2012 Recap - Part 2

I posted a review of the first half of 2012 right over here, so here goes the second half of the year!  The adventures just kept getting better.  Enjoy!

July was crazy, and busy, and fun, and new.  I left my old 'day job' at a corporate gym, and moved onto a job at a smaller, wedding industry job.  We celebrated my niece, C's, 1st birthday with a wonderful circus theme party!  I traveled, again, to Huntington Beach to stay with my godson, P, while his parents went to Palm Springs for an anniversary getaway.  I also went to the CrossFit Games in southern California!  What an experience to be so close to the action and see all the things that people can do with their bodies.  July was an exceptional month!

August maybe even beat July!  I turned 24 in August and felt really spoiled by all the love I got and all the time I got to spend with people who mean the world to me.  Early in the month, I ran in another 5k. Just so you know, The Color Run is a seriously fun run!  I celebrated my birthday at home with outings with friends, and a visit from two of my favorite kiddos from Oregon, B and Z!  Then, I went for a spur-of-the-moment "Birthday Weekend o' Fun" in Huntington Beach.  I hung out with my godson and his parents, and my best friend took me on an awesome birthday date where we painted our own little jewelry dishes!  I'm one lucky girl.  

Ok, maybe the year was just getting better and better as it went!  September was amazing, too.  My dad took my mom, my aunt, and me skydiving.  That's the second time I've done it, and I really hope to get certified someday and jump all the time!  I went to Yosemite with friends and went on what may have been my most favorite day hike, ever.  We hiked to the very top of Mt. Hoffman, which happens to be the geographical center of Yosemite.  It was a humbling and amazing experience!  Then, my godson and his mama (for clarification, his mama is my best friend) came up for a visit.  He and my niece, R, are totally in love and had a blast playing in an old tub in our back yard.  Then we took him to Santa Cruz for a day, but he was kind of being a grumpy almost-two-year-old.  It was still a blast!  I'd have to say the only downfall in September was a really bad date with a guy who ended up being a little bit crazy.  But, hey, we'll call it a learning experience! 

October was all about my godson, P, and his second birthday!  I still can't believe he's two already.  Early in the month, we had a big dinosaur theme party here in Northern California.  Then I went down to Huntington Beach for his actual birthday weekend, and we went to the pumpkin patch, carved pumpkins, spent two days at disneyland, and took lots of pictures!

In the way that October was all about P, November was about R's 2nd birthday!  Again, seriously, weren't you just born, little cutie?  R had a super cowgirl theme second birthday party at my house complete with petting zoo!  What an adventure!  We also threw a baby shower for my cousin who's expecting this month, and celebrated Thanksgiving at our cabin as a family.  

As the theme for the year continues, December did what it could to be the best month of the year.  And, I'll say, it was pretty darn great!  I threw a special baby shower for my friend J, (the one who should be in labor any minute now).  It was "little man" theme, and it was amazing!  I'll write a post about it soon.  I spent some family time in Santa Cruz with the B family, and took pictures of them for their Christmas card.  Isn't my niece, C, adorable?  I'm glad that I snuck in for a photo or two, also.  Then I headed down to Huntington Beach to celebrate my best friend's birthday.  I love birthdays!  We went to the Renegade Craft Fair in LA, went to Disneyland, got manicures and pedicures, and ate too much frozen yogurt.  It was a great trip!  Oh, and when we were in LA, we had an impromptu photo shoot with little P, awesome right?  The rest of the month was full of Christmas prep, holiday parties, and time spent with family!

Wow, 2012 was a blast!  These review posts have been all about my personal life.  I'll have to put together a post about the millions (well it felt like millions) of weddings and parties that I did for work in 2012!  

I hope you enjoyed reading about my year.  How was your 2012?  Did you write about it?  I found it was an awesome way to reflect. 

Thanks for sticking around!

2012 Recap - Part 1

After writing about my intentions for 2013, I decided i should also write a recap of 2012.  It was a pretty good year for me.  I got to travel a little bit and spend lots of time with my nieces and nephew.  I also started a new part-time job early in the year, and had a job change mid-year for my "day job."  

Since so much happened in 2012, I had two break up the recap into two parts.  So, here is the first half of my 2012!

January was an interesting month.  Early in the month I was offered a position with Lowe House Creative as an intern, with the plan to transition to a paid position after a few months.  I jumped on this opportunity, and have loved getting to work with Elizabeth over the last year.  My best friend Ashley and my godson came into town early in the month, and we celebrated her mom's birthday.  My Uncle Chris was really sick in January and passed away at the end of the month.  He was such an amazing human and a difficult loss for our family.  I miss him desperately.  What I really remember about January was being so happy to see the calendar switch over to 2012, since 2011 had been an especially rough year.

February was a fantastic month, overall!  Some things I did in February:  Planned an executed a phenomenal Celebration of Life for my Uncle Chris.  Watched my niece, C, be baptized.  Helped plan and execute an incredible surprise 30th birthday party for my best friend's husband.  Attended a benefit concert for Camp Jack Hazard, where two of my favorite alumni, Brett Dennen and Nathan Dennen, put on an incredible show!  Attended and took pictures at a spur-of-the-moment Leap Day wedding for family friends.

March was a pretty great month.  I got to travel to Huntington Beach to visit my best friend, and go to Disneyland with her and my godson!  I also saw Mason Jennings in Santa Cruz.  And I had a special St Patrick's day photo shoot with my niece, R.  Isn't she adorable?



April brought another trip to Huntington Beach, and I ran in my first 5k, which was also a mud run!  It was a blast, and totally exhausting!

May was a fun filled month!  A Mother's Day trip to our family cabin, a sun-filled weekend at the CrossFit NorCal Regional Competition cheering on Diablo CrossFit (followed by a wicked sunburn!), and our annual family Memorial Day Weekend trip with both my nieces, C and R!

June brought some fun adventures, and some great physical activities (my favorite)!  I ran/walked in a 5 mile run that also had a bunch of CrossFit workouts built in!  The picture on the right above is me right after.  It was quite a butt kicking!  I also found out in June that my good friend J was pregnant, and I went to her first ultrasound with her.  Fun fact, she's due to pop at any moment with a little boy!  In June, I also raised $300 for CrossFit for Hope, and participated in the workout.  Myself, my mom, my aunt, and a close family friend spent my mom's birthday, and the days surrounding it, on an amazing backpacking trip in the Sierra Nevada mountains. The trip's purpose was to memorialize my Uncle Scott, so we hiked to his favorite place on Earth.  It was a beautiful trip, and I wouldn't trade the memories for anything!

So, there you have it, the first half of 2012 in a nutshell!  Check back for the second half of the year, coming at you soon.

Free Nail Polish Find

Sometimes, I think I'll blog about serious stuff.  Sometimes, I think I'll blog about creative stuff.  Sometimes, I think I'll blog about random stuff.  Today, I think I'll blog about free nail polish!

Get your booties over to zoya.com and use the code ZOYA2013 to get three free nail polishes of your choice (you only pay a $10 handling fee).

Note, I'm not affiliated with zoya at all, but I own a few of their polishes and happen to love them!

Cheers,
Alyssa

2013

A year ago, my best friend and I made a 'resolution' to start blogging.  Both of us fell way short of accomplishing that resolution.  Back in August I decided to get a blog design set up, since I felt that was holding me back.  Still, no blogging.  The thing I think I've struggled with most, is how to start?  Well, as the quote above (from singer Brad Paisley) says, today is the first blank page in a book just waiting to be filled.  So, here I go.  

I remember waiting for the start of 2012 with great anticipation.  2011 had been a rough year for me, as I was met with much heartache, loss, and change that felt severely negative and painful.  I can't say that 2012 started off well, but it evened out as the year went.  I had some truly wonderful moments in the past year, moments that I wouldn't trade for anything.  

As I look forward to 2013, I don't want to put too much pressure on myself or the year as a whole.  However, I also am afraid of waking up a year from now feeling as if nothing has changed.  I can't say at this moment exactly what changes I want to see, but I'm working on clarifying that for myself, and I simply hope to look back a year from now and be proud of the way that I spent my time and energy in 2013.

I've decided that I don't want to set any resolutions for myself.  I think that the phrase 'New Year's Resolutions' has a negative connotation and will simply open me up for failure.  Instead, I've decided to outline some 'intentions' for myself and my year.  Some of them may be specific, some more vague, some I am confident that I can achieve, and some I'm afraid of.  

1.  Change.  I think this is the word that I'm choosing as my 'one little word' for 2013 (a concept from Ali Edwards.)  It's not to say that I want to change the person I am, or change my life so much that I don't recognize it.  I do, however, want to be open to change.  I want to be ready for change in a way that makes me open to new or changing relationships, open to new endeavors in business, and open to potential changes of scenery.  I can't say with clarity that any or all of these things will change in the next year, because so much of it is outside my control, but I want to be open to change in these parts of my life. 

2. Nature.  This morning, I had the opportunity to sit alone on a beach and reflect for a while.  As I looked back on 2012, I realized that many of my favorite moments from the past year were when I stepped away from work, and home, and technology and reconnected with nature.  In 2013, I intend to make more time to connect with nature.  This could mean a hike on the mountain close to my house, a trip to Yosemite, a walk on the beach, or adventures in new beautiful places.  It's not always easy to make time to escape the day-to-day, but I intend to do my best.

3. Adventure.  In some ways, this is similar to my 'nature' intention, and in some ways it is different.  I intend to open myself up to new experiences, adventures, and travels in 2013.  I'm on the right path already, as I'm traveling to Hawaii for the first time in just 22 days!  There are also plans in the works for a Europe trip in Summer 2013.  Sometimes though, adventure doesn't mean going far.  I want to explore close to home and try new things, because that's what life is all about.

4. Stability.  Many of my other intentions hinge on finding ways to make myself more stable financially.  I admittedly have poor money habits, and I simply need to work harder in this department, so that I'm able to run off on crazy adventures!  Finding stability, however, may require me to make some risks, and I'm okay with that.  

5. Write and Read.  I've been a student for so many years, and have spent so much time reading and writing for school, that I have all but abandoned my personal reading and writing.  This blog should help in the writing department, if I stick to it!  I also want to handwrite more letters to send by snail mail, who doesn't love getting letters?  In addition, I want to read for pleasure again!  Once I get into this, perhaps I'll do some recaps and reviews of books on my blog.  

6. Do more things I love.  This one can be a bit of an umbrella intentions that fits with "Nature," "Adventure," and "Write and Read."  It's more than that though.  I really enjoy taking photos, and I would like to develop that skill further, and use my big camera more.  I'll share photos here, I promise!  Crafting of different outlets is another thing I love, and I hope to find more time to create and make things for myself and my family and friends.

7. Health and Fitness.  I don't want this to be like everyone's cliche "go to the gym" or "eat healthy" resolutions.  As it is, I workout 4+ times each week and eat what many consider a super healthy diet (more about that later).  In 2013, I intend to clean up my eating habits further, and improve in my fitness endeavors.  This really deserves it's own post, so I'll share more soon.  

I think this pretty much sums up my intentions for 2013.  Some of these are tangible, and others are very difficult to measure.  I just hope to read this again in a year, and feel a sense of accomplishment!

What are your intentions for 2013?  I'd love to hear!