Oh, 2012. What a year you’ve been! When I decided to write a year in review post, I began listing out all of the highlights of the last 12 months and discovered quite quickly that 2012 was indeed the year of takin care o’ business. Since I was too busy to do much blogging this year, here’s a little recap on all of the super fantastic and/or life-changing shit Team Bowman has dealt with this year:
I quit drinking soda.
So, if you’ve read this blog in the past year, you already know this. Because out of the whopping 6 posts I published this year, 2 of them were about quitting soda. I decided to do so as a new year’s resolution to break my killer Diet Coke addiction and not only did I make it an entire year, I don’t regret it one bit! Who needs bubbly chemical water when you can drink delicious iced tea! It was the only new year’s resolution that I can remember being successful at, which bodes well for 2013’s resolution (which I have yet to decide on).
The hubs and I both quit smoking.
Now this… this is a big deal. As of 2012, I’d been a smoker for a total of 15 years. FIFTEEN! Sure, I quit once. But it only lasted a year and I was tempted every day I was sans-cigarette. This year, all of the pieces necessary for success fell into place: (1) I was older, and therefore much more TIRED OF IT ALREADY; (2) cigarettes are much more expensive now; (3) I live in Michigan and being a smoker in the winter is a special kind of hell for this Florida girl, and (4) my husband Jeffrey was ready to quit as well. He’d been a smoker for about the same amount of time, but he smoked much more than I did and I must admit, I doubted his success. But when they say having a buddy helps, it’s really true! After we made it through the first few weeks of torturous withdrawals, we haven’t looked back and our lungs thank us every day.
Hand to Claw released their debut album.
Jeffrey’s latest musical project, Hand to Claw, released their debut album digitally in February. Written long-distance over the course of 6 months with the help of Garage Band and Dropbox, and recorded live in a whirlwind 2 week jamfest. In addition to digital sales, you can find Hand to Claw on Spotify, Pandora, and more!
Jeffrey (and I, by proximity) embarked on a quest of intellectual and spiritual enlightenment.
This is really something for a blog post all its own, but yeah… we’re expanding our minds.
I got a new job. And I friggin LOVE it.
Not that I didn’t love my job at U of M, but the split role of Experience Architect and Content Strategist at Organic is like it was custom-made for me. I’ve worked on some kickass projects with some kickass people so far, and I really see myself succeeding there. Every day brings a new challenge and opportunity to learn or strengthen a new skill. AND, the UX team there is a group of super-smart women who make great mentors and even better friends. What more could I ask for professionally?
I finished my second graduate degree.
After a short 2.5 years, I completed all the courses and internships required for my MSI at U of M. I still have some bureaucracy to wade through to get my degree in hand, but that’s just a matter of paperwork. Despite the student loans I have looming, going back to school at U of M is probably one of the best decisions I have ever made in my life.
We moved to Awesome Clawson.
As much as we loved Ann Arbor, the new commute to my new job helped us realize that life would probably be much easier if we moved back to the Detroit area. Shorter commute + more affordable rent = a bigger house in Clawson! We were looking in the Ferndale/Royal Oak areas, but we got more house for our money in Clawson, as well as a super-cute downtown area less than a mile from our house AND an easier drive to pretty much everywhere in Detroit. It may be a small bedroom community now, but Clawson is on the rise!
Our family lost some treasured souls.
This year we said goodbye to my grandmother Roma and Jeffrey’s Aunt Julie. While neither passing was particularly shocking, they each hit hard for different reasons. Needless to say, our lives will never be the same without them.
The startup I worked with–Thrively– launched a private beta.
Now, I didn’t have a whole lot of involvement with the Thrively beta launch, but since I made some contributions in the startup’s infancy, I’m going to count it. It feels so great to see something that I contributed to evolve into a viable product! Our fearless leader, Nick, is still leading the effort in revolutionizing feedback and I can’t be prouder of how far Thrively has come. If you’re cool, stop by and request a beta invite!
We opened our art gallery, Maple Arcade.
Holy moly, this was a big one. I’m planning to write a big ol’ post of lessons learned from this adventure, but it’s gonna be a long one, so look out. Hindsight is 20/20. But so is gratitude, and that’s what we’re feeling. Although it feels like we’ve been working on the shop all year long, it’s really only been 4 months. And 2.5 of those months we were working on the renovations. It seems as though every time I start to worry and doubt, a new goal is reached or a new opportunity presents itself. We may not be where we want to be yet, but with each passing week, Maple Arcade becomes a better experience for us, our artists, and our customers. Look out for a new website, added inventory in our Etsy shop, and a new sign for our storefront!
I had bariatric surgery.
Holy newsflash! I had my stomach stapled! While not necessarily a secret, I didn’t tell many people about this one for fear of unsupportive reactions. But since it’s all said and done and I give much less of a shit about what others think, I figured I might as well include it on this list. It was a major life-altering event, after all. I was just too fat, y’all. And my body just couldn’t handle another failed attempt at weight loss. So, I decided to bring in the big guns and have a vertical sleeve gastrectomy. So far I’ve lost about 62 pounds and I’m working for at least another 75. Even in a mere 3 months, I am healthier now than I have ever been and I don’t regret it for a second.
We hosted some lovely house guests.
Traveling was at a minimum this year due to the moving and business expenses, but we did get to host a few guests in our new home (complete with guest room!). Jeffrey’s momma joined us for the 4th fo July as our very first houseguest… she got to share in the infamous Clawson Independence Day festivities, as well as enjoy some record heat. My BFF Jen came to visit for our annual “superhos” reunion and we spent a good week eatin, drinkin, and chillin like villans. She even stayed long enough to have a visitor herself–the very talented writer and banjo player, Adam Schmidt, who graced us with some fireside bluegrass! My momma came to nurse me back to health after my belly surgery and spent most of the time quilting. But I wouldn’t have it any other way. We also got a couple of overnighters from my friend Butter (a fellow Floridian turned Michigander) and Jeffrey’s cousin Carolyn. While I hope we can do a little more traveling in 2013, I love hosting guests and hope we’ll have more.
We’re experimenting with vegetarianism & veganism.
Yes. This is happening. Due to my surgery-related protein requirements, I have to hold onto the dairy and eggs. But Jeffrey has already made it a few weeks sans-animal and he reports feeling great. The real challenge is for my cooking. So if you’ve got some killer vegan recipes, send ’em my way….
Annnnd I’ve crossed a few other things off of my 101 in 1001 list.
I kind of stopped paying attention to this, but when I revisited it, I realized I did, indeed, make some progress! Such as:
11. finish my second masters degree
12. get a new job
17. update my professional portfolio
18. update my personal website
26. enter a chili cook-off
28. lose 40 pounds
45. take a hip hop dance class (Zumba counts, right?)
62. get my online presence organized (Did it this week, as a matter of fact.)
65. get health insurance
66. quit smoking
68. refinish the dressers
72. visit the detroit historical museum (Organic Holiday Party FTW!)
78. get my teeth whitened
98. donate/throw away 100 things i don’t need
So that’s what kept us busy this year. Here’s to a happy and productive 2013!
xo Em
Insipirational!!