Happy New Year! This has been a weird year: personally, there have been a lot of really-not-great moments, some amazing travels, some blessed days spent out in nature, and professionally/academically, I’ve achieved my dream of teaching creative writing, published another short story, and finished a draft of my thesis. I know 2020 will bring many changes, some hard but necessary, others long-awaited and full of joy (Ryan and I are finally going to be married this year!). Here’s to hope in this new decade.

January

1. One year ago, Ryan and I were ringing in the new year in Rome! Read about our travels here.

2. Van Gogh is my favorite artist of all time, and I saw “Starry Night” for the first time while Ryan and I were in NYC last year.

3. When I returned from winter break in Kentucky, Minnesota decided to plunge into the depths of a polar vortex. This wasn’t even the coldest windchill.

4. Everyday, I had to leave the house to drive my car for 20 minutes to make sure the battery wouldn’t die. The clearer and brighter the sky, the colder it is.

February

1. Minneopa Falls frozen over.

2. Your usual post-blizzard, pre-work-commute sight.

3. Kayla and I drove up to the Cities to BHLDN’s one-week-only pop-up shop to try on wedding dresses for the first time.

4. While in St. Paul, we stopped at Café Astoria for a crêpe, the way to my heart.

March

1. I went home to Kentucky for Spring Break, and I spent most of my time with Tinkerbell curled up in my lap, reading The Sympathizer for class.

2. I also briefly visited Louisville and went to Bernheim with my favorite hiking crew: Kari, Kayla, and Kindi, the adventure pup.

3. Ryan visited me in Minnesota during his Spring Break, and we made our annual pilgrimage to the Minnesota Zoo and had a mac n’ cheese donut at Glam Doll.

4. I traveled to Portland, OR for the AWP Conference. This was my first time in the PNW, and I hugged a Redwood, saw cherry blossoms on an extinct volcano, and visited the National Sanctuary of Our Sorrowful Mother.

April

1. Just another April blizzard. “This never happens” is what they told me when it blizzarded in April the year before…

2. Tinkerbell ran away from home, and for about 12 hours, we all thought she was coyote-food. This is her unaffected face after my mom picked her up from the farm-girl who found her. You’d think a 14-year-old dog would stop the hijinks at this point.

3. The ground was finally visible, so naturally, we went hiking.

4. The first flower of spring.

May

1. Kayla and I drove to the UP to help Kari move back to Kentucky after her graduation.

2. While in Michigan, we revisited some old favorite spots (Canyon Falls and Presque Isle Park/Morgan Falls), as well as hiking in Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore for the first time.

3. Upon returning to Kentucky, one of the first things to do was drive out to Boyd Orchards for some summertime strawberry picking.

4. Ryan and I had our engagement pictures done.

June

1. Ryan, his parents, and I saw Paul McCartney in concert. I don’t go to concerts often, but it was seriously amazing. (Thanks to his parents for this Christmas gift!)

2. Ryan and I saw Hamilton in Louisville with two of his best friends. (I might’ve liked it there even more than Chicago.)

3. Our annual King’s Island trip.

4. One of my best friends got married!

July

1. Ryan and I hiked Rock Bridge trail in the Gorge.

2. And met a new salamander friend.

3. Honestly, how I spent most of my evenings.

4. And how I spent most of my days: working an educational summer camp for kiddos.

August

1. Ryan and I celebrated our four-year anniversary with a hike to Sky Bridge in Red River Gorge.

2. I went to Michigan with my family. The Pentwater cottage has been in my family for many years and holds a lot of history.

3. This Michigan trip was also special because we siblings (minus Madelynn and Colin this trip) so rarely get to spend an extended amount of time together now that Alan and I are older.

4. I closed out my summer in Kentucky the best way I know how: another hiking trip to Red River Gorge.

September

1. Kayla and I spent Labor Day paddle boating at Madison Lake.

2. A hike at Seven-Mile Creek.

3. Flowers at Linnaeus Arboretum.

4. I celebrated my 24th birthday by going to Como Park Zoo & Conservatory in St. Paul, then hopped on a plane to Kentucky for the weekend.

October

1. I’ve been one of the managing editors for Blue Earth Review, MSU’s graduate literary magazine, this year. At this point, we were deep into production for our fall issue, which is out now!

2. After the BER photoshoot, we went on a fall hike at Rasmussen Woods.

3. Kayla and I went apple-picking at Welsh Heritage Farms.

4. I read some of my work at Good Thunder Reading Series, alongside Pulitzer-Prize winner Hisham Matar.

November

1. Kayla and I took a hike in Minneopa, where the waterfall was on full display.

2. And we also visited our bison friends while there. They were super close to the fence and did look like they might charge me at some points.

3. Ryan and I met each other in Madison, Wisconsin, for a weekend together.

4. Of course, one of the things we had to do in Madison was visit the free zoo.

December

1. I finished my most ambitious embroidery project yet. This parrot was completely freehand and was the first project I’ve done where I’ve attempted some photorealistic shading. I love how it turned out.

2. I bought a little elf outfit for Bisous for Christmas, and she decided to be cute under the Christmas tree.

3. Ryan, Alan, and I went hiking at Grays Arch in the Gorge, and we found this family of feral kittens (or they found us). Ryan wouldn’t let me take them home.

4. I opened an Etsy shop for my embroidery. There isn’t a lot on there now, but I’ll be building it up over the next couple of weeks and hopefully putting some already finished products up for sale, in addition to custom pieces. Check it out if you have a chance!

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