2014 in Review

It's been a bit of a tradition for me to look back on the year and make a dorky little list.  It's kinda fun, especially to realize I did actually do something useful in the past year!  Anyway, enjoy.


Random Accomplishments

• Finished an entire bottle of shower gel.  Honestly, this is quite the accomplishment.  It only took an entire year!  Speaking of which:
• I actually finished an entire tube of Chapstick without loosing it.  Two actually.  Look at me, beating out the odds.

• Apparently I listened to 13,026 songs, and 887 hours on Pandora.  No really, they sent me an email and everything.  Stalkers.
• According to RunKeeper, I logged in 110 miles.  (This is an under-estimate, since I really only started logging things mid-year.)  Not to bring in resolutions, and that kind of riffraff, but I want to get in on some kind of mileage challenge for 2015.  I think I could handle like 40 miles a month?
• I did a lot of reading this year.  I decided to re-read all the Harry Potters this summer, although I'm still halfway through the last one.  Lots of other reading, although I seriously can't get myself through Game of Thrones.
• Didn't fly at all this year.  This is odd considering I was flying almost constantly when I lived in Maui, and even when I was in Omaha.  I did go to an airport, but I didn't do any flying.

First Timers

• Finally finished reading/ listening to the Lord of the Rings.  It's kinda sad that it took me this long, especially considering I'm such a Tolkien fan.  (It was really only the last little bit of Return of the King that I hadn't read before.)
• 5Ks!  Seriously, never thought I'd be a runner.  I finished off this year having completed seven 5Ks.
• Rode a mechanical bull, and I think I was actually quite good.
• Attended my first ever Comic Con!
• Test drove a car at the dealership - and didn't even buy that one
• Bought a new car from the dealer.  This was a pretty big one considering I saved up and purchased my baby all on my own!  He is a 2013 Dodge Charger.  Love it!

• Met my first celebrity, which was followed by several more.  
• Took part in a zombie walk through downtown Salt Lake, which was more like an undead flash mob.  Don't worry, actual flash mob in on my bucket list.

• Went to an indoor climbing gym, and actually really enjoyed it.

Major Accomplishments

• I went through the temple!  I've been a bit hesitant to write about this on the internet, mainly because I wasn't sure this was really something that should be announced on Facebook.  I feel okay about my blog, mainly because I think it's mostly people I love and care about reading this.  This was a huge accomplishment and goal of mine, and it's been such a huge blessing to me!  The first time I went through was at the gorgeous Oquirrh Mountain temple.

• Was able to attend the temple weddings of my brother Randall, and my cousin Marcus, both of which were at the Manti temple.
• Paid a good chunk of change on my student loans.  I paid just over 36,000 dollars in the past year.  Considering that was my entire paycheck when I lived in Maui, I feel pretty good about that.
• As of the end of December, I lost a grand total of thirty pounds, and two pants sizes.  Considering my weight has done nothing but go up most of my life, this is huge for me!  It's been fabulous, and sorry if I talk about this way too much.  All I can say is that I'm so glad I decided to just start something, and that all my hard work is noticeably paying off.

• Radically altered my diet.  Well, not totally, but I really don't eat a lot of the gross stuff I used to love, and I cook a lot more now.  Hence the above mentioned accomplishments.

There you have it.  Those are all the things I could think of.  I know there were lots more, but I'm pretty satisfied with this.  I'm really not one to get into New Year resolutions, but I do have a few things in mind that I would like to tackle for the next year.  Here's hoping 2015 shapes up to be a fantastic year!