This American Wife: 2012

30 Days with a Grateful Heart

This concludes my 30 days of gratitude, although I fell woefully behind and have so very many things to be thankful for (wonderful families by blood and marriage - with a extra hug for my very dear sisters and sisters-in-law; friends whom I love so much; Grand Scheme Things like living in a free society, sanitation, air conditioning, all of human knowledge at one's Googling fingertips, potable water that becomes the perfect temperature just by turning a knob...I mean, being human has gotten so good in the last 100 years).

But what has gotten so good about being me in the last three years is this man:

Forever thankful for

amazed to know

constantly delighted by

astonished at

my husband, with whom I fall more in love everyday.

My heart-cup runneth over.

Year in Pictures: 2012

2012 was a very good year.

We travelled (a lot), Luke started recording his record, I settled into my work life, we went to many weddings, watched Colbert and Arrested Development, listened to NPR, shared the Sunday New York Times, slept in, talked about our Tempurpedic mattress daily over a year after its purchase, and got ready to welcome a baby.

Our year in pictures:

January

StL visit

Robin and Everett

West Texas

February

Luke's sisters visit in time for the SA rodeo

March

Roller Derby in support of my co-worker Jean

We pause this retrospective for a torrid driveway shot

May

Nashville- Chicago- Michigan trip: Feist at the Ryman; Clint & Kelly get hitched; we meet Maeve and Fiona; celebrate Susie's upcoming wedding in Kalamazoo

Dallas for John Irving lecture (literary bucket list, CHECK)

Then this happened:

But I didn't quite believe it so after a quick trip to Walgreens

I had to.

June

Luke returns from Bonnaroo; I go to St Louis for Ben and Ashleigh's wedding.

July

Ben and Susie's wedding; RAGBRAI

And things become a little more real.

September

San Diego- San Francisco- St Louis - then St Louis again

With Jeremy and Vivi in Dolores Park

Stacey and Paul's wedding

Robin and Will celebrate their Wyoming wedding with a Washington reception

October

Back to Michigan for Nate and Laura's wedding

November

New Orleans and a Caribbean cruise

December

Visits from friends and family, and one last little trip, to Dallas, for music/food/travelling for travelling's sake.

Best wishes for a happy and healthy 2013, my friends!

Jenny and Amy Visit Texas

Why do I have so few pictures of this???!!

Well we had a great visit: holiday bazaar, TamaleFest, blues-gospel concert featuring Shelley King, Carolyn Wonderland, and Guy Forsyth at Gruene Music Hall; fabulous brunch at Little Gretel (just featured in Cook's Country for their kolache recipe) followed by some shopping in downtown Boerne, and BBQ at the County Line on the Riverwalk and planned -->

Next year: Palm Springs Mid Century Getaway, a Joan Didion-inspired, Mad Men-informed vacay complete with Pucci-print caftans, martinis, and fondue. See you poolside, girls!

fruit dumplings at Little Gretel

Caribbean Thanksgiving

OVERDUE POST: Thanksgiving cruise with my parents and sister and brother-in-law, on the world's largest passenger ship, the Allure of the Seas (so massive it has an ice skating rink that I didn't even see during my week onboard.)

Highlights: spending a week with nuthin to do but hang out with my family; great entertainment (Chicago the musical, diving/acrobatic show a la Cirque du Soleil, hilarious comedians); trivia competitions; celebrating my dad's birthday; fabulous dining (with our very sweet Romanian waiter, Elena, who on the last night - after several nights of steering me clear of 'food that isn't good for the baby' -- said that she and her husband have been trying for years to get pregnant and then said, "I just touch for a second, for luck" - and touched my belly, which I thought was very poignant and bittersweet); Luke winning the karaoke competition!!!

The gang in the Central Park area (a floating garden!)