2015: A Year in Review

I’ve been so disorganized these last couple days. Eeek! But to start off 2016 I thought I would share my 2015 in review. I’m doing something a little different this time instead of my usual end-of-the-year survey. Thanks to Georgie for the inspiration, I’m summarizing the months in a few bullet points. I think this is a more accurate way to keep track of what happened in the past year rather than answering the same questions year after year with some of the answers staying the same.

January

• Rang in the new year with my friends at our annual New Year’s Eve Party
• Got a lot of things done around the house thanks to participating in Apartment Therapy’s annual January Cure.
• My second childhood dog, Chewie passed away. He was 15 years old.
  
• Read Lea Michele’s book Brunette Ambition.
• Celebrated my mom’s birthday by going to dinner at Chops with my dad, Dani, and Joshua.
• Saw the musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat with Ace Young from American Idol in it!
  
• Went on a day trip to Tahoe to visit my relatives Patty & Steve.
• Celebrated Joshua’s 28th birthday by going to dinner at his favorite local restaurant the Diamond Springs Hotel.

February

• Joshua and I ran the Life Skills booth to promote the Dave Ramsey class.
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• Joshua and I started our second round of co-coordinating Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University at our church.
• I turned 28 years old on February 7th. I got my nails done and went to the spa with my mommy followed by a delicious fondue dinner at The Melting Pot with Joshua.
  
• Joshua and I started taking the Boundaries class at our church based on Dr. Henry Cloud’s Boundaries book.
• Joshua’s dad and stepmom took us out to dinner at Cattlemen’s to celebrate our birthdays, and my parents took us out to Papa Gianni’s Ristorante.
• Went on a company retreat to Bodega Bay for the weekend with Joshua and the Digital Gear team.
  
• Got to see Dave Ramsey and Chris Hogan live at their Smart Money event in Roseville with my fellow FPU coordinators.
  

March

• Joshua’s adopted dad and brother started and completed our backyard makeover. By the end of the month our backyard was beautifully landscaped thanks to them!
  
• Went to Santa Cruz for a weekend with my mom to see my sister’s choir recital. It was nice to have a small getaway by the beach. We stayed at the Santa Cruz Dream Inn, my favorite hotel, and had the most gorgeous view of the boardwalk and beach; we even got to witness a paddleboard race first thing in the morning. We had dinner at the Saturn Cafe and breakfast at The Crepe Place.
  
• Went to Early Toast for the very first time and thus began one of many visits as it became our favorite brunch place.
• There was a crazy domestic dispute that went bad in our neighborhood one early morning. We were woken up at 3:30am to gunshots followed by a house on fire.
• Had an appointment with my primary care physician to discuss my difficulties getting pregnant so far. While I was only 6 months into trying, it was still worrisome. He had lab work done on both Joshua and myself, and while Joshua checked out 100%, I was told I had a Vitamin D deficiency.
• Joshua and I saw Rain: A Tribute to The Beatles with his dad and stepmom.
  
• Watched the final episode of Glee. I stopped watching after Cory Monteith passed away because I already didn’t like the direction the writers were taking the story and once Cory passed away there was no point. Watching the last episode was very bittersweet.
• Saw the movie Cinderella. Super cute – made my heart happy!
• The closest Chili’s to my house announced it would be closing at the end of the month. Sad, sad day.
• Decided to try our Blue Apron’s meal service hoping it would encourage me to cook more.
  
• Saw the movie Kingsman: The Secret Service.

April

• Hosted Easter dinner for my family.
• Family vacation! We spent the week on the beaches of San Simeon.
  
• After being disappointed with the first teaser trailer, my faith in The Force Awakens was restored after seeing the brand new trailer that was debuted at Star Wars Celebration. “Chewie, we’re home” got me right in the feels.
• Read What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast by Laura Vanderkam. It completely changed the way I view my days and helped me plan a better morning routine.
• Celebrated my grandpa’s 97th birthday.
  
• Joshua and I decided to take the plunge and sponsor a Compassion International child. His name is Gérard, and he’s five years old.
  

May

• Saw the movie Avengers: Age of Ultron.
• Reflected on my journey with Star Wars on May the 4th.
• Had my annual lady appointment with my gyno in which I continued the discussion of conceiving difficulties. She had more thorough lab works done, and through this I was diagnosed with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS).
• Made another visit to Santa Cruz to see my sister’s final choir performance and to celebrate Mother’s Day. We took her to The Quail & Thistle Tea Room.
  
• Watched the series finale of Mad Men.
• Our new pellet stove was installed!
  
• Designed, developed, managed and launched the 2015 California Grocers Association Strategic Conference site.
• I left my job of 3 years/11 months as Lead Web Designer at Digital Gear.

June

• Had lunch with one of my teachers from college, Bill.
• Had breakfast with my previous client from CGA whose site I launched right before I left. He usually takes the team out for a thank you lunch, but because I left he took me out to breakfast separately.
• Went to Joshua’s stepmom’s parent’s 50th wedding anniversary celebration.
  
• My Aunt Gigi came to California for a visit and she got to see Dani for the first time since she was a baby and meet Joshua for the very first time.
  
• My sister graduated from UC Santa Cruz with her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology!
  
• I started working at Three29 as a UI/UX Designer.
• I got an Apple Watch!
  
• Saw the movie Jurassic World.
• I went to the Sac Ad Club Summer Mega Mixer with a couple of my Three29 team members. Got to network with a lot of people, and it was a nice way to start getting to know my coworkers.
• My longtime friend Kelli got married in Florida back in February and they held a California reception. It was the first Joshua and I got to see Kelli and her husband  since our honeymoon. At the time her husband was just her boyfriend. A lot happens in five years!
  
• I went to a Rivercats game with my Three29. It was our end of the quarter event as a team.

July

• Went on the First Sunday Drive with the Mercedes-Benz Club of America, Sacramento Section. The drive started in Sacramento and ended in Auburn.
  
• Saw the movies Inside Out and Terminator Genisys.
• Had my lifestyle photo for Three29 taken.
  
• I started yoga classes at the local studio right by my house.
• Celebrated the 4th of July at a BBQ with my friend Danielle’s family.
• My dad visited me at work for lunch and got to meet some of my coworkers.
• I had my very first session with our business coach Sandra. Definitely one of the best things about my job!
• Went out to a special Design Department breakfast with my boss and Art Director.
• Celebrated Danielle & Adam’s engagement! They asked both Joshua and I to be part of their bridal party.
  
• My niece Renee turned six years old!
  
• Checked out Bobby’s open house at the Sheriff’s Training Academy.
  

August

• Went on the Mercedes First Sunday drive again. This time my sister came along as well as Joshua’s dad and stepmom.
  
• Bella was diagnosed with fatty live disease. It was a rough month, but luckily she made a full recovery.
  
• Saw the musical West Side Story with my sister at Music Circus.
  
• We had our Summer LAN party. It was our first party in the newly landscaped backyard and we enjoyed the fire pit.
  
• Saw the movie Ant-Man.
• Did a portfolio review at Art Institute for the Portfolio class.
• Celebrated the birthdays of both my dad and stepmom in-law.

September

• Spent the month doing a makeover in my laundry room.
• Dani and Danielle joined Joshua and I on the Mercedes-Benz First Sunday Drive.
  
• Our shed finally got fixed and updated and we had a tree cut down in our backyard.
• My brother in-law Bobby graduated from the Sheriff’s Academy.
• Had another visit with my Aunt Patty & Uncle Steve in Tahoe.
• Started Dave Ramsey FPU again. This time Joshua and I each had our own small groups instead of leading a small group together.
• I had a doctor’s appointment to discuss my acne issues relating to PCOS. I got put on antibiotics (Clindamycin) and started IPL laser treatments.
• Had our second end of the quarter event for Three29 in which we spent the afternoon hanging out at the Sac State Aquatic Center.
• Dani and Mom visited me at work and then we went out to dinner.
• Mr. Big turned two years old!
  
• Celebrated the launch of The Kitchen Restaurant website with a little happy hour at Ella with the client and my project manager.
  

October

• Finished our laundry room makeover.
  
• Went to Joshua’s high school reunion.
  
• Saw the Steve Jobs movie.
• Celebrated Halloween at work by dressing up as Wednesday Addams.
  

November

• I participated in NaBlPoMo where I blogged (almost) everyday for an entire month.
• Joshua and I celebrated 5 years of marriage and 11 years of being together on November 6th.
  
• Saw the movies Spectre and The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2.
• I went to the very first WordCamp Sacramento.
  
• We went to Disneyland with Dani, Danielle and Joshua’s dad, stepmom, cousin, and niece!
  
• I hosted an Art Institute field trip at Three29.
• Enjoyed Thanksgiving with my family at my parents house.

December

• Counted down the days till Star Wars wearing a different Star Wars shirt each day.
  
• Celebrated Dani’s 23rd birthday.
  
• Saw Star Wars: The Force Awakens and despite a certain character’s fate, it was a wonderful movie.
• Went out to a nice dinner and toured several local breweries for the Three29 Holiday Party.
  
• Got to see Joshua’s dad perform in the annual GVCC Christmas musical.
• Had a wonderful Christmas with family! We spent Christmas Eve and morning with Joshua’s family, and I hosted Christmas dinner for my family.
  
• Dani and I got to see our friend in the broadway show Pippin.