2015 Recap

2015 is coming to a close and I find it easier to think back on my year if I write it down. We've had a fun-filled year with it's fair share of ups and downs but here are some of the highlights of our year.


Books
My reading challenge for this year was to read 25 books. So far I've made it to 23. I'd like to think I could knock out a book a day these next couple of days and I'm sure as heck gonna try but it may not happen. I'm usually late to the game with books so it's not as if any of them are new this year but here's my list of books that are worthy of your time. They are quite varied: political, fiction, religious, Appalachian, cooking, you name it....it's on the list.


1. The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom
2. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
3. On Writing by Stephen King
4. Gray Mountain by John Grisham
5. Deer Hunting with Jesus by Joe Bageant
6. Searching for Sunday by Rachel Held Evans
7. The Red Tent by Anita Diamant
8. Heritage by Sean Brock


Movies


I went to the movies exactly twice this year. Both times with my sister to see rated R female comedies which were funny but I'm not qualified to give you advice on movies considering I don't watch them.


Podcasts
I discovered podcasts this year and my life was changed forever. These are worth your time (as if you didn't already know).


1. Radiolab (the very best)
2. StoryCorps (duh)
3. Gilmore Guys (they break down every episode of Gilmore Girls, it's my guilty pleasure)
4. Serial (which I haven't actually listened to yet but I've heard only wonderful things about it)


Music


This year we bought a record player and started our collection of albums. We saw Old Crow in concert 3 times (Blacksburg, Denver, Roanoke).

TV
I may not know movies but I am an expert TV watcher. Aside from watching countless football games these are the shows I wasted precious hours binge-watching:


1. Drunk History
2. The Mindy Project
3. Sherlock
4. Parks and Rec
5. Orange is the New Black
6. Gilmore Girls for the 47th time


Animals
In 2015 a small fortune in vet bills (2 hip replacements, lots of pain meds, physical therapy, Lyme's disease test) and added some new outside family members to the farm. First 2 hens and a rooster, then 4 hens and minus one rooster. Do the math and we have 6 wonderful hens and said good riddance to a hateful old rooster who attacked all of us.

Food
We grew our largest garden to date and had the widest variety we've ever had. We ended the season with 10 cans of strawberry rhubarb jam, 15 cans of kraut, 16 cans of pickles, 4 cans of pickled peppers, 14 cans of salsa, 6 cans of tomatoes, and 40 cans of spaghetti sauce. We also put a good bit of asparagus, broccoli, rhubarb, corn, and zucchini in the freezer.

Travel
Our big summer trip was when I got on an airplane for the first time and we travelled to Colorado for a week where we hiked, camped, relaxed and decided we didn't want to move there.


We attended our first pro football game in Charlotte and watched Green Bay lose. Drew went to Italy for 2 weeks. We camped with family on Memorial Day. We spent a week on the New River with my parents. We had two weddings in Tennessee and my siblings and I spent a week in Williamsburg.

Here's a little video recap of the year

I hope you all have a wonderful New Years and a joyful 2016 filled with sweet friends, books to lose yourself in, travel to beautiful places, and animals to love on. What were some of your 2015 highlights? Books? Places to travel? Podcasts? Chicken names?

I will love with urgency and not with haste

This weekend we traveled through the flatlands in West Virginny and Ohio, slept on the ground, got a contact high and were almost eaten alive by bed bugs but it was totally worth it, because we got to see

Mumford & Sons and Old Crow Medicine Show.

We arrived Friday night and the Gentlemen of the Road had taken over the adorable city of Troy. The town square was closed off where there were 2 stages and lots of food and beverage.

The "shuttle" from our car to the campground was a bit of false advertising because in all reality it was a hay ride from a tractor. But it kept with the theme so I  bought in. I also bought into the camping, I was going to make the best of it despite the fact that neither of our air mattresses would work and we were next to loud frat boys whose sole desire was to keep us up all night. Dear frat boys with visors....ever heard of quiet hours because according to my pamphlet they're supposed to start at 12!!....how old do I sound right now????

Saturday we had a nice pancake breakfast from at the town rec center. Then we purchased our gear and were free to enjoy all the lovely town of Troy had to offer. troy is the stars hollow of ohio for all you Gilmore girl fans, it was almost too perfect

 

For everyone in my hometown my sister compared the festival to "like Heritage Days times 1,000." Drew and I spent the better part of the day in a used book store shocker. As the day wore on we became increasingly aware of how tired we were and how we really did not want to sleep on the ground next to our insensitive neighbors.

 

 

So in the 90 degree heat we packed up camp and rode the hay back to the car and sat in the a/c for a while before hay-riding back for the concert.

 

 

 



 

 

 



At the risk of sounding dramatic I will just say that Mumford was a spiritual experience for me. I cried twice and Drew made the comment on the way home that he felt like he was at church a couple of times. It was church for me and their voices are amazing. And I must tell you the f-word does not sound dirty with a British accent, in fact I quite like it.


Mumford was so humble and funny. There is no lyric they sing that does not stir my soul and their voices make me weak at the knees. Watching them collaborate with OCMS on Wagon Wheel warmed my heart and I cannot speak highly enough of them. 

Our getting home story is one for another day but just know that I would pay twice what I paid to see OCMS or Mumford any day. And probably even sleep in bed bugs in a smoking room on the floor. I don't care if I never see anyone else, I now know that they are both amazing live and I feel so lucky I got to have church with Marcus and the boys.

 

 

 

 



Until we meet again Mumford.....I'll be waiting.

 

A Few Of My Favorite Things

I actually hate that song, especially when it's played on Christmas music stations. Blah! Anyway, one of the bloggers I follow recently did a post of things she loves right now so I thought I would follow suit.


Of Monsters and Men

My friend Nicole suggested them to me several weeks ago and aside from Mumford I've listened to almost nothing else. Try them out on Spotify (Mountain Sound is my fave).


Some Nights

Drew has had this song on repeat since we saw them on SNL a couple of weeks ago. The video is moving and I love this song. Plus Nate Ruess is drop dead gorg. Even Drew said so.

The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Test Scorer

This is one guy's story about grading the writing portions of standardized tests. Maybe I'm totally behind on this but my mind was blown. It is very well written and not terribly long. If you are an educator, aide, parent, or a living, breathing human then read it. You will not believe it. For anyone who knows anything about SOL's and the pressure that students and teachers are under this will make you sick. You can read it here:

http://monthlyreview.org/2010/12/01/the-loneliness-of-the-long-distance-test-scorer



The Men Who Built America

 

I haven't watched all of these but rest assured they are DVR'd and saved up for a snowy day. I've heard nothing but good things about them and I will likely stay in my PJ's all day Friday and catch up on them. You can watch full episodes to catch up here: http://www.history.com/shows/men-who-built-america


Lincoln

I can't describe to you the excitement inside of me about this movie. I hope to see it with my whole family while I'm home next week. Lincoln is our favorite. With the exception of my husband. communist I hope they do this great man justice but judging by the previews I don't think it will disappoint.

Okay, somehow this turned into the "entertainment" portion of my favorite things but there you have it. The interests of an aspiring historian/educator. Thrilling.

You can't always get what you want, but if you try sometimes you just might find...you get what you need

Living in a small town has it's perks, however it also comes with it's fair share of negatives. Maybe it has nothing to do with a small town maybe it's just little league baseball in general but let me tell you...'round here it gets brutal. My 12 year old brother has been exposed to things I didn't think he would see or hear until he got to a high school locker room. And it's not from his teammates mind you, it's the adults. Our team has been kicked out of places that I thought it impossible to be thrown out of. I don't understand the mentality that our children are too good to lose, because that simply isn't the case. Our kids are no better than anyone else's and are certainly not above losing. Needless to say after a few embarrassing instances we are no longer little leaguers. It's a shame really because my brother suffers for other people's actions but that is where we are now.

Enough about things I can't control, onto things I can...my wedding is in three weeks and I'm surprisingly calm, maybe because I still have finals to get through or maybe I've suddenly become very zen either way it is upon us. I am very excited as my mamaw says my wedding will be "unlike anything you've ever seen." I'm still not sure if she means that in a positive or negative way...knowing her it's negative. But it will be different some will love it, some will hate it, and some won't get it at all but it will be me. We are calling it "Southern Vintage" and what am I if not southern and vintage? I am very excited for all of my family to be together and to celebrate our love. God has blessed me with a great family and with a wonderful man, so nothing will get me down that day.

Still getting the hang of this thing but I think I will leave you with music....today a little Simon and Garfunkel: