A Year in Pictures: 2022
Well, here we are. In retrospect, this year has felt both incredibly long and short. When I started this post, I was thinking to myself that nothing had happened and 90% of my months would just be photos of my pets. I was very wrong! We began this year with travel, went on a trip eight out of the twelve months, and ended the year with Ryan’s 30th birthday trip to Europe. It turns out that when you spend 6 months reading 100 texts and studying for the most stressful exam of your life, it really colors your memories of the year. So I’m glad to be able to look back at these photos and be reminded that I didn’t just spend 2022 in my office typing up notes and frantically trying to understand ecocritical theory.
As always, I resolved to blog more in 2022 and, to everyone’s surprise, actually partially succeeded this time. Hopefully I’ll have the opportunity to blog from my bigger trips to Portugal and the Netherlands/Belgium sooner rather than later. But for now, enjoy these snapshots of my year and happy 2023!
January
1 & 2. We started this year with a snowstorm. It was the first time Winnie had ever seen snow and as a Great Pyrenees, it was one of the greatest moments of her life. She and Argos wanted to play in it for HOURS straight. Which was great as a person recovering from living in Minnesota.
3 & 4. For one of my siblings’ birthday and Christmas gifts, we got the three of us tickets to Disney World for two days. The trip started with a cancelled flight but was amazing every moment after that!
February
1. Winnie & her love of digging.
2 & 3. After the ice storm in February, we decided to go on a hike to Red River Gorge. I punched an icicle and almost impaled myself.
4. Hiking at the Pinnacles in Berea.
March
1. Hiking in Red River Gorge.
2. Winnie’s best friend (and one of my best friends) visited!
3. What Winnie & Argos did almost every night while I worked in my office.
4. For Spring Break, Ryan and I camped and hiked in Zion National Park. Read about that trip here.
April
1. Winnie & I took a lot of lovely spring walks in our nearby park.
2. Winnie decided to stop her walk TEN times to roll in the grass this day.
3 & 4. I took a trip to Colorado to hang out with one of my best friends, hike, and be Kari’s #vacationdadontour. Read about that trip here (and hopefully in more posts to come!).
May
1. I had to have surprise laser eye surgery for a chronic retinal detachment. In the process, found out that I’m a “super dilator.” I looked like a crazed zombie.
2. Ryan & I planted blackberries this year. I was so excited to see my first blooms!
3. A cool little salamander from a hike in the Gorge.
4. I met Hazel & Kayla in Nashville for some hiking & Italian ice.
June
1. We celebrated Winnie’s birthday with some doggie ice cream.
2. There was an insane heatwave, so we bought a kiddie pool and filled it with ice so the dogs could be outside.
3. Classic summertime s’mores.
4. Just Winnie being photogenic at sunset.
July
1. Another Kayla & Hazel visit!
2. We went to Pentwater, MI, with my family! It was the first time so many of us could all go in several years and definitely a highlight of 2022.
3. Ryan, his parents, and I went on an underground kayaking tour in the Gorge. (Yes, I did feel very cool in this get-up.)
4. I made a very ~ aesthetically pleasing ~ ratatouille using the veggies from our garden!
August
1. More hiking in the Gorge.
2. My favorite tomatoes from our garden!
3. More park walks.
4. Why Winnie is so rarely allowed to sleep in the bed with us. (Notice her feet directly in Ryan’s face.)
September
1. Visited Memphis for Kayla’s birthday (and mostly was smothered by Hazel).
2. Exhibit #2 of how Winnie sleeps with us when she’s in the bed.
3. My friend Mary & I took a trip we’d been talking about for literally almost a decade now to the Azores off the coast of Portugal. Another highlight of the year!
4. Celebrated my 27th birthday with a trip to the orchard with Kari and rolled around in a giant hamster wheel.
October
1. Tried to take an aesthetically pleasing autumnal picture of Argos. He just wanted to play with Winnie in the leaves.
2. The wildflowers I planted in the summer finally bloomed.
3 & 4. Took a chaotic three-dog hike in the Gorge.
November
1. Took my sister to her first ever concert (ATEEZ in Atlanta) and inadvertently became an Atiny in the process.
2. We also visited the Georgia Aquarium and took this selfie with some penguins.
3. Thanksgiving began with recreating a childhood photo that was * for some reason * a lot easier to take when Isabelle & Colin were younger…
4. First time hosting Thanksgiving. Had to bring out the table extender for this one.
December
1. My Spotify Wrapped really captured my essence this year. This is exactly how I felt when I passed my PhD qualifying exam. Like a triumphant sad boi goblin.
2, 3, & 4. I gifted Ryan a surprise trip to the Netherlands and Belgium to celebrate his 30th birthday. It was my first time in Europe for the Christmas markets, and it was a very festive and fun way to finish the year (until I got the flu in the last two days, but we won’t talk about that).
