My Favorite Things of 2016

I know in the media everyone is depicting 2016 to be an awful year. Aside from one tragic event, 2016 was pretty good to me. So instead of dwelling on the negative, I'm going to share our 2016 year in review: The Good, The Not So Good, and The Somewhat Mildly Entertaining!

January

In true new year fashion, I started with kicking off a healthier version of me. The most notable thing that happened this month was Mr. B and I joining Camp Gladiator. Thanks to our good friend Pam, we enjoyed our first month free before jumping right in with a 12 month membership. We were pretty faithful for most of the year until the evil part of the year sunk its teeth into us....I'm looking at you September-December!

My first CG camp

The following week was buddy week, so Mr. B got to be my buddy

February

We were excited to head to Lubbock to celebrate Jude's first birthday. His Mickey Mouse themed birthday party was so cute. We also enjoyed in some arcade games and bumper car rides while we were there. 

We also did some painting this month to add to our home art gallery that we're creating one painting at a time.

And yes, still going strong with working out. We celebrated Pam's 100th check-in with CG this month by traveling to Justin to workout with her.

I decided to give the Cowtown 5K a try. Unfortunately, I was suffering from a mild sinus infection. I wasn't able to give it my all like I'd hoped. But I walked it in true fashion and did a dead sprint the last 100 yards like a boss. I was joined by Tiffany and my father-in-law.

March

I'd been using Younique products for a few months at this point, so I decided to become a presenter. I got this cool start up kit with lots of product. I'm still loving my makeup!

 Mr. B and I went to a wedding of one of his friends. It was fun to get dressed up and have a date night. I don't think we had attended a wedding as a married couple until this occasion.

 Of course, I continue to keep up my monthly Sunday lunches with these lovely ladies. I so enjoy our time together!

 We headed to McKinney to hang out with some of our Dream Team members. I'm not in this pic because apparently they decided to snap it after I left.....I guess my workout attire wasn't good enough for them. ;)

 And we did another painting. Mr. B was thrilled when this one was on the calendar. He chose it himself and was super excited to paint it.

April

By now, I'm all in with CG. I started doing personal training sessions with my CG trainer (who would affectionately be known to me as TPT- "Tiny Person of Torture") She had me doing all kinds of things with a fire hose. What I discovered this month was that I was indeed very strong. I may have thick legs, but they are strong. I felt really good about my strength and fitness this month. I bumped up my weights to 15 lbs.

We've made some good friends through CG this year. My workout buddy, Megan, has pushed me to limits I never thought I could reach. She got me out of bed during those summer months when I could've been sleeping in. She made sure we were there to push each other. I remember meeting Courtney my first day at camp. This is one guy who has changed this past year.

 You know you've made it big when you finally get your official CG mat! I had enough points to get it for free! I'm still loving that mat.

May

We are still full on workout junkies. This was the inside of our trunk at one point.

 I'm still in beast mode working out with TPT in addition to my regular CG sessions. I can't get enough of this stuff. But man, I look good doing it!

 My CG games crew! We decided to get registered and compete in the crazy event. It was a rare occasion when all 4 of us were able to attend the same camp. When we did, we made sure to get picture documentation!

 I was able to fit into a size smaller pants for the first time in years! They're still hanging in my closet with the tags on because life happened (as you'll see here soon) and I can no longer fit into them. But I have goals.....

 Because I went in to the store that day to try on pants, I entered a contest to win a free workout clothes set. I actually won! Complete with sports bra, pants, and tank!

 Mr. B and I entered the Bubble Run at Texas Motor Speedway. Never again. It was not fun at all. The rocky terrain made it impossible to even attempt to run safely. It was cold, wet, and muddy.

 But we did it with several friends from church, so that made it fun in that regard. Especially the breakfast after! #priorities

A tank that I desperately wanted for the summer workout season....I bought it!

 I also wanted this one from a friend who owned her own fitness studio. I had her ship me one.

 Official proof that I entered CG games.....

 I started reading this book to prepare for a job that I was interested in because I knew they were doing a book study on this book. *** SPOILER ALERT: I got the job!

 A rare Sunday Selfie with Mr. B because he was off from work. This was probably the final group meeting of the season since it was May.

June

I'm closing in on my 100th check-in with CG. This is a milestone. It's summer vacation, and I'm still getting up at 4:30 every morning to go workout because it's HOT any other time of day. Here are some epic workout pics with my crew for this month. TPT always has fun workouts planned. I love when I can hit things with sledge hammers. Good times.

 When one of your BFFs and her fiance drive from Plano to workout with you at 5:00am.....don't let those people go. You need them in your life!

I had another job interview (this was one that I had great confidence in) on June 1st. On June 2nd, I was offered the job. Mr. B and I went out to celebrate at PF Changs. I got all dolled up!

 All my teacher stuff that I brought home from my old school. I was that confident in myself that I would have a new job this upcoming school year that I just packed it all up and brought it home. Good thing, too!

I went to Lubbock alone to attend a family reunion and get some Jude cuddles. Mr. B had to work, so I flew solo. In true reunion fashion, the drive home was in a terrible thunderstorm.

 We took a small vacation in June. We went to Austin and New Braunsfel. We hit up Schilliterbaun again (it wasn't that much fun). We spent some time with Mr. B's brother and his family and had some time to love on the nephews.

 This was the worst sunburn I ever had. No sunscreen on my legs while they were exposed to full on sunshine while I sat and floated the whole day in a tube. This hurt for a good 2 weeks!

 Look who decided to vacation in Austin at our recommendation. I do believe they had fun!

July

I started July off with finally getting my wisdom teeth removed. It was no fun. I didn't let it interfere with me getting my 100th check-in though. I waited a respectable 5 days before resuming workouts to make sure I hit that sacred 100 before going on vacation!

 My reward was new shoes. I love these shoes. They make me so happy!

Before leaving on our next vacation, we did an early anniversary celebration in our favorite date spot: Sundance Square. We went to Simply Fondue and had a fondue date. We even received a complimentary cheesecake!

Our actual anniversary fell on a day we were on vacation in Del Rio with my family. We stopped before church to take our annual anniversary selfie on their front porch. This was #6 for us!

 We enjoyed some fun time on the boat while we were there. It was Jude's first time out on the boat.

We ended our July vacation celebrating my paw-paw's 85th birthday. It was great to see all my extended family there that weekend.

Finally, we celebrated Mr. B's 100th check-in. It has been suggested that Mark and Pam favor Mr. B over me since they attended his 100th but not mine.......

August

August saw the return of school. I was busy this month setting up my new classroom and attending new teacher training. The Dream Team celebrated baby Caroline's 1st birthday. Oh yeah, and I did the craziest thing ever: competed in CG games in the cold and rain early on a Saturday morning the weekend before school started. 

September

I have no pictures from this month, but I did have a significant event happen. I was getting in the swing of being a third grade teacher in a new school and new district. I was swamped with things to do and things to learn. I was feeling the stress. Then on September 1st, I found out that I was pregnant. I'd been trying for three years to get pregnant. I was surprised and happy and scared. That definitely explained why I wasn't feeling so well. Of course, by now my condition and new work schedule has pretty much put my workouts at a standstill. I was waiting on the doctor before I would even attempt a workout. I had to be at work an hour earlier than I was used to, so the AM workouts weren't working for me. I tried for the first few weeks of the year, but I just didn't like having to get ready at work and be there even earlier. So, I just quit until I got the all clear from my doctor. Mr. B finally got that long awaited promotion he was working for. He is now an assistant Deli Manager. I couldn't be prouder of his accomplishments and hard work.

October

The two most important men in my life were born in October. My dad's birthday was on the 13th and Mr. B's birthday is on the 21st. Lucky for me, I was in town for dad's birthday because we were also going to a Tech football game that same weekend. I was so glad to get to celebrate with my dad and family! We also had a small party for Mr. B at his parents' house like we do every year. His mom likes to cook for him!

For the first time since I graduated, I was able to attend a Tech game on campus. Even though it was a severe beating on homecoming weekend, we still had fun walking around our alma mater! It was also Mr. B's first time to see the campus. 

Thus, this is the month of our tragedy. On October 23rd, I ended up suffering a miscarriage. We were deeply upset from yet another loss. Since then, we've been trying to move on and recognize that there will be many bumps along the road in our journey together as husband and wife. It has helped me to chronicle our journey to parenthood in my other blog "Journey to Motherhood."

November

This is my favorite time of year. I love the holiday season and all the fun it brings. On Thanksgiving break this year, I was able to get together with Tiffany, Leigh Anne, and Vanessa for a girl's trip to Waco to see Magnolia Market, and most importantly for us, the food trucks! We had a great time, with two toddlers in tow, as we ate and browsed the beautiful Waco area. It was a very warm and pleasant day for November.

We decorated and picked out our annual ornament for our living room tree. My family came to visit for Thanksgiving, and we had both families together. Our ornament this year was in remembrance of our baby that we lost just the month before.

 Our first and only outdoor decor. We plan on adding each year. But for now, the blue lighted bush will have to do.

December

December was a very busy month. We had a lot going on. There were parties, holidays, and my birthday. It started with our annual church holiday party with fun, food, and lots of laughs. Then I was lucky enough to get to have lunch and a cookie exchange with all my former teammates from Sherrod. I became a blonde for the first time in about 6 years. Mr. B and I kept up our tradition for the third year in a row of looking at Christmas lights while drinking a caramel apple spice from Starbucks. We've added a dinner out and his parents to the tradition.

We celebrated my birthday in true tradition as well. We had dinner in Sundance Square at PF Changs and took pictures in front of the large lighted Christmas display where we got engaged. It was a really cold and windy night, so we were quick. For my actual birthday, we stayed in and had all my favorite foods. Mr. B hand painted me a Tinkerbell painting and got me some lovely blue stud earrings. I even got to celebrate with my friends as a surprise!

We celebrated Christmas Eve with my family in Lubbock. We got to ride on the Polar Express and enjoy time with Jude. We left early Christmas Day to head home to have Christmas with Mr. B's family. That weekend was rough since he and I both came down with an awful stomach bug. That was not the way we wanted to spend our Christmas. Thankfully, it only lasted a short while.

As I sit here on the final day of 2016 to type this, I can't believe how fast this year has gone by. Some of these events seem like they happened last week, when in reality they happened 8 months ago. I love doing monthly posts (and sometimes more if time allows) because it really lets me know how much I've been blessed each year. I know some think 2016 was a crazy and rough year. It may have been. However, throughout my own personal struggles this year, I know that the blessings were far more abundant than the sorrow. Here's to you 2016! We are ready to see what the new year brings us. I look forward to documenting each step of the way!