Puppies!

Happy National Puppy Day!! This week marked 10 years of having my precious pup. He’s obviously not a puppy anymore but every dog still has a little puppy in him. I got Tucker 10 years ago from a coworker who was not able to keep him anymore. He was 3 at the time and had been rescued as a puppy. He was terrified of everything. He warmed up to me and my 3 roommates fairly quickly, but we were recent graduates/in graduate school and liked to have people over to our fabulous rental house in Nashville. He would run upstairs and hide every time someone came to the house.

It wasn’t a completely smooth transition – including one escape to chase after me which resulted in him getting hit by a slow-moving car. He bolted but miraculously reappeared at the front door 6-8 hours later. He had only been with us about a month! We pretty much forced him to be social and he became a completely different dog.

He’s weathered moving and living in about 6 different apartments and houses. And most recently has adjusted to having a young, very energetic step-brother. They get along pretty well, though old man Tucker has his snippy moments.

And I can’t let puppy day pass without also doting on Royal who is the sweetest, smartest dog. He may have a little too much energy sometimes but he keeps ya on your toes!

We love our pups!! ❤

So Long, 2016

2016 is coming to a close and it’s been a bit of a whirlwind year. Like most years, it had some high and lows, but overall I’d say that for me, 2016 has been great. Here are the highlights, in no particular order.

Weddings, babies and graduations, oh my!

I was lucky enough to celebrate a cousin and 4 different friends getting married, 2 of which I was honored to stand along side. Well, that ended  up being standing beside just one, but more on that later. I also had one dear friend have her first baby and one complete her PhD. It brought me such joy to celebrate these people with showers, bachelorettes, parties, and gifts. I wish them all the best of marriages, new families, and new jobs. All of this alone was enough to make 2016 a great one!

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Moving Friends

A good friend moving away is not a good thing for anyone. It’s sad and difficult to come to terms with. But if it has to happen, you might as well make the best of it with a 7 state road trip in a car packed to the ceiling, complete with an overnight stay at a bed and breakfast. Definitely a highlight of the year, albeit a sad long term outcome.

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Disney & Universal

My nephew is 2 ½ and you have to pay for children to get into Disney at age 3, so of course my Disney-loving sister-in-law had to plan a big family trip this year. Best. idea. ever. I didn’t get around to doing a whole post on this trip as the end of the year got away from me, but I feel like a Disney expert now. Although I’m sure I still know nothing compared to people who go all the time. This was my first time there since I was 8. And it was magical. The week after Thanksgiving is a great time to go if you can take time off. And I was really surprised at how much stuff there was for my nephew to do! It was an awesome trip and definitely a highlight of the year.

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Travels

2016 was a year of many travels. In addition to the trips already mentioned, I made it to cities, states, and another country! Locations included two trips to Nashville, TN; multiple trips to Daphne, AL; Denver (plus south of Denver for work); State College, PA; Nicaragua; Austin, TX; Chattanooga, TN; Asheville, NC; McCormick, SC; Orlando, FL; Helen, GA; St. Augustine, FL

So many places, so little time!

Orlando

Chattanooga

Austin

Nashville

Daphne

Denver

Colorado Springs

Lake Apoyo, Nicaragua

Nicaragua

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Hospital

The downfall of social media is that all you see is the wonderful, happy pieces of everyone’s life. Although a lot of great things happened this year, it wasn’t all sugar and spice. The night before my friend’s wedding – one I was supposed to be in – I landed myself in the ER, which turned into the ICU, with some kind of infection. And yes, that’s the most diagnosis I ever got. Needless to say, I missed my friend’s wedding and was devastated. It was also a miserable two weeks being in the hospital for 3 ½ days then recovering. But it was made tolerable and I made it out stronger because of my incredible family and friends. It was a reminder of how lucky I am to have the people who are in my life.

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This guy

As incredible as everything was this year,  this guy takes the cake. We met in our condo complex with the dogs out on the lawn [cue the AWs]. Adorable, right? We grabbed dinner and drinks for our first date on a nearby patio and we hit it off. But little did I know how amazing this year would be together. He is kind, funny, thoughtful and caring. He made it through a stay, by my side, in the ER and ICU just 6 months in. I can go on and on about how much I love this guy, but I’ll spare you. He is easily THE highlight of this year and I can’t wait for the year to come.

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Books

I completed my book challenge by 10 books and had some great ones of the 30 I read! I think I’m going to up my challenge to beat my 30 next year.

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I know not everyone had a great year. I am ignoring some major events that happened in our country this year to focus on my little insignificant life. If it wasn’t a great year for you, I hope for everything and more for you in 2017. Happy New Year!

Here’s to Another Year

I don’t normally do annual posts for my birthday, but this year threw a little curve ball. Just one week ago, instead of standing with my beautiful friend as she married the man of her dreams, I was in the ICU. And it was scary. Medical issues are not a new venture for me, but it’s not something I deal with on a regular basis anymore. My hematologist even bid me farewell just 2 months ago after seeing a hematologist regularly for 20 years.

I’ll spare you all the fun details, but a fever literally came out of nowhere (at the rehearsal dinner of course) and because I don’t have a spleen, my body cannot handle that. This has happened before, about 5 years ago, but I did not end up in the ICU last time. I made a pretty quick recovery, at least from ICU to going home, but just like last time, there was no real diagnosis. Not exactly an easy thing to deal with.

I write all this for the super cheesy but sometimes necessary reminder to not take anything for granted. When I was in need, I had the most amazing people by my side. From my parents who have been through it all for years to two incredible people who could have easily squirmed away. I received an outpouring of love, prayers, well wishes, flowers and coloring books from friends and coworkers. I am a very lucky woman and I am glad I can relax on my birthday (just slightly against my will/ability) and appreciate those who make my life incredible.

Thank you to everyone for all the well wishes this week and birthday wishes today!! Here’s to another year of health, fun, and adventures at 31!

best parents ever

incredible friend

this guy ❤