Hello everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and are enjoying time with friends and family this week. Wishing you all a restful holiday week!

With 2024 coming to a close, I’m dropping by the blog today with a recap of the past year. I always find it valuable to reflect on the past year — challenges, encouragements, gratitude — as well as look ahead to the upcoming year.

I’m not really a “resolutions” person, but I do like to think intentionally about how I spend my time / go about life, and (like many people) find the end of the year to be a natural time to reflect on this more thoroughly. I consider reflecting on the past year to be one tool to help myself with intentionality and thoughtfulness toward life.

What are you grateful for as we wrap up the year? What have been your biggest challenges, disappointments, celebrations, and encouragements?

2024 Year in Review:

January // 

January was probably one of my more favorite months of the past year, with Michigan winning the National Championship and going to Phoenix for our annual long weekend with Alec’s side of the family. Considering how much of a role following Michigan Football has played in my entire life (ENTIRE life is no exaggeration), seeing them win a National Championship was absolutely amazing. (They did win a prior last National Championship in 1997 but I was only 3 years old then and obviously don’t remember it). That being said, it was sad to lose Jim Harbaugh as our coach so quickly afterwards, along with a lot of the other players and staff, which made everything bittersweet.

In the Phoenix area, I enjoyed plenty of sun and hiking. It’s always so nice to get some time in the sun when the Michigan winters tend to be so dark and gray. Alec’s knee has been bothering him most of this year, so it was a bummer that we didn’t really get to do any hiking together on this trip (or much throughout this year in general which has been on an ongoing low!).

February //

February was a quieter month (as is often typical for me it seems — no complaints here coming from an extreme introvert!). A couple of main highlights were going to my grandparents’ house on Coldwater Lake for a winter weekend, and going to Blue Llama Jazz Club in Ann Arbor (highly recommend!).

I’ve been dealing with a lot of health issues this year, and February was one of the months where it was all more obviously worse symptoms-wise. Think plenty of insomnia, gut, autoimmune, and hormonal issues. Wonderfully fun. Thankfully I am now getting help with all of that through a functional health (root cause) approach. There have been way too many nights the past few years where I have hardly slept at all. Starting to actually get real help with these issues is a major HIGH to the end of this year!

March // 

March continued with a lot of exhaustion with the sleep issues, a schedule that perpetually felt too full, and Alec’s commute / job that was becoming increasingly draining. One fun aspect of the month is that my mom and I hosted a bridal shower for my cousin Kate. Everything came together well and we enjoyed the wedding festivities leading up to the June event! We also hosted Alec’s mom over Easter weekend at the end of March.

April // 

The spring was really a turning point for the rest of my year, with so many highs and lows, ups and downs. In April my personal schedule / commitments lightened up a bit, I had my best month of business revenue of the year, and I celebrated my 30th birthday.

Alec and I went to Pacific Rim for my actual birthday, and then the next day (a Sunday) my parents, brothers, and grandparents came to our church in Ann Arbor and then we all went out to eat at Dixboro House (pictured above). This happened to be one of my favorite family memories, which I am especially grateful for since one of my grandmas (my mom’s mom) ended up having a stroke unexpectedly the very next weekend, so this was my last memory with her (she passed away a few weeks later in May). I’m glad we all shared this wonderful day of beautiful sunshine, delicious food, and a good time all together.

May //

May was another rollercoaster of a month, with our trip to Idaho, my grandma’s funeral events, and continued health challenges. On a positive note, the trip to Idaho was amazing! Highlights included hiking Lizard Butte on a beautiful morning, our time in Stanley (pictured above), lots of delicious food, and the stunning scenery of mountains and valleys.

June //

In June, we celebrated my mom’s 60th birthday and also my cousin’s wedding. It was fun to see extended family at the wedding. And I absolutely loved the taste of the strawberry shortcake (above) that I made for my mom! However, with all that we’ve had going on this year, I feel like we didn’t get a chance to enjoy the summer as much, which was a bit of a bummer.

July //

In July, I was in my friend from college’s wedding, and at the end of the month we went on a trip to Pennsylvania with Alec’s side of the family to visit with extended family. We enjoyed the time seeing family, and touring Gettysburg and Hershey.

Summer carried on as we looked toward fall, anticipating some positive changes!

August //

At the start of August, I went up to northern Michigan with my mom to see Jewel in concert at Interlochen. This was amazing! I also enjoyed the above Mediterranean-style salmon dish before the concert, which was definitely one of my favorite restaurant dishes that I ate this year. I also went to Coldwater for a summer weekend with my parents and one of my brothers — it was really cold / windy, so I didn’t get any waterskiing in this year!! Terrible! :/ We punted on our lake plans and went to the 4-H fair instead, which was still fun and something we used to do every year when I was younger.

September //

September brought some relief with the sleep issues (currently — hit or miss, but not as bad as earlier this year). What stands out to me from this month were the many sunny days and beautiful sunrises that I saw while out running in the mornings. A number of days where the sun was such a bright, beautiful, orange globe!

Alec’s mom came for a fall visit, Michigan Football was quite frustrating, and we started attending a new small group at our church.

October //

October was a full, yet fun month! Every year Alec and I head to northern Michigan for a fall weekend, trying to hit peak fall colors wherever we may be going. We have had such amazing memories on these trips the past 6 years! This year we went to Mackinac Island, for what was probably my favorite trip yet. We especially enjoyed our morning sunrise walks, and a fabulous dinner at The Woods (see here in this post). We also celebrated the news of Alec’s new job offer, which meant the end of his long and stressful commute through metro Detroit! YAY.

Usually we don’t travel so much in October, but this year I was grateful to have an entire week off to head to Florida for a delayed celebratory 60th birthday trip for my mom in Marco Island (where my parents’ condo is). We took some professional photos on the beach, which (professional photography) is something we hadn’t done in a long time.

November // 

In November Alec started his new job — it has been so nice for him not to have such a long commute, and it feels good knowing he’s not so far away on any given day. November was one of the more fun and encouraging months of the year, with the extensive road construction outside our townhouse finally coming to an end, celebrating Alec’s birthday (and attempting homemade palak paneer for the first time), cleaning out our exercise room because of an ongoing project we had going on in there, Alec’s dad coming for a visit, going to the DSO (Detroit Symphony Orchestra) with my dad, enjoying a delicious Thanksgiving turkey dinner at my aunt and uncle’s house, and beating Ohio State in football! YES. GO BLUE.

This November was unusually cloudy and gray — Alec and I kept commenting on how unusually dark it felt for a couple of weeks, even for late fall in Michigan.

December // 

Each December, I look forward to extra time to wind down and relax as the year comes to a close. I always feel like I’m in such need of a break at that point (not sure if that means I need to manage the rest of the year better or what!). We’ve had several Christmas-related events scheduled throughout the month, but I’ve also been mindful not to overbook our calendar so that we have the time we need to rest and recharge. We’ve also enjoyed celebrating our 6th anniversary, watching Michigan Basketball, and rooting for the Lions! It’s been a bummer that the Lions have had so many injuries as the regular season winds down! :/

2024 felt unexpectedly exhausting, but also encouraging — I’m getting healthier physically (and Alec, too!), Alec has his new job, and we are making some positive shifts both personally and professionally. There is much to be grateful for!

“Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!” // Psalm 107:1

Some Favorite Reads & Eats From 2024: 

Books:

The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert, Never Broken, The Highly Sensitive Person, This Beautiful Truth, The Attachment Effect, The Phoenix Crown, Understanding the Wounded Heart, Heaven, Heidi, Sent, The Opposite of Butterfly Hunting, Digital Minimalism, Deep Work, The Relationship Cure, Hillbilly Elegy, The Secret Book of Flora Lea, Be Ready When the Luck Happens

Recipes:

Homemade Tagalongs, favorite chicken salad, curry-seasoned salmon w/ roasted veggies, strawberry shortcake, almond flour rolls, broccoli peanut veggie bowls, veggie-loaded bolognese, pumpkin chocolate chip muffins, cilantro peanut chicken, peanut butter caramel, gingerbread cake, and plenty of my favorite dark chocolate 🙂

Wishing you a peaceful end to 2024 and wonderful start to the New Year!