2012 in Review

Really quick (well, by quick I mean long), before diving into 2013, I want to revisit the last 12 months :) 2012 was a good year, full of challenges and triumphs, delicious food and adventures. I want to remember everything 2012 taught me and then barge straight ahead into 2013!

JANUARY

The first picture of 2012! I was about to make fried rice, mmm

In January I started my second quarter of grad school, and quit my job at Northstar Cafe. While I met some great people and ate a lot of awesome free food there, the job took up too much of my time and made me miserable. Needless to say, being a waitress is not up my alley, unless I'm serving coffee only.

Homemade sauerkraut

I also began experimenting with making funky foods at home, like almond milk and sauerkraut. The almond milk was great!  The kraut (above) was good, but way too garlicky.  (Sadface. This may have had something to do with me adding way more garlic than I should have, because I generally love at and believe there's no such thing as too much. Lesson learned!)

I prettied up my apartment with some paperwhites and other new houseplants.

 I made some fun and goofy new friends with Ben,

and cooked lots of yummy foodz!

FEBRUARY
In February I kept cooking new and delicious things, mostly pastas with veggies.

Spicy brown butter fettucine with asparagus.

 I began working regular weekends at the Winter Farmer's Market selling apples, a job I continue to work today.

Jam!

We had an unexpectedly warm winter, and tree buds began showing up this month.

On my mom's birthday (the 18th), we went to the Columbus Zoo and saw the new polar bears!

MARCH
March was beautiful and fun! Flowers started appearing:

Periwinkle

And I hung out with these ever-so-goofy boys.

Sumo-wrestling, duh.

 More deliciousness was to be had:

As well as much needed spring outside-time on my balcony!

Flowers suddenly began cropping up everywhere.

And then it was Ben's birthday...

Ceremonial cheesecake

 And two days later, Adry's!

Goofball. The big oh-four. :)

A few days later, my beloved grandpa passed away. God rest you, you merry old gentleman :)

APRIL
I started off April with some fancy-pants coffee at Stauf's.

 And began planting seeds for my balcony garden!

 My dog morphed into an Easter bunny:

 And I spent some fun evenings with girlfranz!

 I tried not to let Adry eat TOO many dandelions while I babysat him.

Just kidding- he's trying to blow the fuzz off :)

 And I made more yummy noms.

Bacon wrapped dates for book club!

In just a couple of short weeks, my seeds began growing into Little-Shop-of-Horrors style monsters!

MAY
In May, the Friday night wine tastings that my mom hosts started!

Mmm, bubbly + pepperoni + sausage.

 I made a new squirrel friend.

(outside the screen, haha)

 My dog and mom were super cute.

And I found my new favorite lunch/dinner! Avocado and tomato on an English muffin.

And, you know, wine.

I celebrated my 23rd birthday on May 21st by moving all my herb and flower pots outside!

JUNE
In June, my first year of grad school ended, woo!

This little monster joined the boys around the corner :)

Baby Zombie!

My garden became a veritable rainforest of herbs and flowers!

 I found an ironic pot :)

 And Jim was just way too cool.

JULY
In July, my family took our annual 4th of July trip to Northern Michigan.

The view from our little cabin.

A few of the books I brought. Yep.

Ice cream! Also what's up, freckles?

The lazy Platte River

Aand my little namesake :) just kidding, but his name's Sammy and all week, we bantered back and forth: "you're Sam!" "YOU're Sam!!" Stinkin' adorable.

Redneck yacht club at the sandbar. :)

Happy 4th of July!

When we got home, I met John Glenn!

The man himself, on his 91st birthday.

...we saw an amazing sunset in Grandview.

 ...and went to the Ohio State Fair!

'Nuff said.

AUGUST

The day after eating ridiculous amounts of fried food at the Fair, I started running.

Non-makeup-ed, sweaty, tired excited mess after my first day of Couch-to-5K

 My little brother moved into his very first place on his own! (i.e. not a dorm.)

Six of them live here. SIX.

Ben, Jeremy and I took a mini-road-trip out to Prospect Place, a purportedly haunted estate outside Columbus.

...and we had lots of fires on my mom's beautiful patio.

In August, my second year of grad school started. OSU switched to semesters, and I had no idea what I was in for. Hello, stress!

SEPTEMBER
This month, fall started showing up...

 And I walked the dog in the rain!

 I started making cookies...

 ...lots of cookies.

I also started a long stretch of dog-sitting for this adorable little guy.

Gunther!

 And took a trip to the Columbus Zoo to see my favorite animal, the okapi!

 The Farmer's Market began it's late summer transition, full of sunflowers and apples and cider.

 And my dog was still being a goof.

 Yay fall!

OCTOBER
In October, my mom and I went to our annual OSU football game. 12 and 0, baby!!

 I moved some of my garden inside.

 Zombie was unstoppably cute:

 And my mom had my back when school got stressful.

 We enjoyed the last wine tasting of the season!

(They switched glasses, haha)

 And Ben and I made some AWESOME Halloween costumes.

By costume, I do mean mask. But how cool?!

NOVEMBER
In November, it got cold. I finally started doing some schoolwork that was assigned at the beginning of the semester and was due at the end (oops).

The Oval

The Farmer's Market moved inside. Also, note the new mug! I found a new favorite coffee place.

Pretty leaves.

 I had some good beers at some fun places:

 And I discovered the joy of buying used clothes on Instagram (my poor bank account!)

 We had Thanksgiving at my mom's house this year, and it was amazing. My contribution? Roasted sweet potatoes and onions!

At the end of the month, I finally got the tattoo I'd been wanting for a while to remember my grandpa by. A quote from a letter he left me:

This was also a way to congratulate myself on completing (finally) Couch-to-5K! I can now run a 5K pretty easily about 3 times a week :)

DECEMBER
In December, I was running one morning and saw a hawk land in a tree about eight feet away from my face, haha. I love running in the mornings. Fall semester finally ended after what seemed like a lifetime, and I got a teeny cold that derailed me from running... but hey, what's winter break for if not being lazy and eating like a grizzly bear preparing for hibernation?

 We put up a Christmas tree at my mom's house.

 ...and I reminisced about holidays past. Needless to say, I wasn't a big fan of the Santas on whose laps kids sit.

Most fake smile ever. See me clutching my necklace, white knuckled?! Aww. :)

 I put up a Christmas tree at my place!

 And after Christmas, it SNOWED!!

The dogs loved it.

And then we celebrated New Year's Eve! Woo, a new year! I love the turn of the year, it's always a big celebration full of reflection and excitement and resolutions and champagne. What could be better? :)

Mom, Jim and Christy

Mom and me :)

Sorry for the mega close-up, Ben! :) Ben, Loretta and Dave.

So, there you have it. A wayyy too long recap of 2012. I'm sure I forgot tons of things. But hey, I'm looking ahead now. In 2013 I will be getting my Master's degree, hopefully finding my first full-time career-oriented job, and getting into still better shape by continuing to run and lift and eat delicious and kind-of-healthy foods! (My resolutions are pretty classic this year, ha.) I'm also hoping to blog more regularly, and find some fun weekly features to put on here!

*Sigh* only four more days of winter break. I'm off to enjoy them!

--Sammie

December

I can't believe it's already December 31st, New Year's Eve!  (And also, my brother's birthday, haha.)  I've been bad at blogging this month-- the semester ended, and this is the first winter break I haven't been working a major side job in about 8 years. I got a cold and lazed around for a week, then I got better... and lazed around some more! Hey, what's break for anyways?

I thought I'd share some pictures from the last few weeks around my neck of the woods before the year is over.

Some of my favorite tree ornaments!

Christmas buddies

Christmas Eve! All decorated with presents under the tree.

Since I moved out on my own, I spend Christmas Eve at my apartment. It's been a great night alone the past two years, and I get to develop my own little holiday traditions (fancy Chianti, anyone?). I'm lucky to have my whole family living in the same city as me, so I can see them lots during the holidays, but still have my own space and celebrations.

My mom's super old spritz cookie press. Yum! Also, wine, another holiday staple.

Also, in the days after Christmas we had two pretty big snow storms here in Ohio. Last year's winter was so warm and non-snowy, I think this year we've already gotten more snow!

Like I said. Snow.

My mom's dog Rio LOVES snow :)

And the old Snickers-boy. The left shot was from one of the few snowy days last winter, and the right was from last week.

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and has some fun plans to ring in the New Year!  I'm planning a post recapping 2012 and exploring some resolutions I have for 2013. It's going to be great, I tell you!

--Sammie

Grandpa Bill

Today, December 14th, would have been my grandpa's 82nd birthday. He passed away in March after a long, happy life and a short battle with pulmonary fibrosis. Although I miss him terribly and I'm sad that he's now gone, when I think about him I smile and recall all the amazing memories I have with him, and the great relationship he built with his grandchildren.

 My grandpa last year, on his 81st birthday, at his favorite restaurant, Hyde Park, with his favorite dessert, an Irish coffee.

My grandpa, William Dean Nonnamaker, had a really interesting life. He was born during the Great Depression on a kitchen table in a farmhouse in northwestern Ohio. (The name his parents gave him at birth was "Billy Dean" Nonnamaker, but he changed it to William as soon as he turned 18-- he thought "Billy Dean" sounded too immature.) His family grew corn and wheat, and raised hogs and cattle- just enough to get by. He and his brother Eldon helped out as they grew up, and Grandpa used to tell us stories of life growing up on a working farm. 

His parents, in a rather unorthodox way for the time, told him he should never feel "tied" to the farm, and should do whatever he wanted with his life. As a result, my grandpa attended college and entered the business world, where he was extremely successful. He never lost his farm roots, however, and later in life, the farm would be passed down to him. He and my grandma moved there after he retired, and some of my favorite memories are of visiting them, taking rides in the tractor and exploring the extensive farmland. There is an old American Indian burial mound on the farm, and we used to find arrowheads and knife blades from centuries past.

While another family took care of the crop planting and harvesting as a full time job, my grandpa was extremely proud of his massive vegetable garden in the yard of the farmhouse. I remember eating fresh peas, tomatoes and cucumbers picked from the garden as a kid.

When each of their four grandchildren turned 10 years old, my grandparents promised us each a trip anywhere we wanted in the continental U.S. I chose the Grand Canyon, and had one of the most memorable trips of my life with Grandpa Bill and Grandma Marilyn.

Some of my other favorite memories with my grandpa and the rest of my family are of northern Michigan. In the 1970s, my grandpa and his brother bought a cottage on a small lake in northwestern Michigan, in the town of Honor. The lake, called Platte Lake, became synonymous with summer fun as I grew up. Later, my grandpa bought his own cottage and a pontoon boat, and every 4th of July was (and still is) spent up on the lake with my many cousins, aunts, uncles and family swimming, having bonfires, and doing each of many little traditions that have been established over the years.

After my grandpa passed away, each of the four grandchildren got a letter from him. He had written in back in 2008, when he originally got the diagnosis of his disease. (Luckily, he was incredibly healthy and able until the final few days of his life, four years after being told he had only a few months to live.) The three page long letter was full of life advice, from a man who had an incredibly happy and fulfilled life. At the end of the letter, his final piece of advice stuck out to me-- "Love deeply. With love, we are whole." My grandpa's life was full of love- from his wife of nearly 60 years to his two daughters, to his brother and his family, to his four grandchildren and countless nieces, nephews and grand-nieces and nephews, to his many many close friends. I recently got this quote tattooed on my side. Tattoos are my way of remembering important people and times in my life, and I look forward to getting more as soon as I have the funds!

Fresh ink! I don't know that my grandpa completely approved of tattoos, but 

I think he would've been flattered and happy that I gt this for him :)

Miss you, Grandpa!

My grandpa was such an inspiration. He traveled (he'd been to nearly every country); he painted (oh yeah, he was an accomplished watercolorist); he cared about his family and provided for us all; he was passionate about history and learning; he knew how to have fun. I will always know how lucky I was to have such an amazing grandfather, and remember all that he taught me.

Happy Monday.

So, in stark contrast to yesterday, my busy-lazy day, today I went to work. For nine hours, aahhhhhhhh. And the much much worse part?  I got nothing done.  I've been stressing out lately enough about normal school stuff-- it's the end of the semester and I have projects and papers and tests; but work is somehow even more brain-mush-inducing as of late.

Yesterday I wrote a ton of my big semester policy paper and cleaned and had fun... but today, when I was actually supposed to be working at OSU, I had nothing to do. Not for lack of asking either-- there's just not a lot going on in my office right now.

This isn't like in many of my past jobs (I have SEVEN years of coffee shop and food service experience) where when my boss asked me to do a menial task, such as cleaning a grease trap or wiping out the fan grates or taking out trash, I was glad to because 1) I am proud of what I see as my dedicated work ethic, 2) I saw how the task was helping the shop/cafe/job I worked for, and 3) they showed me how to DO all said menial tasks before I did them on my own.

No, this is a failure of scheduling and clear job duties. The student workers act as the face of our office-- they answer phones and do all kinds of super helpful things like put together mailings and keep track of prospective students in the computer programs (that I have no clue how to run). See, in other circumstances I would be more than happy to fill in for these lovely young people when their schedules cannot overlap properly to cover the entire 8am-5pm Monday through Friday window at the office... but I haven't been trained on any of the front desk or front computer practices and policies. I don't know where to direct people who come in the office and honestly? Phones that ring constantly and go on hold and patch through to various office people terrify me. Mostly because no one has EVER shown me how to use one.

So, when I ask my boss's boss for things to do (since I don't even technically have a job description and I've been flying by the seat of my pants so far, and lucking into some good work experience) and she tells me it would be helpful if I could cover for student workers, I find ways to say no. I found my line-in-the-sand at work. Hopefully next semester I can develop a better weekly schedule and find more to do/be trained in more areas that I'd actually like to be working, like student academic and career advising. Honestly, it's only the past week or so that I've been bored and listless, completing small-scale projects in half an hour or so and frying my brain and eyeballs on meaningless computer screen light in the meantime. I get home and want to stare at a wall.

*sigh*

I apologize for this vent-y post. Work and school and the future (i.e. job applications) to me right now are all very surreal. And days like today make me walk to my car kind of wanting to cry for reasons I cannot figure out; all I know is they're tied to work and a sense of purpose and self-confidence and career exploration... hey. We'll see. Everything will work out the way it's supposed to :)

In other news, today was ridiculously warm for December 3rd in central Ohio-- 67 degrees! And humid! Crazy. I wore my Urban Outfitters heels to work (sorry, no picture, I was in the middle of a career crisis ;)) that are super comfy and always make me feel a little more put together. Paired with a light chambray shirt and dark skinny jeans, I felt relaxed yet respectable, pretty yet professional.

I purposely did NO schoolwork tonight-- I think my 27-page paper deserves a night off so I can look at it with fresh eyes before I turn it in on Thursday. Also, I'm glad my mom is feeling better-- she had some kind of freak 24-hour flu she caught late Saturday, but she's on the upswing :) I keep sending out prayers and positivity that I don't get sick... I think running has really helped my immune system.  Back at it tomorrow!

I'm about to wash my face, get comfy and watch Justified. Those Kentucky accents get me* every time.
*By "get me," I mean I speak in a Southern accent for at least 48 hours after watching this awesome show*

Don't judge, I've got roots in Southern Ohiah. Sort of.

Night!

--Sammie

Lazy Day

Do you ever have fantastically lazy days where you do nothing and yet you get a ton done?

Yeah, neither do I. My lazy days usually also involve being extremely unproductive, which is awesome most of the time, but not when I have a ton to do.

But somehow, today was one of those days--a lazy-but-get-a-ton-done-day. And it came at the perfect time; it's the end of the semester, so I have a ton of schoolwork to do and to worry about doing, and work stuff that I couldn't care less about but it still stresses me out because I want to do it well. My "free" time is busy, and money is tiiiiiiiiiight, and holy-crap-I-need a-day-off!

 But today... ahh. Busy yet lazy. Blazy. Yep, I went there. Don't judge.

Here are some things that happened today:

• I slept in. ('Til 9:30, but that's sleeping in for me, and I didn't have to wake up to an alarm!)
• I did NOT put on makeup.
• I wrote ten pages (!!) of my huge Environmental Policy paper that I'm actually really proud of.
• I cleaned.
• I did dishes.
• I took out the trash (my only trip outside today).
• I didn't run. (Oh well. Tuesday morning run, here I come.)
• I watched Justified and How I Met Your Mother and Community.
• My best friend made me dinner when other plans fell through. (Burrito night, thanks Ben!)
• I found some fun new blogs.
• I  improvised the chimney sweep dance from Mary Poppins.
• I laughed way too hard at myself.

And now I'm in bed and I just had to set my alarm for tomorrow morning. *siigh* But this is the last week of class of the semester, and the second-to last week of work, and I have fun posts coming up and Today. Was. Awesome. Here's to blazy days and making up words and laughing at yourself :)

OSU campus, last Friday night at ten-til-5:00pm. I always hate seeing the sun set so early, haha, but the sunset was pretty!

--Sammie