Everyone’s doing those sweet look-backs on social media. Here’s mine.

I got knocked up! Yay! Baby’s due January 2025 (aka any day now… gulp).

Morning sickness really took root while we were in Washington D.C. to do some research at the Library of Congress. Did you know you can do that?! It’s the People’s Library after all. You even get a library card, which is a way cooler souvenir than anything I bought there.

Being pregnant meant I spent a lot of time at home. Not that I was complaining. I think 2024 could basically be called my Year of Nesting… with two cute kitties.

And, while at home feeling baby-nauseous, I painted a bunch of stuff, exploring new ideas that I think will coalesce into something more delicious eventually… 

Doug and I got engaged on Christmas. <3

Back when we dated in college, Doug took me on a surprise visit to a neighboring village to walk around and check out the Christmas lights. I’ve always remembered this gesture because:

1) I picked a fight because I thought loving Christmas was kind of lame and I didn’t want to be any kinds of lame, but in the 15-ish years that passed since then, I would sometimes think back on how he recognized this fact about me (loving Christmas) even though I tried to hide it. I regretted picking that fight… and so many others we had simply because it was 2007/2008 and we were 20/21-year-old kids.

2) Doug biffed it on the icy sidewalk because he was wearing cowboy boots. What can I say, we were both stupid in so many ways back then. 

That we found each other again—with more mature hearts, minds, and shoe selections—will forever feel like a miracle to me.

I said yes.