The year is done and I added a few more items to the list. I’ll post the full year recap tomorrow, but for now here is what happened in December:
#33. Have a cooking contest throwdown with friends – COMPLETE
This was an awesome party which will become an annual event. There will be redemption! There will be booze! There will be the Ladle of Glory
# 20 – Read 40 books – COMPLETE
I honestly did think I was going to get this done until October came around. But I did it and I want to do it again. I think I could go for 41
#6 – Hike 40 miles of trails in Illinois – COMPLETE-ISH
The Saturday between Christmas and New Years was a fairly dry and warm day. I drove out to Long Grove and walked around Reed-Turner Woodlands. It was snowy and gorgeous out. Like always, I went along and like always I got a little spooked once I got to the furthest point from my car. Why does nature freak me out so much?
#5 Go to an Island
My mother’s side of the family had a reunion over the last two days of the year. Aunts, uncles and cousins from coast to coast gathered in Bettendorf, IA and the incredibly spooky Lodge Hotel. This place was one part Twin Peaks, one part The Shining and full-on exactly the type of place my family should meet for a reunion. I think we are a family that likes a good story – we like telling them and we like hearing them. And our stay at this hotel was a good story. I love my family. They are really fun and funny. I like hanging out with them and wish we got to more often. I left early and wish I’d stayed longer. ‘Staying longer’ might need to go on next year’s list.
I wasn’t expecting it, but I got to really go to an island this time. When I was in Florida we went to what, by all accounts, looks like an island on a map, but nobody seems to think of as an island. On NYE morning I was texting my cousin Tecia (staying just down the hall) about meeting up for breakfast/coffee and to make use of the Starbucks card I’d won at family trivia the night before. (My visit to the grandparents in February totally gave me the edge– full circle moment, y’all). Sadly, my beloved cousin MCKENNA still had sleeping children and could not join us. When we met up by the elevators they told me that they were up for a trip to The Arsenal. A full on island, full of full-on weaponry-making right there on the Mississippi River.
It was seriously cold out. Barely zero degrees. We were kind of hoping to get into the museum but we were there too early. We took an arctic walk looking at missiles, rocket launchers and tanks and something called a “Skysweeper” which seemed like a neat name until we realized it was a literal name and then we were a little uneasy. But it was an adventure and it was a chance to spend some time with them and it was great. The list wins again!
