As I was chatting with a co-worker this week, it suddenly occurred to me that in one month, I will have officially lived in the state of Virginia for one whole year.
My running route back in Florida.
It is a crazy thought…I mean, it really only seems like yesterday that I was donning my Castle-adorned name-tag everyday as I worked for the Mouse.
In the past year, many things have changed – sure we relocated twice; once from the State of Florida to the Commonwealth of Virginia – then from Alexandria to Charlottesville.
But that’s just the beginning! You see, I’ve:
- had two jobs - receptionist and my current role: Facilities Office Services Assistant (AKA receptionist+building liaison, one-woman mailroom, badging specialist…)
- went vegan for a month.
- thought more about food/health. (here, here, here, here)
- visited my family in Japan.
- studied for ( a lot) and took the GRE.
- applied for and was accepted to grad school.
- discovered my interest in baking cakes! (my birthday cake post)
- revamped my blog (with design
- ran my5k, 8k, 10k, 10-miler AND first half- marathon.
- had my wisdom teeth removed (and shared the weird food combos I craved)
- went shopping at my ‘backyard’ mall (and posted about a particularly good visit)
- went on lots of fun localish road trips (Richmond, DC, NoVa, North Carolina)
- hosted my first blog giveaway
- made a pilgrimage back to my alma matter (announcement + bucket list item fulfilled)
- decided to run a full marathon.
- discovered a whole bunch of new blogs to love
- …and ate a lotta cupcakes. You know, gotta balance it all out!
Just a sampling...
(1) My Magnolia Bakery Cupcakes – Vanilla – St. Paddy’s Day (2) Strawberry/Chocolate and PB/Chocolate from DC’s Hello Cupcake (3) Yellow Cake with Chocolate Icing from Cappellino’s Crazy Cakes - Charlottesville, VA (4) Key Lime from Omaha, NE’s Jones Brothers Cupcakes (5) Ukrops Vanilla from Richmond, VA (6) My Butterbeer cupcake (recipe); photo credit Kath (7) Lemon Cupcake from Babycakes NYC at Downtown Disney in Orlando, Florida (8) Not really a cupcake, but cute bear dessert in a cup at Fujiya in Japan (9) Red Velvet from Trophy Cupcakes, Seattle, WA.
It sure HAS been a year, and as I embark upon the next…I’m excited to hopeful for what’s in store!
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What’s been the highlight of your last 12 months? What are you looking forward to in the next 12 months? 
Looks like you have made the most of your time in Virigina so far!