2017 in a few words and pictures

January

• We bundled up and went on a cold hike in Harper's Ferry, WV. Little did we know we'd be returning in the fall (by bicycle no less!)
• I made a pussy hat and went to the Women's March. Seeing all of the the marchers who came in from out of town and the flood of photos from across the world on social media was really inspiring. 

February

• Got to catch up with my best friend from 3rd grade while she was in town for a conference. We met up at the National Gallery of Art before getting dinner downtown. I can't believe we've known each other for ~25 years (and have been pen pals since college)!
• Accepted two awards from the Charlottesville, VA Planning Commission for working on their street design guidelines. There was about five hours of driving involved for a two minute award ceremony, but hey, I don't win awards every day!
• Keizo made some delicious slow cooker carnitas. The last line of the bio on the right is still true - we eat really well.

March

• Started the month with a PR in the St. Pat's 10K.
• Spent a week at home in Arizona for a friend's wedding. Went hiking among the wildflowers and enjoyed t-shirt weather while it was still very much winter on the east coast.

April

• Checked out Artomatic, an enormous open art show housed in an empty office building.
• Spent time outside with Keizo and the air couch.
• Cooked traditional Japanese bento box lunches. Seriously, these things take the two of us about two hours to put together, so it's only a once or twice a year thing.

May

• Technically it was the last weekend in April, but I went to California for my 10-year college reunion. The reunion itself was not that special, but spending a long weekend with one of my best friends was one of the highlights of 2017.
• Literally hours after I got back from California, I flew to Key West for work. It's tough job, but someone has to do it.
• Plantar fasciitis derailed my plans to run a half marathon in early June. Before getting injured, I had made it most of the way through the training plan, including a 10-mile run from Silver Spring, MD to the Mall in Downtown DC.

June

• We hosted my parents and brother while they were in town for a cousin's wedding. We all cleaned up nicely and enjoyed celebrating on a rooftop in Arlington with fantastic views of the city skyline.
• I made the first of several batches of pickles. We could barely keep up with all of the cucumbers and radishes we received from our CSA this year.
• I went to Austin, TX for a contract kick-off meeting. This was just the first of four trips in 2017 for a big project I am co-leading at work.

 

July

• Patriotic breakfast on the 4th. Taking only Tuesday off from work felt a little weird at first, but turned out awesome in the end; truly a bonus day to do just the fun stuff followed by a short 3-day work week.
• We went to Open Farm day at Spiral Path Farm to see where our CSA veggies come from.
• Keizo and I took our first camping trip, just the two of us over his birthday weekend. It rained, but we managed to stay pretty dry.

August

• After the summer company picnic, 3:00 PM 'office planks' became a thing. We're still doing it a few times a week.
• We watched the solar eclipse from the top of a parking garage near my office.
• I saw 'The Hive' exhibit at the National Building Museum.

September

• We spent Labor Day exploring Ft. McHenry, Fells Point, the Inner Harbor and Federal Hill neighborhoods of Baltimore.
• I took a last ride on the Georgetown Branch Trail between Silver Spring and Bethesda before it closed abruptly for Purple Line construction.
• Keizo treated me to a day doing nothing and delicious, homemade chocolate cake for my 32nd birthday.

October

• I'm sure we did other things in October, but our first bike camping trip was certainly the most memorable. Four of us rode ~150 miles to Harper's Ferry, WV and back in a weekend. I was expecting to be sore and miserable afterwards, but finishing the last 15 miles from Great Falls, MD to the metro in cold rain was the worst part, hands down.

November

• My third trip to Austin took place in early November; this time I stayed for a week with several co-workers and actually got to see things other than the airport, hotel and conference rooms. Apart from one salad at lunch, I don't think I ate a vegetable all week.
• Not pictured: spending the week of Thanksgiving at my parents' in Arizona and meeting my brother's new girlfriend. 

December

• I started the month strong (perhaps because I had a week to relax at home for Thanksgiving), making holiday treats to mail to faraway friends in time for Christmas. 
• We enjoyed hosting my parents and brother for Christmas the second year in a row. Lucky for them, they left right before the polar vortex and two weeks of sub-freezing temperatures.
• The tree in Downtown Silver Spring had a sustainability theme this year, covered with bikes and LED lights. I still think the year it was decorated with food and giant faux take-out boxes was my favorite.