•I didn't know what a beef brisket was but Josiah showed me
•I went to one of my bucket-list shows Phantom of the Opera and cried inside and out
•I went to Concord Mills without buying a Cinnabon for my Mom for the first time (she wasn't home)
•Us friends sent Daniel off and it was the first time sending a friend out of Country (so glad and
jealous for a friend leaving the US. Praise the Lord he gets some fresh non American air)
•Had my first Thai food
•Learned how to bleed oil on sauna engine
•Snowboarded in New Hampshire
•
•Night boarded past midnight for the 1st
•Always wanted to know what would happen if you hit those construction cones on the highway.
One less mirror and $200 less dollars is what it's like. But hey, I hit one. Have you ever done that?
•I shot a mini-cat because I hate them with all my heart.
•I'm calling it a mini-cat cause I hate cats more than kittens
but I hated this kitten so it became a mini-cat
•I can't believe I killed an animal but I also don't feel bad because it was a despicable cat that was a harm to the smelling environment, waking environment, getting into everything it shouldn't environment.
•Got a full-time nanny job in Charlotte with a richy Fam
•Got to know the Charlotte area some mores
•Traveled as a travel-nanny for the first time. (NYC y'all)
•Took a Cinnabon on a plane and it still stands as the best thing I've ever eaten on a plane
•I carried a baby all around NYC and we had a good time. just me and the babe
•Bought my first hot dog from an actual hotdog stand
•Bought a gyro off the NYC streets and it was everything it was supposed to be
•Spent half my time in NYC in the woods of Central park (the other half was spent watching the St.Pattys people parade around in kilts & bagpipes and shout funny things)
•My beautiful sister got married and I basically cried and didn't know what to say for a year because I'm no good with words that mean more than the most words could ever mean
•Wuz surplized at suum conversations that happened this year
•The 2nd best animal I've ever loved died and we wrote our good Braisen poems and songs.
•Braisen was the funniest dog because he (oops she) knew how we are about animals and still stuck
around and made sure to get into all our family photos and eventually we all loved it
•I watched 18 of the Marvel Movies leading up to Infinity War coming out. (That was a lot for me)
I finally caught up on what the rest of the world has been up to (Hah who am I keedin. still not)
•I drove across the US following my brothers black trailer and it was basically heaven in a car-ride.
I didn't use a GPS, I just kept the trailer in sight and I sang to myself for 3 days straight.
•I saw desserts of Cacti and I freaked the entire time cause they are perfect new things to freak about
•I told Kaleb & Christina everyone has to get stuck in the dessert once in their lifetime
•Bam. next day got stranded in the dessert and so now my life is completing
•I stole a cactus from the Arizona desert and took it home to NC
•I pet a string Rey for the first and fed it shrimp
•My love for tacos still grows (kaint stop wont stop)
•I got annoyed with rich people more this year - just the snobbish ones who think they're rich
•I left the country (POR FIN) praise the Lord for getting a breath of fresh none American air.
•I added a new country to my life. Thnx to KT living in fresh none American air land
•Puerto Rico is like South America but with fast food... so its basically America... but not
•Every week I told myself I would start running regularly. So now I know what its like to
procrastinate for a year. (yall. 2017 I had it down. 2018 couldn't find it)
•Had the biggest scare of my life but saw God work miracles and show us how great is His love
•God saved our little babe and blesses her and us with her continued life
•I listened to more Audiobooks this year than my other 23 years combined
•Want to thank Clarissa for creating and leaving her Spotify playlist visible so I could find Dotan and
his beautiful sounds
•I like sautéed broccoli a little more
•Someone tried convince me cottage cheese was delicious. I told them it was of the devil
but then I took back my words cause cats are the of the devil not cottage cheese.
•I quit a nanny job for the 1st time on account of the family being very unwelcoming and snobby-rich
•I got my 2nd apartment in life
•I signed up for Midwifery classes and I'm still very nervous inside about it all
•I still have little idea of how I'm doing in life (someone wanna tell me whats up? thnx)
•I tried a pipe for the first time. Thanks to Uncles who love to enjoy life from the porch & a hammock
•I snuck away to the beach for the day with no one knowing.
Now you all know. You're welcome
•Watched 4th of July Fireworks over a baseball field. Can't believe I combined the 2 most American things in one. But I didn't eat a hotdog so... theres still hope
•Jeremiah (plus others) tried to help me like BBQ. Its a hopeless case.
He said I would like it in Texas, I'll have to go back to Texas land to be convinced
•I flew to Alaska to work Construction with my Dad
•My Dad taught me:
-about the Alaskan territories
-about crazy Alaskan drivers in the snow
-how to set forms and prepping concrete
-how to screw into metal forms
-how to drive a forklift
-how to load a forklift
-how to load a semi truck
-how to ratchet strap a load down
(Ratchet straps almost got the best of me but Dad finally explained it to me (nicely)...
Obviously not before he let me struggle and get frustrated first. Experience is teacher right?
Experience is a laugh sometimes)
-about how semi trucks have a crank to roll up their straps.. makes sense cause saves so much time
-about 10&13 &18 speed trucks
-About getting up early for 40yrs and breaking your back doing concrete and never stopping.
-About being hurt for years and still not knowing what to say about it or to it
-About living the day by day life
-About forgetting to make your daughter a sandwich so giving her yours instead
-About wanting something but not knowing how to get it or where to find the strength to fight for it
•I loved the one mountain of Alaska I could see
•Talked to a man in a wheelchair about making my freckles into stick-figures.
•Spent time at my Grandparents in WA and the Matsons are funny people. Not cause they say funny things but because they do funny things and everyone is quiet when they should laugh sometimes.
•Every time I visit the Matson side, I learn a little more about myself, my fam and why things are
•Rode an Aerial Tram to see the views of Portland. & there are only 2 in the US. So we're on top of it
•Grandpa knows how to do everything & Grandma uses the best phrases that I like to quote
•Rode for the first time in a Flex
•Played Top Golf for firsts. I don't know how to hold a club or stand correctly but I was winning the
whole time and it's funny seeing ppl get mad that the rules don't always make a person win.
Y'all just learning that?
•I passed my bday in a car at midnight for the first time
•I bought myself all the birthday presents
•Jk. my wonderful sibs and friends bought me my favorite things of all
(It's like they know me or something)
•My stolen Cati from Arizona came back to life in the kitchen window
•My extreme case of procrastination causes me to frantically cram
but what is new with the way I learn?
•Beachin w/Asheboro friends cramming into smallest places we can? Don't try us. We have it down
•I blame Spotify for eating away my time and life. How is a person supposed to live life when there are so many good people, words, songs and sounds created and needing to be listened to?
•I tased someone for fun
•Got tased myself for fun
•Got only 1 speeding ticket which is great for a person who got none in 5 years, then a million in
2yrs. But this year I decided to give the police something better to do, so you're welcome police.
•Cooked rice a large amount of times because I'm addicted to loving it
•Left a family reunion to play puttputt with one cousin. Because families are funny and are some of
the most fun or the most boring. So we left to have fun and played puttputt with a spin on it... we
played pool, kickball and bowling golf.
Guys...the options are endless. Are there actually people out there who believe in rules?
•Did something I said I would never do....
•Freakin ASKED FOR A GUYS NUMBER.
but when my sister put me to the bet that I wouldn't. I showed them yolo and she lost her bet.
•I went on a date with a complete stranger. He asked my name at the table and we ate Mexican like all good dates should. And I smoked and killed him in bowling. (yes both smoked and killed)
•That's something that happened this year that I'm embarrassed about but also it gave laughs to erbud and a funni dumb story to not tell
•Found out my very first car might die soon. (How do I say goodbye to yesterday?🎵)
•I climbed a hike with KT and at the top of the mountain were grazing cows.
So I basically climbed to the top of heaven.
•Spent a lot of time stopping on back roads to watch the sunset in my lil green Honda.
•Even more in honour of my faithful car. She has always been there to play Adele and I've screamed
so many songs in there. And screamed so many frustros en there. so she can handle anything. Also I love a car horn that is not in the middle of the wheel.
•Attended/played Violin in a Bilingual wedding for the first time.
•Saw Korean wedding traditions for the 1st time.
•We have a lone chicken at home and we named him Calamus
•Started violin lessons with my old best teacher and it is my favourite hour of the week
•Stayed home for 10 straight days by myself while my family traveled and it was the strangest thing
being in my home thats been filled with people all my life and almost never spent a day alone
•Spent Thanksgiving with cousins and no close fams. (Only weird cause being in States w/no fam)
•Had McDonalds for the supper of Thanksgiving. How could I do such an American thing? but it was only because we had TG for lunch and when we tried to go back for a 2nd TG meal, the doors of the house were locked with the TG food inside. So we were sent to McDees... the only place open. I didn't mind cause it was a weird thing to do on a Holiday basically dedicated to eating the best foods.
•Climbed a Fire-tower (illegally. But when is anything ever legal les be rill)
•I ordered Maté so much. I just need a farm it myself and save the Post Office the packages.
•S/O to myself for sending myself so many packages
•I still worked for all my old nanny fams. and they are the bomb and best people to work for
•You know how you're always curious to know what it would be like with a completely new name?
Like a Leah, or a Josephine (only who names their kid that anymore besides in Little Woman) so I tried it out. I'm Elmi to my new families. It's actually my name still. So this year I have been an Elmi.
•Worked on a Christmas tree Lot for a weekend and it was everything Christmas is supposed to be (minus the prices)
•I sold a Christmas tree in Spanish and she was de Venezuela y el de Cuba y me encantó hablando con ellos porque siempre extraño hablando en español. And they loved the tree and I loved speaking to them. So it was basically Christmas for all of us.
•Want to thank David Urbanati for creating and leaving his Spotify playlist visible so I could find Soap&Skin. Also he makes amazing music hissellffff
•Dec.3rd sold my first and best car I'll probably ever have. It was my one true ride or die.
And it was always my steady. It was faithful. It was true.
•Started reading the book War and Peace because someone once said "You're like that book 'War and Peace' that novel that is so difficult to read" and now that I'm reading it I have to figure out what part of the million pages they were referring to cause this book is the so freaking longest to get through
(maybe they were referring to how difficult it is to read me. hmm maybe I just figured it out?) I don't need to finish the book. I already figured it out.
•Went to an orchestra on the wrong day so showed up for practice... It's all good cause I just sat in the
auditorium just listening to the practice.
•The next day I dragged all my friends with me but was disappointed in how little some of them knew about orchestras.. not enough to even appreciate it. For shame for shame. But thankful for the ones who knew and understood and appreciated.
•Spent Christmas with all 13 siblings back under one roof & the best added siblings one could ask for
Top 10 of this year:
-Larms Wedding and all the people it brings together and the 2 people is brought together of course!
-Every different big or small trip, and leaving the country. Speaking Spanish
-Except driving to Colorado w/my brother & working in Alaska get their own spot
-Seeing Wild Child, Wild Rivers and Valley Maker perform (top 3 of the 12 Concerts I went to)
-Every time I'm with people. Old friends. New friends. Family gathers. Family anything
-Reading Books (last year babies kept me sane. This year it was books)
-Starting Violin Lessons with my old best teacher
-Witnessing Gods miracle on our babe
-Larm is having a baby
-TBD
Fav thing I bought: Trekz headphones
Books read this year: 46 (see previous post)
Flights this Year: 14
States visited: 20
NC, SC, VA, WV, MD, PA, NY, MA, NH, RI, KY, IL, MO, KS, CO, NM, AZ, OR, WA, AK
Country Visited: Puerto Rico
Travel days this year: 106 Days
(Made sure to take at least one weekend trip or more each month... and this is the result! I'm satisfied)
GUYS. Thats a little over 3 months out of the year I was traveling!
Of course 1 month of it, was working in Alaska with my Dad...
but the other 2 months?! When can people travel 3 months out of the year and also work and study and live life at the same time? I don't know but I would rather that life
I get why they say prime time to travel is now.
So hey, I'm just listening to all the advice given me from anyone older. Thanks everyone
you have made my life insanely more exciting and better than a dumb 9-5 job that gets you stuck in a rut the rest of your life... and you see none of the world, And you live none of life.
Guys.
I don't know everything about 2018 yet. I'm sure there's more I'll learn from it in years to come.
sorrynotsorry for the longlong post.
this is for me when I'm 86 yrs old and want to remember the things of 2018
but a lot happens in a year and how else am I supposed to remember?
But it was a year of a lot of things to learn. A lot about myself
A lot about everything in, for, and from my family.
Types of emotions, types of people, types of frustrations, types of chicken nuggets to love
I have a lot of disappointments, hopes, sads, joys, encouragements, hates and loves about this year.
I don't know exactly what this year was or how to explain it in a word or even words
so this was my reminder of some of the bests and firsts
it was another year God gave me life
and so it is
