Saturday, January 6, 2018

Goodbye 2017



2017 was a year of mostly ups.  We did have a few bumps at the end of the year (new furnace! new bank account because mine got hacked!) but overall I can't complain.

I had a pretty successful year of travel which was great for my desire to experience new things.  I don't think I have ever traveled so much in a year's time. A couple of these were same trip with multiple destinations but I spent a lot of time sitting on a plane this year!
  • Minneapolis, MN
  • Minneapolis, MN
  • Dallas, TX
  • Boston, MA
  • London, UK
  • Paris, FR
  • Minneapolis, MN
  • Atlanta and Savannah, VA
  • Hilton Head, SC
  • Denver, Boulder, and Estes Park, CO
  • Palo Alto, CA
  • San Francisco, CA
  • Minneapolis, MN
  • Bangalore, IN
London, Paris, and Bangalore were the highlights of my year of travel.  And 2018 is starting off with a bang as well.  I will be headed to Minneapolis again here in a few weeks, followed up by a trip to The Netherlands and Germany.  

I didn't do so well staying on KETO.  The first half of the year wasn't so bad but with all the travel I did in the second half and my lack of discipline, I definitely fell off the wagon. I can report now that I am happily back on the wagon and intend to stay on for awhile.  I haven't felt great because of it and I know if I am back to eating right, the rest falls into place.  Needless to say, my weight has also crept up so I have some work to do again to get back to where I was.

I managed to read 14 books.  I set a goal to read 20 and if I finished any of the 5 or so books I am in the process of reading, I would nearly be there.  Unfortunately, I am a mood reader.  I often get tired of a certain type of book and start something I am in the mood for which means I am reading 5 books at a time.  

We managed to redo Penny's room which was a big project but has helped to keep her room so much cleaner and easier to organize. I also managed to get my office into better shape.  I shut down most of my online business stuff freeing up space where products were stored.

We managed to meet our financial goals for savings. I don't think I have blogged about this so much but we started 2017 with a more aggressive retirement plan including opening an IRA and putting away more savings than just our 401K.  The market's performance certainly didn't hurt our situation.

I completed several cross stitching projects - A grandkids portrait for my grandma, a family portrait for my cousin and her family, a Pac Man video game for my husband, a flower bouquet for a crafty gift exchange, and a Paris 2017 scene for my mom to remember our trip.  I also worked on two other projects - a Nevertheless She Persisted and a Guns N Roses Album cover both to hopefully be completed later this year.  I also worked on several other crafts including a fun ornament day with family where we made cute unicorn ornaments. I also managed to make a pretty cute Christmas Village as well.

My whole family became more musical.  Tori really picked up more songs once she moved over to an electric guitar.  Penny started playing the drums.  Josh started playing the acoustic guitar and I got a nice keyboard although I have only really gotten Journey's Faithfully down so far.

Josh finally got his long awaited tattoo done.  It is my turn now... and I'm a bit of a chicken considering the size of what I want to get...

I saw another whale in my lifetime now in the San Francisco Bay.  I have this thing about whales too.

I filled my tea cabinet between trips to Davids Tea and Celestial Seasonings Factory in Boulder.  

I went to more weddings than average this year including a cool Star Wars one!

I restarted my Lisa Frank sticker collection from the 80's because really is there anything cooler?

I organized and decluttered a ton.  In fact my pantry and linen closets still don't look too shabby.

I sprouted more gray hairs than I have in all my prior 39 years. 

I planted more succulents and cactus and managed to kill all of them off yet again.  We also planted a lilac bush and a gardenia tree.  We'll see if they come back in the springs.

Here are some of my favorites from 2017:


Movie: The Big Sick

TV: Dark *Netflix, The Handsmaid's Tale *Hulu


Craft: Cross Stitching

Run in with a celebrity: Paula Deen

Art: Everything at The Louvre, Bonaventure Cemetary

Indulgence: L'Occitane

Tea: Chai Masala (India), Caramel Apple (Celestial Seasonings)

Meal: Paneer Butter Masala (India), Ham & Cheese Crepes (Paris), Cornish Pasty (Stratford Upon Avon), Pimento Cheese Sandwich (Hilton Head), Eating M&S Food on the train from London to Paris...

Concert: Paul McCartney 

Destination: Paris, France but so many were awesome

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