In The Tradition 2017

It is time for the third annual In The Tradition letter.  Continuing the format from last year, I start 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 consumed over the year.  At the end, I talked about a goal for the upcoming year that I am excited to pursue.

Five 2017 Highlights

Road Trip:  When I think back across the year, the number one best thing that stands out to me is the Road Trip I took in August.  It was the longest, most intense vacation I have ever taken, and I did it all on my own.  I started on a Thursday morning and drove to Asheville, NC.  I spent two nights in Asheville, eating at some awesome restaurants, shopping downtown, and visiting the North Carolina Arboretum.  Saturday I drove to Spring City, TN where I had dinner at this great little hometown pizza joint called Winsteads American Grill.  Sunday morning saw me head to Fall Creek Falls Tennessee State Park for a hike to the waterfalls.  From there, I drove across Tennessee for a quick overnight in Memphis.  Monday morning I continued on my way to Collinsville, OK to spend some time with my cousin and her two little baby girls.  After two great family days in OK, I dipped down to Arkansas for a night in Hot Springs.  Thursday morning I hit Garvan Woodland Gardens before driving all the way to Nashville, TN.  I spent two nights in the Gaylord Opryland Resort, where I relaxed in my hotel room, roamed the garden conservatories, went to the Grand Ole Opry, and had a massage.  The last night of the trip saw me in a restored 1920s hotel in Marion, VA eating at a speakeasy for dinner.  Sunday morning I hiked at Hungry Mother State Park before heading home.  I had so much fun, though I have to admit all the driving was a bit much for me.

Work:  Work always has a place in my highlights of the year, because good or bad, it always stands out.  This year has been bad, at least on a personal level.  It continues to be a volatile environment with staffing changes, new companies being purchased, enormous strange transactions done last minute, and a software testing project that never seems to go anywhere.  I have had enough, and I just cannot do it anymore.  This job is just not for me.  While I have become much more comfortable in my managerial role and I have actually delegated many of the tasks that were bogging me down, I realize that I still do not enjoy the time I spend there.  In August, I gave myself a year to find a new job or quit without one.  So hopefully, August 2018 should find me either in a new job going a new direction or relaxed at home looking for one.

Blog:  I kept the blog going for almost two years, but I had to take a step back from it.  I maintained the weekly schedule for the first three months of 2017.  Then, I took an intentional hiatus during the April yearend close schedule at work.  Upon my return, my intent was to keep posting on a more relaxed schedule for the rest of the year, but I only managed five more posts including this one.  I doubt this is going to change much for 2018.  I am in a period of personal struggle at the moment.  I have major doubts on my career path.  I have been pushing (quite unsuccessfully) to study for the CPA exam.  I have been fighting increased periods of anxiety and depression this year.  I am weakened by a general state of not feeling well physically.  The blog is really more than I can handle right now.  However, it is not my intent to abandon it forever, so hopefully in the future there will be a comeback.

Hiking:  Last year I set a goal to do more hiking, specifically to make eight trips over the course of the year.  I did increase my number, but I only managed seven trips for the year.  In March, my husband, stepson, and I took advantage of an early warm weekend to go to Shenandoah National Park.  In May, I took my solo birthday hiking trip, also in Shenandoah.  Over the summer, I went with my husband to hike on what I think was the Bear’s Den Trail, but we were kind of confused about finding trailheads.  The end of August, I did the two hikes mentioned above in the road trip, Fall Creek Falls and Hungry Mother State Park.  In September, my husband & I did the trail out at Hemlock Overlook Park.  Then, November saw us back at Wintergreen Resort where we did part of the Old Appalachian Trail.  I really enjoyed myself on all of these, but my favorites were Fall Creek Falls and Old Appalachian Trail at Wintergreen.

Trying New Things:  I made a commitment to try new things this year.  I get stuck in ruts where I do certain things, or I only allow activities during certain times of day/week/year, or I only will join if I know the people involved.  Being more open to doing things has let me to some great experiences this year.  I joined a book club where I only knew two of the members (one of which was not even there the first time I went).  This has been a great activity for me because not only does it open me up to new reading experiences, but it has helped me socialize with new people who I really like.  I also signed up for the Pilates class my company started offering once a week.  I was a bit nervous about working out with my coworkers but it again turned out to be a really good experience.  I do an intense workout once a week, and in the process share a lot of laughs with coworkers I did not know well before.  Although there is some speculation as to whether the company is going to continue to offer the class in 2018, the success of joining a fitness class has made me more confident in perhaps giving some of the group classes at my gym a try.  Finally, I allowed my husband to take me to several non-theater type shows at venues other than the Kennedy Center this year.  The result was some wonderful shows that I would encourage anyone to see given a chance.  We saw Brain Candy Live in March at the Warner Theater which was a lot of fun. It is an educational, humorous, family friendly option.  We saw Mike Birbiglia at the Warner in October, who is as great live as he is in his Netflix specials.  Finally, I we saw Brent Smith and Zach Myers from Shinedown in their acoustic tour at the Fillmore, which I think is hands down one of the best concerts I have ever seen.

Top Ten Favorite Entertainment Items of 2017 (no particular order)

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

TV Series:  The Following (only watched Season 1 so far)

TV Series:  Anne with an E (Season 1 released)

Movie:  La La Land

Movie:  Logan

Movie:  Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2

Movie:  The Accountant

Book:  The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi

Book:  The Queen of the Night by Alexander Chee

Book:  Behind Her Eyes by Sarah Pinborough

Book:  A Million Junes by Emily Henry

One Upcoming 2018 Goal

More Hiking:  My goal again is to increase my hiking.  I made it on seven hikes this year, which have all just reinforced my interest in this hobby.  For 2018, my goal is twelve hikes.  This is roughly one per month, but it unlikely I will do many in the winter months.  Along with increasing the number of trips I take, I want to increase the length and difficulty of the hikes.  I have been sticking with ones that will not take more than an hour or so, and staying in easy/moderate difficulty ratings.  The Wintergreen hike was more challenging this year but it was so much fun.  It has encouraged me to be more adventurous in the future.  Although I am sure there will be some staple hikes (Shenandoah, Wintergreen), I am hoping to expand out more for different adventures in the general mid-Atlantic region.  The ultimate goal is by the end of the year to do at least one full day hike.  Maybe by 2019, I will be ready to do an overnight.

There you have it, my third annual In The Tradition letter.  I hope 2017 was a good year for all of you, and I hope 2018 is even better.

I am unsure how often I will be posting in 2018, but hopefully I will not disappear completely.  So I will end 2017 by saying ‘Until next time’ to you all.