It’s been almost a full year since my last blog post. To be completely honest, I wasn’t sure if I would return to blogging. It’s been a very busy year with numerous ups and downs, and this website has been very far from my mind.

I’ve been catching myself forming long emails at work that are just used to compose my thoughts and get them down in writing. I’ve always loved that about writing, that I can simply write and it helps me see things clearer and keeps more organized. I think as I write, and when I write, I’m able to think more clearly.

So I have this mixture of random drafts that range from goals and aspirations to ideas and to-do lists and plans. I realized, a little ironically, that this is what I used to use my blog for, and I was hit with a bit of nostalgia and really missed being able to compose well-rounded and cohesive thoughts that really encapsulate what I’m thinking and where I’m at in my life.

I’ve been receiving emails recently that my domain is going to expire, and I kept debating and going back and forth on whether or not I would renew it, but seeing all those drafts in my work email inbox really helped me make my decision. So a few minutes ago I renewed my domain for another year and here we are.

All that being said, a lot has happened in the last year, so I thought I would give y’all a bit of a recap of what’s been going on:

In June, we traveled to to Colorado to see one of my best friends from college get married. This was our second time in Colorado in two years, but we loved it so much we made it a long weekend and visited some of our favorite spots and some new ones. We visited Rock Mountain National Park again, which was even more beautiful in the summer time. We were able to venture all the way into the park this time, as last time we went part of the park was closed due to heavy snow fall.

In July, I went on my first cruise to the Caribbean! We went to Puerto Rico, Aruba, St. Thomas, Curacao, and St. Kitts. It was a great time with family, but a very new experience. I’m not sure I would go on a cruise again because of all the crowds, but it was something I’ve always wanted to experience so no regrets!

In August, me and Andrew bought a house! This has been such an adventure for us, and I really think where my priorities started to shift away from the blog and towards bigger things. We bought a house a bit under our budget so that we could do some renovations, and oh my goodness, let me just say it looks so much more fun on HGTV than it does in reality! We put new flooring in, took out a wall, painted pretty much every square inch, replaced all the baseboards, removed trees and brush in the backyard, put up a fence, and so much more!

In addition to the renovations, we’ve also had to furnish a whole house! In the house we were renting, all the furniture was provided so we had a lot of shopping to do. We still have a giant to-do list of things we’d love to do to the house, and I’m finding that there is always work to do! Slowly our house is becoming home and we love the area we moved to. It’s a bit of a further commute to work, but it’s so worth it.

In October, my grandpa died. This hurt, and it still huts. Even typing this now tears have pricked my eyes. My grandpa played such a huge role in my life growing up. He was always there for every big moment: birthdays, graduations, holidays, my wedding, you name it and he was there. Growing up, he was my best friend and there was no place cooler than grandpa’s house. He is sorely missed, but it was also his time. He was ready to be with Jesus and I know he is infinitely happier where he is now than he ever could have been here.

In December, I accepted a new position in the Procurement department at my company. I had been actually interviewing for several months before that and it was an extremely stressful time for me. I really had my eyes set on a couple of accounting positions, but it just didn’t work out. I interviewed for this position on a whim and turns out they liked me! I’m really enjoying my new position so far and I work with a great team and a wonderful manager. Plus, the pay raise is pretty sweet, too., haha. I’m not honestly sure if this is a position I can see myself in long term, but it’s great experience and it’s much better than the toxic environment that I was in, so either way it’s a win-win! There’s also a lot of room for growth, so I’m just going to play it by ear and take it day by day.

So that’s been my past year in a nut shell! I have a lot that I’m looking forward to sharing as well as just being able to put words to paper (in a digital format, that is) again.

I’ll end this post with a cute picture of my crazy dog, Chloe.