My Life – 2022 – Wowzah!
My Life in 2022 – Wowzah!
I have to start out by saying this has honestly been one of the best years of my life! I have had many ups and downs throughout life, I have always worked hard to keep my head above water, so it is with such happiness that I say again, best year of my life!
I would be remiss if I did not start out with the top #1 event of the year, my wedding of course! I got married to the love of my life after a short 14 years together. All the planning throughout the last year since the proposal on Christmas day 2020 was quite the challenge to say the least! Saying that, I could not have asked for a more perfect day, a celebration with family and friends! We were able to show off our dancing skills, became writers with our vows, and listen to my kids’ wonderful words of love. Tears were shed, laughter was heard, and joy was in abundance (may have had something to do with all the drinks!) I could go on and on and on about this day, but you get the drift, happiness! 
Now we could not have had a wedding without a honeymoon of course! Eight days in Hawaii paradise! We relaxed, swam with the dolphins, partook in many island cocktails, did some sightseeing, whale watching, and of course lots of just hanging out in the sand and sea! We are ready for another trip back very soon!
Now if you are reading this and you know me, you know I am not one to sit and relax. Although I had a relaxing honeymoon, I still got up early every day to get a run in. My running career in 2022 was surprisingly great given my aging body!
- April – Boston Marathon #9 – Best marathon time I have had in 9 years – 3:39 (my son and girlfriend came and cheered!)
- June – 12-hour race (3-mile loop over and over and over with lots of hills), 1st place Female
- July – Adventure Race (SUP board, biking and running for 4 hours) – 2nd place Female team – so much fun, and a great teammate!!!
- August – 50-mile race in the mountains – Fairplay, Colorado – 2nd place Female
- September – 10-mile Peak to peak race – won masters (that is 40+), helps to be old!
- October – Des Moines Marathon – beat my Boston time by like 5 minutes!! 3:34
- October – 50k trail race, because why not do a 50k a week after a marathon – 3rd Female
- Some additional 5k races here and there were thrown in of course.
- That was it for the year, wimpy winter runner as I have aged!! Now to plan my next year – Hoping for 100 miler, 50 miler, 10th Boston marathon, etc…
I cannot forget becoming vegan this year and actually maintaining it. It has now become a way of life and I have to say I believe it is a big reason why my running year went so well and why I have been able to do what I have done and be able to recover quickly. I also have to give it a plug to say it helped me fit into my wedding dress of course! Honestly though, I believe it was a very wise decision on my part and hope it keeps me healthy for many years! My starting story is below:
My Trip to a Plant-Based Diet | Achieve the distance
Two of my favorite recipes:
Mango Berry Smoothie Bowl | Achieve the distance
Tempeh Bacon | Achieve the distance
I am not done yet!
I had a wonderful girl’s trip with all my high school girlfriends in Florida! It was amazing!! We hung out on the beach, swam with the manatees, drank, gossiped, laughed a lot, and drank some more! This trip has to be repeated again and again maybe to wine country, another beach, or just anywhere we can all be together. It was like time had never passed! Never forget how much your friends have shaped your life and make sure to always check in from time to time! 
Sad to say we lost our cat, Carlos, of 18 years. He is missed. We lost our other puppy, Jasper, at the end of last year so we just had our sweet Gracie, our Shepherd, who was very lonely with no one to play with, so we jumped in and now have Gemma! Gemma is ½ Golden Retriever and ½ German Shepherd and was born July 27th, 2022. Boy, I am not sure what we were thinking as she is sure a handful. She has grown exponentially, loves to jump into my bathtub, chew on the walls, the furniture, dig up all my outdoor lights, eat all the plants Mike has worked so hard to plant, and anything else those little baby teeth can get a hold of. All that said, we are in love with the little rascal (I should say big rascal as she is already over 50 pounds at 5 months old)! Now Gracie, on the other hand is looking at us like, “what the hell were you thinking, I was better off alone rather than being tortured every day?!”
I also decided to go back to school for a degree in Healthcare Management and the first semester I took 13 credit hours. It was a bit difficult with working full-time, training for all my races, still trying to cook healthy vegan meals, and then adding on a new puppy. It was not the smartest timing decision I have ever made, but I ended the semester with a 4.0, so I have to pat myself on the back as I worked hard, and it paid off but was sure ready for that holiday break before I start back in again! It is crazy how much I enjoy learning though, as I do not think I did at all in my younger years, just wanted to get it over with, but now I actually pay attention and learn!
Now it is getting to the end of the year and finally had our long-awaited family Christmas trip! We decided since the kids are older and are out living their lives, rather than trying to figure out gifts, we gave them a family vacation where they were stuck having to spend time with Mike and me!
We went to the Dominican Republic, and it was paradise! We rented an Airbnb with house staff. It felt like we were living the life of movie stars. We had two ladies cooking all our meals, and it is sure nice to wake up and have coffee and breakfast ready, and always fresh squeezed juice! We went on some beach excursions and came back to clean laundry and surprise snacks. We had our own infinity pool, jacuzzi, pool table, etc.… This house was amazing, and I will never forget the stunning view we woke up to just lying-in bed each morning! 
My daughter may have gotten into a wasp nest during the lovely muddy excursion my son talked us into, along with a few falls, and a giant bug in the house that had us all screaming, and Mike did get hauled away by security on our way home for a random drug test to have some lovely dogs come in! Other than that, it was a very relaxing time to spend with family, Merry Christmas to us!
I should also add in Kayla and Brandt, my awesome kids, are doing great. Brandt owns multiple rental properties at 25 years of age with his wonderful girlfriend, Grace. Kayla was recently promoted to a manager at her company and just moved into a beautiful new apartment in Chicago. We could not be prouder of these two! It is a wonderful feeling to know your children grew up to be strong, independent adults. I just wish they lived closer.
That about wraps up my year and all the wonderful things that happened! I am so grateful for the new family I inherited this year, feel very lucky to call them family now, as well as my family is very thankful for Mike becoming part of our family! Along with this, all the wonderful vacations with family and friends, and lucky enough to have my health and able to continue with all my passions!
Happy Holidays to all and wishing everyone a very Happy New year into 2023, hoping it brings as much joy as 2022 did!
