I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas! As we close out 2022, I wanted to take some time on the blog to share some highlights/reflections as I look back on the year.

January:

In January we went on our annual trip to Scottsdale, AZ, with Alec’s dad, my brother+sister-in-law, and nephew (newest nephew will join next trip!). Always a wonderful time! This trip Alec and I hiked (or steeply rock scrambled?) Camelback Mountain which led to some stunning views of the Phoenix metro area. We are looking forward to our next trip to Arizona in a couple of weeks. Hoping to do this hike (or another nearby hike) again!

Other highlights in January included celebrating my grandpa’s 90th birthday and finishing some projects at home.

February:

In February we watched (one of my favorite movies) The Sound of Music and enjoyed a traditional Austrian dinner of chicken schnitzel, lemon parsley potatoes, green beans and sachertorte brownies for dessert. This was a lot of fun and could become a yearly tradition!

Overall February was a challenging month with some stressful/not-my-favorite internship rotations and feeling extra busy with starting to study for my RD exam. On a more positive note, we enjoyed watching Michigan basketball, dinner out for Valentine’s Day, and a few fun evenings with friends.

March:

In March I continued to get outside in the morning and saw a number of unusual moon sightings and sunrises! March was also more of a stressful month for me with studying for my test and wrapping up my internship.

April:

In April we celebrated my 28th birthday and a week later I passed my RD exam. I was SO HAPPY to be done studying and able to move on with that part of my life. Words cannot express.

Other memories from April include celebrating Easter, going to a fun couples’ bowling shower, a friend’s baby shower, and spending a lot more time at home this month since my internship was no longer (no sadness there…).

May: 

In May we went camping in Mackinaw City… it ended up being quite a cold weekend! The first night was pouring rain but actually ended up being fun randomly exploring the Mackinac Bridge Museum and having a fabulous dinner at White Buffalo. Despite the somewhat colder temps we still enjoyed some hiking, scenic driving, and scenic views.

Other highlights in May included starting my private practice, making a key lime cheesecake for Mother’s Day (one of my favorite desserts I made this year), and going to my cousin Kate’s graduation from MSU.

June:

In June we went to my cousin Daina’s wedding on Walloon Lake in northern Michigan. It was a beautiful early-June weekend weather-wise!

Other aspects of June I enjoyed were getting back into more cooking/baking with my post-internship life, celebrating my mom’s birthday, and (as always) loving the warmer temps and longer days for running/walking!

July:

In July we went to my grandparents’ house on Coldwater Lake for our usual 4th of July festivities. Always a lot of fun with waterskiing, tubing, fireworks, cherry pie, and more!

I also visited my best friend Steph in Grand Haven, we continued connecting with new friends at our church, went to a baby shower, and continued to enjoy the early-morning sunshine. The consistent sun in the morning has to be my favorite part of summer!

August:

August began our busier end to the rest of the year. One of my favorite memories from this year was Ellen and Dylan’s wedding weekend (again) in Walloon Lake/Petoskey area. We had the best time on this long-weekend up north!

August also featured celebrating my grandpa’s 90th birthday with most of my cousins/extended family in Coldwater, celebrating my brother Jack’s birthday, and the start of our end-of-summer trip to West Virginia. I was grateful for these fun moments in August, because at the same time August was also full of sleep insomnia struggles, knee pain, and increased anxious/obsessive thinking challenges! Ugh.

September:

As alluded to, at the end of August/into September we went on our amazing trip to West Virginia! We had the best time exploring New River Gorge, Spruce Knob (above), and Harpers Ferry. Plenty of scenic driving, hiking, and time to unwind mentally.

As summer faded into fall we had fun going to the Michigan-Maryland football game, hosting Alec’s mom in town, and getting into some delicious fall cooking + baking.

October:

My favorite time of year! This past October we had a stunning weekend of fall colors (and unusually warm weather, this time) camping in Charlevoix. More scenic fall driving, hiking, and enjoying the beautiful view at our campsite.

October also included a fishing day trip with my dad and brother, hosting Alec’s dad in town, going to the Michigan-MSU football game, and some fun events with our church!

November:

In November we celebrated Alec’s 30th birthday! Celebrations included a family party in Grosse Pointe, dinner for the two of us at Chop House, and another family celebration in Iowa.

November was a full month with another trip up north for a girls’ weekend with a few of my college friends, going to a high school friend’s wedding, (freezing) but enjoying the win at the Michigan-Illinois game, spending the week of Thanksgiving in Iowa, and relishing an epic Michigan win over Ohio State!

December:

In December we went to the Big Ten Championship in Indy, celebrated our anniversary + a number of family birthdays, spent Christmas in Michigan with my side of the family, and got a chance to slow down a bit (this week) and relax at home more. A few tasty dinners out, Christmas baking, holiday foods w/ family, card games, and more.

Other favorites from 2022:

Books: The Lifegiving Table, The Book of Lost Names, Awaking Wonder, The Body Keeps the Score, The Last Thing He Told Me, The Diamond Eye, The Power of Showing Up, The Winemaker’s Wife, Fahrenheit 451, The Rose Code 

Recipes: Fattoush salad, lemon bars, key lime cheesecake, chocolate strawberry smoothie, chocolate chip cookie pizza, pulled chicken BBQ sandwiches, Thai mango curry, roasted cauliflower soup, tahini date smoothie, shakshuka, gingerbread energy bites, lemon blueberry pancakes

Random favorites: sunrises/sunsets, weighted blanket, fall colors, TJ’s 72% organic dark chocolate, quiet evenings at home, Michigan football/basketball, Saturday morning runs + pancakes, scenic drives, baking sourdough, exploring more of my home state, Redeemer Ann Arbor

Wishing a peaceful and life-giving end of the year to everyone!