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I can’t believe that in 2 days it will have been a year since I last wrote a blog on here. I’ve started a few, just haven’t finished any. Sometimes I didn’t really feel like writing and other times I just got super busy. Now that I’ve got some free time, I’ll catch you all up on how last year went.
JANUARY
January was a bit of a rough month. I worked on some training videos at work during my break from school and then school started the second week of the month. I worked and did school and also attended meetings with the Polk County DA about my case in preparation for testifying in front of the Grand Jury. My friend was also testing out being an online personal trainer, so I got to spend a few months being given some interesting workouts to do. That was pretty fun. I also got to visit with my dear friend, Grant, who I only get to see every few years. We’ve been friends since 3rd grade and he was driving through Oregon, so I met up with him for a little while one day.
A sweet moment from January was when I was stressing out during the second week of school, a few days before meeting with the DA, and Holly brought me over a cute little care package with balloons, my favorite color of rose, my favorite snack, a card, and some popcorn. It was really sweet and was definitely a highlight of the month.
FEBRUARY
February was a pretty run-of-the-mill month for the most part. School, work, life. All the normal stressors. My parents sent me some pretty flowers, which was nice. It snowed at the beginning of the month and I got to make a cute little snowman on my porch, which was fun. Then there was Valentine’s Day. I got some pretty roses, Holly gave me a heart box filled with tacos, and I watched Holly’s kids so they could have a cute little date. I also got a portable washing machine, which was pretty fantastic with all the snow and rain. I got to stay warm inside while doing my laundry instead of walking to the laundry center. Man, that makes me feel like such an adult. haha.
It snowed again at the end of the month, on a day I didn’t have to work, which was nice. I stayed warm with homemade grilled cheese and tomato soup. Yum. And then I testified in front of the Grand Jury at the end of the month. It was definitely scary, but it made me feel good that I faced it head on and did it.
MARCH
March was actually a pretty fun month. I got to spend a lot of time with Holly’s kids and do fun things with Holly. I also spent a lot of time working on my term project, which was a research paper on managing autistic behaviors. I’ve actually been able to use my job for a lot of homework assignments, which has been pretty cool. At the end of the month, Holly and I spent a day celebrating her birthday. We went to a movie, went to Portland to get ice cream at Cookie Dough Cafe, spent a few hours with our other friend in Portland, had dinner at Escape from NY Pizza, got some bath bombs as Lush, got more ice cream at Salt & Straw, and played games while drinking root beer and watching a movie at Valerie’s house. It was pretty great.
My favorite thing about March was going to New York for a week to hang out with my mom, brother, and my brother’s boyfriend. It was nice to get out and celebrate the end of the term. We did all sorts of fun stuff. We ate at a Malaysian restaurant, went to a few donut places, explored some parks, checked out a couple farmer’s markets, went to some fun second-hand stores, played games, tried new restaurants, and explored new places. I spent a day at Coney Island while the rest of them relaxed and my mom and I spent a day exploring Harlem and Central Park before showing up to surprise my brother at his work.
APRIL
It felt like a ton of stuff happened in April. I started the final term for my degree, which was pretty exciting. Stressful, but exciting. I had to go to my school in Wilsonville a few times to meet with my advisor. For the first meeting, Holly went with me and was able to get a picture of a beautiful rainbow while on the way up there. Afterwards, we did a temple session, which was really nice. Then there was a weekend conference for my church that I really enjoyed. I made my traditional biscuits and gravy. Yum. The month had some really nice weather, so I ended up doing homework by the river a few times, working on my garden, and being inspired by fresh veggies to make my first zucchini pasta. It was pretty tasty.
Later in the month, I went with Holly and her kids to the Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival and got some photos that I’m pretty proud of. A few days after that, I went back to court for the arraignment of the guy who sexually assaulted me. That was stressful, but I felt it was important to be there. My friend went with me and also went to another hearing date later in the month. After both hearings, she took me out for lunch and after the second hearing, she took me out for dessert. It was really kind of her and I really appreciated it. After the arraignment, I went up to my school for a health fair (after getting myself some ice cream) and ended up winning a bunch of fun stuff. I felt like it was God’s way of saying “You did this hard thing, I’m going to reassure you that I’m here for you.” I know, sounds a little silly, but that’s what it felt like. A few days afterwards, I got flowers and a lady from church brought me a load of chocolate chip banana bread. It really felt like people were going out of their way to show their love and support. I will always remember their kindness.
MAY
May was a slower month than April. It was mostly work and school, but I did a few other fun things. I spent some time out at the coast to get a break from school and enjoy the nice weather. My mom and sister sent me another box of fun things, which they like to do pretty regularly. It’s kinda nice to get surprises in the mail. My work also gave us a little surprise one day. We got nice water bottles filled with treats that we got to decorate. I thought that was really cool of them to do. I love that our new OM has been working so hard to fix the issues at the clinic. He’s been working really hard at that and I really appreciate how much he cares about making things better there.
Not too many things happened during May. I went to Target with Holly and found my new favorite hat, there was another hearing and a couple more meetings with the prosecutor, I treated myself to a dessert at Jubilee after one of the meetings, my friend took me to As You Like It at the local high school, I had to record myself giving presentations for some of my classes, so I got to dress up super fancy while sitting at home, I saw some beautiful sunsets while out on my daily walks, I got to attend Emma’s second birthday party, I got to see the final product of my Senior Project poster, and I won a six month gym membership from my school.
JUNE
June was a pretty great month. It started out with a meeting with the prosecutor, but from there it went up and up. I finished all my schoolwork and finalized my Senior Project. My school chose it as one of the very few VIP senior projects to be presented to state government officials, city council members, and school administration. That was pretty cool. I was also chosen as the Outstanding Scholar for my degree program. Only one student per program is chosen. Pretty freakin awesome. I was able to attend two award ceremonies for that, one in Wilsonville where I attend the satellite campus and one in Klamath Falls where the school is located. Holly went to the one in Wilsonville with me and my mom flew in from Utah to attend the one in Klamath Falls and then go to my graduation. After the award ceremony in Wilsonville is when I presented my senior project. And then there was an alumni 101 meeting where we got a few little swag items.
For the second ceremony, my mom and I took a road trip where we stopped by Jubilee for treats and then went down to Klamath Falls. After the ceremony we headed back to Salem, but stopped a few times to check out pretty scenery and a cool covered bridge. The next day, we had a party to celebrate my graduation. It was pretty fun. There were lots of snacks and Holly made a pretty awesome globe cake. It was fun hanging out with my friends and laughing for a couple hours. To continue the celebration, my mom and I did face masks after we got back to my apartment.
On Father’s Day…………………..I graduated!!!! It was so crazy to finally be at my graduation. It felt so surreal. It was also really exciting. I got to see students from around the country who I’d interacted with in discussion groups and others I’d done group projects with. Afterwards, my mom and I went down to the river to take photos to officially commemorate my graduation. It was so fun celebrating reaching that milestone and FINALLY being done with homework.
After graduation, the rest of the month was a bit of a blur. There were a few court hearings, I hung out with my friends, went to work, and enjoyed my free time. I went with my friend, Kristy, to Jubilee for more dessert (yeah, that’s a really yummy place), which was a lot of fun and then Holly and I went to Canada! She’d never been out of the US and I’ve been wanting to go there for the last few years and I’m really excited that we got to go. We had a great time exploring and just checking stuff out. I wrote about our adventures on my travel blog.
JULY
July was probably the quietest month out of the entire year. I did a portrait photography class that was kinda meh (it was more promotional than educational), saw As You Like It again when it was done by Keizer Homegrown Theater, went on a hike and hung out in Depoe Bay with a friend, went to lunch with a friend, saw some nice sunsets, and my family arrived in town for a weeklong visit. Holly was gone for the month to donate a kidney, so I also kept an eye on her apartment. Other than that, I enjoyed having time to breath and relax. Very exciting stuff.
My favorite thing about July was that my family came to visit, minus Chris and Jeffry. My parents and sister arrived at the end of July and were here through the beginning of August. We had a lot of fun.
AUGUST
The first few days of August were spent with my parents and sister. We had fun exploring Seaside, Astoria, and Tillamook. We found tons of sand dollars! We also visited aa u-pick farm, checked out some local sites in Salem, got rolled ice cream, and relaxed at my apartment. It was a really good visit and I’m glad they came.
The rest of August was mostly normal. I went to work, cleaned a lot, organizing things, went to the gym more, had a hearing date, and had a few highlights. I ‘met’ a boy. I’d already met him at church back in January or February and we’d chatted on Facebook for a few months at the end of 2018, beginning of 2019. We lost touch when he started dating someone else, but he reached out again when he was available. We started hanging out and had some good times. He was super sweet at the end of the month and dropped off sprite and crackers on his way to work when I was sick.
Holly finally got back from Utah and did a short walk in Peavy Arboretum with me after she was healed enough following donating a kidney. It was fun seeing her again after being in Utah for over a month. Then there was the day I got a portable washing machine for my kitchen! I feel so adulty for being excited to do laundry in my apartment again. I so can’t wait to have a place with washer/dryer hookups.
Another interesting thing in August was when I had a nerve study. Some fingers in both hands go numb and I had to do nerve testing to figure out why. This appointment didn’t find anything, but a follow-up at the hospital a few months later discovered pinched nerves in my elbows. Fun times.
SEPTEMBER
September started out with Tim and I deciding to be ‘official.’ lol. He wanted to go to church together and I told him he couldn’t hold my hand or put his arm around me since he wasn’t my boyfriend. So, he decided to ask me to be his girlfriend. I laughed, but said yes. We commemorated our relationship status by me taking Tim to the hospital that night after he ran his foot over with a rolling cart with several hundred pounds of store product. The dingbat. He wouldn’t let me take him to the hospital right away, so I sent him snapchats showing my annoyance. He was fine, just some bruising. I made him spend the next day at my house so I could force him to ice and elevate his foot while I took care of him. A couple days later, he got to meet Holly and her kids, who absolutely love him. Oh, and I dyed my hair in August, but didn’t take any actual nice photos of it until September because the color didn’t calm down for about a week or so. The blue faded pretty quick, but I really liked it.
The big thing that happened in September was CHINA! What a fun trip. I got to spend 9 days in China with my friend from Malaysia who now lives there. We had a really great time. I’m working on writing about my time there on my travel blog and so far have a post up about the flight out. I can’t wait to finish going through all my photos and write about the rest of my trip. I got to see pandas, play with Tibetan children, eat some pretty incredible food, see beautiful sites, and hang out with my friends. It was a great trip.
The rest of September was fairly quiet. I spent a lot of time with Tim, hung out with Holly, went to work, went to some Book of Mormon classes, went to the gym, and spent some time out at the coast. I did try to break up with Tim in September, but he was pretty convincing about why I should stay with him. It was mostly just fear and worry, so I’m glad I listened and didn’t kick him to the curb.
OCTOBER
October was pretty nice for the most part. It started out with my supervisor letting me know I’d been selected as Cardian of the Month for September, which is basically Employee of the Month. They’d announced it at the September staff meeting while I was in China and then forgotten to let me know when I got back. lol. Pretty cool, though. I’d been working hard to organize study groups for the BCAT certification, making flash cards, and coming up with different study strategies to help people learn the materials better. It was really nice to be recognized for all of that work.
For the first weekend of October, we had another televised conference for my church and it was nice to enjoy that with Tim. He got to join my tradition of biscuits and gravy and then he worked on a puzzle while I relaxed on the couch. I also got a new fridge because mine quit working. And, of course, my birthday. Tim made me this ridiculously awesome taco cake for my birthday and then took me to Bauman Farm. Then we went to Holly’s house for cake and games. It was such a fun day. Tim was also my hero a couple times when my car died. He jumped it each time and then took me to get a new battery. And, I did Holly’s annual holiday family photos. For Halloween, Tim and I wore our bear onesies. haha
The only bad part about October was when Sadie got sick. She was so, so sick and didn’t eat for a few days. I was in full panic mode and really stressed out about it. Tim picked me up for lunch one day and I just bawled about it. He drove me and Sadie to the emergency vet to get her seen that day and bought her a bunch of her favorite foods to see if that would help. It didn’t. I ended up force feeding her pedialyte from a little bottle and a few hours later she started eating. Tim came over when he got off work and helped me give her more, but by then she was a little stronger and bit him really hard. After that, she started improving and she’s been fine ever since.
NOVEMBER
November was eventful. Tim and I spent a lot of time at Holly’s house and then a friend of mine got married and then Tim’s kids came to visit and they all stayed in my apartment. On a blowup mattress in the living room. It was a little chaotic, but we had a good time. The kids are super sweet when they’re not being super overthetop. We played at an arcade, went to the carousel, played at a park, went to church, played video games, went to a bounce house, and the kids roughhoused with Tim a lot. It was nice seeing how happy he was with his kids. The kids were here a few days before Thanksgiving and then a day and a half after, so we had Thanksgiving a day late to enjoy it with the kids.
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand, the kids helped Tim propose. They organized a very messy and chaotic fashion show competition for us that I won because his fashion designed forgot to give him shoes and socks (hahahahahaha!!!!!!!) and after they had me do a turn down the runway, he was there proposing. It was pretty cute. These are the best photos I have. They’re screen grabs of the video Anna took. The kids were doing photos and videos and they’re all sorts of out of focus. lol. It was fun, though. We had a really good time.
DECEMBER
December started out quiet, but the end was definitely eventful. A chiropractor here was doing free adjustments to get new patients, so I scheduled an appointment. He offered to do a free x-ray, too, since it had been so long since my last one. It was nice to see a higher-quality image of my spinal issues. Then Tim and I did a couple dates to see the Keizer Lights. I love looking at Christmas lights. They’re so pretty and happy. As for my own decorations, normally I decorate more, but this year I just didn’t want to. My new storage unit wasn’t able to be as organized as the last one, so it’s harder to find things. Tim is going to help me reorganize it this summer and also go through it to get rid of things. Other than that, most of the month was spent working, hanging out with Tim, trying new recipes, and spending time with Holly.
One of the cute things about December was when I was working on a blog post and just had a little bit left to do, Tim came to join me in the computer room. He brought a pillow and blanket so he’d be comfortable, but then he just fell asleep. lol. Sadie took the opportunity to snuggle up with him. She really likes Tim.
Oh, and my engagement ring arrived, which I was pretty excited about. I really like it. The center stone is a little too big for my preference, but other than that it’s perfect. It’s so pretty and sparkly.
The highlight of December was that we got to go spend Christmas with my family. It’s difficult for Tim to get work up before Christmas since he works retail/grocery, so we flew out Christmas Eve. Chris and Jeffry surprised us all by coming home because they’d told us they couldn’t. It was so wonderful having my entire family together so they could all meet Tim. And then Jeffry proposed to Chris, which was pretty exciting. It was also really nice to show Tim around my hometown and let him see all the places I used to hang out and explore. We also had lunch with my friends from high school, but I can’t find those photos anywhere.
Since this post is pretty long already, I’ll go ahead and end it here. I’ll catch up on what’s been happening this year in another post. 2019 was definitely a year of ups and downs and surprises and I’m glad it ended on the high note that it did. The greatest blessing of the year was allowing Tim into my life. I’m excited to see where our future goes and the adventures we get to go on.
