2016 | a month-by-month recap

Oy was 2016 a tough year with some pretty significant challenges. There were great losses, uncomfortable growth, and I won't get started on the national political landscape...

2017 is already looking up with some amazing travel plans (hello London, Paris and New York to name a few) and opportunities for career advancement, and I look forward to seeing what other opportunities and adventures the coming months will bring.

Here's a look back on what 2016 had to share with me month-by-month.

JANUARY
I moved back to Idaho just in time for New Years and spent most of the first month with friends and family. I explored the surrounding areas with snowshoeing and winter hikes in the hopes of reconnecting with Idaho and enjoying being here again.

FEBRUARY

In February I visited Saleen for the last time. I had no idea when I was down there that it would be my last time seeing her and wish I would have cherished it more. I loved all the time I got to spend with her and I wish I would have had more opportunities to visit this past year. 

MARCH

The beginning of March was really tough for me. I had officially hit 4 months of unemployment and was starting to feel hopeless. I had interviewed for a marketing position with the local library district and each day that went by without an offer got that much more difficult. I made a decision to road trip west and visit family in the Tri Cities and push on to Portland. During my visit with family I received the offer I had been waiting for and the trip turned into one of celebration. Knowing I had a job to go back to brought so much joy and I enjoyed the trip so much more than I ever expected.

APRIL

In April we had a girls trip to Walla Walla for a long weekend and it was so great! We tasted many delicious wines, explored gorgeous vineyards and cellars and laughed a TON. Hopefully we can make this trip a yearly tradition because it was so good for my soul.

MAY

This was a low key month with the focus on family and work. I enjoyed a road trip with my niece to see my parents for the weekend and took advantage of one-on-one time with Joie to show her around some of the highlights of where her dad and I grew up. It was so fun to see her adventurous heart so excited to hike, discover waterfalls, and meet base jumpers parachuting into the canyon. She and I often talk travel and adventures and I love her excitement for it.

JUNE

June took me on a much needed trip back to Portland to see my tribe. Jenni and Brian were celebrating their 10 year wedding anniversary and we partied, caught up, and toasted to the happy couple. It was a wonderful trip full of friends.

JULY

July was a mixed bag. 

It started with an amazing long weekend in Seattle for the 4th of July holiday. The weather could not have been more perfect and I loved every minute of it.

I also took a WONDERFUL trip to northern Idaho with some of my favorite people and enjoyed a long weekend of cabin living on the lake. We played on the paddle boards and kayaks, ate great BBQ, and enjoyed long days of laughter and sunshine. My soul was completely recharged. On the last morning though I received news that Saleen had taken a turn for the worse and was told that I needed to fly down that day if I hoped to say goodbye. That was, by far, the worst text I have ever received.

I decided not to fly down based on wishes Saleen had expressed to me earlier and made arrangements for my mom to fly there. Just 2 days later I got the phone call that she was gone. The following weeks were the most difficult I've ever experienced. We'd known for months the inevitable, but I realized too late that nothing can prepare you for the absolute.

AUGUST

In August I got a wonderful visit from friends in Washington on their way to camp in Yellowstone. I hadn't seen them for about a year and it was so good to catch up, laugh, and talk travel adventures. I have come to absolutely adore those kids and their mom and hope we get to cross paths again soon.

SEPTEMBER

I think I say this every year, but September is my absolute favorite month. Sure it contains my birthday and that's awesome, but there's also something about the changing of seasons and crisp added to the air after a long summer that just feels magical. September 2016 was no different. 

The month included a trip with a good friend and her little to SoCal. We explored Venice Beach, Huntington Beach, Santa Monica, etc. introduced her little to In and Out, and spent a very full and fun day at Disneyland and California Adventure. It was a great trip and a little cathartic to stand in front of Saleen's favorite ride at Disneyland in her sweatshirt.

The month also included a road trip back to Portland for my birthday weekend. It was so great and filled with laughter with some of my favorite people. 

OCTOBER

I finally started to feel like I hit my groove in Idaho. I had many opportunities to spend time with Boise-based friends in October and it was good to realize I'd finally began building my tribe here. I don't feel pulled to return to Portland, but not having close friendships in Boise outside of my family was starting to take a toll on me emotionally. October felt like the beginning of the healing phase.

NOVEMBER

I'm not going to lie, I was dreading Thanksgiving this year. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday and I look forward each year to spending it with my extended family. This year though my immediate family was heading to Hawaii to spend the holiday in the sunshine and spread Saleen's ashes. I know, I know, Hawaii - what a rough way to spend the holiday. But really, there are more than a few reasons I wasn't too keen on the idea. However, I sucked it up and stuck with the plan and do not regret it one bit. This trip was so much more cathartic than I ever could have imagined. 

Click here for the full recap on this trip.

DECEMBER

It's been many years since I've really been in the Christmas spirit. Between travel (not complaining) and living in Portland in various apartments (also not complaining) I haven't really felt "homey" around the holidays. This year was different though and I loved it! I actually bought a tree, decorated it, and really enjoyed all the holiday activities the surrounding areas had to offer. Having my niece excited about the magic of Christmas was really fun too. I haven't spent a Christmas morning with her since she was 3, so getting to wake up with her this year was the best Christmas present I could have asked for.

2015 Month By Month

January

2015 began in New York City and kicked off a year of adventure, travel, and great discoveries about myself. I returned home to Portland and spent the month soul-searching about the year ahead - what I wanted to do, where I wanted to live, and my goals for health and finances. Little did I know that the year would reveal much more about me than I was prepared for.

February

My job with TNT kept me traveling back and forth between Portland and Boise. I was able to spend time with my family while keeping myself planted in Portland. It was the perfect blend of calling the PNW home while spending time with my family, and earning Alaska Airline miles.

March

Starting the end of December, I had been working on fitness and weight loss. I steadily lost weight and increased my time outdoors over the months. I had the opportunity to meet up with friends and family for hikes, and enjoyed many good conversations in the great outdoors.

April

April was full of travel - Boise, Cannon Beach, Palm Springs, Saddle Mountain, Opal Creek, and Seattle. April was possibly my favorite month of 2015.

May

May began my crazy travel for work season. I enjoyed a long weekend at Disneyland with a great group of heroes and cheered on the Boise team through the heart of the city. I also spent time in Long Beach with family, and, of course, visited Cannon Beach too.

June

A bittersweet month. I wrapped up my time at TNT with a trip to Lake Tahoe with my cycle family. I was sad to leave TNT, but excited to be starting my new job as the Marketing Manager at CCA. With true optimism, I thought the career change would bring the best opportunities and be the start of a new life in Portland. Little did I know it was the beginning of the end.

July

The height of summer - concerts, beach trips, hikes... the best things in life all enjoyed with good friends.

August

Started training for a half marathon, saw "Wicked," caught up with friends from Australia, photographed many families, found the best apartment in Portland, visited the coast... so many good things in August.

September

Generally speaking, September is my favorite month of the year. Fall arrives, my birthday is celebrated, and the leaves begin to change. This year September was tough for me. Things had been difficult at work for a few months, and it came to a head in September. I had the flu on my birthday, and plans fell through for any celebration. I had plans for the second New York trip of the year in Oct though, and in September I received my tickets to see Jimmy Fallon, and my nephew was born on the 25th... so it wasn't all bad.

October

There are few places I've loved more than NYC. 

Strike that. 

There's no place I've loved more than NYC.

The skyline, the culture, the chaos... I love it all and itch to go back. As often as possible.

I enjoyed 4 glorious days in New York in October, quit my (horrible) job, and ended the month with the hardest news I've received to date and headed to Palm Springs. October brought the highest highs and lowest lows of 2015.

November

My niece officially turned seven, and I officially feel old. I started and quit my job as a nanny, and decided my life was leading me to another big change. I didn't think I was ready to make this big decision yet, but I proved myself wrong and began the process of moving back to Idaho.

December

December was a month of saying goodbye to Portland and the many amazing friends I had made there. I fit in 3 more trips - San Francisco, Palm Springs, and Seattle - and spent a day at the coast, making memories. The month was emotional, and difficult, but overall I knew I had made the right decision in choosing to head back to Idaho. 

2015 was a year of change, growth, adventure, and self discovery. It was a year of top experiences and low emotions, and all have led to many great things. 

I look forward to discovering all 2016 has in store for me.

Life Lately | November 2015 in an Instagram

November 2015 was filled with change.

The weather changed. 

The leaves changed. 

My job changed.

Lots of good change and some very challenging change, but change nonetheless. 

November was also filled with family and quality time. I visited Boise to see my niece for her birthday, visited Tri Cities to meet my nephew for the first time, and spent four wonderful days with the whole extended bunch for Thanksgiving.

I can't believe that December is already here and the year is almost over. I feel good things on the horizon, and am excited to celebrate the holidays soon.

How was your November?

Life Lately | June in an Instagram

June 2015 was an amazing month.  I traveled to Lake Tahoe for a weekend filled with love and TNT with my cycle family, celebrated Emerson's 2nd birthday, explored downtown Portland in more detail, spent lots of time with friends, and started a new job!

The month had its ups and its down, its challenges and victories, but overall it was amazing and I'm excited to see what July has to share.

Life Lately | Vacation in Palm Springs

A few months ago I took a look at my calendar and realized that once the end of April hit I wouldn't have a break with work and travel (for work) until mid-June.  I love my job and I'm looking forward to all the fun travel and events I have coming up, but the idea of no real vacation until July just did not fly with me.  So I looked up some flight prices for April dates, confirmed with my aunt that the timing worked on her end, and booked a ticket to fly down to SoCal for a weeks break.

At the time it seemed like completely random dates that happened to be affordable, but the Universe has a wonderful way with timing and my vacation ended up being the exact thing I needed at the exact moment necessary.

As a true introvert I need time to myself (no talking, no interaction) to recharge my batteries.  Time in nature, time with a book and time with my camera is the best way for me to refill my energy bucket. My aunt started a new position with a local organization (she gets paid to play with puppies as the Foster Program Director at a local animal rescue) so she's had to work during the week days I've been here. The mix of time to myself and time catching up with her (and celebrating her newly diagnosed remission!!) has been perfect.

The sunshine, pool time, desert scenery and puppy snuggles during the days have been wonderful. I'm now on day 7 of my vacation and am heading home tonight with a very real smile on my face. I'm ready to get back to the office tomorrow and catch up on all that I've missed with energy and excitement, and that feels oh so good.

A Manhattan Love Story | Day 4

Now to be completely honest, up until this point I was not in love with New York.  Don't get me wrong, I was having a great time, but I just wasn't in love.  

Part of me had been hoping that I would either love or hate the city right away.  I was expecting an instant decision that my heart would notify me of.
Yes or no.
That way I could have an idea whether or not I needed to prepare my mom for a potential move to the East Coast in the next 5-10 years.  (My mom's the type of person that you need to give plenty of notice.)

But it didn't happen.  I enjoyed the city, and I was loving exploring, seeing and experiencing new things, but I felt like I was just visiting someone else's city. A tourist doing touristy things.  I was tired of Times Square, tired of all the people everywhere and ready to see something different.

So on the morning of day 4 I woke up with the idea of exploring an area on the southern tip of Manhattan.  I had struck a friendship with a lovely couple who sat next to me in the theater the day before.  They were from Pennsylvania and had a tradition of driving to the city every other month to see a show.  They always use TKTS, so they never know for sure what show they'll be seeing.  They gave me some great pointers on scoring discounted tickets and how to avoid the lines and crowds. Tip #1 was NOT using the TKTS booth in Times Square.  There are two more booths that fewer people (aka tourists) don't know about that have short lines and steeper discounts for tickets.  So that's where we headed!

When we popped up out of the subway in Wall Street there was an immediate different feel to the area.  There were far fewer people on the sidewalks, many more cabs on the streets, and everyone walked with purpose.

And the buildings.

Oh my word, the buildings are massively tall.
I immediately turned to Hannah and said, "now this is New York."

We started at TKTS, and I was super excited to see Idina's show If/Then on the discount board. Hannah was interested in seeing Avenue Q which was on the board too.  Both shows were going to run us about $80 each. Hannah wasn't interested in If/Then and I've seen Avenue Q twice already so we each bought a ticket to our respective show and planned to meet up and debrief after.  Easy-peasy!

I was sooooooo excited to have a ticket in my hand that would allow me to see Idina Menzel!  I almost couldn't believe it!  I immediately called the two people I know who could fully appreciate how exciting this was for me and squealed for a full 10 minutes.

Having our evening planned out (the shows didn't start until 7:30 that night) we headed out on foot to fully explore the area for the day.  I purposefully stayed off the map app on my phone and we just walked to see what we'd discover.  My phone could have easily led us to well known areas or monuments, but I just wanted to discover the area naturally.

At one point Hannah and I popped into a cute little marketplace to grab something to drink and eat. We stood outside chatting and eating and when I turned around to leave, BAM, there it was.  Nestled perfectly between a row of buildings lining the street on both sides, was the One World Trade Center.

It.
Was.
Gorgeous.

We quickly took off toward it.

There's an unmistakable buzz around NYC.  There's a high energy and a purpose in the air.  The city just feels electric.  But that buzz was unmistakably missing from the area around Ground Zero.  It made sense, of course, but it was such a stark difference that it was almost eery.  Hannah and I spent quite a bit of time walking around the area, looking at the building, reading names on the memorials and just watching people taking it in.  Looking around at the many business buildings and apartments that face the area, it's impossible to be there and not think about how many lives were affected that day.

It was a very somber afternoon.

After taking in Wall Street and Ground Zero we headed back up to the apartment to get ready for Broadway!

First we stopped at Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka's house.  They live less than a block from where we were staying, and I was secretly (ok, not so secretly) hoping for a chance encounter each time we passed their place. This particular time I was brave enough to stop for a photo...

We made a quick costume change, posed for a selfie, and headed out for Broadway!

I was stoked to see this sign!

While waiting outside for the doors to open, I struck up a conversation with one of the security guards.  We talked about where I was from and how far I had traveled to see New York and experience Broadway.  He was impressed with how far I'd traveled and told me he'd always wanted to see the West Coast.  Then he let me in on a secret. He showed me the door the actors use to exit the theater and where I could wait to get their autographs.  A lot of people know this about Broadway, but the secret was when to leave the show (without missing any of the show) so I could be in front of the crowd.

Photography isn't allowed inside the theaters and the ushers take it very seriously.  However I couldn't help snapping just one pic as the actors all wrapped up their final scene.  I was as stealth as possible, and therefore wasn't able to line up the perfect moment, but this snapshot will give you an idea of just how close I was to the stage!  (Idina is in the blue jacket on the left side, walking away)

I quickly headed outside at the exact moment the usher told me to, and waited patiently.  The energy of the crowd was very high, and everyone was excited at the possibility of meeting the cast.  After 20 or so minutes the cast started to exit one-by-one to greet the fans and sign autographs.

It.
Was.
Surreal.

Idina was the only one who didn't come out, and while it was a little sad, it was also understandable - it was her 5th show for the weekend, it was freezing, it was well after 10:30, and she has a young son at home.

But OMG.

I got to meet the rest of the cast, and they were so nice!  It was super exciting to meet Anthony Rapp (Rent) and LaChanze (The Help).  I told them they were amazing in the show and which numbers were my favorite.  They were very gracious and told me thank you.

It was an amazing experience, and one I'll not soon forget.  In the grand scheme of things having someone's autograph doesn't equate to much more than ink on paper, but the memories made when getting that autograph are just about as permanent.  There's something special about standing face-to-face with someone so full of talent and having them see you, even if it's only for a few seconds.

Hannah and I found another great pub and stopped in for drinks while we chatted about our Broadway experiences.  We both were pretty energized from the night and not at all eager to have it end.

I may not have realized it yet, but I was slowly beginning to fall in love with Manhattan.

A Manhattan Love Story | Day 3

Day 3.
Oh beautiful, wonderful, life-changing day 3.

Day 3 - otherwise known as the day of my first Broadway experience.

I had researched plays and musicals well ahead of time, knowing that I wanted to invest in a once-in-a-lifetime experience and kept circling back to "The Real Thing."

Now, I know what you're thinking.
You're thinking, but Macey, if you are going to see a play on Broadway, why wouldn't you choose one starring your favorite Broadway star, Idina Menzel?

And you would be right.  But I'll get to the that on day 4, don't worry.

"The Real Thing" is a play about life, love, playwriting and the uncertainty of it all.  This run stars Ewan McGregor, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and Cynthia Nixon... how could I miss that?  It's a limited run on Broadway with this particular cast, and I just could not pass up the opportunity.

The experience was everything I'd hoped for.  It was a small theater with no bad seats.  Ewan is INCREDIBLE in person, and the play was so well done.  Seeing live theater with trained actors is something that just doesn't compare to anything else.  The excitement and energy in the whole theater is electric.  Ahhh, it can't be beat.

I was glowing for quite some time afterward...

I met up with Hannah after the play and we wandered around the area to find somewhere to eat.  We ended up in Koreatown and found a great place for Pho.  As we wandered we saw our first glimpses of the Empire State Building...

It's quite breathtaking in person.

We also passed the Conde Nast building.  When I was first in college I had dreams of working for this publishing company.  I can honestly say I don't know why I didn't pursue it.  Maybe I still will someday...

At dinner I couldn't stop gushing about the play and Hannah snapped another picture of me with my Playbill.  I love that I actually have a Playbill now!

After dinner we headed to Rockefeller Center since Hannah hadn't seen it yet.  I was excited to see the tree at night, and apparently 3 million other tourists had the same idea because the area was packed and insane!  There were people EVERYWHERE.

I talked Hannah into finding the entrance with the Jimmy Fallon marquee and then we wandered through the building and into the NBC souvenir shop.  I was excited to take pictures with all the Jimmy Fallon things.  I was really hoping to see a live taping while we were in town, but unfortunately he was on Christmas break and wasn't filming the entire time we were in NYC.  Next time though for sure!

We popped out for a quick picture with the tree and got the heck out of there!