I’ve thought a lot about what to post here for the new year, and I think I’ve landed on the following. Warning, little-to-no foodie content here. I read this quote someplace (I think when I went down the twitter rabbit hole one night):

“There are only two days in the year that you can’t change. One is yesterday and the other is tomorrow. Today is the right day to love, believe, do and mostly live.”

And yes, that is a super cheesy and uncharacteristic quote coming from moi. But hey, it resonated with me, and I’ve got my honesty pants on today. So, I won’t claim a list of things I wish to do, because I learned this past year that the best laid plans can get interrupted for what life has in store. While I’m not the same person I was on June 20th, the day before I found out my father passed away – which was only the start of a year filled with loss and additional hurdles – I don’t think I’ll ever be her again, and that is totally okay. Upward and onward.

To be honest, I realized this year that I still have a lot to figure out (not that I ever claimed to have my act together in the first place)! So instead of a list of to-do’s, I think I’ve just got a bunch of questions.

A lot of it is minor – like do I ever want to go blonde? Or do I actually like country music, and how honest should I be about it? Or should this blog be called Give Me Tacos?

Some details are more major – like can I get myself back to being a social butterfly and host parties after six months of kind of hiding out? Or what goals do I truly want to have in my work life? Or should Dave and I spend more time on new adventures and travel? Or how do we deal with all the grief while still moving forward, every damn day?

If anyone has these answers – hit me up. 😉

Really, I think 2016 will be a year where I kind of wing it, day by day. And I think I’m finally cool with that. {Insert Frank Sinatra’s “That’s Life” here.}

I want to make it super clear that I’m still rockin’ & rollin’. Despite the touch of melancholy I’m sure you all picked up here, things have been moving along in such a positive way. There have been moments with good news and incredibly funny, wonderful moments with friends and family – but you can’t just gloss over the reality of all of the ups and downs this year has had – which is why I thought this was all important for me to say, even if only for me to understand it.

My pal Lindsey has been arguing with me for years that life is not black and white, which I steadfastly disagreed with. Now I know, she was right. It’s full of a bunch of damn colors, all of which I feel like I’m embracing for the first time. It only took me 34 years, but I’m glad I am right where I am, right now.

To end this blog, I thought I’d post some of my favorite moments from this year – love all these people, places and my two fluffy cats (even though Olive is never in pictures, I swear she exists).

Truly, wishing you all a very happy, healthy new year filled with MEATLOAF (and tacos)! Cheers ya’ll.