So, without further ado, here is my 2018 in review!
January
The beginning of January brought me two job interviews, and a new job. I accepted a CNA position before school started, and continued to work every other weekend and picked up random days throughout the week. It was also the "start" of my junior year of college, and throughout the months I was able to complete this year! Nursing school brought on the maternity and pediatric clinical rotations. Throughout these rotations, I learned that I am not really sure that pediatrics is where I want to end up as a nurse, so I'm still waiting to see where the rest of my nursing student career takes me!
February
February was a rather slow month, but it brought me a photography opportunity! My dear friend, Drew, along with his girlfriend, Becca, asked me to take some pictures at their gender reveal. On that day, we found out that Becca and Drew were expecting a baby girl. Later that month, my boyfriend, Dusty, and I tried out a virtual date from some company (it was free and I'm a sucker for free). The food wasn't that great, but it was fun to struggle through directions and attempt to make a new meal together!
March
April
April was a rather slow month. Not much happened, but it did snow. As far as I can remember, this is the latest that it has snowed. I didn't mind the late snow because it meant that I got to finish up my brothers' senior pictures with some snowmobiling ones! Around the end of the month, I made a solo trip to Green Bay to go to my dad's cousin's wedding. My grandparents on that side of the state were kind of sick, but still welcomed me to stay with them for the weekend.
May
May means high school graduation, which means my brothers graduated! I had the honor of decorating both of their graduation caps. May was also the month of fishing for Dusty and I. We spent a lot of time in the Warrens area at the cranberry marshes.
June
June brought our first trip to a beach for the summer. I get so excited about going swimming because I look forward to the nice tan in the summer, but I'm not always lucky enough to spend much time outside with my jobs. June also means the Tomah Tractor Pull! I was able to get off of work for the first night of it, so Dusty, his friends, my brothers, and I decided to go. I look forward to the tractor pulls every year, but my work schedule doesn't always allow me to attend so I was glad that I was able to swing it.
July
July brought about a lot of fun! Obviously, the Fourth of July is a big holiday for Dusty and I, so we got all dressed up for that. Dusty also took me catfishing for my first time. We also made a trip to Mason, Michigan because my brother's high school trap shooting team made it to nationals, so we went to support him. I also got my second tattoo, and the next day I participated in the Dragonoboat Races for another year. I took an online photography class to improve my shooting skills. Around the end of the month, I spent my last time milking cows at my grandparents farm. Another blog post will be made about that when I am ready.
August
August brought about some adventures. Dusty's nephew spent the weekend of the Hillsboro tractor pull wiht us, so I convinced the boys to come with me and watch the pull. I got to spend some more time at the beach and soak up the sun. The end of the month brought about dropping my brothers off at college!
September
September brought along some firsts, and a second. My little sister passed her driver's test! We met and swapped cars so she could use mine for her test, then we celebrated with lunch! Later in the month, Dusty and I went catfishing again, but this time I got bit by the catfish. (Now you know one person who has been bitten by a catfish because apparently its a rare occasion.) Towards the end of the month, I FINALLY got my first cherry tomato from the plants I started way back in March. It was delicious, and I only ended up getting two more before it froze and the plant died.
October
October was a pretty slow month, but that was fine by me. It was nice having a break in the chaos. Dusty and I got a "new-to-us" couch. It's been passed around my mom's family, and now it has settled with me. It's not much for looks, but it's amazing and still very comfy. Later in the month, I got the turbo replaced in my car! It would occasionally throw up codes indicating a need for it, but it only occasionally affected my car's performance. I went to an auto clinic for a different issue, and ended up getting referred to get my turbo replaced. On the bright side, my turbo was still under warranty so it was free, and I got to borrow a 2019 Chevy Equinox. I only had to loan it for a couple of days, but I enjoyed riding a little higher than my car. Some day I'll get something a little bigger, but that day will come after this car is paid off, and probably when children are in the near future.
November
November was another slower month, but it's like the calm before the storm. I made time to go hunting with my little brother. On my last night out, I dropped a doe. My brother and I were texting my sister who was telling us where she could see deer in the field in front of the house, so we walked to where we could see them. I was in the middle of a trail, and the doe spotted me, so I had no choice but to pull up and take a standing shot. It was hard, and I've never taken a shot completely unsupported, but I was able to drop her! At the end of the month, my siblings and I made a trip across state to spend Thanksgiving with my paternal grandparents. It was nice to spend a bit of alone time with them.
December
December went out with a bang. With this month being my last official semester as a junior, my cohort had the "Junior Nursing Pub Crawl," so Dusty and I got a hotel room in downtown and spent the night out with friends. Early in the month, I celebrated by 22nd birthday. It was a pretty uneventful day, but Dusty and I hung out after my class in the morning. Later in the month, I accepted a CNA position at a new job. I'm very excited for the future and advancement opportunities. There were so many Christmas parties to attend, between both my parents and Dusty's parents being divorced, we get stretched pretty far during the holidays. At my dad's extended family's Christmas, Dusty and I; and my siblings and I got pictures taken. I also took some pictures of my brothers and Dusty for a fun little project they're thinking of doing. Dusty and I finished the year driving around the Tomah Rotary lights. About half of the lights were off, but I still enjoyed the effort and the fact that he asked, "Do you want to get out for pictures?" He truly knows the way to my heart.
