THIS WAS 33

I turned 34 on Wednesday.

I'm really grateful for another year of good health, but I would be lying if I said this year wasn't a bit rough.

Great too.

Because I'm here, living.

Enjoying the things that surround me.

& while I don't like to wish time away, I am utterly grateful for a new year.

Another 365 days to make it the best year yet.

Year 30 for me was a real banger.

One I annoyingly compare to my other years.

I sometimes get frustrated in the comparisons I make.

But to be 100% with you, that year was just incredible.

I GOT MY HEALTH BACK.

& from here on out, I exist in this state because of that year.

So, it's pretty magical.

It is always fun to take a look back on what my year was like and revel in the fact that it was indeed, a great year too.

So, let's hit it.

I enjoyed my first dip into dairy (after a three year break) on my 33 birthday.

Not a frequent thing for me, but it is nice to be able to finally enjoy it now and again.

Mint Cookies N' Cream for the win.

We started a compost.

My garden is going to THRIVE next summer!

My backordered stove finally made its way.

Swoon!!

Spoiler alert....I LOVE IT!

I'm so grateful I have a handy man.

We made it to Wisconsin to one of my good friends wedding receptions.

(Poor thing, COVID threw up on her wedding plans.)

This is Brandi.

We met in South Dakota.

My life is better because Brandi is in it.

One of the truest friends I've ever had.

I hope you have a Brandi in your life.

Brandi, I love you. 😘

We tiled our mudroom, closet and hallway.

I am a tile queen.

Don't ask me to tile for you.

Took a little trip to see my bestie in North Carolina.

We have known each other since fourth grade!! 😳

She took me to the beach. 😁

Happy place.

Swoon!

Damn, I love her. 🥰

Keith and I had some visitors in November.

More friends from South Dakota, Maggie and David.

& now they are new parents.

& if I didn't know otherwise (not much privacy in our home) I would tell you they conceived sweet, little Zoë in our home.

But they didn't. Ha.

However, I do choose to believe that we allowed some top notch relaxation to allow those stress walls to come down and make things happen upon arriving home. 🤪

Hot dogs and s'mores, baby.

Keith managed to do some batman shit installing our ceiling fan.

My grandma ended up in the hospital in November.

& she wasn't well.

Of course, COVID was keeping us from being able to see her.

The goal was to get her O2 levels down enough to where she could go home and be put on hospice so we could see her and say goodbye.

So, we skipped Thanksgiving with family to stay away from germs (incase we had the opportunity to go see grandma).

I cooked my first every turkey and full Thanksgiving meal.

Was actually so much fun.

& may be a new tradition of ours.

It was so nice and relaxing.

We did slip some food over to our neighbor, Gary.

My handsome turkey carver.

Family holiday hangs.

We ended up losing grandma on December 7, 2020.

& it was hard.

It still is hard.

If you don't want to cry, don't watch this video.

It is raw & vulnerable and I'm all up in my feels.

Love you grandma. 💕

We split Christmas.

Christmas Eve in Iowa at my parents and Christmas Day in Missouri at Keith's parents..

I had fun making cookie boxes for everybody.

Our niece and nephew exhausted and frazzled by all the presents they had to open. (not from us, we put cash in their account for when they get older.)

Kristen came to visit!

& we had our first snow in the new house.

It was absolutely magical.

I stayed out in it for over an hour photographing and stamping the beauty into my memory.

Hubs finished my back wall (minus the painted baseboard and light switch) and built me a shelf to fit around the window in our upstairs loft.

I finished the back wall the day before my birthday. :)

This shelf is now full of books. I love my loft space!

Then I got the phone call that Uncle Tom had a stroke and heart attack.

& spent a couple months traveling back and forth helping him get back to life.

We had some majorly cold days in February and ended up with a few calves in our garage.

This is Gray.

I started a food photography course at the end of February.

It's been great.

Can you tell?

Keith saved a little calf from the sale barn and brought him home.

His name is George and he is now our farm mascot.

Living the life.

He LOVES his Dad. & is much bigger now.

Sweetie was added to the mix when her momma couldn't take care for her.

Now they are best buddies.

Made it to Arizona to see my brother and Paige, Grandpa and some dear friends. :)

You know I'm going to find the cats.

Um, wow. I love them.

Pretty cool that my grandpa still flies his plane every Friday to breakfast.

Made a little video of our trip.

Our stairs and banister finally got finished.

Look how pretty!!

I planted a garden.

& harvested lots of delicious veggies!

Cucumber, squash, zucchini, lots of tomatoes, peppers, green beans, sugar snap peas, potatoes and sweet potatoes.

I did a lot of tomato canning too. Salsa, tomatoes and pasta sauce. 140 pounds of tomatoes in total so far.

We finally finished our circle drive!!

Keith and I made it to Mexico in May.

Was an extremely relaxing trip.

If you are interested, click HERE for my blogpost all about it.

I love him.

A lot.

Our family farm caught fire.

Blogpost HERE if you are interested.

I went to Atlanta with my Mom & Katie and Tami Culver to buy cool shit for the store.

Made it to the GJCF for one night to see Zac Brown Band

& then down to Indiana to be there for Mom and help her out after Grandpa passed.

Love ya, gramps. 💕

& between it all, I spent time with kitties, watched lots of sunsets, enjoyed the beauty around me, loved on hubs and spent time with my niece and nephew. I also did things like workout, journal, work, eat, poop, meditate. But no photo documentation. 😜

Our last litter. L3.

Butterfinger, Pastrami, Oreo, Marshmallow, Arugula and Tangerine.

Our amazing Momma Kitty, Mulberry and her spectacular Cat Dad.

You bet your ass I still go lay with the cats in the thick of winter. I love them.

A beautiful Princess, Pepper. aka Boobie.

A sweet little Scotch. aka Roozie

Litter number two. L2. Cheddar, Honey, Pumpkin and Snickers.

Miss Olive. Member of litter number one. L1.

Sage and Mango; litter number one members.

They like to come to the porch and watch the sunset with me.

Sometimes I just collapse on the driveway to watch the sun go down.

It just amazes me how beautiful the world is.

This was the last sunset photo I sent to my grandma.

Just enjoying the fuck out of little moments and our own space!

A nice & warm December day at Aunt Kiki and Uncle Keith's.

Cuddles.

That was 33.

My life this year.

The highlights anyway.

Remember...

The majority of this is fluff.

Life is hard.

& while I just showed you a mostly highlight reel, please don't compare my highs to your lows.

Because, I too, go through things that I have never been spoken about.

But when I lay it all out like this, it makes me feel way less underwater.

I encourage you to give it a whirl.

Look at all the things you HAVE done this year.

They don't have to be big.

It could be looking back at all the sunsets you watched this year.

I'm really grateful for this quiet life we are living.

No pressure to keep up with the joneses.

When I say I'm really grateful to have gone through illness and recover, I truly mean it.

There is something about experiencing it all at a young age/beginning of marriage that put life right into check for Keith and I.

Made us long for the act of enjoying life.

Not just living it to survive.

I'm really grateful and really proud of the decisions we have made and the life we have built.

It was a great year.

Difficult at times, but great.

Thanks for 33.

Cheers to 34.

I wish you all a great trip around the sun this year. 💕

xoxo

Kirsten ☀️