several awesome projects. The biggest would of course be a several foot long topographic map of California made of corks. I know my aunt would be proud of me and I look forward to taking more of them in the future.

Open Up Our Hearts 

This resolution was about adopting a new pet. I wanted a puppy long before Rocco passed away. I remember that awful day though and I turned and cried into Dan that I didn't even want a puppy any more because pets die far too soon. Obviously, I didn't mean that, but it is hard to lose a pet.

I fell in love with Harley the moment I saw her. I knew she was the puppy we were taking home. She immediately felt so comfortable and perfect with us. As she's grown, I know we got just the right dog. She's not too small but definitely not big. She's athletic and so so loving. Like her parents, she can be a little... willful, but at the end of the day, all she wants is cuddles and belly rubs and kisses. She perfectly fit the whole in our hearts and keeps up with our lifestyle.

I'd be lying if I didn't look at her sometimes and realize that I only get so much time with her. That's always the problem with opening your heart to a pet, they sadly don't stick around as much as you want them to, but I know we are going to love her as much as possible for as long as we have her.

The Trifecta -

This one was at the back of my mind the whole year and it just didn't happen. Between my family tradgedies, training for the half, art classes, and finances, I just couldn't make it happen. I'd like to say it will be pushed to next year but doing these races is really expense and we have a wedding to put on. I do belong to a couple of gyms now though so my goal is to keep up with training and be ready to tackle the beast (and super and sprint) in 2017!


2015 was a wild ride and I'm looking forward to next year. I hope it's a little more stable - the ups and downs of moving, getting a puppy, losing an aunt, getting engaged, and moving again have made it hard for us to enjoy every day adventures or travel so onto the next. Happy New Year everyone! 

On Getting Engaged

Wow, it's crazy to believe it's been over a month since we've gotten engaged and I'm only writing about it now. To say life has been crazy lately would be an understatement. I've been taking art classes 6 hours a week, beginning to plan our wedding, moving to a house, running another half marathon, and all while still working full time and maintaining healthy eating habits and friendships. Life definitely has been a whirlwind but we haven't been bored here for sure, and well, getting around to writing hasn't been a priority. I think, in general, blog posts are going to be slow for a while. I think a lot of my other projects show more tangible results for me and so this is an outlet that I just don't really need as much anymore. I'll still be popping in every now and then but I think I'm going to chill out from the regularly scheduled blog events. So yadda yadda yadda, let's talk engagement!

How It Happened

Dan and I love photo booths. We are self proclaimed rock stars at them. So when we went to a costume party and he pulled out the ring while we were in the photo booth, it was pretty perfect. It also meant that we got photos of the occasion which makes me so happy! It was also the start of Halloween weekend which meant that we had a lot of fun events to go to and were seeing a lot of friends in person so we could share the good news face to face.

Was It a Surprise?

Not really. We'd talked about getting married a lot and a few weeks before I went ring picking. I showed Dan the one I liked and then left him in store and waited... errrr... patiently... ish... until he popped the question! Someone brought up a good point - no one should be totally surprised by a proposal. If you haven't discussed getting married at all... then you probably shouldn't yet. It's about more than a wedding, it's about building a life together. Obviously, as a couple that's lived together for almost two years, moved across the state together, and adopted a dog, we've been building a foundation for that life.

On Marriage 

Marriage is scary. I'd be lying if I said otherwise. It's crazy to think that this is a decision that is supposed to be for the rest of my life. I think that's something that should be intimidating. It's a big deal. I spend a lot of time thinking about what a big commitment this is and the more I think about it, the more I realize how lucky I am to have a guy like Dan. I'm not the kind of woman who wants to be a little wifey, staying at home cooking and cleaning. I've always wanted someone who would be a partner and treat me like an equal and never be intimidated by my big personality. I have that in Dan and so much more. He's patient when I'm (usually) not, he drives me wine tasting, and he's always finding fun things for us to do. We definitely bring out the best in each other and I don't think I would have been able to do things like the half marathons or Whole 30 without him pushing me and encouraging me. Trust me, I did not make it easy for him to keep reminding me that I needed to get my runs in each week. Like he always says - "If the rest of our lives are like the last two years, this marriage thing will be easy."

Yea, Yea, Let's Talk About the Wedding Though

Omg THE WEDDING! Ok, so yea, I'm really excited about planning a wedding. We've dream planning pieces of our wedding and now we get to actually see what's possible. So far we have the deposit paid our top choice venue, but we probably can't have the dog be the ring bearer. I guess you win some and you lose some.

People keep seeming surprised by how much we've done already, but I organize things for a living and this is something I'm so excited about putting together. We're also getting married 10 months from now so we can't just sit around and hope it all works out. I'd rather tackle things that we can now and not be stressing out closer to the big day.

Man, I don't even know what else to write on the subject.I don't want to give away any details about the wedding on my public blog since a) I want there to be some element of fun and surprise for our guests b) this is a public blog and we're having a moderately sized private wedding.

All in all though, we are so excited about everything happening! Getting engaged is super exciting and to top it off we're moving to a house is a beautiful bayside neighborhood. Life has been moving so fast and has been so busy lately. Hopefully, once we get settled in our new house we can relax and take it all in!