2018 -> 2019

No matter what social media site you go on right now you can look back at all of your top 2018 memories. You get the posts with the most likes, the most comments, and the most shares. What about the posts that mean the most to you, the memories that will last a lifetime? Since that wasn’t going to happen I decided to make my own. Take the robot out of choosing my top moments and do it myself. 

Starting with the first of the year lets talk about one of my most favorite trips I have ever taken. This past year my sister and I took a trip for my birthday and we went to Asheville, NC. We toured The Biltmore, went brewery hoping, and hiked in the Blue Ridge Mountains! Everything about this trip is worth sharing a million times. 

If you have never been to The Biltmore I highly recommend you putting it on your bucket list! Everything about this place is spectacular! The history, the architecture, the beauty of the land, the spiced apple cider you have for lunch, and the wine. Oh the wine. 

I promise you, if you take a trip to Asheville, NC you will not be disappointed. The ONLY downside to the trip is that Asheville , to me at least, is not as big of a touristy town as I thought it would be. It is still beautiful and still worth the trip. Just don’t expect to go to a touristy town like some other cities you may have been to. 

The next best thing that happened in 2018 was being able to cross another item off my bucket list AND I got to do it with my brother. So one of our favorite comedians/ventriloquist is Jeff Dunham. We have been quoting his skits for years and we finally got to see him do them LIVE! 

The greatest moment from this trip, besides being with my brother (please don’t think I actually like him 🙂 ), is the fact that Jeff Dunham read my question during his show! Out of how many hundreds of people wrote questions he picked mine! It was so cool!

I was able to attend my 9th CopperDog 150! This race is so cool, These dogs are so amazing. If you have never seen a dog sled race you need to! 

I GOT MY FIRST CAR! Okay yes, I have had two other cars in my life, but this is my first car that I bought on my own! My beautiful car is my baby, I love it so much. It was the most nerve wracking 48 hours when I had this Jeep as a rental car. I called the dealership twice to talk about the car. I called my insurance agency about a million times and I went back and fourth talking over with my parents. In the end I am glad I went with it and I am glad this car is finally mine!

I did a lot of my favorite thing.. HIKING. My girl Ellie and I went on so many hikes together. We even went on a hike that was only suppose to last one hour and ended up being 2.5 hours and 5 miles. That is my favorite hike I went on last summer. 

My brother and I (Yes my least favorite one) went on an interesting hike this summer. We went to Lake of the Clouds in July. If you know anything about the UP in the summer July is still a wet month and there are A LOT of bugs. We were eaten a live and attacked by bees and blackflies. If you know anything about blackflies you know there are ruthless!

I celebrated one of my best friend’s weddings with some of the best people! I am so thankful that I was able to be there with them. Also, some of the best memories that I will never remember. 

I had one of the least terrifying interviews that I ever had. Seriously I was very nervous, but once I got there I really wasn’t nervous any more. It was like the most relaxed and comfortable environment. AND THEN.. one month later I pack up all my stuff, moved across the state, and started a new job. It was the best decision I ever made. I love the feeling of independence and living my own life. I honestly thought it was going to be one of the hardest things I would ever do, but it isn’t. I love it! I love where I live, I love the job I have, and I love the life I am living. 

I don’t understand why people think that at the end of every year that every year was the worst year ever. Why? Why are people so focused on the negative when there are so many positive things to focus on? Everything from hiking to buying my first car to moving into my very first apartment although some scary, some are life altering, and some are every day occurrences they are the best things that happened to me this past year. Negative/bad times? Of course I had those over this past year, but I have too much on my plate, too much to live for to focus on those. 

I hope your 2018 was just as exciting and memorable as mine! I can’t wait to see what 2019 has in store for me!

XOXO

Natalie