2016 year in review: a month-by-month look back

What a year of epic proportions. There were highs, there were lows, and there were moments of humility and humbleness. It’s time to look back at all of it.

January

• I ran/walked 100km over the course of the month to raise money for the Wish foundation
• As a result of my sudden jump back into running, I uncovered hip issues that would still be under treatment at the end of the year
• Locked in the venue for our wedding, and realised that I would be married by the end of the year
• Started watching all of the star wars movie and finally understood what was so great about them
• Nearly died from some chilli mixture thing Mario made at home (we were struggling to breathe because the air was so thick with chilli from the carolina reapers)
• Gave myself a second ear piercing….accidentally.
• Celebrated my aunt’s and uncle’s 30th wedding anniversary
• Enjoyed the hot 91 sky show with Bel, Kat, Adele and Bridge
• Enjoyed Australia Day at Emily and Nathan’s place

February

• Spent a weekend at Stanthorpe with Mario and friends to celebrate mine and Emily’s birthday
• Turned 32
• Confirmed I was marrying the right man when I gave him the Bohemian Rhapsody test. I put the song on, he stopped what he was doing and sang along (this song would later be one of the highlights on the dance floor of our wedding – all the girls standing around head banging together – classy)
• Climbed Mount Coolum at sunrise with Vanessa
• Celebrated my engagement to Mario with family and friends, and was humbled by the love
• Had fish and chips on the beach at sunset with Emily and Nato
• Was involved in my first 12 week challenge for the year; didn’t lose a thing (my fault)

March

• Bought a swag after we lost our camping equipment in the crazy winds at Fraser the previous December
• Spent time with my sister and Claire while they were up from Sydney
• Made sugar-free hot cross buns that were a hit
• Started the easter long weekend by cutting a gash in my foot by dropping my glass water bottle, resulting in several stitches in my foot
• Had the rest of the long weekend to myself when the mister went away camping with his dad for Easter – spent it reading and trying out cooking some new recipes
• Attempted a stress reduction course, failed
• Ran in the “ROC Race” (Ridiculous Obstacle Course) with Mario, Eric, Ruth, Jesse and Heidi
• Saw the today show at the beach
• Climbed Mt Ngungun with the crew from AWA Nambour
• Made my first hot air balloon diaper cake

April

• Weighed in at the heaviest for the year (actually a long time – I was 81.9kg, and was devastated)
• Saw a friend at work perform in Mary Poppins (he played Bert and was fantastic)
• Discovered my 52 list existed in 2010, which means that 2017 makes it the 7th year running!
• Went camping with Mario and my dog
• Saw some gorgeous sunrises starting to get up and go for morning walks
• High rates of stress brought on heart burn, and began to see a doctor
• Started working on our hand-made wedding pieces together with Mario and his family
• Celebrated Vasi’s hens night
• Made tortellini by hand for the first time ever with Mario
• Got the stitches in my foot out
• Celebrated Tamara’s baby shower, and made my second nappy cake

May

• Took the time to appreciate autumn sunrises
• 5th blood donation for the year
• Attempted to cook dinner for Mario for only the 4th or 5th time in our entire relationship (I’m still not convinced it was very good)
• Enjoyed an afternoon wine tour with the crew from work
• Sadly experienced the 5th anniversary of the passing of my friend, Sean
• Woke up at stupid o’clock to watch Dami get robbed of the Eurovision title
• Participated in an Agile training course
• Celebrated the wedding of Vasi and Skip, and enjoyed a weekend at the Gold Coast at the same time
• Had a massage
• Introduced Mario to the Mr Hankey song
• Watched Adelaide take the A-League GF

June

• Babysat my friend’s newborn child for the night so that Mario could cook them up a degustation meal for their 10 year anniversary (first time I’ve ever looked after a newborn for longer than a 2 second hold really, this is huge, and it doesn’t matter that they were in the next room)
• Got back into the jigsaw puzzle app on my iPad (brilliant for stress relief)
• Made sausages at home with Mario
• Personally designed and sent out our wedding invitations (we took a photo of the tree we were getting married under and modified it)
• Went dress shopping with my amazing bridesmaids and figured out dress styles
• Saw the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie
• Took Mario’s parents out camping and had a great time (his mother’s first time camping)
• Rode my bike for the first time in a year and had a great time
• Started a new heart rate running program (due to hip issues still being a problem this wasn’t consistent)

July

• Celebrated my aunt & uncle’s 45th wedding anniversary
• Climbed Mount Coolum
• Organised a surprise dinner out for Mario’s birthday with Sammy, Kate, Jarrett, Nick, Jess and myself (he’ll never trust me again)
• Booked flights to Japan for our honeymoon and scored free business class lounge passes from Qantas
• Weekend away in Stanthorpe for just Mario and I (sheer bliss, it was so cold so we had a raging fireplace, and so lovely to de-stress)
• Started doing body pump classes again at the gym
• Cheered Max on in The Great Australian Spelling Bee
• Stress levels reach a new high, heart burn completely sets in and I begin medication
• Go to Gold Class to see a movie with friends, drive to the wrong Gold Class and end up seeing Independence Day by myself

August

• Signed up to do Steptember, 10,000 steps a day in September
• Participated in Bridge to Brisbane with Mario, completed it in 76mins. Realised my hip issues were a lot worse than I realised and by the end of the day I wasn’t able to walk properly
• Painted more signs and more preparation for our wedding
• Used a driving range for the first time in my life, followed by dinner with the Brissie crew at Victoria Park Golf Course
• Resolve a 6 month issue that had plagued me at work (this was massive)
• Start to get back into good habits diet and exercise wise
• Climbed Mt Ninderry with the AWA crew
• Climbed Mt Coolum with Mario
• Celebrated Sammy’s baby shower

September:

• Completed the Steptember challenge, walking 10,000 steps a day to raise money for charity
• Made a lot of ground on my diet, and lose weight, hitting my goal to be at 23% body fat only halfway through the next round of the AWA 12 week challenge
• Got a new balcony built at home to replace the dry rot in the old one
• Finish writing my wedding vows
• Had a weekend to myself while the boy is away on his buck’s weekend, and end up going for a 12km walk
• Enjoyed a weekend camping with the Garland and Bunter families
• Cheered Zoe on in the Mooloolaba ironman
• Stepped down from Management at work to try and get some work/life balance back
• Finally allowed to donate blood again after getting the heart burn issues under control
• Had a proud fiancee moment watching Mario donate blood for the first time

October

• Buy myself an apple watch, and get an apple iPhone 7 (tech month)
• Humbled by the crew at work by their generous gifts for my (now) husband and I to wish us well for the wedding
• Pizza night with Trent and Mari
• Saw The Magnificent 7 at the movies with Mario
• Celebrated the wedding of Sammy and Jarrett
• Hit my 8th blood donation for the year
• Git back into swimming laps after seeing the physio and being told I’m not allowed to run (continuation of the hip issues)
• Did a 30 day plank challenge and quit at about day 20, but still hit a PB by holding a 2min plank
• Bought Mario a flour mill for a surprise, to find out he’s surprised me with an electric coffee grinder)
• Celebrated my 3 year anniversary with Mario
• Had an EPIC weekend away for my hen’s weekend, with amazing friends and family
• Handed over my engagement ring so that the wedding part of the band could be put onto it (*sniff*)

November

• Married the most amazing man in the world, my Mario (and got my ring back hehe)
• Had an amazing honeymoon over in Japan
• Enjoyed a relaxing weekend on the Gold Coast with Mario (since Japan was non-stop)
• Started doing yoga to help with my hip issues
• Pumped out 2 x nappy cakes for girls in the office close to giving birth
• Hit a total of 10kg lost for the year

December

• Attend my first ever Big Bash League game (cricket)
• Donated blood for the 10th time for the year
• Enjoyed an amazing Christmas with family, and Boxing Day with friends
• Didn’t win Christmas trivia (again)
• Got my annual boob check done – all clear
• Christmas parties for work
• Skype Christmas dinner with Tina, Lea, Bel and Kat
• Went back to work after 3 weeks off to the most stressful fortnight I think I’ve ever experienced there
• After some huge efforts at work got everything back under control and things are now looking much, much more rosy
• Got to catch up with my beautiful friend, Rou
• Had a fun Christmas barbecue with Scott and Meaghs
• Celebrated the 8th anniversary of my knee reconstruction
• Attended my first WordPress meetup in what felt like months, and had a fantastic time
• Molescan check – all clear

I really love doing recaps like this, because at the end of the year I can look back on everything that happened and be overwhelmed with appreciation. I know there have been some stressful times this year, and the first time my health has been truly affected from it. Yet when I compare that to all the good things in my life? The good wins, hands down. I have such amazing friends and family, an amazing husband, and a job that pays enough that we can splash out time-to-time on travelling and weekend trips away. We have the equipment to go camping. I live near the beach. The Sunshine Coast is beautiful.

2016…..you weren’t so bad after all. Thanks for letting me continue my life story.