Year in Review / 2017

Each year, I find myself presenting my Year-in-Review post in a different way. Not due to any grand plans or ideas ... I simply compile this on how each year goes and what I'm feeling when I sit down to write it. In general, the basic idea is the same ... a recap of some of the highlights of our year. So, let's take a look at our 2017!

Vacations

In January, we took a trip to Cancun, Mexico with my parents. It was a great time and a needed break from the cold of winter.

In March, Ryan and I traveled to visit Eric in his current city of Shreveport, Louisiana. It was only for a long weekend, but we were able to pack in a whole lot of fun. One of the best moments of the trip was when Ryan shot a hole-in-one golfing. It was a bit surreal! We also saw vintage aircraft and U.S. Air Force memorabilia at the Barksdale Global Power Museum. While down there, we purposely ate quite a bit of southern food. One restaurant experience, The Blind Tiger, stood out above the others. It was one of those times when the staff, the setting and the food come together for a top-notch, unique experience. Some of the new food we tried included crawfish, shrimp étouffée, gumbeaux and meat pies. It was great being able to see where Eric currently calls home.

We spent the Fourth of July in Duluth, Minnesota. It was a relaxing vacation with amazing views. There weren't huge crowds and plenty to do. Definitely our kind of trip!

Weekend Trips

NCAA tournament in Milwaukee – Ryan and his college (and high school) buddies experienced March-Madness firsthand, cheering on their Cyclones. Even though the weekend ended with a Cyclone defeat, the experience was top-notch. They met Monte Morris' mom, upgraded their seats, and even made TV!

Cooks of Crocus Hill class in Stillwater, Minnesota – Doing a cooking class had been on my to-do list for quite some time so I was thrilled when Ryan and our friends Brett and Susan were willing to join me. This was our first time in Stillwater, and it did not disappoint. Even though the day was cold and dreary, we were able to make our way around to some of the local shops and bars before the class. At the class, we made steaks, wilted spinach salad, mashed potatoes and cheesecake. We didn't learn any earth-shattering culinary skills, but we had a great time with good friends.

Minnesota and South Dakota fishing trips – Ryan went on two fishing trips this year. One to northern Minnesota with our neighbor Shannon in May. And, his annual trip to South Dakota in August. This year, Eric went along on that trip. Unfortunately, he didn't catch a single fish during the three-day outing. The fishing was definitely wasn't as "hot" as it has been in years past. I don't think it really matters if they are catching a lot of fish or not, they always seems to have a fun time no matter what!

Lake City .... Some time had gone by since our last Lake City stay, so we were excited when Brett and Susan asked us up there in August. We shot a round of golf together, had dinner at a restaurant we'd never been to and went on an evening boat ride. We enjoy the area so much and the company even more!

We celebrated our fifth anniversary with a weekend trip to Galena, Illinois. We've been to Galena a number of times but never in the summer so we thought it was a great place to celebrate our milestone anniversary. We arrived into town early so we stopped at the Galena Brewing Company for Happy Hour flights. We then had a nice dinner at Fried Green Tomatoes and finished the night out at the bar, The Grape Escape. The next day, it seemed as though everyone had flocked into town ... the streets full of people and finding parking proved to be almost impossible. We had massages in the afternoon so we spent some time shopping/walking on the Main Street, followed by a tour of the Ulysses Grant House. The tour was more interesting than I had anticipated; most of the items in the home were actually possessions of the Grants, preserved by their children.

In the early spring we went down to the Riverside Casino for an Eli Young Band concert with Kara and Cam. Kara's parents are avid Riverside Casino goers so they used their points toward the concert tickets and hotel rooms. That was super nice of them!

Ryan's Aunt Connie and Uncle Rick recently moved into their newly-built home. To celebrate, we, along with Ryan's sisters, ventured up to Minnesota for a house-warming party with Ryan's extended family. Ryan's extended family always make us feel at home when we visit.

We traveled to the Iowa City area in October to spend the day with Kyle, Steph and Emmett. We met up at Wilson's Orchard. The guys picked apples while Stephanie and I chatted. We enjoyed lunch at Big Grove Brewery. The afternoon was capped off with a stop at the Iowa Brewing Company in Cedar Rapids with Casey and Jess. It was a fun-filled day!

We made several trips to Des Moines this year. Some of the fun we had included ... 1) The Principal Charity Golf Classic with Wes and Jill. I had never been to a pro golf tournament of any type so it was a good experience. Wes and Jill live on the course and were great hosts all weekend. 2) Celebrated Easter at Wes and Jill's, along with Jack's third birthday. The weather was beautiful and we had a great meal and time hiding eggs for the kids.  3) Eric visited in the summer. We did one of those escape rooms. We were moments away from escaping but didn't make it out! As predicted, Ryan was great at this and I sucked.

We also made our fair share of trips to Remsen as well ... 1) We spent Memorial Day weekend enjoying the nice weather and company. While back, I took photos of Ryan and his tractor. 2) After spending Fourth of July in Duluth, we decided to round out our time away from work back in Remsen. Ryan played in the 8-inch cup golf tournament in town, and I went tubing down the Little Sioux River with my friend Amber and her sister Angela and a group of her friends. We had a lot of fun floating down the river and catching up. 3) Jess and I decided to travel back in September. We went to Pumpkinland with Mom and I got a bunch of pumpkins for our front porch. We also reaped the benefits of Mom and Dad's large garden. Tomatoes, peppers, apples and more. 4) Ryan was able to make a dual-purpose trip out of work and helping harvest. He also got to see friends at Octoberfest. 5) We spent Thanksgiving in Remsen with our family and grandparents. As always, it was a great meal ... thanks to all the hard work and preparation done by Mom!

Celebrations.

Jess turned 30 this year. I was able to join her for her birthday dinner with her friends from Chicago and Paige. So far 30 has proved to be an exciting year for Jess; she recently moved to Cedar Rapids to live with her boyfriend, Casey.

Aunt Stacy's Wedding. We made a trip back to Remsen in mid-June for Stacy and Steve's wedding. It was great seeing extended family. We hadn't had a family gathering since our wedding and obviously it was hard to catch up with everyone then.

Mya's First Communion. Niece Mya celebrated her first communion in the spring. She looked so pretty in her dress. I am glad we were able to be there for this milestone in her life.

Our family dog, Buddy, turned 12 years old this fall. We aren't the type of people to celebrate our dog's birthday, but I think we're acknowledging he is getting older and won't be with us forever. Us kids enjoy getting Buddy snuggles when we are back home.

Birth of Kyler Ries McCarty. Cam and Kara welcomed their baby boy on May 26th. He was 7 pounds and 5 ounces. We were able to visit the new family of three a few weeks later. He is a cutie, and I enjoy getting photos of him from his mama!

Other fun.

Concerts. This summer, my sisters and I attended a Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers concert. They were touring across the U.S. to celebrate their 40th anniversary as a band. This was my second time seeing them. It was a good show. Now, it all is a little bittersweet with Tom Petty dying in October. I'm very thankful to have had the chance to see them in concert. There are so many great songs of theirs that I love.

In October, Mom and I saw Matchbox Twenty in Council Bluffs. They were winding down their twentieth anniversary tour. Even though I'm not as die-hard as I used to be, I still really enjoyed the show. Some of their songs still hold a place in my heart. Mom and I enjoyed the Omaha area while there, going to the zoo and out for drinks and dinner in the Old Market area.

Projects

Landscaping in backyard. Ryan had gotten a quote for the area by our garage when we did our other landscaping a couple years back. We ended up holding off because we were already spending enough on the project. This year we decided we would tackle it ourselves. We purchased the plants from a local nursery and rocks from Menards, and got to work. Ryan did all the hard work – digging up the grass and making the bed for the plants. I dug the holes and planted the plants. We are happy to have this area done since the grass never really grew well there. The best part is that we saved around $600 doing it ourselves. This landscaping reminded me that I'm happy to be married to a man who isn't afraid of hard work and getting his hands dirty. Even though he is drenched in sweat and may cuss quite a bit in the process ... it still is an attractive feature of his!

I painted two bathrooms – the upstairs and downstairs guest bathrooms. After much contemplation and paint samples (for both!), I ended up with a light greige color in the basement and a cooler green upstairs. I also got new mirrors which really improved the spaces.

Accomplishments

I completed my first sprint triathlon in May. I don't think it will be my last. It was a nice break from long-distance running. I spent a lot more time on my bike and got more comfortable with it. Maybe I can convince Ryan to do one with me in the future!

I ran the Bix7 race in Davenport in late July. There were about 8,000+ other people competing in the race, and I could tell. It was probably the most "congested" race I've participated in. My run up the famous Brady Hill was more of a jog due to the amount of people around me. However, eventually, I was able to find my pace, even if it meant weaving around other runners from time to time. The hills of the course weren't as bad as I had anticipated, and the weather was much cooler than it typically is for this race. I crossed the finish line at 1 hour and 3 minutes. I was pretty happy with this. I stayed at my friend Steph's house and got to spend some quality time with her and her family. They were completely supportive of me and kept me well-fed!

Gran Fondo. Ryan made a goal for himself this year to ride a total of 500 miles on his bike. He rode about 250 miles last year so he knew he'd have to be dedicated to accomplish this. He bought a (new to him) bike from our neighbor Shannon and got to work. He made the goal and also accomplished the 60-mile ride in the Cedar Valley known as Gran Fondo. He rode with our neighbor Joe, and they had a great time! We went on quite a few rides together, with a few of them centered around a stop at the new Single Speed Brewery in Waterloo. It doesn't get much better for us than riding bikes and enjoying a couple craft brews on a beautiful, sunny day.

After 15+ years, Ryan gave up chewing tobacco. It was something I had urged him to do for many years, but, like he said, it was something he had to want to do. And, I guess he had hit that point this year. I think the best part of it is, he inspired others to quit, too. His brother Eric, my dad and our friend Brett all quit "chewing" after Ryan did. My dad had chewed since he was in junior high ... that's roughly 35 years. I am proud of all of them for making this step toward healthier living.

Work

There have been some changes at my work. My best work friend Courtney left and moved to Colorado. I miss her but am happy for her. The new hire, Cecelia, is a great addition, and we have some things in common. Later on in the year, Sean, our copywriter also left for another job in the area. Our core little creative group of five now looks different, but I know that's how things work.

New things

Giving blood. After drawing blood for my health assessment, the nurse said I must be hydrated because my blood draw was the quickest of the morning. That got me thinking about the first time (and only time) I gave blood in high school and what a bad experience it was. It took a long, long time, and my blood had stopped flowing like it should, and the staff had to wiggle the needle around in my arm. Ouch. For someone who doesn't like needles, pain or seeing blood, this didn't bode well. But, after the nurse said that at my assessment, I realized I probably wasn't a very hydrated high school student. I thought, even though I will still not enjoy it, what if I try to give blood again? Ironically, the local Red Cross set up a mobile donation center across the street from work later in the month. I signed up and gave. And, it went muuccchhh better than the first time. I felt pretty good about giving, too. Doing something pretty simple to help save the lives of others is always cool.

Homemade sushi. Early in the year, the neighborhood got together and made homemade sushi. We give credit to our neighbor Jen's sister and brother-in-law, who made it all happen for us. It was a fun – and yummy  – experience. Since then, I've created sushi bowls for us at home. Not as fun but a bit easier!

Swimming. As my triathlon recap explains, I tried swimming this spring. Even though I'm not dying to jump back into the pool, it was still nice doing something different. If I compete in another triathlon, I will likely get a lesson from some of my swimmer friends.

Jury Duty. I had dodged the jury-duty bullet my entire adult life until this summer. I not only had to report, but got selected to be part of the jury. But, honestly, the selection was worse than the actual trial. Because it was a marijuana case, everyone and their mom seemed to have an excuse to not serve. So, after countless dismissals, I was chosen. The trial was rather short, and we came up with a verdict within a half an hour. Probably the best jury duty experience you could have (if you have to have one).

Bitmoji. I don't use SnapChat a lot but have been sucked into the world of Bitmojis. Most of my neighbor-friends have one, so I decided I'd join in on the fun. Sometimes a typical emoji just doesn't do the job! I even helped Mom create one of her own.

Ready for 2018.

As I'm writing this, Christmas is all wrapped up and we're getting ready to travel to Memphis for Iowa State's bowl game. We are meeting my sister and Casey down there. What a great way to wrap up 2017. It was a good year and even though we don't have any established plans or specific goals for 2018, we're hoping it is another good year for us. Happy New Year to you!