Top 14 of 2014

2014 was a fickle year. There were some definite highs, but the year was characterized by the loneliness of being an extrovert living without my spouse of almost a decade. He's still in D.C. with no end in sight, so the end of this year approaching has been kind of a bummer for me. 

In order to be more positive and not become Eeyore the depressive donkey, I came up with 14 awesome things that happened in 2014. There were a lot of other awesome things that happened - for example, weddings, babies, etc. - but I didn't want this to be a list of awesome things that happened to my friends. I wanted it to be a list of things I can be proud that I myself did.

14. Organizing an outing to the morbidly hilarious mini golf course at Ahlgrim Funeral Home in Palatine

13. Making a list of Neapolitan pizzerias in Chicago and visiting them in September with friends

12. Dressing in my junior Girl Scout uniform on Halloween - still fits!

11. Finishing more than 30 crochet and knitting projects this calendar year

10. Surviving the polar vortex alone in January for three days, during which time I did not leave my house and watched the entirety of Star Wars and Indiana Jones, including all special features

9. Making cakes for two of my friends' children's first birthdays. Watching them smash it into their faces was so cute.

8. First and last visit to Hot Doug's in June - so delicious.

7. Finding out that my first professional article in years will be published!

6. Getting flights of beers at awesome northeast locations, including Maine Beer Co., Heady Topper, etc.

5. Seeing Fallingwater (and other awesome FLW locations this year)

4. Being at the wedding of my oldest friend, and especially being the emergency cake cutter with my buddy Diane, the best wedding date ever.

3. Joining a home brew club - it helped me along in this hobby and has introduced me to some great drinking buddies in my area.

2. Raising over $4,000 in the Light the Night Walk with my team of lovely ladies. This makes for over $14,000 raised by my team since I started walking. Amazing and makes me feel really good.

1. My promotion in July at Northwestern, and realizing that this is the area of work I want to stay in for my career.