Well Hello 2014!

Believe it or not I didn’t fall off the face of the planet, nor did I decide to hide in a bunker in North Carolina after being home for the holidays. Alas, I’m back in ol’ South Dakota, currently spending a few hours pretending it isn’t snowing outside by enjoying Bully Blends coffee house and drinking a mug of joe the size of my head. 

So where to begin. 

I went home, for like almost a month, over the holidays. I experienced things like wearing a T-shirt in December on a 65+ degree sunny day, eating LOTS of good food all over Asheville, spending copious amounts of time with family, and fortunately on my very last night in town, finally finding a Cold Mountain. 

My aunt treated me to a deep tissue massage, I visited my old stomping grounds in Charlotte, and we ate a boat load (literally) of sushi at Pisces Sushi. 

I watched my sister’s boyfriend do a little blacksmithing, visited a bunch of my favorite breweries, and found my new favorite restaurant in Asheville, Rhubarb. 

We threw my best friend Liz a baby shower, ate fresh made bon bons a la my grandmother, and celebrated Christmas for five days straight.

Unlike last year, I didn’t feel the need to return to our little life in SD. I’m not sure if it’s because Will and I have actually had a good amount of quality time together over the past year and a half, or if it’s because our relationship has grown so much, or if a small part of our need to get away was satisfied, but needless to say, this year it was a lot harder to leave. 

Last year, two weeks felt much too long, this year 21 days didn’t feel nearly long enough. It’s safe to say the decision to stay in the military or not after our initial commitment will probably be one of the hardest ones we will make. 

But moving on, it’s 2014. I have big hopes for this year. 2013 was such a blah year for us. We finally got our next assignment (more on that later) which is going to be a very big move, Will and I have found a new favorite pastime, and I have spent the first month of 2014 coming up with an unusual list of resolutions. Thank all of you of stopped by my little corner of the internet. Life has been funny lately, but I’m learning lessons every day. I look forward to spending the next year grabbing life by the horns!