2019 Year in Review- Back where I belong!

I'm baaaaaaaaack! There were some nice things about Wordpress, but my heart is with blogger. Also blogger is free and one of my goals of 2020 is to spend less. I'm even doing a NO BUY for January. I'm also doing DRY JANUARY, but that's another blog!

I LOVE looking back at these yearly reviews and this one will bring me lots of future smiles for sure :)

January
We kicked off the year celebrating Christmas with Lonnie's parents, eating some yummy food and enjoying each other's company. The rest of the month was just trying to enjoy winter in Maine - which has been a challenge in the past (Seasonal Affective Disorder anyone? Anyone?). We both put mental and physical health at the forefront with lots of cooking, exercise, and good times.

February

More of that whole "Let's get through winter and enjoy it this year!" stuff! Pretty sure there was a trip to Portland to visit Jessi in there somewhere. There usually was!  ---well until July, but we'll get to that!

March

As Jean Auel said, "The mother has broken the back of winter." While winter was still in full force, you could just feel it was on it's way out! I learned to cross country ski! We made our annual St. Patrick's day trip to Portland! We also got some sad news that our family dog, Cooper, had reached the end of his life and had to be put to sleep. He was a great dog!

April

A BIG MONTH! Nicole and I cooked up a plan to take the men and go on a BESTFRIENDAVERSARY! 20 years of friendship deserved a big celebration. I love that bitch!

I also ran a 5k with my friend, Michelle. OK, I mostly walked a 5k, but it was super fun in the cold driving rain feeling like fools and coming in near last place!

May

COULD SPRING REALLY BE HERE!!??  YES IT COULD! Lot's of time spent outside! Lonnie and Sean built a great outdoor project and cooking station stable. We all tried to learn to throw knives and axes and I was very disappointed I was not a natural and gave up too quickly. I also decided to start trying to eat a little less red meat since I have a history of colon cancer on both sides of my family. Not gonna lie... it lasted only a couple months and then we kinda forgot we were doing that LOL  --Gotta get back to that!

June

I had to go to Houlton for a conference. A nice little adventure with my friend and co-worker Sarah and WOW is Houlton in the middle of nowhere!

In bigger news... In typical Jessi fashion, she decided to make a big move this summer. Summer seems to be her time for big changes and adventures. We saw her off to move to Williamsburg, Virginia with her boyfriend, Tony. We initially pretended it was just a summer thing, but we all knew she wasn't coming back to Maine. I was so sad to see her go again but so happy for her and proud of her adventurous spirit. I hate the cliche term 'wanderlust,' but I love the sentiment and that she has it!

July

SO. MUCH. FISHING. I have a new obsession. I watch youtube videos about fishing. I daydream about sitting on the lake in my kayak. I have a sizeable collection of gear. Sprinkled in a little paddleboarding and swimming for good measure, but it was really all about the fishing! And the workouts! We tried a Crossfit class and LOVED it, but it's way out of our budget, so instead we starting doing crossfit style workouts at the Y and had a blast!

Oh yeah... and I wore a bikini for the first time in my life!

August

Guess what? You guessed it, MORE FISHING! AND a trip to Nashville to visit Mom and Chris! We learned Nashville in August is, um, FUCKING HOT! We had always kinda thought we might move there, but this trip led to my decision Nashville is not for me. The heat, the humidity, no ocean anywhere nearby, the traffic, the effects of gentrification, the sprawling nature of the area... pass. 

Lonnie and I went on our first road trip to Freeport/Portland without Jessi (or my dad) there to visit with. It was kinda weird and a little bit sad for me, but it was still a great day together stocking up on coffee and exploring.

Sean's first day of school was in August too! 

AND I lost enough weight to say BYE BYE to Lane Bryant and HELLO to American Eagle!!

September

I smell Autumn!  Had to get in all the fishing we could before it was time to put up the kayaks for the winter.  Lonnie and I got a new fishing kayaks that are AMAZING!! I can't wait to take them out this year! I also ran another 5k and actually trained this time so was able to run most of it!!  ....still not all of it though. THAT WILL happen this year!

October 

Kayaks put away. Boooooo! We still got in lots of outdoors time -while we still could! Nicole took Sean and Sophie's senior photos and they came out so great! I actually still haven't had any printed because I can't decide which I like best. 

November

This month was all about time spent with family and friends! Hockey! Thanksgiving! Lisa's 60th Birthday celebration!

December

Lonnie and I celebrated our 5th Anniversary and his 45th birthday. Yay, we're the same age again for a few months and I'm not a cougar!! We took a short cruise out of New Orleans because we wanted to see a new place together, but also celebrate in an "old" place and the cruise stopped in Cozumel- where we spent our first day as a married couple. We even went to the same place for the day! After the vacation was a scramble to get ready for Christmas. The last couple weeks of December were actually pretty rough with trying to get stuff done, missing Jessi and knowing she couldn't come home for Christmas, having the anniversary of my dad's death on my mind, and then B (my former mother-in-law) went into the hospital and died a few days later, breaking the hearts of so many people who loved her- including me. While it is sad, it has been beautiful to see and hear all the tributes to her in a true celebration of her life and the way she lived it!