Year in Review / 2018

Who is ready for 2018? It wasn’t a bad year for us, but, overall, we seemed to witness a lot of heartache. A tragic death of our friend’s dad, the scary accident of our neighbor, a flooded home of our sister. I feel like there’s quite a few people we know who are ready to leave behind 2018. And, I think there’s a little part of each of us who like the fresh-start feeling a new year brings. If you know me, I can’t turn the page without a little reflection. It is one of my favorite things to do! So, here’s a look at our 2018!

Goodbye to our grandmothers.

Ryan and I both lost a grandma this year, Grandma Dorothy Schnoes and Grandma Dorothy Ruba. Grandma Schnoes died in February and Grandma Ruba in May. I could write a lot about both of their lives and the women they were but I’ll keep this brief. They were both tough ladies who loved their husbands and children dearly. They taught us how to live modestly, love affectionately and work diligently.

There are times I catch myself thinking my grandma can’t be gone. It makes me sad to know I’ll never see her exaggerated eye roll or hear her snicker ever again. The last few years of her life weren’t what anyone wanted for her, so we are at peace. I’ll forever cherish, in particular, the few years in late college and early in my career when we’d (usually mom, the sisters and I) go sit around her island and visit with her. We were old enough to appreciate her for who she was, and she was able to see the people we were becoming. Those were good chats.

Wanderlust (n): A very strong or irresistible impulse to travel.

Yes, I have wanderlust. I likely always will. I look forward to every trip I take, and each trip taken is one of the highlights of the year. This year we had a couple mountainous adventures, a trip to the Smoky Mountains and the Rockies. Ryan went on a few fishing trips with friends – northern Minnesota with neighbor Shannon, South Dakota with the regular crew and Canada with Brett. You would think I’ve married an expert angler! I got a girls’ trip in as well … taking in all-things Magnolia in Waco, Texas with my mom, friend Dawn and her sisters.

Celebrations

We started the year off with my cousin Jordan’s wedding in the Minneapolis area. We all had quite a bit of fun … maybe a little too much fun! For my birthday, Ryan was tied up in Des Moines for work. But instead of staying home and having nothing to do, I ended up traveling to Kansas City with Paige to a Mat Kearney concert. I have been a Mat fan for many years and was excited to finally see him in concert. Paige isn’t a fan like me and doesn’t really know his music but agreed to go along, and we had a great day and evening together. For Ryan’s birthday, Jill came to visit. We spent the day catching up and showing her around to some of our favorite places in Cedar Falls. She even brought him carrot cake to enjoy! We spent Thanksgiving in Minnesota with Ryan’s extended family then traveled to Remsen to spend time with my family over the weekend. Christmas was up against the weekend so our celebrations didn’t get interrupted by work. We spent Friday-Sunday in Des Moines then Sunday-Tuesday in Remsen.

Exciting family + friend news

I always enjoy sharing exciting news in the lives of our family and friends. Their happy news makes us happy.

Eric moved to Lawrence in late November. He will be in the same role at his job, just a new territory. Now, he will be about 3.5 hours from family (Des Moines) … which is good news since we will likely see him a lot more! On a related note, Amber moved to Kansas City earlier this year. It was a good move for her, and I think she’s loving it! A trip down to the Missouri/Kansas area is a must for us in 2019!

Jess and Casey got engaged in April. They have set June 1, 2019 as their wedding date. It has been fun watching her build her life with Casey. It has also been fun dress shopping and sharing wedding ideas with her. I was lucky enough to be there when she said “YES” to the dress. She will make a beautiful bride!

Kara and Cam are due with baby #2 right after the new year. I already have plans to visit and take in-home photos of the new family of four. The countdown is on! Craig and Jacque welcomed their fourth daughter, Rebecca in May. I was able to visit a couple months ago. Their daughters are all too cute!

Mom and Dad finished their kitchen project. They did quite a few updates … new countertops and floors, subway tile, shiplap walls, and painted cabinets. Mom also put Dad to work, making shelves and a shoe rack. It is amazing how different the kitchen looks with these changes. Joanna Gaines would approve!

Fun times …

Here’s a quick recap of some of the fun we had! The St. Mary’s Ball … our first time ever! Decorah trip to breweries with the Waldschmitts. Okoboji with Amber. Butchering with Kriers. Justin Moore concert with Jess and Casey. A couple outings with co-workers. Memorial Day weekend in Des Moines with Schnoes Family. Kyler’s first birthday party. Dam to Dam race (last one!) and fun with Paige. Okoboji with Feecks and Keffelers (haven’t laughed that hard in along time!). Lonestar concert with Brett and Susan. Labor Day weekend in Remsen … anniversary golf game and supper at Germantown. Adventureland with Jess and Paige. Counting Crows at the Hard Rock Cafe with Mom and Jess. Cedar Rapids breweries with Jess and Casey. Girls’ Night out with Steph in Moline. Harvest with Dad and Jim. Rock of Ages with Waldschmitts. Sioux Falls shopping trip with Mom. Holiday Party Bus with the neighbors.

Visitors always welcome.

We had quite a few visitors this year. My parents and sisters came in winter. This is a typical gathering since it is easier for Dad to get away this time of year. Krier and Eric both came in late winter. Sister Jill came in April for Ryan’s birthday. The Ganzers also came in late Spring. Kara stopped by for lunch and an afternoon at the pool with Kyler this summer. The Schnoes family was up for the ISU/Iowa football game this fall. We love having visitors!

Currently …

A quick glance of some of the things that have made us happy this last year.

Drinking: SingleSpeed. We’ve loved SingleSpeed from the very beginning (they celebrated their 5-year anniversary this year) but our love has grown with its new location in Waterloo. We often ride our bikes there in the summer. It is a decent ride there and back … and who doesn’t enjoy a cold beer (or two!) in between? If we didn’t have enough reasons already, we found one more in the form of a punch card. It is a 24-beer card that we recently filled. Now, Ryan will be rewarded with a steel growler, t-shirt and baseball cap.

Reading: Magnolia Journal. I enjoy this feel-good quarterly magazine. It is very visual but also has some good stories and tips. I also read the Magnolia Story around my visit to Waco. It was better than I anticipated. My favorite book I read this year was The Glass Castle. Ryan is typically reading self-improvement/help books.

Watching: A Million Little Things and the Pioneer Woman. If you love a drama television show with a little humor and a lot of surprises, you have to tune into A Million Little Things. Ryan and I hardly watch any of the same TV shows but this is one of them. We both are hooked. We both like the Pioneer Woman as well. There’s something uplifting about Ree that we enjoy. You can typically find the PW on during the lunch hour or on Saturday mornings in our household.

Using: Every Dollar App. Saving more and knowing where our money is going each month has become a goal of ours, and this app is helping us succeed at that. We are able to set a budget for different categories, and we’ve been pretty good at staying around or under those budgeted amounts. I thought I’d hate it, but it has held me more accountable on what I’m spending!

Loving: Meal Planning. If you don’t do this, you should! Meal planning helps build my grocery lists and plan our weeks. We end up with a lot less waste, don’t eat out as much and aren’t faced with the stressful question of … what’s for dinner?! You can find templates online to use.

Hating: Cedar Falls road construction. If you have been to Cedar Falls lately, you have run into road construction. There’s a giant project underway near the shopping center we frequent. Although it is super close to our house, and we love most of the businesses (Target, Starbucks, Culvers, Jimmy Johns, Scheels and Blains), we are visiting the area less. That may also be helping our budget!

Learning: Hand lettering. Calligraphy and lettering has always been an interest of mine. Brush-lettering is super popular right now. However, it is tough. It takes a lot of practice and technique to get good at it. I recently took a local lettering class and took away some pointers. There’s a lot different ways and styles to hand lettering so I’m experimenting whenever I get the chance.

Trying: to put our phones away at 8 PM. Ryan makes a valid point that we, and especially me, are on our phones way too much. Sometimes that mindless scrolling is just what I need, but more often than not, it isn’t. It isn’t productive and doesn’t make me any happier. We should be having a conversation with each other as opposed to reading/viewing one-sided content. Some nights we succeed, some nights we don’t. Holding each other accountable is key.

Enjoying: Walks. I’ve never been much of a “walker”. If I’m going to exercise, it typically is going to be something fairly intense … running, biking, etc. But, I decided to slow things down some this summer and go on walks with Ryan right before sunset. We were able to enjoy the outdoors and catch up on our days. I’ve also been walking around the lake with my co-workers. Getting some fresh air helps me power through the late afternoon struggle.

Avoiding: Dairy. My cystic acne has come back with a vengeance this year. Ugh. They are very visible, painful, and take weeks to heal. I read that reducing dairy helps. And, have found that, in fact, it does! I used to eat a Greek yogurt almost daily at lunch and have cut that out completed and my face (and my back) has cleared up significantly.I haven’t found a way to cut out ice-cream, though!

Celebrating: the Cyclone football season. Although we didn’t get to go to a game this year, we were still cheering on our Cyclones. We are excited about this season and the future of the program.

Promoting: Happy Happenings Photography :) … If you haven’t noticed, I’ve amped up some of my marketing for Happy Happenings. I’ve added Facebook and Instagram accounts and gave the site/blog a facelift. It has been fun. And, I think it has helped gain a few new clients. I was very busy this fall taking photos. It can be a lot of work but it is always great to hear positive feedback from my clients. I really do appreciate that they choose me to photograph their families. We will see what 2019 will bring for this side venture of mine.

Looking ahead

Well, now that I’ve recapped, it is time to look ahead to 2019. I have a list of projects and to-do’s already brewing. Working on some serious goals for myself as well. I wish there was more time in the day to get everything done! We already have some plans for 2019 that we’re really looking forward to, including a tropical vacation and my sister’s wedding! The weekends fly by, and we never get to see everyone we love often enough or do everything we want to do … but we sure do try! Doing this recap always makes me grateful for all that we have, everyone we have in our lives and what we have to look forward! Here’s to 2019!