In The Tradition 2016

It is time for the second annual In The Tradition letter.  I changed the format slightly from last year to include a new section related to all the entertainment reviews I posted this year.  In this letter, I started with the five things from the past year that stand out in my mind.  I followed that with my top ten recommendations from the books, movies, and TV shows I reviewed.  At the end I talked about two goals for the upcoming year that I am excited to start.  Although my intent was to do only one future goal like last year, I ended up with a bonus because I could not decide which one I wanted to include.

Five 2016 Highlights

Baby T:  Without a doubt, the most exciting thing about 2016 was the birth of my niece T.  She was born in March, and I have been to PA five times so far to see her (among other people and plans).  Plus I made one trip prior to her birth for my sister’s baby shower.  That is a lot of trips to the Pittsburgh area for me, but it was definitely worth it.  She is the sweetest baby in the world.  She is well behaved, sleeps through the night and is often content to just play by herself with her toys.  She is a fairly social baby, who does not mind being passed around to adoring family members, including her awesome Aunt Ella.  Additionally, this has given me the perfect excuse to go shopping in the baby section.  I have loved showering her with cute clothes, toys, and especially books.  I look forward to next year where I can buy even more cute stuff.  My plan is to do a gift bag for each season including clothing, small toys, and/or books.  Then, I will do slightly bigger presents for her birthday and Christmas.  I probably will not get to see her again until after winter as I try to avoid going in the snowy months as much as possible.  On a side note, my sister struggled with motherhood at first, but seems to have become adapted and enamored with the role now.

Work:  When I look back on my year, work always factors heavily into how I remember it.  It is hard to work full-time (more than that sometimes) without it doing so, given how much time is spent there.  This year at work was much better than last.  The volatility we experienced last year has calmed down greatly.  The personnel changes were much less disruptive with only one man retiring.  We actually added a new position to the department which is allowing us to spread some of the work around a bit more.  Although I still am unsure about my desire to manage, I think I am settling into the role more comfortably.  I had another good review which cements that my supervisor is happy with my performance.  In addition to the day-to-day work activities, I had two bigger events that stand out for the year.  In September, I went to the ELFA lease accountant’s conference.  This is an annual conference that focuses on industry updates.  This year was especially informative because the new leasing standard was finally issued during the year.  In November, I went through the From Bud to Boss workshop.  This is a two-day leadership program, specifically designed to help new leaders transition from being an individual on the team to the manager of the department.  I enjoyed both immensely and look forward to related activities coming in the next year.

Hiking:  I made the decision to take up hiking as my new hobby this year.  I have been doing a lot of soul searching, trying to decide who I am and what I actually like to do.  I remember hiking and camping as a child with fondness, but I have done very little of it as an adult.  I like the idea of being out in nature, away from all the stimulation of modern life.  Therefore, I thought this might be a good thing to add to my weekend activities occasionally.  This year I made four trips, although one of those did not work out so well.  The first was a day trip to Shenandoah National Park where I did an extremely easy hike all by myself.  The second was an overnight trip to Gettysburg that was a total fail from a hiking standpoint, because I could not figure out how to get on the trail I was supposed to be hiking.  Luckily I was still able to take in some monuments so the trip was not a total waste.  The third trip was a morning hike in Great Falls National Park with my husband.  We took a walk through an old settlement and down an old carriage road.  The final trip was part of a longer stay at the Wintergreen Resort in the Blue Ridge Mountains.  This was still a relatively short hike, but on slightly more challenging terrain that involved quite a steep climb at the end of it.  I was invigorated by my adventures this year.  I think I made the right choice to try to recapture this particular happy childhood memory.

Therapy:  I made the decision in February of this year to start seeing a therapist.  I have mentioned in my blog my troubles with anxiety before.  I also struggle with depression sometimes.  My emotional well-being tends to be a bit of a rollercoaster, going up and down hills, and around sharp corners with no warning.  When things seem like they are spinning out of my control, I toy with the idea of going to a therapist, but I never follow through.  I eventually feel better, and I forget the idea until the next time I decline.  This past February I had a week, Monday through Friday, off from work.  When I woke up on Tuesday, I had a meltdown because I was almost out of vacation and I was going to have to go back to work soon.  A few minutes later, it dawned on me that it was in fact only day two of my vacation and I was not even halfway through it.  It was then that I decided that I needed help, researched therapists in my area, and picked one whose website seemed inviting.  Overall, I think it was a great decision.  Sometimes it seems like a lot of time and money, especially during timespans when I feel calm.  Sometimes I am really uncomfortable about looking inward and dealing with all the things I have pushed away.  In the end though, I think I made the best decision I could for my mental health.  I seem to have less severe ups and downs now.  I also feel like I am slowly making peace with some of the things that happened in my past.  My therapist and I have recently made the decision to drop from once a week to once every other week, because we both think that I am in a better place now than when I started.

Front Room Project:  This was my goal for 2016 that I laid out in last year’s letter.  The front room project has consumed much of my time this year, but I sadly did not accomplish the entire goal.  My room is not completed.  In fact, I still have quite a bit of work to do in it.  While I am a little disappointed that my room is not ready for total use, I can be proud that I at least made some progress on it.  I have been detailing the room in monthly blogs all year, and I plan to give yet another update next week, so I will spare you a long detailed update here.

Top Ten Favorite Entertainment Items of 2016 (in no particular order)

Note:  These were consumed by me this year, not necessarily released this year.

TV Series:  Daredevil (particularly season 1, though season 2 was decent)

TV Series:  Stranger Things

TV Series:  Flesh & Bone

Movie:  The Little Prince

Movie:  Inside Out

Book:  Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi (completed after I did the December reviews, so it will be in 

           January’s)

Book:  We Were Liars by e. lockhart

Book:  Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

Book:  Hyperbole & a Half:  Unfortunate Situations, Flawed Coping Mechanisms, Mayhem, and 

           Other Things That Happened by Allie Brosh

Book:  Before the Fall by Noah Hawley

One Upcoming 2017 Goal + One Bonus 2017 Goal

More Hiking:  As discussed above, I had a wonderful time rediscovering my love of hiking.  I attempted four hikes this year, completing three of them.  My goal for next year is to double this number, so I am aiming for eight hikes during 2017.  I have no official plans so far, but I do have some tentative ideas.  I probably will not do anything until winter is over.  I am not a lover of the cold weather, and I do not feel like I currently have the skills and experience to go hiking over ice and snow anyway.  I will definitely make more than one trip out to Shenandoah National Park.  This is the biggest, most convenient National Park for me, and it has many hiking opportunities for me to explore.  I hope to do some hiking in Pennsylvania as well since I make so many trips up there anyway.  I truly loved The Wintergreen Resort this year, so I am thinking of doing that trip again this fall.  I am also hoping to incorporate a bigger trip into my schedule in late summer.  I have been considering a road trip to Oklahoma to see my cousin, so I can perhaps incorporate some hiking and maybe even some camping into that trip.  Expect to see more hiking blogs as I get my adventures planned and executed.

CPA Exam:  I have mentioned before that I am considering taking the CPA exam.  I even started to study for it, although I fell off the bandwagon after a month or two.  I really think career-wise though that is the best course for me to pursue.  Therefore, I intend to get back into it after the New Year’s holiday.  I just have to commit myself to it and do the studying.  If I cannot keep myself motivated with self-study, I am going to sign up for an actual scheduled review course.  My goal is to pass all four sections by December 2017.

There you have it, my second annual In The Tradition letter.  I hope 2016 was a good year for all of you, and I hope 2017 is even better.

See you next week!