I started the year on vacation in sunny Tampa, Florida. Husband and I flew down to meet my dad and my brother for the Outback Bowl - where Michigan State beat Georgia in hands down the most exciting game of football I've ever witnessed. on actual New Year's Day we went to the Salvador Dali museum, which was an all-around amazing experience.
2012 was the year of the nailpolish for me. my essie obsession started the previous fall, but over the year it exploded. I now have 37 bottles of essie. and I love each and every one. this was also the year of what I like to call the "red pants revolution". I got over my fear of being judged and decided to wear what I wanted, even if it meant being overdressed or in head to toe neon. my colored denim collection now includes pants and/or shorts in the following: wine red, mint green, olive green, lemon yellow, bubblegum pink, deep teal, and yellow with white polka-dots. being colorful makes me happy.
our trip to Boston in February was perhaps the most significant event - the one that triggered a huge life-change. I spent a lot of time that week in our hotel room writing and trying to be brave enough to accept that what had once terrified me so much I said I would never do it [moving to Asia] was becoming a reality. but once it was decided, it was a huge weight lifted. Husband and I had been spinning our wheels in the unknown for months... knowing we wanted to move abroad but having no idea where we would end up.
we spent a wonderful few days celebrating [with incredible brunch, mexican, and a bottle of johnny walker blue label] before we had to come home and face the reality of all that needed to be done: passports, visas, moving, packing... deciding what to bring, what to leave, and what to get rid of... quitting our jobs, selling our cars, leaving our family + friends + cats behind.
in our months before we left we tried to spend as much time as possible soaking in what we would miss. a million thanks to all our friends for the memories made... baseball games, concerts, bonfires, going away parties, barbecues, and many many drinks. and our amazing families who took our moving to the other side of the world without [much] complaint.
and then we were here. I know that many things may have been easier had we moved to another country. somewhere I could use my Spanish, anything within the eastern time zone, someplace that takes less time and money to get home from, an English-speaking culture, or Turkey where Husband has spent so much time already. but Taiwan has been good to us. especially in the people we have been lucky to meet here. and regardless of where we go next, this place will always have a piece of my heart.
I won't rehash all the events since moving to Taiwan, but some favorites have been our road trip to Hualien and Taroko Gorge, euchre nights, figuring out how to bake in a toaster oven, learning to scoot, our epic karaoke evening, the daytrip to Yehliu Geopark, painting my chalkboard wall, drinking on the rooftop, exploring the statue garden [post coming soon], and the many dragon-covered temples of our city.
2012, you were an adventure.
