Dear 2013 Katrina,
I'm writing this and I'm not even in 2013 yet and so I have no idea yet of what it will bring. I'm a extremely hopeful though. This year is going to be pretty great but more on that later.
First I need to answer the questions that I asked myself about 2012, in 2011 (see...confusing already).
My very first question is very complicated. "Did the world end?" To put it simply....no. Not at all. Not even close. Lamest Apocalypse ever. I mean, I guess you want Apocalypses to be lame since that probably means that they aren't so bad....but no one is ever going to make a movie about the 2012 Apocalypse.
How long did you stay on the Paleo Diet? I stayed on the diet till about the end of May. I was hardcore for April and I got pregnant...which was great. But after I lost the baby, I decided that I would give myself a break and I went off of it. I still eat healthier than I did and I kept 10 of the 15 pounds that I lost off.
Did you get to travel more than you expected? Oh yeah I did. At the beginning of 2012, I just thought that we would go to Ohio in the summer and maybe California for Christmas. We ended up going to California three times this year! In April for a baptism, a wedding in September and finally for Christmas. It gave us tons of chances to visit with Aaron's family. Aaron got to go on a couple trips for work...but it was work so it doesn't really count as fun travel. I got to go to Texas for Markus' graduation and to Moab with Geoff and Clarise to work on the set of the movie "The Lone Ranger". And of course we went to Ohio for that wedding. We knew that it was going to be our only big trip of the summer and so we made plans to stay for awhile to make it worth it. Tons of site seeing, adventuring, hanging out with old friends and a beautiful wedding to top it all off. It was a wonderful year for travel even if it was a little less "exotic".
Do you have more friends in Ogden? That's kind of a weird question. I can't remember how many friends we had last year opposed to this year. I guess it does feel like we have more because we seem to participate in more activities with more people up here. We were even invited to an Easter Egg hunt because this wonderful family didn't want us to miss out just because we didn't have kids. That made me feel really special. I went to the pool this summer with some families and played and hung out. I guess we do have more friends up here now. It took awhile to break into this ward but now a good amount of people seem to know who we are and we are never short on kids in Sacrament meeting.
Where you able to take some couple retreats with Geoff and Clarise? We did end up going on one. It was a little weird without Andy though...but he was busy all year with different productions at school and for work (he got paid to be in one show and we got to see him perform and it was pretty great!). I don't know if it will happen again any time soon or...ever...since our schedules are busy and we can't ever seem to find the time. But it was a fun trip and I would like to do it again.
Are Bambi and Pippen the best dogs ever now? Pippen learned how to break out of his kennel this year...which was very discouraging. We bought him a new cage that he can't break out of. It is harder for us to use but at least when we leave the house, we know that he is going to stay in there. Bambi had some health drama but that's all cleared up now. All in all, they are pretty great dogs. They are really obedient....more so than other dogs that I've seen living with people...and they are sweet and snuggle-y. Pippen is really enjoying cuddles right now because it turns out that he missed us a lot while we were on our trip to California and he just wants to be close all the time. I love them and I wouldn't trade them for anything.
Are you still hopelessly in love with Aaron? Every year I feel more hopelessly in love with Aaron. This year especially. We have been through so much together and now it looks like we are finally going to have A BABY!! That is probably the biggest news of the year....biggest news of my life. I'm going to be a mom in 2013! To a little baby boy!
Why is he such a wonderful guy and so hot at the same time? I really found out this year how wonderful Aaron is when I had crazy horrible morning sickness. I couldn't get anything done and Aaron was always going to work and then doing all of the chores around the house and taking care of me. A couple times he even cleaned out my barf bucket. He must really love me. Aaron is the greatest....and so hot at the same time. Love that boy.
My goals for 2012 actually weren't a total bust. The first one was to look at the list from time to time. And I did! Yeah for me!
The second one was a little harder. I wanted to have an awesome garden. I'm thinking that I need to work on my gardening skills A LOT and maybe stay in town all summer if I'm going to see any improvement. We did end up with parsley, zucchini, and raspberries....so not too bad, yet not the "awesome garden" that I wanted. But next year can be better.
Third was to read the whole Book of Mormon with Aaron and the New Testament on my own. Aaron and I are so close to finishing the Book of Mormon...so we will be a little late on this one but it will happen. I decided to read the Old Testament on my own instead...then I got distracted reading Teaching, No Greater Call. I did a lot of Gospel reading...but yeah, I didn't really stick to one book of scripture or one book of instruction...I don't feel too bad about it though.
The fourth goal was a total bust. "Go to a new state with Aaron" Yeah...that didn't happen at all. We went to Ohio...but we had been there before for another friend's wedding.
The fifth goal wasn't as stellar as I would have liked it to be. "Go to the temple at least once a month" Our goal is to do it on Aaron's off Fridays...but I still work on his off Fridays so we are trying to figure out when the best time to go it. BUT we still went as often as we could, which included two sessions in the Oakland Temple! Yeah! We had never been to that temple together until this year. So good times.
My sixth goal will be an on going project. It was to think to myself "They are doing the best they can" whenever I had an uncharitable thought about a person. I heard this from a friend last year in the Houston temple and I loved it. I want people to think that way about me and so I should be thinking that same way about other people. It is HARD!!! But ultimately it makes me happier. When someone is doing something that I might consider wrong, I just tell myself that and then try to move on. But yeah...I still need to work on it.
My seventh and final goal was pretty well accomplished. "Stay on the Paleo diet" I did it for almost 6 months and it has totally improved the way that I think about food. The things that it says, "No way, don't eat that." I still eat very sparingly. The things that it says are good for you, are now the foods that I crave the most. I've been eating a bunch of salad. I love fruits and veggies.
Other News From This Year:
Do you have more friends in Ogden? That's kind of a weird question. I can't remember how many friends we had last year opposed to this year. I guess it does feel like we have more because we seem to participate in more activities with more people up here. We were even invited to an Easter Egg hunt because this wonderful family didn't want us to miss out just because we didn't have kids. That made me feel really special. I went to the pool this summer with some families and played and hung out. I guess we do have more friends up here now. It took awhile to break into this ward but now a good amount of people seem to know who we are and we are never short on kids in Sacrament meeting.
Where you able to take some couple retreats with Geoff and Clarise? We did end up going on one. It was a little weird without Andy though...but he was busy all year with different productions at school and for work (he got paid to be in one show and we got to see him perform and it was pretty great!). I don't know if it will happen again any time soon or...ever...since our schedules are busy and we can't ever seem to find the time. But it was a fun trip and I would like to do it again.
Are Bambi and Pippen the best dogs ever now? Pippen learned how to break out of his kennel this year...which was very discouraging. We bought him a new cage that he can't break out of. It is harder for us to use but at least when we leave the house, we know that he is going to stay in there. Bambi had some health drama but that's all cleared up now. All in all, they are pretty great dogs. They are really obedient....more so than other dogs that I've seen living with people...and they are sweet and snuggle-y. Pippen is really enjoying cuddles right now because it turns out that he missed us a lot while we were on our trip to California and he just wants to be close all the time. I love them and I wouldn't trade them for anything.
Are you still hopelessly in love with Aaron? Every year I feel more hopelessly in love with Aaron. This year especially. We have been through so much together and now it looks like we are finally going to have A BABY!! That is probably the biggest news of the year....biggest news of my life. I'm going to be a mom in 2013! To a little baby boy!
Why is he such a wonderful guy and so hot at the same time? I really found out this year how wonderful Aaron is when I had crazy horrible morning sickness. I couldn't get anything done and Aaron was always going to work and then doing all of the chores around the house and taking care of me. A couple times he even cleaned out my barf bucket. He must really love me. Aaron is the greatest....and so hot at the same time. Love that boy.
My goals for 2012 actually weren't a total bust. The first one was to look at the list from time to time. And I did! Yeah for me!
The second one was a little harder. I wanted to have an awesome garden. I'm thinking that I need to work on my gardening skills A LOT and maybe stay in town all summer if I'm going to see any improvement. We did end up with parsley, zucchini, and raspberries....so not too bad, yet not the "awesome garden" that I wanted. But next year can be better.
Third was to read the whole Book of Mormon with Aaron and the New Testament on my own. Aaron and I are so close to finishing the Book of Mormon...so we will be a little late on this one but it will happen. I decided to read the Old Testament on my own instead...then I got distracted reading Teaching, No Greater Call. I did a lot of Gospel reading...but yeah, I didn't really stick to one book of scripture or one book of instruction...I don't feel too bad about it though.
The fourth goal was a total bust. "Go to a new state with Aaron" Yeah...that didn't happen at all. We went to Ohio...but we had been there before for another friend's wedding.
The fifth goal wasn't as stellar as I would have liked it to be. "Go to the temple at least once a month" Our goal is to do it on Aaron's off Fridays...but I still work on his off Fridays so we are trying to figure out when the best time to go it. BUT we still went as often as we could, which included two sessions in the Oakland Temple! Yeah! We had never been to that temple together until this year. So good times.
My sixth goal will be an on going project. It was to think to myself "They are doing the best they can" whenever I had an uncharitable thought about a person. I heard this from a friend last year in the Houston temple and I loved it. I want people to think that way about me and so I should be thinking that same way about other people. It is HARD!!! But ultimately it makes me happier. When someone is doing something that I might consider wrong, I just tell myself that and then try to move on. But yeah...I still need to work on it.
My seventh and final goal was pretty well accomplished. "Stay on the Paleo diet" I did it for almost 6 months and it has totally improved the way that I think about food. The things that it says, "No way, don't eat that." I still eat very sparingly. The things that it says are good for you, are now the foods that I crave the most. I've been eating a bunch of salad. I love fruits and veggies.
Other News From This Year:
- Daniel left on his mission in early October. I miss him like crazy. He is a great guy to hang out with and talk to and generally be silly with. He is a great missionary and I couldn't be more proud of him...but it is hard to have him away.
- Markus is going to BYU-I and so I get to see him about once a month. That is great because I love my brothers and I needed someone to replace Daniel! I'm not going to know what to do with myself when Markus leaves on his mission too.
- Our CTR 4 class this year was the calmest ever. Most weeks we only had two children. It was a well deserved break...if I do say so myself. They were wonderful sweet children and we got to know them so well. They did a great job at the primary program (mostly). I miss teaching them.
- Aaron was between jobs and decided to take a week off in the middle of spring and so we finally finished the flower bed in the front yard. It's GORGEOUS! I think that it makes the front of the house look so much better! I'm absolutely in love with the way it looks. For weeks people in the neighborhood were complimenting it and I've become very prideful about it.
- I've already mentioned that I'm pregnant but I want to mention it again because I'm so extremely excited about it. I LOVE being pregnant (even if I was sick for the first 3 and half months). Totally worth it because I'm going to get a little baby boy. He is going to be born a little before our 4th anniversary. I want to take him to the Salt Lake Temple and get a picture of our little family "Four Years Later"
- I got a new calling in the Church. I'm the second counselor in the Primary Presidency. It feels so weird because it feels like a calling that a grown up would have...and I don't really feel all grown up yet. This is also a totally new experience for me at church. Some Sundays I don't teach...but I'm not being taught either. Sometimes I just move from class to class in Sharing Time helping children be reverent or I might go in and teach a class. I still get to be in Webelos scouts which is good for our ward or else we would be down to ZERO leaders in our ward. Aaron and I still love the scouting program and getting to help these boys turn into priesthood holders.
Goals for 2013:
- Finish reading Teaching, No Greater Call and The Infinite Atonement
- Go to the temple at least once a month (this is going to stay on here until we do it perfectly!)
- Grow and harvest at least 3 things that aren't raspberries (because we all know that the raspberries will come no matter what you do).
- Continue improving the house
- Write in your journal at least once a week
- Go to a new state with Aaron (Wyoming...Colorado...they are both really close).
- Give your baby a million kisses
Questions for 2013 Katrina:
How beautiful is our little baby boy? How wonderful is it being a mother? Was it worth the wait and all the vomit? People say that it is completely worth it and I already feel like the little kicks in my stomach are worth it. Is Aaron a great dad? How did he like changing diapers for the first time? How are the callings at church coming along? Still working hard or did it get ridiculously hard with a little one? Did you get to do any traveling before the baby came? After?
I'm so excited to hear what life is like on the other end of 2013!!
I feel like 2013 is going to be an amazing year. We are finally going to get that baby that we have been hoping, praying, and dreaming of. I can't really think of anything right now that really matters. I'm fully focused on this little person and I can't wait to meet him.
2012 was wonderful too. It was busy and full of surprises. It was full of ups and downs but it is ended on the most glorious "up" and I couldn't be happier.
Good bye 2012! I watched the sun rise on you and I'm going to watch the sunset on you. I can't wait for 2013 to come in and sweep me off my feet.
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