2024 in Review

Whew! What a year it has been! As another way to get to know me, I figured I would share a little bit about each month from the past year. Here’s a highlight and lowlight recap of 2024!

January:

The year started off strong with finding a missing dog first thing in the morning on the 1st! Thanks to the help of Facebook, the owner was found quickly. Aside from that, January was pretty chill. I discovered trail running in the snow is absolutely magical. 

February:

We got even more snow in February! I am such a child at heart when it snows. Leo and I had a great time playing in it!

March:

This is where things get interesting. I went on a day trip to Washington DC with family to see the cherry blossoms, but then three days later I got my gallbladder removed! It had been causing problems for me for the past month and a half before removal. Having surgery under general anesthesia was a first for me. People aren’t kidding when they say it’s the best nap of their life! I was bored for two weeks after surgery, but I was so happy to have that tiny little organ out of my body! 

April:

April included the eclipse and Leo’s 6th birthday! My dog is so spoiled. My sister and I took him out to a local dog cafe to celebrate his birthday! That afternoon, my mom and I took him to get frozen custard. He was treated like a king all day! I also (very slowly) ran a half marathon only one month post-op from getting my gallbladder removed!

May:

Cicadas. Cicadas everywhere. But… I GRADUATED! The road to getting my master’s degree was such a process, but I’m happy to say it was completed and conferred in May! I skipped graduation (I honestly didn’t feel like going all the way to Virginia, so instead my husband and I took a trip later in the year), but Leo and I had our pictures taken to celebrate! (Shout out to Julia at https://www.jewelsphotographystl.com/ for awesome pics!) Also, all of the ladies in my family took matching pictures! The funniest part of the whole experience was singing Jesus Loves Me in matching dresses in the middle of the woods… I can only imagine what onlookers might have thought! (Thank you to Mary Kim at https://www.mkloefflerphotography.com/ for beautiful pics of us with Grandma!) Finally, my mom made me cupcakes that look like Leo to celebrate graduation!

Celebrating Graduation

Pics with Grandma

Leo Cupcakes

June: 

I ran another half marathon! It was more or less supposed to be a redemption half marathon for the one in April, but it was hot out! Even though the half marathon was slower than what I was hoping for, it still felt like a good come back from the post-surgery race. I also started getting into mountain biking… this was the month I learned how to fall! (More on that later.) I also left my part-time gig working at Fleet Feet, which was really difficult to do… I loved working there and made so many amazing friends, but ultimately I needed more time for my counseling practice. It’s a lesson of how both sadness and happiness can exist at the same time.

July:

July ended up being an eventful month! I learned that every holiday should start with a run. My husband’s brother got married. Many pictures of Leo were taken in the sunflower fields. A bestie and I did a day trip to Chicago. I raced in a triathlon. (Okay, okay… I use the term “raced” lightly. There may or may not be videos of me making up songs while biking…) I passed the National Counselor Exam! Then I ended the month in Florida with a friend!

August:

Remember how I said I learned how to fall? I was mountain biking with a bestie and managed to hit a railroad track at the wrong angle and completely wiped out… resulting in spraining my left MCL. (The MCL is the ligament on the inside of your knee.) For some reason, I also almost passed out after falling! It was quite the experience, and definitely the worst injury I have had since high school. My mom and I (okay, fine, mainly my mom) worked on refinishing my countertops, and a lot of time was spent in the pool healing my MCL!

September: 

I finally finished up all 50 states! Joshua and I went to both Hawaii and Alaska on the same trip! Maybe I’ll make a post just about this trip later because it was quite the experience! Possibly the biggest goal/highlight of the trip was making it to the most southern and most northern point of the 50 states, and we got as close as we could to both! We also had amazing food and coffee on the trip. To this day I keep reminiscing on the coffee because it was just that good!

October:

I got brave enough to get back on my bike, but not brave enough to hit the trails again. I also dropped from a half marathon down to a 10k during the race due to my MCL taking its time to heal. If anything, it has been a process of learning to work with my body to hit goals, not against it. I was able to cheer on a friend at an ultramarathon in Arizona, and I learned that I’m not sure that I will ever be brave enough to try ultramarathons… but it was such an amazing experience to be there! Also, Leo dressed up as corn for Halloween! (The irony is that corn is the only food I know of that he is allergic to.)

November:

November started out amazing due to going to California with my mom to cheer on my sister’s skating team! The three of us went to Joshua Tree National Park, but then my sister just HAD to be the center of attention and pass out on the plane on the way home. The only thing she remembered while passing out was that the flight attendant who caught her smelled good! (I make fun of her now because everything ended up being okay!) 

December:

I turned 32! Honestly, I wasn’t that excited to turn 32 because my 31st year was so great, but hopefully 32 turns out to be great! I’m currently writing this from a remote cabin in Tennessee with my husband and dog beside me, so if this is how the first month of my 32nd year is ending, it looks like it’s going to be a good one. Happy New Year!