2018: The Year in Review

In the six years that I've been operating this blog, I've never done a proper year in review. I have created a New Year's Post, but this will be my first actual review. 2018 was quite the year, I must admit. Many things happened, good and bad, as well as plenty of changes.

1. I helped successfully put together a major convention, an undertaking not to be taken lightly. It was successful even, making it all the more satisfying, and I realized my full potential. I can do whatever I set my mind to.

2. The Teen graduated from high school with honors. It was a great sense of pride to watch my son go through such a huge milestone in life.

3. I took over a couple of organizations as the head. While I ended my relationship with one and will soon do the same with the other, I learned a lot from my roles in both. I learned how to be a leader.

4. We had a fun family vacation in June. We visited with the families that we rarely see, and got lots of good hiking in.

5. I sent Nature Girl off to Middle School. Another milestone in one of my children's life. She really blossomed and grew over the summer, becoming a young lady.

6. I settled The Teen into his first semester of college. While I cried when I left him, I left knowing that he was ready and that he would do well, rising above any challenge he would face.

7. I got opportunities to travel - going to New Orleans, Portland, and Washington D.C. While I enjoyed each trip, Portland was my favorite as I strictly got to be a tourist while visiting one of my best friends and getting to experience some majestic nature.

8. I had a wonderful holiday shutdown from my job. Every year, we shut down for approximately a week and a half, and it's a wonderful little vacation. I rented a cabin for my birthday, I got plenty of hiking in, I actually accomplished things I hadn't for months prior, I finally started reading in earnest again, and I got to spend quality time with my family and friends.

9. I grew and changed so much over the year, and, as such, so did some relationships around me. I stepped into situations outside of my comfort zone and learned to embrace them. I dealt with hard truths head-on, finally dealing with them and solving the issues behind them. I never would have thought, at the beginning of the year, exactly how different things would be at the end of the year.

10.  I lost 60 lbs - 110 lbs in total - this year and walked a total of 838.08 miles since I started keeping track in late April.

11. Finally, I dealt with a year of hell inside my mind but still managed to stand tall. As I move ever closer to menopause, dealing with the hormonal changes and the effect they have on my brain, has been one of the hardest, most challenging things I've ever had to endure, let alone deal with. While things are seeming to settle down, I know I still have a long road ahead of me. I will persevere.


I'm looking forward to 2019. Why? Well, I'm looking forward to putting the tough stuff behind me and moving forward with the good stuff. I have changes I'm going to make and projects I'm going to accomplish. This will be my best year yet.


Happy New Year my friends and fans! I hope your year will be as grand as you are.

-H.A.