best of 2012 v2.

and here's part two of the 2012 roundup.  like i mentioned earlier, i had way too many pictures so i broke this up into two posts.

i can't thank you enough for coming back day after day, to read this little blog.  i've had so much fun capturing our adventures over the past two years, and can't wait to continue to share these stories with you.  throughout all the changes in my life, blogging has surprisingly remained my constant.  there are some days when i struggle to find something to say and some weeks where i have so much to write i can't seem to share it all.

one of my 2013 goals is to learn html & revamp this space.  i'm not sure how long this will take or when it will be, but i'm excited to see how this blog changes over the year.  once again, i can't thank you enough for all your support & love- because without you, this space wouldn't be the same.

i hope you have a wonderfully spectacular time ringing in 2012.  happy new year to you & yours!!

cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it right. - oprah winfrey

best of 2012 v1.

i love this time of year.  the time when you can sit back, revisit hundreds of pictures, memories & stories and recollect everything we managed to squeeze into 365 days.  every year i try to change up my yearly recap (here's 2011 and 2010) and this year was so special to pull together because it was a year entirely spent with one another.  no deployments, no two to three month long training exercises...just us, together all the time.

throughout 2012, we experienced so much adventure & learned so much about cooking, knitting, gardening, and home diy projects.  we were so lucky to fill our days with so many wonderful things.  this year also proved to have it's challenges.  leaving our home and our sweet, sweet friends was obviously one of the the largest challenges we faced.  we also had surgeries and the fun task of finding new jobs.  but at is with so many ups and downs, so much good comes from change.

here we are getting ready to ring in a new year and as we reminisce on days past, we can't help but think about what lies ahead.  for us, we really feel as though 2013 will start with a true, blank slate.  new jobs and a new home, new projects, volunteer opportunities and new community activities to become involved with.  i'm so excited about this year & can't wait to see what's in store for us.

in addition to this post, i'll be sharing another similar post with a few more of my favorites 2012 memories later today.  i had so many pictures, i had a hard time figuring out when to stop.  so, just a heads up!

bake 20: basic focaccia

recipe: focaccia

adjustments: i used whole wheat flour in lieu of the all purpose flour.  i'm pretty sure i should have used a combination of the two- but considering it's all i had on hand, i think things turned out pretty well.

reviews: i wish i used a smaller pan (like a cake pan for example) for a thicker bread.  the focaccia had great flavor and appearance, but was a bit too crunchy for my taste.  also, per the recipe, you cook the focaccia in half a cup of olive oil.  maybe it was because my bread was so thin, but this was definitely too much and made for extra oily pieces.

this was #19 of the bake 20 challenge...one more, fingers crossed that i make it!
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over the next five months i'm going to try my hand at 20 different baked goods.  there's no specific order and no plan.  just making things that look good and hopefully in the process, finding a new appreciation of baking.  feel free to join me in the Bake 20 Challenge.

mile a day:: weeks 3 & 4.

yep, believe it or not, i'm still moving.  maybe not strong & maybe not every day but still, i'm making a much better effort to move regularly.  while the original intentions of this challenge was to move every single day, over the course of this past month, i've graduated from doing something active 3-4 days a week to 6 days a week.  & for me, that's awesome.  the holidays have definitely made this entire challenge a bit more difficult- but knowing i can keep up an active lifestyle during a chaotic season was so rewarding.

since i skipped week 3, i'm not going to bore you with those details.  but for accountability purposes, here are the stats from this past week.


thursday// ran 2.77 miles
friday// walked 1.5 miles
saturday// ran 1 mile
sunday// ran 3.64 miles
monday// walked 1 mile & circuit training
tuesday// NADA
wednesday// ran 2.21 miles

bake 20: sour cream sugar cookies

recipe: sour cream sugar cookies

adjustments: none.  this is a classic holiday cookie in our home and adjustments to this recipe would be blasphemous.

reviews: as i just mentioned, we make these year after year after year.  i do recommend when rolling, to keep the dough about 1/8th of an inch thick.  cookies that are too thin taste more like the frosting than the cookie...but if that's your cup of tea, well...the thinner the better!  also, i love the nutmeg's surprising flavor, so i'm usually a bit heavy handed when measuring it out.

this was #18 of the bake 20 challenge...two more to go!
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over the next five months i'm going to try my hand at 20 different baked goods.  there's no specific order and no plan.  just making things that look good and hopefully in the process, finding a new appreciation of baking.  feel free to join me in the Bake 20 Challenge.

around here.

wow.  what a christmas.  around here, all is quiet & all is bright.  the holiday season was filled with santa sightings, and fireside gaming.  lots of present wrapping & present making.  ugly sweaters and unusually cold san diego days.  trips to the snow and fantastically beautiful sunsets.  fondue & chinese take out.  lots of present exchanging, candle lighting, reunions & christmas punch.

everything about this time of year (minus all the crazies out shopping) makes me so happy.  for the first time in a long time, a. and i were able to take our time with each family, make time for friends, and even break free of the holiday chaos to spend time with one another.  we love living near family.  it makes everything, well, almost everything, so convenient. 

on another note, my apologies for the lack of posts lately.  as i'm spending the rest of this week reflecting on myself, our 2012 memories, & what lies ahead, i'm recognizing my lack of organization around this blog makes it difficult to find the motivation to post regularly.  i'm looking into a new process and hope to have some new organizational methods for many, many components in my life in place shortly.

this next week is my favorite.  i love the aftermath of the holidays and the quiet that settles among everyone.  i love the peace & calming as we sit in front of the tree sipping hot tea and reflect on the experiences of the years past.  i can't wait for a new year, a new slate & new challenges.  but for right now, i'm going to drink up the very last bit of this magical year.