The annual recap of the year happens now:

1. I wrote. A lot. Not only did I write blog posts (see more later in the list) and finish a year-long writing challenge that I started in March of 2022, I wrote a WHOLE FREAKING BOOK in the month of November. I am shocked and thrilled and can’t believe I even did it, but I wrote 57,000 words of the first full draft of my first-ever novel – a romance that I can’t wait to share with the world at large.
2. Pierced my nose. Forever I thought my nose was too big to add jewelry to it that would draw even more attention to it but then I realized, with the help of some of my dearest people in this world, that hell yes I could rock a nose ring if I wanted, and I wanted, so I did. 99% of people haven’t even noticed it which tells me it looks natural enough that people probably assume I’ve had it for ages. I haven’t – only since July!
3. Had ankle surgery to repair torn ligaments and scrape out some arthritis in my left ankle. I spent two weeks non-weight-bearing which was horrendous and then the next several months doing PT and rehabbing it so I could walk normally again. The recovery for this turned out to be such a humbling and longer than I expected experience.
4. Went back to PT at the end of the year because of ankle pain returning; hoping to get some tendon relief from that to start 2024.
5. Self-published a Glimmers Gratitude Journal so I could share my daily journaling practice with a wider audience!
6. I taught. A lot. I had double sections for Bellevue for all four terms of this year and then added two sections for CCC for Fall Semester and it was a damn ton of grading, but I did it. All of it was online which meant I spent a ton of time on the computer, but again, I did it.
7. Finally got myself a (refurbished) desktop computer. For the first time in my 13ish years of adjuncting, I’m finally NOT doing so from a laptop. Thank all the stars in the heavens because looking straight at a large screen instead down at a small one in my lap is soooo much better for my body.
8. Dove headfirst into Swiftiedom. This journey started pre-COVID, was cemented by Folklore and Evermore, blown out of the water by Midnights, and then turned Full Fan Girl status after watching The Eras Tour via reels, clips, and then the movie itself this year. I am forever a teeny-bopper pop-loving girl. And don’t even get me started on her and Travis Kelce; spoiler alert: I am very much here for it.
9. Went to one major concert of the year – Nahko in Denver, CO in October. I haven’t seen him live since 2019 and despite a bizarre-o venue, the night was magic.
10. Added Book Store clerk to my resume, working several shifts during the holiday season in my friend Nichole’s new independent book store, located in downtown Hastings. Bryant Books and Music is a real gem, just like the owner, and it’s really fun to help people find new books for themselves and their people.
11. Bit the bullet and bought my first pair of glasses with progressive lenses. The lewk is fire but the adjustment to them for my brain has been clunky. I know they help but I’m having a hard time adding them to my daily routine.
12. Read 68 books this year. My favorite discovery of the year was author Ashley Herring Blake. I read all three of her Bright Falls books and she is an amazingly inclusive romance writer and I am sad to say goodbye to these characters.
13. Wrote 36 blog posts this year. That number tanked once baseball season hit and my writing challenge ended. And then November knocked out both my reading and my writing that wasn’t for my own book, but that’s hardly surprising.
14. Broke up with heels of any sort, not that I’ve ever been huge on them. Post-ankle repair, I just could not and even now, they’re just scary. I’ve worn a heel or wedge officially twice this year, both for brief fashion moments, but otherwise I’m now rocking flats and a really kick-ass pair of black Doc Marten boots on the regular instead.
15. Sent my last baby off to full-time school. This opened the door for many of the aforementioned work and creative opportunities.
16. Finished my second yearbook for my kids’ elementary school and started my third. This gets easier each time but is still a massive undertaking each year.
17. Learned how to make a killer oatmilk cheater* latte at home and have saved umpteen dollars in drive-thru coffee. However, still love coffee made for me, not by me, too. *I do not have fancy equipment or fancy coffee but that doesn’t keep it from being fancy to me!
18. Joined a new book club started by a dear reader friend; that makes the current total two.
19. Went Full Bluey this summer and watched every episode I could get my hands on with the kids. We freaking adore it SO. MUCH! This love included Christmas decorations, a baby Colorado Blue Spruce planted in our backyard that we named Bluey, and, now that I think of it, my blue front door!
20. Bought bigger pants. This year was it was and that’s what I needed. It helps that “new” (literally nothing about fashion is new right now) styles are circulating and I could explore some of that by buying jeans that fit instead of feeling like shit about ones that I already own that currently don’t.
21. Third year of being totally alchohol free.
22. Made my own little moody maximalist wall in my living room – I’ve been following some groups online who do this for a while now and finally got inspired to build my own made from family pieces, thrifted and gifted items, and a few special purchases to round it out. I adore it! See image below, but note that the mantle is extra right now because of holiday decor; that doesn’t all live there all the time.
23. Put my Christmas tree up the earliest I’ve ever done it – the second weekend in November! I have no excuse or reason other than we had time one random Saturday and Ben didn’t balk when I said, “Let’s go for it.”
24. Continued my egg-free, dairy-free, gluten-free eating. Learned how to make an incredible Vegan/GF cornbread from scratch as a result which is my favorite new recipe.
25. Switched back from Apple Music to Spotify. What can I say? The Spotify AI just gets me and I love it so much more. I’ve happily listened to a bazillion hours of music since making the return to my old love.

That’s not it but that’s all for this list. May you also find some time to reflect and compile a list of all the ways, big and small, that you moved through this world in 2023.