Highlights of 2012...part 2

Joined the bookclub

My friend Megan invited me to join a book club that she’s in. Let it be known I’m a terrible book club member. Honestly, I rarely finish the book. Then when I actually do finish the book, I bring the wrong one to the meeting. Yikes. But it’s been fun being in this book club and being exposed to different types of books than what I’d usually read. The goal for 2013 is to actually finish the books that we read! So far so good-I finished both the January book and the February book!!

Summer races

This year wasn’t quite the running year that I had planned on but I did manage to run a few races over the summer. I did the Race through the Lavender 5k down in Nephi. It was lovely but made me remember how much I hate 5ks. Then I did the Deseret News 10k. That’s one of my favorite Utah races. Even though I was super slow, it was a fun race!

Symphony and Deer Valley Music festival

I was able to see the Utah Symphony perform at Thanksgiving Point for the 4^th of July. I was also able to see them perform the 1812 Overture at the Deer Valley Music Festival. Outdoor concerts and picnic dinners are so great!

Dinner in White

My friend Trina sent along the info for the first ever Salt Lake City Dinner in White!! It is an event based off of the famous Diner en Blanc. We prepared a delicious picnic dinner and got all decked out in our white wear. It was a really fun event and I can’t wait to attend again this year!

RS Choir for Broadcast

This year, our relief society was invited to be a part of the choir for the General Relief Society broadcast. Even though I’m not a great singer, I like to sing in choir so I signed up. Despite the long practices every Sunday night and the hideous outfits (we looked like poorly dressed sister missionaries), it was a really great experience and I’m glad I took advantage of it!

Trip to Rexburg

My dear friends Jen and Russ moved from NYC to Rexburg Idaho at the end of the summer. One weekend, I made the trip up north to visit them!! It was so great to hang out with them!! We went to a fab taco bus, crafted, cooked, chatted, and just had fun together. Jen and I also continued our yearly tradition of making a Christmas advent calendar together. I continued my tradition of not finishing mine…

I kind of loved this post...

29 Ways to Make 2013 Better

Highlights of 2012...part 1

2012 was possibly my least favorite year in recent memory, there I said it. It seems that several people had a rather rough 2012. When I was chatting with a friend about it, she said she was calling 2012 a "transitional year" instead of calling it a horrible year. I thought that was a good way to put a positive spin on it so I've adopted it too. 2012 was not all bad though. Here are some highlights from the year:

The Burning

I started off the year with a great girls weekend with Jen, Jane, and Sharon. We cooked, watched movies, survived a weevil attack, had a Ya-Ya Sisterhood-esque fire ceremony, went out for a fancy dinner, and just enjoyed a lovely, loungy weekend.

Birthday!

I turned 27 years old this year. Yikes! I took the day off work which was so fantastic. I went to my favorite spin class, got a massage, had lunch with some friends. My dear friend Ashley threw me a lovely birthday dinner at her place the weekend after and we had cake at dinner group the Sunday after. It was a good birthday and my friends made me feel so loved!

Last day at Deloitte!

Early this year I made the decision to quit my job. I had been very unhappy with my job for a long time. After I decided to quit, it felt like a huge weight was lifted off my shoulders!!  While I was sad to say goodbye to my dear friends that I worked with, I was happier than happy to walk out of there my last day. I haven’t regretted my decision to leave once!

Ladies of leisure time with Sarah

I had a month between when I quit my job and when I left NYC. It was so fun to be a lady of leisure in SLC and luckily my friend Sarah was a lady of leisure too! We went to museums, did some touristy things, and accomplished a Tour de Shake Shack, visiting every Shake Shack in Manhattan.

Italy trip!!!!

One thing I was looking most forward to in 2012 was running the Rome, Italy marathon! Unfortunately, my body had a different idea and a stress fracture prevented me from running. I had already booked my tickets so a running vacation turned into just a vacation vacation.  It was SO SO fantastic to be back in Italy again. Jane and I had such a fab time roaming around Florence and Rome, eating delish food, and of course sampling all kinds of gelato!

Goodbye NYC

At the end of April, I bid farewell to my NYC life. I visited all my favorite spots, packed up my room, and managed to get incredibly sick before leaving (I was in bed 2 weeks after I got back to SLC). My friends Ashley, Jen, and Sharon hosted a great going away party at their apartment and I was able to see all my favorites one more time before I left.

Trip to DC for Ashley's wedding

A month and a half after I left NYC, I returned back to the east coast for the wedding of my dear friend Ashley!! Karen and I flew into NYC, spent the day there then drove to DC for the wedding festivities. Ashley’s wedding was so lovely and classy and I’m so glad I was able to be there to share the day with her and Eric!

**Apparently the only photos I took that weekend were of me and KLR at IHOP...

Tennis lessons!

I signed up for tennis lessons through the Cottonwood Heights rec center and rediscovered my love for tennis. We had a great, small class. The teacher was adorable. And the other ladies in the class were so great. One of my favorite parts of summer for sure!

More highlights of 2012 to come...

HBBC Challenge Catch-Up Weeks 3-7

I realize I am far behind. I am in the process of writing my 2012 wrap up post, and I have some fun New Years goals to share too! But for right now, I want to post my HBBC Challenge catch-up. I kind of slacked off between spending a week in El Salvador and then 2 holiday weeks...ooops.

Week 3
Monday-30 minutes with personal trainer; 2 pts
Wednesday-30 minutes with personal trainer; 2 pts
Thursday-1.2 mile walk; 1.2 pts
Saturday-1.5 hours of dancing; 7.5 pts

Total points: 12.7
Facebook points: 2

Week 4
Tuesday-1 mile on bike, 30 min with personal trainer; 2.3 pts
Wednesday-1 hour of zumba; 4 pts

Total points: 6.3
Facebook points: 3

Week 5
Tuesday-30 dance class; 2 pts
Wednesday-water aerobics, dance class; 4 pts
Thursday-water aerobics, dance class; 4 pts
Friday-water aerobics, dance class; 4 pts

Total points: 14

Week 6
Friday-.6 mile walk; .6 pts

Total points: .6
I was a complete slacker this week....ooops

Week 7
Wednesday-30 minutes with personal trainer; 2 pts
Saturday-ran 4 miles; 4 pts

Total points: 6

All-in-all, I fared alright in the challenge. Better than last year at least. Definitely still room for improvement though! The good news-I managed to make it through the holidays without gaining any weight! Yay me!!