1. Moving sucks. On all levels. At every point. From wrestling the packing tape onto boxes, to the painful goodbyes. Moving Sucks.
2. Growing out your bangs takes way more time that I thought.
3. Graduation gowns make no sense. I bought this awesome dress so that I could cover it with the polyester equivalent of a garbage bag.
4. Ummm guacamole is awesome!!! Why didn't I know this before now???
5. When your mom gets a boyfriend, it's pretty equal parts of gross and cute.
6. My wedding cake was delicious. Again - why didn't I know this before?
7. Most of the experimental frappuccino flavors were awful. Just sayin'.
8. How to play Dominion. It's nerdy, but it's fun. But mostly only if you're a nerd.
9. Luke really likes ice cream. I probably should've guessed this, but it's a new thing for us this year.
10. It's okay to work a job that you don't love, so that you have health insurance for the person you do love.
11. I really miss my job at the YMCA.
12. There is a TON of paperwork involved when buying a house. If you're wondering where the rainforest went - it's in my loan application.
13. How to make a pour over coffee... or is it just 'a pour over'. Obviously I didn't learn the lingo.
14. Justin Bieber isn't all bad. This new album is pretty cool.
15. The difference between Dementia and Depression in older adults. Often misdiagnosed.
16. The greatest class I ever took in college was American Military History, in my very last semester, in the town of Fort Wayne, Indiana. Who would've thought.
17. How to DIY a kimono.
18. Make sure you measure twice for curtains and couches.
19. How to put up a tent in the woods... you call Mom. That's how.
20. Meme apps are the best. Especially if you have an ugly crying face picture of your sister. Or you create a pig named Pablo.
21. Having a fake son for a week was way easier than you all make parenting out to be.
22. I don't know why my mom didn't kill me before I made it to adulthood.
23. How to use a selfie stick.
24. This whole pulling trend with coconut oil is just gross, and I can't do it.
25. How to lose your mind at the Vera Bradley Annual Sale, and then suddenly regain your sanity when you get your total at the checkout. Ouch.
26. Time with people I love became more valuable this year.
27. I don't need more clothes.
28. Avatar the last Airbender is on Amazon Prime Video.
29. Donuts fix just about anything. Except obesity.
30. Trust your husband. He may just come home with a fantastic couch. But also send Shea with him. That helps too.
31. To be loved by a good man is more rare than I thought.
32. Dysons really are better.
33. The cassette tapes I listened to as a kid are now available on iTunes.
34. Apple Music may be better than Spotify, but love is love. And I love Spotify.
35. If I was brave enough, I could pull off maroon lipstick. I'm just not that brave.
36. Krispy Kreme is not Dunkin Donuts. Krispy Kreme will never be Dunkin Donuts.
37. The older I get, the faster time passes.
Coolest year ever. Seriously. Starting in total confusion, and ending in a home - my own home - in a town full of people I love, in a place where I belong and thirty minutes away from my mom. That's a pretty big leap folks, and I'm still reeling from it to be honest. How could this all have been just one year?
Thank you for being part of my year.
With Love,
Emily LeVault
