2014 Year in Review

Looking back at 2014 is tricky. It was a year of a lot of change. If you have been reading this blog for awhile, some of you may already know of some of the events of the year. It’s not at all easy to sum up, and that may be why I have found myself compacting it into this sentence- In five months, I lost my mother and two dogs and got married. It seems kind of blunt, but it’s true and a lot can be gathered from it. Of course the year wasn’t all bad. In the midst of all that tragedy, I had one of the best days of my life: my wedding. In the ashes of that sadness, I have become even more grateful for all the wonderful things in my life, especially my friends and family. I guess that’s what life is. I guess that’s what getting older is…

Each year, I set goals for myself. I remember going easy on myself with this year’s goals, because even though my mother was doing better at the time, I knew we had the wedding looming, so I didn’t want to over commit myself.

One of my goals, of course, was to make my own wedding dress. That in and of itself was a humongous goal and I am amazed I achieved it. It wasn’t anything super fancy, but it was exactly what I wanted and I didn’t give up, so I am proud of myself for that. The final dress post is here and there are a few posts about the planning and fitting as well.

I also think Matt, Flower (my maid of honor) and I did a stellar job of planning and decorating for the wedding. There are a series of posts on that as well. Everything exceeded my expectations and I am still in disbelief at how awesome everything turned out.

Another big goal that I achieved was knitting my first sweater, the Miette cardigan. I came in just under the wire on this one, having just completed it Christmas Eve!

Which ties into another goal I met, I couldn’t have completed this sweater without the help of my new friends at the knitting night I have been going to. They are the most interesting, sweet and sassy group of wine drinking women I have met in a long time (probably since the roller derby days). They immediately welcomed me in and have been more than willing to answer all my questions and show me how to do things. I am really excited to continue hanging, drinking and learning with these lovely ladies in 2015.

The only other goal I met, was that I set up my shop, as meager as it is. There are still a few shirts left too, if you want to check it out!

Matt did get the herb garden going, so that was taken off my plate.

There just wasn’t time for the rest; the Master Preserver’s Class, the interviews or the videos (although I have been playing around with Final Cut). Everything can roll over to next year, and will, when I post my 2015 goals. I have been trying to be kind to myself lately and let myself rest a bit after this crazy whirlwind of a year. I think I deserve it, don’t you? 😉 In the meantime, I will be celebrating the end of this year. It was bittersweet, so I am ready to start a new one. So Happy New Year everyone and see you next year!