2014 in Review, Part 1

Hi blog! I'm not dead, I just haven't had the time/inclination for blogging as of late. But you know I love me a good year end review, so here's the first of at least two that I'm planning. This one is short...just a quick roundup of stuff I did, with some bonus links for funsies. The annual year-end book review will be coming very early in 2015. Happy new year!

January

In January I went to Sugarloaf on what is becoming an annual ski trip with friends. This year the mountain was mad cold and mad icy, so not very much fun to ski on, but at least it was pretty!

All the way at the tippy tippy top of the mountain, in my dope hat.

Purty

February

February was a super exciting month because I jet-setted over to Europe to see the inimitable Sarah Stein in her new home of Switzerland. We also took a weekend hop over to London, where we drank prosecco in public and ate a lot of good food and had a jolly old time. It was super fun, and I hope to go back sometime in 2015.

The Matterhorn!!

Eating and drinking our way through Borough Market

My favorite news story of the year also happened in February (though I use the term "news" loosely).

March

In March my sister and her boyfriend visited! I forced them to play board games every night and boy did they love it.

Don't they look like they love it?

Ready to go clubbing!

Oh yeah, and that Malaysia Airlines thing happened in March. I was like, obsessed.

April

April was exciting because I went home to visit my family (okay, mostly just my niece and nephew) TWO times, and I also went to California to visit Jessie!

Visit 1. Not pictured: so much snot coming out of those noses.

Visit 2. This stinker had her first birthday!

Visit 2. Poor guy; it was his third birthday and he had to help make his own birthday cake!

Eating ice cream frozen with liquid nitrogen in Berkeley, with Jessie!

May

May was the month of awkward and odd pictures of me.

When I asked whether I have such weird cheekbones in real life, the guy who drew this said, exasperated(ly?), "this *is* a caricature."

This is a 3-D portrait I got at the Makerbot store. If I wanted to, I could use this to print out a little plastic bust of myself.  A plastic bust of myself with melllllting boooobs....

This was my Facebook profile picture for a while, and my mom loved it--primarily because, as she told me on the phone, "I know what YOLO means!" Good job, mom.

June

June was another fairly exciting month because I got to see my niece and nephew again AND I had my 10-year college reunion. The reunion was pretty awesome, I must say, although it was potentially--I can neither confirm nor deny this--a little too booze-soaked.

I love this picture so much.

Reunion buddies!

This also happened in June.

July

I started out the month of July in rainy but beautiful Iceland with my mom, and ended it with a (much too) quick visit from my former LA roommate JRo. I have no recollection of what happened in between, but that's okay, because those two events were excitement enough!

So many waterfalls in Iceland.

About to get on a boat to look at big chunks of ice.

Oh JRo, won't you move to boston?

August

In August we had our first family vacation in many many years, and our first ever with my sister's kids. It was hectic--a three-year-old and a one-year-old are certainly a handful--but it was awesome just the same. Also in August, my Dartmouth alumni softball team won the championships for a third year in a row. We're calling it a "threepeat" because we're ivy league dicks. Oh, and speaking of the ivy league (but not dicks), my former college roommate Jessica hosted me for a lovely overnight at the end of the month.

Oh what fun it is to chase ducks!

I golfed nine holes with these two jokers and was only 50-something over par.

Lake George in the early morning hours. There are benefits to waking up before sunrise.

We need to hang out way more often.

September

In September I went to Seattle with a coworker for a software conference, which was super sweet because it featured a ton of amazing speakers and performers like Hans Rosling, Neil Degrasse Tyson, The Head and the Heart, and, of course, Sir Mix-A-Lot. And as if that weren't enough, in September I also got to drive a boat on the Charles AND was treated to a visit to King Richard's Faire by Christine. (It's exactly what I wanted for my birthday! How did you know, Christine?)

At the conference we got a free trip up the space needle, with a free picture in front of a green screen beforehand. My weird cheekbones were apparently too much for my coworker's glasses. I'm lucky I didn't break the green screen with those pointy things.

Hans Rosling and his analog cursor.

NDT: I'm in love.

Fuck yeah Sir Mix-A-Lot (and his homie orchestra).

Definitely not drinking and driving. Definitely not.

This was taken just before Christine sunk an axe into the heart of that moon behind her, and just before all of my axes ended up on the ground. If you had to take only one of us wenches into battle, you should definitely pick Christine.

October

October was exciting because 1) I turned a palindromic 33; 2) I went to visit Jessie and her new baby in Cali (with a bonus visit to see Sarah and HER new baby); and 3) I sewed my first wearable garment: a t-shirt!  Have I mentioned that I got kind of obsessed with sewing in 2014? No? Well, I did. So far I've made two shirts and a dress, and half of two other shirts that I abandoned because they had no hope of turning out well. Coming up in 2015: skirts, another (hopefully much more flattering) dress, shorts, and more shirts! Assuming I don't burn out on the sewing thing...which I had better not, because over the past five months I've impulse-purchased enough fabric to last me many years.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME

The sweet shirt I sewed myself!

Jessie and I made the most adorable baby the most adorable Halloween costume. I mean, none of this could get any cuter, amirite?

That's a good looking family right there (minus the chick on the right).

November

In November I went to a conference in Philly, which was mostly uneventful, though I did get to see my friend Diana and eat some tasty sushi. I also, of course, went home for Thanksgiving and took a ton of selfies with the cutest kids ever.

View from my Philly hotel room.

Nom nom nom

She made that face all on her own. Before you know it she'll be doing the duckface/peace sign pose.

This family really knows how to party.

December

In December I made a new BFF at the mall and I went BACK to Cali to visit Jessie for a record-breaking THIRD time in one year. Also there was Hanukkah, and Christmas, and yadda yadda. Next up: New Years!

When I complimented Santa on his costume, he got rather offended and said "This isn't a costume, this is my suit." 

Athena is not impressed with her Aunt Jessica's third visit.

XOXOXOXOXO

Bring on 2015!

A Someecards card AND a gift certificate??

Anonymous! Thank you so much for your generous gift! I have already used it; it contributed to the purchase of a SAD light that provides "natural relief for individuals suffering from the seasonal disorder known as the winter blues." If it works, you can take 27% of the credit for my not being as depressed as usual over the next few months.

I'm really hoping it works, because...blah.

Anyway, thanks again! XOXO

We're all gonna die...and impoverished, too

According to Medium, there are 33 things that we should all eat, drink, see or do in the next 50 years, before climate change ruins everything.  Writes Medium of their list, "think of it as your guide to the good life before climate change melts it away."

A selection of to-do items from the list:

Go see Joshua Trees at Joshua Tree national park.

The Joshua trees of Joshua Tree National Park need periods of cold temperatures before they can flower. Young trees are now rare in the park. Older trees are beginning to sag. Suggested rebranding for 2065: “Death Valley Annex.”

Check!

Go to Vegas, maybe? If that's your thing?

Seven U.S. States plus Mexico share the waters of the overstretched Colorado River, and Nevada’s legal share is tiniest of all: less than two percent of the flow. If the current drought continues to shrink Lake Mead, the reservoir on the Colorado that keeps Vegas alive, Sin City’s water could be gone before Britney is.

Been there, won that.

Eat some oysters

Warmer waters may mean poisonous shellfish. The most common cause of seafood-related stomach illness, the bacteria Vibrio parahaemolyticus, is at its most virulent in the Pacific Northwest. But health authorities on the East Coast and in northern Spain got a recent surprise when two of the worst strains appeared in the Atlantic Ocean.

Ate here once. Can't say "YUM" enough.

DRINK COFFEE, EAT CHOCOLATE.

A two-degree Celsius temperature rise in the coffee regions of Guatemala, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras, and Mexico, along with a projected five- to 10-percent decrease in rainfall, could lead to a nearly 40 percent decrease in land suitable for growing coffee crops in those countries. Your $10 latte is almost ready.

I hope I'm dead before I can't afford coffee

Steep projected declines in yields of maize, sorghum, and other staples portend a coming food crisis for parts of sub-Saharan Africa. But here’s what will probably get everyone’s attention in the developed world: Studies suggest cacao production will begin to decline in Ghana and the Ivory Coast, the source of half of the world’s chocolate, by 2030.

I could probably live without chocolate as long as we still have plenty of sugar.

Visit these places on my bucket list: The Great Barrier Reef; Easter Island

The good news is that you’ll still be able to visit the Great Barrier Reef, even as warmer ocean temperatures hasten the coral die-off. The bad: If you step out of the water, you may get dengue fever. (The mosquito-borne disease is expanding its range dramatically as Australia warms.)

Most of the stone sentinels of [Easter Island's] Rapa Nui National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site, stand perilously close to the water’s edge. On the upside, the island’s unpolluted waters are crystal clear—perfect for diving and snorkeling when the statues sink beneath the sea. 

I should just book my flight now, right?

There's more, but let me make things even more depressing with the following:

The American Southwest is probably in the middle of or on the cusp of a "megadrought."  Oh, and 82 percent of the state of California is apparently in "Extreme Drought."

You are not gonna want to ride the Subway in the future.

With global warming, poison ivy might become more common. (Super bad news for me, because I get rashes if I'm even NEAR the stuff.)

The Ebola outbreak is, in official terminology, "spiraling out of control" as we speak.

Family vacation is not quite relaxing but it is nice

Hello from Lake George, where I'm getting a taste of waking up at the crack of dawn with two little kids. My goodness, it is tiring...at least they are cute. And as a bonus, I've been able to see some purrty sunrises!

PS Blogging from my phone sucks 

Iceland

If the world does start going to hell in a hand basket, as I suspect it may, Iceland might be a nice refuge.  The country may have absolutely no sun during the winter (and no darkness during the summer), but it's beautiful and it has plenty of eco-friendly, renewable geothermal energy sources!*

*And sulfurous hot water, which mean there are lots of smelly egg showers.  But one would probably get used to that.

Some highlights from my trip last month:

View of Reykjavik from the spire of Hallgrímskirkja

Viðey, the largest island of the Kollafjörður Bay, just 5 minutes from Reykjavík

Geysir Geothermal Area

Gullfoss 

Near Vík somewhere

Jökulsárlón (glacial lagoon)

Near Lake Mývatn

Dettifoss

Hiking up to Grábrók crater

Way more pics here (abridged version here).



(Anon, this post was for you. Hope you enjoy.)