At the beginning of the new year, I always like to look back at the previous one and see what worked and what didn't. My husband, Greg, and I also use this time to set goals in various aspects of our lives, mostly following
Dan Miller's 48 Days. As a way to recap my year, I decided to make this blog post a pictorial essay of some of the highlights of 2013.
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| On New Year's Day 2013, Greg & I rode our bikes to the top of Mt Tabor. |
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| I enjoyed a free entrance day at Lan Su Chinese Garden, but it sure was cold! |
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| On January 15, I had arthroscopic surgery on my right hip, followed by six months of physical therapy. |
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| We ate lots of great food at Portland restaurants throughout the year. This is the pig ear salad from Lardo. |
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| One month after my hip surgery, Greg & I enjoyed a free entrance day at the Portland Japanese Garden. |
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| We continued to go to cultural events, mostly as a result of me winning contests. |
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| In early March, we flew to Nashville to visit our families. These are my mom & step-dad's goats. |
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| My grandmother & I played tourist for a day. This is her at the Tennessee State Capitol. |
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| I love going through old photos. Check out my ET sweatshirt! |
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| Of course, I had to visit all of the new breweries in the Nashville area. |
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| I even went to a dog show with my dad & step-mom! |
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| Portland is always beautiful in the spring, even when it's threatening to rain. |
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| Greg & I love to explore our city. This is the St John's bridge in North Portland. |
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| Sunny weekends = great days for bike rides & picnics in the park! |
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| One of our favorite neighborhood hangouts - Hawthorne Hophouse (half-price sampler trays on Mondays)! |
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| In April, we took our bikes on the train to Eugene for a long weekend of beer drinking! |
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| Three months after hip surgery, I rode my bike 36 miles in 48 hours. |
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| One of my favorite things to do year-round is going for a hike at Hoyt Arboretum. |
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| On April 23, I had another surgery, this time to correct a deviated septum. |
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| Four days after sinus surgery, I was out wining & dining at the Joy of Life Gala! |
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| One perk of having doctor's appointments at OHSU - riding the aerial tram and the view from Marquam Hill. |
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| I went to one Timbers match last year; they finished 2nd in the MLS Western Conference. |
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| My mom rescued these iris bulbs when she visited us in 2012. They bloomed for the first time in May. |
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| Greg & I enjoyed National Train Day at Portland's Union Station. |
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| Yes, we drank a lot of beer! |
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| I try to go to the zoo on second Tuesdays a few times each year. |
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| Greg continued to commute to & from work by bike. I took this picture of him on the Hawthorne Bridge when I passed him while riding a bus. |
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| Greg ran three $5 5k's with Portland Parks & Rec. |
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| Our big vacation was two weeks in Alaska. This is us leaving Skagway at sunset on our Holland America cruise. |
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| One of the many highlights of our Alaska trip was this flightseeing adventure with K2 Aviation out of Talkeetna. |
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| Another favorite was Denali National Park. |
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| We love the natural beauty of the Pacific Northwest! This is Mount St Helens and Mount Rainier as seen on our flight from Seattle to Portland. |
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| One of my favorite places to hang out on a sunny day - Pioneer Square aka Portland's living room. |
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| My Aunt Elaine came to visit in June and we took her on some great, long bike rides! |
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| She was soon joined by my step-dad, mom, sister & two nephews. We went to all of the usual sights, including Cannon Beach.
My friend Adena, a flight attendant, tries to get Portland layovers a few times each year so we can visit.
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| In July, I was notified that I had won the Grand Prize in this Portland Brewing sweepstakes! Since Greg doesn't play golf, I negotiated a cash payout in place of the trip. |
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| Greg knows me well - my birthday presents included tickets to a Portland Thorns match and beer socks! |
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| Drive Revolution - The Future of Transportation; Greg pretends to test drive a new Trimet bus. |
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| Our dear friends, Steve Woods & Cindy Anderson, celebrated their 50th birthdays in late July. |
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| During hip rehab, I started having severe pain in both knees. Three rounds of Synvisc injections didn't help. |
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| In spite of the pain, I continued to live a normal life. For me, that means volunteering at the Oregon Brewers Festival. |
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| When Jeremy & Eva Rees visit, we're guaranteed to have some great food & drink, like Salt & Straw ice cream. |
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| I went to three Thorns matches; they ended up winning the national championship. Go Thorns! |
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| My Uncle Don came to Portland on business and we got to enjoy happy hour with him. |
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| Rose, the neighborhood cat, continued to visit us frequently throughout the year. |
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| My friend Corey from NYC came to visit for a few days; fun times! |
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| We took the MAX to our first Hillsboro Hops baseball game, which they won 6-3. |
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| We moved to our new home & I started my new job at Irvington House in August/September. |
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| I volunteered at the Guinness World Record-breaking Redhead Event. |
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| My mom & step-dad came to visit again in late August, primarily to bring furnishings for our new apartment. My 83-year-old grandmother tagged along this time! |
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| Even though it was a hectic time, we still managed to visit some of our favorite spots like Multnomah Falls. |
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| One trip in this van was all we needed to move the bulk of our belongings. |
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| Greg was thrilled that our new apartment features an outdoor grill AND a dishwasher. |
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| An annual fall event: Swift Watch. |
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| We finally made it out to Sauvie Island for the first time on a gorgeous fall weekend. |
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| Greg completed his first Half Marathon on October 6. |
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| I continued to work as an extra on the filmed-in-Portland tv show, Grimm. |
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| We enjoy taking day trips whenever we can; this photo is from an outing to wine country (Newberg area). |
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| Last year's weather was perfect for beautiful fall leaves. |
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| Another day trip - we hauled our bikes out to the Banks-Vernonia trail. |
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| Making new friends is always fun. This is Chris Jennings, a local brewer. |
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| On set at Lloyd Center for the Oregon Lottery Super Shoppers commercial. |
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| We took an overnight trip to Corvallis in November to visit all of the breweries in that area. |
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| The Albany Carousel Museum is really cool! |
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| I organized a surprise party for Greg's 40th birthday on November 18 at The EastBurn. |
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| I contributed quite a bit to the latest edition of the Portland Happy Hour Guidebook. This is one of the ways Cindy acknowledged my efforts. |
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| Our new apartment has lots of windows; the better to watch the hummingbirds that come every day to feed on the Oregon Grape bush out front. |
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| Our December vacation in southern Oregon was a winter wonderland. |
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| We stayed at the lovely McCall House B&B in Ashland. |
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| Per Greg's request, we took the Coast Starlight to Klamath Falls and back instead of flying or driving. |
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| I never get tired of photographing Portland icons. |
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| We even decorated for the holidays with our ornaments from TN thanks to my mom & Greg's mom. |
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| Since we didn't travel over the holidays, we decided to throw a party on Christmas Day. |
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| Wrapping up the year in style at the Benson Hotel. |
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| I ended the year just like I started it, in a hospital bed, this time for arthroscopic surgery on both knees. |
