35 has been a record year and not always in a good way. Hard to explain really. Or
maybe I just don't want to dwell on that or go there or be that honest with
myself long enough to be honest with anyone else. But if you know me, you know
there have been personal challenges and many changes over this past year. Here
are 35 of them.
2. We drove up to explore Palouse Falls
on Saturday. It was a beautiful day and driving that back highway past wheat
fields under blue skies, my idea of wonderful. #CatAndNikitaGoExploring. 
3. Then she broke my heart. After only 3 months of getting to
know each other, I had to get her engine replaced. Heartbreak. I've never lost
so much sleep or felt so nauseous over any object I've ever owned. Something I
hope to never repeat. She was down for a couple months undergoing
brain/heart/soul surgery at the hands of my brothers who painstakingly took her
apart and put her back together with far better success than any kings' horses
or men. Lesson learned. Extra care. Pay attention to what she says. She's as
feisty and sensitive as her namesake and requires more maintenance than I
expected. Despite the broken heart, there is nothing quite as wonderful as
flying down a long road with beautiful soul stirring music on whatever adventure
we have planned for that moment.
4. I bought a house. Exciting! Fun. New. 2 acres down a dead
end road. Away from the noise. Under the stars that I have missed so much.
Possibilities. A home of my own. For Mom, too. A bizarre and foreign feeling.
5. I bought a house. Terrifying. Terrifying. Terrifying.
Excruciating process. One frustration after the other after the other.
Stumbles. Trips. Sucker punches. For a woman who doesn't like surprises, bad
ones, this was an unpleasant process. Not only the process of getting to the
point of getting keys to a house but the process, mentally, emotionally, of
taking on this huge terrifying responsibility, questioning whether this is the
right thing to do, the right time, for Mom, for me. Nauseating for sure.
7. Residency week at Kilns
College, where I'm
working on getting my masters in social justice. Getting to go connect with
fellow students and teachers is refreshing and fun. Bend is a lovely city. This year I got to
stay with another student who lived there that I'd met last year and it was
really cool getting to know her better and to get to catch up with another
friend I'd met last year as well. Sprinklers going off and soaking the dinner
table setup. Great memories. 
8. Needtobreathe. My favorite group ever. There isn't a day
that goes by that I don't listen to their music. Love them. I've been to numerous
concerts of theirs, the first one was in some dive in Spokane maybe 10 years ago and I've tried to
see them every time they're in the area since. They don't play those dives so
much anymore, they've moved up to playing at zoos and such. This year I took a
friend who also enjoys their music. Mat Kearney,
another incredible artist whose music I love, also performed and did an
incredible job. Such a great performer. Then it was off to the beach and
breathing for a long weekend. 
9. Oceanside
weekend. I've never stayed in Oceanside,
OR, before and had only been
there once. It's secluded and less crowded with tourists than say Cannon Beach
or that area. Lovely little inn with a great view of the ocean. In the most
wonderfully unexpected bonus to an already wonderful trip, I found out a dear
friend lived near there and we got to catch up. A pretty perfect weekend.
10. New Orleans.
Meeting up with missed friends. Exploring the French Quarter, a rather small
section of town. Eating the best pesto pasta in a French restaurant while the
rain pours down. Vibrant art and music everywhere, not all of it good, my
favorite a wonderful violin and drum duo.
11. SeaJusticeMove conference with CJ in Seattle. Was a great opportunity to share
something I’m passionate about with a dear friend.
14. We were forced to move out of the Storm Ave apt. Not good. Given 20 days
notice to move after being assured we wouldn't have to move if the property
sold. So much frustration and anger and stress over this unexpected infuriating
situation. Not to mention that I'd already booked and planned my New Orleans
trip for the last week in May to coincide with finishing classes for the
summer, not to coincide with having to be out by the end of May.
15. It was nothing short of God's divine provision that we were able to
move into my brother's rental house that was suddenly available and that my
family did so much to help us move for the first time this year.
16. Kilns classes - challenging, moving, inspiring, hard,
frustrating, motivating. I've learned more about God and who He is from my
classes there these past 2 years than I've learned in many years of attending
churches. I have so much further to go but I feel like I've got a much stronger
foundation for my faith and a passion for so many more justice issues than I
did previously. It has been a life-changing and enriching process.
17. Gilmore Girls season! So excited for this reboot, though I
was ultimately disappointed with how they ended it. I should have known. I
tried preparing myself. But the chance to see them again was just to hard to
resist. I didn't try very hard honestly. I generally dislike sequels and this
sort of falls under that category for me. I still love the show, though.
18. Roller skating for the first time in years. Thank you to my
beautiful fun niece for the great idea. Can't remember the last time I'd been
roller skating, let alone with most of my siblings. So much fun!!
19. The nightmare of an election and new president that has been
innumerable injustices piled up one on top of the other for months thus far. I
still don't understand how this has happened and it still upsets me. I don't
believe in remaining silent in the face of injustice and I will continue to
speak against policies, organizations, governments, people, etc., who promote
injustice. Our God is a God of justice and as people who profess faith in Him,
we should be, too.
20. So much snow this year!! I do so enjoy snow. It's a good
thing cuz we had feet and feet of it this year. Not great for trying to move to
the new house in but oh so beautiful to witness there. Gonna have to get an SUV
cuz Nikita does not like winter, much to my disappointment. She doesn't like
the mud of spring either. Kind of pain, that one.
21. Visiting the Whitney Plantation outside of New Orleans. A scorching hot/umbrella-for-protection-from-the-sun
sort of day. Connecting the dots of slavery from Elmina,
Ghana to New Orleans, LA.
22. Painting the inside of my own house with lots of help with far more
talented people than I. Over Christmas and New Years holidays. Not ideal but 3-day weekends are not to
be wasted when there is so much work to be done before moving. The house is in
good condition, just wanted to get as much painted before we moved as possible.
23. Rode an elephant! In Chiang Rai, Thailand. Pretty cool. Very
different than a camel. In Timbuktu. Still lots of fun. Mostly. I don't care
for organizations who allow the use weapons on animals to make them perform for
tourists. Wasn't on my to do list but has gone on my First Time for…. list. Elephants
are the coolest.
24. Any chance to go exploring with Nikita is a highlight for
me.
25. Sold some postcards and cards to a new shop. It is a joy to
get to share my photography with people.
26. Mercy Project of Washington, the anti-human trafficking
awareness group I helped start, disbanded. To my considerable frustration and
disappointment. I had no role in most of the decisions made for the group so it
shouldn't have surprised me that I had no part in the decision to disband it.
He has bigger and better things in store and the lessons I learned from the
group will certainly go with me.
27. Aunt Jan, Cousin Jess and her daughter Taylor came out to
visit. I hadn't met Taylor and hadn't seen Jess since we were teenagers. It's was
so much fun getting to spend time with them and catch up.
28. Visited Ft Simcoe for the first time. The site of the first
Indian boarding school in the US. The topic for my thesis is on the genocide
committed against Native Americans through the atrocities of these schools.
Lots more info to come on this. I think it is a horrific crime that the largest
and longest running genocide in recent history is the least acknowledged or
recognized one and the crimes are ongoing. I'm outraged that numerous
denominations of the Christian Church ran upwards of 90% of these schools and
are widely responsible for these crimes but few, if any, have been held
responsible for these crimes against humanity. Completely unacceptable.
29. Figured out what I'll be writing my thesis on. See above. Exciting, intimidating, scary.
30. Every moment spent with friends who know me and love me
anyway.
31. Family who continually show up for me. Couldn't have moved,
twice, without their help.
32. Moving twice in one year = hell. Being out of the state or
country during each one and leaving some of that work to others… very hard to do. I didn't plan to move the first time and when I found our new home I had already planned the Thailand trip. Hopefully there is no more moving for several years. Now for the settling and adjusting to this new place.
33. Slept my first night in my first home on Christmas eve.
Cushions on the floor in my room. Didn't sleep very well. New place and all. Plus,
it was Christmas eve and who can sleep well on that night, no matter their age?
34. Started going to Redeemed City Church. It is a refreshingly
honest and beautifully genuine gathering.
35. On the long flight home from Thailand we had seats on the
second floor!! What??!! So crazy!! Felt like first class or something. Smaller
area, no kids. Extra storage space by the seat. Pretty cool. Sometimes it’s the
big things. Sometimes it's the small things. Bring on 36!
