{2012 Link-Up} Looking Back to Move Forward

It’s hard to complain about life when you look at all of the positives over the last year.  So in the midst of bidding farewell for another long period of time to my dear Dave (the BF) and packing to move to a new city AND preparing for another packed semester of school, I am taking some time to reflect on the year 2012.

(I also checked out my “best of” post from last year.  It’s crazy how much has changed in a year!)

January:
I started getting even more into experimenting with different ways of making semi-healthy desserts.  My first masterpiece was Semi-Healthy M&M Cookies.

I was also just starting a couple of classes at the university I now attend while finishing up my degree at the community college.  Reading that cookie post I can remember how excited I was.  I felt like something was finally happening in my college career.  I need to remember how fortunate I am at having the opportunity to go to college and pursue my dreams.

February:
I started my first series (one of my 2012 goals) called Love Yourself February, which I intend to continue this year!

I was inspired by the (then) new site Pinterest where I saw my good friends pinning images of emaciated or crazy-fit women with captions like “inspiration” or “I need to look like this.”  It hurt me so much to see the proof that so many women really don’t love themselves enough.  Everyone has their own best self, so we need to stop comparing!

I also had my first guest posts ever on the blog!  Tina Reale from Best Body Fitness and Lindsay Wright from Lindsay’s List wrote guest posts for my Love Yourself February series.  I remember how scared I was to e-mail them since in my mind they were celebrities.  Of course they are really the sweetest women and happily obliged!

March:
I did my first review involving a company sending me samples of their product.  I was so excited and still do get excited when I get food in the mail.  (Who wouldn’t?)

Attune Foods Review

I also ended up dropping my third quarter of Chemistry since the previous teacher left us THREE CHAPTERS BEHIND where we were supposed to be.  That was a rough period and one of the examples where sometimes you do get what you pay for, but it gave me a little more time to make some money and work on my blog.  It also turned out that since I couldn’t transfer those credits to my university that I ended up making some new friends in my university Chemistry class.  So it all worked out!

April:
Dave spent a couple of terrible months running a very big territory for his railroad this year.  Basically they threw him to the wolves and got upset that he didn’t know what he was supposed to be doing.  I visited him a lot and had to learn how to occupy myself in a different, very very small town.  (I also had to learn how to stay fit while out of town.)

I read a lot, blogged, and trained for and ran my first 10K race!  My confidence in my running abilities soared after this race!  I completed my first 9 mile run later that month.

I also did my first “trail run” at the farm on my birthday.  My allergies didn’t particularly like it afterwards, but I felt pretty good about getting 4 miles of running in while at the farm.

May:
I had signed up for my first half-marathon, but got sick from the cutie twins I babysit so I didn’t end up running.  This sort of thing always gets me super depressed, especially when I tell so many people I am going to do a race, but blogging out (and baking out) my feelings seems to help a lot.

Banana Chocolate Chip Confetti Bars

This was also the month I got so far out of my comfort zone and attended Blend Retreat 2012.

This was very first time I got out from behind my blog to meet some virtual friends in person.  It was one of the best decisions I made all year.

I met some new friends and my confidence in my blog and myself as a person grew immensely.  Can you believe I almost didn’t go out of sheer terror of traveling alone and meeting new people? I have some amazing readers and friends to thank for encouraging me to get a little uncomfortable and try something new!

May also brought about graduating with my Associate’s Degree from the local community college.

I wasn’t going to even attend the graduation, but my dad convinced me that this was an important step in my college career so I should go.  I am so glad I did because it gave me some momentum to move forward and made me feel like I had accomplished something with my life.

June:
I opened up on the blog about my faith.  I really try to let it show that I am a Christian, but sometimes I shy away from the topic of faith.  This is something I’ve definitely been working on.  I’m not perfect.  I don’t go to church every week or read the bible every day, but I believe Christ died for me and that one day I will be with Him in heaven.  I try to live my life the best that I can with this important truth in mind.

July:
I did my first big giveaway on the blog.  A whole case of Chobani Greek Yogurt.  (I will be doing another one here very soon!)

I also started gaining confidence in my writing skills and said yes to a lot of guest posting requests, including writing for Healthy Living Blogs.  

August:
Thanks to reading healthy blogs and following many healthy living people on Twitter, I have tried some new foods this year.

I made my first batch of guacamole and got slightly addicted to making it for parties.  You know, showing off my foodie skills.

I started a Vegetarian Curious series to see why other people have decided to go vegetarian or vegan.  The guest posters have inspired me to eat less animal protein and to try to get protein from other sources.  Trying new things seems to be a theme this year!  (I will always be accepting guest posts for this theme if you’re interested!  I love learning from people!)

I was also featured on Oatmeal in My Bowl’s blog for my Nutty Cookie Bar recipe made with Chobani Greek Yogurt.

September:
I was pretty overwhelmed with school in August/September/October.  I started driving (an hour both ways) to a different city for school (where I’m moving in a couple of weeks!) three to five days a week.  I had to basically learn a new way of life…the university life.  But I started there at the age of 25 and didn’t live in a dorm, so it was a little hard to meet new people.  Looking back, I was just exhausted mentally and just barely keeping the blog alive, although it did help to occasionally vent to all of you! 😉

Dave and I got to meet up with a friend, Calee, whom I barely met at Blend 2012, but whom I began e-mailing, tweeting and reading her blog frequently, and her boyfriend in Des Moines, Iowa.  (PS is “whom” the correct word in that sentence?) 

We ran a 5K together in Des Moines where I forgot my shoes and running shorts.  (Really Amanda?)  I’m actually meeting up with her and Katie this weekend before I head back to school!  (As I was linking up Calee’s blog to this, I saw a post that said “I hate year in review posts.” haha)

October:
I threw my first baby shower!  It wasn’t a huge affair, but we had a shower for my sister who was due in December…just to get it done before the holiday season came around.  I’m glad we got it done early!

November:
I adore learning about nutrition in school.  I decided to bring one of the online class discussions to the blog and it was so cool to hear what everyone had to say.  I am going to try to do more of this in my new Teach Me Tuesday Link-Up.

December:
One of the greatest things that happened to me this year was becoming an aunt.

I will never get over how precious my little nephew Aaron is.

Dave has nick-named him Aaron Sanchez after the gentleman on Food Network.  The nickname has kind of stuck and I love it!

I also signed up for another half-marathon and began training for it yesterday.  So far, so good!  Let’s pray I can get through this one with out injury or getting sick!!  You can follow my training on DailyMile here as well as Fitness Fridays to come!
———-
Overall I feel thoroughly blessed for what God has given me this year.
Through the struggles, I’ve achieved small successes.
There are more challenges to come this year, but I can do this with His help and you lovely blog readers.

I am so very thankful!!
Amanda aka Semi-Health Nut

I’m also doing a link-up on Thursday for New Years Resolutions!  Can you tell I LOVE this time of year?