What happened this year? Time totally mystifies me. How is it already 2015?
We rolled in the New Year in Boulder, CO where our good friends Nick and Erica had a NYE party. They got engaged that night. I got to see my family and Devin got to bond with my dad a little more this trip. After 8 years of being together there is still a communication barrier, but now there is a sense of understanding without much talk. They get it. Inter-racial couples ask me all the time how come my parents and Devin get along so well. The key thing is he respects them and is polite.
I started a new job this year at Myoptic Optometry at the end of February and am proud to say I am killing it! I love my boss and am amazed by how much ambition and drive one woman can have. Working for a strong woman has totally changed my life and I am so grateful to Dr. Summy and Dr. Hossini for looking out for me. I officially got promoted a couple months ago to buyer and have taken a lead optician type like role. I am being flown out to New York for the Vision Expo and will be staying with one of my bestest friends Christina!
I think in early March or late February, the big blizzard of 2014 hit! It shut down the city and most of the snow would create mass panic in the city of Portland. Not in our household. We shoveled the sidewalk, rolled the biggest snowball we could, and were content in each others company.
In later March, my kid sister came to visit us in Portland and we took her to Seattle. I wanted to show her a big city. We did a lot of shopping, lounging in the hotel, took lots of selfies, went on a hike in the Puget Sound area, ate fresh oyster shooters at Pikes, and ate too much sushi. I realized my relationship with my sister was so strained because I spent most of our relationship being a bitch. We are 7 years apart and I vowed during her trip that we would be the best of sisters.
The total eclipse happened sometime in April. I just remember being how beautiful it was.
In May, Devin turned 30! We went on a camping trip to the Painted Hills and also went on a mini road trip to a tiny town called Condon. We discovered that many cities outside of Portland are really racist, but we had a great time. We bought Monopoly at the corner store and Im still undefeated. We camped on the John Day River and saw crazy steers that had crazy horns. It was perfect. A Taurus for a Taurus.
Summer was filled with fishing, hiking and lots of swimming in rivers. Met some wonderful people this summer and bonded with closer groups of friends.
In July I went back home to Colorado by myself to go to Nick and Erica's engagement dinner. I got to see Sam and spent some quality time with Maya and Julian. I got to hang out and go swimming with Stella and Matty a majority of the time and was thankful that by the end of the trip I had become "Uncle Cwostina." The next weekend was Bethany and Michaels wedding that I unfortunately could not make, but we got to make up for it with some home made Korean BBQ and beers. Hung out in Denver and saw Carl and Sojin along with Rachel and Sam. Went to Domo and ate too much ramen then went straight to the airport.
I somehow convinced Julian during my stay to purchase a ticket to Portland on the fly and it worked. He was out in Portland the next month. We took him to the secret river spots, took him camping in the gorge, fishing on the Deshutes, and fed him like a king. Maya was at a wedding but I was happy to see all the boys get their time in together.
In August Devin, Chris, Pete and I went backpacking into Glacier National Park. We packed into Quartz Lake and it was the hardest hike I think I have ever done. So much elevation gain and had a 30 lb pack on. We were pressed for time so we tried to get as much in as possible. The weather was weird. It was warm, but there was a raincloud lurking in every corner. Chris swam from the lakehouse to the island and back. We canoed along side him and made up words to "I'm so Fancy" by Iggy Azaelea.
September hit and it was our 2 year wedding anniversary. We backpacked into Marmot pass and set up camp. The next morning we got up early from the frigid mountain air and walked to the top of the pass. I did not bring the right shoes and had to stop when the ridge turned into a tightrope made out of rocks that moved. Devin went on as I sat on the ridge. Out of my sight I thought about what if something were to happen to him. I got a tiny panic attack but was soothed by the panoramic view of Mt Rainer and the Puget Sound. He returned and we snacked on jerky and peanut butter.
Sam, Rachel, Matt and Ross came up to Portland from San Francisco heading to Decibel. They stayed a couple nights and now I have two stick and pokes that make me smile when I think of the night we gave them to each other. I went to Decibel at the last minute right after work and danced until 4 in the morning and kind of slept for an hour and headed back to Portland with Josh.
A couple weeks later, Erica and Nick came into town and visited. It was a sad trip. I was happy to see them, but I was experiencing first hand the death of a relationship. They loved each other and I could see it, but as Nick had told me many many years ago, "Love is not enough." We went to a Halloween Party and the cops came. There was so much going on at work with a new software switch that kept crashing, I was sick with the worst cold I had in years, and I was worn out.
Thanksgiving we had with the Schaller's of course! 5 year tradition and we hope to continue it until we can not no longer! Hot tub, turkey bowl, gin fizzies and a migraine. I napped after the hot tub and then ate way too much food and drank way too much wine.
Before I knew it we were heading to Lake Quinault for my birthday! We got a hotel room in a boathouse in the Olympic National Park. On our way up there I got some birthday luck and somehow missed a speeding ticket. I have yet to receive it in the mail and the story is too long. When we got up to Lake Quinault there were 60 mph winds and the power kept flickering. So we upgraded our room to one with a fireplace and lounged so hard.
We spent Christmas at our good friend Mike and Lekadias and ate way too much. I got drunk way too early in the day on Egg Nog and had to chug water for a majority of the afternoon. Devin and I put our Christmas money together and bought a fancy new record player and speakers. Its nice being able to listen to our records again.
Last night Pete, Chris, Devin and I went to Josh's house party and we barely lasted 3 hours. We went and counted down and pretty much came back to listen to Sleep on vinyl and eat clementines. It was perfect.
We have been working so much the last couple of months that I am really looking forward to having a calm January before I travel to San Diego for Mayas birthday and the New York for work. 2015 feels really good already and I think its going to be the year Devin and I really focus on saving money and getting the hell off Burnside. We want a house and hope that January of 2016 we will be ready.
Geez its really hard to think of everything you have done in one year.
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