2012 was a year that can only be classified as far flung, fun, frustrating, and fulfilling. In the past twelve months, we’ve traveled to a foreign country, made the house our own, saw a promotion, almost saw publication, and ended it with a snazzy new means of getting around town. The year had a lot of highs and more than its share of lows. In the end though, it wasn’t that bad of a year.
Christmas and the New Years were spent at home. Right about where we like it.
(Warning – this entry will be somewhat long and retrospective. You have been dutifully warned.)
The year started off with us fleeing the Iowa winter and heading down to an island off the coast of Belize. Coco Plum Cay was our home for roughly a week where we laid in hammocks, walked the white sands, saw the Mayan ruins of Xunantunich, and snorkeled along one of the largest barrier reefs in the world.
Back home, we (reluctantly) settled into daily life. Matt (re)learned American Sign Language by taking a couple of courses. The first few months, however, were dominated by our big project – the Kitchen Remodel. Taking the better part of two months, we gutted the kitchen and living room (funny how those projects grow) and put in everything new. The end result was nothing short of fantastic.
May saw a simple e-mail that (almost) changed Matt’s life as his first novel was requested by a major publisher. It didn’t pan out in the end (a response not coming until late in the fall) but the experience was remarkable and gave him a much needed shot of confidence. On the tail of that, Steph received a promotion at Morse Data. Lots of good things came out of that but unfortunately the new position requires a lot of travel. Steph is becoming well versed in the airports of the Midwest.
In June we celebrated 13 years of marriage. Surprisingly, we haven’t killed one another so we figure we’ve got at least another 13 in us. In early September, Matt headed to Chicago to visit some old friends and meet new ones at Chicon. He also had the chance to take in his first Cubs game at Wrigley Field. They won. As they should. As fall crept into full bloom, we headed south again, this time to Walt Disney World for a much needed vacation.
Like all years, we had managed to fit in some races though this one was quiet compared to past years. We only did one half-marathon, the Loop de Loop on Decorah’s new Trout Run Trail and a handful of 5ks including one at Walt Disney World. We hope for more next year.
The year ended with another change – the purchase of our first new car in over 11 years. We have once again rejoined the ranks of Americans with two cars. Odd, for a family where one person walks to work and the other works from home.
So 2012 is over. 2013 is a mere 3 hours and 15 minutes away. Here’s hoping its even better.
Moose and Ink 