2019: Year in Review

My 2019 Year in Review

Last year’s and the year before and the year before that for reference 🙂

Whew! I know I’m not alone in thinking: how is it 2020 already?!

Someone–or many people?–once told me when my kids reached grade school, time would fly by, and that’s exactly right.

I feel like I don’t have a good grasp on keeping track of memories anymore (I’m over a year behind on my photo albums now), but I will take a shot at capturing this year in a nutshell, with a little game of Highs and Lows (idea taken from Colleen Quigley).

High: We have been in our “new” house for 2 years now! This year, we planted some new trees (Japanese maple and Eastern redbud) and lots of new Asiatic lilies. We also made some long-awaited improvements to the fence and our dining room.

High & Low: I am proud of both boys, yet continue to be humbled by the difficulties of parenting, mainly that I lose my patience when they fight, or don’t listen, or don’t help me. They are both smart, funny, active, strong (and strong-willed!). I am very blessed! Also one of my resolutions is to stop yelling at them… when they fight with each other, it’s like nails on a chalkboard for me. I just can’t take it! working on it though…

High: Running… although I didn’t have any PR’s, I had many strong races and age group awards (and 2 overall awards!) I started trail running and had a blast! I completed my run streak, running at least 1 mile per day for 345 days straight. I also ran more this year than any other year, at 851 miles. I was featured in the Greensboro News & Record Running Shorts column, as well as Runners World Plus.

Lows: Javi’s mom passed away. My good friend MM moved to Cali. We had several bouts of the stomach bug, and strep throat. I had shin pain for the better part of the year, that finally cleared up after I stopped my run streak.

High: I got a new job in April, at Kontoor Brands (parent company of Wrangler and Lee jeans), and a long-awaited promotion. My new team is amazing!

Low: Because of new job, and the stress and chaos that ensued virtually all summer & into fall, I didn’t go to yoga for 6 months ☹ I’m finally back at it though, and can’t believe I took that much time off. I also struggled with insomnia from time to time… and still sometimes do.

High: I hiked the Pacific Crest Trail with my brother and cousin. It was amazing, and awakened a new sense of outdoor adventure. I need to buy a tent this year, then get out there even more! We also did some mini vacations, to PA, Wrightsville Beach, SC, Raleigh, Charlotte, Jacksonville, and Charleston.

Charleston in November for a lovely wedding!

High: I read books (not just magazines)!! And some really good ones too! (in the interest of getting this post done, I will list the books in a separate post)

Other highs: taking the kids to the zoo and the science center and the trampoline park. Learning new recipes for a friendly baking competition with neighbors and friends. Watching Asher at gymnastics, and Gabe at basketball and the skate park. Taking Gabe camping for the first time. Running with Katelyn at her first 5K, and hiking and camping with her at Pilot Mountain. Meeting up with my Army Crew friends! Lots of shows/concerts at the Greensboro Coliseum: Paw Patrol with Asher (and friends JT & MT), Disney on Ice with Gabe and his friend, Bad Bunny with Javi and K. Lastly, Elton John with Javi in Charlotte!

There were many more highs than lows, and I’m truly grateful for my family, friends, job, and life overall. I am vowing to show this gratitude daily!

Looking forward to:

My first indoor track meet ever, on 1/12!

Climbing Mount Mitchell with my brother.

Great Wolf Lodge with the fam and my parents.

Training for a fast 5K (again, haha!)

Disney World for the first time as a family this spring, and we’re all really excited for it.

Also, Javi and I will celebrate our 10 year anniversary with a 2 week trip to Germany this fall. We haven’t been back since 2011, so I can’t wait for this trip!!

So much to look forward to! What do you have planned this year??

And the running portion of my Year in Review: